Volume I Part 37 (2/2)

On the restoration of his health, he at length became seriously engaged in the study of law for several continuous years, and, after the requisite examinations, was admitted as an advocate, on the 10th of July 1792, when on the point of attaining his twenty-first year.

In his twelfth year, Scott had composed some verses for his preceptor and early friend Dr Adam, which afforded promise of his future excellence. But he seems not to have extensively indulged, in early life, in the composition of poetry, while his juvenile productions in prose wore a stiff formality. On being called to the bar, he at first carefully refrained, according to his own statement, from claiming the honour of authors.h.i.+p, lest his brethren or the public should suppose that his habits were unsuitable to a due attention to the duties of his profession. He was relieved of dependence on professional employment by espousing, in December 1797, Miss Carpenter, a young French gentlewoman, possessed of a considerable annuity, whose acquaintance he had formed at Gilsland, a watering-place in c.u.mberland. In 1800 he was appointed Sheriff of Selkirks.h.i.+re, with a salary of 300 a year. While he continued in his father's office he had made himself familiar with the French and Italian languages, and had read many of their more celebrated authors, especially the writings of Ta.s.so and Ariosto. Some years after he came to the bar, he was induced to acquaint himself with the ballad poetry of Germany, then in vogue, through the translations of Mr Lewis, whose friends.h.i.+p he had recently acquired. In 1796 he made his first adventure as an author by publis.h.i.+ng translations of ”Lenore,” and ”The Wild Huntsman” of Burger. The attempt proved unsuccessful; but, undismayed, he again essayed his skill in translation by publis.h.i.+ng, in 1799, an English version of Goethe's ”Goetz of Berlichingen.” His success as an author was, however, destined to rest on original performances, ill.u.s.trative of the chivalry of his own land.

Towards the recovery and publication of the ancient ballads and songs of the Scottish borders, which had only been preserved by the recitations of the peasantry, Scott had early formed important intentions. The independence of his circ.u.mstances now enabled him to execute his long-cherished scheme. He made periodical excursions into Liddesdale, a wild pastoral district on the Scottish border, anciently peopled by the noted Elliots and Armstrongs, in quest of old ballads and traditions; and the fruits of his research, along with much curious information, partly communicated to him by intelligent correspondents, he gave to the world, in 1802, in two volumes octavo, under the t.i.tle of ”Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border.” He added in the following year a third volume, consisting of imitations of ancient ballads, composed by himself and others. These volumes issued from the printing-press of his early friend and school-fellow, Mr James Ballantyne of Kelso, who had already begun to indicate that skill in typography for which he was afterwards so justly celebrated. In 1804 he published, from the Auchinleck Ma.n.u.script in the Advocates' Library, the ancient metrical tale of ”Sir Tristrem;”

and, in an elaborate introduction, he endeavoured to prove that it was the composition of Thomas of Ercildoune, better known as Thomas the Rhymer. He published in 1805 ”The Lay of the Last Minstrel,” an original ballad poem, which, speedily attaining a wide circulation, procured for him an extensive reputation, and the substantial reward of 600.

The prosperity of the poet rose with his fame. In the year following that which produced the ”Lay,” he received his appointment as a princ.i.p.al clerk of the Court of Session, an office which afterwards brought him 1200 a-year. To literary occupation he now resolved to dedicate his intervals of leisure. In 1808 he produced ”Marmion,” his second great poem, which brought him 1000 from the publisher, and at once established his fame. During the same year he completed the heavy task of editing the works of Dryden, in eighteen volumes. In 1809 he edited the state papers and letters of Sir Ralph Sadler, and became a contributor to the _Edinburgh Annual Register_, conducted by Southey.

”The Lady of the Lake,” the most happily-conceived and popular of his poetical works, appeared in 1810; ”Don Roderick,” in 1811; ”Rokeby,” in 1813; and ”The Lord of the Isles,” in 1814. ”Harold the Dauntless,” and ”The Bridal of Triermain,” appeared subsequently, without the author's name.

