CHAPTER XXVI

AFFAIRS OF JOHN BALLANTYNE AND CO. -- CAUSES OF THEIR

DERANGEMENT. --LETTERS OF SCOTT TO HIS PARTNERS. -- NEGOTIATION

FOR RELIEF WITH MESSRS. CONSTABLE. -- NEW PURCHASE OF LAND AT

ABBOTSFORD. --EMBARRASSMENTS CONTINUED. -- JOHN BALLANTYNE'S

EXPRESSES. --DRUMLANRIG, PENRITH, ETC. -- SCOTT'S MEETING WITH

THE MARQUIS OF ABERCORN AT LONGTOWN. -- HIS APPLICATION TO THE

DUKE OF BUCCLEUCH. --OFFER OF THE POET-LAUREATESHIP, --

CONSIDERED, -- AND DECLINED. --ADDRESS OF THE CITY OF EDINBURGH

TO THE PRINCE REGENT. -- ITS RECEPTION. -- CIVIC HONORS CONFERRED

ON SCOTT. -- QUESTION OF TAXATION ON LITERARY INCOME. -- LETTERS

TO MR. MORRITT, MR. SOUTHEY, MR. RICHARDSON, MR. CRABBE, MISS

BAILLIE, AND LORD BYRON

1813

About a month after the publication of The Bridal of Triermain, the

affairs of the Messrs. Ballantyne, which had never apparently been

in good order since the establishment of the bookselling firm,

became so embarrassed as to call for Scott's most anxious efforts to

disentangle them. Indeed, it is clear that there had existed some

very serious perplexity in the course of the preceding autumn; for

Scott writes to John Ballantyne, while Rokeby was in progress

(August 11, 1812),--"I have a letter from James, very anxious about

your health and state of spirits. If you suffer the present

inconveniences to depress you too much, you are wrong; and if you

conceal any part of them, are very unjust to us all. I am always

ready to make any sacrifices to do justice to engagements, and would

rather sell anything, or everything, than be less than true men to

the world."

[Illustration: ARCHIBALD CONSTABLE

_From the painting by Raeburn_]

I have already, perhaps, said enough to account for the general want

of success in this publishing adventure; but Mr. James Ballantyne

sums up the case so briefly in his deathbed paper, that I may here

quote his words. "My brother," he says, "though an active and

pushing, was not a cautious bookseller, and the large sums received

never formed an addition to stock. In fact, they were all expended

by the partners, who, being then young and sanguine men, not

unwillingly adopted my brother's hasty results. By May, 1813, in a

word, the absolute throwing away of our own most valuable

publications, and the rash adoption of some injudicious speculations

of Mr. Scott, had introduced such losses and embarrassments, that

after a very careful consideration, Mr. Scott determined to dissolve

the concern." He adds: "This became a matter of less difficulty,

because time had in a great measure worn away the differences

between Mr. Scott and Mr. Constable, and Mr. Hunter was now out of

Constable's concern.[23] A peace, therefore, was speedily made up,

and the old habits of intercourse were restored."

How reluctantly Scott had made up his mind to open such a

negotiation with Constable, as involved a complete exposure of the

mismanagement of John Ballantyne's business as a publisher, will

appear from a letter dated about the Christmas of 1812, in which he

says to James, who had proposed asking Constable to take a share

both in Rokeby and in the Annual Register, "You must be aware, that

in stating the objections which occur to me to taking in Constable,

I think they ought to give way either to absolute necessity or to

very strong grounds of advantage. But I _am_ persuaded nothing

ultimately good can be expected from any connection with that

house, unless for those who have a mind to be hewers of wood and

drawers of water. We will talk the matter coolly over, and, in the

mean while, perhaps you could see W. Erskine, and learn what

impression this odd union is like to make among your friends.

Erskine is sound-headed, and quite to be trusted with _your whole

story_. I must own I can hardly think the purchase of the Register

is equal to the loss of credit and character which your surrender

will be conceived to infer." At the time when he wrote this, Scott

no doubt anticipated that Rokeby would have success not less

decisive than The Lady of the Lake; but in this expectation--though

10,000 copies in three months would have seemed to any other author

a triumphant sale--he had been disappointed. And meanwhile the

difficulties of the firm, accumulating from week to week, had

reached, by the middle of May, a point which rendered it absolutely

necessary for him to conquer all his scruples.

Mr. Cadell, then Constable's partner, says in his

_Memoranda_,--"Prior to this time the reputation of John Ballantyne

and Co. had been decidedly on the decline. It was notorious in the

trade that their general speculations had been unsuccessful; they

were known to be grievously in want of money. These rumors were

realized to the full by an application which Messrs. B. made to Mr.

Constable in May, 1813, for pecuniary aid, accompanied by an offer

of some of the books they had published since 1809, as a purchase,

along with various shares in Mr. Scott's own poems. Their

difficulties were admitted, and the negotiation was pressed

urgently; so much so, that a pledge was given, that if the terms

asked were acceded to, John Ballantyne and Co. would endeavor to

wind up their concerns, and cease as soon as possible to be

publishers." Mr. Cadell adds: "I need hardly remind you that this

was a period of very great general difficulty in the money market.

It was the crisis of the war. The public expenditure had reached an

enormous height; and even the most prosperous mercantile houses were

often pinched to sustain their credit. It may easily, therefore, be

supposed that the Messrs. Ballantyne had during many months besieged

every banker's door in Edinburgh, and that their agents had done the

like in London."

The most important of the requests which the laboring house made to

Constable was that he should forthwith take entirely to himself the

stock, copyright, and future management of the Edinburgh Annual

Register. Upon examining the state of this book, however, Constable

found that the loss on it had never been less than £1000 per annum,

and he therefore declined that matter for the present. He promised,

however, to consider seriously the means he might have of ultimately

relieving them from the pressure of the Register, and, in the mean

time, offered to take 300 sets of the stock on hand. The other

purchases he finally made on the 18th of May were considerable

portions of Weber's unhappy Beaumont and Fletcher--of an edition of

De Foe's novels in twelve volumes--of a collection entitled Tales of

the East in three large volumes, 8vo, double-columned--and of

another in one volume, called Popular Tales--about 800 copies of The

Vision of Don Roderick--and a fourth of the remaining copyright of

Rokeby, price £700. The immediate accommodation thus received

amounted to £2000; and Scott, who had personally conducted the

latter part of the negotiation, writes thus to his junior partner,

who had gone a week or two earlier to London in quest of some

similar assistance there:--

TO MR. JOHN BALLANTYNE, CARE OF MESSRS. LONGMAN & CO., LONDON.

PRINTING-OFFICE, May 18, 1813.

DEAR JOHN,--After many _offs_ and _ons_, and as many _projets_ and

_contre-projets_ as the treaty of Amiens, I have at length concluded

a treaty with Constable, in which I am sensible he has gained a great

advantage;[24] but what could I do amidst the disorder and pressure of

so many demands? The arrival of your long-dated bills decided my

giving in, for what could James or I do with them? I trust this

sacrifice has cleared our way, but many rubs remain; nor am I, after

these hard skirmishes, so able to meet them by my proper credit.

Constable, however, will be a zealous ally; and for the first time

these many weeks I shall lay my head on a quiet pillow, for now I do

think that, by our joint exertions, we shall get well through the

storm, save Beaumont from depreciation, get a partner in our heavy

concerns, reef our topsails, and move on securely under an easy sail.

And if, on the one hand, I have sold my gold too cheap, I have, on the

other, turned my lead to gold. Brewster[25] and Singers[26] are the

only heavy things to which I have not given a blue eye. Had your news

of Cadell's sale[27] reached us here, I could not have harpooned my

grampus so deeply as I have done, as nothing but Rokeby would have

barbed the hook.

Adieu, my dear John. I have the most sincere regard for you, and you

may depend on my considering your interest with quite as much

attention as my own. If I have ever expressed myself with irritation

in speaking of this business, you must impute it to the sudden,

extensive, and unexpected embarrassments in which I found myself

involved all at once. If to your real goodness of heart and integrity,

and to the quickness and acuteness of your talents, you added habits

of more universal circumspection, and, above all, the courage to tell

disagreeable truths to those whom you hold in regard, I pronounce that

the world never held such a man of business. These it must be your

study to add to your other good qualities. Meantime, as some one says

to Swift, I love you with all your failings. Pray make an effort and

love me with all mine. Yours truly,

W. S.

Three days afterwards Scott resumes the subject as follows:--

TO MR. JOHN BALLANTYNE, LONDON.

EDINBURGH, 21st May, 1813.

DEAR JOHN,--Let it never escape your recollection, that shutting your

own eyes, or blinding those of your friends, upon the actual state of

business, is the high road to ruin. Meanwhile, we have recovered our

legs for a week or two. Constable will, I think, come in to the

Register. He is most anxious to maintain the printing-office; he sees

most truly that the more we print the less we publish; and for the

same reason he will, I think, help us off with our heavy quire-stock.

I was aware of the distinction between the _state_ and the _calendar_

as to the latter including the printing-office bills, and I summed and

docked them (they are marked with red ink), but there is still a

difference of £2000 and upwards on the calendar against the business.

I sometimes fear that, between the long dates of your bills, and the

tardy settlements of the Edinburgh trade, some difficulties will occur

even in June; and July I always regard with deep anxiety. As for loss,

if I get out without public exposure, I shall not greatly regard the

rest. Radcliffe the physician said, when he lost £2000 on the South

Sea scheme, it was only going up 2000 pair of stairs; I say, it is

only writing 2000 couplets, and the account is balanced. More of this

hereafter. Yours truly,

W. SCOTT.

P. S.--James has behaved very well during this whole transaction, and

has been most steadily attentive to business. I am convinced that the

more he works the better his health will be. One or other of you will

need to be constantly in the printing-office henceforward,--it is the

sheet-anchor.

The allusion in this _postscript_ to James Ballantyne's health

reminds me that Scott's letters to himself are full of hints on that

subject, even from a very early period of their connection; and

these hints are all to the same effect. James was a man of lazy

habits, and not a little addicted to the more solid, and perhaps

more dangerous, part of the indulgences of the table. One letter

(dated Ashestiel, 1810) will be a sufficient specimen:--

TO MR. JAMES BALLANTYNE.

