The Journal of Sir Walter Scott Part 78

"Full of mirth and full of glee,"

for which he has good reason, having raised the impression of the _Magnum_ to 12,000 copies, and yet the end is not, for the only puzzle now is how to satisfy the delivery fast enough.[326]

_May_ 31.--We dined at Craigcrook with Jeffrey. It is a most beautiful place, tastefully planted with shrubs and trees, and so sequestered, that after turning into the little avenue, all symptoms of the town are left behind you. He positively gives up the _Edinburgh Review_.[327] A very pleasant evening. Rather a gla.s.s of wine too much, for I was heated during the night. Very good news of Walter.

FOOTNOTES:

[307] See _Foreign Quarterly Review_, vol. iv. p. 355.

[308] This short History of Scotland, it was found, could not be comprised in a single volume, and the publishers handsomely agreed to give the author 1500 for two volumes, forming the first and fourth issues of their own _Cabinet Cyclopaedia_, the publication of which was commenced before the end of the year.

[309] Right Hon. Charles Hope.

[310] Adam Rolland, Princ.i.p.al Clerk of Session, a nephew of Adam Rolland of Gask, who was in some respects the prototype of Pleydell, and whose face and figure have been made familiar to the present generation by Raeburn's masterpiece of portraiture, now in the possession of Miss Abercrombie, Edinburgh.

[311] Sir Walter had written to Mr. Lockhart on 8th May:--"_Anne of Geierstein_ is concluded; but as I do not like her myself, I do not expect she will be popular."

As a contrast to the criticisms of the printer and publisher, and a comment upon the author's own apprehensions, the subjoined extract from a letter written by Mr. G.P.R. James may be given:--"When I first read _Anne of Geierstein_ I will own that the mult.i.tude of surpa.s.sing beauties which it contained frightened me, but I find that after having read it the public mind required to be let gently down from the tone of excitement to which it had been raised, and was contented to pause at my book (_Richelieu_), as a man who has been enjoying a fine prospect from a high hill stops before he reaches the valley to take another look, though half the beauty be already lost.... You cannot think how I long to acquit myself of the obligations which I lie under towards you, but I am afraid that fortune, who has given you both the will and the power to confer such great favours upon me, has not in any degree enabled me to aid or a.s.sist you in return."

[312] _The Bee Preserver_, or _Practical Directions for the Management and Preservation of Hives_. Translated from the French of J. De Gelieu.

1829.

[313] "An oak tree which grows by the side of a fine spring near the Castle of Dalhousie; very much observed by the country people, who give out that before any of the family died a branch fell from the Edgewell Tree. The old tree some few years ago fell altogether, but another sprang from the same root, which is now [1720] tall and flourishing; and lang be it sae."--Allan Ramsay's _Works_, vol. i. p. 329: "Stocks in 1720." 2 vols. 8vo, Lond. 1800.

The tree is still flourishing [1889], and the belief in its sympathy with the family is not yet extinct, as an old forester, on seeing a large branch fall from it on a quiet still day in July 1874, exclaimed, "The laird's deed noo!" and accordingly news came soon after that Fox Maule, 11th Earl of Dalhousie, had died.

[314] The Coalstoun Pear was removed from Dalhousie to Coalstoun House in 1861.

[315] _Macbeth_, Act III. Sc. 4.

[316] _Macbeth_, Act IV. Sc. 1.

[317] Lord Forbes was at this time His Majesty's High Commissioner to the General a.s.sembly of the Church of Scotland: he had been appointed in 1826.

[318] Rev. Edward Irving, minister of the Scottish Church in London, was deposed March 1833, and died Dec. 1834, aged forty-two.

[319] That is as a lay-member of the General a.s.sembly of the Church of Scotland.

[320] _Lear_, Act I. Sc. 4.

[321] 2_d Henry IV_., Act V. Sc. 3.

[322] No. 25.

[323] The ma.n.u.script referred to is now at Abbotsford. It is a small quarto of 8-3/4 x 6-1/2 inches, bound in old mottled leather, and consisting of 251 leaves of paper, written on both sides in the Irish character, apparently in the reign of James VI. It bears the following inscription in Sir Walter's hand:--"The kind donor of this book is the Right Rev. Bishop of Cloyne, famed for his skill in science, and especially as an astronomer." For contents of vol. see Appendix. Dr.

John Brinkley, Bishop of Cloyne, was Astronomer Royal for Ireland.

[324] See letter to Princ.i.p.al Baird, _ante_, vol, i, p. 412 _n._

[325] The first line of the Scottish metrical version of the hundredth Psalm. Mr. Lockhart tells us, in his affecting account of Sir Walter's illness, that his love for the old metrical version of the Psalms continued unabated to the end. A story has been told, on the authority of the nurse in attendance, that on the morning of the day on which he died, viz., on the 21st Sept. 1832, he opened his eyes once more, quite conscious, and calmly asked her to read to him a psalm. She proceeded to do so, when he gently interposed, saying, "No! no! the Scotch Psalms."

