Chapter 2

MARRIAGE--SHERIFFDOM--LEAVES THE BAR.

Reverting to Sir Walter's domestic life, we should mention that in 1797, he married Miss Carpenter, a lady of Jersey, with an annuity of 400_l._; soon after which he established himself during the vacations, in a delightful retreat at Lasswade, on the banks of the Esse, about five miles to the south of Edinburgh. In 1799, he obtained the Crown appointment of sheriff of Selkirkshire, with a salary of 300_l._ a year; the duties of which office he is said to have performed with kindness and justice. Mr. Cunningham relates that Sir Walter had a high notion of the dignity which belonged to his post, and sternly maintained it when any one seemed disposed to treat it with unbecoming familiarity. On one occasion, it is said, when some foreign prince passed through Selkirk, the populace, anxious to look on a live prince, crowded round him so closely, that Scott, in vain attempted to approach him; the poet's patience failed, and exclaiming "Room for your sheriff! Room for your sheriff!" he pushed and elbowed the gapers impatiently aside, and apologised to the prince for their curiosity.[7]

[7] Memoir in the _Athenaeum_.

By the death of Sir Walter's father, his income was increased, and this addition, with the salary of his sheriffdom, left him more at leisure to indulge his literary pursuits. Soon after this period, about 1803, Sir Walter finding that his attempts in literature had been unfavourable to his success at the bar, says:--"My profession and I, therefore, came to stand nearly upon the footing on which honest Slender consoled himself with having established with Mrs. Anne Page. 'There was no great love between us at the beginning, and it pleased Heaven to decrease it on farther acquaintance!' I became sensible that the time was come when I must either buckle myself resolutely to 'the toil by day, the lamp by night,' renouncing all the Dalilahs of my imagination, or bid adieu to the profession of the law, and hold another course.

"I confess my own inclination revolted from the more severe choice, which might have been deemed by many the wiser alternative. As my transgressions had been numerous, my repentance must have been signalized by unusual sacrifices. I ought to have mentioned that, since my fourteenth or fifteenth year, my health, originally delicate, had been extremely robust. From infancy I had laboured under the infirmity of a severe lameness, but, as I believe is usually the case with men of spirit who suffer under personal inconveniences of this nature, I had, since the improvement of my health, in defiance of this incapacitating circumstance, distinguished myself by the endurance of toil on foot or horseback, having often walked thirty miles a-day, and rode upwards of a hundred without stopping. In this manner I made many pleasant journeys through parts of the country then not very accessible, gaining more amusement and instruction than I have been able to acquire since I have travelled in a more commodious manner. I practised most sylvan sports also with some success and with great delight. But these pleasures must have been all resigned, or used with great moderation, had I determined to regain my station at the bar." After well weighing these matters, Sir Walter resolved on quitting his avocations in the law for literature; though he determined that literature should be his staff but not his crutch, and that the profits of his labour, however convenient otherwise, should not become necessary to his ordinary expenses.

THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL.

Sir Walter's secession from the law was followed by the production of his noblest poem--_the Lay of the Last Minstrel_--the origin of which is thus related by the author:

"The lovely young Countess of Dalkeith, afterwards Harriet, Duchess of Buccleuch, had come to the land of her husband, with the desire of making herself acquainted with its traditions and customs. Of course, where all made it a pride and pleasure to gratify her wishes, she soon heard enough of Border lore; among others, an aged gentleman of property, near Langholm, communicated to her ladyship the story of Gilpin Horner--a tradition in which the narrator and many more of that county were firm believers. The young Countess, much delighted with the legend, and the gravity and full confidence with which it was told, enjoined it on me as a task to compose a ballad on the subject. Of course, to hear was to obey; and thus the goblin story, objected to by several critics as an excrescence upon the poem, was, in fact, the occasion of its being written."

