Part 7 (2/2)

Or,

”Had we never loved sae kindly, Had we never loved sae blindly, Never met--or never parted, We had ne'er been broken-hearted”

Scott left an enorood Burns left veryamount of inferior stuff But such pathos as the above Scott cannot touch I can understand the man who holds that these deeps of pathos should not be probed in literature: and aree with hi But such pathos, at any rate, is immensely popular: and perhaps this will account for the hold which Burns retains on the affections of a race which has a right to be at least thrice as proud of Scott

However, if Burns is honored at the feast, Scott is read by the fireside Hardly have the rich Dryburgh and Border editions issued from the press before Messrs Archibald Constable and Co are bringing out their reprint of the famous 48-volume edition of the Novels; and Mr Barrie is supposed to beanother, with introductory notes of his own upon each Novel Inhas ever beaten, or come near to beat, the 48-volume ”Waverley” of 1829; and Messrs Constable and Co were happily inspired when they decided to make this the basis of their new edition They have ihter and better And each novel is kept within its own covers, whereas in the old editions a volu of another The original illustrations, by Wilkie, Landseer, Leslie, Stanfield, Bonington, and the rest, have been retained, in order to make the reprint complete

But this seein with, and will be worse than ever now, being reproduced (as I understand) froinal plates To do without illustrations were a counsel of perfection But now that the novels have become historical, surely it were better to illustrate them with authentic portraits of Scott, pictures of scenery, facsi_) a worn reproduction of what Mr FP

Stephanoff thought that Flora Mac-Ivor looked like while playing the harp and introducing a few irregular strains which harh of the evening breeze in the rustling leaves of an aspen which overhung the fair harpress--especially as FP Stephanoff does not seem to have known the difference between an aspen and a birch

In short, did it not contain the same illustrations, this edition would probably excel even that of 1828 As it is, after many disappointments,have a cheap Waverley on what has always been the best model

A Protest

'SIR,--In your 'Literary Causerie' of last weekthe question is discussed why the name of Burns raises in Scotsmen such unbounded enthusiasm while that of Scott falls colishman besides 'ATQC' And yet the explanation is not far to seek: Burns appeals to the hearts and feelings of the masses in a way Scott never does 'ATQC' adives quotations in support These quotations, however excellent in their way, are not those that any Scotsman would trust to in support of the above proposition A Scots Syne,' and 'A man's a man for a' that' The very familiarity of these quotations has bred the proverbial conte, 'fire-eyed fury' of 'Scots wha hae'; the glad, kind, ever fresh greeting of 'Auld Lang Syne'; the manly, sturdy independence of 'A man's aenthusiass his head and a' that?

The coward slave we pass him by-- We dare be poor for a' that'

'The rank is but the guinea staowd for a' that'

”Nor is it in his patriotism, independence, and conviviality alone that Burns touches every mood of a Scotsman's heart There is an enthusiasm of humanity about Burns which you will hardly find equalled in any other author, and which most certainly does not exist in Scott

'Man's inhumanity to man Makes countless thousands mourn'

'Why has man this will and power To ht be h has been said to explain what puzzles 'ATQC' I have an unbounded adreat as 'ATQC' Indeed, I think hilicised by a residence in London of ly say that I would rather be the author of the above three lyrics of Burns'

than I would be the author of all Scott's novels Certain I am that if immortality were my aim I should be much surer of it in the one case than the other I cannot conceive 'Scots wha hae,'

'Auld Lang Syne,' etc, ever dying Are there any of Scott's writings of which the same could be said? I doubt it

--I am yours, etc, ”JB

”London, June 18th, 1895”

The hopelessness of the difficulty is aly, illustrated by this letter Here again you have the best will in the world Nothing could be kindlier than ”JB's” tone

As a Scot he has every reason to be impatient of stupidity on the subject of Burns: yet he takes real pains to set ht Alas! his explanations leave me more than ever at sea,_what exactly it is_ in Burns that kindles this peculiar enthusias and oratory

After casting about for soh in so many respects immeasurably inferior to Scott--frequently wrote with a depth of feeling which Scott could not coly put Scott ether with notions of his own, on the propriety of displaying it in his public writings Indeed, after reading soain, I am sure he did possess it Hear, for instance, how he speaks of Dalkeith Palace, in one of his letters to Lady Louisa Stuart:--

”I a out beautiful I was at her christening, poor soul, and took the oaths as representing I forget whoed alas! I was forced there the other day by some people anted to see the house, and I felt as if it would have done et into a corner and cry like a schoolboy

Every bit of furniture, now looking old and paltry, had soallery, which I have seen so happily filled, seemed waste and desolate like Moore's

'Banquet hall deserted, Whose flowers are dead, Whose odours fled, And all but I departed'

But it avails not either sighing or reat, the wise and the witty, is still, on the whole, a pleasing reflection, though saddened by the thought that their voices are silent and their halls eh he did not exhibit them to the public