MY DEAR JAMES,--I am very sorry for the state of your health, and

should be still more so, were I not certain that I can prescribe for

you as well as any physician in Edinburgh. You have naturally an

athletic constitution and a hearty stomach, and these agree very ill

with a sedentary life and the habits of indolence which it brings on.

Your stomach thus gets weak; and from those complaints of all others

arise most certainly flatulence, hypochondria, and all the train of

unpleasant feelings connected with indigestion. We all know the

horrible sensation of the nightmare arises from the same cause which

gives those waking nightmares commonly called the blue devils. You

must positively put yourself on a regimen as to eating, not for a

month or two, but for a year at least, and take regular exercise--and

my life for yours. I know this by myself, for if I were to eat and

drink in town as I do here, it would soon finish me, and yet I am

sensible I live too genially in Edinburgh as it is. Yours very truly,

W. SCOTT.

Among Scott's early pets at Abbotsford there was a huge raven,

whose powers of speech were remarkable, far beyond any parrot's that

he had ever met with; and who died in consequence of an excess of

the kind to which James Ballantyne was addicted. Thenceforth, Scott

often repeated to his old friend, and occasionally scribbled by way

of postscript to his notes on business--

"When you are craving,

Remember the Raven."

Sometimes the formula is varied to--

"When you've dined half,

Think on poor Ralph!"

His preachments of regularity in book-keeping to John, and of

abstinence from good cheer to James Ballantyne, were equally vain;

but on the other hand it must be allowed that they had some reason

for displeasure--(the more felt, because they durst not, like him,

express their feelings)[28]--when they found that scarcely had these

"hard skirmishes" terminated in the bargain of May 18, before Scott

was preparing fresh embarrassments for himself, by commencing a

negotiation for a considerable addition to his property at

Abbotsford. As early as the 20th of June he writes to Constable as

being already aware of this matter, and alleges his anxiety "to

close at once with a very capricious person," as the only reason

that could have induced him to make up his mind to sell the whole

copyright of an as yet unwritten poem, to be entitled The Nameless

Glen. This copyright he then offered to dispose of to Constable for

£5000; adding, "this is considerably less in proportion than I have

already made on the share of Rokeby sold to yourself, and surely

that is no unfair admeasurement." A long correspondence ensued, in

the course of which Scott mentions The Lord of the Isles, as a title

which had suggested itself to him in place of The Nameless Glen; but

as the negotiation did not succeed, I may pass its details. The new

property which Scott was so eager to acquire was that hilly tract

stretching from the old Roman road near Turn-again towards the

Cauldshiels Loch: a then desolate and naked mountain-mere, which he

likens, in a letter of this summer (to Lady Louisa Stuart), to the

Lake of the Genie and the Fisherman in the Arabian Tale. To obtain

this lake at one extremity of his estate, as a contrast to the Tweed

at the other, was a prospect for which hardly any sacrifice would

have appeared too much; and he contrived to gratify his wishes in

the course of that July, to which he had spoken of himself in May as

looking forward "with the deepest anxiety."

Nor was he, I must add, more able to control some of his minor

tastes. I find him writing to Mr. Terry, on the 20th of June, about

"that splendid lot of ancient armor, advertised by Winstanley," a

celebrated auctioneer in London, of which he had the strongest fancy

to make his spoil, though he was at a loss to know where it should

be placed when it reached Abbotsford; and on the 2d of July, this

acquisition also having been settled, he says to the same

correspondent: "I have written to Mr. Winstanley. My bargain with

Constable was otherwise arranged, but Little John is to find the

needful article, and I shall take care of Mr. Winstanley's interest,

who has behaved too handsomely in this matter to be trusted to the

mercy of our little friend the Picaroon, who is, notwithstanding his

many excellent qualities, a little on the score of old Gobbo--doth

somewhat smack--somewhat grow to.[29] We shall be at Abbotsford on

the 12th, and hope soon to see you there. I am fitting up a small

room above _Peter-House_, where an unceremonious bachelor may

consent to do penance, though the place is a cock-loft, and the

access that which leads many a bold fellow to his last nap--a

ladder."[30] And a few weeks later, he says, in the same sort, to

his sister-in-law, Mrs. Thomas Scott: "In despite of these hard

times, which affect my patrons the booksellers very much, I am

buying old books and old armor as usual, and adding to what your old

friend Burns[31] calls--

'A fouth of auld nick-nackets,

Rusty airn caps and jingling jackets,

Wad haud the Lothians three in tackets

A towmont gude,

And parritch-pats and auld saut-backets,

Before the flude.'"

Notwithstanding all this, it must have been with a most uneasy mind

that he left Edinburgh to establish himself at Abbotsford that July.

The assistance of Constable had not been granted, indeed it had not

been asked, to an extent at all adequate for the difficulties of the

case; and I have now to transcribe, with pain and reluctance, some

extracts from Scott's letters, during the ensuing autumn, which

speak the language of anxious, and, indeed, humiliating distress;

and give a most lively notion of the incurable recklessness of his

younger partner.

TO MR. JOHN BALLANTYNE.

ABBOTSFORD, Saturday, 24th July.

DEAR JOHN,--I sent you the order, and have only to hope it arrived

safe and in good time. I waked the boy at three o'clock myself,

having slept little, less on account of the money than of the time.

Surely you should have written, three or four days before, the

probable amount of the deficit, and, as on former occasions, I would

have furnished you with means of meeting it. These expresses, besides

every other inconvenience, excite surprise in my family and in the

neighborhood. I know no justifiable occasion for them but the

unexpected return of a bill. I do not consider you as answerable for

the success of plans, but I do and must hold you responsible for

giving me, in distinct and plain terms, your opinion as to any

difficulties which may occur, and that in such time that I may make

arrangements to obviate them if possible.

Of course, if anything has gone wrong you will come out here

to-morrow. But if, as I hope and trust, the cash arrived safe, you

will write to me, under cover to the Duke of Buccleuch, Drumlanrig

Castle, Dumfries-shire. I shall set out for that place on Monday

morning early.

W. S.

TO MR. JAMES BALLANTYNE.

ABBOTSFORD, 25th July, 1813.

DEAR JAMES,--I address the following jobation for John to you, that

you may see whether I do not well to be angry, and enforce upon him

the necessity of constantly writing his fears as well as his hopes.

You should rub him often on this point, for his recollection becomes

rusty the instant I leave town and am not in the way to rack him with

constant questions. I hope the presses are doing well, and that you

are quite stout again. Yours truly,

W. S.

(_Enclosure._)

TO MR. JOHN BALLANTYNE.

MY GOOD FRIEND JOHN,--The post brings me no letter from you, which I

am much surprised at, as you must suppose me anxious to learn that

your express arrived. I think he must have reached you before

post-hours, and James or you _might_ have found a minute to say so in

a single line. I once more request that you will be a businesslike

correspondent, and state your provisions for every week prospectively.

I do not expect you to _warrant them_, which you rather perversely

seem to insist is my wish, but I do want to be aware of their nature

and extent, that I may provide against the possibility of miscarriage.

The calendar, to which you refer me, tells me what sums are due, but

cannot tell your shifts to pay them, which are naturally altering with

circumstances, and of which alterations I request to have due notice.

You say you _could not suppose_ Sir W. Forbes would have refused the

long dated bills; but that you _had_ such an apprehension is clear,

both because in the calendar these bills were rated two months lower,

and because, three days before, you wrote me an enigmatical expression

of your apprehensions, instead of saying plainly there was a chance of

your wanting £350, when I would have sent you an order to be used

conditionally.

All I desire is unlimited confidence and frequent correspondence, and

that you will give me weekly at least the fullest anticipation of your

resources, and the probability of their being effectual. I may be

disappointed in my own, of which you shall have equally timeous

notice. Omit no exertions to procure the use of money, even for a

month or six weeks, for time is most precious. The large balance due

in January from the trade, and individuals, which I cannot reckon at

less than £4000, will put us finally to rights; and it will be a shame

to founder within sight of harbor. The greatest risk we run is from

such ill-considered despatches as those of Friday. Suppose that I had

gone to Drumlanrig--suppose the pony had set up--suppose a thousand

things--and we were ruined for want of your telling your apprehensions

in due time. Do not plague yourself to vindicate this sort of

management; but if you have escaped the consequences (as to which you

have left me uncertain), thank God, and act more cautiously another

time. It was quite the same to me on what day I sent that draft;

indeed it must have been so if I had the money in my cash account, and

if I had not, the more time given me to provide it the better.

Now, do not affect to suppose that my displeasure arises from your not

having done your utmost to realize funds, and that utmost having

failed. It is one mode, to be sure, of exculpation, to suppose one's

self accused of something they are not charged with, and then to make

a querulous or indignant defence, and complain of the injustice of the

accuser. The head and front of your offending is precisely your not

writing explicitly, and I request this may not happen again. It is

your fault, and I believe arises either from an ill-judged idea of

smoothing matters to me--as if I were not behind the curtain--or a

general reluctance to allow that any danger is near, until it is

almost unparriable. I shall be very sorry if anything I have said

gives you pain; but the matter is too serious for all of us, to be

passed over without giving you my explicit sentiments. To-morrow I set

out for Drumlanrig, and shall not hear from you till Tuesday or

Wednesday. Make yourself master of the post-town--Thornhill, probably,

or Sanquhar. As Sir W. F. & Co. have cash to meet my order, nothing, I

think, can have gone wrong, unless the boy perished by the way.

Therefore, in faith and hope, and--that I may lack none of the

Christian virtues--in charity with your dilatory worship, I remain

very truly yours,

W. S.

Scott proceeded, accordingly, to join a gay and festive circle, whom

the Duke of Buccleuch had assembled about him on first taking

possession of the magnificent Castle of Drumlanrig, in Nithsdale,

the principal messuage of the dukedom of Queensberry, which had

recently lapsed into his family. But, _post equitem sedet atra

cura_--another of John Ballantyne's unwelcome missives, rendered

necessary by a neglect of precisely the same kind as before, reached

him in the midst of this scene of rejoicing. On the 31st, he again

writes:--

TO MR. JOHN BALLANTYNE, BOOKSELLER, EDINBURGH.

