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} - - div.clearpage, div.cleardoublepage - { margin: 10% 0; border: none; border-top: 1px solid gray; } - - .vfill { margin: 5% 10% } -} - -@media print { - div.clearpage { page-break-before: always; padding-top: 10% } - div.cleardoublepage { page-break-before: right; padding-top: 10% } - - .vfill { margin-top: 20% } - h2.title { margin-top: 20% } -} - -/* DIV */ -pre { font-family: monospace; font-size: 0.9em; white-space: pre-wrap } -</style> -<title>EDINBURGH UNDER SIR WALTER SCOTT</title> -<meta name="PG.Rights" content="Public Domain" /> -<meta name="PG.Producer" content="Al Haines" /> -<meta name="DC.Title" content="Edinburgh Under Sir Walter Scott" /> -<meta name="DC.Created" content="1906" /> -<meta name="PG.Released" content="2014-12-09" /> -<meta name="MARCREL.aui" content="R. S. Rait" /> -<meta name="DC.Language" content="en" /> -<link rel="coverpage" href="images/img-cover.jpg" /> -<meta name="PG.Title" content="Edinburgh Under Sir Walter Scott" /> -<meta name="DC.Creator" content="W. T. Fyfe" /> -<meta name="PG.Id" content="47617" /> - -<link rel="schema.DCTERMS" href="http://purl.org/dc/terms/" /> -<link rel="schema.MARCREL" href="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators/" /> -<meta content="Edinburgh Under Sir Walter Scott" name="DCTERMS.title" /> -<meta content="/home/ajhaines/edin/edin.rst" name="DCTERMS.source" /> -<meta content="en" scheme="DCTERMS.RFC4646" name="DCTERMS.language" /> -<meta content="2014-12-10T04:06:23.574005+00:00" scheme="DCTERMS.W3CDTF" name="DCTERMS.modified" /> -<meta content="Project Gutenberg" name="DCTERMS.publisher" /> -<meta content="Public Domain in the USA." name="DCTERMS.rights" /> -<link rel="DCTERMS.isFormatOf" href="http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/47617" /> -<meta content="W. T. Fyfe" name="DCTERMS.creator" /> -<meta content="R. S. Rait" name="MARCREL.aui" /> -<meta content="2014-12-09" scheme="DCTERMS.W3CDTF" name="DCTERMS.created" /> -<meta content="width=device-width" name="viewport" /> -<meta content="Ebookmaker 0.4.0a5 by Marcello Perathoner <webmaster@gutenberg.org>" name="generator" /> -</head> -<body> -<div class="document" id="edinburgh-under-sir-walter-scott"> -<h1 class="center document-title level-1 pfirst title"><span class="x-large">EDINBURGH UNDER SIR WALTER SCOTT</span></h1> - -<!-- this is the default PG-RST stylesheet --> -<!-- figure and image styles for non-image formats --> -<!-- default transition --> -<!-- default attribution --> -<!-- -*- encoding: utf-8 -*- --> -<div class="clearpage"> -</div> -<!-- -*- encoding: utf-8 -*- --> -<div class="align-None container language-en pgheader" id="pg-header" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span>This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States -and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no -restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it -under the terms of the </span><a class="reference internal" href="#project-gutenberg-license">Project Gutenberg License</a><span> included with -this ebook or online at </span><a class="reference external" href="http://www.gutenberg.org/license">http://www.gutenberg.org/license</a><span>. If you -are not located in the United States, you'll have to check the laws -of the country where you are located before using this ebook.</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<div class="align-None container" id="pg-machine-header"> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span>Title: Edinburgh Under Sir Walter Scott -<br /> -<br />Author: W. T. Fyfe -<br /> -<br />Release Date: December 09, 2014 [EBook #47617] -<br /> -<br />Language: English -<br /> -<br />Character set encoding: UTF-8</span></p> -</div> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst" id="pg-start-line"><span>*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK </span><span>EDINBURGH UNDER SIR WALTER SCOTT</span><span> ***</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst" id="pg-produced-by"><span>Produced by Al Haines.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span></span></p> -</div> -<div class="align-None container titlepage"> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="bold xx-large">EDINBURGH</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="x-large">UNDER SIR WALTER SCOTT</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="medium">BY</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="large">W. T. FYFE</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="medium">WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="large">R. S. RAIT</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="medium">LONDON -<br />ARCHIBALD CONSTABLE -<br />AND COMPANY, LTD. -<br />1906</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -</div> -<div class="align-None container verso"> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="small">Edinburgh: T. and A. CONSTABLE, Printers to His Majesty</span></p> -</div> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="introduction"><span class="bold large">INTRODUCTION</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>In the end of the eighteenth century and the beginning -of the nineteenth—from, approximately, the death of -Samuel Johnson in 1784 to that of Walter Scott in -1832—Edinburgh, rather than London, was the intellectual -centre of the kingdom. It would, of course, be easy to -show that London has never lacked illustrious men of -letters among her citizens, and, in this very period, the -names of Sheridan, Bentham, Blake, Lamb, and Keats -at once occur to memory as evidence against our thesis. -It must also be admitted that Edinburgh shares some of -her great names with London, and that many of the -writers of the time are associated with neither capital. -The name of William Cowper recalls the village of -Olney; the English Lakes claim their great poets; and -Byron and Shelley call to mind Greece and Italy, as, -in the earlier part of our period, Gibbon is identified -with Lausanne. But the Edinburgh society which -Scott remembered in his youth or met in his prime -included a long series of remarkable men. Some of -them, like Robertson the historian; Hugh Blair; John -Home, the author of </span><em class="italics">Douglas</em><span>; Henry Mackenzie, 'The -Man of Feeling'; John Leyden; Dugald Stewart; and -John Wilson, 'Christopher North,' were more or less -permanent residents. Others, like Adam Smith, -Thomas Campbell, Lady Nairne, Thomas De Quincey, -Sir James Mackintosh, and Sydney Smith, spent a -smaller portion of their lives in Edinburgh. Not only -was the city full of great writers; it produced also a -series of great publishers—the Constables and the -Blackwoods. The influence of the </span><em class="italics">Edinburgh Review</em><span> -can scarcely be realised in these days of numberless -periodicals, and it was from Edinburgh that its great -rival, the </span><em class="italics">Quarterly</em><span>, drew much of its early support, -and one of its great editors, John Gibson Lockhart. -Edinburgh, moreover, was still a national metropolis, -for the railway systems had not yet brought about the -real union of England and Scotland, and it possessed a -society not less distinctively Scots than the Established -Church or the code of law. The judges who administered -that law add still further to the interest of the -scene. Some were men of great intellectual force, -whose names still live in the history of English thought. -Lord Hailes, the antagonist of Gibbon, and Lord Monboddo, -who, in some sense, anticipated a discovery of -Mr. Darwin, lived on to the close of the eighteenth -century, and, in the early nineteenth, their reputation -was sustained by Lord Woodhouselee, Lord Jeffrey, -and Lord Cockburn. Others of the judges were notable -for force of character, like Lord Braxfield, now familiar -as 'Weir of Hermiston,' or for mere eccentricity, like -Lord Eskgrove, one of the strangest beings who ever -added to the gaiety of mankind.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The natural centre of this remarkable society is the -great figure of Sir Walter Scott, who dominated -Edinburgh during a large portion of the period, and the -story of whose life has made so many Edinburgh names -household words for all time. Lockhart's </span><em class="italics">Life of Scott</em><span> -gives an interesting, though by no means a complete, -picture of this society. There are many other sources -of information: the </span><em class="italics">Scots Magazine</em><span>, the </span><em class="italics">Annual -Register</em><span>, and so forth. Most important of all are the -autobiographies of Alexander Carlyle and Lord -Cockburn, two books which it is becoming more and more -difficult to obtain. 'Jupiter' Carlyle of Inveresk was -born in 1722, and lived until 1805. He could thus -recollect the Porteous Mob; he had seen Prince Charlie -in Edinburgh, and, from the garden of his father's -manse at Prestonpans, he had watched the flight of -General Cope's defeated troops. He had been the -friend of David Hume, who died just before our period -begins, of Smollett, and of Robertson and Adam Smith. -Such a man had much to tell, and, fortunately for -posterity, he chose to tell it. Not less interesting or -important is the volume known as </span><em class="italics">Memorials of his Time</em><span>, -by Henry Cockburn, who, from 1834 to his death in -1854, was a Scottish judge. He was born in 1779, and -had been a member of a famous Edinburgh debating -society—the 'Spec'—along with Henry Brougham, -Francis Horner, Walter Scott, and Francis Jeffrey. -He shared Jeffrey's politics, aided him in defending -Radicals charged with sedition, and wrote his biography. -His </span><em class="italics">Memorials</em><span> are by far the best source of our knowledge -of social life in Scotland in the early years of the -nineteenth century. Carlyle and Cockburn both wrote -freely and without reserve, and each possessed an -accurate memory and an appreciation of the picturesque. -From these and similar materials Mr. W. T. Fyfe, an -Edinburgh citizen, who possesses a wide and -affectionate knowledge of his home and its history, has -skilfully drawn his picture of Edinburgh under Sir Walter -Scott. His book is no mere addition to the numerous -lives of Sir Walter. It takes the well-known incidents -of his career as affording some guiding lines for the -grouping of the varied details, and the reader of -Lockhart will find here fresh light upon some familiar -names. The personality of the best-loved Scotsman -who ever lived dominates this book as it dominated the -real life of which it tells. The cords of a man and the -bands of love still bind us to the Shirra o' the Forest, -and even to the Laird of Abbotsford; there is none -other among the mighty dead whose ways and whose -home we know so well as those of the Great Unknown. -He is not to be envied who can resist the personal spell -of the Wizard:—</span></p> -<blockquote> -<div> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="line"><span>'O great and gallant Scott,</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>True Gentleman, heart, blood, and bone,</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>I would it had been my lot</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>To have seen thee, and heard thee, and known.'</span></div> -<div class="line"> </div> -</div> -</div> -</blockquote> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Even those who are wise enough to read their Lockhart -and the </span><em class="italics">Letters</em><span> and the </span><em class="italics">Journals</em><span> once a year will -learn something about Scott from this book, and much -about the friends whom he has immortalised in some of -the sweetest strains that friendship ever inspired.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span>ROBERT S. RAIT.</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span>NEW COLLEGE, OXFORD, -<br /></span><em class="italics">September</em><span> 1906.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="description-of-edinburgh"><span class="bold large">DESCRIPTION OF EDINBURGH</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="medium">(From </span><em class="italics medium">The Abbot</em><span class="medium">, Chapter XVII.)</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>'The principal street of Edinburgh was then, as now, one of -the most spacious in Europe. The extreme height of the -houses, and the variety of Gothic gables and battlements, and -balconies, by which the skyline on each side was crowned and -terminated, together with the width of the street itself, might -have struck with surprise a more practised eye than that of -young Graeme. The population, close packed within the walls -of the city, and at this time increased by the number of the -lords of the King's party who had thronged to Edinburgh to -wait upon the Regent Murray, absolutely swarmed like bees on -the wide and stately street. Instead of the shop-windows, -which are now calculated for the display of goods, the traders -had their open booths projecting on the street, in which, as in -the fashion of the modern bazaars, all was exposed which they -had upon sale. And though the commodities were not of the -richest kinds, yet Graeme thought he beheld the wealth of the -whole world in the various bales of Flanders cloths, and the -specimens of tapestry; and, at other places, the display of -domestic utensils, and pieces of plate, struck him with wonder. -The sight of cutlers' booths, furnished with swords and poniards, -which were manufactured in Scotland, and with pieces of defensive -armour, imported from Flanders, added to his surprise; and -at every step, he found so much to admire and to gaze upon, -that Adam Woodcock had no little difficulty in prevailing on him -to advance through such a scene of enchantment.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'The sight of the crowds which filled the streets was equally -a subject of wonder. Here a gay lady, in her muffler, or silken -veil, traced her way delicately, a gentleman-usher making way -for her, a page bearing up her train, and a waiting gentlewoman -carrying her Bible, thus intimating that her purpose was towards -the church. There he might see a group of citizens bending -the same way, with their short Flemish cloaks, wide trowsers, -and high-caped doublets, a fashion to which, as well as to their -bonnet and feather, the Scots were long faithful. Then, again, -came the clergyman himself, in his black Geneva cloak and -band, lending a grave and attentive ear to the discourse of -several persons who accompanied him, and who were doubtless -holding serious converse on the religious subject he was about -to treat of.'</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="bold large">DESCRIPTION OF EDINBURGH</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="medium">(From </span><em class="italics medium">Marmion</em><span class="medium">, Canto IV.)</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<!-- --> -<blockquote> -<div> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="line"><span>'Still on the spot Lord Marmion stay'd,</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>For fairer scene he ne'er surveyed.</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span>When sated with the martial show</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>That peopled all the plain below,</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>The wandering eye could o'er it go,</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>And mark the distant city glow</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span>With gloomy splendour red;</span></div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span>For on the smoke-wreaths, huge and slow,</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>That round her sable turrets flow,</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span>The morning beams were shed,</span></div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span>And tinged them with a lustre proud,</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>Like that which streaks a thunder-cloud.</span></div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span>Such dusky grandeur clothed the height</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>Where the huge Castle holds its state,</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span>And all the steep slope down,</span></div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span>Whose ridgy back heaves to the sky,</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>Piled deep and massy, close and high,</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span>Mine own romantic town!'</span></div> -</div> -</div> -</div> -</blockquote> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="contents"><span class="bold large">CONTENTS</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-i">CHAPTER I</a></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span class="small">Edinburgh in 1773—General Features of the Old City—Its -Site and Plan—Flodden Wall—Nor' Loch—'Meadows'—Old -Suburbs—Canongate—Portsburgh—'Mine own -romantic Town'—College Wynd, Birthplace of -Scott—Improvements in the Old Town</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-ii">CHAPTER II</a></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span class="small">The Scotts in George Square—Walter's -Lameness—Sandyknowe—Bath—Edinburgh—Changes in the City, -1763-1783—Migrations to the New Town—The Mound—New -Manufactures and Trades—The first Umbrella</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-iii">CHAPTER III</a></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span class="small">School-days—The High School—Old Methods of -Teaching—Luke Fraser—Tone of the School—Brutal -Masters—Schoolboy's Dress—Boyish Ideas—Scott's Pride of -Birth—The 'Harden' Family—'Beardie'—The Dryburgh -Lands</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-iv">CHAPTER IV</a></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span class="small">Dr. Adam, Rector of High School—Walter Scott's first -Lines—Influence of Adam—Persecution by Nicol—Death-scene -of the Rector—Home Life in George Square—Walter -Scott the 'Writer'—Anecdotes of his Character</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-v">CHAPTER V</a></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span class="small">At Edinburgh University—Holidays at Kelso—Home—First -University Class—Professor Hill—Professor Dalzell—The -'Greek Blockhead'—Anecdotes of Dalzell—His -History of Edinburgh University</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-vi">CHAPTER VI</a></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span class="small">Scott's University Studies—The old Latin Chronicles—Dugald -Stewart, His Success described—His elegant Essays—Popular -Subjects—Picture of Stewart by Lord Cockburn—His -Lectures—Anecdote of Macvey Napier—Meets -Robert Burns—The Poet's 'Pocket Milton'</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-vii">CHAPTER VII</a></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span class="small">Old Edinburgh Society—Manners of the older -Generation—St. Cecilia's Hall—Buccleuch Place Rooms—Rules of -the Assemblies—-Drinking Customs—Recollections of -Lord Cockburn</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-viii">CHAPTER VIII</a></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span class="small">Description of St. Cecilia's Hall—Concerts—Old-fashioned -Contempt for 'Stars'—Former Assembly Rooms—The -George Street Rooms—Scott and the old Social -Ways—Simplicity and Friendliness—His Picture of the -Beginnings of Fashion in the New Town</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-ix">CHAPTER IX</a></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span class="small">Manners and Social Customs—Cockburn's Sketches—The -Dinner-hour—The Procession—The Viands—Drinking—Claret—Healths -and Toasts—Anecdote of Duke of -Buccleuch—'Rounds' of Toasts—'Sentiments'—The -Dominie of Arndilly—Scott's Views of the old -Customs—Decline of 'friendly' Feeling</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-x">CHAPTER X</a></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span class="small">Religious Observances—Sunday Attendance at Church—Sunday -Books—Breakdown of the System—Alleged -Infidelity among Professors—Low State of -Morality—Increase of mixed Population—Provincialism</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-xi">CHAPTER XI</a></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span class="small">Scott apprenticed to the Law—Copying Money and </span><em class="italics small">menus -plaisirs</em><span class="small">—Novels—Romances—Early Attempts—John -Irving—Sibbald's Library—Sees Robert Burns—The -Parliament House—The 'Krames'</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-xii">CHAPTER XII</a></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span class="small">Topics of Talk—Religion—Scott's Freedom from -Fanaticism—Dilettantism of the 'liberal young Men'—Politics—Basis -of Scott's Toryism—Cockburn's Anecdote of Table-talk—Men -of the Old School—Robertson the Historian—His -</span><em class="italics small">History of Charles V.</em><span class="small">—His noble Generosity—Closing -Years—Anecdotes</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-xiii">CHAPTER XIII</a></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span class="small">More Men of the Old School—Dr. Erskine—Scott on -Church Disputes—His Admiration of Erskine's -Character—Anecdote of Erskine's Walk to Fife—Professor -Ferguson—His </span><em class="italics small">History of Rome</em><span class="small">—Abstainer and -Vegetarian—Picture of Ferguson's Appearance—Odd -Habits—Travels to Italy</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-xiv">CHAPTER XIV</a></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span class="small">'Jupiter' Carlyle—Noble Looks—Friend of Robertson and -John Home—The Play of Douglas—Anecdote of -Dr. Carlyle—Dr. Joseph Black—Latent Heat—His personal -Appearance—Anecdote of last Illness—His </span><em class="italics small">History of -Great Britain</em><span class="small">—Forerunner of the Modern School</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-xv">CHAPTER XV</a></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span class="small">The 'Meadows' one Hundred Years ago—A Resort of great -Men—</span><em class="italics small">Vixerunt fortes</em><span class="small">—Their Intimacy and Quarrels—Hume -and Ferguson—Home, the happy—His boundless -Generosity—Sympathy with Misfortune—Home and -Edinburgh Society—Sketch by Scott—'The Close of an Era'</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-xvi">CHAPTER XVI</a></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span class="small">Ladies of the Old School—Anecdotes told by Scott, -Dr. Carlyle, and Lord Cockburn—Their Speech—'Suphy' -Johnston—Anecdote of Suphy and Dr. Gregory—Miss -Menie Trotter—Her Dream—Views of Religion</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-xvii">CHAPTER XVII</a></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span class="small">Scott's Contemporaries in Edinburgh—Local 'Societies'—The -Speculative—Scott's Explosion—Visit of Francis Jeffrey -to the 'Den'—Anecdote of Murray of Broughton—General -View of the youthful Societies</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-xviii">CHAPTER XVIII</a></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span class="small">The Scottish Bar—Two Careers open—Walter's -Choice—Studies with William Clerk—The Law -Professors—Hume's Lectures—Hard Study—Beginnings of social -Distinction—Influence of Clerk—Early Love-story—Description -of Walter Scott at Twenty</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-xix">CHAPTER XIX</a></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span class="small">The Advocate's 'Trials'—Scott and Clerk admitted to the -Bar—Walter's first Fee—Connection of the Scotts with -Lord Braxfield—Scottish Judges—Stories of Braxfield</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-xx">CHAPTER XX</a></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span class="small">Stories of the Judges—Lord Eskgrove—His Appearance—The -Trials for Sedition—Anecdotes of Circuit Dinners—'Esky' -and </span><em class="italics small">the Harangue</em><span class="small">—The Soldier's Breeches—Esky -and the Veiled Witness—Henderson and the Fine—The -Luss Robbers—Death of Eskgrove</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-xxi">CHAPTER XXI</a></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span class="small">Scott's Anecdote of Lord Kames—Judicial Cruelty—Lord -Meadowbank's Marriage—'Declaim, Sir'—Judges and -Drinking—Hermand and the Pope—Bacchus on the -Bench—Hermand and the Middy</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-xxii">CHAPTER XXII</a></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span class="small">Political Lawyers—Politics an 'accident' in Scott's -History—Early Days at the Bar—Peter Peebles—</span><em class="italics small">The -Mountain</em><span class="small">—Anecdote of Scott and Clerk—The German -Class—Friendship with William Erskine—German Romance—Seniors -of the Bar—Robert Blair—Greatest of Scottish -Judges—Anecdote of Hermand and Henry Erskine</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-xxiii">CHAPTER XXIII</a></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span class="small">Seniors (</span><em class="italics small">continued</em><span class="small">)—Charles Hope—His Voice—Tribute by -Cockburn—Robert Dundas, Nephew of Henry, Lord -Melville—His Manner and Moderation—Anecdote of -Lords Blair and Melville—Lord Melville's Son—Scott's -Project of Emigration</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-xxiv">CHAPTER XXIV</a></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span class="small">Henry Erskine—His Ability and Wit—Tributes to his -Character—Dismissal as Dean of Faculty—John -Clerk—Reputation at the Bar—His Private Tastes—Art and -Literature—Odd Habits—Anecdotes of Clerk and his -Father</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-xxv">CHAPTER XXV</a></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span class="small">Scott's Border 'Raids'—Shortreed—Scott's Circuit -Work—Jedburgh Anecdotes—Edinburgh Days—Fortune's—The -Theatre Royal—Oyster Parties—Social Functions—General -Reading</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-xxvi">CHAPTER XXVI</a></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span class="small">The Edinburgh Environment—Talk of French Revolution—The -'Jacobins'—The Volunteers—Irish Row in the -Theatre—-Mrs. Barbauld's Visit—Taylor's Lenore—Scott's -Version—Anecdote of the Skull—End of Love -Affair—Reference in </span><em class="italics small">Peveril of the Peak</em></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-xxvii">CHAPTER XXVII</a></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span class="small">Friendship with Skene of Rubislaw—Skene's Account of the -Edinburgh Light Horse—'Earl Walter'—Marriage of -Walter Scott and Charlotte Carpenter—The Edinburgh -Home—Edinburgh Friends—The Cottage at Lasswade</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-xxviii">CHAPTER XXVIII</a></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span class="small">The Mercantile Class in Edinburgh—The Town Council—Political -Corruption—Petty Tyranny—The Town Clerk—James -Laing, Head of the Police—His Methods with Disturbers -of the Peace—Anecdotes of Laing and Dugald -Stewart</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-xxix">CHAPTER XXIX</a></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span class="small">Public Condition of Edinburgh in 1800—Ostracism of Dugald -Stewart—The Whigs—Their Struggle for Power—The -Infirmary Incident—Dr. Gregory—His -Pamphlets—Characteristics—Family Connection with Rob Roy</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-xxx">CHAPTER XXX</a></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span class="small">Strongest 'Impressions' from the Waverley Novels—Special -Charm of Death of the old Lawyer in Chrystal Croftangry's -Recollections—Death of Walter Scott the Elder—The -'very scene' described—Scott appointed Sheriff—Independence -from Court Work</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-xxxi">CHAPTER XXXI</a></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span class="small">Scott settled in Edinburgh—Defacement of City—Wrytte's -House—Gillespie the Snuff-seller—Erskine's Joke—The -Woods of Bellevue—Scott's ideal </span><em class="italics small">rus in Urbe</em></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-xxxii">CHAPTER XXXII</a></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span class="small">Richard Heber in Edinburgh—Friendship with Scott—'Discovers' -John Leyden—Leyden's Education—His Appearance, -Oddities—Love of Country—His Help in </span><em class="italics small">Border -Minstrelsy</em><span class="small">—Anecdote told by Scott—Leyden a Man of -Genius</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-xxxiii">CHAPTER XXXIII</a></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span class="small">The 'Young Men of Edinburgh'—Their Whiggery—Anecdote -of Jeffrey and Bell—James Graham, Author of </span><em class="italics small">The -Sabbath</em><span class="small">—Sydney Smith—His Liking for Scotland—Whig -Dread of Wit—Lord Webb Seymour—Horner's -Analysis of him—Friendship with Playfair—His -Anecdote of Horner</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-xxxiv">CHAPTER XXXIV</a></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span class="small">M. G. Lewis—Seeks out Scott—</span><em class="italics small">The Monk</em><span class="small">—Translation by -Scott of </span><em class="italics small">Goetz</em><span class="small">—Anecdote of Lewis—James Ballantyne—Prints -</span><em class="italics small">Apology for Tales of Terror</em><span class="small">—William Laidlaw—James -Hogg—Character and Talents</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-xxxv">CHAPTER XXXV</a></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span class="small">Failure of Lewis's </span><em class="italics small">Tales</em><span class="small">—Scott's </span><em class="italics small">Border Minstrelsy</em><span class="small">—Ballantyne's -Printing—His Conceit—Removal of Chief Baron -from Queensberry House—His odd Benevolence—Anecdote -of Charles Hope—The Schoolmasters Act</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-xxxvi">CHAPTER XXXVI</a></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span class="small">Anecdotes of R. P. Gillies—His Picture of Scott—'Border -Press' at Abbeyhill—Britain armed for Defence—Scenes -in Edinburgh—'Captain' Cockburn</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-xxxvii">CHAPTER XXXVII</a></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span class="small">Enthusiasm of Volunteers—Drill and Sham Fights—Scott's -Letters—Quartermaster—Anecdote by Cockburn—Recruiting -for the Army—Indifference to Fear of -Invasion—Greatness of the Danger—War Song of 1802</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-xxxviii">CHAPTER XXXVIII</a></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span class="small">Ashestiel—39 Castle Street—'Honest Tom Purdie'—Associations -of Scott's Work with Edinburgh Home—First Lines -of the </span><em class="italics small">Lay</em><span class="small">—Abandons the Bar for Literature—Story of -Gilpin Horner—Progress of the Poem</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-xxxix">CHAPTER XXXIX</a></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span class="small">Edinburgh Literary Society—The Men of 1800-1820—Revelation -of Scott's Poetical Genius—Effect in Edinburgh—Local -Pride in his Greatness—Anecdote of Pitt—Success -of </span><em class="italics small">Lay of the Last Minstrel</em><span class="small">—Connection with -Ballantyne—Secrecy of the Partnership</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-xl">CHAPTER XL</a></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span class="small">Scott and Jeffrey—Founding of </span><em class="italics small">Edinburgh Review</em><span class="small">—Impression -in Edinburgh—Its Political and Literary Pretences—Review -of </span><em class="italics small">Lay</em><span class="small"> by Jeffrey—Strange Mistake—Beautiful -Appreciation by Mr. Gladstone quoted—The </span><em class="italics small">Dies Irae</em></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-xli">CHAPTER XLI</a></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span class="small">Town and Country—Scott's Ideal—Reversion of -Clerkship—Impeachment of Lord Melville—Acquittal—The -Edinburgh Dinner—Scott's Song of Triumph—Nature of his -Professional Duties—Social Claims and Literary Industry</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-xlii">CHAPTER XLII</a></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span class="small">Colleagues at the Clerks' Table—Morritt on Scott's -Conversation—His Home Life—Treatment of his Children—Ideas -on Education—Knowledge of the Bible—Horsemanship, -Courage, Veracity—Success of the Training</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-xliii">CHAPTER XLIII</a></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><em class="italics small">Marmion</em><span class="small">—Published by Constable—Misfortunes of Thomas -Scott—George Ellis on </span><em class="italics small">Marmion</em><span class="small">—Hostile Review by -Jeffrey—Charge of Want of Patriotism—Mrs. Scott and -Jeffrey—Extraordinary Success of the Poem</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-xliv">CHAPTER XLIV</a></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span class="small">John Murray—Share in </span><em class="italics small">Marmion</em><span class="small">—Reverence for Scott—</span><em class="italics small">The -Quarterly Review</em><span class="small">—The 'Cevallos' Article—Jeffrey's -Pessimism—Contemplated Flight to America—Anecdotes -of Earl of Buchan</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-xlv">CHAPTER XLV</a></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span class="small">The Gallon Jail—Opening of Waterloo Place—Removal of -Old Tolbooth—Scott purchases Land at Abbotsford—Professional -Income—Correspondence with Byron—Anecdote -of the 'Flitting' from Ashestiel</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-xlvi">CHAPTER XLVI</a></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span class="small">Scott and the Actors—Kemble, Siddons, Terry—Terry's -Imitation of 'the Shirra'—Anecdote of Terry and -C. Mathews—Mathews in Edinburgh—'The Reign of -Scott'—Anecdotes of his Children—Excursion to the Western -Isles</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-xlvii">CHAPTER XLVII</a></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><em class="italics small">Waverley</em><span class="small"> laid aside—</span><em class="italics small">Rokeby</em><span class="small">—Excitement at -Oxford—Ballanyne's Dinner—Scott's Idea of Byron as a -Poet—Ballantyne's Mismanagement—Aid from Constable—Loan from -the Duke—Scott decides to finish </span><em class="italics small">Waverley</em></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-xlviii">CHAPTER XLVIII</a></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span class="small">Success of the Allies—Address to the King—Freedom of -Edinburgh—Edition of Swift—Printing of </span><em class="italics small">Waverley</em><span class="small">—Mystery -of Authorship—Edinburgh Guesses—Excellent -Review by Jeffrey—Scott's 'gallant composure'—Success -of the Novel</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-xlix">CHAPTER XLIX</a></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><em class="italics small">The Lord of the Isles</em><span class="small">—</span><em class="italics small">Guy Mannering</em><span class="small">—Universal Delight—Effects -of Peace in Scotland—Awakening of Public Opinion -in Edinburgh—'Civic War'—Professor Duncan—Sketch -by Lord Cockburn</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-l">CHAPTER L</a></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span class="small">The New Town of Edinburgh in 1815—Effects of the -'Plan'—The Earthen Mound—Criticisms by Citizens after the -War—The New Approaches—Destruction of City -Trees—Lord Cockburn's Lament</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-li">CHAPTER LI</a></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span class="small">The 'Jury Court'—Chief-Commissioner Adam—His Work and -Success—Friendship with Scott—Character of Adam by -Scott—The Blairadam Club—Anecdotes—Death of Lord -Adam</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-lii">CHAPTER LII</a></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span class="small">1816—The </span><em class="italics small">Antiquary</em><span class="small">—Death of Major John Scott—The -Aged Mother—Buying Land—The Ballantynes—The -</span><em class="italics small">Black Dwarf</em><span class="small"> and Blackwood—Scott and a -Judgeship—Anecdote of Authorship of </span><em class="italics small">Waverley</em></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-liii">CHAPTER LIII</a></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span class="small">1817—Overwork and Illness—Kemble's 'Farewell -Address'—The Kemble Dinner—</span><em class="italics small">Blackwood's Magazine</em><span class="small"> and the -Reign of Terror in Edinburgh</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-liv">CHAPTER LIV</a></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span class="small">Personal Anecdotes of Scott—Washington Irving—The -Minister's Daughter—J. G. Lockhart—His Introduction -to Scott—</span><em class="italics small">Annual Register</em><span class="small">—39 Castle Street—Scott's -'Den'—Animal Favourites</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-lv">CHAPTER LV</a></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span class="small">Scott and Edinburgh Society—Lockhart's Opinion—Scott's -Drives in Edinburgh—Love of Antiquities—The Sunday -Dinners at 39 Castle Street—The Maclean -Clephanes—Erskine, Clerk, C. K. Sharpe, Sir A. Boswell, -W. Allan,—Favourite Dishes</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-lvi">CHAPTER LVI</a></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span class="small">The National Monument—Still incomplete—The Salisbury -Crags—-Danger of their Destruction—The Path -impassable—Construction of the Radical Road—National -Distress—Trials for Sedition—Anecdote of John Clerk—The -City Guard</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-lvii">CHAPTER LVII</a></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span class="small">Scott and the Ballantynes—James in the -Canongate—Ceremonies at the 'Waverley' Dinners—Reading of -Scenes from the New Volume—John at Trinity—His -'Bower of Bliss'—Anecdote by C. Mathews</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-lviii">CHAPTER LVIII</a></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span class="small">Anecdotes of Constable—'The Czar'—Plans the </span><em class="italics small">Magnum -Opus</em><span class="small">—Anecdote of Longmans and Co.—Constable's -House and Equipage—John Ballantyne's Habits—Horses -and Dogs—Anecdote by Scott of his Liberality—Scott's -Sorrow at his Death</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-lix">CHAPTER LIX</a></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span class="small">The Baronetcy—Reasons for accepting—Marriage of Sophia -Scott to John Gibson Lockhart—Charles Scott and -Archdeacon Williams—Improvements in Edinburgh—The -'Water Caddies'—Drama of </span><em class="italics small">Rob Roy</em><span class="small">—The Burns -Dinner—Henry Mackenzie</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-lx">CHAPTER LX</a></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span class="small">The Commercial Disaster—Ruin of Ballantyne (Scott) and -Constable—Scott's Feeling—Universal Sympathy—Offer -of Help—Brave Reply—Cheerful Spirit—Constable—The -Agreement—Removal from Castle Street—Death of Lady -Scott—The Visit to Paris</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-lxi">CHAPTER LXI</a></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span class="small">House in Walker Street—Ill-health—Extraordinary -Labours—Article on Hoffman—Kindness to Literary -People—Murray's Party—Theatrical Fund Dinner—</span><em class="italics small">Life of -Napoleon</em><span class="small">—Payment of £28,000 to Creditors—The Lockharts -at Portobello—Grandfather's Tales—Domestic -Happiness—Visit of Adolphus</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-lxii">CHAPTER LXII</a></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span class="small">Incident of Gourgaud—-Expected Duel—Scott's -Preparations—Tired of Edinburgh—Changing Aspect of New -Town—The 'Markets' superseded by Shops—The Female -Poisoner—Scott's Opinion of 'Not Proven'—Points in its -Favour</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-lxiii">CHAPTER LXIII</a></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span class="small">Visit of Richardson and Cockburn to Abbotsford—Sir Walter -at Home—Anecdote of Cranstoun—Patterson's -Anecdotes—The Burke and Hare Murders—Anecdote of -Cockburn—Dr. Knox—Catholic Emancipation Bill—Meeting in -Edinburgh—Death of Terry and Shortreed—Severe -Illness of Scott—Death of Tom Purdie</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-lxiv">CHAPTER LXIV</a></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span class="small">Last Winter in Edinburgh—The </span><em class="italics small">Ayrshire Tragedy</em><span class="small">—Apoplectic -Stroke—Retirement from the Clerkship—Visit to -Edinburgh—Refusal to stop Literary Work—John -Nicolson—Scott at Cadell's House—His Will</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-lxv">CHAPTER LXV</a></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span class="small">The Paralytic Stroke—The Last Novels—Election -Meetings—Disgraceful Conduct of Radical Gangs—Scott's -Journey for Health—The Return—Collapse and Stupor—The -Last Stay in Edinburgh—Death of Sir Walter Scott</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-i"><span class="bold x-large">EDINBURGH -<br />UNDER SIR WALTER SCOTT</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER I</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">Edinburgh in 1773—General Features of the Old City—Its -Site and Plan—Flodden Wall—Nor' Loch—'Meadows'—Old -Suburbs—Canongate—Portsburgh—'Mine own -romantic Town'—College Wynd, Birthplace of -Scott—Improvements in the Old Town.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The Edinburgh of Walter Scott's infancy was still the -old, romantic, medieval city. It was almost wholly -confined within the city wall, a result of the adherence to -customs sanctioned by tradition, long after the causes -which first established them have ceased to operate. -The constantly recurring danger from English invasions -was, in early times, a full and sufficient reason -for dwelling inside the fortification. Of course, from -the earliest times there was a tendency, especially -among the leading and wealthy families, to build -dwelling-houses and lay out gardens among the fields. -Yet, on the whole, the increasing population sought -its accommodation within the limits of the town. This -is why Edinburgh citizens, following the old fashion -of Paris, built their houses of an enormous height, -some of them as high as twelve stories or more. -The ground space available was, of course, limited -by the extent of the wall, and on one side by the -water of the Nor' Loch. Hence the necessity for -making good use of every possible site. Social -arrangements of a singular and quaint simplicity were -the not unnatural result. In each gigantic barrack -might be found ever so many different families, each -occupying its own independent dwelling, sometimes -consisting of only two or three rooms. The social -dignity of the tenant increased with the height of his -quarters. In the cellars and on the street floor were -the humble members of the business and manual-working -classes; professional persons went a story higher; -and the nobility and gentry overlooked the whole from -the upper half of the mansion. In modern times these -houses, so far as they still exist, have been handed -over almost entirely to the lower orders: they are, in -fact, the slums of Edinburgh. But the quaint old -arrangements had hardly been impaired even up to the -year of </span><em class="italics">Marmion</em><span> and 'mine own romantic town.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The site of the old city is as singular a site as could -have been chosen, but it was selected with the one view -of enjoying the very necessary protection of its citadel, -the Castle. Its main street extends over the long -backbone of the famous ridge which slopes from the Castle -to Holyrood. The steep northern side of the ridge was -bounded by the long sheet of water called the Nor' Loch, -which formed a natural defence from the Castle Hill to a -point called Halkerston's Wynd. The contour of the city -has been compared to the figure of a turtle, the Castle -being taken for the head, the High Street for the ridge of -the back, and the numerous wynds and closes for the ribs: -the analogy being completed by adding Canongate and -Holyrood Palace for the tail. In similar figure, Carlyle -graphically presents the sloping street and its wynds as -'covering like some rhinoceros skin, with many a gnarled -embossment, church steeple, chimney head, Tolbooth -and other ornament or indispensability, back and ribs -of the slope.' The old city wall, built by James II., had -fallen into ruin and disrepair by the year of Flodden, -1513. On that disastrous occasion there was built in -hot haste and panic, of which even the surviving -fragments give proof, the famous 'Flodden Wall,' -which formed the city boundary till the time of Scott. -The north side being almost entirely defended by the -Nor' Loch, the wall extended from the Castle round -the south and east sides of the city. Beside the -Castle rock the first entrance to the city was the West -Port, a gate which stood at the foot of the Grassmarket. -We may judge how greatly the presence of the walls -affected the life of the citizens from the fact that a small -wicket-gate had to be constructed in the wall some -distance from this Port in the year 1744. Twenty-two -years before this, Thomas Hope of Rankeillor had -drained the Borough Loch, and planted trees, made a -walk, and laid down turf on its side, thus forming the -park known as 'The Meadows.' It was to afford 'a -more commodious egress to the elegant walks in the -meadows' that the wicket was eventually opened. -From the West Port the wall ran half-way along the -east side of the steep lane called the Vennel, where a -portion of it is still existent, thence turning south-east to -Bristo Port. The next gate eastward was the Potterrow -Port, originally Kirk-of-Field Port, at the head of -the Horse Wynd, a lane leading down into the -Cowgate. The Horse Wynd was, in fact, the principal -access to the town in this quarter, and got its name -from being, unlike the others, safe for horses. By the -line of Drummond Street the wall proceeded to the -Pleasance and the foot of St. Mary Wynd, which the -Nether Bow joined to Leith Wynd. The Nether Bow, -which was not built till 1616, was the chief entrance of -the city, separating it from the Burgh of Canongate. -The part of the wall which ran from the Nether Bow to -the point at which Leith Wynd crossed the Nor' Loch -was added in the year 1540.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Such were the walled boundaries of Edinburgh, -within which the city made shift to contain its -increasing population during a period of about two -hundred and fifty years. Practically the Edinburgh of -these centuries lay between the Castle and Holyrood -lengthwise, and in breadth between the Nor' Loch -and some distance beyond the Cowgate on the south. -There was no lack, however, at any period of persons -who preferred to live outside the city walls. In fact, -old writers are continually remarking on such a -strange and perverse disposition, for which they -cannot account, especially in those old days when the -danger from England was a very grim reality. The -propensity led to the gradual growth of a few -suburban hamlets, and the only wonder is that they were -not larger and more numerous. Of these outside -regions the Canongate was the largest, but it was -really at first an independent ecclesiastical burgh, -established by David I. in 1128 under the Abbey of -Holyrood. It did not come under the jurisdiction of -the city till the year 1636, when the Town Council -bought it from the Earl of Roxburgh. Another -'burgh' of ancient fame was 'Portsburgh' at the -other end of the city, extending from the West Port -to Toll Cross. Straggling houses belonging to citizens -were also to be found farther afield on the Glasgow -Road, and in the district now named Dairy. The -suburb of Bristo Street, as we have seen, adjoined -one of the city gates, and beyond it were the grounds -of Ross House, which about 1764 supplied a site for -George Square, named after the reigning monarch, -George III.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Within these bounds, then, is all that Scott meant -when he wrote the words, 'mine own romantic town.' And -indeed it was full of romance in every quarter. -To him the New Town was but an appendage, a fast-growing -appendage of the city itself—a fringe which -set off the beauty of the general view. From his Castle -Street mansion he looked across to the city of his -imagination, and had he lived to see the beginning of -the twentieth century, he might have gone farther afield. -The city improvements of a large and important -provincial centre could hardly have consoled his outraged -spirit for the ruthless and needless destruction of -priceless relics of the past in which he lived.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Edinburgh University, that is, the old University -building, stands in a busy street, without any 'grounds' -to remove it from the outside noise and distinguish it -from the line of shops and shabby houses. The city -of Edinburgh has always been celebrated for its -unhappiness in the matter of selecting 'sites.' Why, -therefore, the University was put in this unfortunate -corner, need not be discussed. The Town Council, -it seems, was responsible for the building, and the -architect employed was Robert Adam. This edifice, -according to a contemporary, was considered by many -'as the masterpiece of Mr. Adam,' but for lack of -money the original plans were modified by W. H. Playfair. -To make way for this great city improvement, -one of the most characteristic 'bits' of old -Edinburgh was cleared away. This was College -Wynd, now known as Guthrie Street. The picturesque -medieval lane, with its jutting balconies, -battlemented roofs and charming old windows, had for -nearly two centuries been a kind of University, or -College, 'Close,' practically reserved for the residence -of the learned Regents or Professors from generation -to generation. One of the houses at the top of the -Wynd demolished on this occasion belonged to Mr. Walter -Scott, W.S., who resided in it with his family. -Here happened the greatest event in the history of -Edinburgh, the birth of </span><em class="italics">our</em><span> Walter Scott, on the 15th -of August 1771.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The locality was not even at that time considered -quite a desirable one, but socially it was regarded as -satisfactory, even for a family of gentle birth. The -fact is that about this time certain new ideas regarding -health and fresh air were beginning to excite attention -among the inhabitants of the old city. The rate of -infant mortality was frightfully high, and the doctors -began to ascribe it to the closeness and damp of the -nurseries. In the lofty old mansions these were -frequently located, for obvious reasons of convenience, -in the 'laigh rooms' or sunk floors below the level -of the street. The time was ripe for a great change. -Building had already been begun on the site of Princes -Street and George Street. Plans for a New Town -had been approved in 1761, the architect being -Mr. James Craig, who was a nephew of Thomson the -poet. The North Bridge, which was to connect the -New Town with the Old, was finished in 1772. At -the same time a more conservative policy led others -to try to confine the desired improvement to the Old -Town. Brown's Square, part of which still may be -seen at the top of Chambers Street, was built, and -this was for the time the exclusively fashionable quarter -of the city. It was to Brown's Square, as we read in -</span><em class="italics">Redgauntlet</em><span> (</span><em class="italics">Letter</em><span> II.), that the Fairfords removed, -when, as Alan relates to his friend Darsie Latimer, -'the leaving his old apartments in the Luckenbooths -was to him' (the elder Fairford) 'like divorcing the -soul from the body; yet Dr. R—— did but hint that -the better air of this new district was more favourable -to my health, as I was then suffering under the -penalties of too rapid a growth, when he exchanged his -old and beloved quarters, adjacent to the very Heart -of Midlothian, for one of those new tenements [entire -within themselves] which modern taste has so lately -introduced.'</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-ii"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER II</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">The Scotts in George Square—Walter's -Lameness—Sandyknowe—Bath—Edinburgh—Changes in the City, -1763-1783—Migrations to the New Town—The Mound—New -Manufactures and Trades—The first Umbrella.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>To the good people of Edinburgh who had for many -years the privilege of seeing Walter Scott daily in -their streets, his robust and manly form must have -emphasised his unfortunate lameness. It is a defect -very painful to a man of bold and active spirit. But -Scott had to bear with it all his life through. It began -when he was an infant of eighteen months.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The touching little family tradition was often repeated -to him afterwards, how one night he was racing about -the room in an access of childish high spirits, refusing -to go to bed. With difficulty he was caught at last -and conveyed to his crib. Next morning he was found -to be suffering from fever, and on the fourth day it -was discovered that he had lost the use of the right -leg. There appeared to be no dislocation or sprain; -but the remedies devised by Dr. Rutherford and the -other specialists from the University were of no avail. -Walter was, in fact, doomed to be lame for life. He -tells with a touch of melancholy humour how his -parents in their anxiety eagerly made trial of every -remedy offered by the sympathy of old friends or by -the self-interest of empirics, and some of them were -eccentric enough. On Dr. Rutherford's advice, -however, the very sensible plan was adopted of sending -the child to the country, where, with perfect freedom -for open air life, he might have the chance of all the -benefit that might gradually be obtained from the -natural exertion of his limbs.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He was sent immediately to his grandfather Scott's -residence at Sandyknowe, and here, to use his own -words, 'I, who in a city had probably been condemned -to hopeless and helpless decrepitude, was now a healthy, -high-spirited, and, my lameness apart, a sturdy -child—</span><em class="italics">non sine diis animosus infans</em><span>.' This gratifying -improvement was quite confirmed by the time he was four -years of age, but his parents were only the more anxious -in their efforts after a complete cure. At this time it -was suggested to his father that the waters at Bath -might have some effect on the child's lameness. He -was sent to Bath, going first by sea to London. Here -he was taken to see the Tower, Westminster Abbey, -etc., of which he took with him an impression so -strong, complete, and accurate, that, on visiting the -same scenes twenty-five years afterwards, he found -nothing to correct in the mental pictures which his -powerful memory had so long retained. The residence at -Bath had no effect on his lameness, but it was here he -learned to read, partly at a dame school, and partly at -his aunt's knee. 'But I never' (he says) 'acquired a -just pronunciation, nor could I read with much -propriety.' After a year of Bath, he returned to Edinburgh. -A short interval at home was followed by another season -at beloved Sandyknowe. Sea-bathing was next recommended -for his lameness, and after a few weeks of this -at Prestonpans, he was finally taken home to George -Square, which continued to be his dwelling-place till -his marriage in 1797. He was, of course, too young to -appreciate the changes which were going on in the city, -but in later years no one realised more keenly than he -the revolutionary effects, both concrete and social, of -those same years of his childhood. His unfortunate -lameness no doubt debarred Walter from seeing as much -of the great extensions then proceeding as his brothers -may have examined, but they must have been the one -unfailing and constant topic of conversation everywhere, -and were no doubt of special interest to one who could -not even then have been unduly impressed by the vast -cost and supposed magnificence of all that was new. -The description just given of the city as contained -within the old 'Flodden Wall' will help the reader at -once to understand how the Edinburgh of Scott's single -life differed from the Modern City, and how very -considerable were the additions already to the ancient town. -Some curious facts have been preserved in an old -annual publication called the </span><em class="italics">Picture of Edinburgh</em><span>. -In it we find a quaint 'comparative view' of Edinburgh -as it was in 1763 and Edinburgh in the year 1783. In -this period there were added on the south side Nicolson -Street and Square, most of Bristo Street, George -Square, and other streets: all of which took the place -of gardens and open fields. The New Town had risen as -if by magic. Progressive shopkeepers and bailies were -already boasting of George Street as the most splendid -street in Europe,[1] and Princes Street as the most elegant -terrace. It was computed that over two millions -sterling had been spent in these extensions. Wholesale -migrations followed from the Old Town to the New, -and many grand old mansions passed into unexpected -hands. Oliver Cromwell's former lodgings were -occupied by a mere sheriff-clerk. The house that at the -time of the Union was inhabited by the Duke of -Douglas fell to a wheelwright, and Lord President -Craigie's mansion was transferred to a seller of old -furniture. So great, in fact, was the change of habits -and ideas, that we are told a common chairman, or -porter, who had got into the apartments once used by -Lord Drummore, complained of defective accommodation! -The year 1783 also saw a new passage opened -between the Old Town and the New. This was -effected by means of the huge heap of earth collected -from the excavations made in digging so many foundations. -By agreement with the contractors, all this -earth was conveyed, free of charge, to the space -between the foot of Hanover Street and the Old Town -ridge. It is also stated that in this period the number -of four-wheeled carriages in Edinburgh increased from -396 to 1268. Coach-building became one of the most -important industries, if it be true that about 1783 an -Edinburgh coachmaker received an order from Paris -for one thousand coaches. It seems that before this -time the operation of trade was exactly the reverse, -Paris being reputed to make carriages superior to any -in Europe. Other trades, which had been wholly -unknown to the old city, now sprang into existence, -indicating great change of manners as well as increase -of wealth. Amongst those, drapers' shops became the -most numerous in the city, and hairdressers vastly -increased in number. Oyster-cellars also became -numerous, and are noted as being frequented by people -of fashion, who sometimes held their private -dancing-parties in these places. It was now that umbrellas -came into general use. Before 1763, it would appear -that an umbrella was regarded in Edinburgh as a rare -phenomenon.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">[1] But to Scott, of course, -the old High Street always was 'the principal -street of Edinburgh.' It is to it -he refers with pride in </span><em class="italics small">The Abbot</em><span class="small"> as being -'then, as now, the most spacious street in Europe.'</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-iii"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER III</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">School-days—The High School—Old Methods of -Teaching—Luke Fraser—Tone of the School—Brutal -Masters—Schoolboy's Dress—Boyish Ideas—Scott's Pride of -Birth—The 'Harden' Family—'Beardie'—The Dryburgh -Lands.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>It was in 1778 that Walter Scott began to attend the -Grammar School, or High School of Edinburgh. The -High School building stood at the foot of Infirmary -Street, in what was called the High School Wynd. -The name 'High School Yards' is still attached to a -neighbouring lane. The 'Yards' would be the boys' -playground. Like other Grammar Schools in Scotland -the High School was managed by the Town Council,[1] by -whose authority, at a date so early as 1519, the citizens -were charged to send their boys to it and to no other -school. In 1777 the Town Council erected a new -schoolhouse, as the rapidly increasing numbers required -more extensive accommodation. It seems that in the -eighteenth century the reputation of the school stood -very high, and, of course, it had then no rivals in the -city. The number of pupils about this time is stated to -have been six hundred. The teaching staff consisted -of the Rector and four masters.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">[1] The school was transferred in 1873 -to the School Board of Edinburgh.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The classes were, of course, very large, and the method -of teaching was necessarily very simple. Short tasks in -Latin, set purely for repetition, were rhymed over by each -boy in the same words and the same way. One Henry -Cockburn, who joined the school in 1787, says it drove -him stupid. 'Oh! the bodily and mental wearisomeness -of sitting six hours a day, staring idly at a page, without -motion and without thought.' He says the school was -notorious for its severity and riotousness, and recalls -his feelings of trembling and dizziness when he sat -down amidst above a hundred new faces. His master -he characterises as being as bad a schoolmaster as it is -possible to fancy. Walter Scott was more fortunate. -His class was taught by Mr. Luke Fraser, a good Latin -scholar and a very worthy man. Walter seems to have -enjoyed his school life. In Mr. Fraser's class he was -not distinguished as one of the brilliant pupils. To the -latter, especially the dux, James Buchan, he pays a -warm tribute, and of himself he says: 'I glanced like -a meteor from one end of the class to the other, and -commonly disgusted my kind master as much by -negligence and frivolity as I occasionally pleased him -by flashes of intellect and talent. Among my -companions, my good-nature and a flow of ready -imagination rendered me very popular.... In the winter -play-hours, when hard exercise was impossible, my tales -used to assemble an admiring audience round Lucky -Brown's fireside, and happy was he that could sit next -to the inexhaustible narrator. I was also, though often -negligent of my own task, always ready to assist my -friends; and hence I had a little party of staunch -adherents and partisans, stout of hand and heart, though -somewhat dull of head—the very tools for raising a hero -to eminence. So, on the whole, I made a brighter -figure in the yards than in the class.' In speaking of -his education, it must be remembered that he always -underrates his attainments. There is no doubt that he -had a gift for acquiring languages and was a remarkable -pupil in every class. But because he was a little -behind the others at the start, he seems to have fancied -himself somewhat in that position all through. As to -the manners and morals of the boys, Scott has left no -criticism. Of their outside fun and adventures he has -given a lively sketch in the episode of Green-Breeks in -the third Appendix to the General Preface of his novels. -We learn from Lord Cockburn that in his time and in -his opinion, the tone of the school was vulgar and -harsh. Among the boys (he states) coarseness of -language and manners was the only fashion. An -English boy was so rare, that his language was openly -laughed at. No lady could be seen within the walls. -Nothing evidently civilised was safe. Two of the -masters, in particular, were so savage, that any master -doing now what they did every hour, would certainly -be transported.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The same writer mentions that the boys had to -be at school during summer at seven in the morning. -Here is his interesting description of his dress as a -schoolboy: 'I often think I see myself in my usual -High School apparel, which was the common dress of -other boys. It consisted of a round black hat; a shirt -fastened at the neck by a black ribbon, and except on -dress days, unruffled; a cloth waistcoat, rather large, -with two rows of buttons and of button-holes, so that it -could be buttoned on either side, which, when one side -got dirty, was convenient; a single-breasted jacket, -which in due time got a tail and became a coat; brown -corduroy breeks, tied at the knees by a showy knot of -brown cotton tape; worsted stockings in winter, blue -cotton stockings in summer, and white cotton for dress; -clumsy shoes made to be used on either foot, and each -requiring to be used on alternate feet daily; brass or -copper buckles. The coat and waistcoat were always -of glaring colours, such as bright blue, grass green, and -scarlet. I remember well the pride with which I was -once rigged out in a scarlet waistcoat and a bright green -coat. No such machinery as what are now termed -braces or suspenders had then been imagined.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was plenty of pride among the High School -boys. The roughness of manners and coarseness of -speech which they shared with the lower orders never -impaired the strong feeling of caste which they imbibed -at home. Among the baser spirits it was, of course, -selfish and conceited, but it had a better and healthier -effect on the finer natures of the few. Even as a boy, -Walter Scott, as we have seen, lived much in an ideal -world of his own creation. It was largely peopled with -the romantic figures of the adventurous past, and the -boy must have delighted greatly in the knowledge that -many of his heroes of the past were ancestors of his own. -Pride of birth was certainly one of his earliest ideals, -and it continued to influence him, in a manly and noble -spirit, all through life. It colours, as we know, every -page of his romantic writings, both verse and prose. It -is united always with the ideas of truth, honour, and -courage, and strongly allied with a beautiful sentiment -of chivalry and grace.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Though he never boasted of his own lineage—vulgarity -being alien to his nature—he was always -conscious of it, and always lived up to the ideal -standard it created in his mind. His pedigree was one -in which a romantic antiquary could not but rejoice. -On the mother's side he was a lineal descendant of the -Swintons of that ilk, a family which (as he records) -produced many distinguished warriors in the Middle -Ages, and which, for antiquity and honourable -alliances, may rank with any in Britain. His father's -family, the Scotts of Harden, were still more after his -poetical heart. 'Wat of Harden, who came with speed,' -was a typical Border chief, the sturdy hero of many a -minstrel's lay. For among these rude Borderers not only -had every dale its battle, but every river its song. And -this attachment to music and song, together with the -'rude species of chivalry in constant use' among the -Border clans, raises them to a level amply sufficient -for romance. The grandson of Wat of Harden was -another Walter Scott, who, not being his father's -eldest son, was employed as Factor on the estate of -Makerston. It is strange to think of Wat of Harden's -grandson in a quasi-legal post and noted as a -gentleman of literary leanings. Such he was, however, and -a favourite friend of that great physician and elegant -Latinist, Archibald Pitcairn. The two used to meet -together in Edinburgh, and talked treasonable sentences -in majestic Latin. This Walter, indeed, had proved his -Jacobite loyalty in a manner worthy of his name. He -had fought, 'with conquering Graham,' at Killiecrankie, -and now testified his sorrow for the exile of the Stuarts -by letting his beard grow, untouched by razor or -scissors, as a symbol of mourning, and a visible -protest.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This eccentricity gained for him the nickname of -'Beardie,' and it would have been well (says Sir -Walter) that his zeal had stopped there. But he took -arms, and intrigued in their cause, until he lost all he -had in the world. His second son, Robert, was -intended for the sea, but a shipwreck, which -unfortunately occurred in his first voyage, gave him such -a dislike for the salt water, that he refused to go back -for a second trial. His father, displeased with his son's -perversity, now left him to his own resources. It was -the best thing that could have happened, for the youth -had grit and character, as his grandson's amusing -account of his proceedings sufficiently shows. 'He -turned Whig upon the spot, and fairly abjured his -father's politics and his learned poverty. His chief and -relative, Mr. Scott of Harden, gave him a lease of the -farm of Sandyknowe, comprehending the rocks in the -centre of which Smailholm or Sandyknowe Tower is -situated. He took for his shepherd an old man called -Hogg, who willingly lent him, out of respect to his -family, his whole savings, about thirty pounds, to -stock the new farm. With this sum, which it seems -was at that time sufficient for the purpose, the master -and the servant set off to purchase a stock of sheep at -Whitsun-Tryste, a fair held on a hill near Wooler in -Northumberland. The old shepherd went carefully -from drove to drove, till he found a </span><em class="italics">hirsel</em><span> likely to -answer their purpose, and then returned to tell his -master to come and conclude the bargain. But what -was his surprise to see him galloping a mettled hunter -about the racecourse, and to find he had expended the -whole stock in this extraordinary purchase!—Moses' -bargain of green spectacles did not strike more dismay -into the Vicar of Wakefield's family, than my -grandfather's rashness into the poor old shepherd. The -thing, however, was irretrievable, and they returned -without the sheep. In the course of a few days, -however, my grandfather, who was one of the best -horsemen of his time, attended John Scott of Harden's -hounds on this same horse, and displayed him to such -advantage that he sold him for double the original -price. The farm was now stocked in earnest, and the -rest of my grandfather's career was that of successful -industry.