Publication of Ballads After Bürger. -- Scott Quartermaster
of the Edinburgh Light Horse. -- Excursion to Cumberland. --
Gilsland Wells. -- Miss Carpenter. -- Marriage.
1796-1797.
Rebelling, as usual, against circumstances, Scott seems to have turned
with renewed ardor to his literary pursuits; and in that same October,
1796, he was "prevailed on," as he playfully expresses it, "by the
_request of friends_, to indulge his own vanity, by publishing the
translation of Lenore, with that of The Wild Huntsman, also from
Bürger, in a thin quarto." The little volume, which has no author's
name on the title-page, was printed for Manners and Miller of
Edinburgh. The first named of these respectable publishers had been a
fellow-student in the German class of Dr. Willich; and this
circumstance probably suggested the negotiation. It was conducted by
William Erskine, as appears from his postscript to a letter addressed
to Scott by his sister, who, before it reached its destination, had
become the wife of Mr. Campbell Colquhoun of Clathick and
Killermont--in after-days Lord Advocate of Scotland. This was another
of Scott's dearest female friends. The humble home which she shared
with her brother during his early struggles at the Bar had been the
scene of many of his happiest hours; and her letter affords such a
pleasing idea of the warm affectionateness of the little circle that I
cannot forbear inserting it:--
TO {p.228} WALTER SCOTT, ESQ., ROSEBANK, KELSO.
Monday evening.
If it were not that etiquette and I were constantly at war, I
should think myself very blamable in thus trespassing against one
of its laws; but as it is long since I forswore its dominion, I
have acquired a prescriptive right to act as I will--and I shall
accordingly anticipate the station of a _matron_ in addressing _a
young man_.
I can express but a very, very little of what I feel, and shall
ever feel, for your unintermitting friendship and attention. I
have ever considered you as a brother, and shall _now_ think
myself entitled to make even larger claims on your confidence.
Well do I remember the _dark_ conference we lately held together!
The intention of unfolding _my own_ future fate was often at my
lips.
I cannot tell you my distress at leaving this house, wherein I
have enjoyed so much real happiness, and giving up the service of
so gentle a master, whose yoke was indeed easy. I will therefore
only commend him to your care as the last bequest of Mary Anne
Erskine, and conjure you to continue to each other through all
your pilgrimage as you have commenced it. May every happiness
attend you! Adieu!
Your most sincere friend and sister,
M. A. E.
Mr. Erskine writes on the other page, "The poems are gorgeous, but I
have made no bargain with any bookseller. I have told M. and M. that I
won't be satisfied with indemnity, but an offer must be made. They
will be out before the end of the week." On what terms the publication
really took place, I know not.
It has already been mentioned that Scott owed his copy of Bürger's
works to the young lady of Harden, whose marriage occurred in the
autumn of 1795. She was daughter of Count Brühl of Martkirchen, long
Saxon ambassador at the Court of St. James's, by his wife Almeria,
Countess-Dowager of Egremont. The young kinsman was introduced to her
soon after her arrival {p.229} at Mertoun, and his attachment to
German studies excited her attention and interest. Mrs. Scott supplied
him with many standard German books, besides Bürger; and the gift of
an Adelung's dictionary from his old ally, George Constable (Jonathan
Oldbuck), enabled him to master their contents sufficiently for the
purposes of translation. The ballad of The Wild Huntsman appears to
have been executed during the month that preceded his first
publication; and he was thenceforth engaged in a succession of
versions from the dramas of Meier and Iffland, several of which are
still extant in his MS., marked 1796 and 1797. These are all in prose
like their originals; but he also versified at the same time some
lyrical fragments of Goethe, as, for example, the Morlachian Ballad,
"What yonder glimmers so white on the mountain,"
and the song from Claudina von Villa Bella. He consulted his friend at
Mertoun on all these essays; and I have often heard him say, that,
among those many "obligations of a distant date which remained
impressed on his memory, after a life spent in a constant interchange
of friendship and kindness," he counted not as the least, the lady's
frankness in correcting his Scotticisms, and more especially his
Scottish _rhymes_.
His obligations to this lady were indeed various; but I doubt, after
all, whether these were the most important. He used to say that she
was the first _woman of real fashion_ that _took him_ up; that she
used the privileges of her sex and station in the truest spirit of
kindness; set him right as to a thousand little trifles, which no one
else would have ventured to notice; and, in short, did for him what no
one but an elegant woman can do for a young man, whose early days have
been spent in narrow and provincial circles. "When I first saw Sir
Walter," she writes to me, "he was about four-or five-and-twenty, but
looked much younger. He seemed bashful and {p.230} awkward; but
there were from the first such gleams of superior sense and spirit in
his conversation, that I was hardly surprised when, after our
acquaintance had ripened a little, I felt myself to be talking with a
man of genius. He was most modest about himself, and showed his little
pieces apparently without any consciousness that they could possess
any claim on particular attention. Nothing so easy and good-humored as
the way in which he received any hints I might offer, when he seemed
to be tampering with the King's English. I remember particularly how
he laughed at himself, when I made him take notice that 'the little
two dogs,' in some of his lines, did not please an English ear
accustomed to 'the two little dogs.'"
Nor was this the only person at Mertoun who took a lively interest in
his pursuits. Harden entered into all the feelings of his beautiful
bride on this subject; and his mother, the Lady Diana Scott, daughter
of the last Earl of Marchmont, did so no less. She had conversed, in
her early days, with the brightest ornaments of the cycle of Queen
Anne, and preserved rich stores of anecdote, well calculated to
gratify the curiosity and excite the ambition of a young enthusiast in
literature. Lady Diana soon appreciated the minstrel of the clan; and,
surviving to a remarkable age, she had the satisfaction of seeing him
at the height of his eminence--the solitary person who could give the
author of Marmion personal reminiscences of Pope.[128]
[Footnote 128: Mr. Scott of Harden's right to the peerage of
Polwarth, as representing, through his mother, the line of
Marchmont, was allowed by the House of Lords in 1835.]
On turning to James Ballantyne's Memorandum (already quoted), I find
an account of Scott's journey from Rosebank to Edinburgh, in the
November after the Ballads from Bürger were published, which gives an
interesting notion of his literary zeal and opening ambition at this
remarkable epoch of his life. Mr. Ballantyne had settled {p.231} in
Kelso as a solicitor in 1795; but, not immediately obtaining much
professional practice, time hung heavy on his hands, and he willingly
listened, in the summer of 1796, to a proposal of some of the
neighboring nobility and gentry respecting the establishment of a
weekly newspaper,[129] in opposition to one of a democratic tendency,
then widely circulated in Roxburghshire and the other Border counties.
He undertook the printing and editing of this new journal, and
proceeded to London, in order to engage correspondents and make other
necessary preparations. While thus for the first time in the
metropolis, he happened to meet with two authors, whose reputations
were then in full bloom,--namely, Thomas Holcroft and William
Godwin,--the former, a popular dramatist and novelist; the latter, a
novelist of far greater merit, but "still more importantly
distinguished," says the Memorandum before me, "by those moral, legal,
political, and religious heterodoxies, which his talents enabled him
to present to the world in a very captivating manner. His Caleb
Williams had then just come out, and occupied as much public attention
as any work has done before or since." "Both these eminent persons,"
Ballantyne continues, "I saw pretty frequently; and being anxious to
hear whatever I could tell about the literary men in Scotland, they
both treated me with remarkable freedom of communication. They were
both distinguished by the clearness of their elocution, and very full
of triumphant confidence in the truth of their systems. They were as
willing to speak, therefore, as I could be to hear; and as I put my
questions with all the fearlessness of a very young man, the result
was, that I carried away copious and interesting stores of thought and
information: that the greater part of what I heard was full of error,
never entered into my contemplation. Holcroft at this time was a
fine-looking, lively man, of green old age, somewhere about sixty.
