finding in the sweet-tempered, brave, and in some things, most
generous man, what gave at once tone and elevation to the artist, I would
fain indicate here my impressions of him and his genius--impressions that
remain almost wholly uninfluenced by the vast mass of matter about him
that the press now turns out. Books, not to speak of articles, pour
forth about him--about his style, his art, his humour and his
characters--aye, and even about his religion.

Miss Simpson follows Mr Bellyse Baildon with the _Edinburgh Days_, Miss
Moyes Black comes on with her picture in the _Famous Scots_, and
Professor Raleigh succeeds her; Mr Graham Balfour follows with his_
Life_; Mr Kelman's volume about his Religion comes next, and that is
reinforced by more familiar letters and _Table Talk_, by Lloyd Osbourne
and Mrs Strong, his step-children; Mr J. Hammerton then comes on handily
with _Stevensoniana_--fruit lovingly gathered from many and far fields,
and garnered with not a little tact and taste, and catholicity; Miss
Laura Stubbs then presents us with her touching _Stevenson's Shrine_:
_the Record of a Pilgrimage_; and Mr Sidney Colvin is now busily at work
on his _Life of Stevenson_, which must do not a little to enlighten and
to settle many questions.

Curiosity and interest grow as time passes; and the places connected with
Stevenson, hitherto obscure many of them, are now touched with light if
not with romance, and are known, by name at all events, to every reader
of books. Yes; every place he lived in, or touched at, is worthy of full
description if only on account of its associations with him. If there is
not a land of Stevenson, as there is a land of Scott, or of Burns, it is
due to the fact that he was far-travelled, and in his works painted many
scenes: but there are at home--Edinburgh, and Halkerside and Allermuir,
Caerketton, Swanston, and Colinton, and Maw Moss and Rullion Green and
Tummel, "the _wale_ of Scotland," as he named it to me, and the
Castletown of Braemar--Braemar in his view coming a good second to
Tummel, for starting-points to any curious worshipper who would go the
round in Scotland and miss nothing. Mr Geddie's work on _The Home
Country of Stevenson_ may be found very helpful here.

1. It is impossible to separate Stevenson from his work, because of the
imperious personal element in it; and so I shall not now strive to gain
the appearance of cleverness by affecting any distinction here. The
first t