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but　it's　interesting；　and　very　interesting；　in　itself；　and　just　now　

very　embarrassing　…　this　rural　parish　supplied　Glasgow　with　such　a　

quantity　of　Stevensons　in　the　beginning　of　last　century！　　There　is　

just　a　link　wanting；　and　we　might　be　able　to　go　back　to　the　

eleventh　century；　always　undistinguished；　but　clearly　traceable。　　

When　I　say　just　a　link；　I　guess　I　may　be　taken　to　mean　a　dozen。　　

What　a　singular　thing　is　this　undistinguished　perpetuation　of　a　

family　throughout　the　centuries；　and　the　sudden　bursting　forth　of　

character　and　capacity　that　began　with　our　grandfather！　　But　as　I　

go　on　in　life；　day　by　day；　I　become　more　of　a　bewildered　child；　I　

cannot　get　used　to　this　world；　to　procreation；　to　heredity；　to　

sight；　to　hearing；　the　commonest　things　are　a　burthen。　　The　prim　

obliterated　polite　face　of　life；　and　the　broad；　bawdy；　and　

orgiastic　…　or　maenadic　…　foundations；　form　a　spectacle　to　which　no　

habit　reconciles　me；　and　'I　could　wish　my　days　to　be　bound　each　to　

each'　by　the　same　open…mouthed　wonder。　　They　ARE　anyway；　and　

whether　I　wish　it　or　not。



I　remember　very　well　your　attitude　to　life；　this　conventional　

surface　of　it。　　You　had　none　of　that　curiosity　for　the　social　stage　

directions；　the　trivial　FICELLES　of　the　business；　it　is　simian；　but　

that　is　how　the　wild　youth　of　man　is　captured；　you　wouldn't　

imitate；　hence　you　kept　free　…　a　wild　dog；　outside　the　kennel　…　and　

came　dam'　near　starving　for　your　pains。　　The　key　to　the　business　is　

of　course　the　belly；　difficult　as　it　is　to　keep　that　in　view　in　the　

zone　of　three　miraculous　meals　a　day　in　which　we　were　brought　up。　　

Civilisation　has　become　reflex　with　us；　you　might　think　that　hunger　

was　the　name　of　the　best　sauce；　but　hunger　to　the　cold　solitary　

under　a　bush　of　a　rainy　night　is　the　name　of　something　quite　

different。　　I　defend　civilisation　for　the　thing　it　is；　for　the　

thing　it　has　COME　to　be；　the　standpoint　of　a　real　old　Tory。　　My　

ideal　would　be　the　Female　Clan。　　But　how　can　you　turn　these　

crowding　dumb　multitudes　BACK？　　They　don't　do　anything　BECAUSE；　

they　do　things；　write　able　articles；　stitch　shoes；　dig；　from　the　

purely　simian　impulse。　　Go　and　reason　with　monkeys！



No；　I　am　right　about　Jean　Lillie。　　Jean　Lillie；　our　double　great…

grandmother；　the　daughter　of　David　Lillie；　sometime　Deacon　of　the　

Wrights；　married；　first；　Alan　Stevenson；　who　died　May　26；　1774；　'at　

Santt　Kittes　of　a　fiver；'　by　whom　she　had　Robert　Stevenson；　born　

8th　June　1772；　and；　second；　in　May　or　June　1787；　Thomas　Smith；　a　

widower；　and　already　the　father　of　our　grandmother。　　This　

improbable　double　connection　always　tends　to　confuse　a　student　of　

the　family；　Thomas　Smith　being　doubly　our　great…grandfather。



I　looked　on　the　perpetuation　of　our　honoured　name　with　veneration。　　

My　mother　collared　one　of　the　photos；　of　course；　the　other　is　stuck　

up　on　my　wall　as　the　chief　of　our　sept。　　Do　you　know　any　of　the　

