NOVELS BY
JOHN BUCHAN
THE THIRTY-NINE STEPS
GREENMANTLE
MR. STANDFAST
THE PATH OF THE KING
HUNTINGTOWER
MIDWINTER
THE THREE HOSTAGES
JOHN MACNAB
THE DANCING FLOOR
ALSO
THE HALF-HEARTED
THE MOON ENDURETH
Tales and Fancies.
HODDER AND STOUGHTON LTD.
Publishers London, E.C.4
CERTAIN TRAVELLERS IN
OLD ENGLAND
BY
JOHN BUCHAN
HODDER AND STOUGHTON
LIMITED LONDON
First Printed, August 1923
Reprinted, September 1923
Reprinted, October 1923
Reprinted, November 1923
Reprinted, December 1923
Reprinted, May 1924
This Edition First Printed, December 1924
Reprinted, February 1925
Reprinted, April 1927
Made and Printed in Great Britain.
Hazell, Watson & Viney, Ld., London and Aylesbury.
Dedication
TO
VERNON WATNEY
We two confess twin loyalties—
Wychwood beneath the April skies
Is yours, and many a scented road
That winds in June by Evenlode.
Not less when autumn fires the brake,
Yours the deep heath by Fannich's lake,
The corries where the dun deer roar
And eagles wheel above Sgurr Mór.
So I, who love with equal mind
The southern sun, the northern wind,
The lilied lowland water-mead
And the grey hills that cradle Tweed,
Bring you this tale which haply tries
To intertwine our loyalties.
Last year my friend, Mr Sebastian Derwent,on becoming senior partner of the reputablefirm of solicitors which bears his name, instituteda very drastic clearing out of cupboardsand shelves in the old house in Lincoln'sInn Fields. Among a mass of derelict papers—cancelleddeeds, mouldy files of correspondence,copies of pleadings in cases long agoforgotten—there was one little bundle whichmystified him, since it had no apparent relationto the practice of the law. He summonedme to dinner, and, with our chairs drawn upto a bright fire and a decanter of his famousbrown sherry between us, we discussed itsantecedents.
First there was a document of three quartopages, which appeared to be a fair copy ina scrivener's hand. It started and finishedabruptly, so we judged it to be a portion of alarger work. Then came a long ill-writtenmanuscript, partly in a little volume of whichthe clasp and lock had been broken, and partlyon loose paper which seemed to have been tornfrom the beginnings and ends of printedbooks. The paper had no watermark thatwe could discover, but its quality suggestedthe eighteenth century. Last there was abundle of letters in various hands, all neatlydocketed and dated. Mr Derwent entrustedme with the papers, for certain words andphrases in the quarto sheets had stirred myinterest. After considerable study I discoveredthat the packet contained a story,obscure in parts, but capable of being told withsome pretence of continuity.
First for the matter copied by the amanuensis.It was clearly a fragment, intendedby the compiler to form part of a