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The wife of this Robert Scott was Barbara -Haliburton, daughter of a Berwickshire laird, whose -brother was proprietor of part of the lands of Dryburgh, -including the ruins of Dryburgh Abbey. Thus this -rare old-world relic, unequalled in its beauty and its -hallowed associations, was likely to fall into the hands -of the father of Sir Walter Scott. It happened, -however, that the old laird, Robert Haliburton, had a -weakness for dabbling in trade, and so came to ruin -himself. His Dryburgh possessions were sold, and -passed for ever out of the hands of the novelist's -relations. Scott seems to have felt considerable regret -over this incident in his family history. There is a -touching note of pathos in the remarks with which he -sums it up in his Autobiography: 'And thus we have -nothing left of Dryburgh, although my father's -maternal inheritance, but the right of stretching our -bones where mine may perhaps be laid ere any eye -but my own glances over these pages.'</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-iv"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER IV</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">Dr. Adam, Rector of High School—Walter Scott's first -Lines—Influence of Adam—Persecution by Nicol—Death-scene -of the Rector—Home Life in George Square—Walter -Scott the 'Writer'—Anecdotes of his Character.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Very special honour, on the part of all lovers of Scott, -is due to Alexander Adam, the Rector of the High -School. Adam, whose text-book of </span><em class="italics">Roman Antiquities</em><span> -continued for over a century to be used in the Scottish -Grammar Schools and Universities, was not only a -scholar, but a man of literary tastes and sympathies. -He was ever ready to detect and encourage any sign -of talent or character among the boys. It was his -custom to encourage them to attempt poetical versions -of Horace and Vergil. These were purely voluntary -efforts, never set as tasks. Of course, such attempts -had a strong attraction for Scott. Though he might -not understand the Latin so well as some of his -comrades, the Rector himself declared that </span><em class="italics">Gualterus Scott</em><span> -was behind few in following and enjoying the author's -meaning. His versions therefore often gained -discriminating praise, and Adam ever after took much -notice of the boy. It is a pleasure to find in the -pages of Lockhart one of these juvenile efforts. No -wonder that Adam had faith in the boy of twelve who -could turn Vergil in language like this:</span></p> -<blockquote> -<div> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="line"><span>'In awful ruins Ætna thunders nigh,</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>And sends in pitchy whirlwinds to the sky</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>Black clouds of smoke, which, still as they aspire,</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>From their dark sides there bursts the glowing fire;</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>At other times huge balls of fire are toss'd,</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>That lick the stars, and in the smoke are lost;</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>Sometimes the mount, with vast convulsions torn,</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>Emits huge rocks, which instantly are borne</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>With loud explosions to the starry skies,</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>The stones made liquid as the huge mass flies,</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>Then back again with greater weight recoils,</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>While Ætna thundering from the bottom boils.'</span></div> -</div> -</div> -</blockquote> -<p class="pfirst"><span>This little piece, it seems, written in a weak, boyish -scrawl, within pencilled marks still visible, had been -carefully preserved by his mother; it was folded up in -a cover inscribed by the old lady—'</span><em class="italics">My Walter's first -lines</em><span>, 1782.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Scott does full justice to the excellent influence of -Dr. Adam on his character. 'I saw I was expected -to do well, and I was piqued in honour to vindicate -my master's favourable opinion. I climbed, therefore, -to the first form; and, though I never made a -first-rate Latinist, my school-fellows, and, what was of -more consequence, I myself, considered that I had a -character for learning to maintain. Dr. Adam, to -whom I owed so much, never failed to remind me of -my obligations when I had made some figure in the -literary world.... He remembered the fate of every -boy at his school during the fifty years he had -superintended it, and always traced their success or -misfortunes entirely to their attention or negligence when -under his care. His "noisy mansion," which to others -would have been a melancholy bedlam, was the pride -of his heart; and the only fatigues he felt, amidst -din and tumult, and the necessity of reading themes, -hearing lessons, and maintaining some degree of order -at the same time, were relieved by comparing himself -to Cæsar, who could dictate to three secretaries at -once:—so ready is vanity to lighten the labours of -duty.' Another great man who testified the same -kindly feeling towards Adam was Francis Jeffrey, -who passed through his hands a few years later than -Scott.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>An incident in Adam's career must now be mentioned -which throws a strong light on a rather seamy side -of Edinburgh character at the time. Very naturally, -though he had no sympathy or even acquaintance -with the party politics then current, the Rector would -occasionally make comparisons between the French -Revolution and the events of ancient history. This -led to some hostility on the part of the pupils. Then -the parents took offence, and the Town Council, as -patrons of the school, persecuted the good man by -encouraging Nicol, one of the masters, to insult and -defy him. This is the 'Willie' who was a friend -of Burns, and who sorely tried the poet's patience -during their tour in the Highlands. He seems to -have been a good classical scholar, an 'admirable -convivial humorist,' but in other respects a downright -blackguard. The savage brute, taking advantage of -his influence with the Council, went so far as actually -to attempt the life of his chief, waylaying and attacking -the poor man after dark. Nicol is one of the two -masters whom Lord Cockburn mentions as the curse -of the school, 'whose atrocities young men cannot be -made to believe, but old men cannot forget.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>We pass from the High School and its memories -with the beautiful and touching picture drawn by Scott -of the death of his old master and friend: 'This -(unpleasant incident) passed away with other heats of -the period, and the Doctor continued his labours till -about a year since, when he was struck with palsy -while teaching his class. He survived a few days, -but becoming delirious before his dissolution, conceived -he was still in school, and after some expressions of -applause or censure, he said, "But it grows dark—the -boys may dismiss,"—and instantly expired.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The home life during these school-days was very -strict, but tempered by the natural outbreaks of youthful -vitality. In later years it is clear that Walter regretted -two things—the unnecessary gloom of Sunday at home, -and the want of sympathy on the part of his father—more -correctly the failure of giving expression to the -feelings which were certainly there, and very deep -and strong. But all the same he loved his father, and -recognised to the full his splendid character. Walter -Scott, the eldest son of Robert of Sandyknowe, was -born in 1729. He was bred to the law, and in due -time became a Writer to the Signet. Though not -perhaps well fitted by nature for such a profession, -he was a hard, conscientious worker, and took a special -interest 'in analysing the abstruse feudal doctrines -connected with conveyancing.' In fact, his high -principles and earnest attachment to religion made it -impossible for him to devote his whole mind to mere -bargain-driving, whether for himself or others. -Anything like sharpness in employing the necessities, -wants, and follies of men for his own pecuniary -advantage was entirely foreign to his nature. Of -fighting the knaves and dastards with the petty weapons -of an ignoble warfare he was as little capable as ever -was his magnanimous son. In all such affairs, in -that son's opinion, 'Uncle Toby himself could not have -conducted himself with more simplicity than my father.' No -quainter proof of this admirable simplicity could -be imagined than the fact that he made a personal -matter of the honour of his clients, and often -embarrassed by his zeal for their credit persons whose -sense of honour and duty was anything but keen. -However, in those days character and honesty were -still appreciated by men who did not imitate them. -Mr. Scott rose to eminence in his profession, and -enjoyed at one time an extensive practice. Somewhat -formal in manner and a rigid Calvinist in religion, -he had many little peculiarities of the rural rather than -the city Scot. Thus, though very abstemious in his -habits, he was fond of sociability and grew very merry -over his sober glass of wine. Moderate in politics, he -had a natural leaning to constitutional principles, and -was jealous of modern encroachments on the royal -prerogative. His weakness for established forms made -him a stickler for points of etiquette at marriages, -christenings, and funerals. The sweetness of his temper, -the dignity and purity of his life, and the charm of -his distinguished personality inspired those who knew -him with singular affection for this Scottish Thomas -Newcome. The best of all this might stand for the -picture of the younger Walter Scott, but it is interesting -to know that in features there was no resemblance -between the father and the son. By a striking but -not unusual freak of heredity, the latter's face was an -almost perfect replica of that of his ancestor 'Beardie.'</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-v"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER V</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">At Edinburgh University—Holidays at Kelso—Home—First -University Class—Professor Hill—Professor Dalzell—The -'Greek Blockhead'—Anecdotes of Dalzell—His History -of Edinburgh University.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Walter Scott was a boy of thirteen when he entered -the University. After leaving the High School he had -been sent to spend half a year with his aunt, Miss -Janet Scott, at Kelso. Here, while keeping up his -Latin with a tutor, he was free to indulge in -miscellaneous reading. Amongst other treasures he came -upon Percy's </span><em class="italics">Reliques</em><span>, about which he declared he had -never read a book half so frequently or with half the -enthusiasm. It confirmed him in the love for legendary -lore, which had begun in infancy. To this period also -he traces the awaking of his feeling for the beauties of -nature, 'more especially when combined with ancient -ruins.' It became, as he says, an insatiable passion, -and indeed goes far to account for his eager pursuit of -territory at Abbotsford. Returning to Edinburgh in -October, he joined the class of Humanity, under -Mr. Hill, and the first Greek class, under Mr. Dalzell. -Unfortunately for his Latin, Hill's class seems for the -time to have been the rowdiest in the University. No -work was done in it. Lord Cockburn, speaking of -1793, bitterly complains that the class was a scene of -unchecked idleness and disrespectful mirth. Scott says -that Hill was beloved by his students, but that he held -the reins of discipline very loosely. In fact, the boy, -as might have been expected of his lively nature, took -his part in the fun and forgot much of the Latin he had -learned under Adam and Whale (the Selkirk tutor). -But his loss in the Greek class was greater still. The -first class, in those days, was engaged on the mere -elements, but Walter had not even the smattering -which was necessary to keep up with this humble -attempt. He therefore resolved not to learn Greek at -all, and professed a contempt for the language, as a -method of braving things out. He was known in the -class as the </span><em class="italics">Greek Blockhead</em><span>, and at the end of the -session he wrote an essay to prove the inferiority of -Homer to Ariosto. This whimsical idea he defended -with such force as to rouse Professor Dalzell's indignation, -but while reproving the foolish presumption of the -young critic, he honestly expressed his surprise at the -quantity of out-of-the-way knowledge which the boy -had displayed. It was like Samuel Johnson quoting -Macrobius to the Oxford dons. But Dalzell, instead of -complimenting and flattering the genius, denounced -him, saying that dunce he was and dunce he would -remain. The good judge, however, handsomely -reversed and recalled this verdict in after-years 'over a -bottle of Burgundy, at our literary club at Fortune's, -of which he was a distinguished member.' Cockburn, -like Scott, entered Dalzell's class without any -knowledge of Greek. He has left a charming picture of the -Professor, with whose ways and ideas he seems to have -been in full sympathy. 'At the mere teaching of a -language to boys, he was ineffective. How is it -possible for the elements, including the very letters, of -a language to be taught to one hundred boys at -once, by a single lecturing professor? To the lads -who, like me, to whom the very alphabet was new, -required positive </span><em class="italics">teaching</em><span>, the class was utterly useless. -Nevertheless, though not a good schoolmaster, it is a -duty, and delightful to record Dalzell's value as a -general exciter of boys' minds. Dugald Stewart alone -excepted, he did me more good than all the other -instructors I had. Mild, affectionate, simple, an absolute -enthusiast about learning—particularly classical, and -especially Greek—with an innocence of soul and of -manner which imparted an air of honest kindliness to -whatever he said or did, and a slow, soft, formal voice, -he was a great favourite with all boys, and with all -good men. Never was a voyager, out in quest of new -islands, more delighted in finding one, than he was in -discovering any good quality in any humble youth.... -He could never make us actively laborious. But when -we sat passive and listened to him, he inspired us with -a vague but sincere ambition of literature, and with -delicious dreams of virtue and poetry. He must have -been a hard boy whom these discourses, spoken by -Dalzell's low, soft, artless voice, did not melt.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Dalzell was clerk to the General Assembly, and was -long one of the curiosities of that strange place, for -which Cockburn quaintly says he was too innocent. -The last time he saw Dalzell was just before his death, -of the near approach of which the old man was quite -aware. He was busy amusing his children by trying -to discharge a twopenny cannon; but his alarm and -awkwardness only terrified the little ones. At last he -got behind a washing-tub, and then, fastening the match -to the end of a long stick, set the piece of ordnance -off gloriously. He seems to have held the opinion -strongly that the seventeenth century was responsible -for the defects of classical learning in Scotland. Sydney -Smith declared that one dark night he had overheard -the Professor muttering to himself on the street, 'If -it had not been for that confounded Solemn League -and Covenant, we would have made as good longs -and shorts as they' (the English Episcopalians).</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Professor Dalzell compiled a History of the University -of Edinburgh from its foundation to his own time. -His own election to the Greek chair took place in 1772, -and he was at the time acting as tutor to the sons of the -Earl of Lauderdale. From 1785 he appears to have -acted as joint Secretary and Librarian, thus obtaining -access to all the materials necessary for his elaborate -History.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-vi"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER VI</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">Scott's University Studies—The old Latin Chronicles—Dugald -Stewart, His Success described—His elegant Essays—Popular -Subjects—Picture of Stewart by Lord Cockburn—His -Lectures—Anecdote of Macvey Napier—Meets Robert -Burns—The Poet's 'Pocket Milton.'</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Certainly Edinburgh University cannot claim to have -contributed much, if anything at all, to the training of -the future poet, novelist, and man of letters. In his -second session he fell ill, and was sent again to Kelso -to recruit. He had now lost all taste for the Latin -classics, and his reading at this time was almost -entirely without aim or system, except that his taste led -him to make a special point of history. He read George -Buchanan's Latin History of Scotland, Matthew Paris, -and various monkish chronicles in Latin, but Greek -he now gave up for ever. He had forgotten the very -letters of the Greek alphabet; a loss, as he says, never -to be repaired, considering what that language is, and -who they were who employed it in their compositions. -His knowledge of mathematics was, by his own account, -never more than a superficial smattering. He seems, -however, to have won some distinction in the study of -ethics, having been one of the students selected in this -class for the distinction of reading an essay before the -Principal. The great ornament of the Arts Faculty -was at this time Dugald Stewart, of whom some -account must now be given as representing in its best -and typical aspects the characteristic Edinburgh culture -of the period. Stewart had succeeded his father as -Professor of Mathematics in 1775, and had obtained the -chair of Moral Philosophy in 1785 by exchanging with -a colleague. He occupied this chair for twenty-five -years, during which time, by his lectures and writings, -he gained the very highest distinction, not only for the -importance of his philosophical speculations, but on -account of the high literary merits of his style. There -is no doubt that his reputation was greatly exaggerated, -for his technical work was really of no value; but in -his own time he maintained a foremost place, and his -celebrity shed honour alike on his University and his -native country. In fact, Dugald Stewart is the most -remarkable example we know of the great possibilities -that lie open to men of ordinary or even meagre -capacities, who know how to make effective use of the -commonplace. His merits were such as may belong -to any man: he mastered the details of his subject with -thorough care, he read much and drew upon literature -for illustrative quotations, he supported moral theories -by an elaborate sentimental rhetoric, he was most careful -in his personal conduct, and, above all, he studiously -maintained great formal dignity of both speech and -manners. In short, he cultivated all the prudential -and external methods of success, and he obtained it full -and overflowing. He might have reversed the lines of -Cato, and said:</span></p> -<blockquote> -<div> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="line"><span>''Tis not in mortals to deserve success:</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>But I'll do more, my subjects, I'll command it.'</span></div> -</div> -</div> -</blockquote> -<p class="pfirst"><span>In his college lectures his method was to expatiate on -the popular aspects of moral themes, studiously avoiding -repulsive technicalities and brain-taxing discussions. -Thus, by judiciously limiting his topics to those in -which it was possible to exercise the embellishments of -rhetoric, he succeeded in his aim of always preserving -the appearance of dignity and greatness. He never -deviated from the great style in language or manner, -and it is not surprising that his matter temporarily -passed for great. The man who is never seen other -than faultlessly attired in the height of fashion is bound -to be considered a well-to-do gentleman. Walter Scott, -however, does not seem to have been carried away by -the prevailing current of enthusiasm. He merely -mentions that he was further instructed in Moral -Philosophy by Mr. Dugald Stewart, whose striking and -impressive eloquence riveted the attention even of the -most volatile students.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>To Lord Cockburn's essentially different nature -Stewart was the ideal of academic greatness, the -correctness of Stewart's taste striking him with a -certain awe. Stewart's elegant essays, 'embellished -by the happiest introduction of exquisite quotations,' on -such subjects as the obligations of patriotism and -affection, the cultivation and the value of taste, the -charms of literature and science, etc., appeared to him -not only fascinating, which they were, but always -great, which certainly they were not.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Lord Cockburn describes Dugald Stewart as 'about -the middle size, weakly limbed, and with an appearance -of feebleness which gave an air of delicacy to his gait and -structure. His forehead was large and bald, his eyebrows -bushy, his eyes grey, and intelligent, and capable of -conveying any emotion, from indignation to pity, from serene -sense to hearty humour: in which they were powerfully -aided by his lips, which, though rather large perhaps, -were flexible and expressive. The voice was singularly -pleasing; and, as he managed it, a slight burr only -made its tones softer. His ear, both for music and -for speech, was exquisite; and he was the finest reader -I have ever heard. His gesture was simple and -elegant, though not free from a tinge of professional -formality; and his whole manner that of an academical -gentleman....</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'He lectured, standing, from notes which, with their -successive additions, must, I suppose, at last have been -nearly as full as his spoken words. His lecturing -manner was professorial, but gentlemanlike; calm and -expository, but rising into greatness, or softening into -tenderness, whenever his subject required it. A slight -asthmatic tendency made him often clear his throat; and -such was my admiration of the whole exhibition, that -Macvey Napier told him, not long ago, that I had said -there was eloquence in his very spitting. "Then," -said he, "I am glad there was at least one thing in -which I had no competitor...." To me his lectures -were like the opening of the heavens. I felt that I had -a soul. His noble views, unfolded in glorious -sentences, elevated me into a higher world. I was as -much excited and charmed as any man of cultivated -senses would be, who, after being ignorant of their -existence, was admitted to all the glories of Milton, -Cicero, and Shakespeare. They changed my whole -nature. In short, Dugald Stewart was one of the -greatest of didactic orators. Had he lived in ancient -time, his memory would have descended to us as that of -one of the finest of the old eloquent sages. But his lot -was better cast. Flourishing in an age which requires -all the dignity of morals to counteract the tendencies -of physical pursuits and political convulsion, he has -exalted the character of his country and his generation. -No intelligent pupil of his ever ceased to respect -philosophy or was ever false to his principles, without -feeling the crime aggravated by the recollection of the -morality that Stewart had taught him.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This last tribute to Stewart is a very fine idea. It -recalls Persius' noble line:</span></p> -<blockquote> -<div> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="line"><span>'Virtutem videant, intabescantque relicta.'</span></div> -</div> -</div> -</blockquote> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Stewart had the great honour and felicity of meeting -Burns on his first visit to Edinburgh in 1786. A more -singularly contrasted pair could hardly have been -brought together from any corners of the earth. Burns -looked up to the celebrated professor with genuine -admiration, for rhetoric was the great poet's -besetting weakness. He speaks of Stewart personally -always with respect and esteem, but the stateliness of -the patricians in Edinburgh almost disgusted him with -life. He was obliged to buy a pocket Milton, so that -he might be able, whenever he recalled it, to study -the sentiments of courage, independence, and noble -defiance, 'in that great personage, SATAN,' as an -antidote to the poisoned feeling of disgust.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-vii"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER VII</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">Old Edinburgh Society—Manners of the older -Generation—St. Cecilia's -Hall—Buccleuch Place Rooms—Rules of the -Assemblies—Drinking Customs—Recollections of Lord -Cockburn.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The great transformation process of Edinburgh life -and society was a striking feature of the years during -which Walter Scott grew from boyhood to manhood. -The rise of the New Town, with the consequent rapid -migration of the much greater part of the well-to-do -population, was naturally the most active factor in the -change. There was a general alteration of habits. -Families changed their style of living. Old arrangements, -necessitated by the lofty old houses, disappeared. -Old peculiarities, which gave character and Scottish -individuality to the city, were obliterated as if by magic. -As might be expected, such sweeping changes were -disliked and denounced by many who looked upon the -whole movement as a vulgarising of the old gentilities. -The social habits of the older generation were a strange -mixture of coarseness and extreme decorum, based upon -artificial rules. The latter side is seen in the delightful -sketches which Lord Cockburn has left us of the old -concert-rooms and assembly-rooms which were maintained -by the fashionable class for their own exclusive use.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Saint Cecilia's Hall was the only public resort of -the musical, and besides being our most selectly -fashionable place of amusement, was the best and the -most beautiful concert-room I have ever yet seen. And -there have I myself seen most of our literary and -fashionable gentlemen, predominating with their side -curls and frills, and ruffles, and silver buckles; and our -stately matrons stiffened in hoops and gorgeous satin; -and our beauties with high-heeled shoes, powdered and -pomatumed hair, and lofty and composite head-dresses. -All this was in the Cowgate! the last retreat nowadays -of destitution and disease. The building still stands, -though raised and changed, and is looked down upon -from South Bridge, over the eastern side of the Cowgate -Arch. When I last saw it, it seemed to be partly an -old clothesman's shop, and partly a brazier's.[1] The -abolition of this Cecilian temple, and the necessity of -finding accommodation where they could, and of depending -for patronage on the common boisterous public, of -course, extinguished the delicacies of the old artificial -parterre.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">[1] It is now part of the bookbinding premises -of George Cooper and Co., -Niddry Street. -The Hall itself is now used as a store for paper.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>'Our balls, and their manners, fared no better. The -ancient dancing establishments in the Bow and the -Assembly Close I know nothing about. Everything of -the kind was meant to be annihilated by the erection -(about 1784) of the handsome apartments in George -Street. Yet even against these, the new part of the -old town made a gallant struggle, and in my youth the -whole fashionable dancing, as indeed the fashionable -everything, clung to George Square; where (in -Buccleuch Place, close by the south-eastern corner of -the square) most beautiful rooms were erected, which, -for several years, threw the New Town piece of -presumption entirely into the shade. And here were the -last remains of the ballroom discipline of the preceding -age. Martinet dowagers and venerable beaux acted -as masters and mistresses of ceremonies, and made all -the preliminary arrangements. No couple could dance -unless each party was provided with a ticket prescribing -the precise place in the precise dance. If there was -no ticket, the gentleman, or the lady, was dealt with as -an intruder, and turned out of the dance. If the ticket -had marked upon it—say, for a country dance, the -figures 3, 5, this meant that the holder was to place -himself in the third dance, and fifth from the top; -and if he was anywhere else, he was set right or -excluded. And the partner's tickets must correspond. -Woe to the poor girl who, with ticket 2, 7, was found -opposite a youth marked 5, 9! It was flirting without -a licence, and looked very ill, and would probably be -reported by the ticket director of that dance to the -mother. Of course, parties, or parents, who wished to -secure dancing for themselves or those they had charge -of, provided themselves with correct and corresponding -vouchers before the ball day arrived. This could only -be accomplished through a director: and the election -of a pope sometimes requires less jobbing. When -parties chose to take their chance, they might do so; -but still, though only obtained in the room, the written -permission was necessary; and such a thing as a -compact to dance, by a couple, without official -authority, would have been an outrage that could scarcely -be contemplated. Tea was sipped in side-rooms, -and he was a careless beau who did not present his -partner with an orange at the end of each dance; and -the orange and the tea, like everything else, were under -exact and positive regulations. All this disappeared, -and the very rooms were obliterated, as soon as -the lately raised community secured its inevitable -supremacy to the New Town. The aristocracy of a -few predominating individuals and families came to an -end; and the unreasonable old had nothing for it but -to sigh over the recollection of the select and elegant -parties of their youth, where indiscriminate public right -was rejected, and its coarseness awed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Yet in some respects there was far more coarseness -in the formal age than in the free one. Two vices -especially, which have been long banished from all -respectable society, were very prevalent, if not universal, -among the whole upper ranks—swearing and drunkenness. -Nothing was more common than for gentlemen -who had dined with ladies, and meant to rejoin them, -to get drunk. To get drunk in a tavern seemed to -be considered as a natural, if not an intended -consequence of going to one. Swearing was thought the -right, and the mark, of a gentleman. And, tried by -this test, nobody, who had not seen them, could now -be made to believe how many gentlemen there were. -Not that people were worse tempered then than now. -They were only coarser in their manners, and had -got into a bad style of admonition and dissent. And -the evil provoked its own continuance, because nobody -who was blamed cared for the censure, or understood -that it was serious, unless it was clothed in execration; -and any intensity even of kindness or of logic, that -was not embodied in solid commination, evaporated, -and was supposed to have been meant to evaporate, -in the very uttering. The naval chaplain justified his -cursing the sailors, because it made them listen to -him; and Braxfield apologised to a lady whom he -damned at whist for bad play, by declaring that he -had mistaken her for his wife. This odious practice -was applied with particular offensiveness by those in -authority towards their inferiors. In the army it was -universal by officers towards soldiers; and far more -frequent than is now credible by masters towards -servants.'</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-viii"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER VIII</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">Description of St. Cecilia's Hall—Concerts—Old-fashioned -Contempt for 'Stars'—Former Assembly Rooms—The -George Street Rooms—Scott and the old Social Ways—Simplicity -and Friendliness—His Picture of the Beginnings -of Fashion in the New Town.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>A few additional details can still be given of the places -thus described by Lord Cockburn. St. Cecilia's Hall -was seated, in the manner of an amphitheatre, for five -hundred persons, with a large open space in the centre. -The orchestra was at the upper end of the room, where -there was also 'an elegant organ.' It was managed -by a great society of musical gentlemen, a society -which, it seems, originated from a weekly club-meeting, -as was then usual, in a tavern. The landlord, -Steil, was extremely fond of music, and was regarded -as an excellent singer of Scottish songs. The concerts -given in St. Cecilia's Hall, besides their fashionable -aspect, seem to have been of high musical merit. One -writing about the beginning of last century laments -most feelingly its neglect and decay. He describes -the great doings of its palmy days, when the best -compositions of the old school took the lead in the -plans of the concerts; when the sublime compositions -of Handel, and the enchanting strains of Corelli, were -ably conducted under the direction of a Pinto, a Puppo, -a Penducci, and a Kelly. He declares that genuine -taste for music has decayed in Edinburgh; that the -rage of the present day is only to be captivated by -those intricate capriccios in execution which excite no -passion but surprise; and that the sweet sounds which -enchanted the ears of our forefathers are now laid aside -for those which amaze rather than delight. It is true -(he continues) we may be </span><em class="italics">occasionally</em><span> honoured with -a visit by a Braham or a Catalani; but, like birds of -passage, scarcely have they </span><em class="italics">feathered their nests</em><span>, when -they wing their way to milder climes. How different -and how disagreeable, in fact, must modern arrangements -have appeared to old-fashioned worthies. The -'stars' of the old time were paid only by results, that -is, by benefit nights whose success was, of course, -in proportion to the singer's merits.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The first Assembly Rooms were at the West Bow, -opened in 1760. The Assemblies were removed to -new rooms in the High Street (Assembly Close) some -ten years later. They were weekly meetings for -dancing and card-playing, kept up by a charge of five -shillings for admission. At first the Assemblies were -managed entirely by private individuals, but a change -was made in 1746, when they were transferred to the -charge of seven persons connected with the Royal -Infirmary and the Charity Workhouse. A lady of -fashion was always associated with this committee, to -look after points of etiquette and decorum. The surplus -funds were always given to the two institutions named. -The George Street Rooms were erected to supply -defects of accommodation and to shift the centre of -fashion into the New Town. Sir Walter pictures the -veterans of his generation as recollecting with a sigh -the Old Assembly Rooms, or Dun's Rooms, or the -George Street Rooms, when first opened, as a place -of public amusement, where all persons, of rank and -fashion entitling them to frequent such places, met -upon easy and upon equal terms, and without any -attempt at intrusion on the part of others; where the -pretensions of every one were known and judged of -by their birth and manners, and not by assumed airs -of extravagance, or a lavish display of wealth. His -conclusion was that, upon the whole, the society of -the higher classes in Edinburgh was formerly select, -the members better known to each other, and therefore -more easy in intercourse than at a later day (say after -the beginning of the nineteenth century). Evidently -what charmed Scott was the family charm of the old -system, and the mild assertion of the aristocratic caste -which was doomed to give way before the claims of -mere wealth. The Scottish aristocracy were not rich. -The old Edinburgh therefore suited at once their purses -and their prejudices. The ladies were content to entertain -their friends at tea. Then after some wine-drinking -by the gentlemen, the carpets would be lifted, and a -homely and happy evening spent in dancing. Thus -there was abundance of sociability at little expense; and -friendships were warmer because of this admission to -the intimacies of the ordinary daily life. Families met -more frequently, when the only preparation necessary -was 'a social and domestic meal of plain cookery, -with a glass of good port-wine or claret.' Scott is -never severe on the drinking customs, of which the -purely social aspect appealed so strongly to his warm -heart and kindly nature. He admits that the claret -was sometimes allowed to circulate too often and too -long, but the tea-table and the card-party claimed their -rights sooner or later, and perhaps the young ladies -might thank the claret for the frequent proposal of -rolling aside the carpet and dancing to the music of -the pianoforte.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Contrast with these happy and home-like revels the -beginnings of the modern system as pictured by Scott. -'Certainly he who has witnessed and partaken of -pleasures attainable on such easy terms, may be allowed -to murmur at modern parties, where, with much more -formality and more expense, the same cheerful results -are not equally secured. When, after a month's -invitation, he meets a large party of twenty or thirty -people, probably little known to him and to each other, -who are entertained with French cookery and a variety -of expensive wines offered in succession, while -circumstances often betray that the landlord is making an -effort beyond his usual habits; when the company -protract a dull effort at conversation under the reserve -imposed by their being strangers to each other, and -reunite with the ladies, sober enough, it is true, but -dull enough also, to drink cold coffee, he expects at -least to finish the evening with dance and song, or -the lively talk around the fire, or the comfortable, -old-fashioned rubber. But these are no part of modern -manners. No sooner is the dinner-party ended, than -each guest sets forth on a nocturnal cruise from one -crowded party to another; and ends by elbowing, it -may be, in King Street, about three o'clock in the -morning, the very same folks whom he elbowed at -ten o'clock at night in Charlotte Square, and who, -like him, have spent the whole night in the streets, -and in going in or out of lighted apartments.'</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-ix"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER IX</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">Manners and Social Customs—Cockburn's Sketches—The -Dinner-hour—The Procession—The Viands—Drinking—Claret—Healths -and Toasts—Anecdote of Duke of -Buccleuch—'Rounds' of Toasts—'Sentiments'—The -Dominie of Arndilly—Scott's Views of the old -Customs—Decline of 'friendly' Feeling.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>We shall now give Lord Cockburn's very interesting -picture of the evenings which Scott dwelt upon with -such sympathetic regret:—</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'The prevailing dinner-hour was about three o'clock. -Two o'clock was quite common, if there was no -company. Hence it was no great deviation from their -usual custom for a family to dine on Sundays "between -sermons"—that is, between one and two. The hour, in -time, but not without groans and predictions, became -four, at which it stuck for several years. Then it got -to five, which, however, was thought positively -revolutionary; and four was long and gallantly adhered to -by the haters of change as "the good old hour." At -last even they were obliged to give in. But they only -yielded inch by inch, and made a desperate stand at -half-past four. Even five, however, triumphed, and -continued the average polite hour from (I think) about -1806, or 1807, till about 1820. Six has at last -prevailed, and half an hour later is not unusual. As yet -this is the furthest stretch of London imitation.... -Thus, within my memory, the hour has ranged from two -to half-past six o'clock; and a stand has been regularly -made at the end of every half-hour against each -encroachment; and always on the same grounds—dislike -of change and jealousy of finery.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Oldbuck of Monkbarns, it will be remembered, who -flourished </span><em class="italics">circa</em><span> 1804, invited his guests to the famous -'coenobitical symposion' </span><em class="italics">at four o'clock precisely</em><span>. It may be presumed -that the Antiquary in this matter, however, lingered a little in -the rear of the fashion. The dishes at the symposion -comprehended 'many savoury specimens of Scottish viands now -disused at the tables of those who affect elegance'—hotch-potch, -'the relishing Solan goose,' fish and sauce, crappit-heads, -and chicken-pie. The Antiquary's beverage was port, a wine -highly approved of by the clerical friend who so ably disposed of -the relics of the feast intended for the worthy host's supper.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'The procession from the drawing-room to the -dining-room was formerly arranged on a different -principle from what it is now. There was no such -alarming proceeding as that of each gentleman -approaching a lady, and the two hooking together. This -would have excited as much horror as the waltz at first -did, which never showed itself without denunciations of -continental manners by correct gentlemen and worthy -mothers and aunts. All the ladies first went off by -themselves, in a regular row, according to the ordinary -rules of precedence. Then the gentlemen moved off in -a single file; so that when they reached the dining-room, -the ladies were all there, lingering about the -backs of the chairs, till they could see what their fate -was to be. Then began the selection of partners, the -leaders of the male line having the advantage of -priority; and of course the magnates had an affinity for -each other.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'The dinners themselves were much the same as at -present. Any difference is in a more liberal adoption -of the cookery of France. Ice, either for cooling or -eating, was utterly unknown, except in a few houses -of the highest class. There was far less drinking -during dinner than now, and far more after it. The -staple wines, even at ceremonious parties, were in -general only port and sherry. Champagne was never -seen. It only began to appear after France was opened -by the peace of 1815. The exemption of Scotch claret -from duty, which continued (I believe) till about 1780, -made it till then the ordinary beverage. I have heard -Henry Mackenzie and other old people say that, when -a cargo of claret came to Leith, the common way of -proclaiming its arrival was by sending a hogshead of -it through the town on a cart, with a horn; and that -anybody who wanted a sample, or a drink under pretence -of a sample, had only to go to the cart with a jug, -which, without much nicety about its size, was filled -for a sixpence. The tax ended this mode of advertising; -and, aided by the horror of everything French, -drove claret from all tables below the richest.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Healths and toasts were special torments; -oppressions which cannot now be conceived. Every glass -during dinner required to be dedicated to the health of -some one. It was thought sottish and rude to take -wine without this—as if forsooth there was nobody -present worth drinking with. I was present about -1803, when the late Duke of Buccleuch took a glass of -sherry by himself at the table of Charles Hope, then -Lord Advocate; and this was noticed afterwards as a -piece of ducal contempt. And the person asked to take -wine was not invited by anything so slovenly as a look -combined with a putting of the hand upon the bottle, as -is practised by near neighbours now. It was a much -more serious affair. For one thing, the wine was very -rarely on the table. It had to be called for; and in order -to let the servant know to whom he was to carry it, the -caller was obliged to specify his partner aloud. All -this required some premeditation and courage. Hence -timid men never ventured on so bold a step at all, but -were glad to escape by only drinking when they were -invited. As this ceremony was a mark of respect, the -landlord, or any other person who thought himself the -great man, was generally graciously pleased to perform -it to every one present. But he and others were always -at liberty to abridge the severity of the duty by -performing it by platoons. They took a brace, or two -brace, of ladies or of gentlemen, or of both, and got -them all engaged at once, and proclaiming to the -sideboard—"A glass of sherry for Miss Dundas, -Mrs. Murray, and Miss Hope, and a glass of port for -Mr. Hume, and one for me," he slew them by coveys. -And all the parties to the contract were bound to -acknowledge each other distinctly. No nods or grins -or indifference, but a direct look at the object, the -audible uttering of the very words—"Your good -health," accompanied by a respectful inclination of the -head, a gentle attraction of the right hand towards the -heart, and a gratified smile. And after all these -detached pieces of attention during the feast were over, no -sooner was the table cleared, and the after-dinner glasses -set down, than it became necessary for each person, -following the landlord, to drink the health of every -other person present, individually. Thus, where there -were ten people, there were ninety healths drunk. -This ceremony was often slurred over by the bashful, -who were allowed merely to look the benediction; but -usage compelled them to look it distinctly, and to each -individual. To do this well required some grace, and -consequently it was best done by the polite ruffled and -frilled gentlemen of the olden time.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'This prandial nuisance was horrible. But it was -nothing to what followed. For after dinner, and before -the ladies retired, there generally began what were -called "</span><em class="italics">Rounds</em><span>" of toasts; when each gentleman -named an absent lady, and another person was required -to match a gentleman with that lady, and the pair -named were toasted, generally with allusions and jokes -about the fitness of the union. And, worst of all, -there were "sentiments." These were short -epigrammatic sentences, expressive of moral feelings and -virtues, and were thought refined and elegant -productions. A faint conception of their nauseousness may -be formed from the following examples, every one -of which I have heard given a thousand times, and -which indeed I only recollect from their being favourites. -The glasses being filled, a person was asked for his, or -her, sentiment, when this, or something similar, was -committed—"May the pleasures of the evening bear -the reflections of the morning," Or, "May the friends -of our youth be the companions of our old age." Or, -"Delicate pleasures to susceptible minds." "May -the honest heart never feel distress." "May the hand -of charity wipe the tear from the eye of sorrow." "May -never worse be among us." There were stores -of similar reflections; and for all kinds of parties, from -the elegant and romantic to the political, the municipal, -the ecclesiastic, and the drunken. Many of the -thoughts and sayings survive still, and may occasionally -be heard at a club or a tavern. But even there -they are out of vogue as established parts of the -entertainment; and in some scenes nothing can be very -offensive. But the proper </span><em class="italics">sentiment</em><span> was a high and -pure production; a moral motto; and was meant to -dignify and grace private society. Hence, even after -an easier age began to sneer at the display, the correct -thing was to receive the sentiment, if not with real -admiration, at least with decorous respect. Mercifully, -there was a large known public stock of the odious -commodity, so that nobody who could screw up his -nerves to pronounce the words, had any occasion to -strain his invention. The conceited, the ready, or the -reckless, hackneyed in the art, had a knack of making -new sentiments applicable to the passing accidents, -with great ease. But it was a dreadful oppression on -the timid or the awkward. They used to shudder, -ladies particularly—for nobody was spared when their -turn in the </span><em class="italics">round</em><span> approached. Many a struggle and -blush did it cost; but this seemed only to excite the -tyranny of the masters of the craft; and compliance -could never be avoided except by more torture than -yielding. There can scarcely be a better example of the -emetical nature of the stuff that was swallowed than the -sentiment elaborated by the poor dominie of Arndilly. -He was called upon, in his turn, before a large party, -and having nothing to guide him in an exercise to -which he was new, except what he saw was liked, after -much writhing and groaning, he came out with—"The -reflection of the moon in the cawm bosom of the lake." It -is difficult for those who have been born under a -more natural system, to comprehend how a sensible -man, a respectable matron, a worthy old maid, and -especially a girl, could be expected to go into company -only on such conditions.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Different men, different minds. Even from this -picture, which is taken from the point of view of one -who was by nature critical and prone to dissent, one -can see how jolly and amusing such parties must often -have been made. Scott liked them; enjoyed them -thoroughly. What would one not give to have seen -him presiding at one of those 'grave annual dinners of -the Bannatyne Club,' where he always insisted on -rounds of ladies and gentlemen, and of authors and -printers, poets and kings, in regular pairs. The -custom, in spite of its drawbacks, fulfilled the great end -and aim of sociability: it brought every individual guest -into active participation in the evening's proceedings. -Nowadays, 'annual' banquets almost always fail in -this; being only, as a rule, occasions for more or less -falsetto speechifying by a temporary clique of -self-regarded notables and their complacent secretary. The -toast-system was also favourable to loyalty and -patriotism, the health of the King never being -neglected at the family dinner-table, even when no -guests were present. That custom, we fear, has now -fallen away, along with that other and nobler one -immortalised in 'The Cotter's Saturday Night.'</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-x"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER X</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">Religious Observances—Sunday Attendance at Church—Sunday -Books—Breakdown of the System—Alleged Infidelity -among Professors—Low State of Morality—Increase -of mixed Population—Provincialism.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The externals of religion in Edinburgh underwent a -radical change during the boyhood of Walter Scott. -The generation that was then retiring from the scene -was a generation devoted, in all externals at least, to -the cultivation of the religious duties. Rich and poor, -old and young, they attended church with unfailing -regularity. They held to the strict Puritanic idea of -the Sabbath Day. That is, they thought devotion the -only proper employment of that day, and considered -even a casual appearance on the street during the hours -of worship as a disgrace. With them family worship -was a general and honoured practice. The reading of -any but definitely religious books on Sunday was -forbidden in every respectable family. In fact, the Sunday -at home in such a family as Scott's was a day of -discipline, of which even his good-nature was inclined to -complain. What vexed his young soul was 'the gloom -of one dull sermon succeeding to another.' The Sunday -books were to him a relief and a delight. He retained -all his life a favour for Bunyan's Pilgrim, Gesner's -Death of Abel, Rowe's Letters, and a few others. Still, -in his opinion, the tedium of the day did the young -people no good. The scene soon changed. Even in -the early eighties we find it noted as 'ungenteel' to go -to church in a family capacity. Amusements and idle -recreation began to be common. The streets were now -crowded during the hours of service. On Sunday -evenings they became scenes of noise and disorder. -Family worship was abandoned, even, as was whispered, -by the clergy themselves. And, as a striking evidence -of this rapid declension, it is recorded that church -collections had fallen from £1500 to £1000 a year. -Critical seniors loudly wailed, but their outcry was as -useless as it was earnest. Old times were changed, old -manners gone, never to return. The decent, staid, and -dignified generation was being hustled from the scene -by a flippant, noisy crowd of loose and licentious -innovators. Conduct which the elders would have regarded -and punished as criminal was no longer atoned for even -by the blush of shame.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Such a view of Edinburgh's religious state at the end -of the eighteenth century was at all events maintained -by certain praisers of the past. It has also been stoutly -asserted that infidelity was rampant, under the ægis of -the redoubtable David Hume. The University especially -was accused of being tainted with infidelity, but the -charge is denounced by Lord Cockburn as utterly false. -'I am not aware (he says) of a single professor to whom -it was ever applied, or could be applied, justly. -Freedom of discussion was not in the least combined with -scepticism among the students, or in their societies. I -never knew nor heard of a single student, tutor, or -professor, by whom infidelity was disclosed, or in whose -thoughts I believed it to be harboured, with perhaps -only two obscure and doubtful exceptions. I consider -the imputation as chiefly an invention to justify modern -intolerance.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>As to the comparative religiousness of the present -and the preceding generation, any such comparison is -very difficult to be made. Religion is certainly more -the fashion than it used to be. There is more said -about it; there has been a great rise, and consequently -a great competition, of sects; and the general mass of the -religious public has been enlarged. On the other hand, -if we are to believe one-half of what some religious -persons themselves assure us, religion is now almost -extinct. My opinion is that the balance is in favour of -the present time. And I am certain that it would be -much more so, if the modern dictators would only -accept of that as religion, which was considered to be -so by their devout fathers.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>On the whole, with due heed paid to possible qualifications, -it is clear that the standard of life and conduct -must have been low between, say, 1780 and 1820. We -have Scott's express statement that domestic purity was -in general maintained in Edinburgh society, but -scandalous exceptions were by no means unknown. Among -the lower classes the freedom from wholesome, if -irksome, restraints was, of course, marked by greater -lapses. Among them a generation grew up, practically -ignorant of the elementary ideas of religion. As a -contemporary quaintly puts it, they were as ignorant as -Hottentots, and as little acquainted with the decalogue -as with repealed Acts of Parliament. The streets, which -formerly a lady might have traversed in perfect safety -at any hour, now became notoriously unsafe. Doubtless -all this was increased, and to some extent occasioned, -by the constant influx of a new and shifting population, -attracted by the rapid extension of the city. The vices -and easy manners of a modern city soon concealed what -remained of the old Scottish habits and character. In -short, Edinburgh in those years passed from the state -of a national capital to that of a big provincial centre, -such as Colonel Mannering beheld it, 'with its noise -and clamour, its sounds of trade, of revelry and licence, -and the eternally changing bustle of its hundred groups.'</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-xi"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XI</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">Scott apprenticed to the Law—Copying Money and </span><em class="italics small">menus -plaisirs</em><span class="small">—Novels—Romances—Early Attempts—John -Irving—Sibbald's Library—Sees Robert Burns—The -Parliament House—The 'Krames.'</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>About 1785-86, Walter Scott, acceding to his father's -wish, was indentured in his father's office, and 'entered -upon the dry and barren wilderness of forms and -conveyances.' Boy as he was, he felt even then that he was -not cut out for this career, but family circumstances and -the necessary intimacy with so many representatives of -the profession no doubt prevented him from making -any very serious objection, though he felt in a general -way that his 'parts ill-suited law's dry, musty arts.' His -warm affection and respect for his father was also a -determining motive. For this reason, and indeed with -the honest desire to excel, he made up his mind to work -hard. But he was never enthusiastic over deeds and -quills. He mentions as no trifling incentive to labour, -the copying money, an allowance which supplied him -with funds for going to the theatre and subscribing to a -library.[1] One of his feats was to copy one hundred -and twenty folio pages with no interval either for food -or rest. But when there was no call for toil, he would -spend his time in reading. His desk was filled with -books of every kind, except manuals of law. His -supreme delight was in works of fiction, of which he -must have read an enormous number. He was not, -however, entirely uncritical in his choice. Only the -'art of Burney, or the feeling of Mackenzie,' could -make him read a domestic tale. He therefore realised -early enough that the field of novel-writing was -unoccupied. His fondness for adventure led him to -devour every romance he came across without much -discrimination. 'I really believe (he says) I have read -as much nonsense of this class as any man now living.' Of -the exploits of knight-errantry he never tired, and -he soon began to make attempts at imitating the stories -he loved. These early efforts were not in verse.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">[1] See General Preface to Waverley Novels.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>A quaintly interesting glimpse into the life of this -most notable of law apprentices is given in the General -Preface of 1829, where he describes himself and a -chosen friend as delighting, on a holiday, to escape -from the town and in some solitary spot to recite -alternately such adventures as each had been able to invent. -'These legends, in which the material and the -miraculous always predominated, we rehearsed to each other -during our walks, which were usually directed to the -most solitary spots about Arthur's Seat and Salisbury -Crags.... Whole holidays were spent in this singular -pastime, which continued for two or three years, and -had, I believe, no small effect in directing the turn of -my imagination to the chivalrous and romantic in -poetry and prose.' This companion of Scott's was -Mr. John Irving, W.S., whose mother seems also to have -been very sympathetic with the boy. She would recite -ballads to him, which he easily learned by heart, and -which helped him in making the collection in six -volumes which he had thus early begun.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Such being his tastes, he was naturally more -interested in literary characters than in the notable -men of the legal profession. In the course of frequenting -Sibbald's circulating library in Parliament Square, -where he must have spent a good deal of time in -rummaging the dusty shelves for rare old songs and -romances, he had occasionally 'a distant view' of some -of the literary celebrities of the time. Among them was -the unfortunate Andrew Macdonald, author of </span><em class="italics">Vimonda</em><span>, -and also from this library vantage-ground he saw, at -a distance, 'the boast of Scotland, Robert Burns.'[2] The -Parliament House itself was less interesting to Scott -than his beloved library, but he must by this time have -been very familiar with it, and often have seen the -'Lords' of the old generation, whose pictures have been -so quaintly sketched by Lord Cockburn. Edinburgh, -like any other collection of three hundred thousand -people, has amongst its numbers persons possessed of -some æsthetic conscience, persons who lament the past -orgies of Vandalism, and who do not admire the -present triumphs of commercial architecture. But such -men are naturally not as a rule to be found in Town or -Parish Councils, and seldom indeed in public posts of -any kind. Thus the population has always seemed -wholly given over to the worship of the æsthetic Baal, -and as a consequence the name of Lord Cockburn -shines in almost solitary splendour as that of a -dignitary who protested against the incredible doings of -ignorance and avarice dressed in the authority of -municipal rank. Cockburn bitterly regretted the -destruction of the old Parliament House, which, he -says, was, both outside and in, a curious and interesting -place. 'The old building exhibited some respectable -turrets, some ornamented windows and doors, and -a handsome balustrade. But the charm that ought to -have saved it was its colour and its age, which, -however, were the very things that caused its destruction. -About one hundred and seventy years had breathed -over it a grave grey hue. The whole aspect was -venerable and appropriate; becoming the air and character -of a sanctuary of Justice. But a mason pronounced it -to be all </span><em class="italics">Dead Wall</em><span>.[3] The officials to whom, at a -period when there was no public taste in Edinburgh,[4] -this was addressed, believed him; and the two fronts -were removed in order to make way for the bright -free-stone and contemptible decorations that now disgrace -us.... I cannot doubt that King Charles tried to spur -his horse against the Vandals when he saw the -profanation begin. But there was such an utter absence of -public spirit in Edinburgh then, that the building -might have been painted scarlet without anybody -objecting.'</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">[2] 'I saw him one day at the late -venerable Professor Ferguson's, where -there were several gentlemen of literary -reputation, among whom I remember -the celebrated Mr. Dugald Stewart. -Of course, we youngsters sat silent, -looked and listened. The only thing -I remember which was remarkable in -Burns's manner was the effect produced -upon him by a print of Bunbury's, -representing a soldier lying dead on the snow, -his dog sitting in misery on -the one side, on the other his widow, -with a child in her arms. These lines -were written beneath:</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span class="small">"Cold on Canadian hills, or Minden's plain, -<br />Perhaps that parent wept her soldier slain; -<br />Bent o'er her babe, her eye dissolved in dew, -<br />The big drops mingling with the milk he drew, -<br />Gave the sad presage of his future years, -<br />The child of misery baptized in tears."</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span class="small">Burns seemed much affected by the print, -or rather by the ideas which it -suggested to his mind. He actually shed tears. -He asked whose the lines -were, and it chanced that nobody but myself -remembered that they occur in -a half-forgotten poem of Langhorne's, -called by the unpromising title of "The -Justice of the Peace." I whispered my -information to a friend present, who -mentioned it to Burns, who rewarded me -with a look and a word, which, -though of mere civility, I then received -and still recollect with very great -pleasure.'—</span><em class="italics small">Letter to</em><span class="small"> J. G. LOCKHART.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">[3] This means, when translated, that it was plain wall, -without any architectural or æsthetic value.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">[4] Observe the delightful ambiguity.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Among the most vivid childish memories of Scott -and his contemporaries was that of the Krames. It -is described in the </span><em class="italics">Heart of Midlothian</em><span> as a narrow, -crooked lane, winding between the Old Tolbooth and -the Luckenbooths on the one side, and the buttresses -and projections of St. Giles's Cathedral on the other. -At one time, as Scott mentions, the narrow court, with -its booths plastered against the sides of the Cathedral, -was occupied by the hosiers, hatters, glovers, mercers, -milliners, and drapers, who removed, however, to the -South Bridge as soon as it was opened. The Krames -then fell into the hands of the toy-merchants, and -became the paradise of childhood. Its glories were -maintained all the year round, but at New Year time -especially it was the enchanted ground of the city -youngsters. To the youthful Cockburn it was like -one of the Arabian Nights' bazaars in Bagdad, and -there is a touch of personal recollection, too, in Scott's -picture (</span><em class="italics">Heart of Midlothian</em><span>, chap. vi.) of the little -loiterers in the Krames, 'enchanted by the rich display -of hobby-horses, babies, and Dutch toys, yet half-scared -by the cross looks of the withered pantaloon, or -spectacled old lady, by whom those tempting wares -were watched and superintended.' The Krames -disappeared, on the demolition of the adjacent Tolbooth, -in 1817.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-xii"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XII</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">Topics of Talk—Religion—Scott's Freedom from -Fanaticism—Dilettantism of the 'liberal young Men'—Politics—Basis -of Scott's Toryism—Cockburn's Anecdote of Table-talk—Men -of the Old School—Robertson the Historian—His -</span><em class="italics small">History of Charles V.</em><span class="small">—His noble Generosity—Closing -Years—Anecdotes.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>In all probability Walter Scott was not very greatly -interested or influenced by the general conversation. -Neither by nature nor by circumstances was he ever -in danger of being seduced into fanaticism of any kind. -As regards religion, his was the simple faith of one -who reverenced God as the Omnipotent whose power -meant justice, goodness, truth and love, and who loved -his fellow-men, content to be happy himself and to try -to pour out happiness on all around him. His mind -did not hanker after theories on the mystery of -existence. In fact, he was a 'moderate' of the best kind, -whose only anxiety was that his life should be in the -right. They seek in vain who search his volumes -for philosophical wisdom or prophetic gleams. He -never posed as preacher or as sage. He accepted -the religion of his time, and felt himself at home in -the Episcopal Church of Scotland rather than in the -Calvinistic temples, whose services always repelled him -by their gloom and dryness. Still less was he attracted -by anything intellectually fanatical. His mind naturally -rejected humbug. He was not one of the dilettante -young gentlemen whose talk was of chemistry because -Lavoisier had made it fashionable. Nor was he one -of Cockburn's 'liberal young men of Edinburgh,' who -lived upon Adam Smith, a sound enough, but for -them apt to be windy, diet. I have no doubt he -appreciated the greatness and good sense of the author -of the </span><em class="italics">Wealth of Nations</em><span>, and the value of the -brilliant work of Lavoisier, but the direction of his -intellectual interests was determined by his heart. -And his heart was in the story of the Past, glowing -over the old ballads, songs, and romances of the age -of chivalry and glory. He was not a party politician -any more than he was a chemist or an economist. -He was a Tory only because his sympathies were -with the kind of people who composed that party. He -identified the party with the gallantry and loyalty of -the Cavalier, with the free, wholesome life of the country -as opposed to the grasping selfishness and coarse -materialism of the town, and with the generous sense -of honour which made himself the truest and sweetest -of gentlemen. His Toryism was a sentiment as far -above the actual existing politics of his party as -Milton's ideal republicanism was above the practice -of his Puritan contemporaries, whom he styles 'owls -and cuckoos, asses, apes, and dogs.' Scott's saving -gift of humour saved him from sharing the painful -impression of which Lord Cockburn speaks. He was -not so easily pained. When worthy people talk -nonsense in the bosom of the family, they should not be -taken too seriously even by boys. 'My father's house -(Lord Cockburn says) was one of the places where the -leaders and the ardent followers of the party in power -were in the constant habit of assembling. I can sit -yet, in imagination, at the small side-table, and -overhear the conversation, a few feet off, at the established -Wednesday dinner. How they raved! What -sentiments! What principles! Not that I differed from -them. I thought them quite right, and hated liberty -and the people as much as they did. But this drove -me into an opposite horror; for I was terrified out of -such wits as they left me at the idea of bloodshed, and -it never occurred to me that it could be avoided. My -reason no sooner began to open, and to get some -fair-play, than the distressing wisdom of my ancestors -began to fade, and the more attractive sense that I -met with among the young men into whose company -our debating societies threw me, gradually hardened -me into what I became—whatever this was.' Fortunately -Cockburn, though he became a Whig and a -political lawyer, did not let his mind become narrowed -against the larger human interests. His sketches of -some of the representative men of the older generation -are as warm and appreciative as could be wished. He -speaks of the pleasure he felt in having seen them, -though it was at a time when he could only judge -of their qualities from the respect which they -commanded even among the young. One of these was -Dr. William Robertson, described in </span><em class="italics">Guy Mannering</em><span> -by Mr. Pleydell, with some pride, as 'our historian -of Scotland, of the Continent, and of America.' Robertson's -long and illustrious career was almost wholly -connected with Edinburgh. He was educated at the -University there, and about 1760 became minister of -Old Greyfriars, which had been his father's charge -before, and where Pleydell conducts Colonel Mannering -to hear him preach. He was greater as a church -leader and a man of letters than as a preacher. Lord -Brougham, who was his grand-nephew, says that he -preferred moral to gospel subjects, in order to -discountenance the fanaticism of the evangelicals. As -a church leader, he may be called the Lord North of -the Church of Scotland. The 'moderatism' of Robertson -led, after other secessions, eventually to the -Disruption of 1843. But in spite of his professional -activities, Robertson was essentially a literary artist. -Conscientious and prolonged research gave a value -to his historical works, which largely atoned for the -monotony of his somewhat too ornate and dignified -style. He has the glory—and that too, when Samuel -Johnson was at his zenith—of having established a -record in literary remuneration. For his history of -Charles V. he received £4500, the largest sum which -had till then been paid for a single work. No one will -grudge the reward to the man who, at the age of -twenty-two, with a country clergyman's income of less -than £100 a year, took into his charge his orphaned -brother and six sisters, and postponed his marriage -for several years that he might give them education. -In the last two years of his life, 1791-93, he was taken -to reside at Grange House, a rare old mansion, the -seat of the family of Dick Lauder, of Grange and -Fountainhall. Here the enfeebled old man, quite -broken down by disease of the liver, spent his time -as much as possible in the garden. The Cockburn -family, who lived close by at Hope Park, were intimate -friends, and thus young Henry came to see a great -deal of the Principal in the last summer of his life. -He describes the historian as 'a pleasant-looking old -man, with an eye of great vivacity and intelligence, -a large projecting chin, small hearing-trumpet fastened -by a black ribbon to a button-hole of his coat, and -a rather large wig, powdered and curled.' For all -his feebleness, with deafness superadded, he seems up -to the last to have been able to take an animated part -in conversation, whenever a favourite subject happened -to be started at his table.