Sir Walter having composed the first two or three stanzas of the poem--taking for his model the _Christabel_ of Coleridge--showed them to two friends, "whose talents might have raised them to the highest station in literature, had they not preferred exerting them in their own profession of the law, in which they attained equal preferment." They were more silent upon the merits of the stanzas than was encouraging to the author; and Sir Walter, looking upon the attempt as a failure, threw the manuscript into the fire, and thought as little as he could of the matter. Sometime afterwards, Sir Walter meeting his two friends, was asked how he proceeded in his romance;--they were surprised at its fate, said they had reviewed their opinion, and earnestly desired that Sir Walter would proceed with the composition. He did so; and the poem was soon finished, proceeding at the rate of about a canto per week. It was finally published in 1805, and produced to the author 600_l._; and, to use his own words, "it may be regarded as the first work in which the writer, who has been since so voluminous, laid his claim to be considered as an original author." We thus see that Sir Walter Scott was in his 34th year before he had published an original work.

MARMION.

Sir Walter's second poem of consequence appeared in 1808, he having published a few ballads and lyrical pieces during the year 1806. The publishers, emboldened by the success of _the Lay of the Last Minstrel_, gave the author 1,000_l._ for _Marmion_. Its success was electric, and at once wrought up the poet's reputation. In his preface to the last edition, April, 1830, he states 36,000 copies to have been printed between 1808 and 1825, besides a considerable sale since that period; and the publishers were so delighted with the success, as "to supply the author's cellars with what is always an acceptable present to a young Scotch house-keeper--namely, a hogshead of excellent claret."

CLERK OF SESSION.

Between the appearance of _the Lay of the Last Minstrel_ and _Marmion_, hopes were held out to him from an influential quarter of the reversion of the office of a Principal Clerk in the Court of Session; and, Mr. Pitt, having expressed a wish to be of service to the author, of _the Lay of the Last Minstrel_, Sir Walter applied for the reversion. His desire was readily acceeded to; and, according to Chambers, George III. is reported to have said, when he signed the commission, that "he was happy he had it in his power to reward a man of genius, and a person of such distinguished merit." The King had signed the document, and the office fees alone remained to be paid, when Mr. Pitt died, and a new and opposite ministry succeeded. Sir Walter, however, obtained the appointment, though not from the favour of an administration differing from himself in politics, as has been supposed; the grant having been obtained before Mr. Fox's direction that the appointment should be conferred as a favour coming directly from his administration. The duties were easy, and the profits about 1,200_l._ a year, though Sir Walter, according to arrangement, performed the former for five or six years without salary, until the retirement of his colleague.

EDITIONS OF DRYDEN AND SWIFT.

Sir Walter's next literary labour was the editorship of the _Works of John Dryden_, with Notes. Critical and Explanatory, and a Life of the Author: the chief aim of which appears to be the arrangement of the "literary productions in their succession, as actuated by, and operating upon, the taste of an age, where they had so predominating an influence," and the connexion of the Life of Dryden with the history of his publications. This he accomplished within a twelvemonth. Sir Walter subsequently edited, upon a similar plan, an edition of the _Works of Swift_.--Neither of these works can be said to entitle Sir Walter to high rank as a biographer.

THE LADY OF THE LAKE

Was written in 1809, and published in 1810, and was considered by the author as the best of his poetic compositions. He appears to have taken more than ordinary pains in its accuracy, especially in verifying the correctness of the local circumstances of the story. In his introduction to a late edition of the poem, he says--"I recollect, in particular, that to ascertain whether I was telling a probable tale, I went into Perthshire, to see whether King James could actually have ridden from the banks of Loch Venachar to Stirling Castle within the time supposed in the poem, and had the pleasure to satisfy myself that it was quite practicable." The success of the poem "was certainly so extraordinary, as to induce him for the moment to conclude, that he had at last fixed a nail in the proverbially inconstant wheel of Fortune, whose stability in behalf of an individual, who had so boldly courted her favours for three successive times, had not as yet been shaken."