Godwin, some twenty {p.232} years younger, was more shy and
reserved. As to me, my delight and enthusiasm were boundless."
[Footnote 129: _The Kelso Mail._]
After returning home, Ballantyne made another journey to Glasgow for
the purchase of types; and on entering the Kelso coach for this
purpose, "It would not be easy," says he, "to express my joy on
finding that Mr. Scott was to be one of my partners in the carriage,
the only other passenger being a fine, stout, muscular, old Quaker. A
very few miles reëstablished us on our ancient footing. Travelling not
being half so speedy then as it is now, there was plenty of leisure
for talk, and Mr. Scott was exactly what is called _the old man_. He
abounded, as in the days of boyhood, in legendary lore, and had now
added to the stock, as his recitations showed, many of those fine
ballads which afterwards composed the Minstrelsy. Indeed, I was more
delighted with him than ever; and, by way of reprisal, I opened on him
my London budget, collected from Holcroft and Godwin. I doubt if
Boswell ever showed himself a more skilful _Reporter_ than I did on
this occasion. Hour after hour passed away, and found my borrowed
eloquence still flowing, and my companion still hanging on my lips
with unwearied interest. It was customary in those days to break the
journey (only forty miles) by dining on the road, the consequence of
which was, that we both became rather oblivious; and after we had
reëntered the coach, the worthy Quaker felt quite vexed and
disconcerted with the silence which had succeeded so much
conversation. 'I wish,' said he, 'my young friends, that you would
cheer up, and go on with your pleasant songs and tales as before: they
entertained me much.' And so," says Ballantyne, "it went on again
until the evening found us in Edinburgh; and from that day, until
within a very short time of his death--a period of not less than
five-and-thirty years--I may venture to say that our intercourse never
flagged."
The reception of the two ballads had, in the mean time, {p.233} been
favorable, in his own circle at least. The many inaccuracies and
awkwardnesses of rhyme and diction, to which he alludes in
republishing them towards the close of his life, did not prevent real
lovers of poetry from seeing that no one but a poet could have
transfused the daring imagery of the German in a style so free, bold,
masculine, and full of life; but, wearied as all such readers had been
with that succession of feeble, flimsy, lackadaisical trash which
followed the appearance of the Reliques by Bishop Percy, the opening
of such a new vein of popular poetry as these verses revealed would
have been enough to produce lenient critics for far inferior
translations. Many, as we have seen, sent forth copies of the Lenore
about the same time; and some of these might be thought better than
Scott's in particular passages; but, on the whole, it seems to have
been felt and acknowledged by those best entitled to judge, that he
deserved the palm. Meantime, we must not forget that Scotland had lost
that very year the great poet Burns,--her glory and her shame. It is
at least to be hoped that a general sentiment of self-reproach, as
well as of sorrow, had been excited by the premature extinction of
such a light; and, at all events, it is agreeable to know that they
who had watched his career with the most affectionate concern were
among the first to hail the promise of a more fortunate successor.
Scott found on his table, when he reached Edinburgh, the following
letters from two of Burns's kindest and wisest friends:--
TO WALTER SCOTT, ESQ., ADVOCATE, GEORGE'S SQUARE.
MY DEAR SIR,--I beg you will accept of my best thanks for the
favor you have done me by sending me four copies of your
beautiful translations. I shall retain two of them, as Mrs.
Stewart and I both set a high value on them as gifts from the
author. The other two I shall take the earliest opportunity of
transmitting to a friend in England, who, I hope, may be
instrumental in making their merits more generally known at the
time {p.234} of their first appearance. In a few weeks, I am
fully persuaded they will engage public attention to the utmost
extent of your wishes, without the aid of any recommendation
whatever. I ever am, Dear Sir, yours most truly,
DUGALD STEWART.
CANONGATE, Wednesday evening.
TO THE SAME.
DEAR SIR,--On my return from Cardross, where I had been for a
week, I found yours of the 14th, which had surely loitered by the
way. I thank you most cordially for your present. I meet with
little poetry nowadays that touches my heart; but your
translations excite mingled emotions of pity and terror,
insomuch, that I would not wish any person of weaker nerves to
read William and Helen before going to bed. Great must be the
original, if it equals the translation in energy and pathos. One
would almost suspect you have used as much liberty with Bürger as
Macpherson was suspected of doing with Ossian. It is, however,
easier to _backspeir_ you. Sober reason rejects the machinery as
unnatural; it reminds me, however, of the magic of Shakespeare.
Nothing has a finer effect than the repetition of certain words,
that are echoes to the sense, as much as the celebrated lines in
Homer about the rolling up and falling down of the stone: _Tramp,
tramp! splash, splash!_ is to me perfectly new; and much of the
imagery is nature. I should consider this muse of yours (if you
carry the intrigue far) more likely to steal your heart from the
law than even a wife. I am, Dear Sir, your most obedient, humble
servant,
JO. RAMSAY.
OCHTERTYRE, 30th November, 1796.
Among other literary persons at a distance, I may mention George
Chalmers, the celebrated antiquary, with whom he had been in
correspondence from the beginning of this year, supplying him with
Border ballads for the illustration of his researches into Scotch
history. This gentleman had been made acquainted with Scott's large
collections in that way by a common friend, Dr. Somerville, minister
of Jedburgh, author of the History of Queen {p.235} Anne;[130] and
the numerous MS. copies communicated to him in consequence were
recalled in the course of 1799, when the plan of the Minstrelsy began
to take shape. Chalmers writes in great transports about Scott's
versions; but weightier encouragement came from Mr. Taylor of Norwich,
himself the first translator of the Lenore.
[Footnote 130: Some extracts from this venerable person's
unpublished Memoirs of his own Life have been kindly sent to
me by his son, the well-known physician of Chelsea College,
from which it appears that the reverend doctor, and, more
particularly still, his wife, a lady of remarkable talent and
humor, had formed a high notion of Scott's future eminence at
a very early period of his life. Dr. S. survived to a great
old age, preserving his faculties quite entire, and I have
spent many pleasant hours under his hospitable roof in
company with Sir Walter Scott. We heard him preach an
excellent circuit sermon when he was upwards of eighty-two,
and at the Judges' dinner afterwards he was among the gayest
of the company.]
I need not tell you, sir [he writes], with how much eagerness I
opened your volume--with how much glow I followed The Chase--or
with how much alarm I came to William and Helen. Of the latter I
will say nothing; praise might seem hypocrisy--criticism envy.
The ghost nowhere makes his appearance so well as with you, or
his exit so well as with Mr. Spenser. I like very much the
recurrence of
"The scourge is red, the spur drops blood,
The flashing pebbles flee;"
but of William and Helen I had resolved to say nothing. Let me
return to The Chase, of which the metric stanza style pleases me
entirely; yet I think a few passages written in too elevated a
strain for the general spirit of the poem. This age leans too
much to the Darwin style. Mr. Percy's Lenore owes its coldness to
the adoption of this; and it seems peculiarly incongruous in the
ballad--where habit has taught us to expect simplicity. Among the
passages too stately and pompous, I should reckon--
"The mountain echoes startling wake--
And for devotion's choral swell
Exchange the rude discordant noise--
Fell Famine marks the maddening throng
With cold Despair's averted eye,"--
and perhaps one or two more. In the twenty-first stanza, I
prefer {p.236} Bürger's _trampling the corn into chaff and
dust_, to your more metaphorical, and therefore less picturesque,
"destructive sweep the field along." In the thirtieth, "On
whirlwind's pinions swiftly borne," to me seems less striking
than the still disapparition of the tumult and bustle--the earth
has opened, and he is sinking with his evil genius to the nether
world--as he approaches, _dumpf rauscht es wie ein fernes
Meer_--it should be rendered, therefore, not by "Save what a
distant torrent gave," but by some sounds which shall necessarily
excite the idea of being _hell-sprung_--the sound of simmering
seas of fire--pinings of goblins damned--or some analogous noise.
