L'ENVOI

Heavy skies lowered above us, the landscape seen through the driving mist-wreaths showed a depressing repetition of drabs and greys as we journeyed towards Calais. But, snugly ensconced in thetrain rapide, our hearts beat high with joy, for at last were we homeward bound. The weeks of exile in the stately old town had ended. For the last time the good Sister had lit us down the worn stone steps. As we sped seawards across the bleak country, our thoughts flew back to her, and to the little room with the red cross on its casement, wherein, although our prisoners were released, another term of nursing had already begun for her. In contrast with her life of cheerful self-abnegation, ours seemed selfish, meaningless, and empty.

Dear nameless Sister! She had been an angel of mercy to us in a troublous time, and though our earthly paths may never again cross, our hearts will ever hold her memory sacred.

By the same Author

THE RECORD OF A ROUNDABOUT TOURBYMARY STUART BOYDWITH ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY SKETCHES BY A.S. BOYD

THE WORLD.—"To be able to go round the world nowadays, and write a descriptive record of the tour that is vivid and fresh is a positive literary feat. It has been successfully accomplished inOur Stolen Summerby Mrs. Boyd, who with no ulterior object in making a book journeyed over four continents in company with her husband, and picked upen routematter for one of the pleasantest, most humorous, and least pretentious books of travel we have read for many a day. It is admirably illustrated by Mr. A.S. Boyd, whose sense of humour happily matches that of his observant wife, and the reader who can lay aside this picturesque and truly delightful volume without sincere regret must have a dull and dreary mind."

PUNCH.—"Our Stolen Summeris calculated to lead to wholesale breakage of the Eighth Commandment. Certainly, my Baronite, reading the fascinating record of a roundabout tour, feels prompted to steal away. Mary Stuart Boyd, who pens the record, has the great advantage of the collaboration of A.S.B., whose signature is familiar inMr. Punch'sPicture Gallery.... A charming book."

SPECTATOR.—"The writer, by the help of a ready pen and of the pencil of a skilful illustrator, has given us in this handsome volume a number of attractive pictures of distant places.... It is good to read and pleasant to look at."

TRUTH.—"You will find no pleasanter holiday reading thanOur Stolen Summer."

ACADEMY.—"A fresh record, and worth the reading. Of such is Mrs. Boyd's volume, which her husband has illustrated profusely with spirited line drawings."

FIELD.—"One of the brightest books of travel that it has been our good fortune to read. The illustrations deserve a notice to themselves. They are far and away better than those which we usually get in books of this kind, and we do not know that we can bestow higher praise on them than to say that they are worthy of the letterpress which they illustrate."

LAND AND WATER.—"A delightful sketch of a delightful journey....Our Stolen Summeris a book which will be read with equal delight on a lazy summer holiday, or in the heart of London when the streets are enveloped in fog and the rain is beating against the window panes. Mr. Boyd's sketches are simply admirable."

SPHERE.—"A delightful record of travel. Mrs. Boyd is never dull, and there is plenty of acute observation throughout her pleasant story of travel. My Boyd's illustrations which appear on practically every page, are, it need scarcely be said, up to the high level that is already familiar to students of his black-and-white work."

LADIES' FIELD.—"A singularly delightful and unaffected book of travel."

MADAME.—"One of the most delightful books of travel it has been our good fortune to read."

MORNING POST.—"If the encouragement of globe-trotting be a virtuous action, then certainly Mrs. Stuart Boyd has deserved well of her country. To read her book is to conceive an insensate desire to be off and away on 'the long trail' at all hazards and at all costs.... Mr. Boyd's illustrations add greatly to the interest and charm of the book. There is movement, atmosphere, and sunshine in them."

STANDARD.—"Mrs. Boyd went with her husband round the world, and the latter—an artist with a sense of humour—kept his hand in practice by making droll sketches of people encountered by the way, which heighten the charm of his wife's vivacious description of aStolen Summer. Mrs. Boyd has quick eyes and an open mind, and writes with sense and sensibility."

DAILY TELEGRAPH.—"It is not so much what Mrs. Boyd has to tell as the invariable good humour and brightness with which she records even the most familiar things that makes the charm of her excellent diary."

DAILY CHRONICLE.—"Mrs. Boyd has written the log with sparkle and observation—seeing many things that the mere man-traveller would miss. Mr. Boyd's sketches are, of course, excellent."

PALL MALL GAZETTE.—"Mrs. Boyd writes with so much buoyancy, and her humour is so unexpected and unfailing, that it is safe to say that there is not a dull page from first to last in this record of a tour round the world... Mr. A.S. Boyd's numerous illustrations show him at his very best."

GLOBE.—"A work to acquire as well as to peruse."

WESTMINSTER GAZETTE.—"The narrative from beginning to end does not contain a dull page. Of Mr. Boyd's numerous sketches it is only necessary to say that they are excellent. AltogetherOur Stolen Summerwill be found to be one of the most fascinating of recent books of travel."

SUNDAY TIMES.—"Brilliantly and entertainingly written, and liberally illustrated by an acknowledged master of the art of black and white."

SCOTSMAN.—"A beautiful and fascinating book.... Pen and pencil sketches alike have grace, nerve, and humour, and are alive with human interest and observation."

