Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-05-09
By the BOoklovsv


using Lockharts material or following
his lead, have represented Scott as
brought to an early breakdown and
early death because of his heroic efforts
to pay of large debts resulting from the
bankruptcies of two publishing houses
in which he was involved as an inno-
cent victim. SCOTS early breakdown
was undoubtedly caused by overwork,
his efforts in paying the debts were
certainly heroic, but he was an innocent
victim only in the sense that he prob
ably did nothing illegal or unethical in
his connection with James Ballantyne
e. Co. and Constable & Co. But he
was guilty of so many forms of ex-
travagance and such complete lack OF
business judgment that his burdens
must. from this point of view, BE- con-
sidered of his own creation. Donald
Carswell. a practitioner OF the new
school" Of biography in his book. Scott
and His Circle" makes this RESPONSE
bility clear and even shows that SCOTS
friends Ballantyne and Constable, Suf-
fered through his faults.
X
James Ballantyne was "an amiable
nonentity" who was a boyhood friend
of Scott at the Kelso Grammar School.
He owned little printing business and
printed the local Tory news Sheet the
Kelso Mail. He was contented with
small things and a quiet life Scott,
with romantic vision, saw himself as
the maker of his friends fortunes
through contracts for printing the
books which he was beginning to pro-
duce. He urged the removal OF the
press to Edinburgh. Ballantyne hest
tated, as lie had no capital. Scott
grandly promised capital and contracts
and Ballantyne went to Edinburgh.
Poor James Ballantyne! 1t was no
kindness thus to thrust greatness upon
him. The position of a country printer
and newspaper editor had been ad-
mirably suited to his powers and pre-
objections, which were chiefly in the
way of eating heartily and idling about
with an air of importance" Scott pro-
duced the contracts, as he had prom
ised, but before long Ballantyne came
to him for more and more money, in
order to avert failure I'm his inno-
cence he (ScotO had imagined that If
he provided for the expenses of Ballan-
tynes removal to Edinburgh and then
saw that he had plenty of work to do,
all would be well. Neither he nor Bal
lantyne had grasped the elementary
truth that large orders cannot be exc
cuted without commensurate capital,
and that if business increases faster
than reserves are built up, one must get
financial support or go bankrupt" So
Scott made decision which was fatal
to his financial welfare and his health.
He paid over 5000 pounds and took a
one-third interest in the firm. The
partnership was kept secret, but the
publishers noticed that all contracts for
SCOTS writings provided that the print
ing should be done by James Ballantyne
& Co. Later, as part of an offensive
against Constable, with whom Scott was
not on good terms at the time, John
Ballantyne, brother of James, was
brought on the scene and a new firm
emerged, John Ballantyne & Co., pub
fishers and booksellers. Of this firm
Scott was partner and found all the
money. So, from the start. Scott was
himself practically both of the Ballan-
tyne firms, and when they failed, the
failure was his personal bankruptcy and
the debts were naturally his obligations
His honesty and heroism appeared in
his not hiding behind bankruptcy ex-
cuses but in his acceptance of the bur-
den and the tremendous work it en-
tailed.
Close on the failure of Ballantyne
came the failure of Constable. The
two houses were intimately connected
in their high financing. Scott had
been responsible for much of it
through his repeated borrowings by
means of bills drawn by James Bal
lantyne g. Co. on Constable & Co. and
discounted in the usual way. These
bills, amounting to $1,000 pounds, were
never retired. Constable'S credit being
coed. the banks were always willing tc
renew, but naturally every renewal
meant an addition to the floating debt.
The cause of these borrowings was
SCOTS inordinate craving to be q
landed proprietor, which resulted frs
in the purchase of the estate which
bacame AbbotSford, then the building
of the extensive mansion, then the pur-
chase OF more and more land, whenever
an adjoining parcel was for sale, ever
at price obviously intended to tak<
advantage of SCOTS weakness. THE
bulk of James Ballantyne & Co.'S liza.
bilities were due to SCOTS reckless bor-
rowings during the fatal period of hi;
sole partnership. Yet in the hour oil
calamity there was not word or ever
a thought of reproach for the mar
whose infatuated selfishness had brought
disaster upon them both. James mind
was still as it had been 40 years before
in Kelso Grammar School, when the
big lame boy from Edinburgh had used
to smile across at him and whisper
Come over here, Jamie, and I'll tell We
story After all, but for Waite Scott
there never would have been James
Ballantyne 81 Co. Waite Scott hac
given and Waite Scott had taken away
Blessed be the name of Waite Scott
The Constable failure did not leave
such happy personal relations Scott
had never really liked Constable. He
had called him "the car" and "the
crafty" and though business relations
with him had been profitable, personal
friendship with him had never been
wholehearted on SCOTS part. So when
the crash came Scott considered Con-
stable the arch villain. ITO the end OF
his life he cherished the fixed delusion
that it was Constable who had ruined
him and brought him to scorn. That
he could himself have been the CHIEF
contriver of his misfortunes never once
occurred to him.
Arthur Train in his "Puritan's Prog
ress" tells in detail how the youth OF
the 1865 behaved. He quotes from the
English periodical, the Saturday Re-
view, which declared: THE English
girl of today Is a creature who dyes
paints and enamels, studies the arts OF
vice, is immodest in dress, behavior and
conversation, and whose whole object In
life is to marry the man who. of all
she knows, has the largest fortunes and
the least brains" Mr. Train then
quotes from "Godey's Lady's Book, -
which was Of the opinion that Ameri-
can girls were that way, too.
n y
Ten novels have received the unani-
nous vote of rs representative librari-
ans as among the 200 outstanding
books of the past year, according to
the American Library Association.
These titles appear in ''Booklist Books