vicar of St Stephen's, the Rev Marcus R. Southwell. In December of that year he wrote to the Lord Provost, sent his best wishes and expressed the "utmost repugnance to parting with the Crichton lectern." The Dean of the Order of the Thistle and Chapel Royal fared no better in 1914. Nor did further approaches made by Edinburgh Corporation in 1931 and 1936. Attempted repatriation One day in 1972 the lectern was found lying in pieces halfway down the nave of the church. Intruders were disturbed in the course of their nefarious activities, but did not leave empty handed, taking with them three small lions from the base which supported the lectern. Return In 1982 the lectern returned to Scotland for the first time in over 400 years. Permission was given by the Church of England for the lectern to appear in Angels, Nobles and Unicorns, an exhibition of mediaeval Scottish art at the National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland in Edinburgh. Its appearance at the exhibition caused a great deal of upset and letters to the press demanded that it should remain in Scotland; but when the exhibition ended the lectern was returned to St Stephen's church. In November 1984, a group of individuals broke into the church and removed the lectern. The Scottish group "Siol nan Gaidheal" (Seed of the Gael) contacted the press and reported they had the lectern. They provided a 'hostage' photograph and wrote "... This piece of our heritage is here to stay... patriotic Scots have asked for the eagle to be returned... to its rightful home. English arrogance won the day... all requests were refused." In the 15 years after the lectern disappeared the rights and wrongs of the matter were debated on television and in the press many times. Representatives of the established churches of Scotland and England met on many occasions and invested much effort and time to resolve the matter. Dialogue between all parties was nurtured and helped by the activities of Inverness Press and Journal reporter John Vass. He worked closely with the vicar Revd John Pragnell, David Maxwell, Convenor of the Church of Scotland's Artistic Committee, and David Caldwell of the Royal Museum of Scotland to get the lectern returned for permanent display in Scotland. Criminal endeavour prevails Over the years, Vass received a number of anonymous communications from those who held the lectern. The "kidnappers" laid down