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-xiii"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XIII</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">More Men of the Old School—Dr. Erskine—Scott on -Church Disputes—His Admiration of Erskine's -Character—Anecdote of Erskine's Walk to Fife—Professor -Ferguson—His History of Rome—Abstainer and -Vegetarian—Picture of Ferguson's Appearance—Odd -Habits—Travels to Italy.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>When Colonel Mannering and Mr. Pleydell went to -Greyfriars Church to hear Dr. Robertson, they found, -somewhat to their disappointment, that the great -historian was not to be the preacher that morning. -'Never mind,'said the counsellor, 'have a moment's -patience, and we shall do very well.' The preacher they -actually did hear was that distinguished and excellent -man, Dr. John Erskine, who was Robertson's colleague -in the pastoral charge of Greyfriars. Scott describes -his external appearance as not prepossessing: 'A -remarkably fair complexion, strangely contrasted with -a black wig without a grain of powder; a narrow chest -and a stooping posture; hands which, placed like -props on either side of the pulpit, seemed necessary -rather to support the person than to assist the -gesticulation of the preacher—no gown, not even that -of Geneva, and a gesture which seemed scarce -voluntary. "The preacher seems a very ungainly -person," said Mannering. "Never fear, he's the son -of an excellent Scottish lawyer—he'll show blood, I'll -warrant him." The learned counsellor predicted truly.' They -listen, in fact, to a typical specimen of Scottish -pulpit eloquence, and Mannering is fain to admit that -he had seldom heard so much learning, metaphysical -acuteness, and energy of argument, brought into the -service of Christianity. There is no doubt that in this -most delightful chapter (xxxvii.) of </span><em class="italics">Guy Mannering</em><span> we -have Scott himself in the person of Mr. Paulus Pleydell. -And in the remarks of the witty counsellor we get -some light here and there on how Scott regarded some -of those questions which by our Whigs and philosophical -Radicals and suchlike are regarded as so -much more important and dignified than old ballads -and mere human questions of noble courage, love, -kindness, fun, and truth. Speaking of Robertson and -Erskine's notorious difference in regard to church -government, Mannering asks the advocate what he -thinks of these points of difference: 'Why, I hope, -Colonel, a plain man may go to heaven without -thinking about them at all.' That was Walter Scott, God -bless his memory! He was too much a living soul to -waste his time or his brain power on the pitiful, dry, -deadening rubbish of polemics in religion or in affairs -of state. He had warm blood in his veins and a warm -heart in his breast, and therefore could not waste his -manhood on the marvellous speculations of the 'liberal -young men of Edinburgh.' Therefore, to pervert a -sentence of Carlyle, he became Walter Scott of the -Universe, instead of drying up into a fossil Chancellor -or Judge. What interested Scott in Erskine and -Robertson, as it did in all such human beings whom -he ever knew, was the beautiful, simple goodness of -heart, which was so much finer a thing than the fleeting -glory of eloquence or power. He tells with gusto how, -in spite of differences of opinion the greatest possible -in their sphere, the two good men never for a moment -lost personal regard or esteem for each other, or -suffered malignity to interfere with their opposition. -Erskine was indeed very generally esteemed even by -his opponents for his candour and kindliness, and his -personal qualities went more to make his high reputation -than the marked ability displayed in his works on -Divinity. Cockburn, who, like Scott, used to attend his -church, says he was all soul and no body; and compares -the stooping figure of the old man, as he walked along, -with his hands in his sides, and his elbows turned -outwards, to a piece of old china with two handles. He -also mentions the interesting fact that Erskine, as well -as Robertson, habitually spoke 'good honest natural -Scotch.' To illustrate his assertion that there was -nothing this good man would not do for truth or a -friend, Cockburn relates a characteristic anecdote: 'His -friend Henry Erskine had once some interest in a Fife -election, but whether as a candidate or not I can't say, -in which the Doctor had a vote. Being too old and -feeble to bear the motion of a carriage or of a boat, -he was neither asked nor expected to attend; but loving -Henry Erskine, and knowing that victories depended -on single votes, he determined to walk the whole way -round by Stirling Bridge, which would have taken him -at least a fortnight; and he was only prevented from -doing so, after having arranged all his stages, by the -contest having been unexpectedly given up. Similar -sacrifices were familiar to the heroic and affectionate old -gentleman.' Dr. Erskine died at Edinburgh in 1803. -His father was the famous lawyer, John Erskine, -whose great work the </span><em class="italics">Institutes of the Law of Scotland</em><span> -is understood to be still the leading authority on its -subject.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In the list of the young friends with whom Walter -Scott chiefly associated about 1788-89 occurs the name -of Adam Ferguson, who continued to be a cherished -intimate, and became, in 1818, Scott's tenant and -neighbour at Huntley Burn on the lands of Abbotsford. -His father was the venerable and famous Professor -Adam Ferguson, who, taken all round, was probably -the ablest of the many remarkable men who signalised -Edinburgh in this period. From about 1745 to 1757 he -had been chaplain to the 42nd Highlanders, or Black -Watch, and it is mentioned that no orders could keep -him in the rear during an action. He was next -appointed Keeper of the Advocates' Library in succession -to David Hume. He remained in this post for less -than a year, and soon after began his connection with -Edinburgh University, first as Professor of Natural -Philosophy, and then, in 1764, as Professor of Moral -Philosophy. The latter subject was his favourite study, -and he filled the chair for twenty years. During this -time he wrote his great work, the </span><em class="italics">History of the Roman -Republic</em><span>. He was a man of original mind, and had a -rare faculty of extempore lecturing, for which his -practical experience in the world and his extensive -travels in Europe and America must have supplied him -with a rich and varied fund of striking illustrations. In -his personal habits he was an exception to his generation, -being a strict abstainer from both wine and -animal food. In consequence of this peculiarity he -seems to have refrained from dining out, except with his -relative Dr. Joseph Black, a kindred spirit; and his son -used to say it was delightful to see the two philosophers -rioting over a boiled turnip! 'When I first knew him -(says Lord Cockburn), he was a spectacle well worth -beholding. His hair was silky and white; his eyes -animated and light blue; his cheeks sprinkled with -broken red, like autumnal apples, but fresh and healthy; -his lips thin, and the under one curled. A severe -paralytic attack had reduced his animal vitality, though -it left no external appearance, and he required considerable -artificial heat. His raiment, therefore, consisted -of half-boots lined with fur, cloth breeches, a long cloth -waistcoat with capacious pockets, a single-breasted -coat, a cloth greatcoat also lined with fur, and a felt -hat commonly tied by a ribbon below the chin. His -boots were black; but with this exception the whole -coverings, including the hat, were of a Quaker grey -colour, or of a whitish brown; and he generally wore -the fur greatcoat within doors. When he walked forth, -he used a tall staff, which he commonly held at -arm's-length out towards the right side; and his two coats, -each buttoned by only the upper button, flowed open -below, and exposed the whole of his curious and -venerable figure. His gait and air were noble; his -gesture slow; his look full of dignity and composed -fire. He looked like a philosopher from Lapland. -Domestically he was kind, but anxious and peppery. -His temperature was regulated by Fahrenheit; and -often, when sitting quite comfortably, he would start up -and put his wife and daughters into commotion, because -his eye had fallen on the instrument, and discovered -that he was a degree too hot or too cold. He always -locked the door of his study when he left it, and took -the key in his pocket; and no housemaid got in till the -accumulation of dust and rubbish made it impossible to -put the evil day off any longer; and then woe on the -family. He shook hands with us boys one day in -summer 1793, on setting off, in a strange sort of -carriage, and with no companion except his servant, -James, to visit Italy for a new edition of his history. -He was then about seventy-two, and had to pass -through a good deal of war; but returned in about a -year, younger than ever.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>From this time, however, his remarkable figure ceased -to be seen in Edinburgh. His last years were spent -mostly in rural retirement, and he died at St. Andrews -in 1816.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-xiv"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XIV</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">'Jupiter' Carlyle—Noble Looks—Friend of Robertson and -John Home—The Play of Douglas—Anecdote of -Dr. Carlyle—Dr. Joseph Black—Latent Heat—His personal -Appearance—Anecdote of last Illness—His </span><em class="italics small">History of -Great Britain</em><span class="small">—Forerunner of the Modern School.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Of the other eighteenth-century Edinburgh worthies in -Cockburn's little gallery, the best-known name is that -of 'Jupiter' Carlyle, the minister of Inveresk. Carlyle's -fame, or notoriety, what you will, came from his -intimate relations with the eminent characters of his -time, such as Hume, Blair, Home, and Adam Smith. -If he was not great himself, his wise counsels aided his -friends to achieve greatness. The charm of his -manners was extraordinary, and his countenance and -bearing so nobly imposing as to suggest the classical -eke-name of Jupiter. While he lived, Carlyle and -culture were synonymous. Cockburn, who scarcely -appreciated his value, admits the grace and kindness of -his manner, and says that he was one of the noblest-looking -old gentlemen he almost ever beheld. Carlyle -was a conspicuous figure in the General Assembly. He -was a firm ally of Principal Robertson, whose moderate -policy was exactly to the mind of the extremely 'Broad' -minister of Inveresk. Great excitement was aroused -by his open support of his friend Home in producing -the play of Douglas. It is said that he took part in the -private rehearsal of the play, and made a distinct hit as -Old Norval. At the third public representation he was -present in the theatre, and witnessed the extraordinary -success of Home's piece. The play was received by -crowded audiences for many successive nights with -universal and vociferous applause. 'Where's your -Shakespeare </span><em class="italics">noo</em><span>?' was the triumphant shout of a -patriotic but uncritical admirer. The play of </span><em class="italics">Douglas</em><span>, -though rejected by the keen judgment of Garrick as -'totally unfit for the stage,' has passages of fine -rhetoric, and shows at least an easy mastery of elegant -language. The author Home was suspended by the -General Assembly for his audacity in writing a play -while he was a minister of the Church of Scotland. A -few years after, he received a pension of £300 a year, -which enabled him to spend the remainder of his life -in happiness and peace. Carlyle, his neighbour and -constant friend, has done full justice to the amiable -qualities of Home, who was the liberal friend of -struggling merit in the hour of need. Carlyle died in -1805 at the age of eighty-four, and Home in 1808, aged -eighty-six.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Dr. Carlyle was a famous </span><em class="italics">bon vivant</em><span>. His physical -powers were fortunately adequate to carry him through -in any company. It is strange and amusing in these -days to think of a man like him sitting through the -prolonged convivialities of his clubs and parties. For -Carlyle, both as a divine and an aristocrat, was the very -pink of propriety. He would have deplored excess in -himself as he did in others. He was, in fact, a very -temperate gentleman, and his conduct was admirable -and exemplary. The respect that was paid to his -merits was only increased by the fact that he could -drink his four or five bottles of wine with impunity—nay, -with advantage. He was often the better, never -the worse, of his wine. One evening he was leaving -Pinkieburn House, where he had dined, and wending -his way home with all his usual Olympian dignity. An -old woman-servant stood at the side-door, beholding -the minister with reverent admiration. 'Ay,' she was -heard to say, 'there goes Dr. Carlyle, the good man—as -steady as a wall, and he's had his ain share o' four -bottles o' port.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Dr. Joseph Black, the eminent chemist, lived in -Edinburgh from 1766 to his death in 1799. He was -Professor of Chemistry in the University, but his -delicate health seems to have disabled him from -continuing the researches so fruitfully pursued in Glasgow -(1756-66). His fame rests on the discovery of Latent -Heat, and he seems to have been the first to apply -hydrogen gas in raising balloons. Looking at his -portrait, one realises the remarkable truth and felicity -of Cockburn's word-picture: 'A striking and beautiful -person; tall, very thin, and cadaverously pale; his -hair carefully powdered, though there was little of it -except what was collected into a long thin queue; his -eyes dark, clear, and large, like deep pools of pure -water. He wore black speckless clothes, silk stockings, -silver buckles, and either a slim green silk umbrella, or -a genteel brown cane. The general frame and air were -feeble and slender. The wildest boy respected Black. -No lad could be irreverent towards a man so pale, so -gentle, so elegant, and so illustrious. So he glided like -a spirit through our rather mischievous sportiveness -unharmed. He died seated with a bowl of milk on his -knee, of which his ceasing to live did not spill a drop; -a departure which it seemed, after the event happened, -might have been foretold of this attenuated philosophical -gentleman.' We shall not omit the companion picture -to this touching scene, the even more tranquil death of -Dr. Robert Henry, the historian. Four days before his -death, he wrote to Sir Harry Moncrieff the strange -message: 'Come out here directly. I have got -something to do this week, I have got to die.' Moncrieff -obeyed the summons, and sat with him alone for what -turned out to be the last three days of his life. During -this time, as he sat in his easy-chair, now dozing, now -conversing, a neighbouring minister, who was a -notorious and much-dreaded bore, came to call. 'Keep -him out,' cried the doctor, 'don't let the cratur in here.' It -was too late, the cratur entered, but when he came in, -behold the doctor to all appearance fast asleep. -Moncrieff at once taking in the situation, signed to the -intruder to be silent. The visitor sat down, apparently -to wait till Dr. Henry might awake. Every time he -offered to speak, he was checked by solemn gestures -from Moncrieff or Mrs. Henry. 'So he sat on, all in -perfect silence, for above a quarter of an hour; during -which Sir Harry occasionally detected the dying man -peeping cautiously through the fringes of his eyelids to -see how his visitor was coming on. At last Sir Harry -tired, and he and Mrs. Henry pointing to the poor -doctor, fairly waved the visitor out of the room; on -which the doctor opened his eyes wide, and had a -tolerably hearty laugh; which was renewed when the sound -of the horse's feet made them certain that their friend -was actually off the premises. Dr. Henry died that -night.' His one work, a remarkable pioneer -production, was the </span><em class="italics">History of Great Britain</em><span>. Though -severely criticised at the time of its publication, the -work certainly deserves Cockburn's praise of 'considerable -merit in the execution.' Its author, however, has -the credit, apart from the intrinsic value of his own -attempt, of having discovered the new and fruitful -idea of making history display the internal growth -of the nation as well as its political development. In -short, Henry was the forerunner of Macaulay and Green.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-xv"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XV</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">The 'Meadows' one Hundred Years ago—A Resort of -great Men—Vixerunt fortes—Their Intimacy and -Quarrels—Hume and Ferguson—Home, the happy—His boundless -Generosity—Sympathy with Misfortune—Home and Edinburgh -Society—Sketch by Scott—'The Close of an Era.'</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Time's changes have altered the state of the -'Meadows.' This park is now surrounded by houses, a tramway -line passes half-way down its south side, and a constant -stream of passengers between north and south makes its -Middle Walk a busy thoroughfare. The privacy is -gone for ever that made it in the eighteenth century -'so distinctly the resort of our philosophy and our -fashion.' It is now a noisy playground for the flannelled -fools at the wicket and the muddied oafs at the goal. -In the corners are swings, parallel bars, etc., for the use -of little children. But in the days of Scott's boyhood, -it was possible to enjoy a quiet, meditative stroll in these -still suburban fields. And the great learned and legal -luminaries made the Meadows their resort for talk or for -quiet meditation. The lofty yet simple character of -the men of this great generation, but still more their -strong nationality, combined with their graceful -manners and extraordinary benevolence, made a strong -impression on the imagination of Scott. The brilliance -of the succeeding era, which he himself created, never -quite made up to his mind for what was lost. The change -was inevitable, but to him the men whom as a boy he -had seen in the Meadows or on the streets of Edinburgh, -the geniuses whose works and reputation had then only -been known to him by name, remained always the ideal -figures of Scotland's literary and scientific greatness. -He was struck also by the breadth of mind which they -had, almost without exception, and which he, almost -alone, carried over into the next century: for those -great men were like a family of amiable brothers, free -from jealousy and eagerly ready to make common cause -of each individual's fame. In reviewing Mackenzie's -Life of Home for the </span><em class="italics">Quarterly</em><span> in 1827, he speaks of -them in this touching strain: 'There were men of -literature in Edinburgh before she was renowned for -romances, reviews, and magazines:</span></p> -<blockquote> -<div> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="line"><span>"Vixerunt fortes ante Agamemnona";</span></div> -</div> -</div> -</blockquote> -<p class="pfirst"><span>and a single glance at the authors and men of science -who dignified the last generation will serve to show that, -in those days, there were giants in the North. The -names of Hume, Robertson, and Ferguson stand high in -the list of British historians. Adam Smith was the father -of the economical system in Britain, and his standard -work will long continue the text-book of that science. -Dr. Black as a chemist opened the path of discovery -which has since been prosecuted with such splendid -success. Of metaphysicians Scotland boasted perhaps -but too many; to Hume and Ferguson we must add Reid, -and, though younger, still of the same school, Dugald -Stewart. In natural philosophy Scotland could present -Professor Robison, James Watt, and Clerk of Eldin, -who taught the British seamen the road to assured -conquest. Others we could mention, but these form a -phalanx whose reputation was neither confined to their -narrow, poor, and rugged native country, nor to -England and the British dominions, but known and -respected wherever learning, philosophy, and science -were honoured.' In regard to the personal friendship -of these great men, be it remembered, to the honour of -the excellent 'Jupiter' Carlyle, that he was a great -peacemaker among them. So was John Home, the -happy. Ferguson, it would seem, had the defects of his -virtues. Sir Walter, indeed, who never minimised the -merits of any man except himself, says he kept his -passions and feelings in strong subjection to his reason, -but there were occasions when the 'passions and feelings' -refused to be controlled. In fact, he was a constant -thorn in the patient side of Carlyle; being jealous -of his rivals and indignant against any assumption of -superiority. However, Home and Carlyle kept Adam -Smith, Ferguson, and Hume on very good terms; -while Robertson's good-nature was so great, that it -disarmed Ferguson's weakness without the aid of the -peacemakers. Thus they all dwelt in unity, and 'held -their being on the terms—each aid the ithers.' And -so Carlyle remarks, as if the assumption were the -only possible one, 'David Hume did not live to -see Ferguson's History, otherwise his candid praise -would have prevented all the subtle remarks of the -jealous or resentful.' Very probably, after all, for -Hume always regarded Ferguson as the master spirit of -the group. He was certainly the most masterful, for, -as Cockburn records, though a most kind and excellent -man, he was as fiery as gunpowder. The darling of -the fraternity was of course John Home. Famed in -his youth for sprightliness and wit, he simply charmed -every company in which he mingled. He was joyous -himself, and the cause of joy in others. 'Such -was the charm of his fine spirits in those days (says -Carlyle, who knew and loved him like a very brother), -that when he left the room prematurely, which was but -seldom the case, the company grew dull, and soon -dissolved.' To praise his works was a sure passport to his -favour, and after once conferring his esteem there was -nothing he would not do or say to attest it. For the -sake of the poor he made himself a beggar, and was -thus able to dispense constantly, not in charity but in -friendly kindness to the struggling and unfortunate, -many times the amount of his modest pension. For -this his name should stand above all Greek, above all -Roman fame, save that of Cimon or of Donatello. -After all, the cultured and refined poor are the greatest -sufferers in our modern civilisation. They suffer, -without betraying it, the same privations of want and cold -as the more favoured inhabitants of the slums, and they -suffer in addition unspeakable agonies of mind, beholding -themselves daily sinking in the struggle to climb -up the slippery side of the pit of poverty. Their very -work is spoiled and depreciated by the ceaseless haunting -of the spectre of ruin, and the absolute certainty -that the struggle is hopeless. Such persons were happy -to be near John Home. He was their Providence. He -sought them out, made their acquaintance, gained their -confidence, guessed the needs they would not tell, and -never failed to put the poor wretches in the way of hope. -When shall we see his like again? Probably when -another Donatello ruins himself for his friends, and -when another youthful de Medici bestows a second -fortune on the ruined old artist, to maintain the credit -of his father's name. No wonder that Scott saw Home -as the object of general respect and veneration. The -kindly old man mingled in society to the very last. He -died in 1808. 'There was a general feeling (Scott adds) -that his death closed an era in the literary history of -Scotland, and dissolved a link, which, though worn and -frail, seemed to connect the present generation with that -of their fathers.'</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-xvi"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XVI</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">Ladies of the Old School—Anecdotes told by Scott, -Dr. Carlyle, and Lord Cockburn—Their Speech—'Suphy' -Johnston—Anecdote of Suphy and Dr. Gregory—Miss -Menie Trotter—Her Dream—Views of Religion.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Speaking of the society manners of the old generation, -Scott more than hints that the upper classes in Scotland -had only just emerged from a very rough and socially -ignorant condition. He tells an anecdote of 'a dame -of no small quality, the worshipful Lady Pumphraston, -who buttered a pound of green tea, sent her as an -exquisite delicacy, dressed it as a condiment to a rump -of salt beef, and complained that no degree of boiling -would render those foreign greens tender.' One of -the most extraordinary passages in Carlyle's book is -a description of a tour he made in his boyhood—it was -in the summer of 1733—with his father and another -clergyman, Jardine, minister of Lochmaben. They -visited Bridekirk, the family seat of the Carlyles. The -laird was from home, but the lady came to the door, -and with boisterous hospitality ordered the party to -alight and come in. She is described as a very large -and powerful virago, about forty years of age. Her -appearance naturally startled the boy. A gentlewoman -like this he had never seen, and the picture fixed -itself in his memory for life. 'Lady Bridekirk (he -says) was like a sergeant of foot in women's clothes; -or rather like an over-grown coachman of a Quaker -persuasion. On our peremptory refusal to alight, she -darted into the house, like a hogshead down a slope, -and returned instantly with a pint bottle of brandy—a -Scots pint, I mean—and a stray beer-glass, into -which she filled almost a bumper. After a long grace -said by Mr. Jardine—for it was his turn now, being -the third brandy-bottle we had seen since we left -Lochmaben—she emptied it to our healths, and made -the gentlemen follow her example: she said she would -spare me as I was so young, but ordered a maid to -bring a ginger-bread cake from the cupboard, a -luncheon of which she put in my pocket. This lady -was famous, even in the Annandale border, both at -the bowl and in battle: she could drink a Scots pint -of brandy with ease; and when the men grew -obstreperous in their cups, she could either put them -out of doors, or to bed, as she found most convenient.' In -the latter half of the century, however, the typical -lady of rank was a very great improvement on Lady -Bridekirk. Like that hospitable virago, she was -distinctly Scottish in speech and in dress. 'They all -dressed (says Cockburn), and spoke, and did, exactly -as they chose; but without any other vulgarity than -what perfect naturalness is sometimes mistaken for. -They were a delightful set; strong-headed, warm-hearted, -and high-spirited; the fire of their tempers -not always latent; merry even in solitude; very -resolute; indifferent about the modes and habits of -the modern world; and adhering to their own ways, -so as to stand out, like primitive rocks, above ordinary -society.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There is no doubt they had an individuality and -distinction, which the universal adoption of Southern -customs and speech has since made impossible. They -were, like Scott's Mrs. Bethune Baliol, of 'real -old-fashioned Scottish growth,' and their dialect was the -same. 'It was Scottish, decidedly Scottish, often -containing phrases and words little used in the present -day. But the tone and mode of pronunciation were -as different from the usual accent of the ordinary -Scotch </span><em class="italics">patois</em><span>, as the accent of St. James's is from that -of Billingsgate. The vowels were not pronounced -much broader than in the Italian language, and there -was none of the disagreeable drawl which is so -offensive to modern ears. In short, it seemed to be the -Scottish as spoken by the ancient court of Scotland, -to which no idea of vulgarity could be attached.' The -Countess of Eglinton, to whom Allan Ramsay dedicated -his </span><em class="italics">Gentle Shepherd</em><span>, was the ideal type of this -generation in Scott's estimation (see Note G to </span><em class="italics">Highland -Widow</em><span>).</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Miss Sophia, or 'Suphy,' Johnston, of the family -of Hilton, was perhaps even more deserving of the -choice. Her picture has been drawn by Lady Anne -Barnard and by Lord Cockburn, who as a boy knew -'Suphy' in her old age. Her character was just as -independent as is possible. She had 'her own proper -den' in Windmill Street. One female servant was -all the attendance she required. This privileged person -generally left her alone all the Sunday, when by -Miss Suphy's orders she locked the door upon her -mistress and carried away the key. Thus the old lady -was saved the trouble of rising to admit visitors, but -she had a hole through which she could easily see -who was at the door and even have a little talk when -she felt inclined; with this very considerable advantage -that, whenever she had had enough, she could tell the -caller to go away. This remarkable woman, owing -to her father's eccentricity, had been brought up without -education and passed her youth 'in utter rusticity.' She -made herself a good carpenter and smith, and -even when past middle age she would still occasionally -shoe a horse. Lady Anne calls her a droll, ingenious -fellow, and says she was by many people suspected -of being a man. She was a great reader, having -taught herself to read and write after she came to -woman's age. Cockburn, who saw her first at Niddrie, -the house of the Wauchopes, near Edinburgh, when -she was about sixty, did not think her 'Amazonian,' -but his description of her appearance seems to suit the -epithet. 'Her dress was always the same—a man's -hat when out of doors and generally when within them, -a cloth covering exactly like a man's greatcoat, buttoned -closely from the chin to the ground, worsted stockings, -strong shoes with large brass clasps.' Such peculiarities, -in those simpler and more natural times, did not -affect her welcome in society. She was prized by the -most fashionable and aristocratic persons for her -excellent disposition and her rare intellectual powers, -for her racy talk, spiced with anecdote and shrewd, -often sarcastic observation; and for the originality of -her views, which she never hesitated to express with -refreshing pith and freedom of speech. Her natural -cheerfulness was never impaired either by the -loneliness of her life or by the narrowness of her fortune. -When shall we find again in a noble lady's drawing-room -so picturesque a figure 'sitting, with her back -to the light, in the usual arm-chair by the side of the -fire, in the Niddrie drawing-room, with her greatcoat -and her hat, her dark wrinkled face, and firmly pursed -mouth, the two feet set flat on the floor and close -together, so that the public had a full view of the -substantial shoes, the book held by the two hands -very near the eyes?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Suphy and her contemporaries were all as stout of -heart as some of them were strong of arm. They had -no fear of death, and, though they enjoyed life and -took a deep interest in affairs around them, they had -no hankering concern to ward off the inevitable. -When Suphy's strength was giving way, the famous -Dr. Gregory cautioned her to leave off animal food, -saying she must be content with 'spoon meat' unless -she wished to die. 'Dee, Doctor; odd! I'm thinking -they've forgotten an auld wife like me up yonder.' Next -day the doctor called, and found her at the -spoon meat—supping a haggis!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Of a little later date was Miss Menie Trotter, of -the Mortonhall family, with whom Lord Cockburn's -sketches end:—</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'She was of the agrestic order. Her pleasures lay -in the fields and long country walks. Ten miles at -a stretch, within a few years of her death, was nothing -to her.... One of her friends asking her, not long -before her death, how she was, she said, "Very weel—quite -weel. But, eh, I had a dismal dream last nicht; -a fearful dream!" "Ay, I'm sorry for that; what was -it?" "Ou, what d'ye think? Of a' places i' the world, -I dreamed I was in heaven! And what d'ye think -I saw there? Deil hae 't but thoosands upon thoosands, -and ten thoosands upon ten thoosands, o' stark naked -weans! That wad be a dreadfu' thing, for ye ken -I ne'er could bide bairns a' my days."'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The great memoirist concludes his sketches of the -old Scottish ladies with a criticism on their religion -which has an interest now as revealing the religiosity -that characterised his own time. He declares that from -the freedom of their remarks and their free use of -religious terms, they would all have been deemed -irreligious in his day. We are happily far removed -now from the time when cheerfulness and freedom of -expression on sacred subjects would excite the horror -of the pious.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-xvii"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XVII</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">Scott's Contemporaries in Edinburgh—Local 'Societies'—The -Speculative—Scott's Explosion—Visit of Francis Jeffrey -to the 'Den'—Anecdote of Murray of Broughton—General -View of the youthful Societies.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>How deeply Scott's imagination was affected, how -richly his memory filled, how strongly his inestimable -natural qualities confirmed and developed by his long -and intimate association with such pricelessly rare and -noble specimens of the old Scottish national character -as have flitted through the last few chapters, it requires -no help of ours to convince any reader of the Scotch -Novels. There is more danger perhaps of exaggerating -any influence that may have been exercised upon him -by his equals in age and juniors with whom he came -in contact in general society, and particularly in the -'literary societies' of the city. There have been at all -periods, we believe, many societies of this kind for the -young aspirants at Edinburgh University. Naturally -the young bloods of the law are the most anxious to -shine in such arenas. Naturally also the prize of -reputation usually falls to the glib and fluent speaker, -especially if he has some real ability and learning -to second his tongue. The better the society is -attended, the more genuine is the mettle required in its -leaders. It is, however, perhaps safe to assert the -general principle that success in these meetings implies -talent rather than genius, forensic skill rather than -learning or intellect. Thus we can quite believe, as -stated in his </span><em class="italics">Life</em><span>, that for Francis Jeffrey his entrance -into the Speculative Society did more than any other -event in the whole course of his education, though -such a statement about Scott would be ludicrous. We -can quite agree with Cockburn that the same society -has trained more young men to public speaking, talent, -and liberal thought than all the other private institutions -in Scotland. At the same time we do not in the least -regret that it did not effect all this for Walter Scott. -He says with his usual unconscious self-depreciation -that he never made any great figure in these societies. -He was a member, however, of several in succession, -and took some part in their proceedings. He would -have preferred to be silent, but the rules of the societies -compelled him at times to contribute an essay. In his -own opinion his essays were but very poor work. This -they may have been from a critic's point of view. But -they had the quality of genius. They were at least -utterly different and distinct from all others. They -astonished and delighted the fortunate hearers. We -can gather some idea of this even from his own -statement: 'I was like the Lord of Castle Rack-rent, who -was obliged to cut down a tree to get a few faggots to -boil the kettle; for the quantity of ponderous and -miscellaneous knowledge which I really possessed on -many subjects, was not easily condensed, or brought to -bear upon the object I wished particularly to become -master of. Yet there occurred opportunities when this -odd lumber of my brain, especially that which was -connected with the recondite parts of history, did me, -as Hamlet says, "yeoman's service." My memory of -events was like one of the large, old-fashioned stone -cannons of the Turks—-very difficult to load well and -discharge, but making a powerful effect when by good -chance any object did come within range of its shot. -Such fortunate opportunities of exploding with effect -maintained my literary character among my companions, -with whom I soon met with great indulgence -and regard.' It was in January, 1791, that Scott -became a member of the Speculative, the most -ambitious of the literary societies. On the 11th of -December, 1792, Francis Jeffrey was admitted. On -that evening one of Scott's happy explosions occurred. -He delivered an essay on Ballads, which so interested -the future critic that he sought and obtained Scott's -acquaintance, a circumstance which pleasantly revives -the memory of Jeffrey now that his works, once so -formidable, have fallen into the wallet where Time -stores alms for Oblivion. Jeffrey called on Scott the -very next evening, and found him 'in a small den, on -the sunk floor of his father's house in George's Square -surrounded with dingy books,' from which, Lockhart -records, they went to a tavern and supped together. In -this snug den of Walter's his character and interests -were visibly and quaintly to be traced. It was full to -overflowing of books, and a small painted cabinet -contained old Scottish and Roman coins. A little print -of Bonnie Prince Charlie was guarded by a claymore -and a Lochaber axe, which had been given him by old -Stewart of Invernahyle, a Jacobite client of his father's, -who had been 'out' in both the 'Fifteen' and the -'Forty-five.' Below the picture a china saucer was -hooked up against the wall. This was 'Broughton's -saucer,' the memorial of a very striking incident in the -domestic life of the Scotts. One autumn Mr. Scott -senior had a client who came regularly every evening -at a certain hour to the house, and remained in the -Writer's private room usually till long after the family -had gone to bed. The little mystery of the unknown -visitor excited Mrs. Scott's curiosity, and her husband's -vague statements increased it. One night, therefore, -though she knew it was against her husband's desire, she -entered the room with a salver in her hand, and offered -the gentlemen a dish of tea. Mr. Scott very coldly -refused it, but the stranger bowed and accepted a cup. -Presently he took his leave, and Mr. Scott, lifting the -empty cup he had used, threw it out on the pavement. -His wife was astonished at first, but not when she -heard the explanation: 'I may admit into my house, on -business, persons wholly unworthy to be treated as -guests by my wife. Neither lip of me nor of mine -comes after Mr. Murray of Broughton's.' It was -actually the traitor Secretary Murray, who bought off -his life and fortune by giving evidence against his -gallant associates. The saucer belonging to the -traitor's cup was appropriated by Walter for his -collection. Lockhart gives an additional anecdote -which equally brings out the disgust felt by the -loyal-hearted Scots towards the traitor. 'When Murray -was confronted with Sir John Douglas of Kelhead -(ancestor of the Marquis of Queensberry), before the -Privy Council in St. James's, the prisoner was asked, -"Do you know this witness?" "Not I," answered -Douglas; "I once knew a person who bore the -designation of Murray of Broughton—but that was a -gentleman and a man of honour, and one that could hold up -his head!"' A great deal of pardonable nonsense has -been spoken and written by distinguished persons -regarding the literary societies of their youth. We -shall conclude with Scott's own general remarks, which -are much more sensible and only exaggerated in -depreciating himself. 'Looking back on those times, -I cannot applaud in all respects the way in which our -days were spent. There was too much idleness, and -sometimes too much conviviality; but our hearts were -warm, our minds honourably bent on knowledge and -literary distinction; and if I, certainly the least -informed of the party, may be permitted to bear witness, -we were not without the fair and creditable means of -obtaining the distinction to which we aspired.'</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-xviii"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XVIII</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">The Scottish Bar—Two Careers open—Walter's Choice—Studies -with William Clerk—The Law Professors—Hume's -Lectures—Hard Study—Beginnings of social Distinction—Influence -of Clerk—Early Love-story—Description of -Walter Scott at Twenty.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Of the two branches of the legal profession, the bar -offered the greatest attractions to young men ambitious -of distinction. For mere financial success Walter Scott -might have been tempted to take to the Writer's career. -His father offered to take him at once into partnership, -which would have meant 'an immediate prospect of a -handsome independence.' But Walter was never very -fond of money, and had then no expensive plans in -view to make the acquisition of it a necessity. In all -other respects he preferred the Advocate's life. It was -the line of ambition and liberty. When he saw that -his father also would prefer it, he hesitated no longer. -Four arduous years of preparation (1789 to 1792) were -devoted to the necessary legal studies. This period -was utterly different from his Arts course. He studied -with the greatest zeal and perseverance, giving his -whole heart to the one aim. The companion of his -studies was his cherished friend, William Clerk, whom -he describes as 'a man of the most acute intellects -and powerful apprehension, and who, should he ever -shake loose the fetters of indolence by which he has -been trammelled, cannot fail to be distinguished in the -highest degree.' At this time the Civil Law chair -might be considered 'as in </span><em class="italics">abeyance</em><span>,' the Professor -being almost in a state of dotage. It was different -with the class of Scots Law. Under Professor -David Hume, an enormous amount of legal learning -had to be got up. Jeffrey, who attended the class -in 1792, 'groaned over Hume's elaborate dulness,' but -on Scott the subject seemed to exercise a charm. He -considered Hume's prelections an honour to himself -and an advantage to his country. He copied them -over twice, which would mean the writing of four -or five hundred closely packed pages. He speaks -of Hume as having imported plan and order to the -ancient and constantly altered structure of Scots Law -by 'combining the past state of our legal enactments -with the present, and tracing clearly and judiciously -the changes which took place, and the causes which -led to them.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Upon these years of legal study Scott could always -look back with satisfaction. 'A little parlour (he tells -in his fragment of Autobiography, referring to the -'den' where Jeffrey found him) was assigned me in -my father's house, which was spacious and convenient -(for a modest student), and I took possession of my -new realms with all the feelings of novelty and liberty. -Let me do justice to the only years of my life in which -I applied to learning with stern, steady, and undeviating -industry. The rule of my friend Clerk and myself -was, that we should mutually qualify ourselves for -undergoing an examination upon certain points of law -every morning in the week, Sundays excepted.... -His house being at the extremity of Princes Street, -New Town, was a walk of two miles. With great -punctuality, however, I beat him up to his task every -morning before seven o'clock, and in the course of two -summers, we went, by way of question and answer, -through the whole of Heineccius's </span><em class="italics">Analysis of the -Institutes and Pandects</em><span>, as well as through the smaller -copy of Erskine's </span><em class="italics">Institutes of the Law of Scotland</em><span>.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At this time, as a natural consequence of advancing -years, his parents had given over entertaining -company, unless in the case of near relations. Walter, -however, though he was thus left in a great measure -to form connections for himself, found no difficulty in -making his way into good society. He scarcely ever -refers to his social triumphs, but from other sources -we can gather that he soon became a notable and a -favourite figure. Before he had achieved any literary -reputation, he had conquered local fame by the charm -of his personality and the freshness of his conversation. -Cockburn, speaking of the year 1811, has recorded -that 'people used to be divided at this time as to the -superiority of Scott's poetry or his talk. His novels -had not yet begun to suggest another alternative. -Scarcely, however, even in his novels was he more -striking or delightful than in society, where the halting -limb, the bur in the throat, the heavy cheeks, the high -Goldsmith-forehead, the unkempt locks, and general -plainness of appearance, with the Scotch accent and -stories and sayings, all graced by gaiety, simplicity, -and kindness, made a combination most worthy of -being enjoyed.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>His early cultivation of society, which was of course -a wholesome thing for a youth of twenty, was greatly -favoured by his friendship with William Clerk. We -have Lockhart's authority for the opinion that 'of all -the connections he formed in life there was no one -to whom he owed more.' Clerk's influence helped to -decide him to take to the bar, the line of ambition and -liberty. He then, as we have seen, by his very -physical inertia, supplied Scott with a stimulating -object during their legal studies. His influence on -Scott's personal habits even was good and great. -Walter's modesty and kind good-nature had perhaps -made him a trifle more free and easy with his father's -apprentices than was quite desirable for either him or -them. They were, of course, his professional equals -and the sharers in his daily pursuits, but their ideas and -manners were not calculated to promote ambition so -much as liberty. Walter, during his apprenticeship, -was intentionally careless of appearances, and apt to -be slovenly in his dress. He condescended to the -clubs and festive resorts of the apprentices, a most -dangerous thing for a genius, as Ferguson's blasted -career had just proved. It was a fortunate enough -and useful episode for the future author of </span><em class="italics">Guy -Mannering</em><span>, but it was not a good school of manners or -academy of habits for Walter Scott. Fortunately -William Clerk, with his West-end prejudices, came -just at the right time, to chaff his friend out of his -slovenliness and to show him the way to a more -wholesome and not less interesting society. Finally, -of course, it was his own sound sense that made this -amiable change in his habits so easy. To this period, -that is, about 1790, belongs the most romantic episode -of Walter Scott's life, his unrequited love for Margaret -Stuart.[1] He had made her acquaintance in the Greyfriars -churchyard on a wet Sunday afternoon, when -she accepted his offered umbrella and his escort home, -for 'young Walter Scott,' a Duchess of Sutherland -at this time said, 'was a comely creature.' And here -we may give Lockhart's description of Scott as seen -by Clerk and Margaret and the rest of his Edinburgh -friends:—</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'His personal appearance at this time was not -unengaging.... He had outgrown the sallowness of -early ill-health, and had a fresh, brilliant complexion. -His eyes were clear, open, and well-set, with a -changeful radiance, to which teeth of the most perfect -regularity and whiteness lent their assistance, while the -noble expanse and elevation of the brow gave to the -whole aspect a dignity far above the charm of mere -features. His smile was always delightful; and I can -easily fancy the peculiar intermixture of tenderness -and gravity with playful, innocent hilarity and humour -in the expression, as being well calculated to fix a -fair lady's eye. His figure, excepting the blemish in -one limb, must in those days have been eminently -handsome; tall, much above the usual standard, it -was cast in the very mould of a young Hercules; -the head set on with singular grace, the throat and -chest after the truest model of the antique, the hands -delicately finished; the whole outline that of extraordinary -vigour, without as yet a touch of clumsiness.... -I have heard him, in talking of this part of his -life, say, with an arch simplicity of look and tone, -which those who were familiar with him can fill in -for themselves—"It was a proud night with me when -I first found that a pretty young woman could think -it worth her while to sit and talk with me, hour after -hour, in a corner of the ballroom, while all the world -were capering in our view."'</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">[1] Scott's youthful love-dream lasted -through several years. The lady -eventually married Sir William Forbes of Pitsligo, -who was a banker in -Edinburgh. Sir William acted a very friendly -part during Scott's financial -disaster of 1826-27.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-xix"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XIX</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">The Advocate's 'Trials'—Scott and Clerk admitted to the -Bar—Walter's first Fee—Connection of the Scotts with Lord -Braxfield—Scottish Judges—Stories of Braxfield.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The trials set to candidates for admission into the -Faculty of Advocates were duly passed by Scott and -his friend Clerk on the same days. They were formally -admitted to the fraternity on the 11th of July, 1792.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There is always some story of the young Advocate's -first fee. When the ceremony of 'putting on the -gown' was completed, Scott said to Clerk, putting on -the air and tone of some Highland lassie waiting at the -Cross to be 'fee'd' for the harvest, 'We've stood here an -hour by the Tron, hinny, an' deil a ane has speir'd our -price.' The friends were about to leave the Outer -Court, when a friend, a solicitor, came up and gave -Scott his first guinea fee. As he and Clerk went down -the High Street, they passed a hosier's shop, and Scott -remarked, 'This is a sort of wedding-day, Willie; I -think I must go in and buy me a new nightcap.' Thus -he 'wared' his guinea, but it is pleasing to know that his -first big fee was spent on a silver taper-stand for his -mother, which (Lockhart tells) the old lady used to -point to with great satisfaction, as it stood on her -chimney-piece five-and-twenty years afterwards.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Scott's 'thesis'—no doubt, like Alan Fairford's, a very -pretty piece of Latinity—was dedicated to the terrible -Lord Braxfield, 'the giant of the bench,' as Cockburn -calls him, 'whose very name makes people start -yet.' Braxfield was a friend and near neighbour of the Scotts, -his house being No. 28 George Square. It is said that -he was rather kind to nervous young advocates at their -first appearance in a case, so long as they were not -'Bar flunkies'—his term for brainless fops. Braxfield -lives in popular tradition as a monster of rough and -savage cruelty, and the sketch of the man by Cockburn -bears out the character only too well. The sketch may -be quoted in full, for its intrinsic interest, and for the -vivid light it throws on the character and manners of -Scottish judges in the century following the Union.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Strong-built and dark, with rough eyebrows, powerful -eyes, threatening lips, and a low growling voice, he -was like a formidable blacksmith. His accent and his -dialect were exaggerated Scotch; his language, like -his thoughts, short, strong, and conclusive.... -Within the range of the Feudal and the Civil branches, -and in every matter depending on natural ability and -practical sense, he was very great; and his power arose -more from the force of his reasoning and his vigorous -application of principle, than from either the extent or -the accuracy of his learning.... He had a colloquial -way of arguing, in the form of question and answer, -which, done in his clear, abrupt style, imparted a -dramatic directness and vivacity to the scene.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'With this intellectual force, as applied to law, his -merits, I fear, cease. Illiterate, and without any taste -for refined enjoyment, strength of understanding, which -gave him power without cultivation, only encouraged -him to a more contemptuous disdain of all natures less -coarse than his own. Despising the growing improvement -of manners, he shocked the feelings even of an -age which, with more of the formality, had far less of -the substance of decorum than our own. Thousands of -his sayings have been preserved, and the substance of -them is indecency; which he succeeded in making -many people enjoy, or at least endure, by hearty -laughter, energy of manner, and rough humour. -Almost the only story I ever heard of him that had -some fun in it without immodesty, was when a butler -gave up his place because his lordship's wife was -always scolding him. "Lord!" he exclaimed, "ye 've -little to complain o'; ye may be thankfu' ye 're no -married to her."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'It is impossible to blame his conduct as a criminal -judge too gravely, or too severely. It was a disgrace -to the age. A dexterous and practical trier of ordinary -cases, he was harsh to prisoners even in his jocularity, -and to every counsel whom he chose to dislike.... It -may be doubted if he was ever so much in his element -as when tauntingly repelling the last despairing claim -of a wretched culprit, and sending him to Botany Bay -or the gallows with an insulting jest; over which he -would chuckle the more from observing that correct -people were shocked.[1] Yet this was not from cruelty, -for which he was too strong and too jovial, but from -cherished coarseness....</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">[1] His remark to Margaret, -one of the 'Friends of the People,' who made -a speech in his own defence, -was, 'Ye're a very clever chiel, man, but ye -wad be nane the war o' a hanging.'</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>'In the political trials of 1793 and 1794 he was the -Jeffreys of Scotland. He, as the head of the court, and -the only very powerful man it contained, was the real -director of its proceedings. The reports make his -abuse of the judgment seat bad enough: but his -misconduct was not so fully disclosed in formal decisions -and charges, as it transpired in casual remarks and -general manner. "Let them bring me prisoners and -I'll find them law" used to be openly stated as his -suggestion, when an intended political prosecution was -marred by anticipated difficulties. Mr. Horner (father -of Francis), who was one of the juniors in Muir's case, -told me that when he was passing, as was often done -then, behind the bench to get into the box, Braxfield, -who knew him, whispered—"Come awa', Mr. Horner, -come awa', and help to hang[2] ane o' thae damned -scoondrels." The reporter of Gerald's case could not -venture to make the prisoner say more than that -"Christianity was an innovation." But the full truth is, -that in stating this view he added that all great men had -been reformers, "even our Saviour himself." "Muckle -he made o' that," chuckled Braxfield in an under voice; -"he was hanget." Before Hume's </span><em class="italics">Commentaries</em><span> had -made our criminal record intelligible, the form and -precedents were a mystery understood by the initiated -alone, and by nobody so much as by Mr. Joseph Norris, -the ancient clerk. Braxfield used to quash anticipated -doubts by saying—"Hoot! just gie me Josie Norrie and -a gude jury, an' I'll doo for the fallow." He died in -1799, in his seventy-eighth year.'</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">[2] </span><em class="italics small">Hang</em><span class="small"> was his phrase for all kinds of punishment.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-xx"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XX</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">Stories of the Judges—Lord Eskgrove—His Appearance—The -Trials for Sedition—Anecdotes of Circuit Dinners—'Esky' -and </span><em class="italics small">the Harangue</em><span class="small">—The Soldier's Breeches—Esky -and the Veiled Witness—Henderson and the Fine—The -Luss Robbers—Death of Eskgrove.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Stories about one or other of the judges were -apparently the leading feature of conversation in -Edinburgh society at the end of the eighteenth century. -Lord Eskgrove, who, almost in his dotage at the age -of seventy-six, was appointed to succeed Braxfield as -head of the Criminal Court, was about the most -ludicrous and childishly eccentric of the race. For a -time it seemed the whole occupation of the wits to -relate anecdotes about old Eskgrove. To give these -anecdotes with a recognisable mimicry of his voice and -manner was, in Cockburn's phrase, 'a sort of fortune -in society.' And Scott, he adds, in those days was -famous for this particularly. It was not the wit or -the humour of Eskgrove which amused. He seems -to have had neither. It was simply his personal -oddity, and the utter incongruity of such an -incredible creature elevated to a position such as his. -His face is described as varying from a scurfy red to a -scurfy blue. His nose was prodigious: the under lip -enormous, and supported on a huge clumsy chin, -which moved like the jaw of a Dutch toy. He walked -with a slow, stealthy step—something between a walk -and a hirple, and helped himself on by short -movements of his elbows, backwards and forwards, like -fins. His voice was low and mumbling. His pronunciation -seems to have been fantastic in the extreme, -especially in the way of cutting even short words into -two. The following anecdotes from Cockburn, who -knew him, 'when he was in the zenith of his -absurdity,' bring 'Esky' very vividly before us.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At the trial of Fysche Palmer for sedition, he made -one of the very few remarks he ever made which had -some little merit of their own. It was a retort to -Mr. John Haggart, one of the prisoner's counsel, who, in -defending his client against the charge of disrespect -to the king, quoted Burke's statement that kings are -naturally lovers of low company. "Then, sir, that -says very little for you or your client! for if kinggs -be lovers of low company, low company ought to be -lovers of kinggs!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Nothing disturbed him so much as the expense of -the public dinner for which the judge on the circuit -has a fixed allowance, and out of which the less he -spends the more he gains. His devices for economy -were often very diverting. His servant had strict -orders to check the bottles of wine by laying aside the -corks. Once at Stirling his lordship went behind a -screen, while the company was still at table, and seeing -an alarming row of corks, got into a warm altercation, -which everybody heard, with John; maintaining it to -be "impossibill" that they could have drunk so much. -On being assured that they had, and were still going -on—"Well, then, John, I must just protect myself!" On -which he put a handful of the corks into his pocket, -and resumed his seat.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Like the poor man in the story, Lord Eskgrove was -"sair hauden doon by yon turkey cock." The plague -of his life for more than a year was Henry Brougham. -In revenge the judge used to sneer at Brougham's -eloquence by styling it or him </span><em class="italics">the Harangue</em><span>. "Well, -gentle-men, what did the Harangue say next? Why, -it said this" (mis-stating it); "but here, gentle-men, -the Harangue was most plainly wrong, and not -intelligibill."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Everything was connected by his terror with -republican horrors. I heard him, in condemning a -tailor to death for murdering a soldier by stabbing -him, aggravate the offence thus: "And not only did -you murder him, whereby he was bereaved of his life, -but you did thrust, or push, or pierce, or project, or -propell, the le-thall weapon through the belly-band of -his regimen-tal breeches, which were his Majes-ty's!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'In the trial of Glengarry for murder in a duel, a -lady of great beauty was called as a witness. She came -into court veiled. But before administering the oath -Eskgrove gave her this exposition of her duty—"Young -woman! you will now consider yourself as in the -presence of Almighty God and of this High Court. -Lift up your veil; throw off all modesty, and look me in -the face."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Sir John Henderson of Fordell, a zealous Whig, -once came before the court, their lordships having to -fix the amount of some discretionary penalty which he -had incurred. Eskgrove began to give his opinion in -a very low voice, but loud enough to be heard by those -next him, to the effect that the fine ought to be £50; -when Sir John, with his usual imprudence, interrupted -him and begged him to raise his voice, adding that if -judges did not speak so as to be heard, they might as -well not speak at all. Eskgrove, who never could -endure any imputation of bodily infirmity, asked his -neighbour, "What does the fellow say?" "He says -that, if you don't speak out, you may as well hold your -tongue." "Oh, is that what he says? My lords, what -I was sayingg was very simpell. I was only sayingg -that in my humbell opinyon, this fine could not be less -than two hundred and fifty pounds sterlingg"—this sum -being roared out as loudly as his old angry voice could -launch it.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'His tediousness in charging juries was most dreadful, -and he was the only judge who insisted on the old -custom of making juries stand during the judge's -address. Often have I gone back to the court at -midnight, and found him, whom I had left mumbling hours -before, still going on, with the smoky unsnuffed tallow -candles in greasy tin candlesticks, and the poor despairing -jurymen, most of the audience having retired or being -asleep; the wagging of his lordship's nose and chin -being the chief signs that he was still </span><em class="italics">char-ging</em><span>.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'A very common arrangement of his logic to juries -was this:—"And so, gentle-men, having shown you -that the pannell's argument is utterly impossibill, I shall -now proceed for to show you that it is extremely -improbabill."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'He rarely failed to signalise himself in pronouncing -sentences of death. It was almost a matter of style with -him to console the prisoner by assuring him that, -"whatever your religi-ous persua-shon may be, or even -if, as I suppose, you be of no persua-shon at all, there -are plenty of rever-end gentle-men who will be most -happy for to show you the way to yeternal life."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'He had to condemn two or three persons to die who -had broken into a house at Luss, and assaulted Sir -James Colquhoun and others, and robbed them of a -large sum of money. He first, as was his almost -constant practice, explained the nature of the various -crimes, assault, robbery, and hamesucken—of which -last he gave them the etymology; and he then -reminded them that they attacked the house and the -persons within it, and robbed them, and then came to -this climax—"All this you did; and God preserve -us! joost when they were sitten doon to their denner!'"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In concluding his reminiscences of Eskgrove Lord -Cockburn says: 'He was the staple of the public -conversation; and so long as his old age lasted, he -nearly drove Napoleon out of the Edinburgh world.... -A story of Eskgrove is still preferred to all other -stories. Only, the things that he did and said every -day are beginning to be incredible to this correct and -fiat age.' Lord Eskgrove died in 1804, at the age of -eighty.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-xxi"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XXI</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">Scott's Anecdote of Lord Kames—Judicial Cruelty—Lord -Meadowbank's Marriage—'Declaim, Sir'—Judges and -Drinking—Hermand and the Pope—Bacchus on the -Bench—Hermand and the Middy.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>When Scott dined at Carlton House in 1815, the -Prince Regent is said to have been particularly -delighted with his guest's anecdotes of the old Scottish -judges and lawyers. The following story was considered -among the best, and it is one which Scott was fond of -telling: 'Lord Kames' (described by Cockburn as 'an -indefatigable and speculative but coarse man'), -'whenever he went on the Ayr circuit, was in the habit of -visiting Matthew Hay, a gentleman of good fortune in -the neighbourhood, and staying at least one night, -which, being both of them ardent chess players, they -usually concluded with their favourite game. One -spring circuit the battle was not concluded at daybreak, -so the judge said—"Well, Matthew, I must e'en come -back this gate in the harvest, and let the game lie ower -for the present"; and back he came in September, but -not to his old friend's hospitable house; for that -gentleman had in the meantime been apprehended on a -capital charge, and his name stood on the </span><em class="italics">Porteous -Roll</em><span>, or list of those who were about to be tried under -his former guest's auspices. The laird was indicted -and tried accordingly, and the jury returned a verdict -of </span><em class="italics">Guilty</em><span>. The judge forthwith put on his cocked hat -(which answers to the black cap in England), and -pronounced the sentence of the law in the usual terms—"To -be hanged by the neck until you are dead; and may the -Lord have mercy upon your unhappy soul!" Having -concluded this awful formula in his most sonorous -cadence, Kames, dismounting his formidable beaver, -gave a familiar nod to his unfortunate acquaintance, -and said to him in a sort of chuckling whisper—"And -now, Matthew, my man, that's checkmate to you." The -Regent laughed heartily at this specimen of -judicial humour; and, "I'faith, Walter," said he, "this -old big-wig seems to have taken things as coolly as my -tyrannical self. Don't you remember Tom Moore's -description of me at breakfast—</span></p> -<blockquote> -<div> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="line"><span>"The table spread with tea and toast,</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>Death warrants and the </span><em class="italics">Morning Post</em><span>"?'</span></div> -</div> -</div> -</blockquote> -<p class="pfirst"><span>This gruesome story, incredible as it appears and repulsive -in its bare and uncalled-for cruelty, is an attested -fact. Lord Cockburn, in referring to the above incident, -says: 'Besides general and uncontradicted notoriety, -I had the fact from Lord Hermand, who was one of -the counsel at the trial, and never forgot a piece of -judicial cruelty which excited his horror and anger.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>To pass to a more agreeable subject, there was Lord -Meadowbank, who disappeared from the festive party -an hour or two after his marriage. Search was made, -and the oblivious Benedick was found busily engaged -in writing a profound thesis on the subject of 'Pains -and Penalties.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He was a most versatile man, and his fondness for -discussion made him often highly diverting. Referring -to his power of discovering principles and tracking out -their consequences, Jeffrey said that while the other -judges gave the tree a tug, Meadowbank not only tore -it up by the roots, but gave it a shake which dispersed -the earth and exposed all the fibres.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>One day Mr. Thomas Walker Baird was, in a dull -technical way, stating a dry case to Lord Meadowbank, -who was sitting single. This did not please the judge, -who thought that his dignity required a grander tone. -So he dismayed poor Baird, than whom no man could -have less turn for burning in the Forum, by throwing -himself back in his chair and saying, 'Declaim, sir, -why don't you declaim? Speak to me as if I were a -popular assembly.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In the lively story of Mr. Pleydell and his clerk -Driver, Scott has immortalised the convivial habits of -the Scottish Bar. The actual incident, as stated in the -note, occurred to Dundas of Arniston at the time he -was Lord Advocate. How ably the judges comported -themselves at the table is well proved in Cockburn's -description of Lord Hermand, who, he says, 'had acted -in more of the severest scenes of old Scotch drinking -than any man at least living. Commonplace topers -think drinking a pleasure; with Hermand it was a -virtue. It inspired the excitement by which he was -elevated, and the discursive jollity which he loved to -promote. But beyond these ordinary attractions, he -had a sincere respect for drinking, indeed a high -moral approbation, and a serious compassion for the -poor wretches who could not indulge in it; with due -contempt for those who could, but did not. He groaned -over the gradual disappearance of the </span><em class="italics">Feriat</em><span> days of -periodical festivity, and prolonged the observance, like -a hero fighting amidst his fallen friends, as long as he -could. The worship of Bacchus, which softened his -own heart, and seemed to him to soften the hearts of -his companions, was a secondary duty. But in its -performance there was no violence, no coarseness, no -impropriety, and no more noise than what belongs to -well-bred jollity unrestrained. It was merely a sublimation -of his peculiarities and excellences; the realisation -of what poetry ascribes to the grape. No carouse ever -injured his health, for he was never ill, or impaired his -taste for home and quiet, or muddled his head: he slept -the sounder for it, and rose the earlier and the cooler. -The cordiality inspired by claret and punch was felt by -him as so congenial to all right thinking, that he was -confident that he could convert the Pope if he could -only get him to sup with him. And certainly his -Holiness would have been hard to persuade if he could have -withstood Hermand about the middle of his second -tumbler.