As a poet, Scott had now attained a celebrity unrivalled among his contemporaries, and it was in the apprehension of compromising his reputation, that, in attempting a new species of composition, he was extremely anxious to conceal the name of the author. The novel of ”Waverley,” which appeared in 1814, did not, however, suffer from its being anonymous; for, although the sale was somewhat heavy at first, the work soon afterwards reached the extraordinary circulation of twelve thousand copies. Contrary to reasonable expectation, however, the author of ”Waverley” did not avow himself, and, numerous as was the catalogue of prose fictions which, for more than twenty years, proceeded from his pen, he continued as desirous of retaining his secret as were his female contemporaries, Lady Nairn and Lady Anne Barnard, to cast a veil over their poetical character. The rapidity with which the ”Great Unknown”

produced works of fiction, was one of the marvels of the age; and many attempts were made to withdraw the curtain which concealed the mysterious author. Successive years produced at least one, and often two, novels of a cla.s.s infinitely superior to the romances of the past age, all having reference to the manners and habits of the most interesting and chivalrous periods of Scottish or British history, which, in these works, were depicted with a power and vivacity unattained by the most graphic national historians. Subsequently to the publication of ”Guy Mannering” and ”The Antiquary,” in 1815 and 1816, and as an expedient to sustain the public interest, Scott commenced a new series of novels, under the t.i.tle of ”Tales of my Landlord,” these being professedly written by a different author; but this resort was abandoned as altogether unnecessary for the contemplated object. Each successive romance by the author of ”Waverley” awakened renewed ardour and enthusiasm among the public, and commanded a circulation commensurate with the bounds in which the language was understood. Many of them were translated into the various European languages. In the year 1814 he had published an edition of the works of Swift, in nineteen volumes octavo.

For some years after his marriage, Scott had occupied a cottage in the romantic vicinity of La.s.swade, near Edinburgh; but in 1804 he removed to Ashestiel, an old mansion, beautifully situated on the banks of the Tweed, seven miles above Selkirk, where, for several years, he continued to reside during the vacation of the Court. The ruling desire of his life was, that by the proceeds of his intellectual labour he might acquire an ample demesne, with a suitable mansion of his own, and thus in some measure realise in his own person, and in those of his representatives, somewhat of the territorial importance of those olden barons, whose wa.s.sails and whose feuds he had experienced delight in celebrating. To attain such distinction as a Scottish _laird_, or landholder, he was prepared to incur many sacrifices; nor was this desire exceeded by regard for literary reputation. It was unquestionably with a view towards the attainment of his darling object, that he taxed so severely those faculties with which nature had so liberally endowed him, and exhibited a prolificness of authors.h.i.+p, such as has rarely been evinced in the annals of literary history. In 1811 he purchased, on the south bank of the Tweed, near Melrose, the first portion of that estate which, under the name of Abbotsford, has become indelibly a.s.sociated with his history. The soil was then a barren waste, but by extensive improvements the place speedily a.s.sumed the aspect of amenity and beauty. The mansion, a curious amalgamation, in questionable taste, of every species of architecture, was partly built in 1811, and gradually extended with the increasing emoluments of the owner. By successive purchases of adjacent lands, the Abbotsford property became likewise augmented, till the rental amounted to about 700 a-year--a return sufficiently limited for an expenditure of upwards of 50,000 on this favourite spot.

At Abbotsford the poet maintained the character of a wealthy country gentleman. He was visited by distinguished persons from the sister kingdom, from the Continent, and from America, all of whom he entertained in a style of sumptuous elegance. Nor did his constant social intercourse with his visitors and friends interfere with the regular prosecution of his literary labours: he rose at six, and engaged in study and composition till eleven o'clock. During the period of his residence in the country, he devoted the remainder of the day to his favourite exercise on horseback, the superintendence of improvements on his property, and the entertainment of his guests. In March 1820, George IV., to whom he was personally known, and who was a warm admirer of his genius, granted to him the honour of a baronetcy, being the first which was conferred by his Majesty after his accession. Prior to this period, besides the works already enumerated, he had given to the world his romances of ”The Black Dwarf,” ”Old Mortality,” ”Rob Roy,” ”The Heart of Midlothian,” ”The Bride of Lammermoor,” ”A Legend of Montrose,”

and ”Ivanhoe.” The attainment of the baronetcy appears to have stimulated him to still greater exertion. In 1820 he produced, besides ”Ivanhoe,” which appeared in the early part of that year, ”The Monastery” and ”The Abbot;” and in the beginning of 1821, the romance of ”Kenilworth,” being twelve volumes published within the same number of months. ”The Pirate” and ”The Fortunes of Nigel” appeared in 1822; ”Peveril of the Peak” and ”Quentin Durward,” in 1823; ”St Ronan's Well”

and ”Redgauntlet,” in 1824; and ”The Tales of the Crusaders,” in 1825.