DRUMLANRIG, Friday.

DEAR JOHN,--I enclose the order. Unfortunately, the Drumlanrig post

only goes thrice a week; but the Marquis of Queensberry, who carries

this to Dumfries, has promised that the guard of the mail-coach shall

deliver it by five to-morrow. I was less anxious, as your note said

you could clear this month. It is a cruel thing that no State you

furnish excludes the arising of such unexpected claims as this for the

taxes on the printing-office. What unhappy management, to suffer them

to run ahead in such a manner!--but it is in vain to complain. Were it

not for your strange concealments, I should anticipate no difficulty

in winding up these matters. But who can reckon upon a State where

claims are kept out of view until they are in the hands of a _writer_?

If you have no time to say that _this_ comes safe to hand, I suppose

James may favor me so far. Yours truly,

W. S.

Let the guard be rewarded.

Let me know exactly what you _can_ do and _hope_ to do for next

month; for it signifies nothing raising money for you, unless I see

it is to be of real service. Observe, I make you responsible for

nothing but a fair statement.[32] The guard is known to the Marquis,

who has good-naturedly promised to give him this letter with his own

hand; so it must reach you in time, though probably past five on

Saturday.

Another similar application reached Scott the day after the guard

delivered his packet. He writes thus, in reply:

TO MR. JOHN BALLANTYNE.

DRUMLANRIG, Sunday.

DEAR JOHN,--I trust you got my letter yesterday by five, with the

draft enclosed. I return your draft accepted. On Wednesday I think of

leaving this place, where, but for these damned affairs, I should have

been very happy.

W. S.

Scott had been for some time under an engagement to meet the Marquis

of Abercorn at Carlisle, in the first week of August, for the

transaction of some business connected with his brother Thomas's

late administration of that nobleman's Scottish affairs; and he had

designed to pass from Drumlanrig to Carlisle for this purpose,

without going back to Abbotsford. In consequence of these repeated

harassments, however, he so far altered his plans as to cut short

his stay at Drumlanrig, and turn homewards for two or three days,

where James Ballantyne met him with such a statement as in some

measure relieved his mind.

He then proceeded to fulfil his engagement with Lord Abercorn, whom

he encountered travelling in a rather peculiar style between

Carlisle and Longtown. The ladies of the family and the household

occupied four or five carriages, all drawn by the Marquis's own

horses, while the noble Lord himself brought up the rear, mounted on

horseback, and decorated with the ribbon of the order of the Garter.

On meeting the cavalcade, Scott turned with them, and he was not a

little amused when they reached the village of Longtown, which he

had ridden through an hour or two before, with the preparations

which he found there made for the dinner of the party. The Marquis's

major-domo and cook had arrived there at an early hour in the

morning, and everything was now arranged for his reception in the

paltry little public house, as nearly as possible in the style usual

in his own lordly mansions. The ducks and geese that had been

dabbling three or four hours ago in the village pond were now ready

to make their appearance under numberless disguises as _entrées_; a

regular bill-of-fare flanked the noble Marquis's allotted cover;

every huckaback towel in the place had been pressed to do service as

a napkin; and, that nothing might be wanting to the mimicry of

splendor, the landlady's poor remnants of crockery and pewter had

been furbished up, and mustered in solemn order on a crazy old

beauffet, which was to represent a sideboard worthy of Lucullus. I

think it worth while to preserve this anecdote, which Scott

delighted in telling, as perhaps the last relic of a style of

manners now passed away, and never likely to be revived among us.

Having despatched this dinner and his business, Scott again turned

southwards, intending to spend a few days with Mr. Morritt at

Rokeby; but on reaching Penrith, the landlord there, who was his old

acquaintance (Mr. Buchanan), placed a letter in his hands: _ecce

iterum_--it was once more a cry of distress from John Ballantyne. He

thus answered it:--

TO MR. JOHN BALLANTYNE.

PENRITH, August 10, 1813.

DEAR JOHN,--I enclose you an order for £350. I shall remain at Rokeby

until Saturday or Sunday, and be at Abbotsford on Wednesday at latest.

I hope the printing-office is going on well. I fear, from the state of

accompts between the companies, restrictions on the management and

expense will be unavoidable, which may trench upon James's comforts. I

cannot observe hitherto that the printing-office is paying off, but

rather adding to its embarrassments; and it cannot be thought that I

have either means or inclination to support a losing concern at the

rate of £200 a month. If James could find a monied partner, an active

man who understood the commercial part of the business, and would

superintend the conduct of the cash, it might be the best for all

parties; for I really am not adequate to the fatigue of mind which

these affairs occasion me, though I must do the best to struggle

through them.

Believe me yours, etc.

W. S.

At Brough he encountered a messenger who brought him such a painful

account of Mrs. Morritt's health, that he abandoned his intention of

proceeding to Rokeby; and, indeed, it was much better that he should

be at Abbotsford again as soon as possible, for his correspondence

shows a continued succession, during the three or four ensuing

weeks, of the same annoyances that had pursued him to Drumlanrig and

to Penrith. By his desire, the Ballantynes had, it would seem,

before the middle of August, laid a statement of their affairs

before Constable. Though the statement was not so clear and full as

Scott had wished it to be, Constable, on considering it, at once

assured them, that to go on raising money in driblets would never

effectually relieve them; that, in short, one or both of the

companies must stop, unless Mr. Scott could find means to lay his

hand, without farther delay, on at least £4000; and I gather that,

by way of inducing Constable himself to come forward with part at

least of this supply, John Ballantyne again announced his intention

of forthwith abandoning the bookselling business altogether, and

making an effort to establish himself--on a plan which Constable had

shortly before suggested--as an auctioneer in Edinburgh. The

following letters need no comment:--

TO MR. JOHN BALLANTYNE.

ABBOTSFORD, August 16, 1813.

DEAR JOHN,--I am quite satisfied it is impossible for J. B. and Co.

to continue business longer than is absolutely necessary for the sale

of stock and extrication of their affairs. The fatal injury which

their credit has sustained, as well as your adopting a profession in

which I sincerely hope you will be more fortunate, renders the closing

of the bookselling business inevitable. With regard to the printing,

it is my intention to retire from that also, so soon as I can possibly

do so with safety to myself, and with the regard I shall always

entertain for James's interest. Whatever loss I may sustain will be

preferable to the life I have lately led, when I seem surrounded by a

sort of magic circle, which neither permits me to remain at home in

peace, nor to stir abroad with pleasure. Your first exertion as an

auctioneer may probably be on "that distinguished, select, and

inimitable collection of books, made by an amateur of this city

retiring from business." I do not feel either health or confidence in

my own powers sufficient to authorize me to take a long price for a

new poem, until these affairs shall have been in some measure

digested. This idea has been long running in my head, but the late

fatalities which have attended this business have quite decided my

resolution. I will write to James to-morrow, being at present annoyed

with a severe headache.

Yours truly,

W. SCOTT.

Were I to transcribe all the letters to which these troubles gave

rise, I should fill a volume before I had reached the end of another

twelvemonth. The two next I shall quote are dated on the same day

(the 24th August), which may, in consequence of the answer the

second of them received, be set down as determining the crisis of

1813.

TO MR. JAMES BALLANTYNE.

ABBOTSFORD, 24th August, 1813.

DEAR JAMES,--Mr. Constable's advice is, as I have always found it,

sound, sensible, and friendly,--and I shall be guided by it. But I

have no wealthy friend who would join in security with me to such an

extent; and to apply in quarters where I might be refused would insure

disclosure. I conclude John has shown Mr. C. the state of the affairs;

if not, I would wish him to do so directly. If the proposed

accommodation could be granted to the firm on my personally joining in

the security, the whole matter would be quite safe, for I have to

receive in the course of the winter some large sums from my father's

estate.[33] Besides which, I shall certainly be able to go to press in

November with a new poem; or, if Mr. Constable's additional security

would please the bankers better, I could insure Mr. C. against the

possibility of loss, by assigning the copyrights, together with that

of the new poem, or even my library, in his relief. In fact, if he

looks into the affairs, he will I think see that there is no prospect

of any eventual loss to the creditors, though I may be a loser myself.

My property here is unincumbered; so is my house in Castle Street; and

I have no debts out of my own family, excepting a part of the price of

Abbotsford, which I am to retain for four years. So that, literally, I

have no claims upon me unless those arising out of this business; and

when it is considered that my income is above £2000 a year, even if

the printing-office pays nothing, I should hope no one can possibly be

a loser by me.

Clerkship, £1300}

Sheriffdom, 300 }

Mrs. Scott, 200 }

Interest, 100 }

Somers, (say) 200 }

______

£2100 }

I am sure I would strip myself to my shirt rather than it should be

the case; and my only reason for wishing to stop the concern was to do

open justice to all persons. It must have been a bitter pill to me. I

can more confidently expect some aid from Mr. Constable, or from

Longman's house, because they can look into the concern and satisfy

themselves how little chance there is of their being losers, which

others cannot do. Perhaps between them they might manage to assist us

with the credit necessary, and go on in winding up the concern by

occasional acceptances.

An odd thing has happened. I have a letter, by order of the Prince

Regent, offering me the laureateship in the most flattering terms.

Were I my own man, as you call it, I would refuse this offer (with all

gratitude); but, as I am situated, £300 or £400 a year is not to be

sneezed at upon a point of poetical honor--and it makes me a better

man to that extent. I have not yet written, however. I will say little

about Constable's handsome behavior, but shall not forget it. It is

needless to say I shall wish him to be consulted in every step that is

taken. If I should lose all I advanced to this business, I should be

less vexed than I am at this moment. I am very busy with Swift at

present, but shall certainly come to town if it is thought necessary;

but I should first wish Mr. Constable to look into the affairs to the

bottom. Since I have personally superintended them, they have been

winding up very fast, and we are now almost within sight of harbor. I

will also own it was partly ill-humor at John's blunder last week that

made me think of throwing things up.