After reading to him a little while, he expressed a wish to be moved nearer the window, through which he looked long and earnestly up and down the valley and towards the sky, and then on the woman's face, saying: "_I'll know it all before night_." This story will find some confirmation from the entry in the Journal under September 24, 1830: "I think _I will be in the secret next week_; unless I recruit greatly."

[326] In a letter to his son at this time he says the "sale of the Novels is pro-di-gi-ous. If it last but a few years it will clear my feet of old enc.u.mbrances."--_Life_, vol. ix. p. 32.

[327] Jeffrey, who had just retired from the editorship of the _Edinburgh Review_, was succeeded by Macvey Napier, whose first No. was published in October 1829.

JUNE.

_June_ 1.--Being Sunday I remained to work the whole day, and finished half of the proposed volume of History. I was not disturbed the whole day, a thing rather unusual.

_June_ 2.--Received Mr. Rees of London and Col. Ferguson to breakfast.

Mr. Rees is clearly of opinion our scheme (the _Magnum_) must answer.[328] I got to letter-writing after breakfast, and cleared off old scores in some degree. Dr. Ross called and would hardly hear of my going out. I was obliged, however, to attend the meeting of the trustees for the Theatre.[329] The question to be decided was, whether we should embrace an option left to us of taking the old Theatre at a valuation, or whether we should leave it to Mrs. Siddons and Mr. Murray to make the best of it. There were present Sir Patrick Murray, Baron Hume, Lord Provost, Sir John Hay, Mr. Gilbert Innes, and myself. We were all of opinion that personally we ought to have nothing to do with it. But I thought as trustees for the public, we were bound to let the public know how the matter stood, and that they might, if they pleased, have the theatrical property for 16,000, which is dog cheap. They were all clear to give it up (the right of reversion) to Mrs. Siddons. I am glad she should have it, for she is an excellent person, and so is her brother.

But I think it has been a little jobbish. There is a clause providing the new patentees may redeem. I desired that the circ.u.mstance should be noted, that we were only exercising our own judgment, leaving the future trustees to exercise theirs. I rather insisted that there should be some saving clause of this kind, even for the sake of our honour. But I could not prevail upon my colleagues to put such a saving clause on the minutes, though they agreed to the possibility of the new patentees redeeming on behalf of the public. I do not think we have done right.

I called on Mr. Cadell, whose reports of the _Magnum_ might fill up the dreams of Alnaschar should he sleep as long as the seven sleepers. The rest was labour and letters till bed-time.

_June_ 3.--The ugly symptoms still continue. Dr. Ross does not make much of it, and I think he is apt to look grave.[330] I wrote in the morning.

Dr. Macintosh Mackay came to breakfast, and brought a Gaelic book, which he has published--the Poetry of Rob Donn--some of which seems pretty as he explained it. Court kept me till near two, and then home comes I.

Afternoon and evening was spent as usual. In the evening Dr. Ross ordered me to be cupped, an operation which I only knew from its being practised by that eminent medical pract.i.tioner the barber of Bagdad. It is not painful; and, I think, resembles a giant twisting about your flesh between his finger and thumb.

_June_ 4.--I was obliged to absent myself from the Court on Dr. Ross's positive instance; and, what is worse, I was compelled to send an apology to Hopetoun House, where I expected to see Madame Caradori, who was to sing Jock of Hazeldean. I wrote the song for Sophia; and I find my friends here still prefer her to the foreign syren.

"However, Madame Caradori, To miss you I am very sorry, I should have taken it for glory To have heard you sing my Border story."

I worked at the _Tales of my Grandfather_, but leisurely.

_June_ 5.--Cadell came to dine with me _tete-a-tete,_ for the girls are gone to Hopetoun House. We had ample matter to converse upon, for his horn was full of good news. While we were at dinner we had letters from London and Ireland, which decided him to raise the impression of _Waverley_ to 15,000. This, with 10,000 on the number line which Ireland is willing to take, will make 18,000 a year of divisible profit. This leads to a further speculation, as I said, of great importance. Longman & Co. have agreed to sell their stock on hand of the Poetry, in which they have certain shares, their shares included, for 8000. Cadell thinks he could, by selling off at cheap rates, sorting, making waste, etc., get rid of the stock for about 5000, leaving 3000 for the purchase of the copyrights, and proposes to close the bargain as much cheaper as he can, but at all events to close it. Whatever shall fall short of the price returned by the stock, the sale of which shall be entirely at his risk, shall be reckoned as the price of the copyright, and we shall pay half of that balance. I had no hesitation in authorising him to proceed in his bargain with Owen Rees of Longman's house upon that principle. For supposing, according to Cadell's present idea, the loss on the stock shall amount to 2000 or 3000, the possession of the entire copyright undivided would enable us, calculating upon similar success to that of the Novels, to make at least 500 per cent. Longman & Co. have indeed an excellent bargain, but then so will we. We pay dear indeed for what the ostensible subject of sale is, but if it sets free almost the whole of our copyrights, and places them in our own hands, we get a most valuable _quid pro quo_. There is only one-fourth, I think, of _Marmion_ in Mr. Murray's hands, and it must be the deuce if that cannot be [secured].[331] Mr. Cadell proposed that, as he took the whole books on his risk, he ought to have compensation, and that it should consist in the sum to be given to me for arranging and making additions to the volumes of Poetry thus to be republished. I objected to this, for in the first place he may suffer no loss, for the books may go off more rapidly than he thinks or expects.

