Memoirs of the Life of Sir Walter Scott, Bart.
Walter Scott to Archibald Constable, 13 March 1810
“Castle Street, 13th March, 1810.
Dear Sir,
“I am sure if Mr
Hunter is really sorry for the occasion of my long absence from
your shop, I shall be happy to forget all disagreeable circumstances, and visit
it often as a customer and amateur. I think it necessary to add (before
departing from this subject, and I hope for ever), that it is not in my power
to restore our relative situation as author and publishers, because, upon the
breach between us, a large capital was diverted by the
Ballantynes
292 | LIFE OF SIR WALTER SCOTT. | |
from another object, and invested in their present
bookselling concern, under an express assurance from me of such support as my
future publications could give them; which is a pledge not to be withdrawn
without grounds which I cannot anticipate. But this is not a consideration
which need prevent our being friends and well-wishers. Yours truly,
Alexander Gibson Hunter (1771-1812)
The eldest son of David Hunter, of Blackness; he was a Writer to the Signet (1797) who in
1804 became a partner of the Edinburgh bookseller Archibald Constable.