GLASGOW HERALD.—"One of the most delightful travel-books of recent times.... Mrs. Boyd's volume must commend itself to people who contemplate visiting the other side of the globe and to all stay-at-home travellers as well."

DAILY FREE PRESS.—"Mrs. Boyd is an admirable descriptive writer—observant, humorous, and sympathetic. Without illustrations,Our Stolen Summerwould be a notable addition to the literature of travel; with Mr. Boyd's collaboration it is almost unique."

LEEDS MERCURY.—"Vivacious and diverting record."

YORKSHIRE DAILY POST.—"For such a book there could be nothing but praise if one wrote columns about it."

BIRMINGHAM DAILY POST.—"A singularly happy and interesting record of a most enjoyable tour."

NORTHERN WHIG.—"Shrewdness of observation, with not a little humour and a real literary gift, mark the story ofOur Stolen Summer."

THE BOOKMAN.—"Mrs. Boyd writes with so much brightness, such vivacity and picturesqueness of style, that although the volume runs to close upon four hundred pages there is not a dull page among them. The success ofOur Stolen Summer, however, is due as much to the artist as to the author; and praise must be equally divided. Mr. Boyd's sketches are spirited, clever, full of humour and sympathetic observation. Without a word of letter-press they would have formed an excellent travel-book; taken in conjunction with Mrs. Boyd's narrative they are irresistible."

LONDON AND EDINBURGH: WILLIAM BLACKWOOD & SONS

Illustrated by A.S. Boyd

BY ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSONWITH TWENTY-SEVEN PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS BY A.S. BOYD

THE TIMES.—"The characters whom Stevenson had in his mind's eye are all cleverly pictured, and the drawings may be truthfully said to illustrate the writer's ideas—a quality that seldom resides in illustrations.... All are faithfully presented as only one who has known them intimately could present them.... Mr. Boyd's talent for black-and-white work has never found happier expression."

MORNING POST.—"It is impossible to imagine anything more likely to appeal to the sentiment of the Scottish people throughout the world than this series of pictures, instinct with the spirit of their land."

DAILY TELEGRAPH.—"One of the happiest combinations of author and artist which has been seen of late years. Mr. Boyd has entered thoroughly into the spirit of the lines, and his figures are instinct with graceful humour."

DAILY CHRONICLE.—"Mr. Boyd is to be congratulated (as R. L. S. would assuredly have granted) upon interpreting so vividly a notable feature in the national life of Scotland."

ATHENAEUM.—"The task of illustrating Stevenson's verses was most difficult, because it demands from the artist knowledge of local circumstances and characteristic details. Mr. Boyd's success in making us see so plainly the moods and manners of the 'restin' ploughman' while he 'daundered' in his garden and 'raxed his limbs' is the more to be enjoyed and praised."

PALL MALL GAZETTE.—"Followers of the master will appreciate this beautiful book for its accurate interpretation of the poem as well as for its excellent drawing."

ST. JAMES'S GAZETTE.—"There is plenty of good Scotch character in the illustrations, and a quiet observation of the humours of a parish, with such annals as those recorded by Gait."

ACADEMY.—"An attractive book."

SATURDAY REVIEW.—"In saying therefore that Mr. Boyd's illustrations—there is a full page drawing for each verse—are not only worthy of the poem, but actually emphasise and define its merits, we give the book the highest possible praise. It is a volume which should be added to the library of every collector."

SPECTATOR.—"These illustrations to Mr. Stevenson's Scots poem are distinctly clever, especially in their characterisation of the various attendants at the village kirk."

SPEAKER.—"The book presents very vividly some of the aspects (both humorous and pathetic) of a Scottish rural lowland parish, and will doubtless touch a chord in the heart of Scotsmen throughout the world."

OUTLOOK.—"Many of Mr. Stevenson's admirers the world over have long desired that such a classic poem should be faithfully and adequately illustrated, and they will give a hearty welcome to this most handsome quarto."

SCOTSMAN.—"One way and another the book is wholly delightful."

GLASGOW EVENING NEWS.—"Mr. Boyd's contributions to a volume which ought to be popular with Scots in every part of the world, are full of pawky humour, and their realism is so pronounced that we seem to have known the models in the life."

DUNDEE ADVERTISER.—"This is a volume to be treasured alike for the sake of the poet, of the artist, and of that form of Scottish life which is rapidly disappearing before the march of progress."

ARBROATH HERALD.—"Mr. Boyd has represented these pictures in line sketches, which are characterised at once by the strength and confidence of a masterful draughtsman and the insight of a keen observer of character, who has long been familiar with the types presented in Stevenson's poem."

GOOD WORDS.—"Mr. Boyd has portrayed, with here and there a happy trait of grace or humour beyond the wording of the text, the very scene and people. Each of the illustrations has a charm and freshness of its own."

ART JOURNAL.—"Mr. Boyd's knowledge of Lothian peasants and their manners is as complete as Stevenson's. His drawings place in pictorial view the poet's thoughts, while they greatly enhance the descriptions by emphasising what the writer rightly left vague."

LONDON: CHATTO & WINDUS, III St. Martin's Lane

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