could he have foreseen that an Englishman who followed on his steps one hundred and sixteen years later would be shown at New Hailes, at Rasay, and at Dunvegan, "Dr. Johnson's Chamber." At Rasay is preserved his walking-stick—not the famous "piece of timber" which was destined for some museum, but was stolen or lost in Mull but one which he had occasionally used. In his bedroom an engraving of him hangs on the wall. The china tea-set out of which he had drunk is preserved by a descendant of the laird who was his host. At Dunvegan his portrait is set up in a post of honour in the noble drawing-room of the famous old castle, and his autograph letter to Macleod of Macleod rests among the ancient memorials of that still more ancient family. That it is endorsed "Dr. Johnston's Letter" may be twisted into a compliment. So popular was he that his very name was "Scottified."
In many places I found traditions of him still remaining—some, no doubt, true; others false. But whether false or true, by their vitality they show the deep mark which the man made as he passed along. In Glenmorison there are countryfolk who profess to know by the report of their forefathers the "clear rivulet" in "the narrow valley, not very flowery but sufficiently verdant," where Johnson reposed on "a bank such as a writer of romance might have delighted to feign, and first conceived the thought of the narration" of his tour.[1] In a farmhouse on Loch Duich, just below the mountain which exhausted his patience and good-humour, and nearly exhausted his strength, I was told of the speech which he made as he reached the top of the pass. "He turned as he was beginning the descent and said to the mountain, 'Good-bye, Ma'am Rattachan, I hope never to see your face again.'"[2] From Rasay a friendly correspondent wrote to tell me how the great man had climbed up Dun Can, the highest mountain in the island, and had danced on the top. I have pointed out that it was Boswell and not Johnson who performed this feat, but the tradition, doubtless, will linger on. At Dunvegan Miss Macleod of Macleod, who remembers her grandmother, Johnson's hostess, and her aunts, "the four daughters, who knew all the arts of southern elegance, and all the modes of English economy,"[3] has preserved some traditions more worthy of trust.
