首页 >出版文学> WAVERLEY>第88章

第88章

  [ThereappearedinTheScotsMagazineforFebruary1st,1814,anannouncement,that`Waverley;or,’tisSixtyYearsSince,anovel,in3
  vols。12mo,’wouldbepublishedinMarch。AndbeforeScottcameintoEdinburgh,atthecloseoftheChristmasvacation,onthe12thofJanuary,Mr。Erskinehadperusedthegreaterpartofthefirstvolume,andexpressedhisdecidedopinionthatWaverleywouldprovethemostpopularofallhisfriend’swritings。TheMS。wasforthwithcopiedbyJohnBallantyne,andsenttopress。’’
  InalettertohisfriendJ。B。S。MorrittofRokeby,datedJuly9,1814,SirWaltersays:-
  Now,togofromoneimportantsubjecttoanother,Imustaccountformyownlaziness,whichIdobyreferringyoutoasmallanonymoussortofanovel,inthreevolumes,Waverley,whichyouwillreceivebythemailofthisday。ItwasaveryoldattemptofminetoembodysometraitsofthosecharactersandmannerspeculiartoScotland,thelastremnantsofwhichvanishedduringmyownyouth,sothatfewornotracesnowremain。
  Ihadwrittengreatpartofthefirstvolume,andsketchedotherpassages,whenImislaidtheMS。,andonlyfounditbythemerestaccidentasIwasrummagingthedrawersofanoldcabinet;andItookthefancyoffinishingit,whichIdidsofast,thatthelasttwovolumeswerewritteninthreeweeks。’’
  Again,inasubsequentnote,headds-
  AstoWaverley,IwillplaySirFretfulforonce,andassureyouthatIleftthestorytoflaginthefirstvolumeonpurpose;thesecondandthirdhaverathermorebustleandinterest。IwishedwithwhatsuccessHeavenknowstoavoidtheordinaryerrorofnovelwriters,whosefirstvolumeisusuallytheirbest。ButsinceithasservedtoamuseMrs。Morrittandyou_usqueabinitio,_Ihavenodoubtyouwilltolerateitevenuntotheend。’’
  Theabovestatementrespectingthetimeoccupiedinthecompositionofthetwolastvolumesisborneoutbythefollowinganecdote,toldbyhisfutureson-in-law,J。G。Lockhart:-
  HappeningtopassthroughEdinburghinJune1814,IdinedonedaywithWilliamMenziesafterwardsJudgeattheCapeofGoodHope,whoseresidencewastheninGeorgeStreet,situatedveryneartoandwithinsightofthebackwindowsofScott’shouseinNorthCastleStreet。Itwasapartyofveryyoungpersons,mostofthem,likeMenziesandmyself,destinedfortheBarofScotland,allgayandthoughtless,enjoyingthefirstflushofmanhood,withlittleremembranceoftheyesterday,orcareofthemorrow。
  Whenmycompanion’sworthyfatheranduncle,afterseeingtwoorthreebottlesgoround,leftthejuvenilestothemselves,theweatherbeinghot,weadjournedtoalibrarywhichhadonelargewindowlookingnorth-wards。
  Aftercarousinghereforanhourormore,Iobservedthatashadehadcomeovertheaspectofmyfriend,whohappenedtobeplacedimmediatelyoppositetomyself,andsaidsomethingthatintimatedafearofhisbeingunwell。`No,’saidhe,`Ishallbewellenoughpresently,ifyouwillonlyletmesitwhereyouare,andtakemychair;forthereisaconfoundedhandinsightofmehere,whichhasoftenbotheredmebefore,andnowitwon’tletmefillmyglasswithagoodwill。’Irosetochangeplaceswithhimaccordingly,andhepointedouttomethishandwhich,likethewritingonBelshazzar’swall,disturbedhishourofhilarity。`Sincewesatdown,’hesaid,`Ihavebeenwatchingit-itfascinatesmyeye-itneverstops-pageafterpageisfinishedandthrownonthatheapofMS。,andstillitgoesonunwearied-andsoitwillbetillcandlesarebroughtin,andGodknowshowlongafterthat。Itisthesameeverynight-Ican’tstandasightofitwhenIamnotatmybooks。’-`Somestupid,dogged,engrossingclerk,probably,’exclaimedmyself,orsomeothergiddyyouthinoursociety。`No,boys,’saidourhost,`Iwellknowwhathanditis-’tisWalterScott’s。’Thiswasthehandthat,intheeveningsofthreesummerweeks,wrotethetwolastvolumesofWaverley。’’-Fromthe_MemoirsofSirWalterScott_by
  =TotheKing’sMostGraciousMajesty。=
  =Sire=-TheAuthorofthisCollectionofWorksofFictionwouldnothavepresumedtosolicitforthemyourMajesty’saugustPatronagewereitnotthattheperusalhasbeensupposedinsomeinstancestohavesucceededinamusinghoursofrelaxation,orrelievingthoseoflanguor,pain,oranxiety,andthereforemusthavesofaraidedthewarmestwishofYourMajesty’sheart,bycontributinginhoweversmalladegreetothehappinessofyourPeople。
  TheyarethereforehumblydedicatedtoyourMajesty,agreeablytoyourGracious
  Aboon,above。
  Haggis,aScotchpuddingmadeofmincedmeat,oatmeal,onions,etc。
  Hallan,partitionatthedoorway。
  Hantle,agoodmany。
  HeckandManger,toliveinprodigalityandunconcern,reckless。
  Her,_Highland,_my,Hernainsel,_Highland,_himself。
  Hership,plunder。