“The volumes are arrived, and I have been devouring
them, not as a pig does a parcel of grains (by which simile you will judge that
I must be brewing, as indeed I am), putting in its snout, shutting its eyes,
and swallowing as fast as it can without consideration—but as a schoolboy does
a piece of gingerbread; nibbling a little bit here, and a little bit there,
smacking his lips, surveying the number of square inches which still remain for
his gratification, endeavouring to look it into larger dimensions, and making
at every mouthful a tacit vow to protract his enjoyment by restraining his
appetite. Now, therefore—but no! I must first assure you on the part of
Mrs E. that if you cannot, or will
not come to England soon, she must gratify her curiosity and gratitude, by
setting off for Scotland, though at the risk of being tempted to pull caps with
Mrs Scott when she arrives at the end of
her journey. Next, I must request you to convey to Mr Leyden my very sincere acknowledgment for his part of the
precious parcel. How truly vexatious that such a man should embark, not for the
‘fines
Atticæ,’ but for those of Asia; that the Genius of
Scotland, instead of a poor Complaint, and an address in the style of
‘Navis, quæ tibi creditum debes Virgilium—reddas incolumem, precor,’ should
not interfere to
| THE MINSTRELSY—LETTER FROM ELLIS. | 345 |
“You will not, of course, expect that I should as yet give you any thing like an opinion, as a critic, of your volumes; first, because you have thrown into my throat a cate of such magnitude that Cerberus, who had three throats, could not have swallowed a third part of it without shutting his eyes; and secondly, because, although I have gone a little farther than George Nicol the bookseller, who cannot cease exclaiming, “What a beautiful book!” and is distracted with jealousy of your Kelso Bulmer, yet, as I said before, I have not been able yet to digest a great deal of your ‘Border Minstrelsy.’ I have, however, taken such a survey as satisfies me that your plan is neither too comprehensive nor too contracted; that the parts are properly distinct; and that they are (to preserve the painter’s metaphor) made out just as they ought to be. Your introductory chapter is, I think, particularly good; and I was much pleased, although a little surprised, at finding that it was made to serve as a recueil des pièces justificatives to your view of the state of manners among your Borderers, which I venture to say will be more thumbed than any part of the volume.
“You will easily believe that I cast many an anxious
look for the annunciation of ‘Sir Tristrem,’ and will not be surprised that I was at first
rather disappointed at not finding any thing like a solemn engagement to
produce him to the world within some fixed and limited period. Upon reflection,
however, I really think you have judged wisely, and that you have best promoted
the interests of literature, by sending, as the harbinger of the
‘Knight of Leonais,’ a
collection which
| 346 | LIFE OF SIR WALTER SCOTT. |