The forty-seventh stanza is a very great improvement of the
original. The profanest blasphemous speeches need not have been
softened down, as, in proportion to the impiety of the
provocation, increases the poetical probability of the final
punishment. I should not have ventured upon these criticisms, if
I did not think it required a microscopic eye to make any, and if
I did not on the whole consider The Chase as a most spirited and
beautiful translation. I remain (to borrow in another sense a
concluding phrase from the Spectator), your constant admirer,
W. TAYLOR, Jun.
NORWICH, 14th December, 1796.
The anticipations of these gentlemen, that Scott's versions would
attract general attention in the south, were not fulfilled. He himself
attributes this to the contemporaneous appearance of so many other
translations from Lenore. "In a word," he says, "my adventure, where
so many pushed off to sea, proved a dead loss, and a great part of the
edition was condemned to the service of the trunkmaker. This failure
did not operate in any unpleasant degree either on my feelings or
spirits. I was coldly received by strangers, but my reputation began
rather to increase among my own friends, and on the whole I was more
bent to show the world that it had neglected something worth notice,
than to be affronted by its indifference; or rather, to speak
candidly, I found pleasure in the literary labors in which I had
almost by accident become engaged, and labored less in the hope of
pleasing {p.237} others, though certainly without despair of doing
so, than in a pursuit of a new and agreeable amusement to
myself."[131]
[Footnote 131: _Remarks on Popular Poetry._ 1830.]
On the 12th of December Scott had the curiosity to witness the trial
of one James Mackean, a shoemaker, for the murder of Buchanan, a
carrier, employed to convey money weekly from the Glasgow bank to a
manufacturing establishment at Lanark. Mackean invited the carrier to
spend the evening in his house; conducted family worship in a style of
much seeming fervor; and then, while his friend was occupied, came
behind him, and almost severed his head from his body by one stroke of
a razor. I have heard Scott describe the sanctimonious air which the
murderer maintained during his trial--preserving throughout the aspect
of a devout person, who believed himself to have been hurried into his
accumulation of crime by an uncontrollable exertion of diabolical
influence; and on his copy of the "Life of James Mackean, executed
25th January, 1797," I find the following marginal note:--
"I went to see this wretched man when under sentence of death, along
with my friend, Mr. William Clerk, advocate. His great anxiety was to
convince us that his diabolical murder was committed from a sudden
impulse of revengeful and violent passion, not from deliberate design
of plunder. But the contrary was manifest from the accurate
preparation of the deadly instrument--a razor strongly lashed to an
iron bolt--and also from the evidence on the trial, from which it
seems he had invited his victim to drink tea with him on the day he
perpetrated the murder, and that this was a reiterated invitation.
Mackean was a good-looking elderly man, having a thin face and clear
gray eye; such a man as may be ordinarily seen beside a
collection-plate at a seceding meeting-house, a post which the said
Mackean had occupied in his day. All Mackean's account of the murder
is {p.238} apocryphal. Buchanan was a powerful man, and Mackean
slender. It appeared that the latter had engaged Buchanan in writing,
then suddenly clapped one hand on his eyes, and struck the fatal blow
with the other. The throat of the deceased was cut through his
handkerchief to the back bone of the neck, against which the razor was
hacked in several places."
In his pursuit of his German studies, Scott acquired, about this time,
a very important assistant in Mr. Skene of Rubislaw, in
Aberdeenshire--a gentleman considerably his junior,[132] who had just
returned to Scotland from a residence of several years in Saxony,
where he had obtained a thorough knowledge of the language, and
accumulated a better collection of German books than any to which
Scott had, as yet, found access. Shortly after Mr. Skene's arrival in
Edinburgh, Scott requested to be introduced to him by a mutual friend,
Mr. Edmonstone of Newton; and their fondness for the same literature,
with Scott's eagerness to profit by his new acquaintance's superior
attainment in it, thus opened an intercourse which general similarity
of tastes, and I venture to add, in many of the most important
features of character, soon ripened into the familiarity of a tender
friendship--"An intimacy," Mr. Skene says, in a paper before me, "of
which I shall ever think with so much pride--a friendship so pure and
cordial as to have been able to withstand all the vicissitudes of
nearly forty years, without ever having sustained even a casual chill
from unkind thought or word." Mr. Skene adds, "During the whole
progress of his varied life, to that eminent station which he could
not but feel he at length held in the estimation, not of his
countrymen alone, but of the whole world, I never could perceive the
slightest shade of variance from that simplicity of character with
which he impressed me on the first hour of our meeting."[133]
[Footnote 132: [James Skene, son of George Skene of Rubislaw,
was born in 1775.]]
[Footnote 133: [Beside the memoranda placed by Mr. Skene in
Lockhart's hands and used by him in various portions of the
_Life_, the friend's unpublished _Reminiscences_, from which
Mr. Douglas has fortunately been enabled to draw largely in
annotating the _Journal_, contains recollections of peculiar
interest.]]
Among {p.239} the common tastes which served to knit these friends
together was their love of horsemanship, in which, as in all other
manly exercises, Skene highly excelled; and the fears of a French
Invasion becoming every day more serious, their thoughts were turned
with corresponding zeal to the project of organising a force of
mounted volunteers in Scotland. "The London Light Horse had set the
example," says Mr. Skene; "but in truth it was to Scott's ardor that
this force in the North owed its origin. Unable, by reason of his
lameness, to serve amongst his friends on foot, he had nothing for it
but to rouse the spirit of the moss-trooper, with which he readily
inspired all who possessed the means of substituting the sabre for the
musket."
On the 14th February, 1797, these friends and many more met and drew
up an offer to serve as a body of volunteer cavalry in Scotland; which
offer being transmitted through the Duke of Buccleuch, Lord-Lieutenant
of Mid-Lothian, was accepted by Government. The organization of the
corps proceeded rapidly; they extended their offer to serve in any
part of the island in case of invasion; and this also being accepted,
the whole arrangement was shortly completed; when Charles Maitland of
Rankeillor was elected Major-Commandant; (Sir) William Rae of St.
Catharine's Captain; James Gordon of Craig, and George Robinson of
Clermiston, Lieutenants; (Sir) William Forbes of Pitsligo, and James
Skene of Rubislaw, Cornets; Walter Scott, Paymaster, Quartermaster,
and Secretary; John Adams, Adjutant. But the treble duties thus
devolved on Scott were found to interfere too severely with his other
avocations, and Colin Mackenzie of Portmore relieved him soon
afterwards from those of paymaster.
"The {p.240} part of quartermaster," says Mr. Skene, "was purposely
selected for him, that he might be spared the rough usage of the
ranks; but, notwithstanding his infirmity, he had a remarkably firm
seat on horseback, and in all situations a fearless one: no fatigue
ever seemed too much for him, and his zeal and animation served to
sustain the enthusiasm of the whole corps, while his ready 'mot à
rire' kept up, in all, a degree of good-humor and relish for the
service, without which the toil and privations of long _daily_ drills
would not easily have been submitted to by such a body of gentlemen.
At every interval of exercise, the order, _sit at ease_, was the
signal for the quartermaster to lead the squadron to merriment; every
eye was intuitively turned on 'Earl Walter,' as he was familiarly
called by his associates of that date, and his ready joke seldom
failed to raise the ready laugh. He took his full share in all the
labors and duties of the corps, had the highest pride in its progress
and proficiency, and was such a trooper himself as only a very
powerful frame of body and the warmest zeal in the cause could have
enabled any one to be. But his habitual good-humor was the great
charm, and at the daily mess (for we all dined together when in
quarters) that reigned supreme."
