The Sun.
London, England, 1832-10-08 00:00:00

SIR WALTER SCOTT.

MEETING AT EDINBURG H, Ocr. b.

(F.R0151 OUR. o‘, X REPORTER-)

This. day, pursuant to advertisement, a Public Meeting
Ilras held in the Great Assembly Room, George .streer, for
the purpose of making into consideration the propriety of
erecting t in appropriate
a monomer: . same place in this
City in memory of the illustrious and departed Sir WALTEa.
Scorn. The time of meeting was advertised to be one
o'clock, but it was half-past before the chair was ,aken.
The spacious room was crowded with most respectable per-
sons, the gallery filed with ladies, and the hustings adorned
by a vast number of distinguished Noblemen, Clergy, and
Gentry. Among those on the hustings we observed
The Duke of Buccleuch, Marquis of Lothian, Earl of Dal_
'music, Earl of Rosebery, Lord Dalmeny, Lord Clerk Register,
Lord Advocate, Lord Mackenzie, Lord Meadowhank, Sir Wil.
limn Rae, Sir Thomas Dick Lauder, Sir George Clerk, Sir John
Ilay, Sir John Forbes, Sir John Nasmyth, Sir James Gibson
Craig, Sir Henry Jardine, Sir John Oswald, Sir P. C. H. Dar-.
hara, James Loch, Esq., M.P., Hon. Captain Cost, Admiral
Adam, Mr. Adam, Accountant-General of Chancery, Sir
George Ballingal, Dr. Abercromby, J. A. Murray, Esq., Mr.
Murray of Henderland, Professor Wilson, Professor Pillans,
Professor Napier, Professor Graham, Professor Bell, Dr. Lee,
be D. Dickson, Dr. Macknight, Dr. A. Brown, Mr. Borth-
Wich of Crookston, Mr. Trotter of Dreghorn, Mr. Skene of
ttubislaw, .t Rutherford, Esq., Dr. Maclagan, &c.
The LORD PROVOST, upon the motion of the Duke of
uecleuch, took the Chair ; arid on doing so, said—My
Lords and Gentlemen, I feel that to be a'soriated in any
respect with the name of Sir Walter Scott is an honour
of which any man may be justly proud ; but to be called
upon to preside over the meeting of the friends and admirers
of that illustrious man, is an honour far beyond toy
Pr t nsions. At the same time, gentlemen, if I can make
the office which I have now the honour to hold, instru-
mental in any way in promoting the wishes of these his
friends and admirers, I shall feel exceedingly happy indeed.
(Cheers.) Gentlemen, the numerous assemblage I now
have the happiness of addressing is a sufficient proof,
if any were wanting, that it is the public desire that
some notice should be taken of that great individual, and
that some testimony should be raised in this city that
Will hand down, not his name to posterity, which
is founded upon a far more solid basis than stone
and lime can make—(Heat, hear)—but that it should
Le a ta.i7imlay of dr,, grattuii of the ags to the
individual who has raised his own country to a degree far
to beyond that to which any other individual has ever had it
his Power to do.—(Cheers.) Gentlemen, it is
Dot this meeting alone which enables me to say that the
object of it meets with most cordiil approbation, because
have received innumerable letters from a great por-
tion of the Peerage and Gentry of the country, exs
sressing their cordial concurrence with the object as
t, hated by the advertisement, and I beg now to state to you,
at many of those distinguished individuals are anxious
that their sentiments should be made known through me,
they being absent from unavoidable causes ; and satisfied I
that that it must only have been by very great exertions
Many of the Noblemen and Gentlemen whom I see
around me could have been here to-day, considering the
great number of public meetings of importance that are
at this moment being held in different places.
Gentlemen, my feelings and my object are known to you
all. I shall not detain you longer, but will leave it for
the other gentlemen who are to address you, and who are
much more. able, though not more anxious than myself on
;_
oceasion, to call your attention more particularly to
the objects in contemplation —(Cheers.)
The Duke of BUCCLEUCH said,—ln rising to move
the first resolution of this meeting, I feel that I enter
upon the subject with great diffidence, and with great
distrust in my powers enabling
• me to do justice to the
duty whi
di has been imposed upon me. Little accus-
tomed as I have been to address assemblies of this nature—
indeed, I believe, this is the first—it gives me still greater
jdiffidence to speak on a subject which no eloquence can do
ustice to, and which no abilities either of my own or of
others can render what I may say any thing worthy of the
lubject•--(Loud cheers.) No one can have personally
Lgreater esteem and warmer regard fur the person
tog whose memory we have now met to pay a just
ute of respect than myself. I may say, from
tnY earliest infancy I have enjoyed the friendship and
tt'E intimacy of that great and illustrious man; and it
man me much pleasure to see present on this occasion
.ter ""Y who, though on other occasions and on public mat-
allthey may have differed in somethings with that man,
Join together (forgetting all topics of difference) to
tend one one universal tribute of respect to him.—(Loud
tto".) Gentlemen, we are met not to testify our respect
author of any common celebrity,—we are met
weeh
to celebrate the memory of one whose talents and
ose work