Gaelic…Celtic　sharps？　you　might　ask　what　the　name　means。　　It　

puzzles　me。　　I　find　a　M'STEIN　and　a　MACSTEPHANE；　and　our　own　great…

grandfather　always　called　himself　Steenson；　though　he　wrote　it　

Stevenson。　　There　are　at　least　three　PLACES　called　Stevenson　…　

STEVENSON　in　Cunningham；　STEVENSON　in　Peebles；　and　STEVENSON　in　

Haddington。　　And　it　was　not　the　Celtic　trick；　I　understand；　to　call　

places　after　people。　　I　am　going　to　write　to　Sir　Herbert　Maxwell　

about　the　name；　but　you　might　find　some　one。



Get　the　Anglo…Saxon　heresy　out　of　your　head；　they　superimposed　

their　language；　they　scarce　modified　the　race；　only　in　Berwickshire　

and　Roxburgh　have　they　very　largely　affected　the　place　names。　　The　

Scandinavians　did　much　more　to　Scotland　than　the　Angles。　　The　

Saxons　didn't　come。



Enough　of　this　sham　antiquarianism。　　Yes；　it　is　in　the　matter　of　

the　book；　of　course；　that　collaboration　shows；　as　for　the　manner；　

it　is　superficially　all　mine；　in　the　sense　that　the　last　copy　is　

all　in　my　hand。　　Lloyd　did　not　even　put　pen　to　paper　in　the　Paris　

scenes　or　the　Barbizon　scene；　it　was　no　good；　he　wrote　and　often　

rewrote　all　the　rest；　I　had　the　best　service　from　him　on　the　

character　of　Nares。　　You　see；　we　had　been　just　meeting　the　man；　and　

his　memory　was　full　of　the　man's　words　and　ways。　　And　Lloyd　is　an　

impressionist；　pure　and　simple。　　The　great　difficulty　of　

collaboration　is　that　you　can't　explain　what　you　mean。　　I　know　what　

kind　of　effect　I　mean　a　character　to　give　…　what　kind　of　TACHE　he　

is　to　make；　but　how　am　I　to　tell　my　collaborator　in　words？　　Hence　

it　was　necessary　to　say；　'Make　him　So…and…so'；　and　this　was　all　

right　for　Nares　and　Pinkerton　and　Loudon　Dodd；　whom　we　both　knew；　

but　for　Bellairs；　for　instance　…　a　man　with　whom　I　passed　ten　

minutes　fifteen　years　ago　…　what　was　I　to　say？　and　what　could　Lloyd　

do？　　I；　as　a　personal　artist；　can　begin　a　character　with　only　a　

haze　in　my　head；　but　how　if　I　have　to　translate　the　haze　into　words　

before　I　begin？　　In　our　manner　of　collaboration　（which　I　think　the　

only　possible　…　I　mean　that　of　one　person　being　responsible；　and　

giving　the　COUP　DE　POUCE　to　every　part　of　the　work）　I　was　spared　

the　obviously　hopeless　business　of　trying　to　explain　to　my　

collaborator　what　STYLE　I　wished　a　passage　to　be　treated　in。　　These　

are　the　times　that　illustrate　to　a　man　the　inadequacy　of　spoken　

language。　　Now　…　to　be　just　to　written　language　…　I　can　（or　could）　

find　a　language　for　my　every　mood；　but　how　could　I　TELL　any　one　

beforehand　what　this　effect　was　to　be；　which　it　would　take　every　

art　that　I　possessed；　and　hours　and　hours　of　deliberate　labour　and　

selection　and　rejection；　to　produce？　　These　are　the　impossibilities　

of　collaboration。　　Its　immediate　advantage　is　to　focus　two　minds　

together　on　the　stuff；　and　to　produce　in　consequence　an　

extraordinarily　greater　richness　of　purview；　consideration；　and　

invention。　　The　hardest　chapter　of　all　was　'Cross　Questions　and　