ABBOTSFORD.--(_See the Cuts_.)

Since Sir Walter's appointment to the sheriffdom of Selkirkshire, he had resided at Ashiesteel, on the banks of the Tweed, of which he was but the tenant. He was now desirous to purchase a small estate, and thereon build a house according to his own taste. He found a desirable site six or seven miles farther down the Tweed, in the neighbourhood of the public road between Melrose and Selkirk, and at nearly an equal distance from both of those towns: it was then occupied by a little farm onstead, which bore the name of Cartley Hole. The mansion is in what is termed the castellated Gothic style, embosomed in flourishing wood. It takes its name from a ford, formerly used by the monks of Melrose, across the Tweed, which now winds amongst a rich succession of woods and lawns. But we will borrow Mr. Allan Cunningham's description of the estate, written during a visit to Abbotsford, in the summer of 1831:--"On the other side of the Tweed we had a fine view of Abbotsford, and all its policies and grounds. The whole is at once extensive and beautiful. The fast rising woods are already beginning to bury the house, which is none of the smallest; and the Tweed, which runs within gun-shot of the windows, can only be discerned here and there through the tapestry of boughs. A fine, open-work, Gothic screen half conceals and half shows the garden, as you stand in front of the house--(_see the Engraving_.) It was the offspring of necessity, for it became desirable to mask an unseemly old wall, on which are many goodly fruit-trees. What we most admired about the estate, was the naturally useful and elegant manner in which the great poet has laid out the plantations--first, with respect to the bounding or enclosing line; and secondly, with regard to the skilful distribution of the trees, both for the contrast of light and shade, and for the protection which the strong affords to the weak.[8] The horizontal profile of the house is fine, crowded with towers and clustered chimneys: it looks half castle, half monastery. The workmanship, too, is excellent: indeed we never saw such well-dressed, cleanly, and compactly laid whinstone course and gage in our life: it is a perfect picture."[9] "The external walls of Abbotsford, as also the walls of the adjoining garden, are enriched with many old carved stones, which, having originally figured in other situations, to which they were calculated by their sculptures and inscriptions, have a very curious effect. Among the various relics which Sir Walter has contrived to collect, may be mentioned the door of the old Tolbooth of Edinburgh, which, together with the hewn stones that composed the gateway, are now made to figure in a base court at the west end of the house."[10]

[8] Sir Walter possessed a practical as well as theoretical knowledge of Landscape Gardening, as may be seen in a valuable paper contributed by him to No. 47, of the _Quarterly Review_. The details of this paper were, however, disputed by some writers on the subject.

[9] Communicated to No. 199, of _The Athenaeum_. The mansion was built from designs by Atkinson. Sir Walter may, however, be termed the amateur architect of the pile, and this may somewhat explain its irregularities. We have been told that the earliest design of Abbotsford was furnished by the late Mr. Terry, the comedian, who was an intimate friend of Sir Walter, and originally an architect by profession. His widow, one of the Nasmyths, has painted a clever View of Abbotsford, from the opposite bank of the Tweed; which is engraved in No. 427, of _The Mirror_.

[10] Picture of Scotland, by Chambers.

It would occupy a whole sheet to describe the _interior_ of the mansion; so that we select only two apartments, as graphic memorials of the lamented owner. First, is the _Armoury_, (from a coloured lithograph, published by Ackermann)--an arched apartment, with a richly-blazoned window, and the walls filled all over with smaller pieces of armour and weapons, such as swords, firelocks, spears, arrows, darts, daggers, &c. These relics will be found enumerated in a description of Abbotsford, in _the Anniversary_, quoted in vol. xv. of the _Mirror_. The second of the _interiors_ is the poet's _Study_--a room about twenty-five feet square by twenty feet high, containing of what is properly called furniture, nothing but a small writing-table and an antique arm-chair. On either side of the fire-place various pieces of armour are hung on the wall; but, there are no books, save the contents of a light gallery, which runs round three sides of the room, and is reached by a hanging stair of carved oak in one corner. There are only two portraits--an original of the beautiful and melancholy head of Claverhouse, and a small full-length of Rob Roy. Various little antique cabinets stand about the room; and in one corner is a collection of really useful weapons--those of the forest craft, to wit--axes and bills, &c. Over the fire-place, too, are some Highland claymores clustered round a target. There is only one window, pierced in a very thick wall, so that the place is rather sombre.