Yours truly,

W. S.

After writing and despatching this letter, an idea occurred to Scott

that there was a quarter, not hitherto alluded to in any of these

anxious epistles, from which he might consider himself as entitled

to ask assistance, not only with little, if any, chance of a

refusal, but (owing to particular circumstances) without incurring

any very painful sense of obligation. On the 25th he says to John

Ballantyne:--

After some meditation, last night, it occurred to me I had some title

to ask the Duke of Buccleuch's guarantee to a cash account for £4000,

as Constable proposes. I have written to him accordingly, and have

very little doubt that he will be my surety. If this cash account be

in view, Mr. Constable will certainly _assist us_ until the necessary

writings are made out--I beg your pardon--I dare say I am very stupid;

but very often you don't consider that I can't follow details which

would be quite obvious to a man of business;--for instance, you tell

me daily, "that _if_ the sums I count upon _are_ forthcoming, the

results must be as I suppose." But--in a week--the scene is changed,

and all I can do, and more, is inadequate to bring about these

results. I protest I don't know if at this moment £4000 _will_ clear

us out. After all, you are vexed, and so am I; and it is needless to

wrangle who has a right to be angry. Commend me to James.

Yours truly,

W. S.

Having explained to the Duke of Buccleuch the position in which he

stood--obliged either to procure some guarantee which would enable

him to raise £4000, or to sell abruptly all his remaining interest

in the copyright of his works; and repeated the statement of his

personal property and income, as given in the preceding letter to

James Ballantyne--Scott says to his noble friend:--

I am not asking nor desiring any loan from your Grace, but merely the

honor of your sanction to my credit as a good man for £4000; and the

motive of your Grace's interference would be sufficiently obvious to

the London Shylocks, as your constant kindness and protection is no

secret to the world. Will your Grace consider whether you can do what

I propose, in conscience and safety, and favor me with your answer?--I

have a very flattering offer from the Prince Regent, of his own free

motion, to make me poet laureate; I am very much embarrassed by it. I

am, on the one hand, afraid of giving offence where no one would

willingly offend, and perhaps losing an opportunity of smoothing the

way to my youngsters through life; on the other hand, the office is a

ridiculous one, somehow or other--they and I should be well

quizzed,--yet that I should not mind. My real feeling of reluctance

lies deeper--it is, that favored as I have been by the public, I

should be considered, with some justice, I fear, as engrossing a petty

emolument which might do real service to some poorer brother of the

Muses. I shall be most anxious to have your Grace's advice on this

subject. There seems something churlish, and perhaps conceited, in

repelling a favor so handsomely offered on the part of the Sovereign's

representative; and on the other hand, I feel much disposed to shake

myself free from it. I should make but a bad courtier, and an

ode-maker is described by Pope as a poet out of his way or out of his

senses. I will find some excuse for protracting my reply till I can

have the advantage of your Grace's opinion; and remain, in the mean

time, very truly your obliged and grateful

WALTER SCOTT.

P. S.--I trust your Grace will not suppose me capable of making such a

request as the enclosed, upon any idle or unnecessary speculation;

but, as I stand situated, it is a matter of deep interest to me to

prevent these copyrights from being disposed of either hastily or at

under prices. I could have half the booksellers in London for my

sureties, on a hint of a new poem; but bankers do not like people in

trade, and my brains are not ready to spin another web. So your Grace

must take me under your princely care, as in the days of lang syne;

and I think I can say, upon the sincerity of an honest man, there is

not the most distant chance of your having any trouble or expense

through my means.

The Duke's answer was in all respects such as might have been looked

for from the generous kindness and manly sense of his character.

TO WALTER SCOTT, ESQ., ABBOTSFORD.

DRUMLANRIG CASTLE, August 28, 1813.

MY DEAR SIR,--I received yesterday your letter of the 24th. I shall

with pleasure comply with your request of guaranteeing the £4000. You

must, however, furnish me with the form of a letter to this effect, as

I am completely ignorant of transactions of this nature.

I am never willing to _offer_ advice, but when my opinion is asked by

a friend I am ready to give it. As to the offer of his Royal Highness

to appoint you laureate, I shall frankly say that I should be

mortified to see you hold a situation which, by the general

concurrence of the world, is stamped ridiculous. There is no good

reason why this should be so; but so it is. _Walter Scott, Poet

Laureate_, ceases to be the Walter Scott of the Lay, Marmion, etc. Any

future poem of yours would not come forward with the same probability

of a successful reception. The poet laureate would stick to you and

your productions like a piece of _court plaster_. Your muse has

hitherto been independent--don't put her into harness. We know how

lightly she trots along when left to her natural paces, but do not try

driving. I would write frankly and openly to his Royal Highness, but

with respectful gratitude, for he _has_ paid you a compliment. I would

not fear to state that you had hitherto written when in poetic mood,

but feared to trammel yourself with a fixed periodical exertion; and I

cannot but conceive that his Royal Highness, who has much taste, will

at once see the many objections which you must have to his proposal,

but which you cannot write. Only think of being chaunted and

recitatived by a parcel of hoarse and squeaking choristers on a

birthday, for the edification of the bishops, pages, maids of honor,

and gentlemen-pensioners! Oh horrible! thrice horrible! Yours

sincerely,

BUCCLEUCH, ETC.

The letter which first announced the Prince Regent's proposal was

from his Royal Highness's librarian, Dr. James Stanier Clarke; but

before Scott answered it he had received a more formal notification

from the late Marquis of Hertford, then Lord Chamberlain. I shall

transcribe both these documents.

TO WALTER SCOTT, ESQ., EDINBURGH.

PAVILION, BRIGHTON, August 18, 1813.

MY DEAR SIR,--Though I have never had the honor of being introduced to

you, you have frequently been pleased to convey to me very kind and

flattering messages,[34] and I trust, therefore, you will allow me,

without any further ceremony, to say--That I took an early opportunity

this morning of seeing the Prince Regent, who arrived here late

yesterday; and I then delivered to his Royal Highness my earnest wish

and anxious desire that the vacant situation of poet laureate might be

conferred on you. The Prince replied, "that you had already been

written to, and that if you wished it, everything would be settled as

I could desire."

I hope, therefore, I may be allowed to congratulate you on this event.

You are the man to whom it ought first to have been offered, and it

gave me sincere pleasure to find that those sentiments of high

approbation which my Royal Master had so often expressed towards you

in private, were now so openly and honorably displayed in public. Have

the goodness, dear sir, to receive this intrusive letter with your

accustomed courtesy, and believe me, yours very sincerely,

J. S. CLARKE,

Librarian to H. R. H., the Prince Regent.

TO WALTER SCOTT, ESQ., EDINBURGH.

RAGLEY, 31st August, 1813.

SIR,--I thought it my duty to his Royal Highness, the Prince Regent,

to express to him my humble opinion that I could not make so

creditable a choice as in your person for the office, now vacant, of

poet laureate. I am now authorized to offer it to you, which I would

have taken an earlier opportunity of doing, but that, till this

morning, I have had no occasion of seeing his Royal Highness since Mr.

Pye's death. I have the honor to be, sir, your most obedient, humble

servant,

INGRAM HERTFORD.

The following letters conclude this matter:--

TO THE MOST NOBLE THE MARQUIS OF HERTFORD, ETC., ETC., RAGLEY,

WARWICKSHIRE.

ABBOTSFORD, 4th September.

MY LORD,--I am this day honored with your Lordship's letter of the

31st August, tendering for my acceptance the situation of poet

laureate in the Royal Household. I shall always think it the highest

honor of my life to have been the object of the good opinion implied

in your Lordship's recommendation, and in the gracious acquiescence of

his Royal Highness, the Prince Regent. I humbly trust I shall not

forfeit sentiments so highly valued, although I find myself under the

necessity of declining, with every acknowledgment of respect and

gratitude, a situation above my deserts, and offered to me in a manner

so very flattering. The duties attached to the office of poet laureate

are not indeed very formidable, if judged of by the manner in which

they have sometimes been discharged. But an individual selected from

the literary characters of Britain, upon the honorable principle

expressed in your Lordship's letter, ought not, in justice to your

Lordship, to his own reputation, but above all to his Royal Highness,

to accept of the office, unless he were conscious of the power of

filling it respectably, and attaining to excellence in the execution

of the tasks which it imposes. This confidence I am so far from

possessing, that, on the contrary, with all the advantages which do

now, and I trust ever will, present themselves to the poet whose task

it may be to commemorate the events of his Royal Highness's

administration, I am certain I should feel myself inadequate to the

fitting discharge of the regularly recurring duty of periodical

composition, and should thus at once disappoint the expectation of the

public, and, what would give me still more pain, discredit the

nomination of his Royal Highness.

Will your Lordship permit me to add, that though far from being

wealthy, I already hold two official situations in the line of my

profession, which afford a respectable income. It becomes me,

therefore, to avoid the appearance of engrossing one of the few

appointments which seem specially adapted for the provision of those

whose lives have been dedicated exclusively to literature, and who too

often derive from their labors more credit than emolument.

Nothing could give me greater pain than being thought ungrateful to

his Royal Highness's goodness, or insensible to the honorable

distinction his undeserved condescension has been pleased to bestow

upon me. I have to trust to your Lordship's kindness for laying at the

feet of his Royal Highness, in the way most proper and respectful, my

humble, grateful, and dutiful thanks, with these reasons for declining

a situation which, though every way superior to my deserts, I should

chiefly have valued as a mark of his Royal Highness's approbation.

For your Lordship's unmerited goodness, as well as for the trouble you

have had upon this occasion, I can only offer you my respectful

thanks, and entreat that you will be pleased to believe me, my Lord

Marquis, your Lordship's much obliged and much honored humble servant,

WALTER SCOTT.

TO HIS GRACE THE DUKE OF BUCCLEUCH, ETC., DRUMLANRIG CASTLE.

ABBOTSFORD, September 5, 1813.