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Bacchic religion of Lord Hermand sometimes -found expression even on the Bench. On one occasion -a young man was convicted of culpable homicide. In -a wrangle with a friend, with whom he had been drinking -all night, he had stabbed him and caused his death. -The case being little more than a sad accident, the youth -was sentenced to only a short imprisonment. At this -Lord Hermand, who regarded the case as a discredit -to the cause of drinking, was highly indignant at his -colleagues' softness. He would have transported the -homicide: 'We are told that there was no malice, and -that the prisoner must have been in liquor. In liquor! -Why, he was drunk! And yet he murdered the very -man who had been drinking with him! They had been -carousing the whole night; and yet he stabbed him! after -drinking a whole bottle of rum with him! Good -God, my Laards, if he will do this when he's drunk, -what will he not do when he's sober?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A somewhat similar case shows Lord Hermand in -a different light. His love for children was a great -feature in his character. A little English midshipman, -being attacked by a much bigger lad in Greenock, -defended himself with his dirk, and somehow killed -his assailant. 'He was tried for this in Glasgow, and -had the good luck to have Hermand for his judge; -for no judge ever fought a more gallant battle for a -prisoner. The boy appeared at the bar in his uniform. -Hermand first refused "to try a child." After this was -driven out of him, the indictment, which described the -occurrence, and said that the prisoner had slain the -deceased "wickedly and feloniously," was read; and -Hermand then said, "Well, my young friend, this is -not true, is it? Are you guilty or not guilty?" "Not -guilty, my Lord." "I'll be sworn you're not!" In -spite of all his exertions, his young friend was convicted -of culpable homicide; for which he was sentenced to -a few days' imprisonment.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>With his mind filled with the sayings and doings -of the Braxfields and the Eskgroves, Walter Scott -could scarcely nourish many illusions regarding his -chosen profession. Fortunately he went 'where his -own nature would be leading.'</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-xxii"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XXII</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">Political Lawyers—Politics an 'accident' in Scott's -History—Early Days at the Bar—Peter Peebles—</span><em class="italics small">The -Mountain</em><span class="small">—Anecdote of Scott and Clerk—The German -Class—Friendship with William Erskine—German Romance—Seniors -of the Bar—Robert Blair—Greatest of Scottish -Judges—Anecdote of Hermand and Henry Erskine.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>In speaking of Scottish politics in 1792—it was in 1792, -November, that Scott and Clerk began their regular -attendance at the Parliament House—it is desirable to -repeat that Scott is not to be regarded as ever having -been in any circumstances a politician. It is absurd -even to mention his name among the crowd of Tory -juniors seeking to push their way to preferment by -party services and loud-mouthed partisan zeal. This -crowd, of which Lord Cockburn speaks, 'produced -several most excellent men and very respectable lawyers, -but not one person, except Walter Scott, who rose to -distinction in literature.' Scott was in no sense a -'product' of so ignoble a school. There is perhaps -nothing in creation so utterly mean and odious as the -person who deliberately engineers his course to legal -office by excessive partisanship. Meanness and -narrowness of mind must be born in the creature who does -it. Who would expect literary distinction from such? -If there be any instances on record—and there is most -unfortunately that of Francis Bacon—of genius united -with such a career, they are distinguished by their -singularity, and operate as exceptions. Walter Scott -was one of the junior bar, but he was never one of -these political aspirants. His conscience, not the main -chance, was the ruling principle with him. Party was -a small thing to Scott: not the be-all and the end-all -of existence as it was to many others of his -contemporaries. It was natural for Cockburn and the -Whigs, who were struggling for existence against -very real oppression and injustice, to exaggerate to -themselves the importance of the whole wretched -business.</span></p> -<blockquote> -<div> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="line"><span>'They took the rustic murmur of their bourg</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>For the great wave that circles round the world.'</span></div> -</div> -</div> -</blockquote> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Scott's good sense and utter lack of conceit preserved -him from falling into their mistake. Like most other -men of culture and honour, both then and now, he -frankly took a side in politics rather than be always -posing as an independent and as if he were the only -conscientious man in a neighbourhood. Historical -sentiment, the glamour of romance and the tradition -of great names, made him prefer the Tory side. That -was all. But he retained his independence complete -and unsullied. Whenever at any time he took an -active part in militant politics, it was not to curry -favour and gain the spoils, but because his whole heart -and soul were with the cause.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Scott certainly started life with the idea of making -his career in the law. Work gradually came to him. -Friendly solicitors were pleased to put certain kinds -of business in the young man's hands, chiefly at first, -as was natural, for his father's sake. 'By and by,' -says Clerk, 'he crept into a tolerable share of such -business as may be expected from a Writer's -connexion.' That is, of course, from his father's -connection, and the business would consist of long written -</span><em class="italics">informations</em><span> and other papers for the Court, on which -young counsellors of the Scottish Bar were expected -to bestow a great deal of trouble for very scanty -pecuniary remuneration, and with scarcely any chance -of displaying their ability or making a name. Another -part of every young advocate's work, even less -important in fees or in fame, was that of acting for -pauper litigants, as Alan Fairford did in the famous -case of Poor Peter Peebles. In the note Scott says -that he himself had at one time the honour to be -counsel for the actual Peter.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>On the whole, Scott in these early days had probably -plenty of leisure time on his hands. He spent some -of it at all events among the 'unemployed' of the -Bar. They were in the habit of congregating at a -particular spot at the north end of the Outer House, -which, according to Lockhart, was called by a name -which easily recalls the date—</span><em class="italics">the Mountain</em><span>. From -Cockburn's account it would appear that the loungers -of the Mountain were all Whigs, separated into a sect -of their own and all branded with the same mark. As -he mentions among them Thomas Thomson, who we -know was at this time one of Scott's most intimate -daily associates, we must infer that the separation was -not quite absolute. The following story of Clerk's -shows that he also was one of the group. One -morning finding them all convulsed with laughter, -he complained that </span><em class="italics">Duns Scotus</em><span> had been forestalling -him in a good story which he had told him privately -the day before—adding, moreover, that his friend had -not only stolen it, but disguised it. 'Why,' answered -Scott, skilfully waiving the main charge, 'this is -always the way with the </span><em class="italics">Baronet</em><span>. He is continually -saying that I change his stories, whereas in fact I -only put a cocked hat on their heads, and stick a cane -into their hands—to make them fit for going into -company.' About Christmas of this eventful year, -Scott, Clerk, Thomson, and William Erskine (afterwards -Lord Kinedder) joined a German class; and all -the four soon qualified themselves to read Schiller and -Goethe. Erskine was a Tory: Scott's other young -advocate friends were by descent and connection Whigs. -From the time of the German class Erskine and Scott -drew closer together, and Erskine became by and by, -as we learn from Lockhart, 'the nearest and most -confidential' of all Scott's Edinburgh associates. We -also know that, though politics never shook the mutual -regard of the others, 'the events and controversies of -the immediately ensuing years could not but disturb, -more or less, the social habits of young barristers who -adopted opposite views on the French Revolution and -the policy of Pitt. His friendship exercised an -influence which Lockhart rates very high, on Scott's -literary tastes. Along with a sincere love of the -classics, Erskine had cherished from boyhood a strong -passion for Old English literature, especially the -Elizabethan dramatists. He sympathised with, and -understood the real value of, Scott's taste for antiquity and -national lore. He delighted in the bold and picturesque -style, the strength and originality, of the native English -school, but he warned Scott of the necessity of paying -some deference to modern taste. In short, he knew -how to "sift and sunder," and understood that the -absurdities and extravagances of great works form no -part of their greatness, though they are exactly the -parts most likely to be selected for imitation.' Lockhart, -in pointing out that Scott was mainly influenced in his -first literary attempts by the founders of German drama -and romance, states the opinion that he ran at first -no trivial risk of adopting some of their extravagances -both of idea and expression. Erskine's vigorous -condemnation of the mingled absurdities and vulgarities -of German detail, coming from one who so enthusiastically -admired their great qualities, and who approved -of their new departure in choosing romantic subjects, -had no doubt full weight in guiding the judgment of -so sane and sound a genius as Scott.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The seniors of the Bar about this time were, on the -Government or Tory side, Robert Blair, Charles Hope, -and Robert Dundas. Of Blair it has been said by -Cockburn that he was a species of man not very common -in Scotland: he might have said in any country, if -his own description is correct. 'He had a fine manly -countenance, a gentleman-like, portly figure, a slow -dignified gait, and a general air of thought and power. -Too solid for ingenuity, and too plain for fancy, -soundness of understanding was his peculiar intellectual -quality. Within his range nobody doubted, or could -doubt, Blair's wisdom. Nor did it ever occur to -any one to doubt his probity. He was all honesty. -The sudden opening of the whole secrets of his heart -would not have disclosed a single speck of dishonour. -And all his affections, personal and domestic, were -excellent and steady.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>If not indolent, Blair seems to have been strongly -averse to letting himself be bothered with mean details -or drudgery. He maintained, as few can do, a noble -independence of small and mean interests. But -with his great love of rest, repose, and ease he -combined a fiery and excitable disposition. The -combination is said to be rare. It is always noble.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Blair is a splendid example of this truth. He was -absolutely indifferent to preferment. Lord Melville -says that George III. used to speak of him as 'the -man who would not go up.' Literally as well as -morally he kept his own way. There was a line, it is -said, in the Outer House, which was kept clear for -him whenever he was present. Even his official -superiors, and the judges themselves, stood in awe -of him. He was, by preference and practice, a silent -man. He was one who could play a long game with -a dozen people, and yet not speak. In politics he -was a loyal party man, but as void of malignity as -he was free from self-seeking. He was one of the -few who 'have greatness thrust upon them,' having -been made Lord President of the Court of Session -a few years before his death. His memory is still -revered as that of the greatest of Scottish judges. His -character and the marvellous clearness of his judicial -'opinions' made him the pride of Edinburgh during -his all too short reign, which closed in 1811. -His death was very sudden, and affected the whole -population like the unexpected loss of a dear personal -friend. Lord Cockburn has described the scene: 'It -overwhelmed us all. Party made no division about -Blair. All pleasure and all business were suspended. -I saw Hermand that night. He despised Blair's -abstinence from the pollution of small politics. He -did not know that he could love a man who neither -cared for claret nor for whist; but, at near seventy -years of age, he was crying like a child. Next day -the Court was silent, and adjourned. The Faculty of -Advocates, hastily called together, resolved to attend -him to his grave. Henry Erskine tried to say -something, and because he could only try it, it was as -good a speech as he ever made.' From his grave -in Greyfriars Churchyard to the edge of the Castlehill, -the vast concourse of spectators stood silent and -uncovered when the sod was laid.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-xxiii"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XXIII</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">Seniors (</span><em class="italics small">continued</em><span class="small">)—Charles Hope—His Voice—Tribute -by Cockburn—Robert Dundas, Nephew of Henry, Lord -Melville—His Manner and Moderation—Anecdote of Lords -Blair and Melville—Lord Melville's Son—Scott's Project of -Emigration.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Charles Hope may be considered one of the very best -representatives of his profession. He had an extensive -practice as an advocate, and afterwards filled successively, -with great distinction, the offices of Lord Advocate, -Lord Justice-Clerk, and Lord President. But his -great forte was public speaking. For this his -qualifications were great: a tall figure, commanding presence, -natural manner, great command of language, and a -magnificent voice, which Cockburn describes as -'surpassed by that of the great Mrs. Siddons alone, which, -drawn direct from heaven and worthy to be heard there, -was the noblest that ever struck the human ear.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Few men, surely, have ever received or deserved -such an encomium from a political opponent as -Cockburn has left us of Lord President Hope:—'It is a -pleasure to me to think of him. He was my first—I -might almost say my only, professional patron, and -used to take me with him on his circuits; and in spite -of my obstinate and active Whiggery has been kind to -me through life. When his son, who was Solicitor-General -in 1830, lost that office by the elevation of the -Reform Ministry, and I succeeded him, his father shook -me warmly by the hand, and said, "Well, Harry, I -wish you joy. Since my son was to lose it, I am -glad that your father's son has got it." It was always -so with him. Less enlightened than confident in his -public opinions, his feelings towards his adversaries, -even when ardently denouncing their principles, were -liberalised by the native humanity and fairness of his -dispositions.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Perhaps the most interesting public character in -Scotland at the beginning of the nineteenth century was -Robert Dundas of Arniston. He was the son of a Lord -President Dundas, whose father had also occupied that -high position. His uncle was Henry Dundas, Lord -Melville, the famous friend of Pitt. The uncle, it is -supposed, greatly influenced the policy of the nephew, -whose power in Scotland was for a time almost -unlimited. At all events, in a position almost certain to -provoke jealousy and enmity on all hands, he was able -to maintain a character for moderation and fairness -even in the cases of political prosecution which his -office of Lord Advocate required him to conduct. In -those troublous times the powers given to the Lord -Advocate were extravagant and arbitrary. Dundas -seems to have been a man of moderate abilities and -ordinary acquirements, but Cockburn's lively picture -sufficiently explains his remarkable success in his -trying and difficult duties. 'He had two qualifications -which suited his position, and made him not only the -best Lord Advocate that his party could have supplied, -but really a most excellent one. These consisted in -his manner, and in his moderation. He was a little, -alert, handsome, gentleman-like man, with a countenance -and air beaming with sprightliness and gaiety, -and dignified by considerable fire; altogether -inexpressibly pleasing. It was impossible not to like the -owner of that look. No one could contemplate his -animated and elegant briskness, or his lively benignity, -without feeling that these were the reflections of an -ardent and amiable heart. His want of intellectual -depth and force seemed to make people like him the -better. And his manner was worthy of his appearance. -It was kind, polite, and gay; and if the fire did happen -to break out, it was but a passing flash, and left nothing -painful after it was gone.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Dundas had his town residence at No. 57 George -Square. His uncle, Lord Melville, had come here on -the 26th of May 1811, with the intention of attending -the funeral of Lord Blair next day. He retired to rest -apparently in his usual health, but was found next -morning dead in bed. Thus, strange to say, the two -friends, who had both been alive and active a week -before, were lying dead with but a wall between them, for -Blair's house was No. 56, next door to that of Dundas. -A strange incident is related by Lord Cockburn, which -he says he was inclined to regard as true: viz., that a -letter written by Lord Melville was found on his table, -or in a writing-case after his death, in which he drew a -moving picture of his feelings at the funeral of Lord -Blair. Little had he imagined that he himself would -be dead before that funeral took place. The letter was -addressed to a member of the government, with a view -to obtain some public provision for Blair's family. -'Such things,' adds Lord Cockburn, 'are always -awkward when detected; especially when done by a skilful -politician. Nevertheless an honest and a true man -might do this. It is easy to anticipate one's feelings -at a friend's burial; and putting the description into -the form of having returned from it is mere rhetoric.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Scott enjoyed the personal friendship of Viscount -Melville, and still more of the younger members of the -Dundas family. Robert Dundas was Lord Advocate -at the time of Scott's appointment to the sheriffship -of Selkirk. Another Robert Dundas, Lord Melville's -son, had been one of Scott's admirers in the story-telling -days of the High School, and their intimacy continued -later on. In fact Arniston and Melville supplied -Walter Scott with quite a troop of warm friends. An -anecdote which connects Lord Melville and Scott may -be given here, though it belongs to the end of the next -decade (1810). Great changes had at that time been -proposed in the Scottish law and judicature. They did -not commend themselves to Scott's judgment. In fact, -he wrote a remarkable essay in the </span><em class="italics">Edinburgh Annual -Register</em><span> against the rash attempt at a general -innovation. He was at the same time uneasy in regard to -the affairs of his Ballantyne publishing business, and -fretting a little at the drudgery of his clerkship, which -as yet yielded him no income. It was a crisis very like -that in the life of Burns when he proposed to emigrate -to Jamaica. Scott indeed seriously entertained the idea -of going to India, as is clear from his letter to his -brother Thomas in November 1810. 'I have no objection -to tell you in confidence, that, were Dundas to go -out Governor-General to India, and were he willing to -take me with him in a good situation, I would not -hesitate to pitch the Court of Session and the booksellers -to the Devil, and try my fortune in another climate. -But this is strictly </span><em class="italics">entre nous</em><span>.' Dundas, it seems, had -on several occasions been spoken of as likely to be -appointed Governor-General of India, and he had -hinted at taking Scott with him. Fortunately the -opportunity never occurred, the genius was not driven -into exile, and the Court of Session and the booksellers -obtained a temporary reprieve.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-xxiv"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XXIV</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">Henry Erskine—His Ability and Wit—Tributes to his -Character—Dismissal as Dean of Faculty—John Clerk—Reputation -at the Bar—His Private Tastes—Art and Literature—Odd -Habits—Anecdotes of Clerk and his Father.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The Hon. Henry Erskine, the acknowledged leader -of the Scottish Bar, and one of the ablest and wittiest -of men, was a son of the fifth Earl of Buchan, who died -in 1767, and was succeeded in the title by his eldest -son David. A younger brother of Henry's was equally -illustrious at the English Bar as the undaunted defender -first of Captain Baillie, who was indicted for libel at the -instigation of Lord Sandwich in 1778: next in 1792 -of Tom Paine, 'victorious needleman,' indicted for -publishing the </span><em class="italics">Rights of Man</em><span>: and then in 1794 of -Hardy, Horne Tooke, and Thelwall, accused of high -treason. This was Thomas Erskine, who became -Lord Chancellor of England and was raised to the -peerage as Baron Erskine of Restormel in 1806. All -the brothers were strongly attached to the Whig party. -Under the coalition government of North and Fox in -1783 Henry Erskine was for a short time Lord -Advocate, an office which he held again in 1806. His -fame was spread throughout Scotland as the constant -and disinterested defender of the helpless in distress.</span></p> -<blockquote> -<div> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="line"><span>'And all the oppress'd who wanted strength</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>Had his at their command.'</span></div> -</div> -</div> -</blockquote> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Like his brother, he was absolutely fearless in the -exposure of wrong, and his name became the terror of -every high-handed 'petty tyrant' in the land. It is -said that a poor man in a remote part of the country, -who was threatened with the law by his landlord for the -purpose of compelling him to submit to some injustice, -at once turned upon him with bold indignation and -said, 'Ye dinna ken what ye're sayin', maister; there's -no a man in a' Scotland need want a friend or fear an -enemy sae lang as Harry Erskine is to the fore.' In -his </span><em class="italics">Life of Jeffrey</em><span> Lord Cockburn says of Erskine: 'His -name can no sooner be mentioned than it suggests -ideas of wit, with which, in many memories, the -recollection of him is chiefly associated. A tall and rather -slender figure, a face sparkling with vivacity, a clear -sweet voice, and a general suffusion of elegance, gave -him a striking and pleasing appearance.... He was -the only one of the marked Edinburgh Whigs who was -not received coldly in the private society of their -opponents. Nothing was so sour as not to be sweetened -by the glance, the voice, the gaiety, the beauty, -of Henry Erskine.' Scott speaks of him in the same -affectionate strain—'Henry Erskine was the -best-natured man I ever knew: thoroughly a gentleman, -and with but one fault—he could not say No. His wit -was of the very kindest, best-humoured, and gayest -sort that ever cheered society.' It is a matter for deep -regret that the public career of so rare and eminent a -man should have been dependent upon the ups and -downs of politics. Even the post of Dean of the Faculty -of Advocates, to which he had been elected for eight -years in succession, was taken from him in 1796. He -had presided at a public meeting to protest against the -war with France. Such a defiance could not at such a -time be overlooked, and the more powerful party -employed their large majority to displace him. But even -this was done without malevolence: the motion for -dismissal—moved by Charles Hope—in no way disturbed -the personal friendship between the two men.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>John Clerk, raised to the Bench as Lord Eldin in his -old age, was a worthy compeer of Erskine in his -steadfast adherence to Whiggery at the cost of professional -advancement. He was Solicitor-General in 1806, when -Erskine was Lord Advocate. His fame was, therefore, -won while he was at the Bar, of which, after his friend's -retirement, he became the acknowledged leader. But -his powerful sarcasm and his great gift of humour, -combined with his remarkable appearance and popular -principles, laid hold of the imagination of men and -gained him quite a national reputation. It is of him -that Cockburn says that the conditions of his private -and his professional life almost amounted to the -possession of two natures.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'A contracted limb, which made him pitch when he -walked, and only admitted of his standing erect when -he poised it in the air, added to the peculiarity of a -figure with which so many other ideas of oddity were -connected. Blue eyes, very bushy eyebrows, coarse -grizzly hair, always in disorder, and firm, projecting -features, made his face and head not unlike that of a -thorough-bred shaggy terrier. It was a countenance -of great thought and great decision.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He was fond of literature, and his love of the fine -arts grew to be a passion. He had great knowledge -of painting, drew and etched cleverly, and occasionally -modelled. His consulting-room was an extraordinary -scene: 'Walls covered with books and -pictures, of both of which he had a large collection; -the floor encumbered by little ill-placed tables, each -with a piece of old china on it; strange boxes, bits of -sculpture, curious screens and chairs, cats and dogs -(his special favourites), and all manner of trash, dead -and living, and all in confusion;—John himself sitting -in the midst of this museum,—in a red worsted nightcap, -his crippled limb resting horizontally on a tripod -stool,—and many pairs of spectacles and antique -snuffboxes on a small table at his right hand; and there he -sits,—perhaps dreaming awake,—probably descanting -on some of his crotchets, and certainly abusing his -friends the judges,—when recalled to the business in -hand; but generally giving acute and vigorous advice.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The peculiarities which made him a 'character' -in the court are analysed at some length by Lord -Cockburn. One was a habit of discussing, enforcing, -and lauding his own virtues, quite without vanity or -ostentation, but with quiet assurance, as if it were -something he had no concern in. In the end he became -fiercely resentful of opposition and suspicious of all who -contradicted him. But what most of all made Clerk -unique was his extraordinary zeal for his client. The -public hugely enjoyed his passionate displays, when he -defied and insulted not only his opponent in the case, -but even the judges themselves when he found them -adverse. Of course in this respect he was a privileged -person: his fiery onslaughts being regarded as part of -the show, and invariably relieved by some quaint bit -of humour.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When he heard a lady on the street behind him -point him out as the lame lawyer, he wheeled round -and said, 'Nay, nay, madam, lame man if ye like, but -not a lame lawyer, as the Fifteen (</span><em class="italics">i.e.</em><span> the Judges) know -to their cost.' This ready retort happily illustrates all -his peculiarities.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>His father, John Clerk of Eldin, was the author of -a celebrated work on Naval Tactics. In his old age -he is reported to have said of himself and his son: 'I -remember the time when people, seeing John limping -on the street, used to ask, "what lame lad that was?" -and the answer would be, "that's the son of Clerk of -Eldin." But now, when I myself am passing, I hear -them saying, "what auld, grey-headed man is that?" And -the answer is, "that's the father o' John Clerk."'</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-xxv"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XXV</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">Scott's Border 'Raids'—Shortreed—Scott's Circuit -Work—Jedburgh Anecdotes—Edinburgh Days—Fortune's—The -Theatre Royal—Oyster Parties—Social Functions—General -Reading.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>For many years after his first donning of the gown, -Scott made use of every holiday for those 'raids' into -Liddesdale and rambles through various parts of -Scotland which long caused his father anxiety and -vexation. It was not given to the old man, eager to -see his son immersed in what he considered far more -important pursuits, to foresee the marvellous results of -these erratic tours. There were some, however, who -could, and one of these was Robert Shortreed, -Sheriff-Substitute of Roxburghshire, who was his guide and -companion in all his Border raids. His remark -will serve very well to sum up our reference to these -expeditions, which are 'outwith' the limits of his -Edinburgh life. 'He was </span><em class="italics">makin' himsell</em><span> a' the time,' -was Shortreed's emphatic comment; 'but he didna ken -maybe what he was aboot till years had passed. At -first he thought o' little, I daresay, but the queerness -and the fun.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Of his circuit work one or two anecdotes will suffice. -He made his first appearance as counsel in a criminal -case at the Jedburgh assizes, where he successfully -defended a veteran poacher. When the verdict was -pronounced, Scott whispered to his client, 'You're a -lucky scoundrel.' 'I'm just o' your mind,' quoth the -desperado, 'and I'll send ye a maukin (a hare) the -morn, man.' Shortly after he defended a certain -notorious housebreaker, who, however, in spite of -counsel's strenuous efforts, was found guilty. The -man, knowing that he could not escape, the evidence -of his guilt being clear, yet felt grateful, in his way, -to the young lawyer who had stood by him manfully -and seen fair play. He requested the advocate to visit -him in his cell, and Scott complied. When they were -alone together in the </span><em class="italics">condemned cell</em><span>, the poor outcast -said, 'I am very sorry, sir, that I have no fee to offer -you—so let me beg your acceptance of two bits of -advice which may be useful, perhaps, when you come -to have a house of your own. I am done with practice, -you see, and here is my legacy. Never keep a large -watch-dog out of doors—we can always silence them -cheaply—indeed if it be a </span><em class="italics">dog</em><span>, 'tis easier than -whistling—but tie a little tight yelping terrier within; and -secondly, put no trust in nice, clever, gimcrack -locks—the only thing that bothers us is a huge old heavy -one, no matter how simple the construction,—and the -ruder and rustier the key, so much the better for the -housekeeper.' Lockhart heard Scott tell the story some -thirty years after at a Judge's dinner at Jedburgh, and -he summed it up with a rhyme—'Ay, ay, my Lord,' -(addressing Lord Meadowbank)—</span></p> -<blockquote> -<div> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="line"><span>'Yelping terrier, rusty key,</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>Was Walter Scott's best Jeddart fee.'</span></div> -<div class="line"> </div> -</div> -</div> -</blockquote> -<p class="pfirst"><span>If his life in Edinburgh was not quite as enjoyable -as the summer wanderings or the spring and autumn -circuits, it certainly had its compensations. There -was a good deal, no doubt, of what he describes in -</span><em class="italics">Redgauntlet</em><span> as 'sweeping the boards of the Parliament -House with the skirts of his gown.' But then there -was the consolation of the merry men of the Mountain, -with mirth and youthful jollity, to which he could -always contribute more than his share. There was -plenty of claret-drinking at Bayle's, Fortune's, Walker's, -the favourite resorts of the Bar. Claret was still the -only drink, in spite of the growing enmity to France. -It is a curious fact, however, that this feeling caused -the Edinburgh Town Council in 1798 to pass a -resolution that claret should not be drunk either at the -King's Birthday orgy or any other civic feast. This -'self-denying ordinance' was not observed. In spite -of conviviality and amusements a young man's expenses -in Edinburgh in those days did not require to be great, -when a good dinner at Fortune's would cost half-a-crown, -and a bottle of claret a shilling. Fifty years -before, in the days when a man brought his own fork -and knife, and glass if he wanted one for his own -separate use, one dined at an 'ordinary' in Edinburgh -for fourpence, which even included all the small beer -that was called for till the cloth was removed. Scott -was a frequent visitor at the old Theatre Royal—'his -dressing-table with old play-bills, etc.' This building -stood in Shakespeare Square, a site now occupied by -the General Post Office. It was eventually purchased -by Mr. Henry Siddons, and there, under his management, -the admirers of the drama 'had the satisfaction -to witness the exertion of the unparalleled talents of -Mrs. Siddons, Mrs. Jordan, Mr. Braham, Mr. John -Kemble, and others.' Oyster-parties were now very -fashionable. They were quite decorous affairs, though -not over-formal, and were attended and enjoyed by -ladies as well as gentlemen.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>One of these oyster-parties is described from a -stranger's point of view by Topham in his </span><em class="italics">Letters -from Edinburgh</em><span>: 'The shrine of festivity is nothing -more than an oyster-cellar, and its votaries the first -people in Edinburgh.... I was ushered into a large -and brilliant company of both sexes, most of whom -I had the honour of being acquainted with. The table -was covered with dishes full of oysters, and pots of -porter. By and by the table was cleared, and glass -introduced. The ladies were now asked whether they -would choose brandy or rum punch. I thought this -question an odd one, but I was soon informed that -no wine was sold here. The ladies, who always love -what is best, fixed upon brandy punch, and a large -bowl was immediately introduced. The conversation -now became general and lively. A thousand things -were hazarded and met with applause, to which the -oddity of the scene gave propriety and which could -have been produced in no other place.... In this -little assembly there was more real happiness and -mirth than in all the ceremonies and splendid meetings -at Soho. When the company were tired of conversation, -they began to dance reels, their favourite dance, -which they perform with great agility and perseverance. -One of the gentlemen, however, fell down in the most -active part of it, and lamed himself. The dance was at -an end. The ladies retired, and with them went all -the mirth.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Such scenes as these, along with attendance at -'assemblies,' concerts, and the general round of social -engagements, filled up, without great fear of dulness, -the leisure part of Scott's existence when in town. His -duties were but light, and so was his income.[1] There -is ample proof too that he found time to continue his -literary studies, and kept himself, as the phrase is, -'abreast of current literature.' 'On his desk the new -novel most in repute lay snugly intrenched beneath -Stair's </span><em class="italics">Institutes</em><span>, or an open volume of </span><em class="italics">Decisions</em><span>.'</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">[1] The particulars given by Lockhart are: -first year's practice, £24, 3s.; -second year's, £57, 15s.; third, £84, 4s.; -fourth, £90; and in his fifth -year, that is from November 1796 to July 1797, he made -£144, 10s.; of which £50 were fees from his father's chamber.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-xxvi"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XXVI</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">The Edinburgh Environment—Talk of French Revolution—The -'Jacobins'—The Volunteers—Irish Row in the -Theatre—Mrs. Barbauld's Visit—Taylor's </span><em class="italics small">Lenore</em><span class="small">—Scott's -Version—Anecdote of the Skull—End of Love -Affair—Reference in </span><em class="italics small">Peveril of the Peak</em><span class="small">.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>To understand the environment of Scott about 1794, -it is necessary to remember that people's minds and -conversation were almost wholly occupied with the -French Revolution. It affected every one, and met -one everywhere. Of real sympathy with the French -Republic there never was much anywhere in Britain. -In Edinburgh, as in several other towns, there were -a few persons who affected an admiration for the -Republic and for everything French. These were -called </span><em class="italics">Jacobins</em><span>, but they soon disappeared from public -view. The name, however, continued to be used as -a political nickname, and was applied freely to all -who showed sympathy with the idea of reform. There -was a belief, more or less vague, among the Tories -and the wealthier class generally, that the working -men were hostile to the Constitution. Altogether the -feelings of loyal men, young and old, were strongly -excited. In spring of 1794 Scott wrote to friends in -Roxburghshire exulting in the 'good spirit' shown by -the upper classes in Edinburgh. He was much excited -over the enrolment of a regiment of volunteers, in -which his brother Thomas was a grenadier, and from -which he himself was excluded by his lameness. We -can imagine him chafing in soul to be 'a mere spectator -of the drills.' It was more than his hot, impulsive -nature could endure. At last the happy inspiration -came to him to propose the formation of a corps of -volunteer light horse. The idea was popular, but some -time was required to get it carried out.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Meantime an incident happened which vividly -illustrates the highly-charged atmosphere of the time and -Scott's romantic excess of loyalty. Some Irish medical -students had set themselves to annoy the loyal people -in the theatre by calling for seditious tunes and howling -down the National Anthem. This foolish conduct was, -of course, strongly resented by the audience, and -especially by the young Tory lawyers. It was -determined to give the Irishmen a lesson, and put a stop -to the scandal. 'Scott' (says Lockhart) 'was conspicuous -among the juvenile advocates and solicitors who -on this grand night assembled in front of the pit, -armed with stout cudgels, and determined to have -</span><em class="italics">God save the King</em><span> not only played without interruption -but sung in full chorus by both company and audience. -The Irishmen were ready at the first note of the -anthem. They rose, clapped on their hats, and brandished -their shillelaghs; a stern battle ensued, and after -many heads had been cracked, the lawyers at length -found themselves in possession of the field.' From -a letter of Scott's written a few days after, it appears -that five of the loyal youths had been bound over to -keep the peace, and that he personally had knocked -down three of the Democrats. His friends said he -had 'signalised himself splendidly in this desperate -fray.' On the occasion of the riots which took place -in the course of this troubled year he was active among -the special constables sworn in to guard the town.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In the autumn of 1795 Mrs. Barbauld was on a -visit to Edinburgh. One evening this distinguished -writer read to a party in the house of Dugald Stewart -an unpublished poem by William Taylor, a translation -of Burger's ballad of </span><em class="italics">Lenore</em><span>. Scott was not one of the -company. He seems to have been away on one of -his usual tours, but on his return in the course of a -few weeks, a friend gave him, as best he could, an -account of the performance. Scott was deeply -interested, and never rested till he had procured a copy -of the original German. After reading the poem, he -told his friend, Miss Cranstoun, that he was going -to write a translation of it himself. He was greatly -excited over the matter, and finished his task at one -sitting the same night. In the morning, before -breakfast, he took his production to Miss Cranstoun, who -was not only delighted but astonished. Lockhart -quotes from one of her letters, 'Upon my word, -Walter Scott is going to turn out a poet—something -of a cross, I think, between Burns and Gray.' Sir -Alexander Wood, to whom also he showed the poem -the same day, retained a vivid recollection of the -high-strung enthusiasm to which he had worked himself -up by dwelling on the wild, unearthly imagery of the -ballad. He tells how Scott must needs provide himself -with symbols, a skull and cross-bones, which they -procured from Dr. John Bell, and which Scott set up -as trophies on the top of his little book-case. When -Wood visited him, after many years of absence from -this country, he saw them again similarly placed in -his dressing-room at Abbotsford.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Miss Cranstoun, afterwards Countess of Purgstall, -told Captain Basil Hall on her deathbed that she and -William Erskine got a few copies of the </span><em class="italics">Lenore</em><span> -printed. She was doing her best for Scott in his -courtship of Miss Stuart, and thought the verses might -work in his favour. She sent a copy, 'richly bound -and blazoned,' to Scott, who was in the country at a -house where Miss Stuart was also a visitor. This -was really Scott's first publication. The verses were -much admired by his friends, but this was all. His -pursuit of Miss Stuart presently came to an end, on -the announcement of her engagement to Forbes. A -most interesting glimpse into the real inwardness of -this affair is afforded in </span><em class="italics">Peveril of the Peak</em><span>, written -twenty-six years after. The poet thus soberly moralises, -</span><em class="italics">non sine desiderio</em><span>:—'The period at which love is -formed for the first time, and felt most strongly, is -seldom that at which there is much prospect of its -being brought to a happy issue. The state of artificial -society opposes many complicated obstructions to early -marriages; and the chance is very great that such -obstacles prove insurmountable. In fine, there are -few men who do not look back in secret to some period -of their youth, at which a sincere and early affection -was repulsed, or betrayed, or became abortive from -opposing circumstances. It is these little passages -of secret history which leave a tinge of romance in -every bosom, scarce permitting us, even in the most -busy or the most advanced period of life, to listen -with total indifference to a tale of true love.'</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-xxvii"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XXVII</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">Friendship with Skene of Rubislaw—Skene's Account of -the Edinburgh Light Horse—'Earl Walter'—Marriage of -Walter Scott and Charlotte Carpenter—The Edinburgh -Home—Edinburgh Friends—The Cottage at Lasswade.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Scott's German studies brought him at this time one -of the most valued friendships of his life. Mr. Skene -of Rubislaw, having resided several years in Saxony, -and having a similar fondness for the fresh and natural -literature of Germany, entered into Scott's ideas with -zest, and assisted him in his struggles with the language. -The two soon drew together, and became intimate -friends. Skene wrote afterwards with pride of this -friendship, which during nearly forty years 'never -sustained even a casual chill,' and he testified, like -all others who knew him, that 'never in the whole -progress of his varied life, could I perceive the slightest -shade of variance from that simplicity of character with -which he impressed me on the first hour of our -meeting.' Skene was one of those who joined heartily in -promoting the volunteer cavalry movement, and of -this affair he has given some interesting particulars. -'The London Light Horse had set the example, but -in truth it was to Scott's ardour that this force in -the North owed its origin. Unable, by reason of his -lameness, to serve amongst his friends on foot, he had -nothing for it but to rouse the spirit of the moss-trooper -with which he readily inspired all who possessed the -means of substituting the sabre for the musket.' In -February 1797 a meeting was held, and an offer was -sent to the Government which was at once accepted. -The organisation of the corps was then begun. The -Major-Commandant was Maitland of Rankeillor. -Skene was a cornet: Scott was quartermaster. 'The -part of quartermaster was purposely selected for him, -that he might be spared the rough usage of the ranks; -but, notwithstanding his infirmity, he had a remarkably -firm seat on horseback, and in all situations a -fearless one: no fatigue ever seemed too much for -him, and his zeal and animation served to sustain -the enthusiasm of the whole corps, while his ready -</span><em class="italics">mot à rire</em><span> kept up, in all, a degree of good-humour -and relish for the service, without which the toil and -privations of long </span><em class="italics">daily</em><span> drills would not easily have -been submitted to by such a body of gentlemen. -At every interval of exercise, the order </span><em class="italics">sit at ease</em><span> -was the signal for the quartermaster to lead the -squadron to merriment; every eye was intuitively -turned on "Earl Walter," as he was familiarly called -by his associates of that date, and his ready joke -seldom failed to raise the ready laugh.... His -habitual humour was the great charm, and at the -daily mess that reigned supreme.' The gallant -squadron continued its daily drills all the spring -and summer of 1797, and even spent some weeks -under canvas at Musselburgh. Most of the troopers -being professional men, they had their drill at five -in the morning,—an act of heroic self-denial which -speaks volumes for the spirit evoked by 'haughty -Gaul's' threats of invasion. By the end of the year -England had established her supremacy on sea, all -fear of an invasion was dissipated, and the volunteers' -occupation for the time was gone.[1]</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">[1] See, in connection with the volunteer episode, -Scott's 'War Song of the -Royal Edinburgh Light Dragoons,' -written in 1802: also Introduction to -Canto v. of </span><em class="italics small">Marmion</em><span class="small">.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>On the 24th of December of this year Scott was -married in St. Mary's Church, Carlisle, to Charlotte -Margaret Carpenter, whom he had met for the first -time when on a tour during that autumn among -the English Lakes. She was the daughter of Jean -Charpentier, a French royalist, who had died about the -beginning of the Revolution. The widow and her -daughter took refuge in England, where Charpentier -had, in his first alarm at the outbreak of the revolution, -invested a sum of £4000. In a letter to his mother -Scott speaks of his wife's fortune as then £500 a -year, but precarious as to the amount, being partly -dependent on her brother, who held a high office in -Madras. With this added to his own earnings, he -says, 'I have little doubt we will be enabled to hold -the rank in society which my family and situation -entitle me to fill.' Their married life in Edinburgh -began in a lodging in George Street, from which -they removed, as soon as it was ready for their -reception, to a house in South Castle Street. Mrs. Scott, -who was lively and fond of society, soon found -herself the centre of a most interesting social life. -Indeed 'those humble days' were perhaps the happiest -of all. 'Mrs. Scott's arrival' (says Lockhart) 'was -welcomed with unmingled delight by the brothers -of </span><em class="italics">the Mountain</em><span>. The officers of the Light Horse, -too, established a club among themselves, supping -once a week at each other's houses in rotation. The -lady thus found two somewhat different, but both -highly agreeable circles ready to receive her with -cordial kindness; and the evening hours passed in -a round of innocent gaiety, all the arrangements -being conducted in a simple and inexpensive fashion, -suitable to young people whose days were mostly -laborious, and very few of their purses heavy. -Scott and Erskine had always been fond of the -theatre; the pretty bride was passionately so—and -I doubt if they ever spent a week in Edinburgh -without indulging themselves in this amusement. -But regular dinners and crowded assemblies were -in those years quite unthought of.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In the summer of 1798 began the series of summer -sojourns at Lasswade, on the Esk, which brought -to Scott important additions to his list of friends. -Among his neighbours in this romantic district, -which had been his favourite haunt in boyish -rambles, were Henry Mackenzie, the 'Man of -Feeling,' the Clerks of Pennycuick, and Lord -Woodhouselee, with all of whom he was already familiar. -But it was at Lasswade that he first 'formed intimacies, -even more important in their results, with the noble -families of Melville and Buccleuch, both of whom -have castles in the same valley.'</span></p> -<blockquote> -<div> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="line"><span>'Who knows not Melville's beechy grove,</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span>And Roslin's rocky glen;</span></div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span>Dalkeith, which all the virtues love,</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span>And classic Hawthornden?'</span></div> -</div> -</div> -</div> -</blockquote> -<p class="pfirst"><span>It is of the Esk that he says in the same poem, </span><em class="italics">The -Grey Brother</em><span>,</span></p> -<blockquote> -<div> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="line"><span>'Thro' woods more fair no stream more sweet</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span>Rolls to the eastern main.'</span></div> -<div class="line"> </div> -</div> -</div> -</div> -</blockquote> -<p class="pfirst"><span>An interesting notice appeared recently in a local -paper regarding Scott and his family's connection -with St. George's Episcopal Church in York Place, -Edinburgh. He seems to have become a member -of what he (in the person of Paulus Pleydell) calls -'the suffering and Episcopal Church of Scotland—the -shadow of a shade now' after his marriage had -set him free from the customs of George Square. -The Scott family pew in St. George's was No. 81, -afterwards No. 85, and the article states that this -fact is attested on a brass plate fixed on the pew, -as well as by a written statement contained in a -closed glass case hung inside the church porch. -It was the incumbent of St. George's that officiated -at the marriage of Sophia Scott to John Gibson -Lockhart. The worshippers in the quaint old church -to this day, it is said, take great pride in the memory -of the most illustrious member of their historic flock.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-xxviii"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XXVIII</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">The Mercantile Class in Edinburgh—The Town -Council—Political Corruption—Petty Tyranny—The Town -Clerk—James Laing, Head of the Police—His Methods with -Disturbers of the Peace—Anecdotes of Laing and Dugald -Stewart.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>At the end of the eighteenth century there was no -social intercourse between the aristocratic, which was, -generally speaking, the educated, class and the -mercantile portion of the community. Wealth had not yet -become a passport into 'society.' Birth and ancestry, -on the contrary, were so, however poor the possessor -of an old name might be. The professions, especially -that of law, were still mainly recruited from noble -or gentle families. As yet also, no traders in -Edinburgh had made great fortunes or could afford social -display. As individuals, therefore, business people -were of no account. Politically, having no votes they -had no direct power, and in all public matters their -general attitude was one of complete subserviency to -their betters. This, of course, was looked upon by -both classes as the natural state of things, and explains -the humble place occupied by the shopkeeping -characters in the Waverley Novels. Lord Cockburn, -speaking of the city government, records that everything -of that kind was managed by the town council: -light, water, education, trade, the Port of Leith, the -streets, the poor, the police. He describes the Council -Chamber as a low, dark, blackguard-looking room, -entering from a covered passage, on the site of the -present Signet Library. The chamber was a low-roofed -room, very dark and very dirty, with some small dens -off it for clerks. 'Within this Pandemonium sat the -town council, omnipotent, corrupt, impenetrable. -Nothing was beyond its grasp; no variety of opinion -disturbed its unanimity, for the pleasure of Dundas was -the sole rule for every one of them. Silent, powerful, -submissive, mysterious, and irresponsible, they might -have been sitting in Venice.' Speaking of Scottish -town councils in general, our authority uses even -stronger language. 'Many of the small ones were in -the lowest possible condition of public and private -morality. In general, they were sinks of political and -municipal iniquity, steeped in the baseness which they -propagated, and types and causes of the corruption that -surrounded them.' This is just the picture that one -would draw, if inclined to be censorious and not -yielding to any sense of humour, from the very interesting -series of facts recorded in John Galt's book, </span><em class="italics">The -Provost</em><span>. Depend upon it, there was a good deal of -human nature even in an 'unreformed' town council. -Of their corrupt subservience to the powers in place -there can be no doubt, but they had at least as much of -the great quality of efficiency as their reformed -successors. Such as they were, they were generally the -best men of the best class in each community, and few -men of the same type could now be got to enter the -popularly elected body. And what would we not give -now for the old peace and quietness? The silence -would indeed be cheaply bought at the price of the -mystery and irresponsibility. Conscience is the only -guarantee against corruption, which may flourish -like a green bay-tree under popular election. In 1799, -it seems, Mr. Smith, a councillor of Edinburgh, electrified -the city by a pamphlet in which he showed that -the burgh was bankrupt. What subjects would Mr. Smith -not have found for his financial genius if he had -lived in 1899? What pamphlets might Mr. Smith -have printed on 'the Edinburgh Cable Tramways and -their cost,' or on 'the Usher Hall Sinking Fund.' Verily, -life in a city might be tolerable but for our -town councils.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The old town council had a very simple method of -getting their work done. They just left everything to -the town clerk and the manager of police. This seems -to be the modern method, </span><em class="italics">minus</em><span> the vulgar talk and -reports in the newspapers. The town-clerk was -Mr. John Gray. Would he were here to-day: a man who -could hold his tongue and do jobs quietly! Peace to -the ashes of the good Gray: a judicious man, with a -belly, white hair, and decorous black clothes; famous -for drinking punch; a respectable and useful officer, -devoted to his superiors, and chock-full of municipal -wisdom. The manager of police was James Laing, -about whom we have anecdotes which endear him to -the heart of every lover of quiet. James was a hater of -noise at untimely hours. He may have been prevented -from writing his reminiscences by the rowdy din and -uproar which seems to have been then, as it is now, at -all hours of the night (constant up to midnight, in the -small hours sporadic) as remarkable a feature of -residential Edinburgh as its deadly east wind. Fortunately, -James had the power, now defunct and obsolete, of -making the police operate. One evening the usual -demoniac orgy of noise was proceeding, driving peaceful -citizens to profanity and despair. The whole devil's -tattoo was caused by a mere handful of tipsy -hooligans—six or eight baker lads, it seems, of respectable -though humble parentage. James set the police in -motion, the lads were promptly arrested, and next -morning, when the master baker growled 'Ubi est ille -apprentice?' echo answered promptly, 'Non est -inventus.' A lawyer, however, who took an interest in -the family of one of them, went that morning, greatly -daring, to James Laing to inquire, when he was told he -need give himself no trouble; 'they are all beyond -Inchkeith by this time.' With a promptness of -device only equalled by his firmness of purpose, this -benefactor of suffering humanity had sent the disciples -of Din to exert their demoniac disturbances on the high -seas! They had, in fact, been shipped on board a -tender in Leith Roads, which James knew was to sail -that very morning. After this, one is not astonished -to learn that the great Laing was a philosopher and -entertained an immense reverence for Dugald Stewart. -Stewart used to tell an anecdote which proves that -Laing, besides discovering the best means of preserving -quiet in the streets, had also solved the problem -of finding healthy employment for the police in their -'hours of idleness.' The Professor was walking very -early one morning in the Meadows, when he saw a band -of men within the enclosure busily engaged apparently -in turning up the turf. Upon going up to them, he -found his friend Laing commanding the operations, -who explained that in these short light nights there was -nothing going on with the blackguards, 'and so, ye -see, Mr. Professor, I've just brought oot the constables -to try our hands at the moudieworts.' They were -catching moles.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-xxix"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XXIX</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">Public Condition of Edinburgh in 1800—Ostracism of -Dugald Stewart—The Whigs—Their Struggle for Power—The -Infirmary Incident—Dr. Gregory—His -Pamphlets—Characteristics—Family Connection with Rob Roy.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Youthful friendship and their simple, kindly way of -life counteracted the effects of political feeling as -concerned Scott and his Whig friends. Under his -humble roof the happiness of the little household was -never apparently marred by the intrusion of the -soul-poisoning virus of party spite. Had the conditions -been reversed, had his political friends been out of -power, the difference would not have been great—to -him or his. His saving gift of humour would always -have prevented him from exaggerating the miseries -of the losing side into horrors and persecution. Occupied -intellectually with the fascinating vistas of romantic -literature and blessed with the sympathy of a charming, -brave-hearted wife, and too diffident of his merits to -resent the slow advent of professional success, he could -never have been chilled and narrowed into a political -prig wailing over the injustice of the times. For all -that, it was a bad time for many of his professional -compeers. From their (that is, the Whig) point of -view, the public condition in 1800, and for the preceding -ten years, was at once painful and humiliating. Their -very political creed subjected them to the suspicion -of disloyalty. Their cry of Reform was ill-timed, for -who will trouble with repairs to his house when his -next-door neighbour's house is being plundered and -set on fire? Distrust begot dislike, and dislike grew -to detestation. 'The frightful thing,' says one who -lived through it, 'was the personal bitterness. The -decent appearance of mutual toleration, which often -produces the virtue itself, was despised, and -extermination seemed a duty. This was bad enough in the -capital; but far more dreadful in small places, which -were more helplessly exposed to persecution. If -Dugald Stewart was for several years not cordially -received in the city he adorned, what must have been -the position of an ordinary man who held Liberal -opinions in the country or in a small town, open to -all the contumely and obstruction that local insolence -could practise, and unsupported probably by any -associate cherishing kindred thoughts? Such persons -existed everywhere; but they were always below the -salt.' One may admire the pertinacity of such men, -the forerunners of Reform, while regretting the -bitterness of feeling engendered on both sides. The great -mistake of the Tory party lay in blindly confounding -these theoretical politicians with the great mass of the -people. In snubbing their opponents they insulted -the people, and created a store of hatred against -themselves which a century has not exhausted. To this -day the 'practical' Liberal politician knows that a -hundred clever speeches will have less effect in a -Scottish constituency than simply getting his opponent -well saddled with the epithet of 'Tory.' The -'regeneration' for which the Whigs of 1800 waited, and -which their successors of 1832 thought they had -accomplished, turned out to be the institution of a plutocracy. -The twentieth century will perhaps experiment in -pure democracy, now that the manual workers have -begun to </span><em class="italics">feel</em><span> the power which they owe to the tireless -efforts of the Whigs.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>That public opinion was not altogether powerless -even in 1800, is proved by the 'Infirmary' incident. -At that time a wellnigh incredible arrangement -prevailed in the hospital. Dr. Sangrado held sway for -one month, and then Dr. Cuchillo got his turn. The -members of the Colleges of Physicians and of Surgeons -were the medical officers, and they attended the hospital -by a monthly rotation, so that the treatment of the -patients was liable to be totally altered every thirty -days. A proposal was now made to put an end to -the absurdity. The change was advocated by Dr. James -Gregory, the celebrated professor, who was then -the acknowledged head of his profession in Scotland. -He wrote a pamphlet, strongly worded and personal, -as was his nature, but convincing. In spite of the -opposition of the colleges and the majority of the -doctors, Gregory prevailed. The public was -unanimous, the managers were convinced, and a resolution -was passed that there should henceforth be permanent -medical officers.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Dr. Gregory was a great fighter. He came of a -remarkable family, the Gregories of Aberdeen, originally -an offshoot of the MacGregor clan, and proprietors -of Kinardie in Banffshire. His great-grandfather was -James Gregory, inventor of the 'Gregorian' reflecting -telescope. His grandfather and his father were both -distinguished medical professors. It was his father -Dr. John Gregory, who counted kin with Rob Roy -and entertained the bold outlaw more than once at -Aberdeen. On one occasion MacGregor proposed to -carry James, then a boy of eight or nine, to the -Highlands and 'make a man of him.' The story is -told in the Introduction to </span><em class="italics">Rob Roy</em><span> of 1829. Scott -there describes James Gregory as 'rather of an irritable -and pertinacious disposition'; and says that his friends -were wont to remark, when he showed symptoms of -temper, 'Ah! this comes of not having been educated -by Rob Roy.' Lord Cockburn calls Gregory 'a curious -and excellent man, a great physician, a great lecturer, -a great Latin scholar, and a great talker; vigorous -and generous; large of stature, and with a strikingly -powerful countenance. The popularity due to these -qualities was increased by his professional controversies, -and the diverting publications by which he used to -maintain and enliven them. The controversies were -rather too numerous; but they were never for any -selfish end, and he was never entirely wrong. Still, -a disposition towards personal attack was his besetting -sin.'</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-xxx"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XXX</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">Strongest 'Impressions' from the Waverley Novels—Special -Charm of Death of the old Lawyer in Chrystal Croftangry's -Recollections—Death of Walter Scott the Elder—The 'very -scene' described—Scott appointed Sheriff—Independence -from Court Work.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>A boy of ten in a quiet country parish forty years ago -took a pride in being able to say—'I have read </span><em class="italics">all</em><span> -Shakespeare, </span><em class="italics">all</em><span> Byron, </span><em class="italics">all</em><span> the Waverley Novels,' and -so on. The pursuit of this hobby was not entirely -fortunate. It tended to omnivorous rather than critical -reading—to the pursuit of enjoyment in reading rather -than anything else. It had, however, its obvious -advantages, and gained him at the University some -first prizes, and a certain kindly consideration among -his fellows as one whose literary opinions were founded -on first-hand knowledge. His experience confirms a -well-known opinion of Sir Walter Scott's that children -prefer, and on the whole understand quite sufficiently, -if they are encouraged to read it, the same literature -which fascinates their fathers. 'I am persuaded both -children and the lower class of readers hate books -which are written </span><em class="italics">down</em><span> to their capacity, and love -those that are composed more for their elders and -betters. The grand and interesting consists in ideas -not in words.'[1] At all events our 'impressionist' -testifies that, having read </span><em class="italics">all</em><span> the Waverley Novels -in the summer of his tenth year, he now recalls -forty years after, from that first reading, chiefly one -general impression and three special souvenirs which -lived with him and have haunted his imagination ever -since. The general impression is an intense interest -in History (chiefly, of course, Scottish History) and -Antiquities, imbibed from the charming Introductions -and Notes to the Novels. These were read again and -again, and always laid aside with a vivid sense of regret -that the Notes were so short. The special recollections -are of Henry Bertram returning to Ellangowan and -recalling the old ballad of 'the bonnie woods o' Warroch -Head': of Count Robert of Paris in the dungeon: and, -above all, of the death of Chrystal Croftangry's friend in -the 'Chronicles of the Canongate.' He still considers -Bertram's return the finest touch of romance since -Homer pictured the old hound recognising his long-lost -master, Ulysses, in the beggar man. Count Robert -scarcely affects the man so strongly as he did the boy. -But Chrystal Croftangry has still the old charm—a -charm trebled by the associations which a knowledge -of Scott's life attaches to these inimitable chapters. -Lockhart has revealed that 'in the portraiture of -Mrs. Murray Keith, under the name of Mrs. Bethune Baliol, -he has mixed up various features of his own beloved -mother, and in the latter a good deal was taken from -nobody but himself.' The pathetic picture of the death -of Chrystal's old friend and legal counsellor, drawn with -such vigour and intense realism, is without doubt the -death-scene of the old 'writer,' Walter Scott, the -original of that 'one true friend, who knew the laws of -his country well, and, tracing them up to the spirit -of equity and justice in which they originate, had -repeatedly prevented, by his benevolent and manly -exertions, the triumphs of selfish cunning over -simplicity and folly.'</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">[1] </span><em class="italics small">Diary</em><span class="small">, June 5, 1827.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The worthy and good old man died in 1799. He -had suffered a succession of paralytic attacks, under -which mind as well as body had been laid quite -prostrate. From the lips of a near relation of the family -Lockhart gives the following touching statement made -to himself on the publication of the first 'Chronicles of -the Canongate'—'I had been out of Scotland for some -time, and did not know of my good friend's illness, -until I reached Edinburgh, a few months before his -death. I saw the very scene that is here painted[2] of -the elder Croftangry's sickroom—not a feature different—poor -Anne Scott, the gentlest of creatures, was treated -by the fretful patient exactly like this niece.' And the -biographer adds—'I have lived to see the curtain rise -and fall once more on a like scene.'</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">[2] 'Chronicles of the Canongate,' chap. I. -Note that the house is in Brown's -Square, where old Fairford dwelt.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The old man's business was continued by his son -Thomas, and the property he left, though less than had -been expected, was sufficient to make ample provision -for his widow, and a not inconsiderable addition to the -resources of those among whom the remainder was -divided.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>On the 16th December 1799, Walter Scott was made -Sheriff-Depute of Selkirkshire, with a salary of £300. -Probably, had Scott been an avowed Whig, he would -never have been offered the post, but beyond the mere -fact that he was </span><em class="italics">not</em><span> a Whig, politics had no part in -the appointment. Personal friendship no doubt aided -his other claims. The strongest efforts were made on -his behalf by both Robert and William Dundas, -nephews of Henry Dundas (Lord Melville), in whose -hands was the general control of all Crown patronage. -The same was done by his (Henry Dundas's) son -Robert, and Lord Dalkeith and Lord Montague, sons -of the Duke of Buccleuch—all ardent volunteers. The -result was that the Duke and Dundas, both of whom -knew and liked Scott, though neither was at all -'addicted to literature,' had no choice. Neither -imagined that in appointing the young advocate to be a -sheriff-depute, he was making his best bid for -immortality. This very innocent 'job' was most happily -timed. It crowned the modest fortune of the young -poet's little household. The duties were light, and -though the income was small, it was sufficient to make -him independent of the precarious prospects of a -profession for which he had never acquired any real liking. -He spoke of it himself in the words of Slender about -Anne Page—'There was no great love between us at -the beginning; and it pleased Heaven to decrease it on -further acquaintance.' The end of the century, therefore, -saw Scott placed by fortune in the position which -was his own ideal—free to devote his best energies to -literature, without depending on its results for his own -and his family's daily bread.