rs as unfailing as ever. Several things
happened during the year to give him peculiar pleasure: first, at the
beginning of the year, the news of Mr. Baxter's carefully prepared
scheme of the Edinburgh Edition, and of its acceptance by the publishers
concerned. On this subject much correspondence naturally passed between
him and Mr. Baxter and myself, over and above that which is here
published; and finally he resolved to leave all the details of the
execution to us. By the early autumn the financial success of the scheme
was fully assured and made known to him by cable; but he did not seem
altogether to realise the full measure of relief from money anxieties
which the assurance was meant to convey to him. Other pleasurable
circumstances were the return of Mr. Graham Balfour after a prolonged
absence; the visit of a spirited and accomplished young English man of
business and of letters, Mr. Sidney Lysaght (see below, pp. 385, 388,
etc.); and the frequent society of the officers of H.M.S. _Curacoa_,
with whom he was on terms of particular regard and cordiality. Lastly,
he was very deeply touched and gratified by the action of the native
political prisoners, towards whom he had shown much thoughtful kindness
during their months of detention, in volunteering as a testimony of
gratitude after their release to re-make with their own hands the branch
road leading to his house: "the Road of Loving Hearts," as it came to be
christened. Soon afterwards, the anniversaries of his own birthday and
of the American Thanks-giving feast brought evidences hardly less
welcome, after so much contention and annoyance as the island affairs
and politics had involved him in, of the honour and affection in which
he was held by all that was best in the white community. By each
succeeding mail came stronger proofs from home of the manner in which
men of letters of the younger generation had come to regard him as a
master, an example, and a friend.

But in spite of all these causes of pleasure, his letters showed that
his old invincible spirit of inward cheerfulness was beginning not
infrequently to give way to moods of depression and overstrained
feeling. The importunity of these moods was no doubt due to some
physical premonition that his vital powers, so frail from the cradle and
always with so cheerful a courage overtaxed, were near exhaustion.
During the first months of the year he attempted little writing; in the
late spring and early summer