_Earl Walter's_ first charger, by the way, was a tall and powerful
animal, named Lenore. These daily drills appear to have been persisted
in during the spring and summer of 1797; the corps spending moreover
some weeks in quarters at Musselburgh. The majority of the troop
having professional duties to attend to, the ordinary hour for drill
was five in the morning; and when we reflect, that after some hours of
hard work in this way, Scott had to produce himself regularly in the
Parliament House with gown and wig, for the space of four or five
hours at least, while his chamber practice, though still humble, was
on the increase--and that he had found a plentiful source of new
social engagements in his troop {p.241} connections--it certainly
could have excited no surprise had his literary studies been found
suffering total intermission during this busy period. That such was
not the case, however, his correspondence and note-books afford ample
evidence.
He had no turn, at this time of his life, for early rising; so that
the regular attendance at the morning drills was of itself a strong
evidence of his military zeal; but he must have, in spite of them, and
of all other circumstances, persisted in what was the usual custom of
all his earlier life, namely, the devotion of the best hours of the
night to solitary study. In general, both as a young man, and in more
advanced age, his constitution required a good allowance of sleep, and
he, on principle, indulged in it, saying, "He was but half a man if he
had not full seven hours of utter unconsciousness;" but his whole mind
and temperament were, at this period, in a state of most fervent
exaltation, and spirit triumphed over matter. His translation of
Steinberg's Otho of Wittelsbach is marked "1796-7;" from which, I
conclude, it was finished in the latter year. The volume containing
that of Meier's Wolfred of Dromberg, a drama of Chivalry, is dated
1797; and, I think, the reader will presently see cause to suspect,
that though not alluded to in his imperfect note-book, these tasks
must have been accomplished in the very season of the daily drills.
The letters addressed to him in March, April, and June, by Kerr of
Abbotrule, George Chalmers, and his uncle at Rosebank, indicate his
unabated interest in the collection of coins and ballads; and I shall
now make a few extracts from his private note-book, some of which will
at all events amuse the survivors of the Edinburgh Light Horse;--
"_March 15, 1797._--Read Stanfield's trial, and the conviction
appears very doubtful indeed. Surely no one could seriously
believe, in 1688, that the body of the murdered {p.242} bleeds
at the touch of the murderer, and I see little else that directly
touches Philip Stanfield. He was a very bad character, however;
and tradition says, that having insulted Welsh, the wild
preacher, one day in his early life, the saint called from the
pulpit that God had revealed to him that this blasphemous youth
would die in the sight of as many as were then assembled. It was
believed at the time that Lady Stanfield had a hand in the
assassination, or was at least privy to her son's plans; but I
see nothing inconsistent with the old gentleman's having
committed suicide.[134] The ordeal of touching the corpse was
observed in Germany. They call it _barrecht_.
"_March 27._--
'The friers of Fail
Gat never owre hard eggs, or owre thin kale;
For they made their eggs thin wi' butter,
And their kale thick wi' bread.
And the friers of Fail they made gude kale
On Fridays when they fasted;
They never wanted gear enough
As lang as their neighbours' lasted.'
"Fairy-rings.--_N. B._ Delrius says the same appearance occurs
wherever the witches have held their Sabbath.
"For the ballad of 'Willie's lady,' compare Apuleius, lib. i. p.
33....
"_April 20._--The portmanteau to contain the following articles:
2 shirts; 1 black handkerchief; 1 nightcap, woollen; 1 pair
pantaloons, blue; 1 flannel shirt with sleeves; 1 pair flannel
drawers; 1 waistcoat; 1 pair worsted stockings or socks.
"In the slip, in cover of portmanteau, a case with
shaving-things, combs, and a knife, fork, and spoon; a German
pipe and tobacco-bag, flint, and steel; pipe-clay and {p.243}
oil, with brush for laying it on; a shoe-brush; a pair of shoes
or hussar-boots; a horse-picker, and other loose articles.
"Belt with the flap and portmanteau, currycomb, brush, and
mane-comb, with sponge.
"Over the portmanteau, the blue overalls, and a spare jacket for
stable; a small horse-sheet, to cover the horse's back with, and
a spare girth or two.
"In the cartouche-box, screw-driver and picker for pistol, with
three or four spare flints.
"The horse-sheet may be conveniently folded below the saddle, and
will save the back in a long march or bad weather. Beside the
holster, two forefeet shoes.[135]
"_May 22._--Apuleius, lib. ii.... Anthony-a-Wood.... Mr.
Jenkinson's name (now Lord Liverpool) being proposed as a
difficult one to rhyme to, a lady present hit off this verse
extempore.--_N. B._ Both father and son (Lord Hawkesbury) have a
peculiarity of vision:--
'Happy Mr. Jenkinson,
Happy Mr. Jenkinson,
I'm sure to you
Your lady's true,
For you have got a winking son.'
"23.--Delrius....
"24--'I, John Bell of Brackenbrig, lies under this stane;
Four {p.244} of my sons laid it on my wame.
I was man of my meat, and master of my wife,
And lived in mine ain house without meikle strife.
Gif thou be'st a "better man in thy time than I was in mine,
Tak this stane off my wame, and lay it upon thine.'
"25.--Meric Casaubon on Spirits....
"26.--'There saw we learned Maroe's golden tombe;
The way he cut an English mile in length
Thorow a rock of stone in one night's space.'
"Christopher Marlowe's Tragicall History of Dr. Faustus--a very
remarkable thing. Grand subject--end grand.... Copied Prophecy of
Merlin from Mr. Clerk's MS.
"27.--Read Everybody's Business is Nobody's Business, by Andrew
Moreton. This was one of Defoe's many _aliases_--like his pen, in
parts....
'To Cuthbert, Car, and Collingwood, to Shafto and to Hall;
To every gallant generous heart that for King James did fall.'
"28.--... Anthony-a-Wood.... Plain Proof of the True Father and
Mother of the Pretended Prince of Wales, by W. Fuller. This
fellow was pilloried for a forgery some years later.... Began
_Nathan der Weise_.
"_June 29._--Read Introduction to a Compendium on Brief
Examination, by W. S.--viz., William Stafford--though it was for
a time given to no less a W. S. than William Shakespeare. A
curious treatise--the Political Economy of the Elizabethan
Day--worth reprinting....
"_July 1._--Read Discourse of Military Discipline, by Captain
Barry--a very curious account of the famous Low Countries
armies--full of military hints worth note.... _Anthony Wood_
again.
"3.--_Nathan der Weise._ ... _Delrius_....
"5.--Geutenberg's _Braut_ begun.
"6.--The Bride again. _Delrius._"
[Footnote 134: See particulars of Stanfield's case in Lord
Fountainhall's _Chronological Notes of Scottish Affairs_,
1680-1701, edited by Sir Walter Scott. 4to, Edinburgh, 1822.
Pp. 233-236.]
[Footnote 135: Some of Scott's most intimate friends at the
Bar, partly, no doubt, from entertaining political opinions
of another caste, were by no means disposed to sympathize
with the demonstrations of his military enthusiasm at this
period. For example, one of these gentlemen thus writes to
another in April, 1797: "By the way, Scott is become the
merest trooper that ever was begotten by a drunken dragoon on
his trull in a hayloft. Not an idea crosses his mind, or a
word his lips, that has not an allusion to some d----d
instrument or evolution of the Cavalry--'Draw your swords--by
single files to the right of front--to the left
wheel--charge!' After all, he knows little more about wheels
and charges than I do about the wheels of Ezekiel, or the
King of Pelew about charges of horning on six days' date. I
saw them charge on Leith Walk a few days ago, and I can
assure you it was by no means orderly proceeded. Clerk and I
are continually obliged to open a six-pounder upon him in
self-defence, but in spite of a temporary confusion, he soon
rallies and returns to the attack."]
The note-book from which I have been copying is chiefly filled with
extracts from Apuleius and Anthony-a-Wood--most of {p.245} them
bearing, in some way, on the subject of popular superstitions. It is a
pity that many leaves have been torn out; for if unmutilated, the
record would probably have enabled one to guess whether he had already
planned his Essay on Fairies.