In the second place, I do not know what my labours in the Poetry may be.

In either case it is a blind bargain; but if he should be a sufferer beyond the clear half of the loss, which we agree to share with him, I agreed to make him some compensation, and he is willing to take what I shall think just; so stands our bargain. Remained at home and wrote about four pages of _Tales_. I should have done more, but my head, as Squire Sullen says, "aiked consumedly."[332] Rees has given Cadell a written offer to be binding till the twelfth; meantime I have written to Lockhart to ask John Murray if he will treat for the fourth share of _Marmion_, which he possesses. It can be worth but little to him, and gives us all the copyrights. I have a letter from Sir Thomas d.i.c.k Lauder, touching a ma.n.u.script of Messrs. Hay Allan called the _Vestiarium Scotiae_ by a Sir Richard Forrester. If it is an imposition it is cleverly done, but I doubt the quarter it comes from. These Hay Allans are men of warm imaginations. It makes the strange averment that all the Low-Country gentlemen and border clans wore tartan, and gives sets of them all. I must see the ma.n.u.script before I believe in it. The Allans are singular men, of much accomplishment but little probity--that is, in antiquarian matters. Cadell lent me 10,--funny enough, after all our grand expectations, for Croesus to want such a gratility!

_June_ 7.--I rose at seven, and wrote to Sir Thomas Lauder a long warning on the subject of these Allans and their ma.n.u.script.[333]

Proceeded to write, but found myself pulled up by the necessity of reading a little. This occupied my whole morning. The Lord President called very kindly to desire me to keep at home to-morrow. I thought of being out, but it may be as well not. I am somehow or other either listless or lazy. My head aches cruelly. I made a fight at reading and working till eleven, and then came sleep with a party-coloured [mantle]

of fantastic hues, and wrapt me into an imaginary world.

_June_, 8.--I wrote the whole morning till two o'clock. Then I went into the gardens of Princes Street, to my great exhilaration. I never felt better for a walk; also it is the first I have taken this whole week and more. I visited some remote garden grounds, where I had not been since I walked there with the good Samaritan Skene, sadly enough, at the time of my misfortunes.[334] The shrubs and young trees, which were then invisible, are now of good size, and gay with leaf and blossom. I, too, old trunk as I am, have put out tender buds of hope, which seemed checked for ever.

I may now look with fair hope to freeing myself of obligation from all men, and spending the rest of my life in ease and quiet. G.o.d make me thankful for so cheering a prospect!

_June_ 9.--I wrote in the morning, set out for a walk at twelve o'clock as far as Mr. Cadell's. I found him hesitating about his views, and undecided about the Number plan. He thinks the first plan answers so much beyond expectation it is a pity to interfere with it, and talks of re-engraving the plates. This would be touchy, but nothing is resolved on.

Anne had a little party, where Lady Charlotte Bury, Lady Hopetoun, and others met the Caradori, who sung to us very kindly. She sung Jock of Hazeldean very well, and with a peculiar expression of humour. Sandie Ballantyne kindly came and helped us with fiddle and flageolet. Willie Clerk was also here. We had a lunch, and were very gay, not the less so for the want of Mr. Bury, who is a thorough-paced c.o.xcomb, with some accomplishments, however. I drank two gla.s.ses of champagne, which have muddled my brains for the day. Will Clerk promised to come back and dine on the wreck of the turkey and tongue, pigeon-pie, etc. He came, accordingly, and stayed till nine; so no time for work. It was not a lost day, however.[335]

_June_ 10.--_Nota bene_, my complaint quite gone. I attended the Court, and sat there till late. Evening had its lot of labour, which is, I think, a second nature to me. It is astonishing how little I look into a book of entertainment. I have been reading over the _Five Nights of St.

Albans_,--very much _extra mnia nostri mundi_, and possessed of considerable merit, though the author[336] loves to play at cherry-pit with Satan.[337]