ROKEBY, AND MINOR POEMS.

After the publication of _the Lady of the Lake_, Sir Walter's poetical reputation began to wane. In 1811, appeared _Don Roderick_; and in 1813, _Rokeby_; both of which were unsuccessful; and the _Lord of the Isles_ followed with no better fortune. In short, Sir Walter perceived that the tide of popularity was turning, and he wisely changed with the public taste. The subjects of these poems were neither so striking, nor the versification so attractive, as in his earlier poems. The poet himself attributes their failure to the manner or style losing its charms of novelty, and the harmony becoming tiresome and ordinary; his measure and manner were imitated by other writers, and, above all Byron had just appeared as a serious candidate in the first canto of _Childe Harold_; so that Sir Walter with exemplary candour confesses that "the original inventor and his invention must have fallen into contempt, if he had not found out another road to public favour." We shall therefore now part with his poetic fame, and proceed in the more gratifying task of glancing at his splendid successes in prose fiction.

WAVERLEY.

The first of the author's

long trails of light descending down,

had its origin in a desire to story the ancient traditions and noble spirit of the Highlands, aided by the author's early recollections of their scenery and customs; in short, to effect in prose what he had so triumphantly achieved in the poem of _the Lady of the Lake_. The author's own account will be read with interest:--"It was with some idea of this kind, that, about the year 1805, I threw together about one-third part of the first volume of Waverley. It was advertised to be published by the late Mr. John Ballantyne, under the name of 'Waverley,' or ''Tis Fifty Years since,'--a title afterwards altered to ''Tis Sixty Years since,' that the actual date of publication might be made to correspond with the period in which the scene was laid. Having proceeded as far, I think, as the seventh chapter, I showed my work to a critical friend, whose opinion was unfavourable, and having some poetical reputation, I was unwilling to risk the loss of it by attempting a new style of composition. I therefore threw aside the work I had commenced, without either reluctance or remonstrance. This portion of the manuscript was laid aside in the drawers of an old writing desk, which, on my first coming to reside at Abbotsford in 1811, was placed in a lumber garret, and entirely forgotten. Thus, though I sometimes, among other literary avocations, turned my thoughts to the continuation of the romance which I had commenced, yet, as I could not find what I had already written, after searching such repositories as were within my reach, and was too indolent to attempt to write it anew from memory. I as often laid aside all thoughts of that nature."

The success of Miss Edgeworth's delineations of Irish life, and the author's completion of Mr. Strutt's romance of _Queen Hoo Hall_, in 1808, again drew his attention to _Waverley_. Accident threw the lost sheets in his way, while searching an old writing-desk for some fishing-tackle for a friend. The long-lost manuscript presented itself, and "he immediately set to work to complete it, according to his original purpose." Among other unfounded reports, it has been said, that the copyright was, during the book's progress through the press, offered for sale to various booksellers in London at a very inconsiderable price. This was not the case. Messrs. Constable and Cadell, who published the work, were the only persons acquainted with the contents of the publication, and they offered a large sum for it, while in the course of printing, which, however, was declined, the author not choosing to part with the copyright. Waverley was published in 1814: its progress was for some time slow, but, after two or three months its popularity began to spread, and, in a short time about 12,000 copies were disposed of. The name of the author was kept secret from his desire to publish the work "as an experiment on the public taste. Mr. Ballantyne, who printed the novel, alone corresponded with the author; the original manuscript was transcribed under Mr. Ballantyne's eye, by confidential persons; nor was there an instance of treachery during the many years in which these precautions were resorted to, although various individuals were employed at different times. Double proof sheets were regularly printed off. One was forwarded to the author by Mr. Ballantyne, and the alterations which it received were, by his own hand, copied upon the other proof-sheet for the use of the printers, so that even the corrected proofs of the author were never seen in the printing-office; and thus the curiosity of such eager inquirers as made the most minute investigation was entirely at fault."[11]

[11] Abridged from the General Preface, &c.

