The Sun.
London, England, 1832-09-25 00:00:00

THE POPULAR PORTRAIT GALLERY OF

ILLUSTRIOUS PERSONS.

The Likeness which accompanies this Number is excellent.

The illustrious author of the Waverley Novels was born on
the 15th of August, 1771, and is the eldest surviving son of
Walter Scott, Esq. writer to the signet in Edinburgh, by Eli-
zabeth, daughter of David Rutherford, Esq. who was a very
able and popular practitioner of the same profession. His mo-
ther was the authoress of several poems, and was intimate with
R. Burns, Allan Ramsay, and other eminent poets; her poetry,
if it did not gain a wreath for herself, certainly had a consider-
able share in procuring one for her son, by eliciting and che.
rishing that germ of poetry which existed in his bosom ; she
died in 1789.

As a boy, young Walter gave but very slight indications of
genius, nor did he shine particularly above his playfellows. In
Latin he did not advance far until his tenth year, when Dr.
Paterson succeeded to the school at Musselburgh, where young
Scott was placed. Dr. Blair, on a visit to Musselburgh, soon
after Dr. Paterson took charge of the school, accompanied by
some friends, examined several of the pupils, and paid particu-
lar attention to young Scott. Dr. Paterson thought it was the
youth's stupidity that engaged the doctor's notice, and said,--
" My predecessor tells me, that boy has the thickest skull in the
school." " May be so," replied Dr. Blair; " but through that
thick skull I can discern many bright rays of future genius ;"
and how fully the prediction has been verified ! He was after-
wards sent to the high school at Edinburgh, under Dr. Adams;
from thence he went to the University, and completed his edu-
cation under the celebrated Professor Stewart.

It is not generally known, that there was a poet of the name
of Walter Scot, before the present celebrated bard. He lived
about the middle of the 17th century, and describes himself

As an old souldier and no seholler ;
And one that eau write none
But just the letters of his name."
On the death of his grandfather, Sir Robert Scot, of Thirlstone,
his father, having no means to bring up his children, put this
Walter to attend cattle in the field; "but," said he, " I gave
them the short cut at last, and left the kine in the cam ; and
ever since that time, I have continued a souldier abroad and at
home." This said Walter, when captain, published, in the
year MS, " A True Historie of several Honourable Families of
the Right Honourable Name of Scot, in the Shires of Roxburgh
and Selkirk," &c. &c. The above volume is written in rhyme,
and not often to be met with.

The subject of our present memoir, after having served a
clerkship to a writer of the signet, was, on the 11th of July,
1792, regularly called to the bar ; and through the interest of
the Buccleugh family, to whom he was related, after being
appointed Deputy Sheriff of Selkirkshire, obtained the situation
of one of the principal Clerks of the Session in Scotland, in
March, 1806 In 1798 he married a Miss Carpenter, by whom
he has a family of four children,
Our ever memorable statesman and orator, Mr. Pitt, intend-
ed to confer on Mr. Scott the valuable appointment of Clerk of
the Sessions ; but his death, by dissolving the then adminis-
tration, before the warrant had passed the seals, annulled all
that had been done, as well as all that had been intended.
But, fortunately for Mr. Scott, the new administration con-
sisted of such men as the late Mr. Fox, Mr. Sheridan, Lord
Erskine, the Marquis of Lansdowne, Earl Grey, and many
others attached to literature and philosophy; and, in a manner
which did them infinite honour, they voluntarily presented
their poetical opponent with the place their predecessors in-
tended for him.

The first productions of our illustrious bard were " The
Chase," and " William and Mary ;" ballads translated from
the German, but published without his name. His next pro-
duction appeared in 1799, he then having attained the twenty-
eighth year of his age, and to which he affixed his name. It
consisted of a tragedy, of considerable power, entitled " Goetz,
of Berlenchingen," translated from the German of Goethe :
and, at nearly the same period, he contributed the two roman-
tic and interesting ballads, called " The Eve of St. John," and
" Glenfinless," to Lewis's " Tales of Wonder." The " Min-
strels of the Scottish Border," appeared in 1802, and was the
first proof Mr. Scott gave of his having acquired sufficient con-
fidence to present a work of considerable consequence to the
notice of the world. He was not disappointed; it was read
with universal interest, and received with unanimous ap-
probation.

