LIBRARY ST. MICHAELS COLLEGE MEMOIRS OF THE LIFE OF SIR WALTER SCOTT, BART. VOLUME THE FOURTH. MDCCCXXXVII. ROBERT CADELL, EDINBURGH. JOHN MURRAY AND WHITTAKER AND CO., LONDON. CONTENTS OF VOLUME FOURTH. CHAPTER I. Publication of Paul's Letters to his Kinsfolk Guy Manner- " ing Terry- fied" Death of Major John Scott Letters to Thomas Scott Publication of the Antiquary History of 1814 for the Edinburgh Annual Register Letters on the History of Scotland projected Publication of the first Tales of my Landlord by Murray and Blackwood Anec- dotes by Mr Train Quarterly Review on the Tales Build- ing at Abbotsford begun Letters to Morritt, Terry, Mur- ray, and the Ballantynes 1816, 1 CHAPTER II. Harold the Dauntless published Scott aspires to be a Baron of the Exchequer Letter to the Duke of Buccleuch con- cerning Poachers, &c. First attack of Cramp in the Sto- mach Letters to Morritt Terry and Mrs Maclean Cle- phane Story of the Doom of Devorgoil John Komble's retirement from the Stage William Laidlaw established at Kaeside Novel of Rob Roy projected Letter to Southey on the relief of the Poor, &c Letter to Lord Montagu on Hogg's Queen's Wake, and on the death of Frances Lady Douglas 1817, 40 i} CONTENTS. MM CHAPTER III. Excursion to the Lennox Glasgow and Drumlanrig Pur- chase of Toftfield Establishment of the Ferguson Family Visits of Wash- at Huntly Burn Lines written in illness Sir David Wilkie Pro- ington Irving Lady Byron and Letters to Morritt gress of the Building at Abbotsford 80 Terry, &c Conclusion of Rob Roy 1817, CHAPTER IV. Rob Roy published Negotiation concerning the Second Series of Tales of My Landlord Commission to search for the Scottish Regalia Letters to the Duke of Buccleuch Mr Croker Mr Morritt Mr Murray Mr Maturin, &c. Correspondence on Rural Affairs with Mr Laidlaw And on the Buildings at Abbotsford with Mr Terry Death of Mrs Murray Keith and Mr George Bullock 1818, 108 CHAPTER V. May 1818, Dinner at Mr Home Drummond's Scott's Edin- burgh Den Details of his Domestic Life in Castle Street His Sunday Dinners His Evening Drives, &c. His conduct in the General Society of Edinburgh Dinners at John Ballantyne's Villa and at James Ballantyne's in St John Street on the appearance of a New Novel Anec- dotes of the Ballantynes, and of Constable, 144 CHAPTER VI. Publication of the Heart of Mid-Lothian Its Reception in Edinburgh and in England Abbotsford in October Mel- rose AbbeyDryburgh, &c Lion Hunters from America Tragedy of the Cherokee Lovers Scott's Dinner to the Selkirkshire Yeomen 1818, 176 CHAPTER VII. Declining Health of Charles Duke of Buccleuch Letter on the Death of Queen Charlotte Provincial Antiquities, &c Extensive Sale of Copyrights to Constable and Co Death of Mr Charles Carpenter Scott receives and accepts the jffer of a He Baronetcy declines to renew his application for a Seat on the Exchequer BenchLetters to Morritt CONTENTS. HI PACE Richardson Miss Baillie The Duke of Buccleuch Lord Montagu Captain Adam Ferguson Rob Roy played at Edinburgh Letter from Jedediah Cleishbotham to Mr Charles Mackay 18181819, 206 CHAPTER VIII. Recurrence of Scott's Illness Death of the Duke of Buccleuch Letters to Captain Ferguson Lord Montagu Mr Sou- they And Mr Shortreed Scott's Sufferings while dictat- ing the Bride of Lammermoor Anecdotes by James Bal- lantyne, &c Appearance of the Third Series of Tales of My Landlord Anecdote of the Earl of Buchan March June 1819 231 CHAPTER IX. Gradual Re-establishment of Scott's Health Ivanhoe in Pro- gress His Son Walter joins the Eighteenth Regiment of Hussars Scott's Correspondence with his Son Miscella- neous Letters to Mrs Maclean Clephane M. W. Hart- stonge J. G. Lockhart John Ballantyne John Richard- son Miss Edgeworth Lord Montagu, &c Abbotsford Visited by Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg Death of Mrs William Erskine 1819, 279 CHAPTER X. Political Alarms The Radicals Levies of Volunteers Pro- ject of the Buccleuch Legion Death of Scott's Mother Her Brother Dr Rutherford And her Sister Christian Letters to Lord Montagu Mr Thomas Scott Cornet Scott Mr Laidlaw And Lady Louisa Stuart Publication of Ivanhoe 1819, 318 CHAPTER XL The Visionary The Peel of Darnick Scott's Saturday Ex- cursions to Abbotsford A Sunday there in February Constable John Ballantyne Thomas Purdie, &c Prince Gustavus Vasa Proclamation of King George IV Pub- lication of the Monastery 1820,345 CHAPTER XII. Scott Revisits London His Portrait by Lawrence, and Bust iv CONTENTS. PAGE by Chantrey Anecdotes by Allan Cunningham Letters to Mrs Scott Laidlaw, &c His Baronetcy Gazetted " Marriage of his Daughter Sophia Letter to The Baron of Galashiels" Visit of Prince Gustavus Vasa at Abbotsford Tenders of Honorary Degrees from Oxford and Cam- bridgeLetter to Mr Thomas Scott 1820, 360 LIFE OF SIR WALTER SCOTT. CHAPTER I. PUBLICATION OF PAUI/S LETTERS TO HIS KINSFOLK GUY MANNERING " TERRY-FIED '' DEATH OF MAJOR JOHN SCOTT LETTERS TO THOMAS SCOTT PUBLICATION OF THE AN- TIQUARY HISTORY OF 1814 FOR THE EDINBURGH ANNUAL REGISTER LETTERS ON THE HISTORY OF SCOTLAND PRO- JECTED PUBLICATION OF THE FIRST TALES OF MY LAND- LORD BY MURRAY AND BLACKWOOD ANECDOTES BY MR TRAIN QUARTERLY REVIEW ON THE TALES BUILDING AT ABBOTSFORD BEGUN LETTERS TO MORRITT, TERRY, MUR- RAY, AND THE BALLANTYNES. 