"The Dru id's ' ' En du ra n ce. 329 



path, and interposed between yourself and 

 your inn. 



" However, the book is done — after many 

 interruptions from illness and other causes — 

 and I seemed to breathe freely once more, 

 when I signed the last proof sheet. I can 

 only trust that it may prove to be the scarlet 

 pioneer of a still more extended tour through 

 England, Ireland, and a portion of the Con- 

 tinent ; but go where I may, every August 

 will bring with it the old yearning to cross 

 the Tweed, and all the pleasant memories 

 of my journey from the Orkneys to Ken- 

 sington with punctuality and dispatch." 



This pilgrimage from the Orkneys to Ken- 

 sington " The Druid " accomplished, but it 

 must be added at the cost of his life. Well 

 does his wife remember that terrible home- 

 coming at 11 p.m. in a blinding snow-storm. 

 He rang feebly at the door of his house in 

 Kensington Square, so utterly exhausted that 

 on the servant opening the door he fell into 

 the passage; the " garron " which he was 

 leading escaped into the square, and was 

 caught by the maid servant, and housed in 

 a shed for the night. On "The Druid's" 



