The Sun.
London, England, 1826-09-30 00:00:00

SIR WALTER SCOTT.-ABBOTSFORD.

(From the Leeds Intelligeneer).
The Editor of the Scots Times has just made an
excursion to Abbotsford, the seat of the " Great Un-
known," commonly called Sir Walter Scott. For ra-
ther a national parallel, suggested by the place, be-
tween the Mantuan and Caledonian bards, we have no
room ; but it would appear by the following descrip-
tion of the favourite residence of the latter, that he has,
like others, suffered from bad speculations. With the
fact that this great genius always strained at enlarging
his original estate by the purchase of every adjacent
spot of ground which would be disposed of, we hap-
pened ourselves to have been acquainted ; and further-
more that Sir Walter Scott raised considerable sums

in London on an insurance of his life, to enable him
to effect this purpose. ~ We learn, however, from the
Morning Chronicle, that he now assiduously- devotes
himself to literary labour, in order to pay off his debts ;
but as the property he previously acquired had been
settled on his tinnily, and proves tAmavallable to his
creditors, the course Sir Walter has resolved upon is
neither so chivalrous, nor would it perhaps be, in like
circumstances, so extraordinary among " honest trades-
men," as the. Chronicle imagines.. The following is:
the notice of Abbotsford in the Scots Times :

" A few miles farther on we reached the spot whichwill:
be held sacred to the Muse as long as Britain and her lan-
guage shall exist. Abbotsford is already viewed with
nearly the same reverence as that with which we visit the
birth-place of Virgil. The first of these two great poets
was deservedly the friend and favourite of Augustus ; the
latter is no less deservedly the favourite of our own most
popular Monarch, whom we hope yet to see styled the
Augustus of modern times. We cannot, however, suffi-
ciently comprehend how Sir Walter could have taken it
into his head to embellish so absurd a place as this same
Abbotsford. It will be at least a century before it can bear
the appearance of a well-garnished estate. Indeed, we
question altogether its capability of ever becoming a fine
place to. the eye. The estate consists partly of a very nar-
row flat on the bank of the Tweed, and partly of what was
very lately a bleak, shapeless lump of a hill, looking
towards the north-east. The mansion-house is sititate
among young plantations, on a very steep bank, within 50
yards of the river. We have been informed that the house
was originally very small, resembling the appearance of an
ordinary country manse,' or Scotch Parsons dwelling;
but it grew with the fortunes of its owner, and is now a
very pictureeque. pile of eastellap .d building, re-
sembling in miniature some of those splendid baronial re-
sidences
which one meets with every where in England.
We accordingly admire the appearance of Abbotsford, is
gofer as it is a mere residence; but, as
we have said be-
fore, we utterly abominate the situation in which it is
placed. A great deal of money must have been expended
in forming the young plantations, which spread out grace-
fully in every direction on the estate. But we greatly,
mistake if ever an adequate return in money will be ob-
tained for the original price of the land, and the 'capital
subsequently expended upon it. . The soil immediately on
the river is of the most wretched barren description that
we ever remember to have seen subjected to cultivation.

Indeed, it is so completely a mass of gravel, that it only
requires a little rolling and top-dressing to become a ca-
pital Macadamized road, of 500 or 600 yards in breadth.
The rising ground beyond this, and towards the top of the
hill, is of a cold ungrateful soil, and it will be fortunate if
one half of the trees planted upon it ever arrive at mature
growth. But a pehum et:Timis now belongs to the
estate of Abbotsford, which cannot be estimated in the base
shillings, and pence. Sir Walter, we matter of pounds,
understand, has been rather too anxious to include every
neighbouring patch he could lay his hands upon, to the
bounds of his estate.- As usual in such cases, he was coin-
yelled to give prices much higher than the estimated pro-
duce would warrant. In the case of any other man, we
should have beeninclined to pronounce this to be folly;
but we are forced to consider every acre added to the au-
perfiees of this particular property, as receiving a tenfold
value, when it has once been consecrated by the touch of
genius. The great hall, containing a great variety of ar-
mour, ancient and modern, of civilized anti savage nations,
is the most remarkable sight in the interior of the building.
The library, which is fitted up with eonsiderable taste, is
the only other notable apartment. It would require, how*
ever, the pen of a first-rate antiquary to describe the mul-
titudinous relics of ancient times Which crowd upon the
sight at every turn, both in the house and all around it—
This sacred spot is,: at ,the present moment, involved in
deep gloom ; but we put our trust in the omnipotence of
genius, and, ere another year goes round, we
are confident
that we shall see its , woods and braes' smile more beau-
tiful than ever, and that a brighter sun will shed its beams
on all its romantic turrets, and on every portion of its hal-
lowed territory.