London to John O 1 Groat's. 411 



of my arrival at this extreme goal of my walk, aiid a 

 full hour in poring over the visitors' book, in which 

 there were names from all countries in Christendom 

 and also impressions and observations in prose, poetry, 

 English, French, Latin, German and other languages. 

 Many of the comments thus recorded intimated some 

 dissatisfaction that John O'Groat's House was so 

 mythical; that so much had to be supplied by the 

 imagination ; that not even a stone of the foundation 

 remained in its place to assist fancy to erect the build- 

 ing into a positive fact of history. But they all bore 

 full and sometimes fervid testimony to the good cheer 

 of the inn at the hands of the landlady. There was 

 one record which blended loyalty to palate and 

 patriotism " The Roast Beef of Old England " and 

 " God save the Queen " rather amusingly. A party 

 wrote their impressions after this manner " Visited 

 John O'Groat's House ; found little to see ; came back 

 tired and hungry ; walked into a couple of tender 

 chickens and a good piece of bacon : God save Mrs. 

 Manson and all the Eoyal Family ! " This concluding 

 " sentiment" was doubtless sincere and honest, although 

 it involved a question of precedence in the rank of 

 two feelings which John the Dutchman could have 

 hardly settled by his eight-angled plan of adjustment. 

 The next morning, for the first time for nearly three 