During the visit of George IV. to Scotland, in 1822, Sir Walter undertook the congenial duty of acting as Master of Ceremonies, which he did to the entire satisfaction of his sovereign and of the nation. But while prosperity seemed to smile with increasing brilliancy, adversity was hovering near. In 1826, Archibald Constable and Company, the famous publishers of his works, became insolvent, involving in their bankruptcy the printing firm of the Messrs Ballantyne, of which Sir Walter was a partner. The liabilities amounted to the vast sum of 102,000, for which Sir Walter was individually responsible. To a mind less balanced by native intrepidity and fortified by principle, the apparent wreck of his worldly hopes would have produced irretrievable despondency; but Scott bore his misfortune with magnanimity and manly resignation. He had been largely indebted to both the establishments which had unfortunately involved him in their fall, in the elegant production of his works, as well as in respect of pecuniary accommodation; and he felt bound in honour, as well as by legal obligation, fully to discharge the debt. He declined to accept an offer of the creditors to be satisfied with a composition; and claiming only to be allowed time, applied himself with indomitable energy to his arduous undertaking, at the age of fifty-five, in the full determination, if his life was spared, of cancelling every farthing of his obligations. At the crisis of his embarra.s.sments he was engaged in the composition of ”Woodstock,” which shortly afterwards appeared. The ”Life of Napoleon,” which had for a considerable time occupied his attention, was published in 1827, in nine vols. octavo. In the course of its preparation he had visited both London and Paris in search of materials. In the same year he produced ”Chronicles of the Canongate,”

_first series_; and in the year following, the second series of those charming tales, and the first portion of his juvenile history of Scotland, under the t.i.tle of ”Tales of a Grandfather.” A second portion of these tales appeared in 1829, and the third and concluding series in 1830, when he also contributed a graver History of Scotland in two volumes to _Lardner's Cabinet Cyclopaedia_. In 1829 likewise appeared ”Anne of Geierstein,” a romance, and in 1830 the ”Letters on Demonology and Witchcraft.” In 1831 he produced a series of ”Tales on French History,” uniform with the ”Tales of a Grandfather,” and his novels, ”Count Robert of Paris,” and ”Castle Dangerous,” as a fourth series of ”Tales of My Landlord.” Other productions of inferior mark appeared from his pen; he contributed to the _Edinburgh Review_, during the first year of its career; wrote the articles, ”Chivalry,” ”Romance,” and ”Drama,”

for the sixth edition of the _Encyclopaedia Britannica_; and during his latter years contributed somewhat copiously to the _Quarterly Review_.

At a public dinner in Edinburgh, for the benefit of the Theatrical Fund, on the 23d of February 1827, Sir Walter made his first avowal as to the authors.h.i.+p of the Waverley Novels,--an announcement which scarcely took the public by surprise. The physical energies of the ill.u.s.trious author were now suffering a rapid decline; and in his increasing infirmities, and liability to sudden and severe attacks of pain, and even of unconsciousness, it became evident to his friends, that, in the praiseworthy effort to pay his debts, he was sacrificing his health and shortening his life. Those apprehensions proved not without foundation.

In the autumn of 1831, his health became so lamentably broken, that his medical advisers recommended a residence in Italy, and entire cessation from mental occupation, as the only means of invigorating a const.i.tution so seriously dilapidated. But the counsel came too late; the patient proceeded to Naples, and afterwards to Rome, but experiencing no benefit from the change, he was rapidly conveyed homewards in the following summer, in obedience to his express wish, that he might have the satisfaction of closing his eyes at Abbotsford. The wish was gratified: he arrived at Abbotsford on the 11th of July 1832, and survived till the 21st of the ensuing September. According to his own request, his remains were interred in an aisle in Dryburgh Abbey, which had belonged to one of his ancestors, and had been granted to him by the late Earl of Buchan. A heavy block of marble rests upon the grave, in juxtaposition with another which has been laid on that of his affectionate partner in life, who died in May 1826. The aisle is protected by a heavy iron railing.