OTHER NOVELS.

The success of _Waverley_ led to the production of that series of works, by which the author established himself "as the greatest master in a department of literature, to which he has given a lustre previously unknown;--in which he stands confessedly unrivalled, and not approached, even within moderate limits, except, among predecessors, by Cervantes, and among contemporaries, by the author of _Anastasius_." We shall merely enumerate these works, with the date of their publication, and, as a point of kindred interest, the sums for which the original manuscripts, in the hand-writing of Sir Walter, were sold in the autumn of last year. Of the merits of these productions it would be idle to attempt to speak in our narrow space; but, for a finely graphic paper, (probably the last written previously to the author's death,) on the literary claims of Sir Walter Scott, as a novelist, we may refer the reader to No. 109 of the _Edinburgh Review_.

Year of Orig. MS. Publication. sold in Novels. Vols. 1831, for £. s. Waverley 3 1814 18 0 Guy Mannering 3 1815 27 10 The Antiquary* 3 1816 42 0 Tales of My Landlord 4 1st ser. 1816 33 0 Rob Roy* 3 1818 50 0 Tales of My Landlord 4 2nd ser. 1818 Tales of My Landlord 4 3rd ser. 1819 14 14 Ivanhoe 3 1820 12 0 The Monastery* 3 1820 18 18 The Abbot 3 1820 14 0 Kenilworth 3 1821 17 0 The Pirate 3 1822 12 0 The Fortunes of Nigel 3 1822 16 16 Peveril of the Peak* 3 1823 42 0 Quentin Durward 3 1823 St. Ronan's Well 3 1824 Redgauntlet 3 1824 Tales of the Crusaders 4 1825 Woodstock 3 1826 Chronicles of the Canongate 2 1st ser. 1827 Chronicles of the Canongate 3 2nd ser. 1828 Anne of Gerstein 3 1829 Tales of My Landlord 4 4th ser. 1831

Making in all, 73 volumes, within 17 years. (Those marked * were alone perfect.)

MISCELLANEOUS WORKS.

To particularize Sir Walter's contributions to periodical literature would occupy considerable space. He wrote a few papers in the early numbers of the _Edinburgh Review_, and several in the _Quarterly Review_, especially during the last ten volumes of that journal, of which his son-in-law, Mr. Lockhart, is the accredited editor. Sir Walter likewise contributed the articles Chivalry, Drama, and Romance to the sixth edition of the _Encyclopaedia Britannica_. _Paul's Letters to his Kinsfolk_, the fruits of Sir Walter's tour through France and Belgium, in 1815, were published anonymously; and the _Field of Waterloo_, a poem, appeared about the same time. We may also here mention his dramatic poem of _Halidon Hill_, which appeared in 1822; and two dramas, _the Doom of Devergoil_ and _Auchindrane_, in 1830--neither of which works excited more than temporary attention. Sir Walter likewise contributed a _History of Scotland_, in two volumes, to Dr. Lardner's _Cabinet Cyclopaedia_, in 1830; and in the same year a volume on _Demonology and Witchcraft_, to Mr. Murray's _Family Library_: both which works, of course, had a circulation co-extensively with the series of which they form portions. We may here notice a juvenile History of Scotland, in three series, or nine volumes, under the title of _Tales of a Grandfather_, affectionately addressed to his grandchild, the eldest son of Mr. Lockhart, as Hugh Littlejohn, Esq.

ABBOTSFORD--BARONETCY.