I have mentioned his business at the Bar as increasing at the same
time. His _fee-book_ is now before me, and it shows that he made by
his first year's practice £24 3s.; by the second, £57 15s.; by the
third, £84 4s.; by the fourth, £90; and in his fifth year at the
Bar--that is, from November, 1796 to July, 1797--£144 10s.; of which
£50 were fees from his father's chamber.
His friend, Charles Kerr of Abbotrule, had been residing a good deal
about this time in Cumberland: indeed, he was so enraptured with the
scenery of the lakes, as to take a house in Keswick with the intention
of spending half of all future years there. His letters to Scott
(March, April, 1797) abound in expressions of wonder that he should
continue to devote so much of his vacations to the Highlands of
Scotland, "with every crag and precipice of which," says he, "I should
imagine you would be familiar by this time; nay, that the goats
themselves might almost claim you for an acquaintance;" while another
district lay so near him, at least as well qualified "to give a swell
to the fancy."
After the rising of the Court of Session in July, Scott accordingly
set out on a tour to the English lakes, accompanied by his brother
John, and Adam Ferguson. Their first stage was Halyards in Tweeddale,
then inhabited by his friend's father, the philosopher and historian;
and they stayed there for a day or two, in the course of which Scott
had his first and only interview with David Ritchie, the original of
his Black Dwarf.[136] Proceeding southwards, the tourists visited
Carlisle, Penrith,--the vale of the Eamont, including Mayburgh and
Brougham Castle,--Ullswater and Windermere; and at length fixed
{p.246} their headquarters at the then peaceful and sequestered
little watering-place of Gilsland, making excursions from thence to
the various scenes of romantic interest which are commemorated in The
Bridal of Triermain, and otherwise leading very much the sort of life
depicted among the loungers of St. Ronan's Well. Scott was, on his
first arrival in Gilsland, not a little engaged with the beauty of one
of the young ladies lodged under the same roof with him; and it was on
occasion of a visit in her company to some part of the Roman Wall that
he indited his lines--
"Take these flowers, which, purple waving,
On the ruined rampart grew," etc.[137]
[Footnote 136: See the Introduction to this novel in the
edition of 1830.]
[Footnote 137: I owe this circumstance to the recollection of
Mr. Claud Russell, accountant in Edinburgh, who was one of
the party. Previously I had always supposed these verses to
have been inspired by Miss Carpenter.]
But this was only a passing glimpse of flirtation. A week or so
afterwards commenced a more serious affair.
Riding one day with Ferguson, they met, some miles from Gilsland, a
young lady taking the air on horseback, whom neither of them had
previously remarked, and whose appearance instantly struck both so
much that they kept her in view until they had satisfied themselves
that she also was one of the party at Gilsland. The same evening there
was a ball, at which Captain Scott produced himself in his
regimentals, and Ferguson also thought proper to be equipped in the
uniform of the Edinburgh Volunteers. There was no little rivalry among
the young travellers as to who should first get presented to the
unknown beauty of the morning's ride; but though both the gentlemen in
scarlet had the advantage of being dancing partners, their friend
succeeded in handing the fair stranger to supper--and such was his
first introduction to Charlotte Margaret Carpenter.
Without the features of a regular beauty, she was rich in personal
attractions; "a form that was fashioned as light as a fay's;" a
complexion of the clearest and lightest olive; {p.247} eyes large,
deep-set and dazzling, of the finest Italian brown; and a profusion of
silken tresses, black as the raven's wing; her address hovering
between the reserve of a pretty young Englishwoman who has not mingled
largely in general society, and a certain natural archness and gayety
that suited well with the accompaniment of a French accent. A lovelier
vision, as all who remember her in the bloom of her days have assured
me, could hardly have been imagined; and from that hour the fate of
the young poet was fixed.[138]
[Footnote 138: ["You may perhaps have remarked Miss Carpenter
at a Carlisle ball, but more likely not, as her figure is not
very _frappant_. A smart-looking little girl with dark brown
hair would probably be her portrait if drawn by an
indifferent hand. But I, you may believe, should make a piece
of work of my sketch, as little like the original as Hercules
to me."--Scott to P. Murray, December, 1797.--_Familiar
Letters_, vol. i. p. 10.]]
She was the daughter of Jean Charpentier, of Lyons, a devoted
royalist, who held an office under Government,[139] and Charlotte
Volere, his wife. She and her only brother, Charles Charpentier, had
been educated in the Protestant religion of their mother; and when
their father died, which occurred in the beginning of the Revolution,
Madame Charpentier made her escape with her children, first to Paris,
and then to England, where they found a warm friend and protector in
the late Marquis of Downshire, who had, in the course of his travels
in France, formed an intimate acquaintance with the family, and,
indeed, spent some time under their roof. M. Charpentier had, in his
first alarm as to the coming Revolution, invested £4000 in English
securities--part in a mortgage upon Lord Downshire's estates. On the
mother's death, which occurred soon after her arrival in London, this
nobleman took on himself the character of sole guardian to her
children; and Charles Charpentier received in due time, through his
interest, an appointment in {p.248} the service of the East India
Company, in which he had by this time risen to the lucrative situation
of Commercial Resident at Salem. His sister was now making a little
excursion, under the care of the lady who had superintended her
education, Miss Jane Nicolson, a daughter of Dr. Nicolson, Dean of
Exeter, and granddaughter of William Nicolson, Bishop of Carlisle,
well known as the editor of The English Historical Library. To some
connections which the learned prelate's family had ever since his time
kept up in the diocese of Carlisle, Miss Carpenter owed the direction
of her summer tour.
[Footnote 139: In several deeds which I have seen, M.
Charpentier is designed "Écuyer du Roi;" one of those
purchasable ranks peculiar to the latter stages of the old
French Monarchy. What the post he held was, I never heard.]
Scott's father was now in a very feeble state of health, which
accounts for his first announcement of this affair being made in a
letter to his mother; it is undated;--but by this time the young lady
had left Gilsland for Carlisle, where she remained until her destiny
was settled,
TO MRS. SCOTT, GEORGE'S SQUARE, EDINBURGH.
MY DEAR MOTHER,--I should very ill deserve the care and affection
with which you have ever regarded me, were I to neglect my duty
so far as to omit consulting my father and you in the most
important step which I can possibly take in life, and upon the
success of which my future happiness must depend. It is with
pleasure I think that I can avail myself of your advice and
instructions in an affair of so great importance as that which I
have at present on my hands. You will probably guess from this
preamble that I am engaged in a matrimonial plan, which is really
the case. Though my acquaintance with the young lady has not been
of long standing, this circumstance is in some degree
counterbalanced by the intimacy in which we have lived, and by
the opportunities which that intimacy has afforded me of
remarking her conduct and sentiments on many different occasions,
some of which were rather of a delicate nature, so that in fact I
have seen more of her during the few weeks we have {p.249} been
together than I could have done after a much longer acquaintance,
shackled by the common forms of ordinary life. You will not
expect from me a description of her person--for which I refer you
to my brother, as also for a fuller account of all the
circumstances attending the business than can be comprised in the
compass of a letter. Without flying into raptures, for I must
assure you that my judgment as well as my affections are
consulted upon this occasion--without flying into raptures, then,
I may safely assure you that her temper is sweet and cheerful,
her understanding good, and, what I know will give you pleasure,
her principles of religion very serious. I have been very
explicit with her upon the nature of my expectations, and she
thinks she can accommodate herself to the situation which I
should wish her to hold in society as my wife, which, you will
easily comprehend, I mean should neither be extravagant nor
degrading. Her fortune, though partly dependent upon her brother,
who is high in office at Madras, is very considerable--at present
£500 a year. This, however, we must, in some degree, regard as
precarious--I mean to the full extent; and indeed, when you know
her, you will not be surprised that I regard this circumstance
chiefly because it removes those prudential considerations which
would otherwise render our union impossible for the present.
