[ThereappearedinTheScotsMagazineforFebruary1st,1814,anannouncement,that`Waverley;or,’tisSixtyYearsSince,anovel,in3
vols。12mo,’wouldbepublishedinMarch。AndbeforeScottcameintoEdinburgh,atthecloseoftheChristmasvacation,onthe12thofJanuary,Mr。Erskinehadperusedthegreaterpartofthefirstvolume,andexpressedhisdecidedopinionthatWaverleywouldprovethemostpopularofallhisfriend’swritings。TheMS。wasforthwithcopiedbyJohnBallantyne,andsenttopress。’’
InalettertohisfriendJ。B。S。MorrittofRokeby,datedJuly9,1814,SirWaltersays:-
Now,togofromoneimportantsubjecttoanother,Imustaccountformyownlaziness,whichIdobyreferringyoutoasmallanonymoussortofanovel,inthreevolumes,Waverley,whichyouwillreceivebythemailofthisday。ItwasaveryoldattemptofminetoembodysometraitsofthosecharactersandmannerspeculiartoScotland,thelastremnantsofwhichvanishedduringmyownyouth,sothatfewornotracesnowremain。
Ihadwrittengreatpartofthefirstvolume,andsketchedotherpassages,whenImislaidtheMS。,andonlyfounditbythemerestaccidentasIwasrummagingthedrawersofanoldcabinet;andItookthefancyoffinishingit,whichIdidsofast,thatthelasttwovolumeswerewritteninthreeweeks。’’
Again,inasubsequentnote,headds-
AstoWaverley,IwillplaySirFretfulforonce,andassureyouthatIleftthestorytoflaginthefirstvolumeonpurpose;thesecondandthirdhaverathermorebustleandinterest。IwishedwithwhatsuccessHeavenknowstoavoidtheordinaryerrorofnovelwriters,whosefirstvolumeisusuallytheirbest。ButsinceithasservedtoamuseMrs。Morrittandyou_usqueabinitio,_Ihavenodoubtyouwilltolerateitevenuntotheend。’’
Theabovestatementrespectingthetimeoccupiedinthecompositionofthetwolastvolumesisborneoutbythefollowinganecdote,toldbyhisfutureson-in-law,J。G。Lockhart:-
HappeningtopassthroughEdinburghinJune1814,IdinedonedaywithWilliamMenziesafterwardsJudgeattheCapeofGoodHope,whoseresidencewastheninGeorgeStreet,situatedveryneartoandwithinsightofthebackwindowsofScott’shouseinNorthCastleStreet。Itwasapartyofveryyoungpersons,mostofthem,likeMenziesandmyself,destinedfortheBarofScotland,allgayandthoughtless,enjoyingthefirstflushofmanhood,withlittleremembranceoftheyesterday,orcareofthemorrow。
Whenmycompanion’sworthyfatheranduncle,afterseeingtwoorthreebottlesgoround,leftthejuvenilestothemselves,theweatherbeinghot,weadjournedtoalibrarywhichhadonelargewindowlookingnorth-wards。
Aftercarousinghereforanhourormore,Iobservedthatashadehadcomeovertheaspectofmyfriend,whohappenedtobeplacedimmediatelyoppositetomyself,andsaidsomethingthatintimatedafearofhisbeingunwell。`No,’saidhe,`Ishallbewellenoughpresently,ifyouwillonlyletmesitwhereyouare,andtakemychair;forthereisaconfoundedhandinsightofmehere,whichhasoftenbotheredmebefore,andnowitwon’tletmefillmyglasswithagoodwill。’Irosetochangeplaceswithhimaccordingly,andhepointedouttomethishandwhich,likethewritingonBelshazzar’swall,disturbedhishourofhilarity。`Sincewesatdown,’hesaid,`Ihavebeenwatchingit-itfascinatesmyeye-itneverstops-pageafterpageisfinishedandthrownonthatheapofMS。,andstillitgoesonunwearied-andsoitwillbetillcandlesarebroughtin,andGodknowshowlongafterthat。Itisthesameeverynight-Ican’tstandasightofitwhenIamnotatmybooks。’-`Somestupid,dogged,engrossingclerk,probably,’exclaimedmyself,orsomeothergiddyyouthinoursociety。`No,boys,’saidourhost,`Iwellknowwhathanditis-’tisWalterScott’s。’Thiswasthehandthat,intheeveningsofthreesummerweeks,wrotethetwolastvolumesofWaverley。’’-Fromthe_MemoirsofSirWalterScott_by
=TotheKing’sMostGraciousMajesty。=
=Sire=-TheAuthorofthisCollectionofWorksofFictionwouldnothavepresumedtosolicitforthemyourMajesty’saugustPatronagewereitnotthattheperusalhasbeensupposedinsomeinstancestohavesucceededinamusinghoursofrelaxation,orrelievingthoseoflanguor,pain,oranxiety,andthereforemusthavesofaraidedthewarmestwishofYourMajesty’sheart,bycontributinginhoweversmalladegreetothehappinessofyourPeople。
TheyarethereforehumblydedicatedtoyourMajesty,agreeablytoyourGracious
Aboon,above。
Haggis,aScotchpuddingmadeofmincedmeat,oatmeal,onions,etc。
Hallan,partitionatthedoorway。
Hantle,agoodmany。
HeckandManger,toliveinprodigalityandunconcern,reckless。
Her,_Highland,_my,Hernainsel,_Highland,_himself。
Hership,plunder。