The Sun.
London, England, 1846-08-20 00:00:00

No.

THE DINNER.

About six o'clock a very numerous company sat down
to dinner in the Music-hall, the Lord Provost in the
chair, who was supported right and left by Whyte Mel-
ville, Esq., of Mount Melville, deputy grand master, the
Hon. Captain Jocelyne, Archdeacon Williams, J. T.
Gordon, Esq., advocate, Pringle, of Why tbank, M.P.,
Sir Adam Ferguson, Dr. Memes, D. Milne, Esq., ad-
vocate, Alexander Robertson, Esq., of Eldin, Dr. Robert
Lee, Le Chevalier Albert de Newell, treasurer to the
Emperor of Austria, Alexander M‘Neille, Esq., advo-
cate, Forbes, M.P., Mr. Steele, the sculptor, &c.
A number of ladies occupied the seats of the orchestra,
and being in full dress, tended to a great extent to en-
hance the scene, which was one of no ordinary kind,
banners and various devices appropriate to the occasion
being displayed, amongst others the coat of arms of Sir
Walter Scott, with the motto, " Watch weel."
Dr.R. LEE asked a blessing, and Archdeacon Williams
returned thanks, after which,
The CHAIRMAN, who was received with much ap-
plause, said I have now to propose the health of our Most
Gracious Sovereign, whose peaceful and beneficient reign
commands the gratitude and the homage of her people,
whoso private virtues have won universal respect and ad-
miration, and in whose domestic felicity her loyal sub-
jects rejoice. Her Majesty the Queen.—(Loud and long
continued applause, the band playing the National
Anthem.

The toasts of " Prince Albert and the Royal Family,"
and " the Queen Dowager," were given and responded
to with the usual loyal feelings of demonstration, after
which the chairman gave " the Army and Navy."
Captain BOSWELL, of Wardle, rose to return thanks
for the honour conferred on that branch of the service to
which he belonged (the navy), adding that the country,
he hoped, well knew that when their services were re-
quired, they were ready to do their duty.—(Cheers.)
Colonel J. NEILL returned thanks in the name of the
army. lie was firmly persuaded that should the circum-
stances of the country require the service of the British
army, they were ready to come forward and lay down
their lives for their country.—(Loud cheers.)
The CHAIRMAN again rose and was received with
great cheering. He said--Gentlemen, or I should rather
say ladies and gentlemen, I use no unmeaning hacknied
phrase, nor do I assume a mere affectation of modesty,
when I assure you that I feel altogether incompetent to
the task assigned me ; and sincerely do I regret that the
toast I have now to propose had not been placed in
hands qualified to do it justice.—(Applause.) In pro-
posing the immortal memory of Sir Walter Scott, so
various and so great are the excellencies to which I
should advert, that I feel bewildered in even attempting
to touch slightly on topics which would give scope to
the most fertile imagination. If England boasts of the
mighty Shakspere, Scotland may well he proud of Sir
Walter Scott.—(Loud cheers.) In the spirit which ani-
mates his poetry he stands alone in his age ; in descrip-
tion he was unrivalled ; whatever he saw with his mind's
eye he depicts with a truthfulness and vividness that place
it distinctly before the eye of his reader.—(Continued
cheers.) He reproduces the world of feudalism and
chivalry, and his readers seem for the time to live and
move in a society of knights of generous and lofty bear-
ing, clansmen of unbounded devotedness to their chiefs,
ladies arrayed in feminine loveliness—(Great applause)—
unswerving fidelity, and partaking of the courage of the
times. We are made witnesses of combats and tourna-
ments, of border raids, and fierce encounters of fiery
spirits fond of martial adventure, and enriched with an
absorbing love of country. But high as is the rank
which Scott attained as a poet, it is as a writer of ro-
mance that he acquired his widest fame. No writer
ever exercised so great an influence on the public
mind—no writer ever gained so extensive a reputation
in the same space of time. Italy, France, and Germany,
as well as his own country, acknowledged his power.—
(Cheers.) At the time that Sir Walter Scott produced
the first of that delightful series of romances, the public
taste in works of fiction had sunk to a low ebb.--(Hear,
hear.) The novel was a name of bad odour; it was
vicious in style, and questionable in morality. The
author of Waverley succeeded at once in raising it to
the highest level, by purifying its spirit and infusing into
it a cheerful, healthful tone of feeling, brightening the
path of humanity.—(Great applause.) On the literature
of Great Britain his writings exercised a benficial in-
fluence by the lessons of simplicity and good taste which
they taught, never tending to foster a bad, or to
throw ridicule on a good or generous feeling ; perhaps
the works of no author in any country, in any period,
commanded a circulation to the same prodigious extent
in the same space of time. The admiration won by his
writings has been extended to his country. Those who
have been delighted with his delineations have been at-
tracted to the scenes which he has so beautifully de-
scribed, and I may also safely say that even his own
countrymen have viewed them with a deeper interest
and increasing admiration, and as has been quaintly said
of his country, had it not received its name before, it
might now have acquired the name of Scotland. Were
I even competent to speak of valuable contributions of a
historical and miscellaneous kind which Scott has made
to British literature, I would not so far trespass on your
patience. I cannot, however, sit down without adverting
to the claims which he has on our esteem as a man.—
(Applause.) With reputation and talents which the
most elevated might envy, he never assumed superiority
over the less gifted and less fortunate. To the young,
even to those in the humblest ranks, who sought
his counsel, he was a kind and judicious adviser.
To those rb ho required pecuniary assistance his
hand was open as day. Although his company
was courted by princes and nobles, he was not
only the joyous companion of his equals, but
he did not despise the society of the humble but honest
cotter. None of his writings are more delightful than
the letters in which, relaxing from his literary toils, he
depicts the groups of friends and neighbours of all
degrees bent on rural recreations. Men of genius have
sometimes thought they were released from the trammels
of ordinary mortals, but Scott took the most sensible
views of the affairs of the world, and attended to all the
proprieties of life. And his advices to others were at
once mingled with the greatest kindness of heart and
the most perfect sagacity.—
(Loud cheering.) Alas that
prudence should ever have failed him in his own case! but
even here the glory and strength of his character stand out
in bolder relief. Like one of his own chivalrous champions,
fearful as were the odds with which he had to contend, he
resolved to buckle on his armour, to summon up all his
energies, and to vindicate his honour or die in the con-
test. He persevered amidst deep discouragement and
sorrows to tax his powers to the uttermost, and, in his
own words, " If there be a mental drudgery which
lowers the spirits and lacerates the nerves, like the toil
of the slave, it is that which is executed by literary
composition, when the heart is not in unison with the work
in which the head is employed." The struggle was too
severe for his manly frame ; he conquered, but he fell,
and, in dying, left behind him a renown which will
only perish with the English language.—His Lordship
resumed his seat amidst loud and continued cheering,
after which

Mr. WILSON, the vocalist, sung, and with great effect,
the " Pibroch of Donald Dhu," a dirge having previ-
ously been executed by the band.
Mr. PRINGLE then proposed the health of the Most
Worshipful Grand Mater ktfis9ll of Scotland, lord