Betwixt her income and my own professional exertions, I have
little doubt we will be enabled to hold the rank in society which
my family and situation entitle me to fill.
My dear mother, I cannot express to you the anxiety I have that
you will not think me flighty nor inconsiderate in this business.
Believe me, that experience, in one instance--you cannot fail to
know to what I allude--is too recent to permit my being so hasty
in my conclusions as the warmth of my temper might have otherwise
prompted. I am also most anxious that you should be prepared to
show her kindness, which I know the goodness {p.250} of your
own heart will prompt, more especially when I tell you that she
is an orphan, without relations, and almost without friends. Her
guardian is--I should say _was_, for she is of age--Lord
Downshire, to whom I must write for his consent,--a piece of
respect to which he is entitled for his care of her,--and there
the matter rests at present. I think I need not tell you that if
I assume the new character which I threaten, I shall be happy to
find that in that capacity I may make myself more useful to my
brothers, and especially to Anne, than I could in any other. On
the other hand, I shall certainly expect that my friends will
endeavor to show every attention in their power to a woman who
forsakes for me prospects much more splendid than what I can
offer, and who comes into Scotland without a single friend but
myself. I find I could write a great deal more upon this subject,
but as it is late, and as I must write to my father, I shall
restrain myself. I think (but you are best judge) that in the
circumstances in which I stand, you should write to her, Miss
Carpenter, under cover to me at Carlisle.
Write to me very fully upon this important subject--send me your
opinion, your advice, and, above all, your blessing; you will see
the necessity of not delaying a minute in doing so, and in
keeping this business _strictly private_, till you hear farther
from me, since you are not ignorant that even at this advanced
period an objection on the part of Lord Downshire, or many other
accidents, may intervene; in which case, I should little wish my
disappointment to be public.
Believe me, my dear Mother,
Ever your dutiful and affectionate son,
WALTER SCOTT.
Scott remained in Cumberland until the Jedburgh assizes recalled him
to his legal duties. On arriving in that town, he immediately sent for
his friend Shortreed, whose {p.251} _memorandum_ records that the
evening of the 30th September, 1797 was one of the most joyous he ever
spent. "Scott," he says, "was _sair_ beside himself about Miss
Carpenter;--we toasted her twenty times over--and sat together, he
raving about her, until it was one in the morning." He soon returned
to Cumberland; and the following letters will throw light on the
character and conduct of the parties, and on the nature of the
difficulties which were presented by the prudence and prejudices of
the young advocate's family connections. It appears, that at one stage
of the business, Scott had seriously contemplated leaving the Bar at
Edinburgh, and establishing himself with his bride (I know not in what
capacity) in one of the colonies.
TO WALTER SCOTT, ESQ., ADVOCATE, EDINBURGH.
CARLISLE, October 4, 1797.
It is only an hour since I received Lord Downshire's letter. You
will say, I hope, that I am indeed very good to write so soon,
but I almost fear that all my goodness can never carry me through
all this plaguy writing. Lord Downshire will be happy to hear
from you. He is the very best man on earth--his letter is kind
and affectionate, and full of advice, much in the style of _your
last_. I am to consult _most carefully my heart_. Do you believe
I did not do it when I gave you my consent? It is true, I don't
like to reflect on that subject. I am afraid. It is very awful to
think it is for life. How can I ever laugh after such tremendous
thoughts? I believe never more. I am hurt to find that your
friends don't think the match a prudent one. If it is not
agreeable to them all, you must then forget me, for I have too
much pride to think of connecting myself in a family were I not
equal to them. Pray, my dear sir, write to Lord D.
immediately--explain yourself to him as you would to me, and he
will, I am sure, do all he can to serve us. If you {p.252}
really love me, you must love him, and write to him as you would
to a friend.
Adieu,--au plaisir de vous revoir bientôt.
C. C.
TO ROBERT SHORTREED, ESQ., SHERIFF-SUBSTITUTE, JEDBURGH.
SELKIRK, 8th October, 1797.
DEAR BOB,--This day a long train of anxieties was put an end to
by a letter from Lord Downshire, couched in the most flattering
terms, giving his consent to my marriage with his ward. I am thus
far on my way to Carlisle--only for a visit--because, betwixt her
reluctance to an immediate marriage and the imminent approach of
the session, I am afraid I shall be thrown back to the Christmas
holidays. I shall be home in about eight days.
Ever yours sincerely,
W. SCOTT.
TO MISS CHRISTIAN RUTHERFORD, ASHESTIEL, BY SELKIRK.
Has it never happened to you, my dear Miss Christy, in the course
of your domestic economy, to meet with a drawer stuffed so very,
so _extremely_ full, that it was very difficult to pull it open,
however desirous you might be to exhibit its contents? In case
this miraculous event has ever taken place, you may somewhat
conceive from thence the cause of my silence, which has really
proceeded from my having a very great deal to communicate; so
much so, that I really hardly know how to begin. As for my
affection and friendship for you, believe me sincerely, they
neither slumber nor sleep, and it is only your suspicions of
their drowsiness which incline me to write at this period of a
business highly interesting to me, rather than when I could have
done so with something like certainty--Hem! Hem! It must come out
at once--I am in a very fair way of being married to a very
amiable {p.253} young woman, with whom I formed an attachment
in the course of my tour. She was born in France--her parents
were of English extraction--the name Carpenter. She was left an
orphan early in life, and educated in England, and is at present
under the care of a Miss Nicolson, a daughter of the late Dean of
Exeter, who was on a visit to her relations in Cumberland. Miss
Carpenter is of age, but as she lies under great obligations to
the Marquis of Downshire, who was her guardian, she cannot take a
step of such importance without his consent--and I daily expect
his final answer upon the subject. Her fortune is dependent, in a
great measure, upon an only and very affectionate brother. He is
Commercial Resident at Salem in India, and has settled upon her
an annuity of £500. Of her personal accomplishments I shall only
say that she possesses very good sense, with uncommon good
temper, which I have seen put to most severe trials. I must
bespeak your kindness and friendship for her. You may easily
believe I shall rest very much both upon Miss R. and you for
giving her the _carte de pays_, when she comes to Edinburgh. I
may give you a hint that there is no _romance_ in her
composition--and that, though born in France, she has the
sentiments and manners of an Englishwoman, and does not like to
be thought otherwise. A very slight tinge in her pronunciation is
all which marks the foreigner. She is at present at Carlisle,
where I shall join her as soon as our arrangements are finally
made. Some difficulties have occurred in settling matters with my
father, owing to certain prepossessions which you can easily
conceive his adopting. One main article was the uncertainty of
her provision, which has been in part removed by the safe arrival
of her remittances for this year, with assurances of their being
regular and even larger in future, her brother's situation being
extremely lucrative. Another objection was her birth: "Can any
good thing come out of Nazareth?" but as it was _birth merely
and solely_, {p.254} this has been abandoned. _You_ will be
more interested about other points regarding her, and I can only
say that--though our acquaintance was shorter than ever I could
have thought of forming such a connection upon--it was
exceedingly close, and gave me full opportunities for
observation--and if I had parted with her, it must have been
forever, which both parties began to think would be a
disagreeable thing. She has conducted herself through the whole
business with so much propriety as to make a strong impression in
her favor upon the minds of my father and mother, prejudiced as
they were against her, from the circumstances I have mentioned.
We shall be your neighbors in the New Town, and intend to live
very quietly; Charlotte will need many lessons from Miss R. in
housewifery. Pray show this letter to Miss R. with my very best
compliments. Nothing can now stand in the way except Lord
Downshire, who may not think the match a prudent one for Miss C.;
but he will surely think her entitled to judge for herself at her
age, in what she would wish to place her happiness. She is not a
beauty, by any means, but her person and face are very engaging.
She is a brunette; her manners are lively, but when necessary she
can be very serious. She was baptized and educated a Protestant
of the Church of England. I think I have now said enough upon
this subject. Do not write till you hear from me again, which
will be when all is settled. I wish this important event may
hasten your return to town. I send a goblin story, with best
compliments to the misses, and ever am, yours affectionately,
WALTER SCOTT.