MY DEAR LORD DUKE,--Good advice is easily followed when it jumps with

our own sentiments and inclinations. I no sooner found mine fortified

by your Grace's opinion than I wrote to Lord Hertford, declining the

laurel in the most civil way I could imagine. I also wrote to the

Prince's librarian, who had made himself active on the occasion,

dilating, at somewhat more length than I thought respectful to the

Lord Chamberlain, my reasons for declining the intended honor. My

wife has made a copy of the last letter, which I enclose for your

Grace's perusal: there is no occasion either to preserve or return

it--but I am desirous you should know what I have put my apology upon,

for I may reckon on its being misrepresented. I certainly should never

have survived the recitative described by your Grace: it is a part of

the etiquette I was quite unprepared for, and should have sunk under

it. It is curious enough that Drumlanrig should always have been the

refuge of bards who decline court promotion. Gay, I think, refused to

be a gentleman-usher, or some such post;[35] and I am determined to

abide by my post of Grand Ecuyer Trenchant of the Chateau, varied for

that of tale-teller of an evening.

I will send your Grace a copy of the letter of guarantee when I

receive it from London. By an arrangement with Longman and Co., the

great booksellers in Paternoster Row, I am about to be enabled to

place their security, as well as my own, between your Grace and the

possibility of hazard. But your kind readiness to forward a

transaction which is of such great importance both to my fortune and

comfort can never be forgotten--although it can scarce make me more

than I have always been, my dear Lord, your Grace's much obliged and

truly faithful,

WALTER SCOTT.

(_Copy--Enclosure._)

TO THE REV. J. S. CLARKE, ETC., ETC., ETC., PAVILION, BRIGHTON.

ABBOTSFORD, 4th September, 1813.

SIR,--On my return to this cottage, after a short excursion, I was at

once surprised and deeply interested by the receipt of your letter. I

shall always consider it as the proudest incident of my life that his

Royal Highness, the Prince Regent, whose taste in literature is so

highly distinguished, should have thought of naming me to the

situation of poet laureate. I feel, therefore, no small embarrassment

lest I should incur the suspicion of churlish ingratitude in declining

an appointment in every point of view so far above my deserts, but

which I should chiefly have valued as conferred by the unsolicited

generosity of his Royal Highness, and as entitling me to the

distinction of terming myself an immediate servant of his Majesty. But

I have to trust to your goodness in representing to his Royal

Highness, with my most grateful, humble, and dutiful acknowledgments,

the circumstances which compel me to decline the honor which his

undeserved favor has proposed for me. The poetical pieces I have

hitherto composed have uniformly been the hasty production of

impulses, which I must term fortunate, since they have attracted his

Royal Highness's notice and approbation. But I strongly fear, or

rather am absolutely certain, that I should feel myself unable to

justify, in the eye of the public, the choice of his Royal Highness,

by a fitting discharge of the duties of an office which requires

stated and periodical exertion. And although I am conscious how much

this difficulty is lessened under the government of his Royal

Highness, marked by paternal wisdom at home and successes abroad which

seem to promise the liberation of Europe, I still feel that the

necessity of a regular commemoration would trammel my powers of

composition at the very time when it would be equally my pride and

duty to tax them to the uttermost. There is another circumstance which

weighs deeply in my mind while forming my present resolution. I have

already the honor to hold two appointments under Government, not

usually conjoined, and which afford an income, far indeed from wealth,

but amounting to decent independence. I fear, therefore, that in

accepting one of the few situations which our establishment holds

forth as the peculiar provision of literary men, I might be justly

censured as availing myself of his Royal Highness's partiality to

engross more than my share of the public revenue, to the prejudice of

competitors equally meritorious at least, and otherwise unprovided

for; and as this calculation will be made by thousands who know that I

have reaped great advantages by the favor of the public, without being

aware of the losses which it has been my misfortune to sustain, I may

fairly reckon that it will terminate even more to my prejudice than if

they had the means of judging accurately of my real circumstances. I

have thus far, sir, frankly exposed to you, for his Royal Highness's

favorable consideration, the feelings which induce me to decline an

appointment offered in a manner so highly calculated to gratify, I

will not say my vanity only, but my sincere feelings of devoted

attachment to the crown and constitution of my country, and to the

person of his Royal Highness, by whom its government has been so

worthily administered. No consideration on earth would give me so much

pain as the idea of my real feelings being misconstrued on this

occasion, or that I should be supposed stupid enough not to estimate

the value of his Royal Highness's favor, or so ungrateful as not to

feel it as I ought. And you will relieve me from great anxiety if you

will have the goodness to let me know if his Royal Highness is pleased

to receive favorably my humble and grateful apology.

I cannot conclude without expressing my sense of your kindness and of

the trouble you have had upon this account, and I request you will

believe me, sir, your obliged humble servant,

WALTER SCOTT.

TO ROBERT SOUTHEY, ESQ., KESWICK.

ABBOTSFORD, 4th September, 1813.

MY DEAR SOUTHEY,--On my return here I found, to my no small surprise,

a letter tendering me the laurel vacant by the death of the poetical

Pye. I have declined the appointment, as being incompetent to the task

of annual commemoration; but chiefly as being provided for in my

professional department, and unwilling to incur the censure of

engrossing the emolument attached to one of the few appointments which

seems proper to be filled by a man of literature who has no other

views in life. Will you forgive me, my dear friend, if I own I had you

in my recollection? I have given Croker the hint, and otherwise

endeavored to throw the office into your option. I am uncertain if you

will like it, for the laurel has certainly been tarnished by some of

its wearers, and, as at present managed, its duties are inconvenient

and somewhat liable to ridicule. But the latter matter might be

amended, as I think the Regent's good sense would lead him to lay

aside these regular commemorations; and as to the former point, it has

been worn by Dryden of old, and by Warton in modern days. If you quote

my own refusal against me, I reply--first, I have been luckier than

you in holding two offices not usually conjoined; secondly, I did not

refuse it from any foolish prejudice against the situation, otherwise

how durst I mention it to you, my elder brother in the muse?--but from

a sort of internal hope that they would give it to you, upon whom it

would be so much more worthily conferred. For I am not such an ass as

not to know that you are my better in poetry, though I have had,

probably but for a time, the tide of popularity in my favor. I have

not time to add ten thousand other reasons, but I only wished to tell

you how the matter was, and to beg you to think before you reject the

offer which I flatter myself will be made to you. If I had not been,

like Dogberry, a fellow with two gowns already, I should have jumped

at it like a cock at a gooseberry. Ever yours most truly,

WALTER SCOTT.

Immediately after Mr. Croker received Scott's letter here alluded

to, Mr. Southey was invited to accept the vacant laurel. But, as the

birthday ode had been omitted since the illness of King George III.,

and the Regent had good sense and good taste enough to hold that

ancient custom as "more honored in the breach than the observance,"

the whole fell completely into disuse.[36] The office was thus

relieved from the burden of ridicule which had, in spite of so many

illustrious names, adhered to it; and though its emoluments did not

in fact amount to more than a quarter of the sum at which Scott

rated them when he declined it, they formed no unacceptable addition

to Mr. Southey's income. Scott's answer to his brother poet's

affectionate and grateful letter on the conclusion of this affair is

as follows:--

TO R. SOUTHEY, ESQ., KESWICK.

EDINBURGH, November 13, 1813.

I do not delay, my dear Southey, to say my _gratulor_. Long may you

live, as Paddy says, to rule over us, and to redeem the crown of

Spenser and of Dryden to its pristine dignity. I am only discontented

with the extent of your royal revenue, which I thought had been £400,

or £300 at the very least. Is there no getting rid of that iniquitous

modus, and requiring the _butt_ in kind? I would have you think of it;

I know no man so well entitled to Xeres sack as yourself, though many

bards would make a better figure at drinking it. I should think that

in due time a memorial might get some relief in this part of the

appointment--it should be at least, £100 wet and £100 dry. When you

have carried your point of discarding the ode, and my point of getting

the sack, you will be exactly in the situation of Davy in the farce,

who stipulates for more wages, less work, and the key of the

ale-cellar.[37] I was greatly delighted with the circumstances of your

investiture. It reminded me of the porters at Calais with Dr.

Smollett's baggage, six of them seizing upon one small portmanteau,

and bearing it in triumph to his lodgings. You see what it is to laugh

at the superstitions of a gentleman-usher, as I think you do

somewhere. "The whirligig of time brings in his revenges."[38]

Adieu, my dear Southey; my best wishes attend all that you do, and my

best congratulations every good that attends you--yea even this, the

very least of Providence's mercies, as a poor clergyman said when

pronouncing grace over a herring. I should like to know how the Prince

received you; his address is said to be excellent, and his knowledge

of literature far from despicable. What a change of fortune even since

the short time when we met! The great work of retribution is now

rolling onward to consummation, yet am I not fully satisfied--_pereat

iste_!--there will be no permanent peace in Europe till Buonaparte

sleeps with the tyrants of old. My best compliments attend Mrs.

Southey and your family.

Ever yours,

WALTER SCOTT.

To avoid returning to the affair of the laureateship, I have placed

together such letters concerning it as appeared important. I regret

to say that, had I adhered to the chronological order of Scott's

correspondence, ten out of every twelve letters between the date of

his application to the Duke of Buccleuch, and his removal to

Edinburgh on the 12th of November, would have continued to tell the

same story of pecuniary difficulty, urgent and almost daily

applications for new advances to the Ballantynes, and endeavors,

more or less successful, but in no case effectually so, to relieve

the pressure on the bookselling firm by sales of its heavy stock to

the great publishing houses of Edinburgh and London. Whatever

success these endeavors met with, appears to have been due either

directly or indirectly to Mr. Constable; who did a great deal more

than prudence would have warranted, in taking on himself the results

of its unhappy adventures,--and, by his sagacious advice, enabled

the distressed partners to procure similar assistance at the hands

of others, who did not partake his own feelings of personal kindness

and sympathy. "I regret to learn," Scott writes to him on the 16th

October, "that there is great danger of your exertions in our favor,

which once promised so fairly, proving finally abortive, or at least

being too tardy in their operation to work out our relief. If

anything more can be honorably and properly done to avoid a most

unpleasant shock, I shall be most willing to do it; if not--God's

will be done! There will be enough of property, including my private

fortune, to pay every claim; and I have not used prosperity so ill,

as greatly to fear adversity. But these things we will talk over at

meeting; meanwhile believe me, with a sincere sense of your kindness

and friendly views, very truly yours, W. S."--I have no wish to

quote more largely from the letters which passed during this crisis

between Scott and his partners. The pith and substance of his, to

John Ballantyne at least, seems to be summed up in one brief

_postscript_: "For God's sake treat me as a man, and not as a

milch-cow!"