hay_ s are the most extraordinary, perhaps, that
ever been produced is this country. Singular in
itieutselves, there are none to compare with them—singular
,a,theniselves, there are none that can equal them. (Cheer*. )
t"'"(1 late Sir Walter Scott was a native of our country,
itie'ie,fted in this town, and brought up at this University.
si "as from writing his earliest works pourtrayed the Scot-
'fh eharacter in its true light. He has shown the feelings
n;,,,tl'el°viter classes as well as those of the highest classes in
remise ages K as well as in modern times, with a skill which
no one else has been able to attain.—(Much applause.)
11:-4',1 his earliest youth he gave intimation of that peculiar
aphn"h---of that strength of mind—that peculiar imagination
"so particularly belonged to himself. As I have un-
-I)."a,t°°d, even as a boy at school, and even afterwards, after
p`vulg arrived at fuller years, his imagination was always
;:i4dY to afford amusement and instruction to his compa-
• uns ; and whoever has read his works cannot fail to see
L(titllileina ergffects of that mighty genius he possessed')
saw,' ch) To him it ayes no effort to write those
ns which are not only the admiration of our country,
pthe admiration of this kingdom alone, not of Europe
p
ne, but of every part of the civilized world.—(Cheers.)
smnttel
natall esteem and regard to him are not confined to us—
eforeign countries, and see there, although the inhabit-
s of those countries may not have the same personal
t,,„ ',ledge of him, yet still the same estimation of his
t ° urKs exists.—(Hear, hear.) It is needless for me
it enter at large into a history of his pubic lice,—that
MWelt known. .Of Lis private life, those alone who
ere Personally acquainted with him, and who lived with
at all hours and at ail seasons, are the best judges.
we Was kind and affectionate—a firm and steady friend
sia' he ;
tonbeefev to he swerved from that which he con.
l'it-erell his duty, and always studying the wel-
Zer of his country. His works stand pre-eminent also
e all other authors. In them no immorality is to
thetra,ced__(
Cheers)—no scoffing at religion—(repeated
Lk_ers)---nothing in them which any one could wish to
0.7 altered.—(Applause.) We are met here to testify
e_44 respect for his memory, but what tribute of respect
t:ezttve show ? What monument could be erected to his
tvi,n °rY equal to his own works ? He has raised his
to rt.' nument.—(Cheers.) Look at lier a—loo
!lie histories of ancient Rome andear ancientges Greece,k r(lveother nations, and there you will see that monuments
Iva, beenee raised to the memory of great men, but
; ere they now 2—(Hear.) Have they not
'tit° dust? But are those names forgotten?—no ,the fallen
tif great matt who has signalized himself in 'his e nan'e
and life, is handed down to us unimpaired and stationUn
away Peached, when all other monuments of show have passed
Sir and are gone.—(Cheers.) As a lover of his country,
ZW. Scott's works afford the strongest marks. In
an? Passages of his writings you may plainly see the feel-
trig of his own mind, though aly put into the
°}ltilths of others. His patriotismpp wasarent not of that class
%tit eh consisted of declamation, crying up the different in-
ti 4 utiaus
of his country; but it is in his private life, in
tuav",hlie works, and in his own acts, that his patriotism
and Ise seen. M Gentlemen, what can b more beautiful
More true than what he himself has sail ?--
" Call it not vain ; they do not err,
Who say that when the poet dies
Mute nature mourns her worshipper,
Those 1, And celebrates his obsequies."
to repelant" Must be too well known to you to require me
eountra thern- You might fancy this gloom over the
trial ".' which lie has so extensively celebrated, is a
to
in
Which _ Put on that mute respect to his memory
we are now met to pay.—(Hear, hear.) The feel-
(;;K not confined to us alone—it is not confined to those
any particular class of society in this country. There
is
~.,not one acquainted with Sir W. Scott's worth who
la not at this moment feel that sorrow which ever • one
auust feel at time loss of one so great and so ill stnr.ious:ieoanre,
on
whose like we ne'er expect to look aguai
tear.) Gentlemen, I feel that lam very Untiqual(to the
I can assure you,
fra_sk imposed upon me ; but that is not,
ps any want of respect to his memory, or any want of
at regard which I bear towards him —it is from want
evf those splendid powers and that eloquence which, even
Possession of those alone, would still leave the inade-
!Plate to convey that tribute to his memory which is so
Justly due to it.—(Cheers.) In his early works we
ice the ancient ballads of this country preserved--
.11 them there is nothing objectionable ; and whilst he
s_turlied to amuse, there never was one who studied more
agricultural interest of the country, or the advantage
the empire at large. ho has see wha he ha
(lune at Abbotsford, withoutW being able ton testifyt of this ;s andl know that when he has been pleased to give me his
friendly advice, which I have always been ready to re-
ri" e, I have ever derived the greatest benefit from it.—
sstea h
ear.) But, gentlemen, I will not trespass more at