The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1857-12-10
TOT iNe NATIONAL Era.
CENUINENEss OF THE WAvERLEY NOVELS.

Epdenics mental are no rarer things than
epidemios physical. The present influenza
among the genus Bohemianua has taken the
form of plagiary-hunting, aud It's most deplora.
bly-pitiable exhibition is the pamphlet which
has lately gone through two editions in Eng
land, entitled, "Who wrote the Earlier Waiver
ley Novels and accredited to one Mr.. Fitzpat-
rick. If there is anything more repulsive than
a rat it is weasel; if any character is more
despicable than thief, il is the informer. But
when the informer is Q Titus Oates, a Lituba,
Martha Paris, whose only chance for notori-
city is to cry ghost, witch, papist, at wind
shaken shirt harmless old woman, it seems
to us almost criminal to take other notice of
him than to recommend him to a beam and
halter; and certainly we should never have
taken up pen to speak of the slipper of this
new Enpedocles, had not the London Critic"
and Mr. Gililan been so imprudent as to coun.
tanauce his miserable book.
Gifllan who is editing new edition of Sir
Walter SCOTS Works, has replied to Mr.. Fitz-
patrick in q tone that is by no means either
e'editable to his sagacity or inst to the sub
jet, much less TO the character of his great
comDatriot. We do not propose to reopen q
discussion that was deGnitvely settled long be-
fore Scott publicly avowed his authorship, by
thevery able aud ingenious Letters to Heber,"
published by Mr.. A1olphus, in 1921 If any
persons fancy the authorship of the Waverey
No'els q. ali questionable, we refer them to this
complete and exhaustive analysis OF the sub
iect, in which the young author has demonstra.
led, as completely a. moral reasoning can dem
ons'Eate anything. that no other individual than
Walter Scott, sheriff, advocate in Edinburgh,
editor of the B order Ballads, and author of Mar
mon, could have written the Wsverley Novels.
Mr Gllflian might have spared himself further
trouble than that of quoting, as Lockhart has
done, the table of contents simply of Mr. Adolf
phus's book; and the mere cataloguipg of the
points established would have recalled to every
reader Of Scott an internal evidence to their
genuluenesa, so powerful that no statement of
ex'raneous circumstances, however plausible,
could have availed to shake it.
We Shall not say anything of Mr. Fiizpat-
rek'5 pamphlet, further than to point out sew
eral instances CT error 50 glazing as to prove
either that he has never read Lockhart's admi-
rab'e biography, or (Which is more probable)
mat be mas been guilty of wilful falsehood, for
The cake Of making cut his case.
de says, in one place, "Mr. Lockhart ad
mits that On December 25th, 1914, no part of
Gay Mannering" had been written by Walter
scott; yet, on the 18Th Of January, 1915, two
volumes of that novel were printed. What !
Two volumes Of Gay Mannering' composed,
written, copied, printed, and proof corrected in
twenty three daysl Yet Mr.. Lockhart, in an
o'ner part of his memoirs, state, that S colt, at
Tue height OF his powers, considered fifteen
pages on PRINT to be good day work and we
snouid think it was. Even this is an exsgger-
aIion' .tor Scott himse II noted in has diary the
JeeC"'Peis4ment Of ten or t,Oelre pages as good
@dy 'coTk." Now, in this style do they pick a
man reputation to pieces Any uuinformed
person reading the above would say, with tie
LONDON Critic" There must be something
IL 'n's, 30 there would be, only these state.
tnenis labor under the exceeding disadvantage
OF being false from beginning to end. In the
Irst place. Lockhart intends no such idea as
ne Is created with above and as for CON fees.
ing AZ, when Guy Mannering" was written.
NE Ane" Is mule ABOUT tie authorship of the
"aVerlsy Moves as Mr.. Fitzpatrick does about
their genuineness. Loekhart saws this. g 7, ~
been shown that the three last cautos of ~
Lord OF the Isles were written between I'LL
OF November and 25ih of December; and II i
therefore scarcely supposabe that any of this
mover had been peEned before he thus talked "a
relreshlng the machine 1t is quite certa;n
1HSt when James Ballantyne wrote 10 M;es
EugeWorth, on the lth of November, he conld
not nave seen one page of Guy Mannering,
eihce ne In that letter announces that the new
Ho'ei OF his nameless friend would depict man