The difficulties of the Ballantynes were by this time well known

throughout the commercial circles not only of Edinburgh, but of

London; and a report of their actual bankruptcy, with the addition

that Scott was engaged as their surety to the extent of £20,000,

found its way to Mr. Morritt about the beginning of November. This

dear friend wrote to him, in the utmost anxiety, and made liberal

offers of assistance in case the catastrophe might still be

averted; but the term of Martinmas, always a critical one in

Scotland, had passed before this letter reached Edinburgh, and

Scott's answer will show symptoms of a clearing horizon. I think

also there is one expression in it which could hardly have failed to

convey to Mr. Morritt that his friend was involved, more deeply than

he had ever acknowledged, in the concerns of the Messrs. Ballantyne.

TO J. B. S. MORRITT, ESQ., ROKEBY PARK.

EDINBURGH, 20th November, 1813.

I did not answer your very kind letter, my dear Morritt, until I could

put your friendly heart to rest upon the report you have heard, which

I could not do entirely until this term of Martinmas was passed. I

have the pleasure to say that there is no truth whatever in the

Ballantynes' reported bankruptcy. They have had severe difficulties

for the last four months to make their resources balance the demands

upon them, and I, having the price of Rokeby, and other monies in

their hands, have had considerable reason for apprehension, and no

slight degree of plague and trouble. They have, however, been so well

supported, that I have got out of hot water upon their account. They

are winding up their bookselling concern with great regularity, and

are to abide hereafter by the printing-office, which, with its stock,

etc., will revert to them fairly.

I have been able to redeem the offspring of my brain, and they are

like to pay me like grateful children. This matter has set me

a-thinking about money more seriously than ever I did in my life, and

I have begun by insuring my life for £4000, to secure some ready cash

to my family should I slip girths suddenly. I think my other property,

library, etc., may be worth about £12,000, and I have not much debt.

Upon the whole, I see no prospect of any loss whatever. Although in

the course of human events I may be disappointed, there certainly

_can_ be none to vex your kind and affectionate heart on my account. I

am young, with a large official income, and if I lose anything now, I

have gained a great deal in my day. I cannot tell you, and will not

attempt to tell you, how much I was affected by your letter--so much,

indeed, that for several days I could not make my mind up to express

myself on the subject. Thank God! all real danger was yesterday put

over--and I will write, in two or three days, a funny letter, without

any of these vile cash matters, of which it may be said there is no

living with them nor without them.

Ever yours, most truly,

WALTER SCOTT.

All these annoyances produced no change whatever in Scott's habits of

literary industry. During these anxious months of September, October,

and November, he kept feeding James Ballantyne's press, from day to day,

both with the annotated text of the closing volumes of Swift's works,

and with the MS. of his Life of the Dean. He had also proceeded to

mature in his own mind the plan of The Lord of the Isles, and executed

such a portion of the First Canto as gave him confidence to renew his

negotiation with Constable for the sale of the whole, or part of its

copyright. It was, moreover, at this period, that, looking into an old

cabinet in search of some fishing-tackle, his eye chanced to light once

more on the Ashestiel fragment of Waverley.--He read over those

introductory chapters--thought they had been undervalued--and determined

to finish the story.

All this while, too, he had been subjected to those interruptions

from idle strangers, which from the first to the last imposed so

heavy a tax on his celebrity; and he no doubt received such guests

with all his usual urbanity of attention. Yet I was not surprised to

discover, among his hasty notes to the Ballantynes, several of

tenor akin to the following specimens:--

"September 2, 1813.

"My temper is really worn to a hair's breadth. The intruder of

yesterday hung on me till twelve to-day. When I had just taken my pen,

he was relieved, like a sentry leaving guard, by two other lounging

visitors; and their post has now been supplied by some people on real

business."

Again:--

"Monday evening.

"Oh James! oh James! Two Irish dames

Oppress me very sore;

I groaning send one sheet I've penned--

For, hang them! there's no more."

A scrap of nearly the same date to his brother Thomas may be

introduced, as belonging to the same state of feeling:--

DEAR TOM,--I observe what you say as to Mr. ****; and as you may

often be exposed to similar requests, which it would be difficult to

parry, you can sign such letters of introduction as relate to persons

whom you do not delight to honor short, _T. Scott_; by which

abridgment of your name I shall understand to limit my civilities.

It is proper to mention that, in the very agony of these

perplexities, the unfortunate Maturin received from him a timely

succor of £50, rendered doubly acceptable by the kind and judicious

letter of advice in which it was enclosed; and I have before me

ample evidence that his benevolence had been extended to other

struggling brothers of the trade, even when he must often have had

actual difficulty to meet the immediate expenditure of his own

family. All this, however, will not surprise the reader.

Nor did his general correspondence suffer much interruption; and,

as some relief after so many painful details, I shall close the

narrative of this anxious year by a few specimens of his

miscellaneous communications:--

TO MISS JOANNA BAILLIE, HAMPSTEAD.

ABBOTSFORD, September 12, 1813.

MY DEAR MISS BAILLIE,--I have been a vile lazy correspondent, having

been strolling about the country, and indeed a little way into

England, for the greater part of July and August; in short, "aye

skipping here and there," like the Tanner of Tamworth's horse. Since I

returned, I have had a gracious offer of the laurel on the part of the

Prince Regent. You will not wonder that I have declined it, though

with every expression of gratitude which such an unexpected compliment

demanded. Indeed, it would be high imprudence in one having literary

reputation to maintain, to accept of an offer which obliged him to

produce a poetical exercise on a given theme twice a year; and

besides, as my loyalty to the royal family is very sincere, I would

not wish to have it thought mercenary. The public has done its part by

me very well, and so has Government: and I thought this little

literary provision ought to be bestowed on one who has made literature

his sole profession. If the Regent means to make it respectable, he

will abolish the foolish custom of the annual odes, which is a

drudgery no person of talent could ever willingly encounter--or come

clear off from, if he was so rash. And so, peace be with the laurel,

"Profaned by Cibber and contemned by Gray."

I was for a fortnight at Drumlanrig, a grand old chateau, which has

descended, by the death of the late Duke of Queensberry, to the Duke

of Buccleuch. It is really a most magnificent pile, and when embosomed

amid the wide forest scenery, of which I have an infantine

recollection, must have been very romantic. But old Q. made wild

devastation among the noble trees, although some fine ones are still

left, and a quantity of young shoots are, in despite of the want of

every kind of attention, rushing up to supply the places of the

fathers of the forest from whose stems they are springing. It will now

I trust be in better hands, for the reparation of the castle goes hand

in hand with the rebuilding of all the cottages, in which an aged race

of pensioners of Duke Charles, and his pious wife,--"Kitty, blooming,

young and gay,"--have, during the last reign, been pining into

rheumatisms and agues, in neglected poverty.

All this is beautiful to witness: the indoor work does not please me

so well, though I am aware that, to those who are to inhabit an old

castle, it becomes often a matter of necessity to make alterations by

which its tone and character are changed for the worse. Thus a noble

gallery, which ran the whole length of the front, is converted into

bedrooms--very comfortable, indeed, but not quite so magnificent; and

as grim a dungeon as ever knave or honest man was confined in, is in

some danger of being humbled into a wine-cellar. It is almost

impossible to draw your breath, when you recollect that this, so many

feet under-ground, and totally bereft of air and light, was built for

the imprisonment of human beings, whether guilty, suspected, or merely

unfortunate. Certainly, if our frames are not so hardy, our hearts are

softer than those of our forefathers, although probably a few years of

domestic war, or feudal oppression, would bring us back to the same

case-hardening both in body and sentiment.

I meant to have gone to Rokeby, but was prevented by Mrs. Morritt

being unwell, which I very much regret, as I know few people that

deserve better health. I am very glad you have known them, and I pray

you to keep up the acquaintance in winter. I am glad to see by this

day's paper that our friend Terry has made a favorable impression on

his first appearance at Covent Garden--he has got a very good

engagement there for three years, at twelve guineas a week, which is a

handsome income.--This little place comes on as fast as can be

reasonably hoped; and the pinasters are all above the ground, but

cannot be planted out for twelve months. My kindest compliments--in

which Mrs. Scott always joins--attend Miss Agnes, the Doctor, and his

family. Ever, my dear friend, yours most faithfully,

WALTER SCOTT.

TO DANIEL TERRY, ESQ., LONDON.

ABBOTSFORD, 20th October, 1813.

DEAR TERRY,--You will easily believe that I was greatly pleased to

hear from you. I had already learned from The Courier (what I had

anticipated too strongly to doubt for one instant) your favorable

impression on the London public. I think nothing can be more judicious

in the managers than to exercise the various powers you possess, in

their various extents. A man of genius is apt to be limited to one

single style, and to become perforce a mannerist, merely because the

public is not so just to its own amusement as to give him an

opportunity of throwing himself into different lines; and doubtless

the exercise of our talents in one unvaried course, by degrees renders

them incapable of any other, as the over-use of any one limb of our

body gradually impoverishes the rest. I shall be anxious to hear that

you have played _Malvolio_, which is, I think, one of your

_coups-de-maître_, and in which envy itself cannot affect to trace an

imitation. That same charge of imitation, by the way, is one of the

surest scents upon which dunces are certain to open. Undoubtedly, if

the same character is well performed by two individuals, their acting

must bear a general resemblance--it could not be well performed by

both were it otherwise. But this general resemblance, which arises

from both following nature and their author, can as little be termed

imitation as the river in Wales can be identified with that of

Macedon. Never mind these dunderheads, but go on your own way, and

scorn to laugh on the right side of your mouth, to make a difference

from some ancient comedian who, in the same part, always laughed on

the left. Stick to the public--be uniform in your exertions to study

even those characters which have little in them, and to give a grace

which you cannot find in the author. Audiences are always grateful for

this--or rather--for gratitude is as much out of the question in the

theatre, as Bernadotte says to Boney it is amongst sovereigns--or

rather, the audience is gratified by receiving pleasure from a part

which they had no expectation would afford them any. It is in this

view that, had I been of your profession, and possessed talents, I

think I should have liked often those parts with which my brethren

quarrelled, and studied to give them an effect which their intrinsic

merit did not entitle them to. I have some thoughts of being in town

in spring (not resolutions by any means); and it will be an additional

motive to witness your success, and to find you as comfortably

established as your friends in Castle Street earnestly hope and trust

you will be.

