9. Melrose Abbey from the Meadows 106 10. Jedburgh Abbey 112 11. Leaderfoot Bridge 122 12. The Eildon Hills and River Tweed 134 13. Chiefswood 140 14. The Garden, Abbotsford 160 15. Sir Walter's Dial, Abbotsford 172 16. Sir Walter Scott's Desk and 'Elbow-chair' in the Study, Abbotsford 178 17. The Entrance Hall, Abbotsford 200 18. The Dining-room, Abbotsford 204 19. Dryburgh Abbey 216 20. Kelso Abbey and Bridge 218 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER I INTRODUCTORY Last year (1904) no fewer than seven thousand persons from all parts of the world visited Abbotsford.[1] There is no diminution in the annual pilgrimage to this chief shrine of the Border Country, nor is there likely to be. Scott's name, and that of Abbotsford, are secure enough in the affections of men everywhere. Whilst many would rejoice to see Sir Walter's home on a different footing from a patriotic point of view--less of a shilling show-house for one thing--there is no reason to quarrel with the present arrangements, which, likely enough, are the best under existing conditions. The order of viewing the various rooms, however, might well be improved, the public permitted to linger over them a little more leisurely, and also to see something of the exterior of the building. That many ardent Scott worshippers who flock yearly to Abbotsford would welcome a more ample opportunity for study and reflection within its charmed enclosure goes without saying. Of course, as being still a private residence, there are obvious difficulties in the way of such easier access. But probably that may come by-and-by. The best preparation for a visit to Abbotsford is a course of Lockhart. There is no more faithful account of the place, from its purchase to the high-water mark of Scott's happiness there and the troubled years preceding the end. From at least 1820, and irrespective of his London life, Lockhart was Scott's companion and confidant at Abbotsford. Seldom has the fellowship of letters shown a friendship so strong and true. It was sympathy other than that of a son-in-law which Lockhart brought to the writing of his great Biography, and which has made it one of the masterpieces of literature. Never, surely, was a great man more fortunate in his life-story than Scott at the hands of Lockhart, one of the most maligned and misunderstood men of his day, indeed, but a kindly, lovable soul withal. To understand Abbotsford, it is a necessity that one should study the life of its originator and owner, with whose name, notwithstanding any subsequent occupation, the 'romance in stone and lime' is indissolubly connected.