In stature, Sir Walter Scott was above six feet; but his personal appearance, which had otherwise been commanding, was considerably marred by the lameness of his right limb, which caused him to walk with an awkward effort, and ultimately with much difficulty. His countenance, so correctly represented in his numerous portraits and busts, was remarkable for depth of forehead; his features were somewhat heavy, and his eyes, covered with thick eyelashes, were dull, unless animated by congenial conversation. He was of a fair complexion; and his hair, originally sandy, became gray from a severe illness which he suffered in his 48th year. His general conversation consisted in the detail of chivalric adventures and anecdotes of the olden times. His memory was so retentive that whatever he had studied indelibly maintained a place in his recollection. In fertility of imagination he surpa.s.sed all his contemporaries. As a poet, if he has not the graceful elegance of Campbell, and the fervid energy of Byron, he excels the latter in purity of sentiment, and the former in vigour of conception. His style was well adapted for the composition of lyric poetry; but as he had no ear for music, his song compositions are not numerous. Several of these, however, have been set to music, and maintain their popularity.[72] But Scott's reputation as a poet is inferior to his reputation as a novelist; and while even his best poems may cease to be generally read, the author of the Waverley Novels will only be forgotten with the disuse of the language. A cabinet edition of these novels, with the author's last notes, and ill.u.s.trated with elegant engravings, appeared in forty-eight volumes a short period before his decease; several other complete editions have since been published by the late Mr Robert Cadell, and by the present proprietors of the copyright, the Messrs Black of Edinburgh.

As a man of amiable dispositions and incorruptible integrity, Sir Walter Scott shone conspicuous among his contemporaries, the latter quality being eminently exhibited in his resolution to pay the whole of his heavy pecuniary liabilities. To this effort he fell a martyr; yet it was a source of consolation to his survivors, that, by his own extraordinary exertions, the policy of life insurance payable at his death, and the sum of 30,000 paid by Mr Cadell for the copyright of his works, the whole amount of the debt was discharged. It is, however painfully, to be remarked, that the object of his earlier ambition, in raising a family, has not been realised. His children, consisting of two sons and two daughters, though not const.i.tutionally delicate, have all departed from the scene, and the only representative of his house is the surviving child of his eldest daughter, who was married to Mr John Gibson Lockhart, the late editor of the _Quarterly Review_, and his literary executor. This sole descendant, a grand-daughter, is the wife of Mr Hope, Q.C., who has lately added to his patronymic the name of Scott, and made Abbotsford his summer residence. The memory of the ill.u.s.trious Minstrel has received every honour from his countrymen; monuments have been raised to him in the princ.i.p.al towns--that in the capital, a rich Gothic cross, being one of the n.o.blest decorations of his native city.

Abbotsford has become the resort of the tourist and of the traveller from every land, who contemplate with interest and devotion a scene hallowed by the loftiest genius.

”The gra.s.s is trodden by the feet Of thousands, from a thousand lands-- The prince, the peasant, tottering age, And rosy schoolboy bands; All crowd to fairy Abbotsford, And lingering gaze, and gaze the more; Hang o'er the chair in which _he_ sat, The latest dress _he_ wore.”[73]

[72] We regret that, owing to the provision of the copyright act, we are unable, in this work, to present four of Sir Walter Scott's most popular songs, ”The Blue Bonnets over the Border,” ”Jock o' Hazeldean,”

”M'Gregor's Gathering,” and ”Carle, now the King's come.” These songs must, however, be abundantly familiar to the majority of readers.

[73] From ”The Grave of Sir Walter Scott,” a poem by Thomas C. Latto (see ”The Minister's Kail-yard, and other Poems.” Edinburgh, 1845, 12mo). To explain an allusion in the last line of the above stanza, it should be noticed, that the last dress of the poet is exhibited to visitors at Abbotsford, carefully preserved in a gla.s.s case.

<script>