Crooked　Answers。'　　You　would　not　believe　what　that　cost　us　before　

it　assumed　the　least　unity　and　colour。　　Lloyd　wrote　it　at　least　

thrice；　and　I　at　least　five　times　…　this　is　from　memory。　　And　was　

that　last　chapter　worth　the　trouble　it　cost？　　Alas；　that　I　should　

ask　the　question！　　Two　classes　of　men　…　the　artist　and　the　

educationalist　…　are　sworn；　on　soul　and　conscience；　not　to　ask　it。　　

You　get　an　ordinary；　grinning；　red…headed　boy；　and　you　have　to　

educate　him。　　Faith　supports　you；　you　give　your　valuable　hours；　the　

boy　does　not　seem　to　profit；　but　that　way　your　duty　lies；　for　which　

you　are　paid；　and　you　must　persevere。　　Education　has　always　seemed　

to　me　one　of　the　few　possible　and　dignified　ways　of　life。　　A　

sailor；　a　shepherd；　a　schoolmaster　…　to　a　less　degree；　a　soldier　…　

and　（I　don't　know　why；　upon　my　soul；　except　as　a　sort　of　

schoolmaster's　unofficial　assistant；　and　a　kind　of　acrobat　in　

tights）　an　artist；　almost　exhaust　the　category。



If　I　had　to　begin　again　…　I　know　not　…　SI　JEUNESSE　SAVAIT；　SI　

VIEILLESSE　POUVAIT　。　。　。　I　know　not　at　all　…　I　believe　I　should　try　

to　honour　Sex　more　religiously。　　The　worst　of　our　education　is　that　

Christianity　does　not　recognise　and　hallow　Sex。　　It　looks　askance　

at　it；　over　its　shoulder；　oppressed　as　it　is　by　reminiscences　of　

hermits　and　Asiatic　self…tortures。　　It　is　a　terrible　hiatus　in　our　

modern　religions　that　they　cannot　see　and　make　venerable　that　which　

they　ought　to　see　first　and　hallow　most。　　Well；　it　is　so；　I　cannot　

be　wiser　than　my　generation。



But　no　doubt　there　is　something　great　in　the　half…success　that　has　

attended　the　effort　of　turning　into　an　emotional　religion；　Bald　

Conduct；　without　any　appeal；　or　almost　none；　to　the　figurative；　

mysterious；　and　constitutive　facts　of　life。　　Not　that　conduct　is　

not　constitutive；　but　dear！　it's　dreary！　　On　the　whole；　conduct　is　

better　dealt　with　on　the　cast…iron　'gentleman'　and　duty　formula；　

with　as　little　fervour　and　poetry　as　possible；　stoical　and　short。



。　。　。　There　is　a　new　something　or　other　in　the　wind；　which　

exercises　me　hugely：　　anarchy；　…　I　mean；　anarchism。　　People　who　

（for　pity's　sake）　commit　dastardly　murders　very　basely；　die　like　

saints；　and　leave　beautiful　letters　behind　'em　（did　you　see　

Vaillant　to　his　daughter？　it　was　the　New　Testament　over　again）；　

people　whose　conduct　is　inexplicable　to　me；　and　yet　their　spiritual　

life　higher　than　that　of　most。　　This　is　just　what　the　early　

Christians　must　have　seemed　to　the　Romans。　　Is　this；　then；　a　new　

DRIVE　among　the　monkeys？　　Mind　you；　Bob；　if　they　go　on　being　

martyred　a　few　years　more；　the　gross；　dull；　not　unkindly　bourgeois　

may　get　tired　or　ashamed　or　afraid　of　going　on　martyring；　and　the　

anarchists　come　out　at　the　top　just　like　the　early　Christians。　　

That　is；　of　course；　they　will　step　into　power　as　a　PERSONNEL；　but　

God　knows　what　they　may　believe　when　they　come　to　do　so；　it　can't　

be　stranger　or　more　improbable　than　what　Christianity　had　come　to　

be　by　the　same　time。



Yo