The studies of Mr. Scott, at this period, were entirely anti-
quarian ; he lived and breathed only among the knights, the
heroes, the monks, and the robbers of olden times ; the feats of
chivalry, and the rough heroism of northern warfare and border
feuds, were the scenes in which his soul delighted : he drank
deeply of the stream of history as it darkly flowed over the
middle ages ; and his spirit seemed, for a time, to be imbued
with the mysteries, the superstitions, and the romantic valour
which characterized the then chieftains of the "north countrie."

The first production emanating from these deep and
highly interesting researches was " Sir Tristrem, a Me-
trical Romance of the Thirteenth Century, by Thomas of
Ercildoune," which appeared in 1803; but the following year
ushered forth to the world " The Lay of the Last Minstrel,"
one of our illustrious poet's most beautiful, original, and
highly conceived poems ; and certainly one of the first and
most successful attempts made by modern bards to revive the
old English character and style of poetry, and decorate it with
the refined beauties of the present state of our language. In
the same year he published six ballads and lyrical pieces.

Our subject's next production was " Marmion, a Tale of
Flodden Field," a work of deep interest, blending most suc-
cessfully the old ballad style, with the beauties of modern
poetry. Our poet now having felt the great success of his la-
bours, produced, in 1810, that gem of perfection, " The Lady
of the Lake ;" a poem replete with the most splendid conceP-
lions, and which is undoubtedly the best, and will ever be the
most popular, of his poetical productions. " The Vision of
Don Roderick," in 1811—" Rokeby," in 1812—and " The
Lord of the Isles," in 1814, which may be considered the last
of his poetical pieces, are all inferior to his former productions.
Shortly after, he published a smaller poem, " The Battle of
Waterloo ;" and, anonymously, " The Bridal of Triermain,"
and " Harold the Dauntless," two minor poems of great merit.
In addition to the works above mentioned, Sir Walter pro-
duced "Paul's Letters to His Kinsfolk ;" " The Border Anti-
quities of Scotland," a magnificent publication; and has edited
the Works of John Dryden, Lord Somers's Collection of Tracts,
Sir Ralph Sadler's State Papers, Poetical Works of Anne Se-
ward, The Works of Jonathan Swift, &c. &c.
The year 1814 may be fairly said to have closed the grand
poetical career of this illustrious man. His fame, as a poet,
had now spread o'er the world; and, while he suffered his
poetical genius to rest within him, he was preparing to effect a
new era in our English literature.
Waverley" at this time appeared, without any author's
name; and never did a work of fiction create such a sensation
in the minds of the literati, and all lovers of this species of
composition. In the following year was produced " Guy Man-
nering," by the " Author of Waverley;" and in this anony-
mous manner have all these ever celebrated historical novels
appeared. Though Sir Walter Scott was universally believed
to be the author of these novels, yet the same was not proved
until the unfortunate failure of Messrs. Constable and Co., of
Edinburgh, the printers and publishers of the same, when Sir
Walter verified his claim as sole proprietor of all the novels by
the " Author of Waverley," the "Tales of my Landlord," &c.
The original manuscripts of these novels now for the first
time appeared, all in the hand-writing of Sir Walter. Messrs.
Constable and Co. having purchased the copyright of these novels,
the assignees to the estate considered the manuscripts as be-
longing to the property. The trustees of the Advocate's
Library, Anxious to enrich their valuable collection of manu-
scripts, and to possess these truly interesting autograph docu.
rents, as we may justly call them, offered the assignees the sum
of 1,0004 for the whole collection. This offer not being con-
sidered sufficiently liberal, was rejected : they were afterwards
offered to the British Museum, the trustees of which would
not, or perhaps, owing to the impoverished state of their
finances, could not, purchase them without applying to Go-
vernment for a grant for that purpose. These said manu-
scripts then remained in statu quo until the commencement of
the present year, when they were brought forward, to the
astonishment of all the author's friends and admirers, for
public competition, at th• sale.room of Mr. Evans, in Pall
Mall. We had the pleasure of being present at the said sale,
and never did we experience such a day of literary disap-
pointment. The following is the list, with the prices they
produced at the sale :
Lot. 1. The Monastery perfect £lB 18
2. Guy Mannering, wanting a leaf at the end
of Vol. 11. 27 10
3. Old Mortality, perfect
4. The Antiquary, perfect
5. Rob Roy, perfect 5O 0
6. Peveril of the Peak, perfect 42 0
7. Waverley, imperfect lB 0
8. The Abbot, imperfect
9. Ivanhoe, imperfect l2 0
10. The Pirate, imperfect
11. The Fortunes of Nigel, imperfect l6 16
12. Kenilworth, imperfect
13. Bride of Lammermoor, only 61 pages l4 14