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-xxxi"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XXXI</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">Scott settled in Edinburgh—Defacement of City—Wrytte's -House—Gillespie the Snuff-seller—Erskine's Joke—The -Woods of Bellevue—Scott's ideal </span><em class="italics small">rus in urbe</em><span class="small">.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Scott's public career in literature practically began with -the new century. His new duties did not require a -change of dwelling-place. Edinburgh continued to be -his home, and the centre of his deepest personal -interests. The defacement of the city was proceeding -merrily, and we cannot doubt that Scott was one of the -few who disapproved. An anonymous writer in the -</span><em class="italics">Scots Magazine</em><span> for July 1800 refers to the neglect of -the Chapel Royal at Holyrood and the destruction of -the Nunnery at Sciennes, and protests against the -demolition of the old building Wrytte's House, which -had just been begun. It consisted of a keep presiding -over a group of inferior buildings, most of it as old as -the middle of the fourteenth century, and all delightfully -picturesque. The writer gives some details -which are worth quoting: 'This magnificent building -is adorned with a profusion of sculptured figures, -especially above the windows. Above the main door, in -beautiful workmanship, are blazoned the arms of Great -Britain, with the inscription, J. 6. M. B. F. E. H. R. etc., -... there is a rough but curious piece of -sculpture, reminding Nobility of her origin;—Adam -digging the ground and Eve twirling the distaff, with -the old rhyme beneath:</span></p> -<blockquote> -<div> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="line"><span>When Adam delv'd and Eva span,</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>Quhar war a' the gentiles than?'</span></div> -</div> -</div> -</blockquote> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Other figures represented the Virtues and the Five -Senses. There was a head in bas relief of Julius -Cæsar. This, says the writer, is going to be preserved -because it has been thought to bear some resemblance -to the visage of the celebrated tobacconist whose -pious bequest has eventually produced so woful a -revolution!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The execrable Vandals who did it were the Trustees -of Gillespie's Hospital.</span></p> -<blockquote> -<div> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="line"><span>'Duke Luke did this:</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>God's ban be his!'</span></div> -</div> -</div> -</blockquote> -<p class="pfirst"><span>But lest we should be tempted to imprecate upon these -long-departed Dogberries the curses thundered by -Dr. Slop upon the head of poor Obadiah, listen now to Lord -Cockburn: 'If I recollect right, this was the first of -the public charities of this century by which Edinburgh -has been blessed, or cursed. The founder was a -snuff-seller, who brought up an excellent young man as his -heir, and then left death to disclose that, for the vanity -of being remembered by a thing called after himself, -he had all the while had a deed executed by which -this, his nearest, relation was disinherited.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>One of Henry Erskine's jokes was at the expense of -this double-minded old snuff-seller. He suggested for -Gillespie's carriage panels the motto, 'Quid rides,' and -beneath it:</span></p> -<blockquote> -<div> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="line"><span>'Wha wad hae thocht it,</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>That noses wad hae bocht it?'</span></div> -</div> -</div> -</blockquote> -<p class="pfirst"><span>After briefly describing the old castle, Cockburn goes -on: 'Nothing could be more striking when seen -against the evening sky. Many a feudal gathering did -that tower see on the Borough Moor; and many a time -did the inventor of logarithms, whose castle of -Merchiston was near, enter it. Yet it was brutishly -obliterated, without one public murmur.... The -idiot public looked on in silence. How severely has -Edinburgh suffered by similar proceedings, adventured -upon by barbarians, knowing the apathetic nature, in -these matters, of the people they have had to deal with. -All our beauty might have been preserved, without -the extinction of innumerable antiquities, conferring -interest and dignity. But reverence for mere antiquity, -and even for modern beauty </span><em class="italics">on their own account</em><span>, is -scarcely a Scotch passion.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Another case. In the </span><em class="italics">Scots Magazine</em><span> for May -appeared, among the odd scraps of news, this paragraph—'The -elegant villa of Bellevue, the property of the -late Mrs. General Scott, in the neighbourhood of this -city, has been purchased by the Town Council; the -terms, we understand, are a feu-duty of £1050 per -annum, with the privilege of buying it up, within seven -years, for £20,200. The pleasure ground is to be laid -out for building conformable to a plan.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The grounds of Bellevue were practically the whole -space between the east end of Queen Street and Canonmills, -now fully covered with streets and houses. The -site of the villa was about the centre of the Drummond -Place enclosure, and on it was erected a custom-house -which the old guide-book calls 'another splendid -appendage to this flourishing city, which is now so -rapidly enlarging its dimensions.' Such was the idea -of the unspeakable Philistines who destroyed this -unmatched scene of beauty, and transformed it into a -commonplace urban corner. The desecration does -seem, however, to have been lamented, if not more -actively resented. Lord Cockburn speaks of people -'shuddering when they heard the axes busy in the -woods of Bellevue, and furious when they saw the bare -ground. But the axes, as usual, triumphed.' The old -woodcut, stiff and hard in its lines, showing the -three-storied barracks of Queen Street, commanding a free -view west, north, and east, upon an open sylvan scene, -is enough to make one weep; and pathetic, too, in the -same way is Cockburn's story: 'No part of the home -scenery of Edinburgh was more beautiful than -Bellevue.... The whole place waved with wood, and -was diversified by undulations of surface, and adorned -by seats and bowers and summer-houses. Queen Street, -from which there was then an open prospect over the -Firth to the north-western mountains, was the favourite -Mall. Nothing certainly, within a town, could be more -delightful than the sea of the Bellevue foliage, gilded -by the evening sun, or the tumult of blackbirds and -thrushes sending their notes into all the adjoining -houses in the blue of a summer morning. We clung -long to the hope that, though the city might in time -surround them, Bellevue at the east, and Drumsheugh -(Lord Moray's place) at the west, end of Queen Street, -might be spared.... But the mere beauty of the -town was no more thought of at that time by anybody -than electric telegraphs and railways; and -perpendicular trees, with leaves and branches, never find -favour in the sight of any Scotch mason. Indeed -in Scotland almost every one seems to be a "foe to the -Dryads of the borough groves." It is partly owing to -our climate, which rarely needs shade; but more to -hereditary bad taste. So that at last the whole spot -was made as dull and bare as if the designer of the New -Town himself had presided over the operation.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There are many allusions in the works of Scott to 'the -rage of indiscriminate destruction which has removed -or ruined so many monuments of antiquity.' With -special reference to Edinburgh, showing how little the -barbarous 'improvements' of the new commercial -generation were to his mind, Chrystal Croftangry, -coming back to his native city after long absence, decides -to choose his dwelling-place not in George Square—nor -in Charlotte Square—nor in the old New Town—nor in -the new New Town—but in the Canongate—'Perhaps -expecting to find some little old-fashioned house, having -somewhat of the </span><em class="italics">rus in urbe</em><span>, which he was ambitious -of enjoying.'</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-xxxii"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XXXII</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">Richard Heber in Edinburgh—Friendship with Scott—'Discovers' -John Leyden—Leyden's Education—His Appearance, -Oddities—Love of Country—His Help in </span><em class="italics small">Border -Minstrelsy</em><span class="small">—Anecdote told by Scott—Leyden a Man of -Genius.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<!-- --> -<blockquote> -<div> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="line"><span>Scenes sung by him who sings no more!</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>His bright and brief career is o'er,</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span>And mute his tuneful strains;</span></div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span>Quench'd is his lamp of varied lore,</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>That loved the light of song to pour;</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>A distant and a deadly shore</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span>Has LEYDEN'S cold remains!'</span></div> -</div> -</div> -</div> -</blockquote> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Richard Heber, king of bibliomaniacs, being in -Edinburgh in the winter of 1799-1800, was warmly -welcomed by the cultured society of the city, and -finding in Scott a kindred spirit, was soon drawn 'into -habits of close alliance' with the young antiquary -whom he found at that time so absorbed in a -congenial task. Scott was busy in research for his -edition of the Border ballads, and Heber was delighted -to enter into his plans, assisting him with advice and -with free access to the vast stores of rare books which -he had already collected. Their pleasant friendship is -celebrated in that delicious Christmas piece which -introduces the sixth canto of </span><em class="italics">Marmion</em><span>:—</span></p> -<blockquote> -<div> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="line"><span>'How just that, at this time of glee,</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>My thoughts should, Heber, turn to thee!</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>For many a merry hour we 've known,</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>And heard the chimes of midnight's tone.</span></div> -</div> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="line"><span>Cease, then, my friend! a moment cease,</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>And leave these classic tomes in peace!</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>Of Roman and of Grecian lore,</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>Sure mortal brain can hold no more.</span></div> -</div> -</div> -</blockquote> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Heber used to prowl about among the old book-shops, -wherever he might come upon MSS. or books that -might be of use for the </span><em class="italics">Minstrelsy</em><span>. One day he was -searching in the small shop kept by a young bookseller -named Archibald Constable, when his attention was -attracted 'by the countenance and gestures of another -daily visitant, who came not to purchase, evidently, -but to pore over the more recondite articles—often -balanced for hours on a ladder with a folio in his hand -like Dominie Sampson.' Some casual talk led Heber -to the discovery that his odd-looking acquaintance was -'a master of legend and traditions—an enthusiastic -collector and skilful expounder of these very Border -ballads.' He introduced the young man to Scott, who -soon learned that this was the 'J.L.' whose verses in -the </span><em class="italics">Edinburgh Magazine</em><span> had often much excited his -curiosity, as showing that their author was a native of -the Scottish Borders. Thus commenced the friendship -between Scott and Leyden, two poets who were at -least equal in that intense love of Scotland which is -expressed with natural charm in the verses of both.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>John Leyden, then twenty-five years of age, was a -man who rivalled, in his extraordinary powers of -acquiring knowledge, the almost fabulous records of -the Admirable Crichton and Pico di Mirandola. The -son of a shepherd, he was born at Denholm, a village -of Roxburghshire, in 1775. After learning what he -could at a small country school and getting some -help in Latin from a neighbouring minister, the boy -set to work to educate himself, making even then a -special study of old Scottish works, such as the -rhyming chronicles of Wallace and Bruce, Sir David -Lyndsay's poems, and the ballads of Teviotdale. -When he came to Edinburgh University in 1790, it -is said he astonished all by his odd manners and -speech, and confounded his teachers 'by the portentous -mass of his acquisitions in almost every department -of learning.' 'He was'—this is Cockburn's description—'a -wild-looking, thin, Roxburghshire man, with -sandy hair, a screech voice, and staring eyes—exactly -as he came from his native village of Denholm; and -not one of these not very attractive personal qualities -would he have exchanged for all the graces of Apollo. -By the time I knew him he had made himself -one of our social shows, and could and did say -whatever he chose. His delight lay in arguments -... always conducted on his part in a high shrill voice, -with great intensity, and an utter unconsciousness of -the amazement, or even the aversion, of strangers. -His daily extravagances, especially mixed up, as they -always were, with exhibitions of his own ambition -and confidence, made him be much laughed at even -by his friends. Notwithstanding these ridiculous or -offensive habits, he had considerable talent and great -excellences. There is no walk in life, depending on -ability, where Leyden could not have shone. -Unwearying industry was sustained and inspired by -burning enthusiasm. Whatever he did, his whole -soul was in it. His heart was warm and true. No -distance, or interest, or novelty could make him forget -an absent friend or his poor relations. His physical -energy was as vigorous as his mental; so that it would -not be easy to say whether he would have engaged -with a new-found eastern manuscript, or in battle, with -the more cordial alacrity. His love of Scotland was -delightful. It breathes through all his writings and -all his proceedings, and imparts to his poetry its most -attractive charm. The affection borne him by many -distinguished friends, and their deep sorrow for his early -extinction, is the best evidence of his talent and worth. -Indeed, his premature death was deplored by all who -delight to observe the elevation of merit, by its own -force and through personal defects, from obscurity -to fame. He died in Batavia at the age of thirty-six. -Had he been spared, he would have been a star in -the East of the first magnitude.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Leyden's work on the </span><em class="italics">Border Minstrelsy</em><span> deserves -more than casual notice, and was most warmly and -amply acknowledged by Scott. The Dissertation on -Fairies, which introduces the second volume, 'although -arranged and digested by the editor, abounds with -instances of such curious reading as Leyden only had -read, and was originally compiled by him.' Leyden -was equally enthusiastic in collecting the ballads, and -was determined from the first to make the collection -a big thing—to turn out three or four volumes at least. -'In this labour,' says Scott, 'he was equally interested -by friendship for the editor, and by his own patriotic -zeal for the honour of the Scottish borders; and both -may be judged of from the following circumstance. -An interesting fragment had been obtained of an ancient -historical ballad; but the remainder, to the great -disturbance of the editor and his coadjutor, was not to -be recovered. Two days afterwards, while the editor -was sitting with some company after dinner, a sound -was heard at a distance like that of the whistling -of a tempest through the torn rigging of the vessel -which scuds before it. The sounds increased as they -approached more near; and Leyden (to the great -astonishment of such of the guests as did not know -him) burst into the room, chanting the desiderated -ballad with the most enthusiastic gesture, and all the -energy of what he used to call the saw-tones of his -voice. It turned out that he had walked between forty -and fifty miles and back again, for the sole purpose -of visiting an old person who possessed this precious -remnant of antiquity.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Only men of the warm-blooded species could -thoroughly appreciate John Leyden. His absurdities -had nothing akin to foolishness. They were the -inevitable accompaniments of genius operating, -Alexander-like, towards what appeared impossible.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-xxxiii"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XXXIII</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">The 'Young Men of Edinburgh'—Their Whiggery—Anecdote -of Jeffrey and Bell—James Grahame, Author of </span><em class="italics small">The -Sabbath</em><span class="small">—Sydney Smith—His Liking for Scotland—Whig -Dread of Wit—Lord Webb Seymour—Horner's Analysis -of him—Friendship with Playfair—His Anecdote of -Horner.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The name of Leyden suggests the remarkable -'concentration of conspicuous young men' of which Lord -Cockburn speaks so often with pride. They were -mostly Whigs, drawn together by political sympathy -and speculative tastes. Most of them attained the high -distinction to which their talents well entitled them to -aspire, and several of them achieved high literary -fame. Jeffrey, Cockburn, and Brougham were at the -centre of this group, which also for a time included -Leyden, Sydney Smith, Thomas Campbell, Francis -Horner, and John Allen. Scott, as we know, was on -terms of warm intimacy with some of these, but he -was not one of their society, though he used to say he -seemed never to enjoy an evening so much as when -spent among his Whig friends. To the same set -belonged George Joseph Bell, author of the -</span><em class="italics">Commentaries on the Law of Bankruptcy</em><span>, and afterwards -Professor of Law in Edinburgh University. From -the </span><em class="italics">Life of Jeffrey</em><span> it is evident that Bell's influence -on the future Reviewer was great and invaluable. -The sight of Bell's tireless assiduity at his great work -made Jeffrey exclaim—'Since I have seen you engaged -in that great work of yours, and witnessed the -confinement and perspiration it has occasioned you, I have -oftener considered you as an object of envy and -reproachful comparison than ever before.... I have -wished myself hanged for a puppy.' He was constantly -exhorting Jeffrey to exertion, and really inspired him -with the hope and confidence that led to success.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Another estimable Whig ('but with him Whig -principles meant only the general principles of liberty') -was James Grahame, best known from his poem -</span><em class="italics">The Sabbath</em><span>. Professor Wilson greatly esteemed -Grahame, and wrote an elegy to his memory, which -Cockburn says owes its charm to its expressing the -gentle kindness and simple piety of his departed friend. -'His delight was in religion and poetry, and he was -perfectly contented with his humble curacy. With the -softest of human hearts, his indignation knew no -bounds when it was roused by what he held to be -oppression, especially of animals or the poor, both -of whom he took under his special protection. He -and a beggar seemed always to be old friends.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A happy accident brought the Rev. Sydney Smith -to Edinburgh. He had abandoned the dreary solitude -of Nether Avon, where he was 'the first and purest -pauper of the hamlet,' in order to accompany, as -bear-leader, the son of Squire Beach to the University of -Weimar in 1797, but the disturbed state of affairs at -that time in Germany made their plans impracticable. -So, as Smith put it, they were driven 'by stress of -politics' into Edinburgh. Here he found a very -congenial society, and soon became a leader among the -younger Whigs. It was part of his humour to gird -at Scotland as the garret of the world, or the -knuckle-end of England, and at Scotsmen for requiring a -surgical operation to appreciate a joke, but there was -no part of Britain where his wit and jokes were more -appreciated, and his daughter, Lady Holland, testifies -to his strong liking for both the country and the -people. It is said that he and his companions gained -for Edinburgh the title of the Modern Athens.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Unfortunately Cockburn's reference to Sydney Smith -is very brief. He only says—'Smith's reputation here -then was the same as it has been throughout his life, -that of a wise wit. Was there ever more sense -combined with more hilarious jocularity? But he has been -lost by being placed within the pale of holy orders. -He has done his duty there decently well, and is an -admirable preacher. But he ought to have been in -some freer sphere; especially since wit and -independence do not make bishops.' One feels tempted to -add 'under a Whig Government.' It is only justice -to the memory of the wittiest of men to say that -'decently well' as applied to his parochial work is -faint praise.' It was from beginning to end of his -career brilliantly conducted, and it was only 'the -timidity of the Whigs' that prevented his being made -a bishop. The Tory minister, Lord Lyndhurst, in -1829 promoted him to a prebendal stall at Bristol. -It was only stupid people who doubted Smith's -orthodoxy, and the doubt originated solely in the popularity -of his jokes.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Another Englishman, who was one of the -distinguished company and who lived in Edinburgh from -1797 to his death in 1819, was Lord Webb Seymour, -brother of the Duke of Somerset. His purpose in -retiring to Edinburgh was to devote himself wholly -to the study of science and philosophy, a purpose -which he carried out without swerving for a moment. -Such a man could not fail to be universally respected -and beloved. It can be seen from Horner's </span><em class="italics">Memoirs</em><span> -how excellent was the effect which the truly philosophic -views and practice of this rare man had upon the minds -and characters of his friends. Horner in his </span><em class="italics">Journal</em><span> -analyses his friend's character very acutely: 'He -possesses several of the most essential constituents -to the character of a true philosopher—an ardent -passion for knowledge and improvement, with -apparently as few preconceived prejudices as most people -can have. A habit of study intense almost to -plodding—a mild, timid, reserved disposition.... He -can subject himself to general rules, which perhaps -he carries too far in matters of diet, etc. His -knowledge of character quite astonishes me at times—his -proficiency in the science of physiognomy.' Horner -must have been charmed to meet so much of himself -in the personality of another. Seymour, being such -a man, disapproved of Horner's entry into political -life. His friendship with Playfair, the great -mathematician and geologist, was famous. Geology was the -favourite pursuit of both, and they were continually -together in scientific walks and excursions. Cockburn -says: 'They used to be called man and wife. Before I -got acquainted with them, I used to envy their walks -in the neighbourhood of Edinburgh, and their scientific -excursions to the recesses of the Highland glens, and -to the summits of the Highland mountains. Two -men more amiable, more philosophical and more -agreeable there could not be.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Francis Horner, the youngest of the band, became -prominent at an early age for his strong and very -independent views on politics. Sydney Smith was -'cautioned against him' by some excellent and feeble -people to whom he had brought letters of introduction. -This led to their friendship. It was of Horner that -Smith said: 'The commandments were written on his -face. I have often told him there was not a crime he -might not commit with impunity, as no judge or jury -who saw him could give the smallest degree of credit -to anything that was said against him.' The following -anecdote related by Smith is a happy illustration of -the character of Horner and of his friend who tells it: -'He loved truth so much, that he never could bear -any jesting upon important subjects. I remember one -evening the late Lord Dudley and myself pretended to -justify the conduct of the government in stealing the -Danish fleet; we carried on the argument with some -wickedness against our graver friend; he could not -stand it, but bolted indignantly out of the room; we -flung up the sash, and, with loud peals of laughter, -professed ourselves decided Scandinavians; we offered -him not only the ships, but all the shot, powder, -cordage, and even the biscuit, if he would come back; -but nothing could turn him; he went home, and it -took us a fortnight of serious behaviour before we -were forgiven.'</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-xxxiv"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XXXIV</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">M. G. Lewis—Seeks out Scott—</span><em class="italics small">The Monk</em><span class="small">—Translation -by Scott of Goetz—Anecdote of Lewis—James -Ballantyne—Prints </span><em class="italics small">Apology for Tales of Terror</em><span class="small">—William -Laidlaw—James Hogg—Character and Talents.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Scott's connection with M. G. Lewis, author of </span><em class="italics">The -Monk</em><span>, was brought about through William Erskine's -having shown him Scott's translations from the German. -Lewis was eager to get Scott enlisted as a contributor -to his projected </span><em class="italics">Tales of Wonder</em><span>. He came to -Edinburgh in the autumn of 1798, and Scott long afterwards -told Allan Cunningham that he had never felt such -elation as when the 'Monk' invited him to dine with -him for the first time at his hotel. Lewis indeed was -</span><em class="italics">the</em><span> literary lion of the time. Charles Fox had crossed -the floor of the House of Commons to congratulate -him on his book. The London literary world was for -the time classified into the adherents and the detractors -of </span><em class="italics">The Monk</em><span>. Scott and he now met frequently, and -it should not be forgotten, in justice to the small man, -that the great one, roused by the ringing lines of -'Alonzo the Brave' and such resounding ware, was by -him first set upon trying his hand at original verse, -'for' (Scott adds) 'I had passed the early part of my -life with a set of clever, rattling, drinking fellows, whose -thoughts and talents lay wholly out of the region of -poetry.' Lewis was very small in person, and looked -always like a schoolboy. Moreover, for all his -cleverness, he was a decided bore in society; but all the -same he was, as Scott always maintained, a good and -generous man, who did good by stealth. Soon after -this, he took the trouble to arrange for Scott the -publication of his translation of Goethe's </span><em class="italics">Goetz von -Berlichingen</em><span>, bargaining with Bell the publisher for -twenty-five guineas for the copyright, and another -twenty-five guineas in case of a second edition, which, -however, was not called for till long after the copyright -had expired. The </span><em class="italics">Goetz</em><span> came out in February 1799. -Lewis also did his best to get another half-translated, -half-original dramatic piece of Scott's, </span><em class="italics">The House of -Aspen</em><span>, produced on the stage, but without success. -Scott has an anecdote of Lewis in his </span><em class="italics">Journal</em><span> which -is rather amusing:—'I remember a picture of him -being handed about at Dalkeith House. It was a -miniature, I think by Saunders, who had contrived -to muffle Lewis's person in a cloak, and placed some -poignard or dark lanthorn appurtenance (I think) in -his hand, so as to give the picture the cast of a bravo. -It passed from hand to hand into that of Henry, Duke -of Buccleuch, who, hearing the general voice affirm -that it was very like, said aloud, "That like Matt -Lewis? Why, that picture's like a </span><em class="italics">Man</em><span>!" Imagine -the effect! Lewis was at his elbow.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Towards the end of the year 1799 occurred an -incident, trifling enough in itself, which was destined -by the sport of Fate to bring disaster and sorrow upon -the life of Scott. He had paid a short visit to -Rosebank, his uncle's house at Kelso, and was preparing -to return to Edinburgh for the winter, when an old -acquaintance, James Ballantyne, the eldest son of a -Kelso shopkeeper, called to see him. James, having -failed to establish himself as a solicitor, was now the -printer and editor of a weekly newspaper in Kelso. -The writing of a short legal article by Scott for the -</span><em class="italics">Kelso Mail</em><span> led to Ballantyne's printing twelve copies -of a few of Scott's ballads under the title of </span><em class="italics">Apology -for Tales of Terror</em><span>—1799. Very soon after this Scott -appears to have been planning that fatal scheme of -partnership which brought Ballantyne to town and -all his woe.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In Edinburgh Scott still continued his attendance at -the Bar. But all the time he could spare beyond this -and his sheriff's duties, was devoted during the years -1800 and 1801 to his labours on the </span><em class="italics">Minstrelsy</em><span>. In -fact, he combined to some extent his double aims, and -the sheriff's visits to Ettrick Forest often resulted in -large additions to the ballad-editor's stores. In one -of these excursions he was hospitably entertained at -the farm of Blackhouse, on the Douglas burn. There -he found another zealous assistant in ballad-hunting, -William Laidlaw, the son of his kindly host. Of this -ever-memorable and most faithful friend of Scott, -Lockhart says: 'He was then a very young man, but -the extent of his acquirements was already as -noticeable as the vigour and originality of his mind: and -their correspondence, where "Sir" passes at a few -bounds, through "Dear Sir" and "Dear Mr. Laidlaw," -to "Dear Willie," shows how speedily this new -acquaintance had warmed into a very tender affection. -Laidlaw's zeal about the ballads was repaid by Scott's -anxious endeavours to get him removed from a sphere -for which, he writes, "it is no flattery to say that you -are much too good." It was then, and always -continued to be, his opinion, that his friend was -particularly qualified for entering with advantage on the -study of the medical profession; but such designs, -if Laidlaw himself ever took them up seriously, were -not ultimately persevered in; and I question whether -any worldly success could, after all, have overbalanced -the retrospect of an honourable life spent happily in -the open air of nature, amidst scenes the most captivating -to the eye of genius, and in the intimate confidence -of, perhaps, the greatest of contemporary minds.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>James Hogg, the 'Ettrick Shepherd,' was at this -time working in a neighbouring valley. Laidlaw told -Scott of the humble shepherd who was so fond of the -local songs and ballads, and whose aged mother was -celebrated in the Ettrick dales for having by heart -several notable ballads in a perfect form. 'The -personal history of James Hogg' (says Lockhart) 'must -have interested Scott even more than any acquisition -of that sort which he owed to this acquaintance with, -perhaps, the most remarkable man that ever wore the -</span><em class="italics">maud</em><span> of a shepherd. Under the garb, aspect, and -bearing of a rude peasant—and rude enough he was in -most of these things, even after no inconsiderable -experience of society—Scott found a brother poet, a true -son of nature and genius, hardly conscious of his -powers. He had taught himself to write by copying -the letters of a printed book as he lay watching his -flock on the hillside, and had probably reached the -utmost pitch of his ambition, when he first found that -his artless rhymes could touch the heart of the -ewe-milker who partook the shelter of his mantle during -the passing storm. As yet his naturally kind and -simple character had not been exposed to any of the -dangerous flatteries of the world; his heart was pure, -his enthusiasm buoyant as that of a happy child; and -well as Scott knew that reflection, sagacity, wit and -wisdom, were scattered abundantly among the humblest -rangers of these pastoral solitudes, there was here a -depth and a brightness that filled him with wonder, -combined with a quaintness of humour, and a thousand -little touches of absurdity, which afforded him more -entertainment, as I have often heard him say, than the -best comedy that ever set the pit in a roar.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Hogg, it should be mentioned, had been in the -service of Mr. Laidlaw at Blackhouse from 1790 to 1799, -and during that time had been treated with great -sympathy and kindness. He enjoyed the run of all the -books in the house, and was prompted and encouraged -with his rhymes. Hogg was born in 1772, being thus -a year younger than Scott.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-xxxv"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XXXV</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">Failure of Lewis's </span><em class="italics small">Tales</em><span class="small">—Scott's </span><em class="italics small">Border -Minstrelsy</em><span class="small">—Ballantyne's Printing—His Conceit—Removal of Chief -Baron from Queensberry House—His odd Benevolence—Anecdote -of Charles Hope—The Schoolmasters Act.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The long-deferred </span><em class="italics">Tales of Wonder</em><span> at length -appeared in 1801. For various reasons the book was a -failure. A vigorous parody held up the author's style -and person to ridicule. On the whole, however, Scott's -share in the unlucky venture did him no harm. His -contributions, he says, were dismissed without much -censure, and in some cases received praise from the -critics. 'Like Lord Home at the battle of Flodden, I -did so far well, that I was able to stand and save myself.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The episode seems to have made him all the more -eager to come forward on his own account with the -</span><em class="italics">Minstrelsy</em><span>. Volumes I. and II. were published in -January 1802 by Cadell and Davies, of the Strand. -The edition was specially remarkable as being the -first work printed by James Ballantyne from his press -at Kelso. 'When the book came out, the imprint, -Kelso, was read with wonder by amateurs of typography, -who had never heard of such a place, and were -astonished at the example of handsome printing which -so obscure a town had produced.' (See 'Essay on -Imitations of the Ancient Ballad.') We know from -Lockhart that the editor's most sanguine expectations -were exceeded by its success. The edition was -exhausted in the course of the year, and Scott received -£78, 10s., being half the net profits of the venture. -Longman, it seems, came in person to Edinburgh, to -make 'a very liberal offer' for the copyright, including -the third volume, which was accepted. There is a -letter to Scott from James Ballantyne, who had been in -London, 'cultivating acquaintance with publishers,' in -which he says, 'I shall ever think the printing the -</span><em class="italics">Scottish Minstrelsy</em><span> one of the most fortunate circumstances -of my life. I have gained, not lost by it, in a -pecuniary light; and the prospects it has been the -means of opening to me, may advantageously influence -my future destiny. I can never be sufficiently grateful -for the interest you unceasingly take in my welfare. -One thing is clear—that Kelso cannot be my abiding -place for aye.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Soaring ambition of the 'stickit solicitor,' and -melancholy blindness of the great man who took the -conceited 'cratur' on his own valuation! But the -ill-omened 'Bulmer of Kelso' had not yet descended on -the Canongate, when an event happened which may be -regarded as summing up and crowning the transformation -of old Edinburgh. It was a sort of postscript to -the change which the last generation had seen effected -with such startling and tragic rapidity. This was the -removal (in 1801) of the family of Lord Chief Baron -Sir James Montgomery from their famous residence, -Queensberry House in the Canongate. Queensberry -House was acquired by the first Duke of Queensberry -from Lord Halton, afterwards Earl of Lauderdale. -The Duke is said to have practically rebuilt it and -made it, both inside and out, one of the finest mansions -in the country. To-day there is nothing suggestive of -former grandeur about the building, except its size and -the massive wall which fronts it. The name 'Queensberry -House' is painted on the gate and is also on a -brass plate at the bell-handle. The building looks like -a modern barrack, the windows having been pointed -and freshened up for the visit of King Edward: very -proper treatment for a 'House of Refuge,' if not for -Queensberry House. In this mansion, 'Kitty, beautiful -and young,' the wife of Charles, third Duke, used -to lead the aristocratic society of Edinburgh in the -days of the first and second Georges. She was the -friend of Prior, who celebrated her as 'the Female -Phaeton,' and half a century later Horace Walpole -added two lines to the poem:—</span></p> -<blockquote> -<div> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="line"><span>'To many a Kitty Love his car will for a day engage,</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>But Prior's Kitty, ever fair, obtained it for an age.'</span></div> -</div> -</div> -</blockquote> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Under 'Old Q.' the mansion in the Canongate was -dismantled. Sir James Montgomery resided in it till 1801, -when he resigned his seat as Chief Baron, and retired -to the country. 'I believe' (says Cockburn) 'he was the -last gentleman who resided in that historical mansion, -which, though now one of the asylums of destitution, -was once the brilliant abode of rank and fashion and -political intrigue. I wish the Canongate could be -refreshed again by the habitual sight of the Lord Chief -Baron's family and company, and the gorgeous -carriage, and the tall and well-dressed figure, in the old -style, of his Lordship himself. He was much in our -house, my father being one of his Puisnes. Though a -remarkably kind landlord, he thought it his duty to -proceed sometimes with apparent severity against -poachers, smugglers, and other rural corrupters; but as -it generally ended in his paying the fine himself, in -order to save the family, his benevolence was supposed -to do more harm than his justice did good. He -died in 1803.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>On the occasion of Montgomery's retirement Robert -Dundas was appointed Lord Chief Baron, and Charles -Hope became Lord Advocate. His short career was -signalised by a somewhat rash and high-handed -proceeding against Morison, a Banffshire farmer, who had -dismissed a ploughman for absenting himself without -leave in order to attend a volunteer drill. The matter -led to a motion of censure in the House of Commons, -which was not carried, but considerable odium was -stirred. Hope in his defence had spoken of the Lord -Advocate as vested with the whole powers of the state, -both military and civil. An English newspaper -reported Hope's return to Scotland in this satirical -paragraph:—'Arrived at Edinburgh, the Lord High -Chancellor of Scotland, the Lord Justice-General, the -Lord Privy Seal, the Privy Council, and the Lord -Advocate, all in one post-chaise, containing only a -single person.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Lord Cockburn has very properly defended the -memory of Hope from all imputation of injustice. This -act, he says, was entirely owing to a hot temperament -not cooled by a sound head. 'In spite of all his talent -and all his worth, had he continued in the very delicate -position of Lord Advocate, his infirmity might have -again brought him into some similar trouble. It was -fortunate therefore that the gods, envying mortals the -longer possession of Eskgrove, took him to themselves; -and Hope reigned in his stead. He was made Lord -Justice-Clerk in December 1804.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was Hope that carried through the Schoolmasters -Act of 1803, by which the heritors were compelled to -build houses for the schoolmasters. The Act prescribed -that the houses (!) need not contain more than two -rooms </span><em class="italics">including the kitchen</em><span>. The provision was -considered shabby even in those days, but it was all that -could be got out of Parliament then. Hope told Lord -Cockburn that he had considerable difficulty in getting -even the two rooms, and that a great majority of the -lairds and Scottish members were indignant at being -obliged to 'erect palaces for dominies.'</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-xxxvi"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XXXVI</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">Anecdotes of R. P. Gillies—His Picture of Scott—'Border -Press' at Abbeyhill—Britain armed for Defence—Scenes in -Edinburgh—'Captain' Cockburn.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The eccentric R. P. Gillies seems to have made Scott's -acquaintance about this time. This gentleman, of -whom Scott, with his usual tenderness to the unfortunate, -says 'a more friendly, generous creature never -lived,' seems to have been in sore distress about 1825-26. -He is frequently mentioned in Scott's </span><em class="italics">Journal</em><span>, sending -numerous 'precatory letters' while Scott's own troubles -were at the worst. Both Lockhart and Scott made -efforts to assist him. Gillies about the year 1851 -brought out his </span><em class="italics">Memoirs of a Literary Veteran</em><span>, in -which he says that Scott was 'not only among the -earliest but most persevering of my friends—persevering -in spite of my waywardness.' One of R. P. G.'s whims, -being a rather clever calligraphist, was to imitate some -other person's handwriting, and he used to continue for -months writing in imitation of some one or other of his -friends. A fresh idea, however, had struck him at the -time he was engaged on certain translations from the -German which Lockhart had got Constable to undertake -to publish for him. He wrote the whole with a -brush upon large cartridge paper, and when it was -finished, two stout porters were required to carry the -huge bales to the publisher's office. The result was, -as might have been expected, that Constable drew back -from so tremendous an undertaking. It is amusing -to find that the monstrous MS. was welcomed by -another Edinburgh publisher, who paid £100 for -it and issued the book under the title of </span><em class="italics">The Magic -Ring</em><span>.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>We are indebted to the same R. P. G. for some -interesting remarks on Scott's appearance in 1802: -'At this early period, Scott was more like the portrait -by Saxon, engraved for the </span><em class="italics">Lady of the Lake</em><span>, than any -subsequent picture. He retained in features and form -an impress of that elasticity and youthful vivacity, -which he used to complain wore off after he was forty, -and by his own account was exchanged for the plodding -heaviness of an operose student. He had now, indeed, -somewhat of a boyish gaiety of look, and in person -was tall, slim, and extremely active.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>About the end of this year James Ballantyne came -to Edinburgh and established his 'Border Press' at -Abbeyhill, in the neighbourhood of Holyrood House. -He at this time received 'a liberal loan' from Scott, -who thus became implicated in this unfortunate -concern.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The condition of public affairs was now beginning -to relieve somewhat the tension of bitter -feeling. Cockburn remarks that, 'upon the whole -events were bringing people into better -humour. Somewhat less was said about Jacobinism, though -still too much; and sedition had gone out. Napoleon's -obvious progress towards military despotism opened -the eyes of those who used to see nothing but liberty -in the French revolution; and the threat of invasion, -while it combined all parties in defence of the country, -raised the confidence of the people in those who -trusted them with arms, and gave them the pleasure -of playing at soldiers. Instead of Jacobinism, Invasion -became the word.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Francis Horner writes from London: 'I understand -the spirit of the people in London is, in general, almost -as good as can be wished, and better than could have -been expected. The police magistrates can form a -tolerably good guess from their spies in the alehouses. -In the country, particularly along the coast, the spirit -of the people is said to be very high. Indeed no other -country of such extent ever exhibited so grand a -spectacle as the unanimity in which all political -differences are at present lost.' In this letter to John -Archibald Murray, referring to the </span><em class="italics">Beacon</em><span>, a weekly -paper of 'incitements to patriotism,' he says, 'Pray -have you engaged Walter Scott in these patriotic -labours? His Border spirit of chivalry must be -inflamed at present and might produce something. I -wish he would try a song. I joined Mackintosh in -exhorting Campbell to court the Tyrtaean muse: as -yet he has produced nothing; not that I looked upon -the success of his efforts with certainty, being not quite -in his line; but a miracle produced "Hohenlinden," and -this is now the age of miracles of every kind.' Later -on this idea also occurred to Warren Hastings.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The war which broke out in 1803 and continued till -Napoleon's fearful power was shattered for ever on the -field of Waterloo, was a struggle altogether different -in aims and spirit from that which began in 1792. -Conquest, warlike fame, and personal aggrandisement -were now Napoleon's aims, and the inspiring watchword -of Liberty was now transferred from his banners -to those of his enemies. In checking the great Frenchman's -ambition the Allies were guarding the freedom of -Europe. In Britain every man was roused to defence, -and felt, like Horner, that 'the people of England -were about to gain for civilisation and democracy a -very splendid triumph over military despotism.' The -threatened invasion was in every man's mind at every -moment and in every place. The scene Cockburn now -witnessed in Edinburgh had its counterpart in every -city of the kingdom:—</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Edinburgh became a camp. We were all soldiers, -one way or other. Professors wheeled in the college -area; the side arms and the uniform peeped from behind -the gown at the bar, and even on the bench; and the -parade and the review formed the staple of men's talk -and thoughts. Hope, who had kept his Lieutenant-Colonelcy -when he was Lord Advocate, adhered to it, -and did all its duties after he became Lord Justice-Clerk. -This was thought unconstitutional by some; but the -spirit of the day applauded it. Brougham served the -same gun in a company of artillery with Playfair. -James Moncrieff, John Richardson, James Grahame -(</span><em class="italics">The Sabbath</em><span>), Thomas Thomson, and Charles Bell -were all in one company of riflemen. Francis Horner -walked about the streets with a musket, being a private -in the Gentlemen Regiment. Dr. Gregory was a -soldier, and Thomas Brown the moralist, Jeffrey, and -many another since famous in more intellectual -warfare. I, a gallant captain, commanded ninety-two of -my fellow-creatures from 1804 to 1814—the whole -course of that war.'</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-xxxvii"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XXXVII</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">Enthusiasm of Volunteers—Drill and Sham Fights—Scott's -Letters—Quartermaster—Anecdote by Cockburn—Recruiting -for the Army—Indifference to Fear of -Invasion—Greatness of the Danger—War Song of 1802.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Captain Coburn's company was the left flank -company of the 'Western Battalion of Midlothian -Volunteers.' The right flank company was -commanded by John Archibald Murray (afterwards Lord -Murray), so that both these companies had embryo -judges at their head. So ardent was their zeal that, -besides the general day performance in Heriot's Green -and Bruntsfield Links, the two companies used to drill -almost every night of the four winter months of 1804 -and 1805, by torch-light, in the ground flat of the -George Street Assembly Rooms, which was then all one -earthen-floored apartment. Then there was drilling with -the whole regiment, besides parades, reviews, and four -to six inspections in the course of the year. Sometimes -they were ordered on 'permanent duty' to Leith or -Haddington, and billeted on the long-suffering citizens. -Then there were the sham fights, the marches, and the -continual serio-comedy of the officers' mess. Such was -the state of affairs for years in every corner of Great -Britain. All who enrolled as volunteers were exempt -from the militia ballot and from the risk of having to -serve in the field as long as the war lasted. Thus the -volunteer ranks were easily filled; and the sense of duty, -or the contagious excitement of the time, supplied -plenty of officers. The whole population, in fact, -became military. Any able-bodied man, of whatever -rank, who was </span><em class="italics">not</em><span> a volunteer, or a local militiaman, -had to explain or apologise for his singularity.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Scott's letters of this time are full of the camp scenes -at Musselburgh. Writing in July, he says to Miss -Seward, 'We are assuming a very military appearance. -Three regiments of militia, with a formidable -park of artillery, are encamped just by us. The -Edinburgh Troop, to which I have the honour to be -quarter-master, consists entirely of young gentlemen -of family, and is, of course, admirably well mounted -and armed. For myself, I must own that to one who -has, like me, </span><em class="italics">la tête un peu exaltée</em><span>, "the pomp and -circumstance of war" gives, for a time, a very poignant -and pleasing sensation. The imposing appearance of -cavalry, in particular, and the rush which marks their -onset, appear to me to partake highly of the sublime.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But the sublime was occasionally varied by a touch -of the ludicrous. This is brought very vividly before -us in the anecdote related by Cockburn, who, like the -rest, records Scott's extraordinary zeal in the patriotic -cause. 'It was,' he says, 'with him an absolute -passion, indulgence in which gratified his feudal taste -for war, and his jovial sociableness. He drilled, and -drank, and made songs, with a hearty conscientious -earnestness which inspired or shamed everybody within -the attraction. I do not know if it is usual, but his -troop used to practise, individually, with the sabre at -a turnip,[1] which was stuck on the top of a staff, to -represent a Frenchman, in front of the line. Every -other trooper, when he set forward in his turn, was -far less concerned about the success of his aim at the -turnip, than about how he was to tumble. But Walter -pricked forward gallantly, saying to himself, "cut them -down, the villains, cut them down!" and made his blow, -which from his lameness was often an awkward one, -cordially muttering curses all the while at the detested -enemy.'</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">[1] One thinks of Oliver Proudfute and his -sternpost of a dromond, fixed up -in his yard for practice. -'That must make you familiar with the use of -your weapon,' said the Smith. -'Ay, marry does it.'—</span><em class="italics small">Fair Maid of Perth</em><span class="small">, -chap. viii.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Looking at the patriotic movement in the cold light -of reason, one can see that its real use was a much -humbler one than those enthusiastic and gallant fellows -intended. Young artisans and ploughmen who had -once joined the volunteers, falling in love with the -liveliness and display of the military career, and -becoming unsettled in mind for the dull routine of their -daily work, drifted readily into the paid militia. Thus -the volunteer system was indirectly a splendid means -of recruiting for the army. But there can be no doubt -that for immediate service in the field—and it was for -this that they were preparing—the volunteers would -not have been found qualified. Their existence, -however, gave the nation confidence, and prevented all -danger of panic. It is marvellous to find, on the best -evidence of those who lived and acted important parts -in those critical years, that the general feeling about -invasion was one of complete indifference. Most people -went about their own business, and trusted to the -country's luck. Although justified by events, it was -an ill-founded security. Men of speculative minds, -the Cockburns and the Horners, were in a great and -genuine fright. Romantic and active spirits, like -Scott, anticipated the turning of their sport into earnest -at any moment. And how easily it might have -happened so. 'Questions are mooted' (said Horner), 'and -possibilities supposed, that make one shudder for the -fate of the world.' Certainly there were reasons enough -for constant fear and dread: the brilliant and unbroken -success of Napoleon's arms: Ireland, a ready and -willing basis for his first attack: and then the fearful -loss and suffering to a country so thickly peopled and -utterly unprepared for internal defence, should the -war actually be brought within our bounds.</span></p> -<blockquote> -<div> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="line"><span>'If ever breath of British gale</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span>Shall fan the tri-color,</span></div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span>Or footstep of invader rude,</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>With rapine foul, and red with blood,</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span>Pollute our happy shore—</span></div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span>Then, farewell home, and farewell friends!</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span>Adieu each tender tie!</span></div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span>Resolved we mingle in the tide,</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>Where charging squadrons furious ride,</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span>To conquer or to die.'—</span></div> -</div> -</div> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="line"><span>From 'War-Song of Royal Edinburgh</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span>Light Dragoons,' 1802.</span></div> -</div> -</div> -</div> -</blockquote> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-xxxviii"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XXXVIII</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">Ashestiel—39 Castle Street—'Honest Tom Purdie'—Associations -of Scott's Work with Edinburgh Home—First -Lines of the Lay—Abandons the Bar for Literature—Story -of Gilpin Horner—Progress of the Poem.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>In the summer of 1803, when Scott was engaged in -the military functions in which his heart delighted, he -received a gentle hint from the Lord-Lieutenant of -Selkirkshire with regard to the less exciting claims -of his sheriffship. He had not yet complied strictly -with the law which required that every sheriff should -reside at least four months in the year within his own -jurisdiction. In order to comply with the law, the -Lasswade cottage was now given up, and in the -summer of 1804 the family took up their residence -for that season at Ashestiel, a farmhouse very romantically -situated on the banks of the Tweed, a few miles -from Selkirk. Their town residence, since 1802, was -39 Castle Street, and continued so to be till the black -days of 1826. By the death of his uncle Robert in -June 1804, Scott inherited Rosebank, 'a beautiful little -villa on the banks of the Tweed, and about thirty acres -of the finest land in Scotland.' The estate was sold in -the course of the year for £5000. Scott's fixed income, -from all sources, at this time seems to have been -about £1000 a year. During the first week at Ashestiel -the Sheriff acquired his famous retainer 'honest Tom -Purdie'; the ideal companion that the Sheriff got so -much good of, 'Tom Purdie, kneaded up between -the friend and servant, as well as Uncle Toby's -bowling-green between sand and clay.' This is Lockhart's -account of their meeting: 'Tom was first brought -before him, in his capacity of Sheriff, on a charge of -poaching, when the poor fellow gave such a touching -account of his circumstances—a wife, and I know not -how many children, depending on his exertions—work -scarce and grouse abundant—and all this with a -mixture of odd sly humour,—that the Sheriff's heart -was moved. Tom escaped the penalty of the law—was -taken into employment as shepherd, and showed such -zeal, activity, and shrewdness in that capacity, that -Scott never had any occasion to repent of the step he -soon afterwards took, in promoting him to the position' -(of farm grieve) 'which had been originally offered to -James Hogg.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>To return to Edinburgh, and 39 Castle Street. -'Poor No. 39' was from 1802 Scott's home and -headquarters, his workshop, where he had all his books -and manuscripts stored, the tools he delighted to -employ in planning and perfecting the wondrous works -of his tireless pen and teeming fancy. The house had -its connection therefore with the far greater part of -Scott's literary work, a connection starting from the -</span><em class="italics">Lay of the Last Minstrel</em><span>, which Scott himself regarded -as 'the first work in which he laid his claim to be -considered as an original author,' and continuing as -far as </span><em class="italics">Woodstock</em><span>, on which he was engaged in the -fatal January of 1826. Even more than Abbotsford, -No. 39 Castle Street deserves to be called the shrine -of Scott's memory, having been the scene of his labours, -the home of his children's infancy, the place where -his friends and professional colleagues were feasted -at his genial board, and the scene where the dauntless -old hero took up his lance for his last romantic -encounter, the fight with the fiery dragon of debt which -Ballantyne had raised to torture his latest years. The -</span><em class="italics">Lay</em><span> was not actually commenced here, but at the -Lasswade cottage. Here, in the autumn of 1802, he -read the opening stanzas to his friends William Erskine -and George Cranstoun.[1] They were naturally so much -impressed as hardly to venture a remark, and the -ardent poet concluded that 'their disgust had been -greater than their good-nature chose to express.' He -threw the MS. in the fire, but on finding that he -had so strangely mistaken their feelings, he decided -to begin again. The first canto was completed during -a few days' confinement to his room in Musselburgh -during the 'autumn manoeuvres,' and he thereafter -proceeded with it at the rate of a canto a week. In -his letter to George Ellis introducing Leyden, he -mentions his intention of including in the third volume -of the </span><em class="italics">Minstrelsy</em><span> 'a long poem, a kind of romance -of Border chivalry, in a light-horseman sort of stanza.'</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">[1] Cranstoun, a great favourite of Scott's, -was one of his legal advisers in -his troubles. He became a lord of session in 1826, -as Lord Corehouse.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>As we know from the Introduction to the </span><em class="italics">Lay</em><span>, it -was now, while the first draft of the poem was -finished on his desk, that Scott finally resolved to -abandon the Bar for literature. His last year's -earnings, 1802-3, were £228, 18s. It is probable that his -professional friends expected this, which would be sure -to decrease their patronage. 'Certain it is,' he says, -'that the Scottish Themis was at this time peculiarly -jealous of any flirtation with the Muses.' It showed, -all the same, great confidence in his literary resources, -for he was well aware that anything like a firm -reputation with the public was a thing he had still to -acquire.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Every one now knows that the story of the goblin -page, Gilpin Horner, was really the occasion which -started the poem. The beautiful young Countess of -Dalkeith, having heard the old legend, suggested half -in jest that Scott should make a ballad of it. 'A single -scene of feudal festivity in the hall of Branksome, -disturbed by some pranks of a nondescript goblin, was -probably all that he contemplated; but suddenly, as he -meditates his theme to the sound of the bugle, there -flashes on him the idea of extending his simple outline -so as to embrace a vivid panorama of that old Border -life of war and tumult. Erskine, or Cranstoun, -suggests that he would do well to divide the poem -into cantos, and prefix to each of them a motto -explanatory of the action, after the fashion of Spenser in -the </span><em class="italics">Faery Queen</em><span>. He pauses for a moment—and the -happiest conception of the framework of a picturesque -narrative that ever occurred to any poet—one that -Homer might have envied—the creation of the ancient -harper, starts to life. By such steps did the </span><em class="italics">Lay of -the Last Minstrel</em><span> grow out of the </span><em class="italics">Minstrelsy of the -Scottish Border</em><span>.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Lockhart has also drawn attention to the fact that -Scott seems to have been quite willing to communicate -this poem, in its progress, to all and sundry of his -acquaintances. 'We shall find him' (he adds) 'following -the same course with his </span><em class="italics">Marmion</em><span>—but not, I think, -with any of his subsequent works. His determination to -consult the movements of his own mind alone in the -conduct of his pieces, was probably taken before he -began the </span><em class="italics">Lay</em><span>; and he soon resolved to trust for the -detection of minor inaccuracies to two persons -only—James Ballantyne and William Erskine.'</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-xxxix"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XXXIX</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">Edinburgh Literary Society—The Men of 1800-1820—Revelation -of Scott's Poetical Genius—Effect in Edinburgh—Local -Pride in his Greatness—Anecdote of Pitt—Success -of </span><em class="italics small">Lay of the Last Minstrel</em><span class="small">—Connection with -Ballantyne—Secrecy of the Partnership.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Enough has been said of individuals, of both the old -and the new generation, to show the kind of society -which looked on when Walter Scott made his first -great attempt upon the public favour. The days of -Hume and Home and Robertson were past, but a few -of their contemporaries, such as Fergusson and Henry -Mackenzie, still adorned the scene. Then there were -Jeffrey, Cockburn, Brougham, and the rest of the -young Mountaineers whom Cockburn has so fondly -sketched. Well may Cockburn sing the praises of the -unforgotten time—the first two decades of the nineteenth -century. He explains its brilliancy by 'a variety of -peculiar circumstances which operated only during this -period.' There was, of course, the excitement of the -war, with the stir and enthusiasm of the military -preparations, all promoting cordiality in social intercourse. -The closing of the Continent to the English, and the -celebrity of Edinburgh's scientists and philosophers, -brought many southerners there for pleasure or for -education. But above all, the Edinburgh of those days -realised what can seldom be attained more than partially -in great centres—the ideal of 'literature and society -embellishing each other, without rivalry, and without -pedantry.' After the Peace there began a process of -decay. Southern visitors turned to Italy and France, -as in former years. And our philosophic Memorialist -quaintly admits that 'a new race of peaceformed native -youths came on the stage, but with little literature, and -a comfortless intensity of political zeal.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>To all the best of this interesting society Scott was -already known, to many among both the old and the -young he was an intimate friend, but they could hardly -have foreseen, any more than he himself could have -anticipated, the marvellous possibilities of the career of -which they now beheld the auspicious start. Fortunately -we have, in Cockburn's </span><em class="italics">Memorials</em><span>, a brief and -sober, but genuine and interesting picture of -contemporary feeling in Edinburgh: 'Walter Scott's vivacity -and force had been felt since his boyhood by his -comrades, and he had disclosed his literary inclinations by -some translations of German ballads, and a few slight -pieces in the </span><em class="italics">Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border</em><span>; but his -power of great original conception and execution was -unknown both to his friends and himself. In 1805 he -revealed his true self by the publication of the </span><em class="italics">Lay of -the Last Minstrel</em><span>. The subject, from the principle of -which he rarely afterwards deviated, was, for the period -singularly happy. It recalled scenes and times and -characters so near as almost to linger in the memories -of the old, and yet so remote that their revival, under -poetical embellishments, imparted the double pleasure -of invention and of history. The instant completeness -of his success showed him his region. The </span><em class="italics">Lay</em><span> was -followed by a more impressive pause of wonder and -then by a louder shout of admiration, than even our -previous Edinburgh poem—</span><em class="italics">The Pleasures of Hope</em><span>. -But nobody, not even Scott, anticipated what was -to follow. Nobody imagined the career that was -before him; that the fertility of his genius was to be its -most wonderful distinction; that there was to be an -unceasing recurrence of fresh delight, enhanced by -surprise at his rapidity and richness. His advances were -like the conquests of Napoleon; each new achievement -overshadowing the last; till people half wearied of his -very profusion. The quick succession of his original -works, interspersed as they were with (for him rather -unworthy) productions of a lower kind, threw a literary -splendour over his native city, which had now the -glory of being at once the seat of the most popular -poetry, and the most powerful criticism of the age.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>An interesting anecdote is recorded by an early -friend, William Dundas, which pleasantly connects with -Scott the name of the great premier Pitt, then drawing, -in solitary grandeur, near to the end of his extraordinary -career. Dundas writes: 'I remember at Mr. Pitt's -table in 1805, the Chancellor asked me about you and -your then situation, and after I had answered him, -Mr. Pitt observed—"He can't remain as he is," and desired -me to "look to it." He then repeated some lines from -the </span><em class="italics">Lay</em><span> describing the old harper's embarrassment -when asked to play, and said—"This is a sort of thing -which I might have expected in painting, but could -never have fancied capable of being given in poetry."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>As regards the sale of the poem, the figures -established a record in the history of popular poetry -in Britain. 'The first edition of the </span><em class="italics">Lay</em><span> was a -magnificent quarto, seven hundred and fifty copies; but this -was soon exhausted, and there followed one octavo -impression after another in close succession to the -number of fourteen. In fact, some forty-four -thousand copies had been disposed of in this country, and -by the legitimate trade alone, before he superintended -the edition of 1830, to which his biographical introductions -were prefixed. The author's whole share in the -profits of the </span><em class="italics">Lay</em><span> came to £769, 6s.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Very shortly after this Scott's unworldly faith and -simple confidence in his friend led him to hoist on -his shoulders the odious Succubus Ballantyne. This -personage, pleading increasing expenses and need of -'more capital,' applied for a second 'liberal loan.' We -have the man's own story, which to those who know what -business is, needs no comment. We see the confident, -smirking tradesman gaily holding up the bottomless -sack, and Scott, with the sublime folly of a generous -and sanguine nature, pouring his hard-won treasures -into it. 'Now,' says James, 'being compelled, maugre -all delicacy' (how well he understood Scott!) 'to renew -my application, he candidly answered that he was not -quite sure that it would be prudent for him to comply, -but in order to evince his entire confidence in me, he -was willing to make a suitable advance to be admitted -as a third-sharer in my business.' Lockhart observes -on this, that no trace has been discovered of any -examination into the state of the business on the part -of Scott, at this time. This is the sort of remark one -would expect from Lockhart, a gentleman: but the -implied acceptance of a portion of the blame for Scott -is quite unnecessary. The question is, 'What did the -Succubus say, and what did he show, to Scott at this -time? Enough, I have no doubt, to convince Scott, -and on quite good and sufficient grounds, that he was -being favoured in being permitted to have a share in -the concern. The fallacy, and the weakness, were in -the man, not in the business. Scott's one mistake was -this transcendental confidence in Ballantyne, who was -a man formed by nature to </span><em class="italics">fail</em><span>! The partnership was -very wisely kept a strict secret, and seems for years not -even to have been suspected by any of his daily -companions, except Erskine. Lockhart has remarked that -'its influence on his literary exertions and his worldly -fortunes was productive of much good and not a little -evil. I at this moment doubt whether it ought, on the -whole, to be considered with more of satisfaction or of -regret.'