Last week, I waved Lady Margaret Montagu Douglas Scott off on the voyage across the Atlantic which would take her back to Scotland. Having graced us with her presence for five years, she is now returning to her ancestral home. I am sure that I am not the only one who will miss her.

Lady Margaret delighted readers with her monthly journal in this periodical. While many incomers to the Metropolis insist that they intend to immerse themselves in the city, what they actually mean is that they intend to play the tourist and see all the sights. They consider themselves true New Yorkers if they have waited in line at Delmonico’s or braved a ride on a streetcar, but they do not seek out the Gotham beyond their guide-books, which is precisely what Lady Margaret did—and more! Not content with joining the crowds on the ferry to Coney Island in the heat of August, she went sea-bathing in a hired suit. Though she never managed to prefer coffee to tea in the morning, she was happy to sample the many and varied cuisines this city offers, from baked beans and succotash to pumpkin pie; oyster stew; and her favourite, beer with sauerkraut and smoked German sausage.

Lady Margaret’s desire to explore all aspects of the city took her to places where few people venture, tourists or residents alike, and it is in the infamous Five Points district where she has left her most enduring legacy. The Children’s Sanctuary which she worked so tirelessly to establish has been extended several times since it was opened almost two years ago, and the model is now being replicated in other needy areas of the city.

“I would do almost anything to make a child smile,” Lady Margaret told me not once but several times, when the battle to fund her Sanctuary looked to be lost. It is to her great credit that she fought on, and the battle was eventually won against the odds.

On a personal note, I will miss my friend and her sparkling company very much. She will be a huge loss to the Sanctuary, and to Five Points, but she will also be missed in the mansions of Fifth Avenue. I do not doubt that her natural curiosity, her innate kindness, and her irrepressible spirit will lead her to fight new causes in her homeland.

Will she triumph? Readers will be delighted to know that Lady Margaret is not entirely lost to us. Her “Journal of a New Yorker Returning to Her Roots” will debut in next month’s issue. I am sure I am not alone in looking forward to it immensely.

Chapter Forty-Three

Chapter Forty-Three

Scottish Highlands, Thursday, 11 September 1873