Front matter

Sir Walter Scott

THE COUNTRY OF SIR WALTER SCOTT

BY CHARLES S. OLCOTT

Author of George Eliot: Scenes and People of Her Novels

ILLUSTRATED FROM PHOTOGRAPHS BY THE AUTHOR

BOSTON AND NEW YORK HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY The Riverside Press Cambridge

COPYRIGHT, 1913, BY CHARLES S. OLCOTT ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Published September 1913

TO MY WIFE THE COMPANION OF MY TRAVELS TO WHOSE SYMPATHETIC COOPERATION I AM INDEBTED FOR MUCH OF THE MATERIAL THIS BOOK IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED

CONTENTS

Introduction

I. The 'Making' of Sir Walter II. The Lay of the Last Minstrel III. Marmion IV. The Lady of the Lake V. Rokeby VI. The Bridal of Triermain VII. The Lord of the Isles VIII. Waverley IX. Guy Mannering X. The Antiquary XI. The Black Dwarf XII. Old Mortality XIII. Rob Roy XIV. The Heart of Midlothian XV. The Bride of Lammermoor XVI. A Legend of Montrose XVII. Ivanhoe XVIII. The Monastery XIX. The Abbot XX. Kenilworth XXI. The Pirate XXII. The Fortunes of Nigel XXIII. Peveril of the Peak XXIV. Quentin Durward XXV. St. Ronan's Well XXVI. Redgauntlet XXVII. Tales of the Crusaders XXVIII. Woodstock XXIX. The Fair Maid of Perth XXX. The Chronicles of the Canongate and Other Tales The Highland Widow The Two Drovers The Surgeon's Daughter Anne of Geierstein Count Robert of Paris Castle Dangerous XXXI. A Successful Life

Index

ILLUSTRATIONS

Portrait of Sir Walter Scott . . . Frontispiece Photogravure from an engraving by William Walker of a painting by Sir Henry Raeburn, R.A., 1822.

Smailholm

Kelso Abbey

The Popping Stone

Lasswade Cottage

Map Of Scotland Showing localities of Scott's writings

St. Mary's Loch

Branksome Hall

Melrose Abbey

Ashestiel

Entrance to Norham Castle

Llndisfarne Abbey

Tantallon Castle

Loch Achray

Cambusmore

Glenfinglas

Stirling Castle

Brackenbury Tower, Barnard Castle

The Valley of the Tees From Barnard Castle

The Valley of St. John Showing Triermain Castle Rock

Turnberry Castle, Coast of Ayrshire

Grandtully Castle

Doune Castle From the Teith

Ullswater Waverley's retreat after the defeat of the Chevalier

Caerlaverock Castle

Edinburgh from the Castle

Auchmuthie

The Black Dwarf's Cottage

Craignethan Castle (Tillietudlem)

Crichope Linn

Chillingham Castle

Loch Lomond from Inversnaid

St. Anthony's Chapel

Crichton Castle

Loch Lubnaig

Map of England Showing Localities of Scott's writings

Castle of Ashby de la Zouch

The Buck-Gate Entrance to the Duke of Portland's estate, Sherwood Forest

The Avenue of Limes, Sherwood Forest

Interior of Fountains Abbey

Coningsburgh Castle

Cathcart Castle

Leicester's Buildings, Kenilworth

Cæsar's Tower, Kenilworth

Entrance to Warwick Castle

Mervyn's Tower, Kenilworth

Lerwick, Shetland

A Crofter's Cottage, Orkney

Sumburgh Head, Shetland

Scalloway, Shetland

The Standing Stones of Stennis

Stromness, Orkney

Map of London Showing localities of Scott's writings

The Pack-Horse Bridge, Haddon Hall

The Saxon Tower, Isle of Man

The Tweed and Eildon Hills

Scott's Tomb, Dryburgh

Hoddam Castle

Powis Castle, Wales

Godstow Priory Burial-place of 'The Fair Rosamond'