</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-xl"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XL</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">Scott and Jeffrey—Founding of </span><em class="italics small">Edinburgh Review</em><span class="small">—Impression -in Edinburgh—Its Political and Literary -Pretences—Review of </span><em class="italics small">Lay</em><span class="small"> by Jeffrey—Strange -Mistake—Beautiful Appreciation by Mr. Gladstone quoted—The -</span><em class="italics small">Dies Irae</em><span class="small">.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>In his Introduction to the </span><em class="italics">Lay</em><span> Scott mentions, </span><em class="italics">inter -alia</em><span>, that the poem had 'received the imprimatur of -Mr. Francis Jeffrey, who had been already for some -time distinguished by his critical talent.' The -</span><em class="italics">Edinburgh Review *had been founded on the 10th of -October 1802. Sydney Smith, Jeffrey, Brougham, and -Horner were the most conspicuous among the founders. -Sydney Smith was the first editor. He mentions the -fact in the Preface to his Works: 'I proposed that -we should set up a review; this was acceded to with -acclamation. I was appointed editor, and remained -long enough in Edinburgh to edit the first number -of the *Edinburgh Review</em><span>.' Cockburn confirms the -statement, but points out that the projectors, though he -was not at first their formal editor, leant mainly on -Jeffrey's experience and wisdom. Though Smith -actually edited the first number, it appears from -Jeffrey's well-known statement that there was no official -editor at first. After three numbers had appeared, it -was seen that a responsible editor was indispensable. -Jeffrey then became editor, under a fixed arrangement -with the publisher, Archibald Constable.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Like every other successful literary enterprise, the -</span><em class="italics">Edinburgh Review</em><span> was well fitted to the circumstances -and to the time. Historically its importance -was far greater than we can now well realise. But we -can, from Cockburn's glowing account of it, to some -extent conceive how to the literary youth of the time it -appeared a phenomenon as remarkable as the original -works of Scott. In his </span><em class="italics">Life</em><span> of Jeffrey he gives a long -and complete account of the founding and the founders -of the </span><em class="italics">Review</em><span>, and says of its first appearance: 'The -effect was electrical. And, instead of expiring, as -many wished, in their first effort, the force of the shock -was increased on each subsequent discharge. It is -impossible for those who did not live at the time, and in -the heart of the scene, to feel, or almost to understand -the impression made by the new luminary, or the -anxieties with which its motions were observed. It was -an entire and instant change of everything that the -public had been accustomed to in that sort of composition. -The old periodical opiates were extinguished at -once. The learning of the new Journal, its talent, its -spirit, its writing, its independence, were all new; and -the surprise was increased by a work so full of public -life springing up, suddenly, in a remote part of the -kingdom.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The </span><em class="italics">Review</em><span> was, of course, obnoxious to the -opponents of reform. It was assailed with the usual -amount of ridicule and personal abuse, and with -prophecies of the speedy demise of so scandalous a -publication. Few, indeed, anticipated that it had come -to stay. None foresaw the services it was destined -to perform. But all watched its progress with intense -curiosity and interest. In Edinburgh, naturally, the -interest was of the greatest. Men soon perceived that -it was creating a new literary reputation for the city. -It was something gained when the voice of Edinburgh -counted for a power in political affairs. And, of -course, with continued success, the voice became -stronger, and the importance of Scottish opinion in -both politics and literature was more and more widely -acknowledged. 'All were the better for a journal to -which every one with an object of due importance had -access, which it was vain either to bully or to despise, -and of the fame of which even its reasonable haters -were inwardly proud.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jeffrey's review of the </span><em class="italics">Lay</em><span> is, on the whole, creditable -to his critical sagacity and taste, though its praise -fell far short of the impression made by the poem -on the public mind. He made one strange enough -blunder. He found fault with the goblin story, which -he regarded as an excrescence, not knowing that it was -actually the origin and occasion of the whole. He was -wrong also in doubting the power of the poet's genius -to inspire an interest in the exploits of the stark -moss-troopers, and in the rugged names of the Border heroes -and the Border scenes. All these uncouth names are -now familiar in our mouths as household words.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>To sum up with the </span><em class="italics">Lay</em><span>, Mr. Gladstone, in that -delightful </span><em class="italics">causerie</em><span> on Scott given to his friends at -Hawarden in 1868, said two excellent things about -Scott's poetry. The first is, that Scott's reputation -rests not less on his verse than on his prose. The -second is, that his most extraordinary power, his -highest genius, is shown at times in his poetry. 'I -know nothing more sublime in the writings of Sir -Walter Scott—certainly I know nothing so sublime in -any portion of the sacred poetry of modern times—I -mean of the present century—as the "Hymn for the -Dead," extending only to twelve lines, which he -embodied in the </span><em class="italics">Lay of the Last Minstrel</em><span>. It is in -these words, and they perhaps may be familiar:—</span></p> -<blockquote> -<div> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="line"><span>"That day of wrath, that dreadful day,</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>When heaven and earth shall pass away!</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>What power shall be the sinner's stay?</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>How shall he meet that dreadful day?</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>When shrivelling like a parched scroll,</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>The flaming heavens together roll;</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>When louder yet, and yet more dread,</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>Swells the high trump that wakes the dead!</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>Oh! on that day, that wrathful day,</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>When man to judgment wakes from clay,</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>Be THOU the trembling sinner's stay,</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>Though heaven and earth shall pass away!"</span></div> -</div> -</div> -</blockquote> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Simple as these words, and few as these lines are, they -are enough to stamp with greatness the name of the -man who wrote them.'</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-xli"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XLI</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">Town and Country—Scott's Ideal—Reversion of -Clerkship—Impeachment of Lord Melville—Acquittal—The -Edinburgh Dinner—Scott's Song of Triumph—Nature -of his Professional Duties—Social Claims and Literary -Industry.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>When Scott decided to abandon the Bar, he had no -intention of quitting Edinburgh. Notwithstanding -his delight in natural scenery and his real fondness for -rural pursuits and his passion for sport, he had an -equally strong attachment to the city and its old routine. -'Here is the advantage of Edinburgh' (he says in his -</span><em class="italics">Journal</em><span>). 'In the country, if a sense of inability once -seizes me, it haunts me from morning to night; but -in Edinburgh the time is so occupied and frittered -away by official duties and chance occupation, that you -have not time to play Master Stephen and be gentlemanlike -and melancholy. On the other hand, you -never feel in town those spirit-stirring influences—those -glances of sunshine that make amends for clouds and -mist. The country is said to be quieter life; not to me, -I am sure. In the town the business I have to do -hardly costs me more thought than just occupies my -mind, and I have as much of gossip and ladylike chat -as consumes the time pleasantly enough. In the -country I am thrown entirely on my own resources, and -there is no medium betwixt happiness and the reverse.' To -carry out his ideal, therefore, of a life alternating -between town and country, and enjoying the best of -both, and to keep his mind easy about the -provision—generous, of course—which he should make for his -increasing family, Scott was not satisfied with an -income of £1000 a year. He accordingly set about -obtaining another post—such a post (he frankly puts it) -as an author might hope to retreat upon, without any -perceptible alteration of circumstances, whenever the -time came that the public grew weary of him, or he -himself tired of his pen. He hoped, in fact, to obtain -a clerkship in the Court of Session, and his friends -began to work for it just after the </span><em class="italics">Lay</em><span> was published. -These friends were the Duke of Buccleuch and Lord -Melville, and, as we have seen, Pitt himself had given -orders that something should be done. Near the end -of 1805 it was arranged that Scott should have the -succession to the clerkship held by Mr. Home of -Wedderburn. The old gentleman was to retain the -whole salary during his life, while Scott was to do the -work and fall into the salary at Home's death. The -matter was arranged just before Lord Melville's -retirement, but a mistake having been made in the patent, -Scott's commission had to be made out by the Home -Secretary of the Whig Government of 1806. Thus it -appeared as if he had owed his appointment to the -Whigs, and some of the meaner sort among the local -people grumbled loudly and complained of the preference. -Scott resented this doubly, since he really owed -nothing to the Whig Ministry and would never have -accepted a favour at their hands. Lockhart says that -this incident was the occasion of his making himself -prominent for a time as a decided Tory partisan.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Coalition Government signalised its accession to -power by impeaching Lord Melville. The charges, it -is now well known, were groundless and absurd. -At the same time 'the investigation brought out many -circumstances by no means creditable to his discretion.' But -on the one side there was a savage whoop of -triumph when the autocrat was himself brought to trial; -on the other, loud and scornful jubilation when the -great pro-consul was acquitted. Less noise might well -have served. In Edinburgh a public dinner was held -to celebrate the event, on the 27th of June 1806, and for -this occasion Scott wrote a jolly piece of rattling -doggerel, 'Health to Lord Melville,' which was sung by -James Ballantyne, and received with shouts of applause. -A line in this song 'Tally-ho to the Fox,' was fastened -upon by political spite as a shout of triumph over Fox, -because he was then on his death-bed. Never was any -effort of malignity more idiotic. If it had been so -intended, even a fool might have seen that it would -have been irrelevant. It was, of course, merely one -note of the triumphal cock-crowing at the defeat of the -impeachment. Any one who could seriously think that -Scott would for a moment rejoice at the illness or death -of Fox is outside the pale of argument.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Surprise has often been expressed at the enormous -output of Scott's literary labours during the twenty -most active years of his life. But, vast as it is, the -literary output represents only half of his industry and -exertion. Neither his sheriffship nor his clerkship was -a sinecure. The latter required actual attendance in -the court, on the average, for from four to six hours -daily during rather less than six months out of the -twelve. The work, though partly mechanical, -constantly entailed extra toil in the way of consulting -law papers and authorities at home. It is well known, -too, that Scott performed these duties with the most -conscientious regularity and care. He never employed -inferior assistants to relieve himself of drudgery. He -took a just pride, as did also the best of his colleagues, -in maintaining a high reputation for legal science. -There can, indeed, be no question of the justness -of his biographer's view, that it forms one of the most -remarkable features in his history, that during his -great period of literary production, he must have -devoted a large proportion of his hours, during half -at least of every year, to the conscientious discharge of -professional duties.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Thus Scott, while in Edinburgh, led a life of very -exacting labour, and strictly governed by official -routine. His habit of early rising enabled him to get -through the larger portion of his literary task before -breakfast. He was always ready to play his part -cheerfully in the duties of the family circle, as well as -to implement the round of social engagements. The -latter were always great, owing to his own and his -wife's popularity in society. Of course, as time went -on and his fame became world-wide, these social calls -upon his leisure became greater and greater. Still, -he would often contrive to rescue some of the evening -hours as well, in order to complete the minimum -of his daily literary task. But for occasional drives -with his family or friends, his time in town was mainly -spent indoors, and later on he confessed that this want -of activity and open-air life proved highly injurious to -his bodily health.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-xlii"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XLII</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">Colleagues at the Clerks' Table-Morritt on Scott's -Conversation—His Home Life—Treatment of his Children—Ideas -on Education—Knowledge of the Bible—Horsemanship, -Courage, Veracity—Success of the Training.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The kindly affections of friendship were always to -Scott 'the dearest part of human intercourse.' Even -in 'that sand-cart of a place, the Parliament House' -he found them in abundance. Among his colleagues -were Colin Mackenzie of Portmore, the friend of his -boyhood, 'one of the wisest, kindest, and best men -of his time': Hector Macdonald Buchanan of -Drummakiln: Sir Robert Dundas of Beechwood: and -David Hume, nephew of the great David and Professor -of Scots Law, afterwards a Baron of the Exchequer. -Mentioning a dinner at Dundas's house, Scott says, -'My little </span><em class="italics">nieces</em><span> (</span><em class="italics">ex officio</em><span>) gave us some pretty -music.' The explanation of this is that all these families were -so intimate and friendly that the children all called -their fathers' colleagues </span><em class="italics">uncles</em><span>, and the mothers of -their little friends </span><em class="italics">aunts</em><span>. 'In truth' (says Lockhart) -'the establishment was a brotherhood.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>We may here quote his friend Morritt's description, -which, referring to the year 1808, gives so lifelike -a notion of what Scott was to the friends of his prime: -'At this period his conversation was more equal and -animated than any man's that I ever knew. It was -most characterised by the extreme felicity and fun of -his illustrations, drawn from the whole encyclopedia -of life and nature, in a style sometimes too exuberant -for written narrative, but which to him was natural -and spontaneous. A hundred stories, always apposite, -and often interesting the mind by strong pathos, or -eminently ludicrous, were daily told, which, with many -more, have since been transplanted, almost in the same -language, into the Waverley Novels and his other -writings. These, and his recitations of poetry, which -can never be forgotten by those who knew him, made -up the charm that his boundless memory enabled him -to exert to the wonder of the gaping lovers of wonders. -But equally impressive and powerful was the language -of his warm heart, and equally wonderful were the -conclusions of his vigorous understanding, to those -who could return or appreciate either. Among a -number of such recollections, I have seen many of the -thoughts which then passed through his mind embodied -in the delightful prefaces annexed late in life to his -poetry and novels. Keenly enjoying literature as he -did, and indulging his own love of it in perpetual -composition, he always maintained the same estimate -of it as subordinate and auxiliary to the purposes of -life, and rather talked of men and events than of books -and criticism.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The happiness he made at home for his children in -their early years has been revealed by his son-in-law -in a charming passage. Though familiar to many, -it can hardly be out of place here: 'He had now two -boys and two girls:—and he never had more. (They -were Charlotte Sophia, born 1799; Walter, 1801; -Anne, 1803; and Charles, 1805). He was not one -of those who take much delight in a mere infant; but -no father ever devoted more time and tender care to -his offspring than he did to each of his, as they reached -the age when they could listen to him, and understand -his talk. Like their playmates, Camp and the greyhounds, -they had at all times free access to his study; -he never considered their prattle as any disturbance; -they went and came as pleased their fancy; he was -always ready to answer their questions; and when -they, unconscious how he was engaged, entreated him -to lay down his pen and tell them a story, he would -take them on his knee, repeat a ballad or legend, -kiss them, and set them down again to their marbles -or ninepins, and resume his labour, as if refreshed -by the interruption. From a very early age he made -them dine at table, and "to sit up to supper" was the -great reward when they had been "very good bairns." In -short, he considered it as the highest duty as well -as the sweetest pleasure of a parent to be the companion -of his children; he partook all their little joys and -sorrows, and made his kind unformal instructions to -blend so easily and playfully with the current of their -own sayings and doings, that so far from regarding -him with any distant awe, it was never thought that -any sport or diversion could get on in the right way, -unless </span><em class="italics">papa</em><span> were of the party, or that the rainiest day -could be dull, so he were at home.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Scott was no elaborate theorist in regard to education. -His sound practical sense laid hold instinctively of a -few invaluable principles, and these he carried out -with his children with the most beneficial results. He -would have nothing to do with the great specific of -the period, those fearful 'children's books' filled with -endless facts of science precisely worded for the purpose -of committing to memory. He was quite pleased, -however, with the older-fashioned books, in which -stories appealing to the imagination were employed -as a means of exciting curiosity in graver matters. -He took pains to select for their tasks in recitation -such passages of poetry as might be expected to please -their fancy. His own stories and legends with which -he amused them were the beginnings of an intelligent -interest in Scottish History, and on Sundays the Bible -stories were in the same way made at once delightful -and familiar. 'He had his Bible' (says Lockhart), 'the -Old Testament especially, by heart; and on these days -inwove the simple pathos or sublime enthusiasm of -Scripture, in whatever story he was telling, with the -same picturesque richness as in his week-day tales -the quaint Scotch of Pitscottie, or some rude romantic -old rhyme from Barbour's </span><em class="italics">Bruce</em><span> or Blind Harry's -</span><em class="italics">Wallace</em><span>:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was characteristic of the man to combine, like -Xenophon's ancient Persians, the love of truth and -the love of horsemanship as the two greatest aims -in education. Each of his children, both girls and -boys, became, as soon as old and strong enough for -the exercise, the companion of his own rides over moor -and stream and hill. He taught them to laugh at -tumbles and slight misadventures, and they soon -caught his own spirit, and came to delight in adventurous -feats like his own. 'Without courage,' he used -to say, 'there cannot be truth; and without truth there -can be no other virtue.' With such a teacher, we may -be sure the two fundamental virtues were imbibed in -full perfection.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-xliii"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XLIII</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><em class="italics small">Marmion</em><span class="small">—Published by Constable—Misfortunes of -Thomas Scott—George Ellis on </span><em class="italics small">Marmion</em><span class="small">—Hostile -Review by Jeffrey—Charge of Want of Patriotism—Mrs. Scott -and Jeffrey—Extraordinary Success of the Poem.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><em class="italics">Marmion</em><span> was begun in November 1806, and continued -at intervals during the following year. He had -made up his mind—so he tells us in the Introduction—not -to be in a hurry with his new poem, but to bestow -upon it more than his usual care. Particular passages -accordingly were 'laboured with a good deal of care' -and the progress of the work seems to have given -him much pleasure. 'The period of its composition -was a very happy one in my life.' </span><em class="italics">Marmion</em><span> was -the first of Scott's original works published by -Archibald Constable. This enterprising gentleman offered -a thousand guineas for the poem shortly after it was -begun, a fact which speaks volumes at once for the -sagacity of the publisher and the impression already -made by the poet. The offer was accepted, and the -price paid long before the book was published. Scott -seems to have had occasion for the use of the money -in connection with the final withdrawal of his brother -Thomas at this time from practice as a Writer to the -Signet. Thomas had been unfortunate in certain -speculations outside his proper business. He -afterwards became paymaster of the 70th Regiment and -died in Canada.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The appearance of </span><em class="italics">Marmion</em><span> was expected with -intense interest in literary circles. It was published in -the February of 1808. The general feeling was that -expressed after an interval of two months by Scott's -friend George Ellis, that 'dear old friend, who had -more wit, learning, and knowledge of the world than -would fit out twenty </span><em class="italics">literati</em><span>.' Ellis writes, 'All the -world are agreed that you are like the elephant -mentioned in the </span><em class="italics">Spectator</em><span>, who was the greatest -elephant in the world except himself, and consequently, -that the only question at issue is, whether the </span><em class="italics">Lay</em><span> -or </span><em class="italics">Marmion</em><span> shall be reputed the most pleasing poem -in our language.' He goes on to say that most people -consider the Introductory Epistles—that to Canto V. is -addressed to himself—as merely interruptions to the -narrative. He expresses his own opinion that </span><em class="italics">Marmion</em><span> -is preferable to the </span><em class="italics">Lay</em><span>, because its species of -excellence is of much more difficult attainment. He -thinks that </span><em class="italics">Marmion</em><span>, from the nature of the plot, -and from the quality and variety of the characters, -might with advantage have been largely extended, -and elevated to the rank and dignity of an Epic in -twelve books. Such seems to have been, in brief, -the spontaneous verdict on </span><em class="italics">Marmion</em><span> of London literary -circles when the poem was fresh from the press. The -</span><em class="italics">Edinburgh Review</em><span>, all-powerful as the critical oracle -of the time, had not yet recorded its verdict.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jeffrey's </span><em class="italics">Review</em><span> had now been in existence for six -years. Its pages were constantly illuminated by the -brilliant productions of its army of able and talented -young contributors. So far, also, it was without any -rival worth considering at all. Its circulation was -unprecedented, and its power to make or mar the -fortunes of literary aspirants was esteemed absolute. -Scott himself says, 'Of this work nine thousand copies -are printed quarterly, and no genteel family can pretend -to be without it, because, independent of its politics, -it gives the only valuable literary criticism which can -be met with.' On reading over Jeffrey's review of -</span><em class="italics">Marmion</em><span>, one feels even yet aggrieved: but as it did -not hurt the actual victim, we need only say, with -Lockhart, 'it is highly creditable to Jeffrey's courageous -sense of duty.' Certainly, it requires a good deal of -that quality, and of coolness as well, to accumulate -such a wealth of depreciation and petty fault-finding -on the head of a private friend and honoured colleague. -Jeffrey fully anticipated that Scott would take offence, -for he wrote him a half-apologetic letter, which was -sent along with Scott's copy of the magazine. The -article begins with Jeffrey's favourite sweep of the -arm—the writer of a successful poem must expect -sterner criticism when he ventures to issue a second -of the same kind. This paves the way to enumerating -previous objections—broken narrative, redundancy of -minute description, inequality of merit in the -composition, and the general spirit and animation -'unchastised by any great delicacy of taste, or elegance -of fancy.' All these faults are common to both the -poems, but </span><em class="italics">Marmion</em><span> is crowded with additional defects. -Compared with the </span><em class="italics">Lay</em><span>, he thinks it more clear that -</span><em class="italics">Marmion</em><span> has greater faults than that it has greater -beauties, though he is </span><em class="italics">inclined</em><span> to believe in both -propositions. While he admits greater richness and -variety both of character and incident, he finds in it -more tedious and flat passages. He refers with -supercilious contempt to the 'epistolary dissertations,' in -which, poor man, he finds little to his taste. He -seems to be savagely angry that the poem is a romantic -narrative—presumably it ought to have been something -else. He regrets that the author should consume -his talent in 'imitations of obsolete extravagance,' in -which he is sure no human being can take any interest. -He sums up his indictment in numbered paragraphs: -the plan bad, the incidents improbable, the characters -morally worthless, and the book too long. Though -he does give warm and unstinted praise to 'Flodden -Field,' he finds, strange to say, that the interspersed -ballads have less finish and poetical beauty. Stranger -still, the author has wilfully neglected Scottish feelings -and Scottish characters. Think of this charge against -Walter Scott—'scarcely one trait of Scottish nationality -or patriotism has been introduced into the book'! A -good deal is said about 'bad taste' and culpable haste. -Then the merciful critic adds that he passes over many -other blemishes of taste and diction. It happened that -Jeffrey was invited to dine at 39 Castle Street on the -very day this article appeared. In reply to Jeffrey's -note Scott assured him that the article had not disturbed -his digestion, though he hoped neither his booksellers -nor the public would agree with the opinions it -expressed: and begged he would come to dinner at the -hour appointed. Lockhart tells how he was received -by his host with the frankest cordiality, but Mrs. Scott, -though perfectly polite, was not quite so easy with -him as usual. She said as he took his leave, 'Well, -good night, Mr. Jeffrey—they tell me that you have -abused Scott in the </span><em class="italics">Review</em><span>, and I hope Mr. Constable -has paid you very well for writing it.' Scott could -indeed afford to be complacent. There was, if -anything, some danger of the popularity of </span><em class="italics">Marmion</em><span> -giving even him 'a heeze.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The success of </span><em class="italics">Marmion</em><span> as a publication was as -remarkable as that of the </span><em class="italics">Lay</em><span>. The first edition, as -usual a splendid quarto, of two thousand copies was -sold out in less than a month. More than thirty -thousand copies had been sold before the collected -edition of the poems appeared in 1830.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-xliv"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XLIV</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">John Murray—Share in </span><em class="italics small">Marmion</em><span class="small">—Reverence for Scott—</span><em class="italics small">The -Quarterly Review</em><span class="small">—The 'Cevallos' Article—Jeffrey's -Pessimism—Contemplated Flight to America—Anecdotes -of Earl of Buchan.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>When Constable had concluded his arrangement with -Scott, he followed a usual and prudent practice in -offering fourth shares of the adventure to two other -booksellers. They agreed, and their reply added, 'We -both view it as honourable, profitable, and glorious -to be concerned in the publication of a new poem -by Walter Scott.' The writer of these words was -John Murray, of Fleet Street, a young bookseller -already of some note. Murray, as a keen business -man, had evidently an eye to see and a mind that -could grasp the future. He was aware that the -</span><em class="italics">Edinburgh Review</em><span> was the great source and support of -Constable's fortunes. Knowing also that Scott, though -a Tory, was an important contributor to the </span><em class="italics">Review</em><span>, -ne seems to have been on the watch for the time -when, as he acutely anticipated, some occasion of -rupture would emerge. He told Lockhart long after -that when he read the review of </span><em class="italics">Marmion</em><span> and the -political article in the same number, he said to -himself—'Walter Scott has feelings both as a gentleman -and a Tory, which these people must now have -wounded; the alliance between him and the whole -clique of the </span><em class="italics">Review</em><span>, its proprietor included, is now -shaken.' With the same sagacity, he pushed his -advances towards Scott by the medium of James Ballantyne. -Murray came north in person, visited Scott at -Ashestiel, and learned that, as he had expected, the -disruption had begun. Scott had, in fact, been so -disgusted with an article in the twenty-sixth number -entitled 'Don Cevallos on the Usurpation of Spain,' -that he had written to Constable withdrawing his -subscription and saying, 'The </span><em class="italics">Edinburgh Review</em><span> had -become such as to render it impossible for me to -continue a contributor to it.—</span><em class="italics">Now</em><span>, it is such as I can -no longer continue to receive or read it.' Mr. Cadell, -one of Constable's partners, mentions that the list of the -then subscribers exhibits, in an indignant dash of -Constable's pen opposite Scott's name, the word -'STOPT!!!' The opportunity was a good one for advancing -Murray's views. Before the end of the year some -unguarded words of Mr. Hunter, Constable's junior -partner, made the breach complete. We find Scott -writing about 'folks who learn to undervalue the -means by which they have risen,' and Constable -stamping his foot and saying, 'Ay, there is such a -thing as rearing the oak until it can support itself.' The -result of all this, as concerns Scott, was that he -eagerly entered into Murray's plans for establishing -a rival </span><em class="italics">Review</em><span>, and that he carried out a scheme, -'begun' (Lockhart admits) 'in the short-sighted heat -of pique,' of starting a new bookselling house in -Edinburgh, another rival to Constable.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Murray's new </span><em class="italics">Review</em><span> was the </span><em class="italics">Quarterly</em><span>. The -first number came out in February 1809, and was -quite sufficient to prove that the </span><em class="italics">Edinburgh</em><span> was now -to have a powerful competitor, and Jeffrey to find in -Gifford a 'foeman worthy of his steel.' The idea of -the </span><em class="italics">Quarterly</em><span> was precisely that which had guided the -projectors of its rival, 'to be conducted totally -independent of bookselling influence, on a plan as liberal as -that of the </span><em class="italics">Edinburgh</em><span>, its literature as well supported, -and its principles English and constitutional.' A great -deal was, naturally enough, said at the time about the -political excesses of the </span><em class="italics">Edinburgh Review</em><span> as having -caused the introduction of the </span><em class="italics">Quarterly</em><span>. But there -was no need to justify it on such grounds. Lord -Cockburn in his </span><em class="italics">Life</em><span> of Jeffrey sums up the argument with -equal fairness and good sense when he says, 'It was -not this solitary article' (the 'Cevallos') 'that produced -the rival journal. Unless the public tone and doctrines -(of the </span><em class="italics">Edinburgh Review</em><span>) had been positively reversed, -or party politics altogether excluded, a periodical work -in defence of Church, Tory, and War principles, must -have arisen; simply because the defence of these -principles required it. The defence was a consequence -of the attack. And it is fortunate that it was so. -For besides getting these opinions fairly discussed, -the party excesses natural to any unchecked publication -were diminished; and a work arose which, in many -respects, is an honour to British literature, and has -called out, and indirectly reared, a great variety of -the highest order of talent.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jeffrey himself, in writing to Horner for opinions -of the new </span><em class="italics">Quarterly</em><span>, disavows with creditable spirit -any unworthy jealousy or fear. He recognises the -merit of the work, 'inspired, compared with the poor -prattle of Cumberland,' and admits that his 'natural -indolence would have been better pleased not to be -always in sight of an alert and keen antagonist.' But -at the same time he rejoices in the idea of seeing -magazine literature improved, and congratulates -himself on having set the example.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Lord Cockburn expressly states that Jeffrey was -himself the writer of the unfortunate Cevallos article. -It is curious and interesting, but not so very surprising, -to find an earnest and far-seeing man like Jeffrey taking -so despondent a view of British prospects in the -Peninsula. It must be remembered that the great -burst of enthusiasm in this country over the national -rising of Spain against Napoleon was really, as every -one now knows, founded upon ignorance and -exaggeration. It was Jeffrey's chief crime that he -ventured to doubt the patriotism and efficiency of -the Spaniards. He could not, of course, foresee what -the genius of Wellington was to effect, and he -undoubtedly expected that Napoleon would enter Ireland -soon; 'and then' (he asks) 'how is England to be -kept?' Looking upon the conquest of the whole continent by -France as a practical certainty, he was for peace at any -price, and non-interference whatever happened -elsewhere. It was his intention when the catastrophe -came, to try to go to America. 'I hate despotism -and insolence so much, that I could bear a great deal -rather than live here under Frenchmen and such -wretches as will at first be employed by them.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Such cold fears and calculations were apt to make his -writings distasteful in those excited times. The -Cevallos article, in which he flatly expressed despair of -the vaunted 'regeneration' of Spain, capped the whole. -About twenty-five 'persons of consideration' in -Edinburgh forbade the </span><em class="italics">Review</em><span> to enter their doors. The -Earl of Buchan, a rather vain and foolish character at -the best, did more. He ordered the door of his house -in George Street to be set wide open, and the offending -number to be laid down on the lobby floor. Then, -when all was ready, his lordship solemnly kicked the -volume out into the street.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In Scott's </span><em class="italics">Journal</em><span>, April 20, 1829, the death of this -eccentric person is noticed: 'Lord Buchan is dead, a -person whose immense vanity, bordering upon insanity, -obscured, or rather eclipsed, very considerable talents.... -I felt something at parting with this old man, -though but a trumpery body. He gave me the first -approbation I ever obtained from a stranger. His -caprice had led him to examine Dr. Adam's class when -I, a boy twelve years old, and then in disgrace for some -aggravated case of negligence, was called up from a -low bench, and recited my lesson with some spirit and -appearance of feeling the poetry (it was the apparition -of Hector's ghost in the </span><em class="italics">Aeneid</em><span>) amid the noble Earl's -applause. I was very proud of this at the time.'</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-xlv"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XLV</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">The Calton Jail—Opening of Waterloo Place—Removal of -Old Tolbooth—Scott purchases Land at Abbotsford—Professional -Income—Correspondence with Byron—Anecdote -of the 'Flitting' from Ashestiel.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>In 1808-10 the new prison on the Calton Hill was built. -It stands on a magnificent site, the old 'Doo Craig.' All -will agree with Lord Cockburn's remark on the -'undoubted bad taste' of devoting that glorious -eminence, which ought to have had one of our noblest -buildings, to a jail. The east end of Princes Street was -at that time closed in by a line of mean houses running -north and south. Beyond this all to the east was -occupied by the burying-ground, of which the south -portion is still maintained. The only access to the hill -on this side was to go down to the foot of Leith Street, -and then climb 'the steep, narrow, stinking, spiral -street still to be seen there.' The necessity for an easy -access to the jail led to the construction of Waterloo -Bridge. The blocking houses were, of course, -removed, and a level road carried along to the Calton -Hill. 'The effect,' says the author of the </span><em class="italics">Memorials</em><span>, -'was like the drawing up of the curtain in a theatre. -But the bridge would never have been where it is except -for the jail. The lieges were taxed for the prison; and -luckily few of them were aware that they were also -taxed for the bridge as the prison's access. In all this -magnificent improvement, which in truth gave us the -hill and all its decoration, there was scarcely one -particle of prospective taste. The houses alongside the -bridge were made handsome by the speculators for their -own interest; but the general effect of the new level -opening into Princes Street, and its consequences, were -planned or foreseen by nobody.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In a few years after the erection of the Calton Jail, the -Old Tolbooth, the 'Heart of Midlothian,' was removed. -Had it been preserved, it would have been the prize relic -of historical antiquity in Scotland. 'Was it not for -many years the place in which the Scottish parliament -met? Was it not James's place of refuge, when the mob, -inflamed by a seditious preacher, broke forth on him -with the cries of "The sword of the Lord and of -Gideon—bring forth the wicked Haman"?' It stood, 'as is -well known to all men,' near the Cathedral, in the very -middle of the High Street, and the purpose of widening -the street and opening up the Cathedral was the excuse -for its demolition. Scott describes it as 'antique in -form, gloomy and haggard in aspect, its black -stanchioned windows opening through its dingy walls -like the apertures of a hearse.' Cockburn speaks of it -as a most atrocious jail, the very breath of which -almost struck down any stranger who entered its dismal -door; and as ill-placed as possible, without one inch of -ground beyond its black and horrid walls. And these -walls were very small; the entire hole being filled with -little dark cells; heavy manacles the only security; -airless, waterless, drainless; a living grave. But yet I -wish the building had been spared.' The only -memorial of it now is a heart in the street formed of -particoloured stones, showing where the door of the -prison stood. At Abbotsford may be seen, decorating -the entrance of the kitchen court, the stones of the old -gateway, and also the door itself with its ponderous -fastenings.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In the summer of 1811 Scott made his first purchase -of land at Abbotsford. The name was taken from a -ford in the Tweed just above the influx of Gala Water. -The whole of the lands round there had at one time -belonged to the Abbey of Melrose. The property had -sunk into a state of great neglect under an absentee -owner. The land was neither drained, properly -enclosed, nor even fully reclaimed. The house was -small, with a kailyard at one end and a barn at the -other. But Scott in his mind's eye already saw it all -as he intended it to be. With boyish delight in the -prospect of realising his one innocent ambition, he -writes to his brother-in-law: 'I have bought a property -extending along the banks of the River Tweed for -about half a mile. This is the greatest incident which -has lately taken place in our domestic concerns, and I -assure you we are not a little proud of being greeted as -</span><em class="italics">laird</em><span> and </span><em class="italics">lady of Abbotsford</em><span>. We will give a grand -gala when we take possession of it, and as we are very -clannish in this corner, all the Scotts in the country, -from the Duke to the peasant, shall dance on the green -to the bagpipes, and drink whisky punch.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At the beginning of the next year, January 1812, -Scott came into his salary as Clerk of Session. He had -now a professional income of £1600 a year. Why, -then, was he not to buy land and become a laird?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In this year began that correspondence with Byron -which connects so pleasantly the names of the two -most popular poets of the day. In one letter he -mentions that he was staying in the gardener's hut at -Abbotsford. Alterations were going on apace, and -besides raising the roof and projecting some of the -lower windows, a rustic porch, a supplemental cottage -at one end, and a fountain to the south, soon made their -appearance. Here is the 'laird's' amusing account of -his 'flitting' from Ashestiel: 'The neighbours have -been much delighted with the procession of my furniture, -in which old swords, bows, targets, and lances made -a very conspicuous show. A family of turkeys was -accommodated within the helmet of some </span><em class="italics">preux</em><span> chevalier -of ancient border fame; and the very cows, for aught I -know, were bearing banners and muskets. I assure -your ladyship that this caravan, attended by a dozen -of ragged rosy peasant children, carrying fishing-rods -and spears, and leading ponies, greyhounds, and -spaniels, would, as it crossed the Tweed, have furnished -no bad subject for the pencil, and really reminded me -of the gypsey groups of Callot upon their march.'</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-xlvi"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XLVI</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">Scott and the Actors—Kemble, Siddons, Terry—Terry's -Imitation of 'the Shirra'—Anecdote of Terry and -C. Mathews—Mathews in Edinburgh—'The Reign of -Scott'—Anecdotes of his Children—Excursion to the Western -Isles.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>A very remarkable feature of Edinburgh society at -this period was the free admittance to the best houses -of the chief actors of the time. Scott was particularly -fond of their company. Charles Young, in 1803, seems -to have been the first of these theatrical friends. Later -came John Philip Kemble and his incomparable sister, -Mrs. Siddons. Scott used to say that Kemble was the -only man who ever seduced him into very deep -potations in his middle life. Through his intimacy -with Kemble, Scott was led to take an interest in -getting Henry Siddons, Kemble's nephew, to take on the -lease and management of the Edinburgh Theatre. He -purchased a share, became a trustee, and continued -to take much interest in the affairs of the company. -Daniel Terry also was a friend of Scott's. Both Terry -and Kemble were highly educated men, and were well -read in the old literature of the drama. Terry was also, -like Scott, an enthusiast in the antiquities of </span><em class="italics">vertu</em><span>. -Terry was remarkable for his apparently involuntary -imitation of Scott, whom he almost worshipped. In -particular, he acquired the power of imitating his -handwriting so closely that Lockhart says their letters, lying -before him, appeared as if they had all been written by -one person. Scott himself used to say that, if he were -called on to swear to any document, the utmost he -could venture to attest would be, that it was either in -his own hand or in Terry's. Their common friends -were much amused at the approximation of Terry to a -replica of Scott in facial tricks and gravity of expression, -and even in tone and accent. It is this that gives point -to an anecdote of Terry and Charles Mathews. They -happened to be thrown out of a gig together, and -Mathews received an injury which made him lame for -life, while Terry escaped unhurt. 'Dooms, </span><em class="italics">Dauniel</em><span>,' -said Mathews when they next met, 'what a pity that it -wasna your luck to get the game leg, mon! Your -Shirra would hae been the very thing, ye ken, an' ye -wad hae been croose till ye war coffined.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mathews was in Edinburgh in the spring of 1812, -when he seems to have been greatly delighted with his -success. On April 13th he wrote to his wife: 'Edinburgh -turned out as delightful as Glasgow was horrible. -Beautiful weather—good society—had the luck to see -the superfine patterns of the Scotch; and the warmest -reception I ever yet met with, because I have -considered an Edinburgh audience so difficult to please. -Hundreds turned away at my benefit. I reckon -Edinburgh an annuity to me for the future.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Scott's popularity as a poet was about this time at its -highest. This period (1811) was, as Byron said, 'the -reign of Scott.' He had reached his poetical apogee -with the publication of the </span><em class="italics">Lady of the Lake</em><span>, the -most successful of all his poems. In Edinburgh, by -James Ballantyne's habit of reading portions to select -friends while the work was printing, the highest -expectations had been excited. Cadell, the publisher, -testifies that, when it appeared, the country rang with -the praises of the poet. 'Crowds' (he says) 'set off to -view the scenery of Loch Katrine, till then comparatively -unknown: and as the book came out just before -the season for excursions, every house and inn in that -neighbourhood was crammed with a constant succession -of visitors. It is a well-ascertained fact, that from the -date of the publication of the </span><em class="italics">Lady of the Lake</em><span>, the -post-horse duty in Scotland rose in an extraordinary -degree, and indeed it continued to do so regularly for a -number of years, the author's succeeding works keeping -up the enthusiasm for our scenery which he had thus -originally created.' Within a year no fewer than 20,000 -copies of the poem were sold.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Scott, as is well known, was always too modest -and sensible to be, even at the height of success, 'a -partisan of his own poetry.' John Ballantyne is the -authority for a very surprising instance of this. 'I -remember,' he says, 'going into his library shortly -after the publication of the </span><em class="italics">Lady of the Lake</em><span>, and -finding Miss Scott (who was then a very young girl) -there by herself. I asked her—"Well, Miss Sophia, -how do you like the </span><em class="italics">Lady of the Lake</em><span>?" Her answer -was given with perfect simplicity—"Oh, I have not -read it: papa says there's nothing so bad for young -people as reading bad poetry."'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Lockhart adds that the children in those days of -childhood really did not know that their father was -in any way distinguished above the other gentlemen -of his profession who were their visitors and friends. -He caps Ballantyne's story with another: 'The eldest -boy, Walter, came home one afternoon from the -High School, with tears and blood hardened together -upon his cheeks.—"Well, Wat," said his father, "what -have you been fighting about to-day?" The boy -blushed and hung his head, and at last stammered -out—that he had been called a </span><em class="italics">lassie</em><span>. "Indeed!" said -Mrs. Scott, "this was a terrible mischief, to be -sure." "You may say what you please, mamma," -Wat answered roughly, 'but I dinna think there's a -waufer (shabbier) thing in the world than to be a -lassie, to sit boring at a clout.' Upon further inquiry -it turned out that one or two of his companions had -dubbed him the </span><em class="italics">Lady of the Lake</em><span>, and the phrase -was to him incomprehensible, save as conveying some -imputation on his prowess, which he accordingly -vindicated in the usual style of the Yards. Of the poem -he had never before heard. Shortly after, this story -having got wind, one of Scott's colleagues of the -Clerks' Table said to the boy—who was in the home -circle called </span><em class="italics">Gilnockie</em><span>, from his admiration of Johnny -Armstrong—"Gilnockie, my man, you cannot surely -help seeing that great people make more work about -your papa than they do about me or any other of -your </span><em class="italics">uncles</em><span>—what is it do you suppose that occasions -this?" The little fellow pondered for a minute or two, -and then answered very gravely—"It's commonly </span><em class="italics">him</em><span> -that sees the hare sitting." And yet this was the man -who had his children all along so very much with him.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was at this time, while his heart was in a glow -with happiness, that he made his famous excursion -to the Western Isles. The Laird of Staffa, whose -hospitality he celebrates, was the elder brother of his -colleague Macdonald Buchanan. The Laird was an -ideal specimen of the old Highland chief, 'living -among a people distractedly fond of him.'</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-xlvii"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XLVII</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><em class="italics small">Waverley</em><span class="small"> laid aside—</span><em class="italics small">Rokeby</em><span class="small">—Excitement at -Oxford—Ballantyne's Dinner—Scott's Idea of Byron as a -Poet—Ballantyne's Mismanagement—Aid from Constable—Loan -from the Duke—Scott decides to finish </span><em class="italics small">Waverley</em><span class="small">.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>On his return from the Hebrides, while rummaging -one morning for flies in an old desk, Scott came -upon a manuscript, long since laid aside, containing -the first two or three chapters of </span><em class="italics">Waverley</em><span>. It was -now taken out, and shown to James Ballantyne. But -he was only faintly confident of success, and the packet -containing Cæsar's fortunes was again laid by.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The poem of </span><em class="italics">Rokeby</em><span> occupied Scott in 1812. In -Edinburgh we see James Ballantyne again reading -from the sheets to his select circle of critics. The -effect is not quite satisfactory. The </span><em class="italics">Lady of the Lake</em><span> -has spoiled Edinburgh. Enthusiasm is gone. But -not so in England. Look at this picture of Lockhart's: -'I well remember, being in those days a young student -at Oxford, how the booksellers' shops there were -beleaguered for the earliest copies, and how he that had -been so fortunate as to secure one was followed to -his chambers by a tribe of friends, all as eager to -hear it read as ever horse-jockeys were to see the -conclusion of a race at Newmarket; and indeed not -a few of those enthusiastic academics had bets -depending on the issue of the struggle, which they -considered the elder favourite as making to keep his -own ground against the fiery rivalry of </span><em class="italics">Childe Harold</em><span>.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>All anxiety as to the sale of </span><em class="italics">Rokeby</em><span> was soon allayed. -The three thousand quartos of the first edition were -exhausted on the day of publication, the 13th of January -1813. Scott's letter to his friend Morritt, the proprietor -of Rokeby, shows relief. He mentions Ballantyne's -'christening dinner,' and gaily wishes 'we could -whistle you here to-day.' These dinners were great -events, 'at which the Duke of Buccleuch and a great -many of my friends are formally feasted. He has -always the best singing that can be heard in -Edinburgh, and we have usually a very pleasant party, -at which your health as patron and proprietor of -Rokeby will be faithfully and honourably -remembered.' By Morritt at least </span><em class="italics">Rokeby</em><span> was considered -a masterpiece.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The comparison of Scott and Byron, and the popular -pitting of the one against the other, was inevitable. -The first two cantos of </span><em class="italics">Childe Harold</em><span>, published in -March 1812, had obtained a marvellous success. It was -of this that Byron said, 'I awoke one morning, and -found myself famous.' In such popularity Scott alone -was his rival. But the two poets equally disapproved -the talk of competition. Speaking of a debate of this -kind between Murray and Ellis, Byron said, 'If they -want to depose Scott, I only wish they would not set -me up as a competitor. I like the man, and all such -stuff can only vex him, and do me no good.' In this -manly spirit he might have spoken for both.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>No one appreciated more fully than did Scott the -genius of the author of </span><em class="italics">Childe Harold</em><span>. He seems -from the first sight of that poem to have been satisfied -in his own mind of Byron's pre-eminent powers in -poetry. He had no desire, as he says, 'to measure -his force with so formidable an antagonist,' but he -determined to go on with the work he had planned, -and already it is evident that his thoughts were turning -vaguely towards some other literary form, in which -the youthful ardour which he thought was cooling -might be less essential to success.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In this year of commercial panic, 1813, Scott began -to experience the worries and discomforts which flow -from a speculative commercial adventure shamelessly -neglected by a reckless and incompetent 'manager.' The -crisis was already bringing the less substantial -publishing houses into danger, and the firm of John -Ballantyne and Co. was soon reduced to extremity. -Two features are mentioned by Lockhart which -sufficiently show how well fitted John Ballantyne was to -organise disaster: his blind recklessness in regard -to bills—he never looked beyond the passing day—and -his absolute neglect to keep the moneyed partner -informed of his obligations and of the state of the -firm's resources. In Lockhart's opinion the concern -must have gone to pieces at this time but for the -reconciliation with Constable. He relieved Ballantyne -of part of his stock, on the understanding that the -firm should, as soon as possible, be finally wound up. -In these distressing affairs it is too sadly easy to -understand the whole drama. From his beautiful and -now unspeakably touching letters we can picture the -good soft-hearted gentleman crediting the adventurer -with all his own unselfishness and fine sensitiveness, -pointing out with an apology errors of conduct which -deserved immediate dismissal with disgrace, and -lamenting possible consequences to </span><em class="italics">him</em><span>, to the needy ruined -adventurer who had found a haven of refuge in a -business to which he had actually brought no capital -at all. To make a phrase out of Spencerian jargon, -Scott was the dupe of automorphism. His sense of -duty to the imaginary Ballantynes made him the -victim of the actual ones. He ought at this time to -have kicked both of them out, put the affairs of both -concerns into the hands of professional accountants, -and considered the situation. But there was the secrecy -as well as the automorphic delusion. Then he went -on, of course, buying land. He was making money, -and he </span><em class="italics">ought</em><span> to have been able to spend. But if a -genius can make one fortune, a reckless trifler can -waste ten. It is dreadful even yet to think of Walter -Scott, of all our great ones the </span><em class="italics">best</em><span>, slaving and -dreaming innocent Alnaschar dreams, while a Ballantyne, -without any toil at all, is piling up mountains -of debt to overwhelm him. By the end of the year, -John's calls upon Scott necessitated more help from -Constable and a loan to Scott from the Duke of -Buccleuch of £4000. The publishing business was -to be given up at once, and the amateur publisher -was to start as an auctioneer of books and curios. -During this time of vexation and worry, Scott was -constantly engaged in toilsome and taxing labour on -an edition and life of Swift, and also made a beginning -with the </span><em class="italics">Lord of the Isles</em><span>. Just then, too, the -fragment of </span><em class="italics">Waverley</em><span> turned up once more. He read it, -judged it this time for himself without advice, and -decided to finish it.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-xlviii"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XLVIII</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">Success of the Allies—Address to the King—Freedom of -Edinburgh—Edition of Swift—Printing of </span><em class="italics small">Waverley</em><span class="small">—Mystery -of Authorship—Edinburgh Guesses—Excellent -Review by Jeffrey—Scott's 'gallant composure'—Success of -the Novel.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<!-- --> -<blockquote> -<div> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="line"><span>'O, dread was the time, and more dreadful the omen,</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span>When the brave on Marengo lay slaughtered in vain,</span></div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span>And beholding broad Europe bow'd down by her foemen,</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span>Pitt closed in his anguish the map of her reign.'</span></div> -</div> -</div> -</div> -</blockquote> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The song which begins thus was written by Scott -about the close of 1813, inspired by the great successes -of the Allies. On the magistrates of Edinburgh -presenting an address to the King, Scott indited one -for them which was privately acknowledged to himself -as 'the most elegant congratulation a sovereign ever -received or a subject offered.' It is gratifying to know -that the magistrates were duly grateful for the service, -which secured for them an extremely cordial reception -at Carlton House. At Christmas 1813 Scott was -presented with the freedom of the city and a very -handsome piece of plate.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He had now been working for five or six years on the -great edition of Swift in nineteen volumes, which came -out in the summer of 1814. It was reviewed in the -</span><em class="italics">Edinburgh</em><span> by Jeffrey at Constable's special request. -The review contained an attack on the character of -Swift so able and incisive as, in Constable's opinion, -to have greatly retarded the sale of the work. But -Jeffrey's appreciation of the editor and his work was -admirable: giving him the frankest praise for 'minute -knowledge and patient research, vigour of judgment -and vivacity of style.' Of the </span><em class="italics">Life</em><span> he said most -justly: 'It is not much like the production of a mere -man of letters, but exhibits the good sense and large -toleration of a man of the world, with much of that -generous allowance for the</span></p> -<blockquote> -<div> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="line"><span>"Fears of the brave and follies of the wise,"</span></div> -</div> -</div> -</blockquote> -<p class="pfirst"><span>which genius too often requires, and should therefore -be always most forward to show.' Meantime the latter -'genius' was preparing the great new stroke for fame -which was now to extinguish all lesser lights in a -blaze of unexpected glory. Early in the year Ballantyne -had printed the first volume of </span><em class="italics">Waverley</em><span>. With -the precaution regularly exercised all through, the -MS. was copied by John Ballantyne before being sent -to press. The printed volume was taken by John to -Constable, who made the very liberal offer of £700 -for the copyright. Scott's remark was that £700 was -too much if the novel should not be successful, and -too little if it should. But he added, 'If our fat friend -had said £1000, I should have been staggered.' Fortunately -Constable doubted, and lost the opportunity, -an agreement being ultimately made for an equal -division of profits between him and the author. The -authorship was, of course, not hidden from 'our fat -friend.' He published, therefore, on the 7th of July, -what Scott, writing two days after to Morritt, called -'a small anonymous sort of a novel.' Even then, it -seems, 'it had made a very strong impression here, -and the good people of Edinburgh are busy in tracing -the author.... Jeffrey has offered to make oath that -it is mine.' Later on, replying to Morritt's protests, -he says, 'I shall not own </span><em class="italics">Waverley</em><span>; my chief reason -is, that it would prevent me the pleasure of writing -again. David Hume, the nephew of the historian, -says the author must be of a Jacobite family and -predilections, a yeoman-cavalry man, and a Scottish -lawyer, and desires me to guess in whom these happy -attributes are united. I shall not plead guilty, -however.... The Edinburgh faith is, that </span><em class="italics">Waverley</em><span> was -written by Jeffrey.... The second edition is, I -believe, nearly through the press. It will hardly be -printed faster than it was written; for though the first -volume was begun long ago, and actually lost for -a time, yet the other two were begun and finished -between the 4th June and the 1st July, during all which -I attended my duty in court, and proceeded without -loss of time or hinderance of business.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>We have an admirable picture from Lord Cockburn -of the impression made in Edinburgh by this memorable -event, and the sensations, as he puts it, produced by -the first year of these Edinburgh works. 'It is curious,' -he says, 'to remember the instant and universal -impression in Edinburgh. The unexpected newness -of the thing, the profusion of original characters, the -Scotch language, Scotch scenery, Scotch men and -women, the simplicity of the writing, and the graphic -force of the descriptions, all struck us with an electric -shock of delight. If the concealment of the authorship -of the novels was intended to make mystery heighten -their effect, it completely succeeded. The speculations -and conjectures, and nods and winks and predictions -and assertions were endless, and occupied every -company, and almost every two men who met and -spoke in the street. It was proved by a thousand -indications, each refuting the other, and all equally -true in fact, that they were written by old Henry -Mackenzie, and by George Cranstoun, and William -Erskine, and Jeffrey, and above all by Thomas Scott, -Walter's brother, a regimental paymaster, then in -Canada. But "the great unknown," as the true author -was then called, always took good care, with all his -concealment, to supply evidence amply sufficient for the -protection of his property and his fame; in so much -that the suppression of the name was laughed at as -a good joke not merely by his select friends in his -presence, but by himself. The change of line, at his -age, was a striking proof of intellectual power and -richness. But the truth is, that these novels were -rather the outpourings of old thoughts than new -inventions.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>From the very first the secret of the authorship was -known to quite a number of persons, indeed to all Scott's -intimates, and, in Lockhart's own opinion, the -mystification never answered much purpose among -other literary men of eminence. He thinks that all -Scott wished was 'to set the mob of readers at gaze, -and, above all, to escape the annoyance of having -productions, actually known to be his, made the daily -and hourly topics of discussion in his presence. All -the critics, with the exception of the savage </span><em class="italics">Quarterly</em><span>, -were able to see that </span><em class="italics">Waverley</em><span> was a great, an -uncommon work. The author was at once acknowledged -to be a genius. Foremost and frankest was Jeffrey, -who began, 'It is a wonder what genius and adherence -to nature will do.' The reviewer has, of course, -many small and petty things to say, he has not yet -surrendered himself fully to the great enchanter, but -he clearly sees and heartily enjoys the points of real -greatness—the creation of living characters and the -marvellous resurrection of the period and its social -state. He says what is a thing most true of Scott, that -the work by the mere force of truth and vivacity of its -colouring takes its place rather with the most popular -of our modern poems than with the rubbish of -provincial romances. This point, that the book was -founded upon actual experience and observation, he -strongly emphasises. This was what Scott of all -possible authors possessed in the highest degree, and -Jeffrey was quite certain that </span><em class="italics">Waverley</em><span> was Scott's. -He concludes by saying that it is hard to see why the -book should have been anonymous: if the author -really was an 'unknown' personage, then Mr. Scott -would have to look to his laurels against a sturdier -competitor than any he had as yet encountered.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Such was the reception of </span><em class="italics">Waverley</em><span>: a reception not -unworthy of a masterpiece. And it is worth while to -remark once again the 'gallant composure' of the -writer who had staked his fame and fortune on an -experiment so new, uncertain, and dangerous. Before -he had heard of its fate in England, he set out on a -voyage to the Hebrides, Orkney and Shetland, so that -he was practically cut off from letters and news for -nearly two months. When he returned, he found that -two editions of </span><em class="italics">Waverley</em><span> had been sold.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-xlix"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XLIX</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">The </span><em class="italics small">Lord of the Isles</em><span class="small">—</span><em class="italics small">Guy Mannering</em><span class="small">—Universal -Delight—Effects of Peace in Scotland—Awakening of -Public Opinion in Edinburgh—'Civic War'—Professor -Duncan—Sketch by Lord Cockburn.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The month of January 1815 saw the publication of -Scott's </span><em class="italics">Lord of the Isles</em><span>. On the 24th of February -a second novel—</span><em class="italics">Guy Mannering</em><span>—was issued, by the -Author of </span><em class="italics">Waverley</em><span>. Detailed dates given by Lockhart -show that the novel was literally written, as Scott -himself said, 'in six weeks at a Christmas.' Writing -to Morritt on January 15, he says, 'I want to shake -myself free of </span><em class="italics">Waverley</em><span>, and accordingly have made a -considerable exertion to finish an odd little tale within -such time as will mystify the public, I trust—unless they -suppose me to be Briareus.' The biographer adds that -this excess of labour was the result of difficulties about -the discount of John Ballantyne's bills. The </span><em class="italics">Lord of -the Isles</em><span>, though amply successful from the point of -view of sale, was in point of reputation disappointing. -On James acknowledging this, Scott, we are told by -James Ballantyne, 'did look rather blank for a few -seconds: in truth, he had been wholly unprepared for -the event; for it is a singular fact, that before the -public, or rather the booksellers, had given their -decision, he no more knew whether he had written well -or ill, than whether a die thrown out of a box was to -turn up a size or an ace. However, he instantly -resumed his spirit, and expressed his wonder rather that -his poetical popularity should have lasted so long, than -that it should have now at last given way. At length -he said, with perfect cheerfulness, "Well, well, James, -so be it—but you know we must not droop, for we -can't afford to give over. Since one line has failed, -we must just stick to something else"; and so he -dismissed me, and resumed this novel.' The reviews of -the </span><em class="italics">Lord of the Isles</em><span>, though rather severe on the -structure of the poem and the imperfections of the hero, -did ample justice to the majestic power and unfailing -vigour of the story as well as to its rare descriptive -beauties. But most will now agree with Lockhart that -the best achievements in the book are the magnificent -character of the heroic King, and the Homeric -battle-piece of Bannockburn.