# Mr. Samuel Johnson — Midwinter character guide

> Mr. Samuel Johnson in Midwinter by John Buchan.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Johnson, Mr. Johnson, Samuel, Sam

**First appearance:** 0003-i-in-which-a-highland-gentleman-misses-his-way

## Snapshot

A learned, opinionated Englishman whose company Alastair takes for protection on the road north, and whose judgments on women and duty cut deeper than any sword.

## Who they are

Johnson is the travelling companion and moral counterweight to Alastair's soldierly impulses, a man whose learning gives him confident verdicts on everything from loyalty to love. His pronouncement that some women give once in life and then utterly and forever haunts Alastair at the very moment he must decide whether to shatter a heart or save it. As the pair ride through fog and flood toward Derby, Johnson's presence keeps the story's private dilemmas as urgent as its political ones.

## In the story

### [III: In Which Private Matters Cut Across Affairs of State](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/midwinter_se/chapters/iii-in-which-private-matters-cut-across-affairs-of-state)

Arrives at Cornbury exhausted and hungry, urgently pleading for help to rescue Miss Grevel from Sir John Norreys; reveals his identity as a poet and writer.

### [Mr. Kyd of Greyhouses](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/midwinter_se/chapters/iv-mr-kyd-of-greyhouses)

Mentioned by Mr. Kyd as the 'daft dominie' met at Cornbury, who wanted to chase a runaway lassie.

### [V: Chance-Medley](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/midwinter_se/chapters/v-chance-medley)

The tutor of Chastlecote, who defends Alastair and himself by challenging the ringleader to a fistfight, proving his Englishness.

### [VI: Introduces the Runaway Lady](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/midwinter_se/chapters/vi-introduces-the-runaway-lady)

Arrested alongside Alastair; released through Lady Norreys' intervention.

### [How a Man May Hunt with the Hounds and Yet Run with the Hare](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/midwinter_se/chapters/vii-how-a-man-may-hunt-with-the-hounds-and-yet-run-with-the-hare)

Mentioned as Lady Norreys' companion and protector on her planned journey to Derbyshire.

### [Broom at the Crossroads](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/midwinter_se/chapters/viii-broom-at-the-crossroads)

Mentioned as having made accusations against Kyd at Cornbury, which now appear justified.

### [X: Snowbound at the Sleeping Deer](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/midwinter_se/chapters/x-snowbound-at-the-sleeping-deer)

Suffers a melancholic fit after the previous night's exhilaration, discusses Homeric chiefs and the Jacobite cause with Lady Norreys.

### [Duchess Kitty on the Road](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/midwinter_se/chapters/xiv-duchess-kitty-on-the-road)

Present at the Sleeping Deer and will accompany the Duchess to Brightwell.

### [XV: Bids Farewell to a Scots Laird](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/midwinter_se/chapters/xv-bids-farewell-to-a-scots-laird)

Denounces Kyd as a 'canting rogue' and delivers a famous rebuke about patriotism.

### [XVI: Bids Farewell to an English Lady](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/midwinter_se/chapters/xvi-bids-farewell-to-an-english-lady)

Pleads with Alastair to save Lady Norreys from the shame of her husband's treason; argues she would never love again if she lost Sir John.

### [XVII: Ordeal of Honour](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/midwinter_se/chapters/xvii-ordeal-of-honour)

Accompanies Alastair, pleads with him to go to Derby instead, and witnesses the duel with emotional intensity.

### [In Which Three Gentlemen Confess Their Nakedness](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/midwinter_se/chapters/xviii-in-which-three-gentlemen-confess-their-nakedness)

Confesses his nakedness: poor, ill-favored, and harassed by bodily affliction. Admits fear of death and declares he will get a sword and fight for the Prince, though Alastair forbids it.

### [Ramoth-Gilead](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/midwinter_se/chapters/xix-ramoth-gilead)

Reluctantly parts from Alastair, keeps his sword as a memento, and is prevented by Oglethorpe from crossing into Scotland.

### [Postscript](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/midwinter_se/chapters/postscript)

Writes a letter from Gough Square in 1748, repaying a loan and reflecting on their shared Odyssey; working on his great dictionary.

### [Endnotes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/midwinter_se/chapters/endnotes)

Subject of the referenced biography.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/midwinter_se/characters/mr_johnson
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/midwinter_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/midwinter_se/characters