THE ERL-KING.[140]
(_The Erl-King is a goblin that haunts the Black Forest in
Thuringia.--To be read by a candle particularly long in the
snuff._)
O, who rides by night thro' the woodland so wild?
It is the fond father embracing his child;
And {p.255} close the boy nestles within his loved arm,
To hold himself fast, and to keep himself warm.
"O father, see yonder! see yonder!" he says.
"My boy, upon what doest thou fearfully gaze?"--
"O, 't is the Erl-King with his crown and his shroud."--
"No, my son, it is but a dark wreath of the cloud."
(_The Erl-King speaks._)
"O, come and go with me, thou loveliest child;
By many a gay sport shall thy time be beguiled;
My mother keeps for thee full many a fair toy,
And many a fine flower shall she pluck for my boy."
"O father, my father, and did you not hear
The Erl-King whisper so low in my ear?"
"Be still, my heart's darling--my child, be at ease;
It was but the wild blast as it sung thro' the trees."
_Erl-King._
"O wilt thou go with me, thou loveliest boy?
My daughter shall tend thee with care and with joy;
She shall bear thee so lightly thro' wet and thro' wild,
And press thee, and kiss thee, and sing to my child."
"O father, my father, and saw you not plain
The Erl-King's pale daughter glide past thro' the rain?"--
"O yes, my loved treasure, I knew it full soon;
It was the gray willow that danced to the moon."
_Erl-King._
"O, come and go with me, no longer delay,
Or else, silly child, I will drag thee away."--
"O Father! O father! now, now keep your hold,
The Erl-King has seized me--his grasp is so cold!"
Sore trembled the father; he spurr'd thro' the wild,
Clasping close to his bosom his shuddering child;
He reaches his dwelling in doubt and in dread,
But, clasp'd to his bosom, the infant was _dead_!
You see I have not altogether lost the faculty of rhyming. I
assure you, there is no small impudence in attempting a version
of that ballad, as it has been translated by _Lewis_.--All good
things be with you.
W. S.
[Footnote 140: From the German of Goethe.]
TO {p.256} WALTER SCOTT, ESQ., ADVOCATE, EDINBURGH.
LONDON, October 15, 1797.
SIR,--I received your letter with pleasure, instead of
considering it as an intrusion. One thing more being fully stated
would have made it perfectly satisfactory,--namely, the sort of
income you immediately possess, and the sort of maintenance Miss
Carpenter, in case of your demise, might reasonably expect.
Though she is of an age to judge for herself in the choice of an
object that she would like to run the race of life with, she has
referred the subject to me. As her friend and guardian, I in duty
must try to secure her happiness, by endeavoring to keep her
comfortable immediately, and to prevent her being left destitute,
in case of any unhappy contingency. Her good sense and good
education are her chief fortune; therefore, in the worldly way of
talking, she is not entitled to much. Her brother, who was also
left under my care at an early period, is excessively fond of
her; he has no person to think of but her as yet; and will
certainly be enabled to make her very handsome presents, as he is
doing very well in India, where I sent him some years ago, and
where he bears a very high character, I am happy to say. I do not
throw out this to induce you to make any proposal beyond what
prudence and discretion recommend; but I hope I shall hear from
you by return of post, as I may be shortly called out of town to
some distance. As children are in general the consequence of an
happy union, I should wish to know what may be your thoughts or
wishes upon that subject. I trust you will not think me too
particular; indeed I am sure you will not, when you consider that
I am endeavoring to secure the happiness and welfare of an
estimable young woman whom you admire and profess to be partial
and attached to, and for whom I have the highest regard, esteem,
and respect.
I am, Sir, your obedient humble servant,
DOWNSHIRE.
TO {p.257} THE SAME.
CARLISLE, October 22.
Your last letter, my dear sir, contains a very fine train of
_perhaps_, and of so many pretty conjectures, that it is not
flattering you to say you excel in the art of tormenting
yourself. As it happens, you are quite wrong in all your
suppositions. I have been waiting for Lord D.'s answer to your
letter, to give a full answer to your very proper inquiries about
my family. Miss Nicolson says, that when she did offer to give
you some information, you refused it--and advises me _now_ to
wait for Lord D.'s letter. Don't believe I have been idle; I have
been writing very long letters to him, and all about you. How can
you think that I will give an answer about the house until I hear
from London?--that is quite impossible; and I believe you are a
little out of your senses to imagine I can be in Edinburgh before
the twelfth of next month. O, my dear sir, no--you must not think
of it this _great while_. I am much flattered by your mother's
remembrance; present my respectful compliments to her. You don't
mention your father in your last _anxious_ letter--I hope he is
better. I am expecting every day to hear from my brother. You may
tell your uncle he is Commercial Resident at Salem. He will find
the name of Charles C. in his India list. My compliments to
Captain Scott. _Sans adieu_,
C. C.
TO THE SAME.
CARLISLE, October 25.
Indeed, Mr. Scott, I am by no means pleased with all this
writing. I have told you how much I dislike it, and yet you still
persist in asking me to write, and that by return of post. O, you
really are quite out of your senses. I should not have indulged
you in that whim of yours, had you not given me that hint that my
silence gives an air of mystery. I have no reason that can
detain {p.258} me in acquainting you that my father and mother
were French, of the name of Charpentier; he had a place under
government; their residence was at Lyons, where you would find on
inquiries that they lived in good repute and in _very good
style_. I had the misfortune of losing my father before I could
know the value of such a parent. At his death we were left to the
care of Lord D., who was his very great friend; and very soon
after I had the affliction of losing my mother. Our taking the
name of Carpenter was on my brother's going to India, to prevent
any little difficulties that might have occurred. I hope now you
are pleased. Lord D. could have given you every information, as
he has been acquainted with all my family. You say you almost
love _him_; but until your _almost_ comes to a _quite_, I cannot
love _you_. Before I conclude this famous epistle, I will give
you a little hint--that is, not to put so many _musts_ in your
letters--it is beginning _rather too soon_; and another thing is,
that I take the liberty not to mind them much, but I expect you
mind me. You _must_ take care of yourself; you _must_ think of
me, and believe me yours sincerely,
C. C.
TO THE SAME.
CARLISLE, October 26.
I have only a minute before the post goes, to assure you, my dear
sir, of the welcome reception of the stranger.[141] The very
great likeness to a friend of mine will endear him to me; he
shall be my constant companion, but I wish he could give me an
answer to a thousand questions I have to make--one in particular,
what reason have you for so many fears you express? Have your
friends changed? Pray let me know the truth--they perhaps don't
like me _being French_. Do write immediately--let it be in better
spirits. Et croyez-moi toujours votre sincère
C. C.
[Footnote 141: A miniature of Scott.]
TO {p.259} THE SAME.
October 31.
... All your apprehensions about your friends make me very
uneasy. At your father's age, prejudices are not easily
overcome--old people have, you know, so much more wisdom and
experience, that we must be guided by them. If he has an
objection on my being _French_, I excuse him with all my heart,
as I don't love them myself. O how all these things plague
me!--when will it end? And to complete the matter, you talk of
going to the West Indies. I am certain your father and uncle say
you are a hot _heady_ young man, quite mad, and I assure you I
join with them; and I must believe, that when you have such an
idea, you have then determined to think no more of me. I begin to
repent of having accepted your picture. I will send it _back
again_, if you ever think again about the West Indies. Your
family then would _love me_ very much--to forsake them for a
_stranger_, a person who does not possess half the charms and
good qualities that you _imagine_. I think I hear your uncle
calling you a hot heady young man. I am certain of it, and I am
_generally right_ in my conjectures. What does your sister say
about it? I suspect that she thinks on the matter as I should do,
with fears and anxieties for the happiness of her brother. If it
be proper, and you think it would be _acceptable_, present my
best compliments to your mother; and to my old acquaintance
Captain Scott I beg to be remembered. This evening is the first
ball--don't you wish to be of our party? I guess your answer--it
would give me infinite pleasure. En attendant le plaisir de vous
revoir, je suis toujours votre constante
CHARLOTTE.