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The reception of </span><em class="italics">Guy Mannering</em><span> in the following -month amply made up for this partial disappointment. -In two days the first edition of 2000 copies was sold -out. Within two or three months 5000 copies more -were called for. Curiosity doubtless stimulated the -first demand. The mystery was further deepened by -the prefixing to the novel of a motto from the </span><em class="italics">Lay</em><span>:</span></p> -<blockquote> -<div> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="line"><span>''Tis said that words and signs have power</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>O'er sprites in planetary hour;</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>But scarce I praise their venturous part,</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>Who tamper with such dangerous art'—</span></div> -</div> -</div> -</blockquote> -<p class="pfirst"><span>a device, as Scott said in 1829, for evading the guesses -of certain persons who had observed that the Author -of </span><em class="italics">Waverley</em><span> never quoted from the poetry of Walter -Scott. The verdict of readers went by acclamation. -There was no dissent as to the splendid qualities of the -new novel. It was simply a chorus of delight. Happy -generation to have the </span><em class="italics">first</em><span> enjoyment of the -Shakespearian gallery of characters containing Dominie -Sampson, the Laird of Ellangowan, Pleydell, Dandie -Dinmont, and Meg Merrilies!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In this frame of mind, then, and in this blaze of -glory, Walter Scott passed on, with the rest, into the -new generation and the changing Edinburgh scene -that followed and were products of the great European -peace of 1815. The effects of the peace were the same -in Edinburgh as elsewhere in the country. Cockburn -has summarised them in these words: 'We got new -things to speak about; and the entire disappearance of -drums, uniforms, and parades, changed our habits and -appearance. We were charmed at the moment by a -striking sermon by Alison, and a beautiful review by -Jeffrey, on the cessation of the long struggle; the chief -charm of each being in the expression of the cordial -and universal burst of joy that hailed the supposed -restoration of liberty to Europe, and the downfall of -the great soldier who was believed to be its only tyrant. -Old men, but especially those in whose memories the -American war ran into the French one, had only a dim -recollection of what peace was; and middle-aged men -knew it now for the first time. The change in all -things, in all ideas, and conversation, and objects, was -as complete as it is in a town that has at last been -liberated from a strict and tedious siege.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>With the peace there began in Edinburgh some -stirring of popular interest in public questions. One -of the first signs of it was the great public meeting, -held in July 1814, to protest against West Indian -Slavery. The meeting was non-political, being attended -by sympathetic persons of both parties. Yet it seems -to have excited alarm, as an indication of dangerous -and unsettled feelings. A monster petition resulted -from this meeting, signed by ten or twelve thousand -persons. Some of the promoters of the petition had -an amusing experience. They found that many of the -old Calvinistic Whigs would not sign any petition to -the </span><em class="italics">Lords Spiritual</em><span>. This was the real spirit of -true-blue Covenanters!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Over the New Town Dispensary, which was established -in 1815, there raged what Cockburn remembered -as 'a civic war.' The vested interests and old -prejudices were up in arms against treating patients at -their homes and the election of office-bearers by -subscribers. 'However, common sense prevailed. The -hated institution rose and flourished, and has had all -its defects imitated by its opponents.' Prominent in -this incident was Professor Andrew Duncan, an odd -specimen of the curious old Edinburgh characters. He -is described as a kind-hearted and excellent man, but -'one of a class which seems to live and be happy, and -get liked, by its mere absurdities.' He figured as -promoter and president of all sorts of innocent -crack-brained clubs and societies, and wrote pamphlets, -poems, epitaphs and jokes without end. His writings -were all amiable, all dull, and most of them very -foolish, but they made the author happy. The general -respect and toleration for an eccentric like this throws -a strong light on the simplicity and broad-minded -philosophy of the 'unreformed' city population of a -hundred years ago. The following are Lord -Cockburn's recollections of Duncan:—</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'He was even the president of a bathing club; and -once at least every year did this grave medical professor -conduct as many of the members as he could collect -to Leith, where the rule was that their respect for -their chief was to be shown by always letting him -plunge first from the machine into the water. He -continued, till he was past eighty, a practice of -mounting to the summit of Arthur's Seat on the 1st of May, -and celebrating the feat by what he called a poem. -He was very fond of gardening, and rather a good -botanist. This made him president of the Horticultural -Society, which he oppressed annually by a dull -discourse. But in the last, or nearly the last, of them -he relieved the members by his best epitaph, being -one upon himself. After mentioning his great age, -he intimated that the time must soon arrive when, -in the words of our inimitable Shakespeare, they would -all be saying "Duncan is in his grave."'</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-l"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER L</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">The New Town of Edinburgh in 1815—Effects of the -'Plan'—The Earthen Mound—Criticisms by Citizens after -the War—The New Approaches—Destruction of City -Trees—Lord Cockburn's Lament.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The New Town of Edinburgh, as seen by Scott and -his contemporaries, was simply a product of the mason. -The houses were plain three-story buildings, without -ornament and without variety. They stood end-on in -long barrack-like blocks. 'Our jealousy of variety,' -says Cockburn, 'and our association of magnificence -with sameness, was really curious. If a builder ever -attempted (which, however, to do them justice, they -very seldom did) to deviate so far from the established -paltriness as to carry up the front wall so as to hide -the projecting slates, or to break the roof by a Flemish -storm window, or to turn his gable to the street, there -was an immediate outcry; and if the law allowed our -burgh Edile, the Dean of Guild, to interfere, he was -sure to do so.' Mere convenience was the only guiding -principle, and it was the same with the famous 'Plan' -for laying out the streets. Instead of taking a hint -from the strikingly picturesque irregularity of the -romantic 'Old Town,' the projectors studiously -endeavoured to make everything as unlike it as possible. -The 'Plan' laid down the streets in long straight -lines, divided to an inch, and all to the same number -of inches, by intersecting straight lines at right angles.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Well might a few men of taste hold up protesting -hands and exclaim, What a site did nature give us -for our New Town! Yet what insignificance in its -Plan! What poverty in all its details! But the most -of the citizens were quite contented with the Plan -and the buildings. They thought the idea of three -main streets intersected by six cross streets at right -angles and at regular distances, a perfect inspiration -of genius. They talked of its beauty and elegance, -and fondly believed that the New Town had few equals -in Europe. Certainly in one point the contrast with -the Old Town was in favour of the New. The streets -were made spacious and broad, giving the inestimable -boon of free air. Along with the New Town there -gradually grew another monument, gigantic in every -sense, of the taste of Edinburgh citizens—'the Mound,' -as it is still called, a monument which justifies the -city's love and pride in being at least unique. It took -fifty years to collect, it is eight hundred feet long, its -height at the north end is sixty feet, and at the south -end one hundred. Like every other great work, the -Mound has had its detractors. Lord Cockburn said -of it, 'The creation of that abominable incumbrance, -the "Earthen Mound," by which the valley it abridges -and deforms was sacrificed for a deposit of rubbish, -was not only permitted without a murmur to be slowly -raised, but throughout all its progress was applauded -as a noble accumulation.' It was originally suggested -by a Lawnmarket shopkeeper. Even at the present -day there are some who have their doubts about its -beauty and elegance, but they are easily silenced by -recalling its vastness and its original cheapness. The -Mound, in fact, is here to stay.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>After the peace, when Europe was immediately -covered with travellers, it became known to some -Edinburgh natives that there were better things in city -architecture than the 'regular, elegant, and -commodious' houses of New Edinburgh. 'Not one of -them, whether from taste, or conceit, or mere chattering—but -it all did good—failed to contrast the littleness -of almost all that the people of Edinburgh had yet -done, with the general picturesque grandeur and the -unrivalled sites of their city. It was about this time -that the foolish phrase, "The Modern Athens," began -to be applied to the capital of Scotland; a sarcasm, -or a piece of affected flattery, when used in a moral -sense; but just enough if meant only as a comparison -of the physical features of the two places.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The existence of a New Town soon forced on the -opening up of the city by adequate routes of access. -The narrow, steep, and crooked 'wynds' of the Old -Town had been constructed in the days when to keep -enemies out was the first, indeed the only consideration. -Now it became a primary necessity to provide broad, -open, and convenient approaches from all sides. The -citizens soon enjoyed the privilege of issuing by wide -and pleasant highways, conducting to the open fields. -And fortunately the buildings now erected beside these -spacious approaches were not dominated by the -'Plan.' Cockburn himself considered the buildings 'very -respectable; the owners being always tempted to allure -the spreading population by laying out their land -attractively. Hence Newington, Leith Walk, the -grounds of Inverleith, the road to Corstorphine, and -to Queensferry, and indeed all the modern approaches, -which lead in every direction through most comfortable -suburbs.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It is clear from Lord Cockburn's invaluable testimony -that the idea of the more free and daring attempts in -architecture, which have now given the New Town -a character so different from its 'planned' uniformity -and elegance, originated immediately after the peace. -'The influence of these circumstances can only be -appreciated by those who knew Edinburgh during -the war. It is they alone who can see the beauty of -the bravery which the Queen of the North has since -been putting on. There were more schemes, and -pamphlets, and discussions, and anxiety about the -improvement of our edifices and prospects within ten -years after the war ceased, than throughout the whole -of the preceding one hundred and fifty years.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Suburban Edinburgh of to-day rejoices in a profusion -of trees. Had the same taste been predominant -at this period, how different even the centre of the -city might have been. It is tantalising to imagine -the pictures left us of what existed in those bygone -days. 'There was no Scotch city more strikingly -graced by individual trees and by groups of them -than Edinburgh, since I knew it, used to be. How -well the ridge of the Old Town was set off by a bank -of elms that ran along the front of James' Court, and -stretched eastward over the ground now partly occupied -by the Bank of Scotland. Some very respectable trees -might have been spared to grace the Episcopal Chapel -of St. Paul in York Place. There was one large tree -near its east end which was so well placed that some -people conjectured it was on its account that the Chapel -was set down there. I was at a consultation in John -Clerk's house, hard by, when that tree was cut. On -hearing that it was actually down we ran out, and -well did John curse the Huns. The old aristocratic -gardens of the Canongate were crowded with trees, -and with good ones. There were several on the Calton -Hill; seven, not ill-grown, on its very summit. And -all Leith Walk and Lauriston, including the ground -round Heriot's Hospital, was fully set with wood. A -group was felled about the year 1826 which stood -to the west of St. John's Chapel, on the opposite side -of the Lothian Road, and formed a beautiful termination -of all the streets which join near that point. -Moray Place, in the same way, might have been richly -decorated with old and respectable trees. But they -were all murdered.... I tried to save a very picturesque -group, some of which waved over the wall at the -west end of the jail on the Calton Hill. I succeeded -with two trees; but in about four years they also -disappeared. The sad truth is that the extinction of -foliage, and the unbroken display of their bright -freestone, is of itself a first object with both our masons -and their employers. The wooded gardens that we -have recently acquired are not inconsistent with this -statement. There was no competition between them -and building. It is our horror of the direct combination -of trees with masonry, and our incapacity to effect it, -that I complain of. No apology is thought necessary -for murdering a tree; many for preserving it.'</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-li"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER LI</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">The 'Jury Court'—Chief-Commissioner Adam—His Work -and Success—Friendship with Scott—Character of Adam -by Scott—The Blairadam Club—Anecdotes—Death of -Lord Adam.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Trial by jury in civil cases was introduced into -Scotland by an enactment of the year 1815. The first -case was tried on 22nd January 1816. The change -thus inaugurated was considered by reformers 'one -of the most important events in the progress of our -law.' Though meeting with strong opposition, headed -by the old judges, the introduction of the new system -was managed successfully. It implied the arrangement -of a separate court, and the appointment of a -special presiding judge trained to English practice. -The Lord Chief-Commissioner was the Right Hon. William -Adam, of Blairadam, and he was assisted -by two other judges, Lords Pitmilly and Meadowbank. -Adam was then sixty-five years of age. Cockburn -says that he was handicapped by extravagant -expectations of what he was to do. He describes him as -'the person who had first fought Fox, and then been -his friend; who had spoken in debate with Pitt; -managed the affairs of Royal Dukes; been the standing -counsel of such clients as the East India Company -and the Bank of England, and in great practice in -Parliamentary Committees.' His appearance was that -of a farming gentleman. He had a clear distinct voice, -and an admirable manner, but his great defect is said -to have been 'obscurity of judicial speech.' Lord -Glenlee, listening for a long time, without getting any -definite idea, to his well-sounding sentences full of -confusion, made the epigram, 'He speaks as if he -were an Act of Parliament.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>We have the testimony of Lord Cockburn to the -success of his work. 'No other man could have done -his work. He had to guide a vessel over shoals and -among rocks. This was his special duty, and he did -it admirably. He protected his court from prejudices -which, if not subdued by his patience and dexterity, -would have crushed it any week. So far as we are -to retain civil trial by jury in this country, we shall -owe it to him personally. When in 1830 the Jury -Court ceased to exist as a separate court his vocation -was at an end; and he retired with the respect and -the affection of the whole legal profession and of the -public.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Such was the task of the man with whom Scott -was now to be connected during the rest of his life -in a constant interchange of hospitality, and whom -he so frequently mentions in his </span><em class="italics">Journal</em><span> with epithets -of esteem and respect. Their acquaintance practically -dated from Adam's appointment, but soon grew into -the closest friendship. The account of their connection -in the </span><em class="italics">Journal</em><span> (January 1826) must be quoted for the -vivid, almost startling light it throws on Scott's own -peculiarities.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'I have taken kindly to him as one of the most -pleasant, kind-hearted, benevolent, and pleasing men -I have ever known. It is high treason among the -Tories to express regard for him, or respect for the -Jury Court in which he presides. I was against that -experiment as much as any one. But it is an -experiment, and the establishment (which the fools will -not perceive) is the only thing which I see likely to -give some prospects of ambition to our Bar. As for -the Chief-Commissioner, I dare say he jobs, as all -other people of consequence do, in elections, and so -forth. But he is the personal friend of the King, and -the decided enemy of whatever strikes at the constitutional -rights of the monarch. Besides, I love him -for the various changes which he has endured through -life, and which have been so great as to make him -entitled to be regarded in one point of view as the -most fortunate—in the other, the most unfortunate—man -in the world. He has gained and lost two -fortunes by the same good luck, and the same rash -confidence, which raised, and now threatens, my -</span><em class="italics">peculium</em><span>. And his quiet, honourable, and generous -submission under circumstances more painful than -mine,—for the loss of world's wealth was to him -aggravated by the death of his youngest and darling -son in the West Indies—furnished me at the time -and now with a noble example. So the Tories and -Whigs may go be d—d together, as names that have -disturbed old Scotland, and torn asunder the most -kindly feelings since the first day they were invented.... -I cannot permit that strife to "mix its waters -with my daily meal," those waters of bitterness which -poison all mutual love and confidence betwixt the -well-disposed on either side.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Adam was fond of society, in which 'nothing could -exceed his delightfulness.' The Blairadam Club was -for many years (from 1818 onwards) an institution. -It was an annual gathering at midsummer of a few -bosom friends, among them Scott, William Clerk, -and Sir Adam Ferguson. The friends spent a day -or two together, and generally made it a gay and -happy occasion. 'We hire a light coach-and-four, -and scour the country in every direction in quest of -objects of curiosity.' The last meeting attended by -Scott was in 1830, when he says: 'Our meeting was -cordial, but our numbers diminished. Will Clerk has -a bad cold, Thomas Thomson is detained, but the -Chief-Commissioner, Admiral Adam (son of the host), -Sir Adam, John Thomson and I, make an excellent -concert. The day was execrable (wet). But Sir Adam -was in high fooling, and we had an amazing deal -of laughing.' It is pathetic, in the midst of this, to -see how he fretted to be at home, in order to be at -work again. In the </span><em class="italics">Journal</em><span> we come across some -remarks or anecdotes of Adam's, of which one or two -may be given. 'I came home with Lord Chief-Commissioner -Adam. He told me a dictum of old Sir -Gilbert Elliot, speaking of his uncles. "No chance -of opulence," he said, "is worth the risk of a -competence." It was not the thought of a great man, but -perhaps that of a wise one.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Again, 'Dined with Chief-Commissioner,—Admiral -Adam, W. Clerk, Thomson and I. The excellent -old man was cheerful at intervals—at times sad, as -was natural. A good blunder he told us, occurred -in the Annandale case, which was a question partly -of domicile. It was proved that leaving Lochwood, -the Earl had given up his </span><em class="italics">kain</em><span> and </span><em class="italics">carriages</em><span>; this -an English counsel contended was the best of all -possible proofs that the noble Earl designed an absolute -change of residence, since he laid aside his -</span><em class="italics">walking-stick</em><span> and his </span><em class="italics">coach</em><span>.'[1]</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">[1] </span><em class="italics small">Kain</em><span class="small"> in Scots Law means 'payment in kind': -carriages, 'services in -driving with horse and cart.'</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Lockhart has recorded that 'this most amiable and -venerable gentleman, my dear and kind friend, died -at Edinburgh, on the 17th February 1839, in the -eighty-ninth year of his age. He retained his strong -mental faculties in their perfect vigour to the last days -of his long life, and with them all the warmth of social -feelings which had endeared him to all who were so -happy as to have any opportunity of knowing him.'</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-lii"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER LII</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">1816—The </span><em class="italics small">Antiquary</em><span class="small">—Death of Major John Scott—The -Aged Mother—Buying Land—The Ballantynes—The </span><em class="italics small">Black -Dwarf</em><span class="small"> and Blackwood—Scott and a Judgeship—Anecdote -of Authorship of </span><em class="italics small">Waverley</em><span class="small">.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The year 1816, says Lockhart, 'has almost its only -traces in the successive appearance of nine volumes, -which attest the prodigal genius and hardly less -astonishing industry' of Walter Scott. Among these -were the </span><em class="italics">Antiquary</em><span> and </span><em class="italics">Old Mortality</em><span>. The former -appeared in the beginning of May, and about the -same time occurred the death of the author's brother, -Major John Scott, who had long been in weak health. -Writing to Morritt on this occasion Scott says, 'It is -a heavy consideration to have lost the last but one who -was interested in our early domestic life, our habits of -boyhood, and our first friends and connexions. It -makes one look about and see how the scene has -changed around him, and how he himself has been -changed with it. My mother, now upwards of eighty, -has now only one child left to her out of thirteen whom -she had borne. She is a most excellent woman, -possessed, even at her advanced age, of all the force of -mind and sense of duty which have carried her through -so many domestic griefs, as the successive deaths of -eleven children, some of them come to men and -women's estate, naturally infers. She is the principal -subject of my attention at present, and is, I am glad -to say, perfectly well in body and composed in mind.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In the same letter he speaks of the </span><em class="italics">Antiquary</em><span> as -being 'not so interesting' as its predecessors, but more -fortunate than any of them in the sale, six thousand -copies having gone off in a week. Meantime he was -fast purchasing land to add to his estate. By this time -it had grown from 150 acres to nearly a thousand. There -were signs that might have warned him to be careful. -At the time of James Ballantyne's fall he appears to have -been owing over £3000 to Scott of personal debt. But -Scott was sanguine by nature, and it was the interest -of the Ballantynes to keep their businesses going. -'Therefore, in a word' (this is Lockhart's deliberate -charge), 'John appears to have systematically disguised -from Scott the extent to which the whole Ballantyne -concern had been sustained by Constable—especially -during his Hebridean tour of 1814, and his Continental -one of 1815—and prompted and enforced the idea of -trying other booksellers from time to time, instead of -adhering to Constable, merely for the selfish purposes—first -of facilitating the immediate discount of bills;—secondly, -of further perplexing Scott's affairs, the -entire disentanglement of which would have been, as -he fancied, prejudicial to his own personal importance.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was in this way that the Tales of my Landlord -(that is, the </span><em class="italics">Black Dwarf</em><span> and </span><em class="italics">Old Mortality</em><span>) came to -be published by Murray and Blackwood. The latter, -alarmed by Gifford's disapprobation of the </span><em class="italics">Black -Dwarf</em><span>, proposed that if the author would recast the -later chapters, he would gladly take upon himself the -expense of cancelling the sheets. Scott's reply, in a -letter to Ballantyne, was emphatic: 'Tell him and his -coadjutor that I belong to the Black Hussars of -Literature, who neither give nor receive quarter. I'll be -cursed, but this is the most impudent proposal that -ever was made.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>An interesting fact in Scott's personal history which -had previously been unknown even to Lockhart, was -discovered by the latter when Scott's letters to the -Duke of Buccleuch came into his hands after the -death of the Duke. During the winter of 1816-1817, -it appears, Scott made an attempt to exchange his -Clerkship for a seat on the Bench of the Court of -Exchequer. The Duke was naturally most anxious -to second the proposal, but private reasons prevented -him from exercising his influence at that juncture. -This seems to have set the matter at rest. In later -years, when such a step was suggested, Scott seems to -have become convinced that the less conspicuous position -was more fit and desirable for a literary man, and -more especially a poet and novelist. At all events the -Tory party lost the opportunity of making Walter Scott -'Lord Abbotsford.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>After the publication of Tales of my Landlord by -Murray, Scott, in conjunction with his friend Erskine, -contributed to the </span><em class="italics">Quarterly</em><span> a general review of the -Waverley Novels and a reply to Dr. M'Crie's strictures -on the treatment of the Covenanters in </span><em class="italics">Old Mortality</em><span>. -The criticisms were the work of Erskine, though Scott -was severely censured after, as if he had been puffing -his own works unfairly. The paper closed with an -allusion to the report of Thomas Scott's being the -author of </span><em class="italics">Waverley</em><span>. 'A better joke,' says Lockhart, -'was never penned, and I think it includes a confession -over which a misanthrope might have chuckled.' This -is the conclusion: 'We intended here to conclude -this long article, when a strong report reached us -of certain Transatlantic confessions, which, if genuine -(though of this we know nothing), assign a different -author to these volumes than the party suspected by -our Scottish correspondents. Yet a critic may be -excused seizing upon the nearest suspicious person, -on the principle happily expressed by Claverhouse in -a letter to the Earl of Linlithgow. He had been, it -seems, in search of a gifted weaver, who used to hold -forth at conventicles: "I sent for the webster (weaver), -they brought in his </span><em class="italics">brother</em><span> for him; though he, may -be, cannot preach like his brother, I doubt not but he -is as well-principled as he, wherefore I thought it would -be no great fault to give him the trouble to go to jail -with the rest."'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At this point we shall cease to attempt any detailed -account of the various novels and their publication. -Our plan calls now only for a few striking scenes in -the closing years of the life whose outward surroundings -and personal environment in Edinburgh it is our -main aim to illustrate. We may, however, conclude -this chapter with the admirable summary by Lockhart -of the qualities of </span><em class="italics">Old Mortality</em><span>, a work which was the -product of Scott's greatest intellectual effort, and which -is usually, and justly, ranked with </span><em class="italics">Guy Mannering</em><span> as -one of the best of the Scotch Novels. 'The story,' he -says, 'is framed with a deeper skill than any of the -preceding novels; the canvas is a broader one; the -characters are contrasted and projected with a power -and felicity which neither he nor any other master ever -surpassed; and notwithstanding all that has been urged -against him as a disparager of the Covenanters, it is to -me very doubtful whether the inspiration of romantic -chivalry ever prompted him to nobler emotions than -he has lavished on the reanimation of their stern and -solemn enthusiasm. The work has always appeared -to me the </span><em class="italics">Marmion</em><span> of his novels.'</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-liii"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER LIII</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">1817—Overwork and Illness—Kemble's 'Farewell -Address'—The Kemble Dinner—</span><em class="italics small">Blackwood's Magazine</em><span class="small"> and the -Reign of Terror in Edinburgh.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>During the times of trouble with the Ballantyne -affairs, Scott, as has been seen, taxed his strength to -an extraordinary and dangerous extent. The effects -were presently felt in that which was the permanently -weak point of his physical constitution—the family -tendency to paralysis. His first serious illness was in -March 1817. From his letters to Morritt it appears -that he had suffered all through the winter—while -working as usual in Edinburgh—with cramps in the -stomach. He had got temporary relief by means of -drinking scalding water, but as the pains continued to -recur more frequently he had been obliged reluctantly -to have recourse to Dr. Baillie. 'But' (he says) 'before -his answer arrived, on the 5th, I had a most violent -attack, which broke up a small party at my house, and -sent me to bed roaring like a bull-calf. All sorts of -remedies were applied, as in the case of Gil Blas' -pretended colic, but such was the pain of the real disorder, -that it out-deviled the Doctor hollow. Even heated -salt, which was applied in such a state that it burned -my shirt to rags, I hardly felt when clapped to my -stomach. At length the symptoms became inflammatory, -and dangerously so, the seat being the diaphragm. -They only gave way to very profuse bleeding -and blistering, which, under higher assistance, saved -my life. My recovery was slow and tedious from the -state of exhaustion. I could neither stir for weakness -and giddiness, nor read for dazzling in my eyes, nor -listen for a whizzing sound in my ears, nor even think -for lack of the power of arranging my ideas. So I had -a comfortless time of it for about a week.' Lockhart -adds that his friends in Edinburgh were in great -anxiety about him all the spring, the attacks being more -than once repeated. But he resumed work almost -immediately, planning out, in intervals of pain, the drama -called </span><em class="italics">The Doom of Devorgoil</em><span>. Now also he wrote -the magnificent 'Farewell Address,' instinct with -heart-felt pathos, with which his friend John Philip Kemble -took his leave of the Edinburgh stage, on the evening -of Saturday the 29th March 1817. The character in -which Kemble had appeared was Macbeth, and he -wore the dress of the character while he spoke the lines. -'Mr. Kemble' (says James Ballantyne) 'delivered these -lines with exquisite beauty, and with an effect that was -evidenced by the tears and sobs of many of the audience. -His own emotions were very conspicuous. When his -farewell was closed, he lingered long on the stage, as -if unable to retire. The house again stood up, and -cheered him with the waving of hats and long shouts -of applause. At length he finally retired, and, in so far -as regards Scotland, the curtain dropped upon his -professional life for ever.'</span></p> -<blockquote> -<div> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="line"><span>'My last part is played, my knell is rung,</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>When e'en your praise falls faltering from my tongue;</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>And all that you can hear, or I can tell,</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>Is Friends and patrons, hail, and </span><em class="italics">Fare you well</em><span>!'</span></div> -<div class="line"> </div> -</div> -</div> -</blockquote> -<p class="pfirst"><span>A few days after, the great tragedian was entertained -to dinner by his Edinburgh admirers. There was a -company of about seventy notable persons—among -them Lockhart, who says, 'I was never present -at any public dinner in all its circumstances more -impressive.' Jeffrey was chairman, and the croupiers -were Walter Scott and John Wilson. From the -</span><em class="italics">Life</em><span> of Jeffrey we extract a curious anecdote of this -interesting scene. That evening Jeffrey 'did what he -never did before or since. He stuck a speech. He -had to make the address and present a snuff-box to -Kemble. He began very promisingly, but got confused, -and amazed both himself and everybody else, by -actually sitting down and leaving the speech unfinished; -and, until reminded of that part of his duty, not even -thrusting the box into the hand of the intended -receiver. He afterwards told me the reason of this. He -had not premeditated the scene, and thought he had -nothing to do, except in the name of the company to -give the box. But as soon as he rose to do this, -Kemble, who was beside him, rose also, and with most -formidable dignity. This forced Jeffrey to look up to -his man; when he found himself annihilated by the -tall tragic god; who sank him to the earth at every -compliment, by obeisances of overwhelming grace and -stateliness.' The incident must have been awkward -for Kemble, but it was a genuine and involuntary -tribute to the majestic bearing of the great actor.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Shortly after this, in April 1817, there occurred an -event which greatly stirred the peaceful waters of -Edinburgh social and literary life, and with which -Scott's future son-in-law and biographer, John Gibson -Lockhart, was to be very prominently associated. This -was the founding of the </span><em class="italics">Edinburgh Monthly Magazine</em><span>. -The publisher was John Blackwood. Wishing to develop -the magazine on lines of his own, this far-seeing -and able gentleman, first shaking himself clear from -the two editorial personages who were hampering his -energies, started the periodical afresh at the seventh -number under the title of </span><em class="italics">Blackwood's Edinburgh -Magazine</em><span>. The famous No. VII. came like a thunderbolt. -All the world wondered. From what sources -had Blackwood evoked the wit, the tremendous energy, -the boundless audacity of personal attack which at -once shocked and delighted the public mind? The -Whigs were both tortured and alarmed. The days of -their sole literary domination were seen straightway to -be over. For them especially a Reign of Terror had -begun. They were now to be subjected to the lash of -an incomparable, though often excessive, power of -ridicule: a form of punishment which always hurts -most sorely those to whom the saving grace of humour -has been denied. Necessarily </span><em class="italics">Blackwood's Magazine</em><span> -was a political engine, the organ of high Toryism. As -such, it was liable to the sneer of Cockburn (a sneer -which tells with equal justness against all theoretical -defenders of current politics): 'In this department it -has adhered with respectable constancy to all the follies -it was meant to defend. It is a great depository of -exploded principles; and indeed it will soon be valuable as -a museum of old errors.' But every device of mystification, -an example set by Scott, was employed to keep the -secret of who were really 'Blackwood's young Tory wags,' -and this was further secured by the entirely unsuspected -fact, that the editor was actually Blackwood himself. The -marvellous thing, now that the facts are known, is -the enormous share performed by the two chiefs, -Lockhart and Wilson. In their buoyant eagerness to -break up the monopoly of Whig literary and political -influence, they doubtless went too far, and sometimes -knew it. Later on, these early defects were acknowledged -and analysed, in </span><em class="italics">Peter's Letters</em><span>, by the authors -themselves. Even they, it may be, hardly realised -how much pain they had given, but the almost solemn -words of Lord Cockburn indicate very clearly how -intense it must have been. 'Posterity,' he says, 'can -never be made to feel the surprise and just offence with -which, till we were hardened to it, this work was -received. The minute circumstances which impart -freshness to slander soon evaporate; and the arrows -that fester in living reputations and in beating hearts -are pointless, or invisible to the eyes of those who -search for them afterwards as curiosities.' It was, in -fact, the work of young and inexperienced men brimful -of genius and spirit, but untaught to discern the -dangers in the use of the weapons with which they -played.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-liv"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER LIV</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">Personal Anecdotes of Scott—Washington Irving—The -Minister's Daughter—J. G. Lockhart—His Introduction to -Scott—</span><em class="italics small">Annual Register</em><span class="small">—39 Castle Street—Scott's -'Den'—Animal Favourites.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>In the autumn of 1817 Washington Irving, with -whose </span><em class="italics">History of New York</em><span> by Knickerbocker Scott -had been greatly charmed, paid a visit to Abbotsford, -and received a hearty welcome. One of the anecdotes -told by Irving of this visit may be given here, as -illustrating the beautiful courtesy and fine sympathetic -feeling with which it was Scott's nature to treat sterling -worth and generosity of mind in whatever rank he -discovered it. Irving tells how William Laidlaw and -his wife came to dinner one day, accompanied by a -lady friend. He observed with some curiosity that this -by no means extraordinary person, who was middle-aged -and only remarkable for her intellectual qualities, -was treated by their host with particular attention and -courtesy. The occasion was in fact a specially pleasant -one, and the company were made to feel that they were -cherished guests. On their leaving, Scott, to Irving's -great delight, launched into hearty praise of the lady -visitor. The daughter of a Scottish minister, who died -in debt, she had been left an orphan and destitute. -She had at once faced the situation with a brave heart, -and though her education was not great, she set up -a school for young children, which soon proved in its -way a success. But she made her own concerns a -secondary object. By submitting to all sorts of -privation, she managed to pay off all her father's debts, -determined that no slighting word or evil feeling might -humble his memory. And this was not all. To the -martyr's self-sacrifice she added a divine benevolence. -To some who once had been kind to her father and -were now fallen on evil days, she did all the service she -could by teaching their little ones without reward or -fee. Happily her memory is green in the eulogy of the -great neighbour to whom she was a kindred spirit: -'She's a fine old Scotch girl, and I delight in her more -than in many a fine lady I have known, and I have -known many of the finest.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was in the following year, in May 1818, that John -Gibson Lockhart, then a young barrister with pronounced -literary leanings, was first introduced to Scott. -It was the moment when, as the great biographer -himself has eloquently put it, 'Scott's position was, take -it for all in all, what no other man had ever won for -himself by the pen alone. His works were the daily -food, not only of his countrymen, but of all educated -Europe. His society was courted by whatever England -could show of eminence. Station, power, wealth, -beauty, and genius, strove with each other in every -demonstration of respect and worship, and—a few -political fanatics and envious poetasters apart—wherever -he appeared in town or country, whoever had -Scotch blood in him, "gentle or simple," felt it move -more rapidly through his veins when he was in the -presence of Scott.' But in the midst of this blaze of -glory, and while he was dreaming dreams of fortune -and family pride, what was it that struck the most -keen-eyed of critics when he first saw his hero? Only -the plain easy modesty, the kindness of heart which -</span><em class="italics">pervaded</em><span> every word, tone, and gesture, the simple -qualities which made him 'loved more and more' by -his earliest friends. It was at the house of Mr. Home -Drummond, a grandson of Lord Kames, that the -meeting took place. Like every other literary aspirant, -Lockhart was astonished and gratified by the cordiality -and kindly appreciation of the elder writer. 'When -the ladies' (he says) 'retired from the dinner-table, I -happened to sit next him; and he, having heard that -I had lately returned from a tour in Germany, made -that country and its recent literature the subject of some -conversation. In the course of it, I told him that when, -on reaching the inn at Weimar, I asked the waiter -whether Goethe was then in the town, the man stared -as if he had not heard the name before; and that, on -my repeating the question, adding </span><em class="italics">Goethe der grosse -Dichter</em><span>, he shook his head as doubtfully as before—until -the landlord solved our difficulties, by suggesting -that perhaps the traveller might mean "</span><em class="italics">Herr Geheimer-Rath</em><span> -(Privy Councillor) </span><em class="italics">von Goethe</em><span>."—Scott seemed -amused with this and said, "I hope you will come one -of these days and see me at Abbotsford; and when -you reach Selkirk or Melrose, be sure you ask even the -landlady for nobody but </span><em class="italics">the Sheriff</em><span>." I mentioned -how much any one must be struck with the majestic -beauty of Goethe's countenance—the noblest certainly -by far that I have ever yet seen—"Well," said he, "the -grandest demi-god I ever saw was Dr. Carlyle, minister -of Musselburgh, commonly called </span><em class="italics">Jupiter Carlyle</em><span>, -from having sat more than once for the king of gods -and men to Gavin Hamilton—and a shrewd, clever old -carle was he, no doubt, but no more a poet than his -precentor. As for poets, I have seen, I believe, all -the best of our own time and country—and though -Burns had the most glorious eyes imaginable, I never -thought any of them would come up to an artist's -notion of the character, except Byron."'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Soon after this Lockhart was, on Scott's recommendation, -invited by the Ballantynes to take Scott's place -in working up the historical part of their </span><em class="italics">Annual -Register</em><span>. Thus they met pretty frequently during the -ensuing summer session, a circumstance to which we -owe Lockhart's very complete and first-hand description -of Scott's working 'den' at 39 Castle Street and -of his social life at this period. The den was a small -square back-room behind the dining parlour. It looked -out upon a dull back-yard with a small square of turf. -The walls of the room were lined with books, mostly -stately folios and quartos beautifully kept, as befitted -a lover of books. There was one massive table, on -which was his own desk, and one opposite for an -occasional amanuensis. On the top lay his law papers, -while his MSS., letters, and proof-sheets were under -his hand on the desk below. Before the desk stood -his large elbow-chair, and there were only two other -chairs in the room. Beside the window was a pile of -green tin boxes, on the top of which was a fox's tail -mounted on a handle of old silver and used for dusting -the top of a book as occasion required. He had a -ladder for scaling the high shelves, which is described -as 'low, broad, well carpeted, and strongly guarded -with oaken rails.' His living companions in his -den were usually a venerable tom-cat called Hinse, -which had a liking for the top of the ladder, and -the noble stag-hound Maida, whose lair was on the -hearth-rug. 'I venture to say' (Lockhart remarks) -'that Scott was never five minutes in any room -before the little pets of the family, whether dumb or -lisping, had found out his kindness for all their generation.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In conversation among his friends, Scott was always -natural, sensible, and good-humoured. His ideal -society, as we have seen, was the simple but high-toned -friendliness, with courtly attention to old manners and -customs of the social board—the ways of the -old-fashioned generation before 1800, when Edinburgh -society still took its tone from the Scottish aristocracy -and gentry. After this period Edinburgh table-talk -and manners were led by the lawyers. Men shone in -society by contests of dialectics, brilliant disquisitions, -'such as might be transferred without alteration to the -pages of a critical review.' Scott was of another world -from this. He admired the dexterity and skill -displayed, but he was not tempted to take part. It lacked -the touch of nature which would have made him -acknowledge kin. So everybody else was satisfied, -and Scott was not displeased. The great poet, the -writer of conversations which had heightened the gaiety -of millions, was perfectly content to be considered -inferior as a table-companion to 'this or that master of -luminous dissertation or quick rejoinder, who now -sleeps as forgotten as his grandmother.' To appreciate, -it is necessary to know something and to sympathise. -The persons who called Scott's conversation 'common-place' -were practically comparing the Waverley Novels -to Dugald Stewart's lectures, and would have denounced -Shakespeare for making up his </span><em class="italics">Hamlet</em><span> out of -popular quotations. It was 'ignorance, madam, pure -ignorance,' without the wit to acknowledge, and in -many cases political prejudice was also present. To -one of the latter Lockhart heard Lord Cockburn nobly -reply: 'I have the misfortune to think differently from -you; in my humble opinion, Walter Scott's </span><em class="italics">sense</em><span> is a -still more wonderful thing than his </span><em class="italics">genius</em><span>.' Nothing -could be better: a noble and excellent saying. And to -similar effect in his </span><em class="italics">Memorials</em><span> he testifies that scarcely -even in his novels was Scott more striking or delightful -than in society; where his halting limb, the bur -in the throat, the heavy cheeks, the high Goldsmith-forehead, -the unkempt locks, and general plainness of -appearance, with the Scotch accent and stories and -sayings, all graced by gaiety, simplicity, and kindness, -made a combination most worthy of being enjoyed.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-lv"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER LV</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">Scotland Edinburgh Society—Lockhart's Opinion—Scott's -Drives in Edinburgh—Love of Antiquities—The Sunday -Dinners at 39 Castle Street—The Maclean Clephanes—Erskine, -Clerk, C. K. Sharpe, Sir A. Boswell, -W. Allan,—Favourite Dishes.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Ignorant prejudice gradually disappeared. The -charm of Scott's conversation was found to be as -great, in fact the same, as that of his writings. -Mingling with and wishing to emulate London society, -Edinburgh great folks came to understand that social -intercourse ought to aim at enjoyment and relaxation, -not at the display of alleged wit and amateur disquisitions -on speculative themes. Then they discovered -that Scott's easy, natural humour, his ever-ready and -picturesque descriptions, his quaint old-world sayings -and diverting sketches and anecdotes, nay, his very -prejudices, always honest and so very lovable when -understood to their foundation, were unique treasures -even from the narrowest point of view. This was -what all, long before 1818, recognised whose opinion -was worth considering. But Lockhart, who had the -best means of knowing, as being himself 'one of them,' -says that even then the old theory, that Scott's -conversation was 'commonplace,' lingered on in the general -opinion of the city, especially among the smart praters -of the </span><em class="italics">Outer House</em><span>. Of course it was the cue of these -praters to differ from their elders, and few of them, -after all, had perhaps enjoyed what they made a boast -of affecting to depreciate. Lockhart, who was certainly -in the Whig sense the strongest </span><em class="italics">intellect</em><span> that ever -adorned Edinburgh, both enjoyed and appreciated. -And fortunately for us </span><em class="italics">minores</em><span>, he has told what he -saw and rejoiced in. He says: 'It was impossible to -listen to Scott's oral narrations, whether gay or serious, -or to the felicitous fun with which he parried absurdities -of all sorts, without discovering better qualities -in his talk than </span><em class="italics">wit</em><span>—and of a higher order; I mean -especially a power of </span><em class="italics">vivid painting</em><span>—the true and -primary sense of what is called </span><em class="italics">Imagination</em><span>. He was -like Jacques—though not a "Melancholy Jacques"; -and "moralised" a common topic into a "thousand -similitudes." Shakespeare and the banished Duke -would have found him "full of matter." He disliked -mere disquisitions in Edinburgh, and prepared -</span><em class="italics">impromptus</em><span> in London; and puzzled the promoters of -such things sometimes by placid silence, sometimes -by broad merriment. To such men he seemed -</span><em class="italics">common-place</em><span>—not so to the most dexterous masters in what -was to some of them almost a science; not so to Rose, -Hallam, Moore, or Rogers,—to Ellis, Mackintosh, -Croker, or Canning.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When in Edinburgh, Scott's only formal outing was -an afternoon drive in an open carriage, sometimes to -Blackford Hill, or Ravelston, and so home by Corstorphine, -sometimes to Portobello, keeping as close as -possible to the sea. An old man who died last year -(1905) used to tell how, when he was a boy, he remembered -Scott alighting and coming some distance across -a field to speak a few kind words to him and ask after -his parents, in whom he took an interest. When he -went home, his mother told him about the great man -and bade her son remember that day, for if he lived to -be an old man, he would be proud to talk of it to his -children's children. As he drove through the city, -it was Scott's greatest enjoyment to gaze and muse -upon its natural beauties, and especially its remaining -antiquities. He would often make a long circuit in -order, as Lockhart observed, 'to spend a few minutes -on the vacant esplanade of Holyrood, or under the -darkest shadows of the Castle rock, where it overhangs -the Grassmarket, and the huge slab that still marks -where the gibbet of Porteous and the Covenanters had -its station. His coachman knew him too well to move -at a Jehu's pace amidst such scenes as these. No -funeral hearse crept more leisurely than did his landau -up the Canongate or the Cowgate; and not a queer -tottering gable but recalled to him some long-buried -memory of splendour or bloodshed, which, by a few -words, he set before the hearer in the reality of life. -His image is so associated in my mind with the antiquities -of his native place, that I cannot now revisit -them without feeling as if I were treading on his -gravestone.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But of all pleasant memories of the Master well-beloved, -the most delightful to conjure up is that of -the good Clerk as host at the Sunday 'dinner without -the silver dishes,' as he was wont to call it. It -was always a gathering of dear and long-cherished -friends. All were delighted to meet, and all were -prepared to be happy. Gladdest of all was their host, -who came into the room 'rubbing his hands, his face -bright and gleesome, like a boy arriving at home for -the holidays, his Peppers and Mustards gambolling -about his heels, and even the stately Maida grinning -and wagging his tail in sympathy.' Most of the -intimates who came to these parties have already -been mentioned. There was Mrs. Maclean Clephane, -with whom Scott would playfully dispute on the -subject of Ossian. Her daughters would accompany -her, to delight all, especially Scott, with the poetry -and music of their native isles. They had made him -their guardian by their own choice, and were loved for -their own sakes. The eldest was that Lady Crompton -with whom, as he tells in the </span><em class="italics">Journal</em><span>, he travelled to -Glasgow in September 1827, and had 'as pleasant a -journey as the kindness, wit, and accomplishments -of my companion could make it.' When they reached -Glasgow, they met, at the Buck's Head, Mrs. Maclean -Clephane and her two daughters. He mentions that -after dinner the ladies sang, 'particularly Aunt Jane, -who has more taste and talent than half the people -going with great reputations on their backs.' Then -there were the Skenes, the Macdonald Buchanans, -and all the </span><em class="italics">nieces</em><span> and </span><em class="italics">nephews</em><span> of the Clerks' table -alliance. 'The well-beloved Erskine,' says Lockhart, -'was seldom absent; and very often Terry or James -Ballantyne came with him—sometimes, though less -frequently, Constable. To say nothing of such old -cronies as Clerk, Thomson, and Kirkpatrick Sharpe.' It -was of his boyhood's friend and mentor, Clerk, that -Scott said he feared he would leave the world little -more than the report of his fame. It was his opinion, -as well as that of other competent judges, that he -had never met a man of greater powers than Clerk. -Charles Kirkpatrick Sharpe was also regarded by -Scott very highly, and is sketched in a lively page -in the </span><em class="italics">Journal</em><span>, 1825. His effeminacy of voice, his -clever and fanciful drawings—which he was too -aristocratic to use for increasing his small income—his odd -curiosity for scandal centuries old, made Sharpe a very -remarkable figure. 'My idea is' (says Scott) 'that -C. K. S. with his oddities, tastes, satire, and high -aristocratic feelings, resembles Horace Walpole—perhaps -in his person also, in a general way.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Lockhart mentions also Sir Alexander Boswell, -author of the humorous song, </span><em class="italics">Jeannie dang the -Weaver</em><span>, and a great bibliomaniac, Sir Alexander -Don of Newton, 'the model of a cavalier,' and -William Allan, R.A., whom Scott calls a very -agreeable, simple-mannered, and pleasant man. Allan -became Sir William, President of the Royal Scottish -Academy from 1838 to 1850. In July 1826 Scott -mentions his having been to see Allan's picture of -'the Landing of Queen Mary.' Three or four of -these friends, with Scott and his family, took their -places every Sunday at the 'plain dinner' in No. 39 -Castle Street.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Scott kept a bounteously loaded table. He was -himself a hearty eater, preferring plain substantial -fare. He was not a gourmand, still less a glutton. -His one good meal was breakfast. At dinner his -appetite was neither keen nor nice. 'The only dishes -he was at all fond of were the old-fashioned ones -to which he had been accustomed in the days of -Saunders Fairford.' Readers of the Novels have -heard of them all, and few will forget the conclusion -of the </span><em class="italics">Fortunes of Nigel</em><span>: 'My lords and lieges, let us -all to our dinner, for the </span><em class="italics">cock-a-leekie</em><span> is cooling.'</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-lvi"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER LVI</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">The National Monument—Still incomplete—The Salisbury -Crags—Danger of their Destruction—The Path -impassable—Construction of the Radical Road—National -Distress—Trials for Sedition—Anecdote of John Clerk—The City -Guard.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>As a landmark of modern Edinburgh, the National -Monument must now be noticed. Its twelve massy -columns of white Craigleith stone are familiar to all -who have spent an hour in the city. The idea of it -dates from 1816, for it was intended to commemorate -Scotland's share in the triumphs of the great war. -During the following years it was often discussed. -The original proposal was to erect a lofty pillar. -Then, as we learn from Lord Cockburn, 'there were -some who thought that the prevailing effervescence -of military patriotism created a good opportunity for -improving the public taste by the erection of a great -architectural model. The Temple of Minerva, placed -on the Calton Hill, struck their imaginations, and -though they had no expectation of being able to -realise the magnificent conception, they resolved, by -beginning, to bring it within the vision of a distant -practicability. What, if any, age would finish it, they -could not tell; but having got a site, a statute, and -about £20,000, they had the honour of commencing -it.' The hour of its completion has not arrived yet. -Nearly a century has elapsed since George IV. laid -the foundation stone in 1822. Perhaps on the -occurrence of the centenary the project may once more lay -hold of the public imagination. At least the 'distant -practicability' remains. Imposing and sublime -possibility! Perhaps, in an era of colossal fortunes, some -INDIVIDUAL may anticipate the city—engrossed with -its Usher Hall and water-fleas—and capture the national -glory to crown with immortality his own proud name.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>One noble feature of our scenery was completed about -this time by the walk round the Salisbury Crags. When -Henry Cockburn as a boy of nine scrambled, as he tells -us, for the first time to the top of that romantic cliff, -the path at its base was not six feet wide, while at -places there was no path at all. Between that time -and the year 1816 certain persons quarried the rock -to such an extent that what was formerly a narrow -footpath became, in many places, one hundred feet -wide. This impudent theft of public property -would shortly have destroyed the whole face of the -rock. Fortunately the depredators were stopped in -time, and Edinburgh preserved at once a remarkable -piece of geological 'testimony,' and one of its -finest natural features. Cockburn records that Henry -Brougham, 'who as a boy had often clambered among -these glorious rocks,' then, in the capacity of Lord -Chancellor, pronounced the judgment which finally -saved a remnant of the Crags. The old path is -mentioned by Scott in the </span><em class="italics">Heart of Midlothian</em><span> -(Chap. VIII.) as having been his favourite evening -and morning resort, when engaged with a favourite -author or new subject of study. And he added to -his enthusiastic description of the view from the -Salisbury Crags a brief and mildly expressed reproach. -'It is, I am informed, now (1818) become totally -impassable; a circumstance which, if true, reflects little -credit on the taste of the Good Town or its leaders.' In -a note, added in a later addition, he says, 'A -beautiful and solid pathway has, within a few years, been -formed around these romantic rocks; and the author -has the pleasure to think that the passage in the text -gave rise to the undertaking.' This was indeed the -case; but, strange to say, the path thus due to Sir -Walter Scott got the name of the </span><em class="italics">Radical Road</em><span>. In -1820, it appears, the 'unemployed' question was -flagrant. The men, stimulated by Radicals, were -becoming dangerous, when Scott's happy suggestion -solved the problem by providing them with a -substantial piece of work. The discontent was allayed, -and the road was constructed by these vigorous -Radicals. The name of the </span><em class="italics">Salisbury Crags</em><span> -commemorates the English invasion of 1336. King -Edward III.'s forces were commanded by the famous -Earl of Salisbury, who encamped on the Crags, and -thus gave the spot its foreign name.[1]</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">[1] James Grant, however, gives a Gaelic derivation -of the name.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The distress which followed as a natural consequence -of the prolonged strain of the war, was in those years -very severe. Outbreaks of seditious talk were common -in England, and led to many serious disturbances. -In Scotland they were fewer, because the law still -made transportation the penalty for this offence. There -were, however, some prosecutions for sedition, and -in connection with the first of these, in 1817, Cockburn, -who was, with Jeffrey, counsel for one of the defendants, -tells a characteristic anecdote of John Clerk, who -was counsel for another of the accused, along with -James Campbell of Craigie. 'Campbell called on -Clerk on the morning of the trial. He found him -dressing, and in a frenzy at the anticipated iniquities -of the judges; against whom, collectively and individually, -there was much slow dogged vituperation -throughout the process of shaving. He had on a -rather dingy-looking nightshirt: but a nice pure shirt -was airing before the fire. When the toilet reached -the point at which it was necessary to decide upon -the shirt, instead of at once taking up the clean one, -he stopped and grumphed, and looked at the one -and then at the other, always turning with aversion -from the dirty one; and then he approached the other -resolutely, as if his mind was made up; but at last -he turned away from it, saying fiercely, "No, I'll be -d—d if I put on a clean sark </span><em class="italics">for them</em><span>." Accordingly -he insulted their Lordships by going to Court with -the foul one. Not like Falkland.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>About the end of the year 1817 Edinburgh streets -finally lost the most picturesque of their official figures. -The City Guard, a body first enrolled in 1696, now -retired from view, their functions being better fulfilled -by the new police, and Robert Fergusson's well-known -lines became superfluous:</span></p> -<blockquote> -<div> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="line"><span>'Gude folk, as ye come frae the fair,</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span>Bide yont frae this black squad;</span></div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span>There's nae sic savages elsewhere</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span>Allowed to wear cockad.'</span></div> -</div> -</div> -</div> -</blockquote> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Scott gives a capital description of them in the </span><em class="italics">Heart -of Midlothian</em><span> (Chap. III.), where he says, 'The venerable -corps may now be considered as totally extinct.' From -Cockburn we learn that one of these stern-looking -but half-dotard warriors used to sit as guard -with the prisoners at the bar of the Court of Justiciary. -'They sat so immovably, and looked so severe, with -their rugged weather-beaten visages, and hard muscular -trunks, that they were no unfit emblems of the janitors -of the region to which those they guarded were so -often consigned. The disappearance of these -picturesque old fellows was a great loss.' He wished they -had been perpetuated, if only as curiosities. They -were probably the last of our soldiers who carried as -their special weapon the old genuine Lochaber axe, -which Lord Cockburn styles 'a delightful -implement.' Fergusson, who saw its virtues in a more practical -way, speaks of the 'deadly paiks,' or blows, freely -dealt by the hot-tempered veterans.</span></p> -<blockquote> -<div> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="line"><span>'Gie not her bairns sic deadly paiks,</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span>Nor be sae rude,</span></div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span>Wi' firelock or Lochaber axe,</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span>As spill their bluid.'</span></div> -</div> -</div> -</div> -</blockquote> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Their last march (as mentioned in Scott's note) to do -duty at Hallow-fair, had something affecting in it. -Their drums and fifes had been wont on better days -to play, on this joyous occasion, the lively tune of -</span><em class="italics">Jockey to the Fair</em><span>; but on this final occasion the -afflicted veterans moved slowly to the dirge of </span><em class="italics">The -last time I came ower the muir</em><span>. They were always -greatly disliked by the commons of Edinburgh, who -never spoke of them by any better name than the -loathsome appellation 'the Toon Rottens' (Rats).</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-lvii"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER LVII</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">Scott and the Ballantynes—James in the Canongate—Ceremonies -at the 'Waverley' Dinners—Reading of Scenes -from the New Volume—John at Trinity—His 'Bower of -Bliss'—Anecdote by C. Mathews.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>At this distance of time it is difficult either to -understand or to condone the wilful delusion in which Scott -persisted to regard the two reckless adventurers, James -and John Ballantyne. They were lowborn and vulgar: -his deep-seated aristocratic feelings should have kept -them at a distance. They were utterly devoid of -business capacity: his natural shrewdness ought to -have seen through them. They were neglectful of -duty: his own tireless devotion to work ought to have -made him despise them. But they were friends of his -boyhood, and he loved them. James was a shrewd -critic and an excellent amanuensis, and Scott trusted -his judgment and enjoyed his services. John was -a humorist, his social clowning was inimitable, and -in these capacities he was emphatically a man after -Scott's own heart. Both of them knew Scott down -to the minutest foible of his simple honest nature. -They knew exactly what it was in themselves which -pleased him. All they had to do was to be -themselves—just as he conceived them. And this was what -they did, each in his own way, regardless of expense -and consequences. Thus they maintained a hold over -their illustrious dupe, which no studied system of -flattery could have equalled in the case of the weakest -and most foolish of patrons. These two penniless and -ruined adventurers lived lives of splendour and luxury, -and neither they nor Scott seemed to realise or -remember that every penny which supported them had -come or would have to come from Scott's estate. -The house of James, the elder brother, was not far -from his printing works, No. 10 St. John Street, -Canongate, which had not long ceased to be the most -fashionable street in Edinburgh. Here, in the first -house on the west side, was the meeting-place of the -ever-memorable Freemason Lodge, the Canongate -Kilwinning, whose 'poet-laureate' was no less a -genius than Scotland's second glory, Robert Burns. -Here, in the town house of the Telfers of Scotstoun, -overlooking the Canongate, resided the greatest of -Scottish novelists after Scott himself, Tobias Smollett, -on his last visit to the capital. No. 13 was the house -of Lord Monboddo, and at No. 15 lived the famous -Professor Gregory, already mentioned. The Kelso -adventurer lived here in grand style, a mighty city -magnate, highly decorous and respectable. It was -his rôle, and his playing of it was admirable, because -it was simply his nature and bent: that he was at any -moment entirely ignorant of his real insolvency, or -entirely unconscious of the horror that he was -accumulating for the most unselfish of friends, one may be -excused for doubting. Every one has heard of James -Ballantyne's famous dinners—a not uninteresting part -of the story of the Waverley Novels. He assembled -all his own particular literary friends, and Scott was -among the company. It was James's delight to -mention the author of </span><em class="italics">Waverley</em><span> always in mystic tones as -'the Great Unknown,' and the whole affair must have -been intensely amusing to the real author, who sat -and took part in the proceedings with smiles of good -humour. After what the host himself justly called a -</span><em class="italics">gorgeous</em><span> dinner, and after toasting the company, the -King, and Mr. Walter Scott, the ladies who might -be present retired, and the great 'business' of the little -comedy began. Lockhart, as an eyewitness, quaintly -describes the scene: 'Then James rose once more, -every vein on his brow distended, his eyes solemnly -fixed upon vacancy, to propose, not as before in his -stentorian key, but "with bated breath," in the sort -of whisper by which a stage conspirator thrills the -gallery—"</span><em class="italics">Gentlemen, a bumper to the immortal Author -of</em><span> Waverley!"