Such was the melancholy event of this highly interesting sale,
the whole producing the small sum of 3171. 10s.

Captain Basil Hall was the fortunate purchaser of " The
Antiquary ;" and, some little time after, meeting Sir Walter
Scott, accidentally, at Southampton, Sir Walter, understand-
ing that he had purchased the same, told him that " The Anti-
quary" was his most favourite novel ; and most kindly offered,
provided Captain Basil Hall had the manuscript with him, to
write a few lines to that effect, at the end of it. Such an oppor-
tunity of possessing the author's own opinion, and in his own
hand-writing, was most properly not neglected by Captain Basil
Hall, who immediately sent up to London for it; and we un-
derstand that Sir Walter Scott has written some few lines at the
end of it to that effect.

Sir Walter Scott is the first person who received the honour
ofkniglithood from his late Majesty on his ascending the throne.
The ceremony took place on the 2.oth of April, 1820, since
which time Sir Walter has published ten novels and other
works, including his laborious compilation of the Life of Na-
poleon Bonaparte, in 9 vols. Svo. published in 180.
The Fourth Series of the " Tales of my Landlord," 1832, was
his last publication, at the conclusion of which appears the fol-
lowing most affecting passage

" The gentle reader is acquainted, that these are, in all pro-
bability, the last tales which it will be the lot of the Author to
submit to the public. He is now on the eve of visiting foreign
parts ; a ship of war is commissioned by its Royal master to
carry the Author of Waverley to climates in which he may pos-
sibly obtain such a restoration of health as may serve him to
spin his thread to an end in his own country. Had he conti-
nued to prosecute his usual literary labours, it seems indeed
probable, that at the term of years he had already attained, the

bowl, to use the pathetic language of Scripture, would Mei
been broken at the fountain; and little can one, who has en-
joyed, on the whole, an uncommon share of the most inestima-
ble of worldly blessings, be entitled to complain, that life, ad-
vancing to its period, should be attended with its usual propor-
tion of shadows and storms. They have affected him at least
in no more painful manner than is inseparable from the dis-
charge of this part of the debt of humanity. Of those whose
relation to him in the ranks of life might have insured him
their sympathy under indisposition, Inany are now no more ;
and those who may yet follow in kis wake, are entitled to ex.
pect, in bearing inevitable evils, an example of firmness and
patience more especially on the part of one who has enjoyed no
small good fortune during the course of his pilgrimage.
" The public have claims on his gratitude, for which the
author of Waverley' has no adequate means of expression ;
but he may be permitted to hope, that the powers of his mind,
such as they are, may not have a different date from those of
his body ; and that he may again meet his patronising friends,
if not exactly in his old fashion of literature, at least in some
branch, which may not call forth the remark, that—
" Superfluous lags the veteran on the stage."
Sir Walter Scott died at Abbotsford, at twenty-five minutes
past one o'clock, on Friday last.

FASHIONABLE INTELLIGENCE.