The summer--an uncommon summer in beauty and serenity--has glided away

from us at Abbotsford, amidst our usual petty cares and petty

pleasures. The children's garden is in apple-pie order, our own

completely cropped and stocked, and all the trees flourishing like the

green bay of the Psalmist. I have been so busy about our domestic

arrangements, that I have not killed six hares this season. Besides, I

have got a cargo of old armor, sufficient to excite a suspicion that I

intend to mount a squadron of cuirassiers. I only want a place for my

armory; and, thank God, I can wait for that, these being no times for

building. And this brings me to the loss of poor Stark, with whom more

genius has died than is left behind among the collected universality

of Scottish architects. O Lord!--but what does it signify?--Earth was

born to bear, and man to pay (that is, lords, nabobs, Glasgow traders,

and those who have wherewithal)--so wherefore grumble at great castles

and cottages, with which the taste of the latter contrives to load the

back of Mother Terra?--I have no hobbyhorsical commissions at present,

unless if you meet the Voyages of Captain Richard, or Robert Falconer,

in one volume--"cow-heel, quoth Sancho"--I mark them for my own. Mrs.

Scott, Sophia, Anne, and the boys, unite in kind remembrances. Ever

yours truly,

W. SCOTT.

TO THE RIGHT HON. LORD BYRON, 4 BENNET STREET, ST. JAMES'S, LONDON.

ABBOTSFORD, 6th November, 1813.

MY DEAR LORD,--I was honored with your Lordship's letter of the 27th

September,[39] and have sincerely to regret that there is such a

prospect of your leaving Britain, without my achieving your personal

acquaintance. I heartily wish your Lordship had come down to Scotland

this season, for I have never seen a finer, and you might have renewed

all your old associations with Caledonia, and made such new ones as

were likely to suit you. I dare promise you would have liked me well

enough--for I have many properties of a Turk--never trouble myself

about futurity--am as lazy as the day is long--delight in collecting

silver-mounted pistols and ataghans, and go out of my own road for no

one--all which I take to be attributes of your good Moslem. Moreover,

I am somewhat an admirer of royalty, and in order to maintain this

part of my creed, I shall take care never to be connected with a

court, but stick to the _ignotum pro mirabili_.

The author of The Queen's Wake will be delighted with your

approbation. He is a wonderful creature for his opportunities, which

were far inferior to those of the generality of Scottish peasants.

Burns, for instance--(not that their extent of talents is to be

compared for an instant)--had an education not much worse than the

sons of many gentlemen in Scotland. But poor Hogg literally could

neither read nor write till a very late period of his life; and when

he first distinguished himself by his poetical talent, could neither

spell nor write grammar. When I first knew him, he used to send me his

poetry, and was both indignant and horrified when I pointed out to him

parallel passages in authors whom he had never read, but whom all the

world would have sworn he had copied. An evil fate has hitherto

attended him, and baffled every attempt that has been made to place

him in a road to independence. But I trust he may be more fortunate in

future.

I have not yet seen Southey in the Gazette as Laureate. He is a real

poet, such as we read of in former times, with every atom of his soul

and every moment of his time dedicated to literary pursuits, in which

he differs from almost all those who have divided public attention

with him. Your Lordship's habits of society, for example, and my own

professional and official avocations, must necessarily connect us much

more with our respective classes in the usual routine of pleasure or

business, than if we had not any other employment than _vacare musis_.

But Southey's ideas are all poetical, and his whole soul dedicated to

the pursuit of literature. In this respect, as well as in many others,

he is a most striking and interesting character.

I am very much interested in all that concerns your Giaour, which is

universally approved of among our mountains. I have heard no objection

except by one or two geniuses, who run over poetry as a cat does over

a harpsichord, and they affect to complain of obscurity. On the

contrary, I hold every real lover of the art is obliged to you for

condensing the narrative, by giving us only those striking scenes

which you have shown to be so susceptible of poetic ornament, and

leaving to imagination the says I's and says he's, and all the minutiæ

of detail which might be proper in giving evidence before a court of

justice. The truth is, I think poetry is most striking when the mirror

can be held up to the reader, and the same kept constantly before his

eyes; it requires most uncommon powers to support a direct and

downright narration; nor can I remember many instances of its being

successfully maintained even by our greatest bards.

As to those who have done me the honor to take my rhapsodies for their

model, I can only say they have exemplified the ancient adage, "One

fool makes many;" nor do I think I have yet had much reason to suppose

I have given rise to anything of distinguished merit. The worst is, it

draws on me letters and commendatory verses, to which my sad and sober

thanks in humble prose are deemed a most unmeet and ungracious reply.

Of this sort of plague your Lordship must ere now have had more than

your share, but I think you can hardly have met with so original a

request as concluded the letter of a bard I this morning received, who

limited his demands to being placed in his due station on

Parnassus--_and_ invested with a post in the Edinburgh Custom House.

What an awakening of dry bones seems to be taking place on the

Continent! I could as soon have believed in the resurrection of the

Romans as in that of the Prussians--yet it seems a real and active

renovation of national spirit. It will certainly be strange enough if

that tremendous pitcher, which has travelled to so many fountains,

should be at length broken on the banks of the Saale; but from the

highest to the lowest we are the fools of fortune. Your Lordship will

probably recollect where the Oriental tale occurs, of a Sultan who

consulted Solomon on the proper inscription for a signet-ring,

requiring that the maxim which it conveyed should be at once proper

for moderating the presumption of prosperity and tempering the

pressure of adversity. The apophthegm supplied by the Jewish sage was,

I think, admirably adapted for both purposes, being comprehended in

the words, "And this also shall pass away."

When your Lordship sees Rogers, will you remember me kindly to him? I

hope to be in London next spring, and renew my acquaintance with my

friends there. It will be an additional motive if I could flatter

myself that your Lordship's stay in the country will permit me the

pleasure of waiting upon you. I am, with much respect and regard, your

Lordship's truly honored and obliged humble servant,

WALTER SCOTT.

I go to Edinburgh next week, _multum gemens_.

TO MISS JOANNA BAILLIE, HAMPSTEAD.

EDINBURGH, 10th December, 1813.

Many thanks, my dear friend, for your kind token of remembrance, which

I yesterday received. I ought to blush, if I had grace enough left, at

my long and ungenerous silence: but what shall I say? The habit of

procrastination, which had always more or less a dominion over me,

does not relax its sway as I grow older and less willing to take up

the pen. I have not written to dear Ellis this age,--yet there is not

a day that I do not think of you and him, and one or two other friends

in your southern land. I am very glad the whiskey came safe: do not

stint so laudable an admiration for the liquor of Caledonia, for I

have plenty of right good and sound Highland Ferintosh, and I can

always find an opportunity of sending you up a bottle.

We are here almost mad with the redemption of Holland, which has an

instant and gratifying effect on the trade of Leith, and indeed all

along the east coast of Scotland. About £100,000 worth of various

commodities, which had been dormant in cellars and warehouses, was

sold the first day the news arrived, and Orange ribbons and _Orange

Boven_ was the order of the day among all ranks. It is a most

miraculous revivification which it has been our fate to witness.

Though of a tolerably sanguine temper, I had fairly adjourned all

hopes and expectations of the kind till another generation: the same

power, however, that opened the windows of heaven and the fountains of

the great deep has been pleased to close them, and to cause his wind

to blow upon the face of the waters, so that we may look out from the

ark of our preservation, and behold the reappearance of the mountain

crests, and old, beloved, and well-known land-marks, which we had

deemed swallowed up forever in the abyss: the dove with the olive

branch would complete the simile, but of that I see little hope.

Buonaparte is that desperate gambler, who will not rise while he has a

stake left; and, indeed, to be King of France would be a poor

pettifogging enterprise, after having been almost Emperor of the

World. I think he will drive things on, till the fickle and impatient

people over whom he rules get tired of him and shake him out of the

saddle. Some circumstances seem to intimate his having become jealous

of the Senate; and indeed anything like a representative body, however

imperfectly constructed, becomes dangerous to a tottering tyranny. The

sword displayed on both frontiers may, like that brandished across the

road of Balaam, terrify even dumb and irrational subjection into

utterance;--but enough of politics, though now a more cheerful subject

than they have been for many years past.

I have had a strong temptation to go to the Continent this Christmas;

and should certainly have done so, had I been sure of getting from

Amsterdam to Frankfort, where, as I know Lord Aberdeen and Lord

Cathcart, I might expect a welcome. But notwithstanding my earnest

desire to see the allied armies cross the Rhine, which I suppose must

be one of the grandest military spectacles in the world, I should like

to know that the roads were tolerably secure, and the means of

getting forward attainable. In spring, however, if no unfortunate

change takes place, I trust to visit the camp of the allies, and see

all the pomp and power and circumstance of war, which I have so often

imagined, and sometimes attempted to embody in verse.--Johnnie

Richardson is a good, honorable, kind-hearted little fellow as lives

in the world, with a pretty taste for poetry, which he has wisely kept

under subjection to the occupation of drawing briefs and revising

conveyances. It is a great good fortune to him to be in your

neighborhood, as he is an idolater of genius, and where could he offer

up his worship so justly? And I am sure you will like him, for he is

really "officious, innocent, sincere."[40] Terry, I hope, will get on

well; he is industrious, and zealous for the honor of his art.

Ventidius must have been an excellent part for him, hovering between

tragedy and comedy, which is precisely what will suit him. We have a

woeful want of him here, both in public and private, for he was one of

the most easy and quiet chimney-corner companions that I have had for

these two or three years past.