—The uproar of cheering, in which Scott -made a fashion of joining, was succeeded by deep -silence, and then Ballantyne proceeded—</span></p> -<blockquote> -<div> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="line"><span>"In his Lord Burleigh look, serene and serious,</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>A something of imposing and mysterious"—</span></div> -</div> -</div> -</blockquote> -<p class="pfirst"><span>to lament the obscurity in which his illustrious but too -modest correspondent still chose to conceal himself -from the plaudits of the world—to thank the company -for the manner in which the </span><em class="italics">nominis umbra</em><span> had been -received, and to assure them that the Author of -</span><em class="italics">Waverley</em><span> would, when informed of the circumstance, -feel highly delighted—"the proudest hour of his life," -etc. etc. The cool demure fun of Scott's features -during all this mummery was perfect; and Erskine's -attempt at a gay </span><em class="italics">nonchalance</em><span> was still more ludicrously -meritorious.' Upon this Ballantyne would announce -the name of the coming novel, a bumper would be -drained to its success, and that was all. The night -'drove on wi' sangs and clatter,' till the senior and -graver members, including Scott, had withdrawn. -'Then,' says Lockhart, 'the scene was changed. The -claret and olives made way for broiled bones and a -mighty bowl of punch; and when a few glasses of the -hot beverage had restored his powers, James opened -</span><em class="italics">ore rotunda</em><span> on the merits of the forthcoming romance. -"One chapter—one chapter only,"—was the cry. After -"</span><em class="italics">Nay, by 'r Lady, nay</em><span>," and a few more coy shifts, the -proof-sheets were at length produced, and James, with -many a prefatory hem, read aloud what he considered -as the most striking dialogue they contained.' Lockhart -was one of the fortunate company who listened to -James, in these circumstances, reading, from the </span><em class="italics">Heart -of Midlothian</em><span>, the interview of Jeanie Deans with the -Queen in Richmond Park. James's declamation, -though marked, of course, by some of his 'pompous -tricks,' seems to have been really effective. The -sitting ended with the 'Death of Marmion,' delivered in -imitation of the great Braham. Later on, James -removed his household gods to the New Town, No. 3 -Heriot Row. The younger brother, John, was much -more original in his ways and doings, and equally -reckless of consequences and expense. He had a little -villa in the French style at Trinity, on the shore of the -Firth. The gardens alone of the ex-needleman must -have cost a pretty penny, being laid out with great art -so as to seem of considerable extent, 'with many a -shady tuft, trellised alley, and mysterious alcove, -interspersed among their bright parterres.' His house, as -became an auctioneer of curiosities, was crowded with -objects of </span><em class="italics">vertu</em><span>, numberless costly mirrors, and pictures -of a certain class, mostly, in fact, theatrical portraits, -especially of actresses, which were afterwards bought -by Charles Mathews for his gallery at Highgate. The -house was furnished like a suburban 'Bower of Bliss' -in London or Paris, and had a private wing which his -wife was most effectively debarred from entering. If -Bluebeard, the clumsy villain, had only enjoyed the -services of this clever, resourceful voluptuary, he would -have been able to shun the society of his successive -'cleaving michiefs' without having recourse to tragic -methods. Johnnie, in fact, could have taught Milton a -trick of 'defensive armour,' within which not even a wife -could penetrate. This was his ingenious plan: he made -every door of entrance into the sacred wing just so -narrow as to render it absolutely impossible for -Mrs. Ballantyne to squeeze her body through. One can -fancy the arrangement giving rise to awkward difficulties, -but its efficiency for the main purpose was admirable. -It was worthy of a Duc de Richelieu rather than -an ex-tailor. Johnnie's festive parties at Trinity were -the great social attraction of Edinburgh to the theatrical -people of his day. Mathews, Braham, Kean, and -Kemble were all frequent guests when acting in -Edinburgh. In Mathews' </span><em class="italics">Memoirs</em><span> there is an -anecdote of John Ballantyne which is of interest in -itself, while happily illustrative of the character of -</span><em class="italics">Wee Johnny</em><span>. Ballantyne, Constable, and Terry were -dining with the Mathews family, when John, who had -a certain indiscreet vivacity when the wine began to -affect him, was talking to Mathews about some books, -and concluded by saying, 'I shall soon send you </span><em class="italics">Scott's -new novel</em><span>.' The effect may be imagined, especially on -Constable. 'He,' says Mrs. Mathews, 'looked daggers—and -Terry used some—for with a stern brow and a -correcting tone, he cried out </span><em class="italics">John!</em><span> adding with a growl, -like one reproving a mischievous dog,—"Ah, what are -you about?" which made us droop our eyes for the -indiscreet tatler; while wee Johnny looked like an -impersonation of </span><em class="italics">fear</em><span>—startled at the "sound himself -had made." Not another word was said: but our little -good-natured friend's lapse was sacred with us, and -the secret was never divulged while it was important -to preserve it.'</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-lviii"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER LVIII</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">Anecdotes of Constable—'The Czar'—Plans the </span><em class="italics small">Magnum -Opus</em><span class="small">—Anecdote of Longmans and Co.—Constable's House -and Equipage—John Ballantyne's Habits—Horses and -Dogs—Anecdote by Scott of his Liberality—Scott's Sorrow -at his Death.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>At John Ballantyne's house in Trinity, his great -co-adjutor Constable was often to be seen. There -Lockhart first met him. Struck by the majestic -appearance of the publisher, he made a remark to Scott on -Constable's 'gentlemanlike' (publishers were only -'booksellers' in those days) 'and distinguished appearance.' 'Ay,' -replied Scott, 'Constable is indeed a grand-looking -chield. He puts me in mind of Fielding's apology -for Lady Booby—to wit, that Joseph Andrews had an -air which, to those who had not seen many noblemen, -would give an idea of nobility.' He is said to have -been a large feeder and deep drinker: of a violent -temper, but 'easily overawed by people of consequence.' He -was, on the whole, not one of Scott's favourites—a -circumstance, however, which was more owing to the -great man's blind partiality for the Ballantynes, with -whom Constable necessarily came into frequent contact. -Scott, however, praises Constable as 'generous and far -from bad-hearted.' Among his brothers of 'the trade' -Constable was nicknamed 'the Czar,'and also 'the -Crafty.' Scott declared that Constable was 'the prince of -book-sellers.' He considered that the Crafty knew more of the -business of a bookseller in planning and executing -popular works than any man of his time. His imperious -style was natural to the man, and his unaided rise to -eminence in his important calling largely justified his pride. -His share in the blame for the disaster of 1826 was at -the time exaggerated, unfortunately also in the mind -of Scott himself. It was the Ballantyne co-partnery -that led to the unfortunate bill transactions, and the -great pity was that both Constable and Scott took these -tragic jokers on their own fictitious valuation. -Constable I believe to have been truly a great man and in -all respects a gentleman: as different in mental -qualities as he was in physical dignity from the bounding -brothers of Kelso. Who can fail to admit the genius -of the man who </span><em class="italics">foresaw</em><span> the value of the Waverley -Novels, and who provided Scott with the greatest -consolation of his last sad years—the </span><em class="italics">magnum opus</em><span> of the -collected edition, and thus enabled him to carry out -his romantic resolve to pay the so-called </span><em class="italics">debts</em><span> to the -full? John Ballantyne told Lockhart a good story of -Constable's fondness for bestowing nicknames. 'One -day a partner of the house of Longman was dining with -him in the country, to settle an important piece of -business, about which there occurred a good deal of -difficulty. "What fine swans you have in your pond -there!" said the Londoner, by way of parenthesis.—"Swans!" -cried Constable; "they are only geese, -man. There are just five of them, if you please to -observe, and their names are Longman, Hurst, Rees, -Orme, and Brown." This skit cost the Crafty a good -bargain.' Lockhart soon became a frequent visitor -at Constable's country seat of Craigcrook Castle -(afterwards tenanted by Francis Jeffrey), and says that he -did the honours of the ancient home of noble Grahams -with all the ease that might have been looked for had -he been the long-descended owner of the place. He -greatly admired Constable's 'manly and vigorous' -conversation, full of old Scotch anecdotes, which he -told with a spirit and humour only second to his great -author's. 'His very equipage,' Lockhart adds, 'kept -up the series of contrasts between him and the two -Ballantynes. Constable went back and forward -between the town and Polton in a deep-hung and -capacious green barouche, without any pretence at heraldic -blazonry, drawn by a pair of sleek, black, long-tailed -horses, and conducted by a grave old coachman in -plain blue livery. The Printer of the Canongate drove -himself and his wife about the streets and suburbs in a -snug machine, which did not overburthen one powerful -and steady cob:—while the gay Auctioneer, whenever -he left the saddle for the box, mounted a bright blue -dogcart, and rattled down the Newhaven Road with -two high-mettled steeds prancing tandem before -him.' Johnnie, indeed, kept up a good stable, hunted the -fox at times, and had the pleasant whim of naming his -numerous steeds after various characters in Scott's -works. His daily mount was a milk-white hunter, -y-clept Old Mortality, and he was always attended by -a leash or two of greyhounds, which he named Die -Vernon, Jenny Dennison, and so on. At business he -appeared in sporting half-dress,—'a light-grey frock, -with emblems of the chase on its silver buttons, white -cord breeches, and jockey-boots in Meltonian order.' Scott -was a constant frequenter of his auction rooms -in Hanover Street, at the door of which his favourite -Maida was to be seen waiting his arrival from the -Court, couched among Johnnie's greyhounds. Such -was the frivolous, but astute, underminer, who succeeded -to the end in maintaining a fatal hold on the great -genius, and finally left him to toil as a slave, often at a -loss for money for mere current expenses, during the last -years of what might have been one of the happiest of -lives. It is a melancholy fact, and perhaps, after all, his -own favourite saying fits it best—that often the wisest of -men keep, as it were, the average stock of folly only in -reserve, to be </span><em class="italics">all</em><span> expended on some one flagrant -absurdity. One can at least understand Scott's affection -for John Ballantyne, when one thinks of such an -incident as this, related by Scott himself: 'A poor -divinity student was attending his sale one day, and -Johnnie remarked to him that he looked as if he were -in bad health. The young man assented with a sigh. -"Come," said Ballantyne, "I think I ken the secret of -a sort of draft that would relieve you—particularly," -he added, handing him a cheque for £$ or £10—"particularly, -my dear, if taken upon an empty stomach."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>John Ballantyne died at Edinburgh in the summer of -1821. Scott and Lockhart attended his funeral in the -Canongate churchyard. 'As we stood together' (the -latter relates), 'while they were smoothing the turf over -John's remains, the heavens, which had been dark and -slaty, cleared suddenly, and the midsummer sun -shone forth in his strength. Scott, ever awake to the -"skiey influences," cast his eye along the overhanging -line of the Calton Hill, with its gleaming walls -and towers, and then turning to the grave again, "I -feel," he whispered in my ear, "as if there would be less -sunshine for me from this day forth."'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>John Ballantyne was thus taken away from the evil -to come, but James lived till 1833. Archibald -Constable died on the 21st of July 1827. His proud spirit -could not survive the tremendous downfall of his -splendid fortunes. All his great undertakings, except the -</span><em class="italics">Miscellany</em><span>, had passed from his control. He was -reduced to 'an obscure closet of a shop,' and found -himself without either capital or credit to start a new -career. Of all with whom Scott had to do in the -business of life, he is the only man in whose case -Scott's natural generosity did not at once overcome -every shadow of well or ill founded resentment or -grudge.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-lix"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER LIX</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">The Baronetcy—Reasons for accepting—Marriage of -Sophia Scott to John Gibson Lockhart—Charles Scott and -Archdeacon Williams—Improvements in Edinburgh—The -'Water Caddies'—Drama of </span><em class="italics small">Rob Roy</em><span class="small">—The Burns -Dinner—Henry Mackenzie.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>It was in the end of the year 1818 that Scott received, -through Lord Sidmouth, intimation of the Prince -Regent's desire to confer on him a baronetcy. When -informed of it privately, a few months before this, by -Chief-Commissioner Adam, he had hesitated about -accepting such an honour, feeling that it might -dangerously affect the style of living and the ideas and -aspirations of a contented family. However, the sudden -death of Charles Charpentier altered all this. He left, -as was believed, a large fortune, and had settled the -reversion on his sister's family. The inheritance in the -end came to nothing, but the expectation removed Scott's -doubts as to accepting the title. His eldest son having -by this time settled to enter the Army, it was obvious -that the title would be of real advantage to him in -his profession. We have fortunately Scott's views -expressed in the frankest manner in a letter to Morritt, -and they certainly require no comment. 'It would be -easy,' he says, 'saying a parcel of fine things about -my contempt of rank, and so forth; but although -I would not have gone a step out of my way to have -asked, or bought, or begged, or borrowed a distinction, -which to me personally will rather be inconvenient -than otherwise, yet coming as it does directly from -the source of feudal honours, and as an honour, I am -really gratified with it;—especially as it is intimated -that it is His Royal Highness's pleasure to heat the -oven for me expressly, without waiting till he has -some new </span><em class="italics">batch</em><span> of Baronets ready in dough.... -After all, if one must speak for themselves, I have my -quarters and emblazonments, free of all stain but -Border theft and High Treason, which I hope are -gentlemanlike crimes; and I hope Sir Walter Scott -will not sound worse than Sir Humphry Davy, though -my merits are as much under his, in point of utility, -as can well be imagined. But a name is something, -and mine is the better of the two.' It was not till -March 1820 that he was able to go to London, having -been prevented by illness at one time, and on a second -proposed occasion by family afflictions. When he -did go to London, his admirer was King George the -Fourth. To him, at all events, the event was an -honour and a credit, for it proceeded entirely from -himself. His greeting to the new Baronet was, 'I -shall always reflect with pleasure on Sir Walter Scott's -having been the first creation of my reign.' Shortly -after this the two English Universities offered him -the honorary degree of D.C.L. He was never able -to avail himself of either offer.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>On the 29th of April in this year, his daughter -Sophia was married to John Gibson Lockhart. The -son-in-law mentions that Sir Walter hastened his -return from London—he had been sitting to Lawrence at -the King's request—in order to get the marriage over -before the unlucky month of May. Lockhart says too -little of his own affairs, but he mentions that the -wedding took place, </span><em class="italics">more Scotico</em><span>, in the evening, and -that Sir Walter, adhering on all such occasions to -ancient modes of observance with the same punctiliousness -which he mentions as distinguishing his worthy -father, gave a jolly supper afterwards to all the friends -and connections of the young couple.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Towards the end of the year the second son, Charles, -also left the family circle. He went to Lampeter to -be under the celebrated scholar John Williams, -afterwards Archdeacon of Cardigan. Mr. Williams, who -became Rector of the Edinburgh Academy in 1824, -was much appreciated by Scott, not only for his -erudition, but as being 'always pleasant company.' At -another time he calls him 'a heaven-born teacher.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>We may mention here another item in the constant -process of modernising the city. About this time a -strong feeling was growing, and even obtaining vent -in public, against the sway of the Town Council. -The position of Edinburgh, 'always thirsty and -unwashed,' was then, by Lord Cockburn's account, in -reference to water positively frightful. The wretched -shallow tank on the north side of the Pentlands, the -only source of supply, was often and for long periods -empty. But the Town Council would do nothing. -A private company was therefore formed, and the -supply began to be regular. Then water-pipes were -put into private houses, and the ancient fraternity of -water-carriers found their occupation gone. 'In a -very few years,' says Cockburn, 'there was not one -extant. They were a very curious tribe, consisting -of both men and women, but the former were perhaps -the more numerous. Their days were passed in climbing -up lofty stairs to the "flats." The little casks of -water, when filled from the street wells, were slung -upon their backs, suspended by a leather strap, which -was held in front by the hand. They acquired a -stopping attitude, by which they were easily recognised -even when off duty. They were all rather old, and -seemed little; but this last might be owing to their -stooping. The men very generally had old red jackets, -probably the remnants of the Highland Watch, or of -the City Guard; and the women were always covered -with thick duffle greatcoats, and wore black hats like -the men. Every house had its favourite "Water -Caddie." The fee (I believe) was a penny per barrel. -In spite of their splashy lives and public-well -discussions, they were rather civil, and very cracky -creatures. What fretted them most was being -obstructed in going up a stair; and their occasionally -tottering legs testified that they had no bigotry against -qualifying the water with a little whisky. They never -plied between Saturday night and Monday morning; -that is, their employers had bad hot water all Sunday. -These bodies were such favourites, that the extinction -of their trade was urged seriously as a reason against -water being allowed to get into our houses in its own way.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In February 1819 a dramatised version of </span><em class="italics">Rob Roy</em><span> -was played in the Edinburgh Theatre. The Bailie -was played by the famous actor Charles Mackay, who, -being a native of Glasgow, was able to do full justice -to the dialect and all the little amusing peculiarities -of the character. Scott is said to have been greatly -interested in this representation of his story, and -Lockhart says 'it was extremely diverting to watch the -play of his features during Mackay's admirable realisation -of his conception.' On his benefit night 'the -Bailie' received an epistle of kind congratulation from -no less a personage than Jedediah Cleishbotham. It -is worth mentioning that, though his fellow-citizens -greeted him on entering his box with 'some mark -of general respect and admiration,' there was never -anything said or done to embarrass him as hinting -at his authorship of the play.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>While </span><em class="italics">Rob Roy</em><span> was enjoying its successful run, -a party of two or three hundred Edinburgh gentlemen -met, on February 22nd, at what has since become -the national cult—a Burns dinner. This function was -distinguished by a short speech from the veteran 'Man -of Feeling,' who had welcomed Burns and praised -his genius more than thirty years before. Scott's -feeling towards Burns was one of constantly increasing -admiration. 'Long life to thy fame' (he says in his -</span><em class="italics">Journal</em><span>) 'and peace to thy soul, Rob Burns! When -I want to express a sentiment which I feel strongly, I -find the phrase in Shakespeare—or thee.' For Henry -Mackenzie he had a strong regard. The old man -surprised him by unfolding literary schemes in his old -age. He loved to unbosom himself to Scott, and -called him his 'literary confessor,' and 'I am sure' -(said the patient victim) 'I am glad to return the -kindnesses which he showed me long since in George -Square.' Scott's description of the veteran in 1825 is -as follows: 'No man is less known from his writings. -We would suppose a retired, modest, somewhat -affected man, with a white handkerchief and a sigh -ready for every sentiment. No such thing: H. M. is -alert as a contracting tailor's needle in every sort -of business—a politician and a sportsman—shoots -and fishes in a sort even to this day—and is the life -of the company with anecdote and fun. Sometimes, -his daughter tells me, he is in low spirits at home, -but really I never see anything of it in society.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In January 1831 Scott got the news of Henry -Mackenzie's death. By this time Scott was contemplating -the near approach of his own end, but he can still -spare a regret for the old man, 'gayest of the gay, -though most sensitive of the sentimental,' who had -so long filled a niche in Scottish literature.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-lx"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER LX</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">The Commercial Disaster—Ruin of Ballantyne (Scott) and -Constable—Scott's Feeling—Universal Sympathy—Offer -of Help—Brave Reply—Cheerful Spirit—Constable—The -Agreement—Removal from Castle Street—Death of -Lady Scott—The Visit to Paris.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>James Ballantyne on his deathbed declared that all -the appearances of his prosperity were merely shadows. -But Scott up to the end of 1825 had no idea of the -magnitude of the crisis that had been so long -preparing. On the 18th of December in that year he penned -in his </span><em class="italics">Journal</em><span> that melancholy summary of his career: -'What a life mine has been! Half-educated, almost -wholly neglected or left to myself; stuffing my head -with most nonsensical trash, and undervalued by most -of my companions for a time; getting forward, and -held a bold and clever fellow, contrary to the opinion -of all who thought me a mere dreamer; broken-hearted -for two years; my heart handsomely pieced again—but -the crack will remain till my dying day. Rich and -poor four or five times; once on the verge of ruin, yet -opened a new source of wealth almost overflowing. -Now to be broken in my pitch of pride.... Nobody -in the end can lose a penny by me—that is one -comfort.' Following entries prove that Ballantyne -professed confidence. Even on 14th January, when Scott -had received 'an odd mysterious letter' from Constable, -hinting calamity, James had no doubts! On Tuesday -the 17th the blow fell. Ballantyne came in the -morning to say that he had arranged to stop. His own -account of the interview is: 'It was between eight and -nine in the morning that I made the final communication. -No doubt he was greatly stunned—but, upon -the whole, he bore it with wonderful fortitude. He -asked—"Well, what is the actual step we must first -take? I suppose we must do something?" I reminded -him that two or three thousand pounds were due that -day, so that we had only to do what we must do—refuse -payment—to bring the disclosure sufficiently -before the world. He took leave of me with these -striking words—"Well, James, depend upon that, I -will never forsake you."'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In the </span><em class="italics">Journal</em><span> of that day—'I felt rather sneaking as -I came home from the Parliament House—felt as if I -were liable </span><em class="italics">monstrari digito</em><span> in no very pleasant way. -But this must be borne </span><em class="italics">cum caeteris</em><span>.' On which Lord -Cockburn remarks: 'very natural for him to feel so; -but it was the feeling of nobody else.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>From Cockburn's pages we can realise the astounding -effect of the news of Scott's implication in the disaster -upon his friends and fellow-citizens. The 'black -Tuesday' became a recollection of sadness and pain to -all who personally knew him. The destruction of half -the city could not have caused greater astonishment -and sorrow. His professional brethren now for the -first time learned that Scott had 'dabbled in -trade.' 'How humbled,' says Cockburn, 'we felt when we saw -him—the pride of us all—dashed from his lofty and -honourable station, and all the fruits of his well-worked -talents gone. He had not then even a political enemy. -There was not one of those whom his thoughtlessness -had so sorely provoked, who would not have given every -spare farthing he possessed to retrieve Sir Walter. -Well do I remember his first appearance after this -calamity was divulged, when he walked into Court one -day in January 1826. There was no affectation, and no -reality, of </span><em class="italics">facing it</em><span>; no look of indifference or defiance; -but the manly and modest air of a gentleman conscious -of some folly, but of perfect rectitude, and of most -heroic and honourable resolutions. It was on that very -day, I believe, that he said a very fine thing. Some of -his friends offered him, or rather proposed to offer him, -enough of money, as was supposed, to enable him to -arrange with his creditors. He paused for a moment; -and then, recollecting his powers, said proudly—"No! this -right hand shall work it all off." His friend -William Clerk supped with him one night after his -ruin was declared. They discussed the whole affair -openly and playfully; till at last they laughed over -their noggins at the change, and Sir Walter observed -that he felt something like Lambert and the other -Regicides, who, Pepys says, when he saw them going -to be hanged and quartered, were as cheerful and -comfortable as any gentlemen could be in that situation.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This probably refers to the evening, mentioned in -Scott's </span><em class="italics">Journal</em><span>, when his daughter was very greatly -surprised by the loud hilarity of Clerk and his host. -'But do people suppose,' adds Scott, 'that he was less -sorry for his poor sister,[1] or I for my lost fortune?' He -declares that pride was his strongest passion—a -passion which never hinged upon world's gear, which -was always with him—light come, light go!</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">[1] Miss Elizabeth Clerk's sudden death -had also occurred on the 17th of January.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Constable had stood like a hero in the breach to the -last moment. His last device, a good one if he could -have by magic imparted his own knowledge, foresight, -and sublime faith to a board of directors, was to take -Lockhart (in the capacity of a confidential friend of the -author of </span><em class="italics">Waverley</em><span>) with him to the Bank of England, -and to apply for a loan of from £100,000 to £200,000 -on the security of the copyrights. These, it must be -remembered, were the </span><em class="italics">Encyclopedia Britannica</em><span>, half of -the </span><em class="italics">Edinburgh Review</em><span>, nearly all Scott's poetry, the -Waverley Novels, and the </span><em class="italics">Life of Napoleon</em><span>, on which -Scott was at the time working. Lockhart refused to -interfere without direct instructions from Sir Walter. -Poor Constable, he says, became livid with rage.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The claims against Scott were found in the end to -amount to £130,000. All the world knows the course -Scott elected to take; how he at once put his affairs in -the hands of trustees, and became, by his own offer, -the vassal of his creditors for life, toiling henceforward -to pay their claims, not to enrich himself. From his -side it was a noble sacrifice, as noble as any ever offered -on the altar of honour. If the debts had been real, if -he had actually had in possession the sum and used it, -no other course would have been possible </span><em class="italics">salvo honore</em><span>. -But commercial debts, the largely fictitious product of -stamps and paper, should have been paid commercially. -Such a course, he himself said, he might have advised -a client to take, and it would have saved him much -sorrow, pain, and trouble, without harming any man. -However, he preferred it otherwise, and received the -news of the acceptance of his offer as if it had been -a mighty favour. He wrote in his </span><em class="italics">Journal</em><span>: 'This is -handsome and confidential, and must warm my best -efforts to get them out of the scrape.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The agreement was finally, not of course without -harassment and difficulty, passed. He was left in -possession of Abbotsford, his official salary was left -him to support his family, everything else was sold for -behoof of the creditors, and all his future literary gains -were assigned to them in advance. On March 15th -he left his house in Castle Street, and on that night he -wrote in his </span><em class="italics">Journal</em><span>: 'I never reckoned upon a change -in this particular so long as I held an office in the -Court of Session. In all my former changes of residence -it was from good to better—this is retrograding. I -leave this house for sale, and I cease to be an Edinburgh -citizen, in the sense of being a proprietor, which -my father and I have been for sixty years at least. So -farewell, poor 39, and may you never harbour worse -people than those who now leave you.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Very soon after the departure from Castle Street a -second calamity, probably hastened by the former, -overtook the family. Lady Scott died at Abbotsford -on the 14th of May. Scott, who was engaged in his -Court duties at Edinburgh, and staying now in -Mrs. Brown's lodgings, North St. David Street, reached -Abbotsford late in the evening of the 15th. His -weakly daughter Anne, worn out with attendance, was -hysterical when he arrived. The entries in his </span><em class="italics">Journal</em><span> -are sadly touching: 'When I contrast what this place -now is with what it has been not long since, I think -my heart will break. Lonely, aged, deprived of my -family—all but poor Anne; an impoverished, an -embarrassed man, deprived of the sharer of my -thoughts, who could always talk down my sense of the -calamitous apprehensions which break the heart that -must bear them alone.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The funeral took place on the 22nd at Dryburgh. -Scott mentions very kindly the Rev. E. B. Ramsay, -who performed the funeral service. This gentleman -afterwards became famous, when Dean of Edinburgh, -by his well-known book </span><em class="italics">Lights and Shadows of Scottish -Life</em><span>.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And now Scott found the task he had imposed upon -himself bracing him against despondency. He returned -to Edinburgh and his old 'task,' thankful that it was of -a graver nature (the </span><em class="italics">Life of Napoleon</em><span>), and determined -to fight on 'for the sake of the children and of my own -character.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A visit to London and Paris was necessitated in -October by his work on Napoleon. The change did -him good, and Lockhart mentions that his behaviour -under misfortunes so terrible had gained for him 'a -deep and respectful sympathy, which was brought -home to him in a way not to be mistaken.' This -expedition for information had cost him £200—a -matter for serious consideration in his changed -circumstances.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-lxi"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER LXI</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">House in Walker Street—Ill-health—Extraordinary -Labours—Article on Hoffman—Kindness to Literary People—Murray's -Party—Theatrical Fund Dinner—</span><em class="italics small">Life of -Napoleon</em><span class="small">—Payment of £28,000 to Creditors—The -Lockharts at Portobello—Grandfather's Tales—Domestic -Happiness—Visit of Adolphus.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>On resuming his duties in Edinburgh at the end of -November (1826), Scott went to reside in a furnished -house in Walker Street, which he had taken for the -winter. In his </span><em class="italics">Journal</em><span>, 27th November, he says: -'Walter came and supped with us, which diverted -some heavy thoughts. It is impossible not to -compare this return to Edinburgh with others in more -happy times. But we should rather recollect under -what distress of mind I took up my lodgings in -Mrs. Brown's last summer, and then the balance -weighs deeply on the favourable side. This house -is comfortable and convenient.' It was for the sake -of his daughter's company that he had taken this -house. The winter, however, proved a weary time. -His incessant toil at his </span><em class="italics">Napoleon</em><span> was hampered by -continual ill-health—successive attacks of rheumatism, -which might well have excused him from work of any -kind. But his watchword was, 'I am now at my oar, -and I must row hard.' To crown all his troubles, the -weather was exceptionally cold and trying. He could -not but think often of the days when rain and cold -and long night journeys did him no harm, and he -was painfully conscious of a speedy break-up of the -hard-wrought machine. Bad nights were the rule, -and he was sometimes sick with mere pain. Sometimes -he notes his work, proof-sheets and the like, as -'finished mechanically.' 'All well,' he ends up on -21st December, 'if the machine would but keep in -order, but "The spinning-wheel is auld and stiff." I -shall never see the threescore and ten, and shall be -summed up at a discount. No help for it, and no -matter either.' Yet, even in these circumstances, he -wrote more than his task. One of these minor pieces -was an article on Hoffman for the </span><em class="italics">Foreign Quarterly</em><span>, -a review edited by R. P. Gillies. It was done purely -as a kindness to Gillies, giving, as Lockhart says, a -poor brother author £100 at the expense of considerable -time and drudgery to himself. He had done the -same in numberless instances, often for persons whose -only claim on him was that of the common vocation. -At this time he naturally went but little into society, -but his enjoyment of good company could still be keen. -On spending an evening with John A. Murray, he -says: 'When I am out with a party of my Opposition -friends, the day is often merrier than when with our -own set. Is it because they are cleverer? Jeffrey and -Harry Cockburn are, to be sure, very extraordinary -men; yet it is not owing to that entirely. I believe -both parties meet with the feeling of something like -novelty—we have not worn out our jests in daily -contact.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>On the 23rd of February 1827 he presided at the -famous Theatrical Fund Dinner, at which he publicly -admitted his authorship of the Waverley Novels. All -he says of the incident is, 'Meadowbank taxed me -with the novels, and to end that farce at once I pleaded -guilty, so that splore is ended.' Of course, as a matter -of fact, the secret had been an open one from the day -of the first meeting of Ballantyne's creditors. When -Scott was thinking of himself as liable </span><em class="italics">monstrari digito</em><span> -as the partner of an insolvent firm, every one else was -thinking of him as the now-revealed 'author of -</span><em class="italics">Waverley</em><span>.' 'Scott ruined,' Earl Dudley exclaimed on -hearing the news, 'the author of </span><em class="italics">Waverley</em><span> ruined! -Good God! let every man to whom he has given -months of delight give him a sixpence, and he will -rise to-morrow morning richer than Rothschild!' That -was probably what was in the mind of every man who -gazed on Scott's calm, honest face in the first days of -trouble.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>On the 7th of June he finished </span><em class="italics">Napoleon</em><span>, which -had grown on his hands, much beyond the original -estimate, to nine closely-printed volumes. The work -produced £18,000 for his creditors, so that in eighteen -months he had actually diminished his obligations by -£28,000.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>One of the most touching episodes of Scott's life was -his loving anxiety for his invalid grandson, the child -of Lockhart and Sophia. Knowing the fearful strain -that Sir Walter was now keeping up in working -double tides for his bondholding masters, Lockhart -and his wife did what they could to induce him to -moderate his zeal. 'But nothing,' says Lockhart, -'was so useful as the presence of his invalid grandson. -The poor child was at this time so far restored -as to be able to sit on his pony again; and Sir Walter, -who had conceived, the very day he finished </span><em class="italics">Napoleon</em><span>, -the notion of putting together a series of </span><em class="italics">Tales on the -History of Scotland</em><span>, somewhat in the manner of -Mr. Croker's on that of England, rode daily among the -woods with his "Hugh Littlejohn," and told the story, -and ascertained that it suited the comprehension of -boyhood, before he reduced it to writing.' During -the rest of this year he wrote new matter which filled -five to six volumes in the uniform edition of his -works, but this Lockhart thinks was light and easy -compared with 'the perilous drudgery' of the preceding -eighteen months.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Ill-health and the perpetual consciousness of his -bondage had marvellously little effect as yet on the -quality of his work. To friends who visited him -casually he seems to have rarely alluded to any of -his troubles. Adolphus, however, mentions that -once, when speaking of his </span><em class="italics">Life of Napoleon</em><span>, he said -in a quiet but touching tone, 'I could have done -it better, if I had written at more leisure, and with a -mind more at ease.' Adolphus was deeply impressed -by the sight of his quiet cheerfulness among his -family and their young friends. He has preserved -one of Scott's remarks on the subject of happiness -which is both characteristic and, considering the time, -strikingly suggestive. Scott having said something -about an accident which had spoiled the promised -pleasure of a visit to his daughter in London, then -observed, 'I have had as much happiness in my time -as most men, and I must not complain now.' Adolphus -replied that, whatever had been his share of happiness, -no one could have laboured better for it. Scott's answer -was, 'I consider the capacity to labour as part of the -happiness I have enjoyed.' In mentioning Adolphus -(who had written a book on the authorship of the -Waverley Novels) and his visit, Scott wrote in his -</span><em class="italics">Journal</em><span>, 'He is a modest as well as an able man, and -I am obliged to him for the delicacy with which he -treated a matter in which I was personally so much -concerned.'</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-lxii"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER LXII</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">Incident of Gourgaud—Expected Duel—Scott's -Preparations—Tired of Edinburgh—Changing Aspect of New -Town—The 'Markets' superseded by Shops—The Female -Poisoner—Scott's opinion of 'Not Proven'—Points in its -Favour.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>In the </span><em class="italics">Life of Napoleon</em><span> Scott had made use of certain -documents which had been put at his disposal in the -British Colonial Office. Founding on these -unimpeachable authorities, he had told how General -Gourgaud, one of Napoleon's aides-de-camp at St. Helena, -though he had given the British Government private -information that Bonaparte's complaints of ill-usage -were utterly unfounded, had afterwards supported and -encouraged in France the idea that Sir Hudson Lowe's -conduct towards his illustrious prisoner had been cruel -and tyrannical. About the end of August Cadell sent -extracts from French newspapers to Scott, stating that -Gourgaud was going to London to </span><em class="italics">verify</em><span> the statements -in the history. This Cadell took to mean that -the fire-eater intended to fasten a quarrel on Scott and -challenge him to a duel. The good bookseller was -alarmed, but Scott took it all very coolly. He had -really dealt very moderately and delicately with -Gourgaud's shaky reputation, and when the latter at last -wrote his attack in the French newspapers, Scott -retorted by simply publishing in full the extracts he had -made from the records of the Colonial Office. The -General, though he continued to load Scott with abuse, -did not dare to pen a direct negative, and so the affair -'fizzled out.' Scott had expected a challenge, and -had quite made up his mind to fight, Clerk promising -to act as his second. 'He shall not dishonour the -country through my sides, I can assure him.' In the -end he writes, 'I wonder he did not come over and -try his manhood otherwise. I would not have shunned -him nor any Frenchman who ever kissed Bonaparte's -breech.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At this period Scott's heart became more and more -fixed upon Abbotsford, his interest in Edinburgh -proportionately less. Edinburgh was now only the -workshop, in which he must toil with fettered limbs, and -without the buoyancy of health and strength which -used to make his labours a portion of his happiness. -'Fagged by the Court'—'no time for </span><em class="italics">work</em><span>'—fagged by -the good company of Edinburgh, he is tempted to -run off to Abbotsford—'but it will not do; and, sooth -to speak, it ought not to do; though it would do me -much pleasure if it would do.' Such was his state -of mind, and his interest in local affairs and changes -of the city was naturally diminished. About the time -of the Ballantyne disaster, the opening of the New -Town markets at Stockbridge might perhaps have -drawn his attention to the great change going on -in the city, which has made it internally so modern, -and so commonplace. The New Town was now fast -becoming a town of shops. The old 'market' system, so -characteristic of Edinburgh, was dying out. Formerly -the dealers in any one commodity were all grouped -together in a certain fixed and limited locality. This -was what was meant by a 'market': a congregation -of shops or rather booths. For example, the Flesh -Market was at the Tron: the Cattle Market at King's -Stables end of the Grassmarket, and so on. Cockburn -remembered when, about 1810, the only supply of fish -for the citizens was in the Fish Market Close, which -he justly calls a steep, narrow, stinking ravine. 'The -fish' (he says) 'were generally thrown out on the street -at the head of the close, whence they were dragged -down by dirty boys or dirtier women; and then sold -unwashed—for there was not a drop of water in the -place—from old, rickety, scaly wooden tables, exposed -to all the rain, dust and filth.... I doubt if there was -a single fish-shop in Edinburgh so early as the year -1822.' The fruit and vegetable market was quite as -bad, managed by 'a college of old gin-drinking women, -who congregated with stools and tables round the -Tron Church.' The fruit was put on the tables, but -the vegetables were thrown on the ground. 'I doubt, -Cockburn adds, 'if there was a fruit-shop in Edinburgh -in 1815. All shops indeed meant for the sale of any -article on which there was a local tax or market-custom, -were discouraged by the magistrates or their tacksman -as interfering with the collection of the dues. The -growth of shops of all kinds in the New Town is -remarkable. I believe there were not half a dozen -of them in the whole New Town, west of St. Andrew -Street, in 1810. The dislike to them was so great, -that any proprietor who allowed one was abused as an -unneighbourly fellow.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In February 1827 a poisoning case came up for trial -which excited great interest in the city. Scott has -given a life-like sketch of the scene in his </span><em class="italics">Journal</em><span>. 'In -Court, and waited to see the poisoning woman. She -is clearly guilty, but as one or two witnesses said -the poor wench hinted an intention to poison herself, -the jury gave that bastard verdict, </span><em class="italics">Not Proven</em><span>. I hate -that Caledonian </span><em class="italics">medium quid</em><span>. One who is not </span><em class="italics">proven -guilty</em><span> is innocent in the eye of the law. It was a face -to do or die, or perhaps to do to die. Thin features, -which have been handsome, a flashing eye, an acute -and aquiline nose, lips much marked, as arguing -decision, and, I think, bad temper—they were thin, -and habitually compressed, rather turned down at the -corners, as one of a rather melancholy disposition. -There was an awful crowd; but, sitting within the -bar, I had the pleasure of seeing much at my ease; -the constables knocking the other folks about, which -was of course very entertaining.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Referring to the same incident, Lord Cockburn says -that Scott's description of the woman is very correct; -'she was like a vindictive masculine witch. I -remember him sitting within the bar looking at her. As -we were moving out, Sir Walter Scott's remark upon -the acquittal was, "Well, sirs, all I can say is that -if that woman was my wife I should take good care -to be my own cook."'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It is somewhat startling to find Scott so strongly -denouncing our Caledonian verdict of </span><em class="italics">Not Proven</em><span>. -</span><em class="italics">Pace tanti viri</em><span>, his opinion is not ours. A jury may -be convinced of the guilt of a person, and yet quite -satisfied that the prosecution has failed to prove it. -</span><em class="italics">Experto crede</em><span>; in a criminal case in the Sheriff Court -I have been on a jury that was absolutely unanimous -on both points, the police evidence having been got -up in a most perfunctory style. It was very satisfactory -to us to be able to say 'Not Proven,' which was -absolutely accurate, and yet not to be obliged to give -the prisoner a certificate of innocence. Probably this -verdict, while at times favouring the guilty, has saved -the life of many an innocent victim of circumstantial -fatality. It is entirely in favour of the innocent -'suspect,' to whom every day of respite is an additional -chance of clearing his name: to the guilty it is an -effective punishment, since any day may bring to -light the defective links in the proof of his guilt.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-lxiii"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER LXIII</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">Visit of Richardson and Cockburn to Abbotsford—Sir -Walter at Home—Anecdote of Cranstoun—Patterson's -Anecdotes—The Burke and Hare Murders—Anecdote of -Cockburn—Dr. Knox—Catholic Emancipation Bill—Meeting -in Edinburgh—Death of Terry and Shortreed—Severe -Illness of Scott—Death of Tom Purdie.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>John Richardson, 'the learned Peerage lawyer,' was -the intimate of Henry Cockburn, and the favoured -and highly prized friend of Sir Walter Scott. He tells -a good fishing story of earlier days when he visited -Sir Walter at Ashestiel. Richardson was fishing in -the Tweed, Scott walking by his side, when, after the -capture of numerous fine trout, he hooked something -greater and unseen. Scott became greatly excited: -to their common alarm the rod broke; but climbing -the bank and holding the rod down, the angler at last -managed to bring his mysterious prize round a small -peninsula towards the bank. Then 'Sir Walter -jumped into the water, seized him, and threw him -out on the grass. Tom Purdie came up a little time -after, and was certainly rather discomposed at my -success. "It will be some sea brute," he observed; -but he became satisfied that it was a fine river-trout, -and such as, he afterwards admitted, had not been -killed in Tweed for twenty years; and when I moved -down the water, he went, as Sir Walter afterwards -observed, and gave it a kick on the head, observing, -"To be ta'en by the like o' him frae Lunnon!"'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The two friends met again in very different form in -1828, when Cockburn accompanied Richardson to visit -Scott at Abbotsford. Apropos of this visit we have -happily a very fine description by Cockburn of Scott -and his talk at this time. He describes his -appearance thus: 'When fitted up for dinner, he was like -any other comfortably ill-dressed gentleman. But in -the morning, with the large coarse jacket, great stick, -and leathern cap, he was Dandy Dinmont or Dirk -Hatteraick—a poacher or a smuggler.' Scott gave -them an anecdote of an early anticipation regarding -the professional prospects of their friend George -Cranstoun, who had been recently raised to the bench. -Just after being called to the Bar, Cranstoun, William -Erskine, and Scott went to dine with an old Selkirk -writer, a devoted drinker of the old school. Cranstoun, -who was never anything at a debauch, was driven off -the field, with a squeamish stomach and a woful -countenance, shamefully early. Erskine, always -ambitious, adhered to the bowl somewhat longer; but Scott -who, as he told us, 'was at home with the hills and -the whisky punch,' not only triumphed over these -two, but very nearly over the landlord. As they were -mounting their horses to ride home, the entertainer -let the other two go without speaking to them; but -he embraced Scott, assuring him that he would rise -high. 'And I'll tell ye what, Maister Walter, that -lad Cranstoun may get to the tap o' the bar if he can; -but tak my word for't—it's no be by drinking.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In his </span><em class="italics">Journal</em><span>, 4th April 1829, it is mentioned that -one David Patterson wrote to Sir Walter to suggest -that he should write on the subject of the Burke and -Hare murders, and to offer him for materials his -'invaluable collection of anecdotes.' 'Did ever one hear -of the like?' adds Scott. 'The scoundrel has been the -companion and patron of such atrocious murderers and -kidnappers, and he has the impudence to write to any -decent man!'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Burke and Hare were two desperadoes who, for -about two years, had carried on a regular trade of -murder in Edinburgh, the scene being a gloomy back -house, recently demolished, in a close near the north -corner of the West Port and Lady Lawson Street. -Here they had disposed of sixteen victims, selling -all the bodies to the doctors for dissection. The -popular excitement when the discovery was made, -and when Burke, Hare, and Helen Macdougal were -brought to trial, was something unexampled in the -city. 'No case,' says Lord Cockburn, 'ever struck -the public heart or imagination with greater horror. -And no wonder. The regular demand for anatomical -subjects, and the high prices given, held out a constant -premium to murder; and when it was shown to what -danger this exposed the unprotected, every one felt -himself living among persons to whom murder was a -trade.' At this time Dr. Robert Knox, a very clever -surgeon, was the most popular lecturer in the medical -school, and into his hands most of the bodies had -come. The populace fully believed that he had known -that the bodies were those of murdered persons. Few -could believe him entirely innocent—a supposition, of -course, inconsistent with his anatomical skill. He -was, however, acquitted of all blame by the report of an -independent and influential committee, and remained in -Edinburgh till 1841. Lord Cockburn states that all -the Edinburgh anatomists incurred great odium, which -he considered most unjust. Tried in view of the -invariable, and at that time necessary practice of the -profession, the anatomists were, in his opinion, 'spotlessly -correct, and Knox the most correct of them all.' It -was Cockburn who, as counsel for the defence, secured -the acquittal of Helen Macdougal. A story went round -that, on finishing his address to the jury and observing -its effect, he whispered, 'Infernal hag! the gudgeons -swallow it!' This was utterly untrue. The evidence -was really insufficient to warrant a conviction, and the -defence was, of course, entirely honest. Of the two -assassins, Hare escaped by turning King's Evidence, -and Burke, the less revolting of the two, was hanged. -On the evening of the execution Scott wrote, 'The mob, -which was immense, demanded Knox and Hare, but -though greedy for more victims, received with shouts -the solitary wretch who found his way to the gallows -out of five or six who seem not less guilty than -he.' Knox's brilliant career was ruined by the incident. -He passed the last twenty years of his life in London, -in a precarious struggle for a poor existence, and died -in 1862.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In March 1829 Edinburgh had a great meeting in -favour of Wellington and Peel's measure of Catholic -Emancipation. Scott and a number of Tories -supported it. His opinion was that the measure ought -to satisfy all lovers of peace. But he had his doubts -about </span><em class="italics">Pat</em><span>, 'who with all his virtues, is certainly not -the most sensible person in the world.' The petition -got up by the meeting was signed by eight thousand -persons, but the two opposing petitions were much more -numerously signed. When the first petition was read -in the House of Commons, the name of Sir Walter -Scott was received with a great shout of applause, -which led Sir Robert Peel to send him a special and -very cordial letter of thanks. Of this petition Cockburn, -who was prominent in the whole affair, declares that -the eight thousand who signed were of a higher and -more varied class than ever concurred in any political -measure in Edinburgh.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>About the middle of May appeared </span><em class="italics">Anne of Geierstein</em><span>, -which, as Lockhart has put it, may almost be called the -last work of Scott's imaginative genius. To the reader -who peruses this story, keeping in mind the time and -the circumstances in which it was written, it is full of -passages which touchingly depict the past and present -emotions of the writer's own career.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The next two months deprived him of two old -friends—Terry and Shortreed—with whom, he writes, 'many -recollections die.' Meanwhile there was great comfort -in the success of his </span><em class="italics">Magnum Opus</em><span>—the collected -works.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At the end of this year, 1829, eight volumes had -appeared, and the monthly sale was thirty-five -thousand. The effect on his spirits was gratifying to his -friends, for he had been almost prostrated by fears and -anxiety about the health of his eldest son. Then came -the first warning of the end. 'Good news of Walter' -was succeeded by a serious and alarming attack of -illness—in fact a threatening of apoplexy. He obtained -relief by cupping, but he had apparently no delusions -as to the meaning of the stroke. Writing to tell Walter -of his recovery, he talks of coming death, and in view -of 'the pro-di-gi-ous sale' of the Novels, he says, 'I -should be happy to die a free man; and I am sure you -will all be kind to poor Anne, who will miss me most. -I don't intend to die a minute sooner than I can help for -all this; but when a man takes to making blood instead -of water, he is tempted to think on the possibility of his -soon making earth.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Another warning was the loss of his 'old and faithful -servant,' the never-failing Tom Purdie. He died -suddenly, and on his grave, close to the Abbey at Melrose, -may be seen the monument placed there by Sir Walter -'in sorrow for the loss of a humble but sincere friend.' This -bereavement was felt so keenly that, for once in -his life, Scott was impatient to leave Abbotsford and -resume the engrossing cares of the city. 'I am so -much shocked, that I really wish to be quit of the -country and safe in the town.'</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-lxiv"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER LXIV</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">Last Winter in Edinburgh—The </span><em class="italics small">Ayrshire Tragedy</em><span class="small">—Apoplectic -Stroke—Retirement from the Clerkship—Visit -to Edinburgh—Refusal to stop Literary Work—John -Nicolson—Scott at Cadell's House—His Will.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>On reaching 'the safety of the town' he began work -without delay. The </span><em class="italics">Ayrshire Tragedy</em><span>, his most ambitious -attempt in drama, was finished before the close of -the year. It is founded on the horrible story of Mure -of Auchindrane. The 'tragedy' is, however, really -less interesting and dramatic than the simple prose -version of the story which forms the preface.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>So was Scott's life going on—the regular daily routine -of his Court duties and then the daily portion of 'work,' -of which, in spite of all that happened, he seems to have -done as much in 1830 as in the previous year. There -was no immediate warning of the terrible collapse. On -the 15th of February he returned from the Court as usual -about two o'clock. An old lady was waiting to show -him some papers. He sat with her for half an hour, -seeming to be occupied with the MS. When he rose -from his chair to usher out his visitor, he sank back -again. His features were slightly convulsed. After -a few minutes he rose and staggered to the -drawing-room. His daughter Anne and Miss Lockhart ran to -him, but they were not in time—he fell at full length -on the floor. A surgeon was fetched without delay, -and bleeding proved effective. So fully did he recover -his faculties, that he was able shortly to go out as -usual, and few noticed any serious change. For a -time he and his friends tried to believe that 'the -attack had proceeded merely from the stomach.' The -symptoms, however, too clearly indicated the more -serious danger. 'When we recollect,' says the -biographer, 'that both his father and his elder brother -died of paralysis, and consider the violences of -agitation and exertion to which Sir Walter had been -subjected during the four preceding years, the only -wonder is that this blow (which had, I suspect, several -indistinct harbingers) was deferred so long; there can -be none that it was soon followed by others of the -same description.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>His health continued to improve till the autumn of -this year. He was now preparing to bid farewell to -Edinburgh. In July he retired from the Clerkship of -Session, receiving an allowance of £800 a year, and -refusing (with consent of his masters) a pension of -£500, which would have made up the loss of income. -The idea of leaving Edinburgh was, all the same, very -painful. 'I can hardly' (he wrote at this time) 'form a -notion of the possibility that I am not to return to -Edinburgh.' The breaking up of a routine which had lasted -for twenty-six years, was in itself a serious change. It -meant also the loss, during the winter, of the society -which helped so much to cheer him. And then, as -Lockhart says, 'he had a love for the very stones of -Edinburgh, and the thought that he was never again -to sleep under a roof of his own in his native city, cost -him many a pang.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>His return to Edinburgh in November was for the -purpose of consulting his physicians there after another -slight attack of apoplexy. One of these was the famous -Abercrombie. They prescribed a severe regimen of -spare diet, and strongly urged him to cease from -brain-work. Lockhart and his relatives did the same. His -reply was: 'I am not sure that I am quite myself in -all things; but I am sure that in one point there is no -change. I mean, that I foresee distinctly that if I were -to be idle, I should go mad. In comparison to this, -death is no risk to shrink from.' It can be seen from -his diary what this 'work' meant; he speaks of being -'fogged with frozen vigils'—of working 'without -intermission'—and grudges an afternoon's chat with -visitors, 'though well employed and pleasantly.' And -all this time the symptoms of physical collapse were -growing daily more plain and more painful. 'I speak -with an impediment—the constant increase of my -lameness—the thigh-joint, knee-joint, and ancle-joint. -I should not care for all this, if I were sure of dying -handsomely.... But the fear is, lest the blow be not -sufficient to destroy life, and that I should linger on, -"a driveller and a show."'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In January 1831 he became convinced that it was -now a pressing duty to make his will. A heavy fall -of snow began on the 30th, but next morning he set -out on horseback, attended only by his 'confidential -attendant,' John Nicolson, whose services in these last -years were of extraordinary value to the disabled man. -Lockhart's praise of him was doubtless well-deserved: -'He had been in the household from his boyhood, and -was about this time advanced to the chief place in it. -Early and continued kindness had made a very deep -impression on this fine handsome young man's warm -heart; he possessed intelligence, good sense, and a -calm temper; and the courage and dexterity which Sir -Walter had delighted to see him display in sports and -pastimes, proved henceforth of inestimable service to -the master whom he regarded, I verily believe, with -the love and reverence of a son.' On reaching -Edinburgh, Sir Walter took up his quarters for the -night in a hotel. It was the first time he had done so -in his native city. He could not sleep, lay listening -to the endless noises of the street, and next day he -yielded to Cadell's kindly pressure and accepted the -publisher's hospitality at his house in Atholl Crescent. -'Here,' he mentions in a letter to Mrs. Lockhart, 'I -saw various things that belonged to poor No. 39. I -had many sad thoughts on seeing and handling them—but -they are in kind keeping, and I was glad they had -not gone to strangers.' These were some articles -which had been bought in at the sale by a friend and -returned to Scott, who himself had presented them to -Mrs. Cadell. With the Cadells the snowstorm -prolonged his stay for a week. He was cheered by the -sight of one or two old intimates, such as Clerk and -Skene, but they could not look on him without feeling -pain at the great change. Even now he kept on -writing, working for some hours daily on </span><em class="italics">Count Robert -of Paris</em><span>. The will was duly completed, signed, and -left in the safe keeping of Cadell. The account of the -visit in the </span><em class="italics">Journal</em><span> concludes: 'I executed my last -will, leaving Walter burdened, by his own choice, with -£1000 to Sophia, and another received at her marriage, -and £2000 to Anne, and the same to Charles. I have -made provisions for clearing my estate by my -publications, should it be possible.... My bequests must, -many of them, seem hypothetical.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Besides during the unexpected stay in town, I -employed Mr. Fortune, an ingenious artist, to make a -machine to assist my lame leg....</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'The appearance of the streets was most desolate; the -hackney coaches, with four horses, strolling about like -ghosts, and foot-passengers few but the lowest of the -people.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'I wrote a good deal of </span><em class="italics">Count Robert</em><span>, yet I cannot tell -why my pen stammers egregiously and I write horridly -incorrect. I long to have friend Laidlaw's assistance.'</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-lxv"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER LXV</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">The Paralytic Stroke—The Last Novels—Election -Meetings—Disgraceful Conduct of Radical Gangs—Scott's -Journey for Health—The Return—Collapse and Stupor—The -Last Stay in Edinburgh—Death of Sir Walter Scott.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Very soon after this came what Sir Walter himself -could not fail to recognise as 'a distinct stroke of -paralysis affecting both nerves and speech.' Lockhart -describes the occasion on which it occurred as follows: -'Sir Walter's friend Lord Meadowbank had come to -Abbotsford, as usual when on the Jedburgh circuit; -and he would make an effort to receive the Judge in -something of the old style of the place; he collected -several of the neighbouring gentry to dinner, and tried -to bear his wonted part in the conversation. Feeling -his strength and spirits flagging, he was tempted to -violate his physician's directions, and took two or three -glasses of champagne, not having tasted wine for -several months before. On retiring to his dressing-room -he had this severe shock of apoplectic paralysis, -and kept his bed under the surgeon's hands for several -days.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A fortnight after, when Lockhart came to see him, -Sir Walter, having been lifted on his pony, came about -half a mile on the Selkirk road to meet him, with one -of his grand-children before him on a pillion. -Lockhart was sadly moved by the terrible change in his -appearance, which he describes thus: 'All his -garments hung loose about him; his countenance was -thin and haggard, and there was an obvious distortion -in the muscles of one cheek. His look, however, was -placid—his eye as bright as ever—perhaps brighter -than it ever was in health; he smiled with the same -affectionate gentleness, and though at first it was not -easy to understand everything he said, he spoke -cheerfully and manfully.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Under such conditions, Sir Walter still continued to -work, seldom speaking even in the family circle about -his illness at all, and only then in a hopeful way. His -one desire was to use his faculties, while they remained -responsive, for the benefit of those to whom he -considered himself a debtor. </span><em class="italics">Count Robert</em><span> and </span><em class="italics">Castle -Dangerous</em><span> were both finished at this time, the latter -being perhaps the only permanent evidence of the final -decay of his powers.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Scott's strong sense of duty, combined with the calls -of his official position as Sheriff, obliged him to take -part during the month of May in several election meetings. -He was from deep conviction opposed to the great -movement for reforming our political machinery by -which the country was then convulsed. At Jedburgh -the mob, largely recruited from Hawick, showed their -political fanaticism by mobbing Sir Walter Scott and -putting his life in danger. At Selkirk, however, -though it also was invaded by a Radical contingent, no -disrespect was shown to the great man who was there -personally known to all and 'all but universally -beloved as well as feared.' 'I am well pleased,' -Lockhart remarks, 'that (Selkirk) the ancient capital of the -</span><em class="italics">Forest</em><span> did not stain its fair name upon this -miserable occasion; and I am sorry for Jedburgh and -Hawick. This last town stands almost within sight of -Branksome Hall, overhanging also </span><em class="italics">sweet Teviot's silver -tide</em><span>. The civilised American or Australian will curse -these places, of which he would never have heard but -for Scott, as he passes through them in some distant -century, when perhaps all that remains of our national -glories may be the high literature adopted and -extended in new lands planted from our blood.' It is a -bitter reflection that Sir Walter Scott's last hours were -haunted by the mob's brutal cry of 'Burke Sir Walter.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But we must not dwell on the events of 1831. The -European journey, the last slender hope for the great -novelist's recovery, was begun in October, the -Government putting at Sir Walter's disposal the </span><em class="italics">Barham</em><span>, 'a -beautiful ship, a 74 cut down to a 50, and well -deserving all the commendations bestowed on her.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There remains now only one more Edinburgh scene to -notice—a sadder scene than that of the death-bed. He -had reached London on the 13th of June 1832, being then -in a state of extreme feebleness and exhaustion. There -he lay 'in the second-floor back-room' of a Jermyn -Street hotel, for some three weeks, in a state of almost -unbroken stupor. When conscious, he was for ever -wishing to return to Abbotsford. At last it was decided -to gratify his desire, and on the 7th of July he was -lifted into his carriage and conveyed to the steamboat. -On this journey he had with him his two daughters, -Cadell, Lockhart, and Dr. Thomas Watson, his medical -adviser. On board the steamer he seemed, after being -laid in bed, unconscious of the removal that had taken -place. At Newhaven, which the vessel reached late -on the 9th, he was taken on shore, lying prostrate in -his carriage. Then he was conveyed, still apparently -unconscious, to Douglas's hotel in St. Andrew Square. -This was his last visit to Edinburgh.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Lockhart mentions that Mr. and Mrs. Douglas had -made all preparations that could have been desired for -his accommodation, but he does not seem even to have -known that he was once more in 'his own romantic -town.' The old charm of Edinburgh had long resigned -its power in favour of that of Abbotsford. The tie of -home was no longer connected with the city, and the -rousing of his memory only came when the carriage -had made two stages towards the Tweed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And so he went on his way to Abbotsford, where he -died, and to Dryburgh, where he was laid in his grave. -And the great city which he had loved, died too, to -him—on that summer morning when the sad little -party drove away from its gates. Some of the last -lines he penned—the motto of Chapter XIV. of </span><em class="italics">Castle -Dangerous</em><span>—are fraught with the spirit of his noble -life—courage, truth, and steadfastness to endure—</span></p> -<blockquote> -<div> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="line"><span>'The way is long, my children, long and rough—</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>The moors are dreary, and the woods are dark;</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>But he that creeps from cradle on to grave</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>Unskilled save in the velvet course of fortune,</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>Hath miss'd the discipline of noble hearts.'</span></div> -</div> -</div> -</blockquote> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="small">Printed by T. and A. CONSTABLE, Printers to His Majesty -<br />at the Edinburgh University Press</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 6em"> -</div> -<!-- -*- encoding: utf-8 -*- --> -<div class="backmatter"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst" id="pg-end-line"><span>*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK </span><span>EDINBURGH UNDER SIR WALTER SCOTT</span><span> ***</span></p> -<div class="cleardoublepage"> -</div> -<div class="language-en level-2 pgfooter section" id="a-word-from-project-gutenberg" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> -<span id="pg-footer"></span><h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><span>A Word from Project Gutenberg</span></h2> -<p class="pfirst"><span>We will update this book if we find any errors.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This book can be found under: </span><a class="reference external" href="http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/47617"><span>http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/47617</span></a></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright royalties. -Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this -license, apply to copying and distributing Project Gutenberg™ -electronic works to protect the Project Gutenberg™ concept and -trademark. 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