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Charles S. Olcott
The Country of Sir Walter Scott
Published by Good Press, 2019
EAN 4064066135799
Table of Contents
CHAPTER I THE 'MAKING' OF SIR WALTER
CHAPTER II THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL
CHAPTER IV THE LADY OF THE LAKE
CHAPTER VI THE BRIDAL OF TRIERMAIN
CHAPTER VII THE LORD OF THE ISLES
CHAPTER XIV THE HEART OF MIDLOTHIAN
CHAPTER XV THE BRIDE OF LAMMERMOOR
CHAPTER XVI A LEGEND OF MONTROSE
CHAPTER XXII THE FORTUNES OF NIGEL
CHAPTER XXIII PEVERIL OF THE PEAK
CHAPTER XXVII TALES OF THE CRUSADERS
CHAPTER XXIX THE FAIR MAID OF PERTH
CHAPTER XXX THE CHRONICLES OF THE CANONGATE AND OTHER TALES
CHAPTER XXXI A SUCCESSFUL LIFE
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