I am very glad if anything I have written to you could give pleasure

to Miss Edgeworth, though I am sure it will fall very short of the

respect which I have for her brilliant talents. I always write to you

_à la volée_, and trust implicitly to your kindness and judgment upon

all occasions where you may choose to communicate any part of my

letters.[41] As to the taxing men, I must battle them as I can: they

are worse than the great Emathian conqueror, who

"bade spare

The house of Pindarus, when temple and tower

Went to the ground."[42]

Your pinasters are coming up gallantly in the nursery-bed at

Abbotsford. I trust to pay the whole establishment a Christmas visit,

which will be, as Robinson Crusoe says of his glass of rum, "to mine

exceeding refreshment." All Edinburgh have been on tiptoe to see

Madame de Staël, but she is now not likely to honor us with a visit,

at which I cannot prevail on myself to be very sorry; for as I tired

of some of her works, I am afraid I should disgrace my taste by tiring

of the authoress too. All my little people are very well, learning,

with great pain and diligence, much which they will have forgotten

altogether, or nearly so, in the course of twelve years hence: but the

habit of learning is something in itself, even when the lessons are

forgotten.

I must not omit to tell you that a friend of mine, with whom that

metal is more plenty than with me, has given me some gold mohurs to be

converted into a ring for enchasing King Charles's hair; but this is

not to be done until I get to London, and get a very handsome pattern.

Ever, most truly and sincerely, yours,

W. SCOTT.

The last sentence of this letter refers to a lock of the hair of

Charles I., which, at Dr. Baillie's request, Sir Henry Halford had

transmitted to Scott when the royal martyr's remains were discovered

at Windsor, in April, 1813.[43] Sir John Malcolm had given him some

Indian coins to supply virgin gold for the setting of this relic;

and for some years he constantly wore the ring, which is a massive

and beautiful one, with the word REMEMBER surrounding it in highly

relieved black-letter.

The poet's allusion to "taxing men" may require another word of

explanation. To add to his troubles during this autumn of 1813, a

demand was made on him by the commissioners of the income-tax, to

return in one of their schedules an account of the profits of his

literary exertions during the last three years. He demurred to this,

and took the opinion of high authorities in Scotland, who confirmed

him in his impression that the claim was beyond the statute. The

grounds of his resistance are thus briefly stated in one of his

letters to his legal friend in London:--

TO JOHN RICHARDSON, ESQ., FLUDYER STREET, WESTMINSTER.

MY DEAR RICHARDSON,--I have owed you a letter this long time, but

perhaps my debt might not yet be discharged, had I not a little matter

of business to trouble you with. I wish you to lay before either the

King's counsel, or Sir Samuel Romilly and any other you may approve,

the point whether a copyright being sold for the term during which

Queen Anne's act warranted the property to the author, the price is

liable in payment of the property-tax. I contend it is not so liable,

for the following reasons: 1st, It is a patent right, expected to

produce an annual, or at least an incidental profit, during the

currency of many years; and surely it was never contended that if a

man sold a theatrical patent, or a patent for machinery, property-tax

should be levied in the first place on the full price as paid to the

seller, and then on the profits as purchased by the buyer. I am not

very expert at figures, but I think it clear that a double taxation

takes place. 2d, It should be considered that a book may be the work

not of one year, but of a man's whole life; and as it has been found,

in a late case of the Duke of Gordon, that a fall of timber was not

subject to property-tax because it comprehended the produce of thirty

years, it seems at least equally fair that mental exertions should not

be subjected to a harder principle of measurement. 3d, The demand is,

so far as I can learn, totally new and unheard of. 4th, Supposing that

I died and left my manuscripts to be sold publicly along with the rest

of my library, is there any ground for taxing what might be received

for the written book, any more than any rare printed book, which a

speculative bookseller might purchase with a view to republication?

You will know whether any of these things ought to be suggested in the

brief. David Hume, and every lawyer here whom I have spoken to,

consider the demand as illegal. Believe me truly yours,

WALTER SCOTT.

Mr. Richardson having prepared a case, obtained upon it the opinions

of Mr. Alexander (afterwards Sir William Alexander and Chief Baron

of the Exchequer) and of the late Sir Samuel Romilly. These eminent

lawyers agreed in the view of their Scotch brethren; and after a

tedious correspondence, the Lords of the Treasury at last decided

that the Income-Tax Commissioners should abandon their claim upon

the produce of literary labor. I have thought it worth while to

preserve some record of this decision, and of the authorities on

which it rested, in case such a demand should ever be renewed

hereafter.

In the beginning of December, the Town Council of Edinburgh resolved

to send a deputation to congratulate the Prince Regent on the

prosperous course of public events, and they invited Scott to draw

up their address, which, on its being transmitted for previous

inspection to Mr. William Dundas, then Member for the City, and

through him shown privately to the Regent, was acknowledged to the

penman, by his Royal Highness's command, as "the most elegant

congratulation a sovereign ever received, or a subject offered."[44]

The Lord Provost of Edinburgh presented it accordingly at the levee

of the 10th, and it was received most graciously. On returning to

the north, the Magistrates expressed their sense of Scott's services

on this occasion by presenting him with the freedom of his native

city, and also with a piece of plate,--which the reader will find

alluded to, among other matters of more consequence, in a letter to

be quoted presently.

At this time Scott further expressed his patriotic exultation in the

rescue of Europe, by two songs for the anniversary of the death of

Pitt; one of which has ever since, I believe, been chanted at that

celebration:--

"O dread was the time and more dreadful the omen,

When the brave on Marengo lay slaughter'd in vain," etc.[45]

Footnotes of the Chapter XXVI.

[23: Mr. Hunter died in March, 1812.]

[24: "These and after purchases of books from the stock of

J. Ballantyne and Co. were resold to the trade by Constable's firm,

at less than one half and one third of the prices at which they were

thus obtained."--_Note from Mr. R. Cadell._]

[25: Dr. Brewster's edition of Ferguson's _Astronomy_, 2

vols. 8vo, with plates, 4to, Edin. 1811. 36_s_.]

[26: Dr. Singers's _General View of the County of

Dumfries_, 8vo, Edin. 1812. 18_s_.]

[27: A trade sale of Messrs. Cadell and Davies in the

Strand.]

[28: Since this work was first published, I have been

compelled to examine very minutely the details of Scott's connection

with the Ballantynes, and one result is, that both James and John

had trespassed so largely, for their private purposes, on the funds

of the Companies, that, Scott being, as their letters distinctly

state, the only "monied partner," and his over-advances of capital

having been very extensive, any inquiry on their part as to his

uncommercial expenditure must have been entirely out of the

question. To avoid misrepresentation, however, I leave my text as it

was.--(1839.)]

[29: _Merchant of Venice_, Act II. Scene 2.]

[30: The court of offices, built on the haugh at Abbotsford

in 1812, included a house for the faithful coachman, Peter

Mathieson. One of Scott's Cantabrigian friends, Mr. W. S. Rose, gave

the whole pile soon afterwards the name, which it retained to the

end, of _Peter-House_. The loft at Peter-House continued to be

occupied by occasional bachelor guests until the existing mansion

was completed.]

[31: Mrs. Thomas Scott had met Burns frequently in early

life at Dumfries. Her brother, the late Mr. David MacCulloch, was a

great favorite with the poet, and the best singer of his songs that

I ever heard.]

[32: John Ballantyne had embarked no capital--not a shilling--in the

business; and was bound by the contract to limit himself to an allowance

of £300 a year, in consideration of his _management_, until there should

be an overplus of profits!--(1839.)]

[33: He probably alludes to the final settlement of

accounts with the Marquis of Abercorn.]

[34: The Royal Librarian had forwarded to Scott

presentation copies of his successive publications--_The Progress of

Maritime Discovery_--Falconer's _Shipwreck, with a Life of the

Author_--_Naufragia_--_A Life of Nelson_, in two quarto volumes,

etc., etc., etc.]

[35: Poor Gay--"In wit a man, simplicity a child"--was insulted, on the

accession of George II., by the offer of a gentleman-ushership to one of

the royal infants. His prose and verse largely celebrate his obligations

to Charles, third Duke of Queensberry, and the charming Lady Catharine

Hyde, his Duchess--under whose roof the poet spent the latter years of

his life.]

[36: See the Preface to the third volume of the late

Collective Edition of Mr. Southey's _Poems_, p. xii., where he

corrects a trivial error I had fallen into in the first edition of

these Memoirs, and adds, "Sir Walter's conduct was, as it always

was, characteristically generous, and in the highest degree

friendly."--(1839.)]

[37: Garrick's _Bon Ton, or High Life Above Stairs_.]

[38: _Twelfth Night_, Act V. Scene 1.]

[39: The letter in question has not been preserved in

Scott's collection of correspondence. This leaves some allusions in

the answer obscure.]

[40: Scott's old friend, Mr. John Richardson, had shortly

before this time taken a house in Miss Baillie's neighborhood, on

Hampstead Heath.]

[41: Miss Baillie had apologized to him for having sent an

extract of one of his letters to her friend at Edgeworthstown.]

[42: Milton, _Sonnet No. VIII._ [_When the Assault was

intended to the City._]]

[43: [On May 3, Scott had written to his daughter, that

this hair was light brown, and later, writing to Joanna Baillie, he

says, "I did not think Charles's hair had been quite so light; that

of his father, and I believe of all the Stuarts till Charles II.,

was reddish." Of the king, he goes on to say: "Tory, as I am, my

heart only goes with King Charles in his struggles and distresses,

for the fore part of his reign was a series of misconduct; however,

if he sow'd the wind, God knows he reap'd the whirlwind.... Sound

therefore be the sleep, and henceforward undisturbed the ashes, of

this unhappy prince.... His attachment to a particular form of

worship was in him conscience, for he adhered to the Church of

England ... when by giving up that favorite point he might have

secured his reëstablishment; and in that sense he may be justly

considered as a martyr, though his early political errors blemish

his character as King of England."--_Familiar Letters_, vol. i. p.

288.]]

[44: Letter from the Right Hon. W. Dundas, dated 6th

December, 1813.]

[45: See Scott's _Poetical Works_, vol. xi. p. 309, Edition

1834 [Cambridge Edition, p. 409].]