TO THE SAME.
THE CASTLE, HARTFORD, October 29, 1797.
SIR,--I received the favor of your letter. It was so manly,
honorable, candid, and so full of good sense, that I {p.260}
think Miss Carpenter's friends cannot in any way object to the
union you propose. Its taking place, when or where, will depend
upon herself, as I shall write to her by this night's post. Any
provision that may be given to her by her brother, you will have
settled upon her and her children; and I hope, with all my heart,
that every earthly happiness may attend you both. I shall be
always happy to hear it, and to subscribe myself your faithful
friend and obedient humble servant,
DOWNSHIRE.
(ON THE SAME SHEET.)
CARLISLE, November 4.
Last night I received the enclosed for you from Lord Downshire.
If it has your approbation, I shall be very glad to see you as
soon as will be convenient. I have a thousand things to tell you;
but let me beg of you not to think for some time of a house. I am
sure I can convince you of the propriety and prudence of waiting
until your father will settle things more to your satisfaction,
and until I have heard from my brother. You _must_ be of my way
of thinking.--Adieu.
C. C.
Scott obeyed this summons, and I suppose remained in Carlisle until
the Court of Session met, which is always on the 12th of November.
TO W. SCOTT, ESQ., ADVOCATE, EDINBURGH.
CARLISLE, November 14.
Your letter never could have come in a more favorable moment.
Anything you could have said would have been well received. You
surprise me much at the regret you express you had of leaving
Carlisle. Indeed, I can't believe it was on my account, I was so
uncommonly stupid. I don't know what could be the matter with me,
I was so very low, and felt really ill: it was even a trouble to
speak. The settling of our little plans--all looked {p.261} so
much in earnest--that I began reflecting more seriously than I
generally do, or _approve of_. I don't think that very thoughtful
people ever can be happy. As this is my maxim, adieu to all
thoughts. I have made a determination of being pleased with
everything, and with everybody in Edinburgh; a wise system for
happiness, is it not? I enclose the lock. I have had almost all
my hair cut off. Miss Nicolson has taken some, which she sends to
London to be made to something, but this you are not to know of,
as she intends to present it to you.... I am happy to hear of
your father's being better pleased as to money matters; it will
come at last; don't let that trifle disturb you. Adieu, Monsieur.
J'ai l'honneur d'être votre très humble et très
Obéissante
C. C.
CARLISLE, November 27.
You have made me very _triste_ all day. Pray never more complain
of being poor. Are you not ten times richer than I am? Depend on
yourself and your profession. I have no doubt you will rise very
high, and be a _great rich man_, but we should look down to be
contented with our lot, and banish all disagreeable thoughts. We
shall do very well. I am very sorry to hear you have such a _bad
head_. I hope I shall nurse away all your aches. I think you
write too much. When I am _mistress_ I shall not allow it. How
very angry I should be with you if you were to part with Lenore.
Do you really believe I should think it an _unnecessary expense_
where your health and pleasure can be concerned? I have a better
opinion of you, and I am very glad you don't give up the cavalry,
as I love anything that is _stylish_. Don't forget to find a
stand for the old carriage, as I shall like to keep it, in case
we should have to go any journey; it is so much more convenient
than the post-chaises, and will do very well till we can keep
_our carriage_. What an idea of yours was that to mention where
{p.262} you wish to have your _bones laid_![142] If you were
married, I should think you were tired of me. A very pretty
compliment _before marriage_. I hope sincerely that I shall not
live to see that day. If you always have those cheerful thoughts,
how very pleasant and gay you must be.
Adieu, my dearest friend. Take care of yourself if you love me,
as I have _no wish_ that you should _visit_ that _beautiful_ and
_romantic_ scene, the burying-place. Adieu, once more, and
believe that you are loved very sincerely by
C. C.
[Footnote 142: ["I had a visit from Mr. Haliburton to-day,
and asked him all about your brother, who was two years in
his house. My father is Mr. Haliburton's relation and chief,
as he represents a very old family of that name. When you go
to the south of Scotland with me, you will see their
burying-place, now all that remains with my father of a very
handsome property. It is one of the most beautiful and
romantic scenes you ever saw, among the ruins of an old
abbey. When I die, Charlotte, you must cause my bones to be
laid there; but we shall have many happy days before that, I
hope."--Scott to Miss Carpenter, November 22,
1797.--_Familiar Letters_, vol. i. p. 8.]]
December 10.
If I could but really believe that my letter gave you only half
the pleasure you express, I should almost think, my dearest
Scott, that I should get very fond of writing merely for the
pleasure to _indulge_ you--that is saying a great deal. I hope
you are sensible of the compliment I pay you, and don't expect I
shall _always_ be so pretty behaved. You may depend on me, my
dearest friend, for fixing as _early_ a day as I possibly can;
and if it happens to be not quite so soon as you wish, you must
not be angry with me. It is very unlucky you are such a bad
housekeeper--as I am no better. I shall try. I hope to have very
soon the pleasure of seeing you, and to tell you how much I love
you; but I wish the first fortnight was over. With all my love,
and those sort of pretty things--adieu.
CHARLOTTE
P. S.--_Étudiez {p.263} votre Français._ Remember you are to
teach me Italian in return, but I shall be but a stupid scholar.
_Aimez Charlotte._
CARLISLE, December 14.
... I heard last night from my friends in London, and I shall
certainly have the deed this week. I will send it to you
directly; but not to lose so much time, as you have been
reckoning, I will prevent any little delay that might happen by
the post, by fixing already next Wednesday for your coming here,
and on Thursday the 21st--Oh, my dear Scott, on that day I shall
be yours forever.
C. C.
_P. S._--Arrange it so that we shall see none of your family the
night of our arrival. I shall be so tired, and such a fright, I
should not be seen to advantage.
To these extracts I may add the following from the first leaf of an
old black-letter Bible at Abbotsford:--
"_Secundum morem majorum hæc de familiâ Gualteri Scott,
Jurisconsulti Edinensis, in librum hunc sacrum manu suâ
conscripta sunt._
"_Gualterus Scott, filius Gualteri Scott et Annæ Rutherford,
natus erat apud Edinam 15mo die Augusti, A. D. 1771._
"_Socius Facultatis Juridicæ Edinensis receptus erat 11mo die
Julii, A. D. 1792._
"_In ecclesiam Sanctæ Mariæ apud Carlisle, uxorem duxit
Margaretam Charlottam Carpenter, filiam quondam Joannis
Charpentier et Charlottæ Volere, Lugdunensem, 24to die Decembris,
1797._"[143]
[Footnote 143: The account in the text of Miss Carpenter's
origin has been, I am aware, both spoken and written of as an
uncandid one: it had been expected that even in 1837 I would
not pass in silence a rumor of early prevalence, which
represented her and her brother as children of Lord Downshire
by Madame Charpentier. I did not think it necessary to allude
to this story while any of Sir Walter's own children were
living; and I presume it will be sufficient for me to say
now, that neither I, nor, I firmly believe, any one of them,
ever heard either from Sir Walter, or from his wife, or from
Miss Nicolson (who survived them both) the slightest hint as
to the rumor in question. There is not an expression in the
preserved correspondence between Scott, the young lady, and
the Marquis, that gives it a shadow of countenance. Lastly,
Lady Scott always kept hanging by her bedside, and repeatedly
kissed in her dying moments, a miniature of her father which
is now in my hands; and it is the well-painted likeness of a
handsome gentleman--but I am assured the features have no
resemblance to Lord Downshire or any of the Hill
family.--(1848.)]
END OF VOLUME ONE