1816. THE year 1815 may be considered as, for Scott's- peaceful tenor of life, an eventful one. That which followed has left almost its only traces in the successive appearance of nine volumes, which attest the prodigal genius, and hardly less astonishing industry of the man. Early in January were published Paul's Letters to his Kinsfolk, of which I need not now say more than that they were received with lively curiosity, and gene- VOL. IV. A 2 LIFE OF SIR WALTER SCOTT. not vociferous The first edition ral, though applause. and it was in was an octavo, of 6000 copies ; followed, the course of the next two or three years, by a second to more. The and a third, amounting together 3000 of the novelist was at its ; and this popularity height admitted, if not avowed, specimen of Scott's prose, must all had share of dis- have been perceived, by who any crimination, to flow from the same pen. Mr Terry produced in the spring of 1816 a dramatic " which met with piece, entitled, Guy Mannering," and still continues great success on the London boards, to be a favourite with the theatrical public ; what share the novelist himself had in this first specimen of what he " used to call the art of Terryfying" I cannot exactly but his shows that the say ; correspondence pretty song was not contribution to it of the Lullaby* hk only ; and I infer that he had taken the trouble to modify the plot, and re-arrange, for stage purposes, a considerable part of the original dialogue. The casual risk of dis- covery, through the introduction of the song which had, in the mean time, been communicated to one of his humble dependents, the late Alexander Campbell, editor of Albyn's Anthology (commonly known at Abbotsford of " as, by way excellence, The Dunniewassail,") and Scott's on suggestions that difficulty, will amuse the reader of the following letter : To D. Terry, Etq. Alfred Place, Bloomsbury, London. " Abbotsford, 18th April, 1816. 1 My dear Terry, ; ' I of give you joy your promotion to the dignity of an and householder, heartily wish you all the success you so well deserve, to answer the approaching enlarge- See Scott's Poetical Works, (Edit. 1834), vol. xi., p. 317. GUY MANNERING " TERRY-FIED." 3 ment of your domestic establishment. You will find a house a very devouring monster, and that the purveying for it requires a little exertion, and a great deal of self- denial and arrangement. But when there is domestic peace and contentment, all that would otherwise be dis- agreeable, as restraining our taste and occupying our time, becomes easy. I trust Mrs Terry will get her * business easily over, and that you will soon dandle Dickie on your knee.' I have been at the spring cir- cuit, which made me late in receiving your letter, and there I was introduced to a man whom I never saw in my life before, namely, the proprietor of all the Pepper and Mustard family, in other words, the genuine Dandle ' Dinmont. Dandie is himself modest, and says, he b'lives its only the dougs that is in the buik, and no himsel.' As the surveyor of taxes was going his omi- nous rounds past Hyndlea, which is the abode of Dan- die, his whole pack rushed out upon the man of execu- tion, and Dandie followed them (conscious that their * number greatly exceeded his return), exclaiming, the tae hauf o' them is but whalps, man.' In truth, I knew nothing of the man, except his odd humour of naving only two names for twenty dogs. But there are lines of general resemblance among all these hill-men, which there is Davidson of no missing ; and Jamie Hyndlea certainly looks Dandie Dinmont remarkably well. He is much flattered with the compliment, and goes uni- formly by the name among his comrades, but has never read the book. Ailie used to read it to him, but it set him to sleep. All this you will think funny enough. I am afraid I am in a scrape about the song, and that of for as it never occurred to that my own making ; me there was any thing odd in my writing two or three verses for you, which have no connexion with the novel, I was at no to disown is that pains them ; and Campbell just 4 LIFE OF SIR WALTER SCOTT.