Loch Tay

House of the Fair Maid of Perth

Abbotsford

Scott Monument, Edinburgh

INTRODUCTION

On the first day of May, 1911, we began our exploration of the 'Scott Country.' I say we, because I was accompanied by the companion of a much longer journey, of which that year was the twenty-fifth milestone. Whether from reasons of sentiment resulting from the near approach of our silver anniversary, or because of more prosaic geographical considerations, we began at the place where Walter Scott discovered that he would be likely to see more of the beauty of life if he were equipped with two pairs of eyes rather than one. This was at the village of Gilsland, in the north of England, where the poet first met the companion who was to share the joys and sorrows of the best years of his life. A pony and dogcart took us clattering up to the top of the hill, where, leaving our conveyance, we started down the glen to the banks of the river Irthing. Here the camera promptly responded to the call of a beautiful view and the first exposure was made:—a gently flowing stream of shallow water, scarcely covering the rocky bed of the river; a pleasant path along the bank, well shaded from the sun; and a slender little waterfall in the distance;—the same scene which so often met the eyes of Walter Scott and his future bride as they strolled along the stream in their 'courting' days.

This was the beginning of a tour which eventually led into nearly every county of Scotland, as far north as the Shetland Islands, and through a large part of England and Wales. We went wherever we thought we might find a beautiful or an interesting picture, connected in some way with the life of Sir Walter, or mentioned by him in some novel or poem. Knowing that he had derived his inspiration from an intimate knowledge of the country, we sought to follow his footsteps so far as possible. Months of preparation had been devoted to the work before leaving home. Every novel and poem had to be read, besides many books of reference, including, of course, Lockhart's Life, for it would not have been safe to trust to the recollections of earlier reading. Notes were made of the places to be sought, and two large maps were prepared on which I marked circles with a red pencil around all points which I thought ought to be visited, until my maps began to look as though they were suffering from a severe attack of measles. Then the route was laid out by 'centres.' The first was Carlisle, then Dumfries, Melrose, Edinburgh, Berwick, Glasgow, Stirling, Callander, the Trossachs, Oban, and so on until the entire country had been covered. From each 'centre' as a convenient point of departure we explored the country in many directions, visiting so far as possible every scene of the novels and poems that could be identified.

It was surprising to find so many of these scenes exactly as Sir Walter had described them. The mountains and valleys, the rivers, lakes, and waterfalls, the wild ruggedness of the seaside cliffs, the quaint little old-fashioned villages, the ruined castles and abbeys, all brought back memories of the romances which he had so charmingly set amidst these scenes. It was like actually living the Waverley Novels to see them. And in seeing them, we came to know, on intimate terms, Sir Walter himself; to feel the genial influence of his presence as if he were a fellow traveller, and to love him as his companions had done a century ago.

But our constant purpose was to do more than this. With the help of the camera we sought to catch something of the spirit of the scenery and to bring it home with us, in the hope that those who have never seen the 'Scott Country' might at least have a few glimpses of it, and that those who have seen all or a part of it, might find in these views a pleasant reminder of what must have been a happy experience.

There is no occasion to add at the present time to the volume of literary criticism of such well-known novels and poems as those of Scott, nor is it possible to add any material facts to his biography. This book makes no such claim. It does not attempt to retell the romances, except in so far as may be necessary to explain their connexion with the scenery or to introduce the 'original' of some well-known character. If a glimpse of the novelist's genial face is seen now and then, it is because his spirit pervades every nook and corner of bonnie Scotland, and it would be impossible for appreciative eyes to view the scenery without seeing something of the man whose genius has added so greatly to its charm.

If this book shall add to the pleasure of any of the readers of Sir Walter Scott by bringing them into the atmosphere of his novels and poems, and so a little nearer to the kindly personality of the man, its purpose will have been fulfilled.

THE COUNTRY OF SIR WALTER SCOTT