“Yours I have just received in mine office at the
Register-House, which will excuse this queer sheet of paper. The publication of
Rokeby was delayed till
Monday, to give the London publishers a fair start. My copies, that is, my
friends’, were all to be got off about Friday or Saturday; but yours may
have been a little later, as it was to be what they call a picked one.
| PUBLICATION OF ROKEBY. | 39 |
“Your horrid story reminds me of one in Galloway,
where the perpetrator of a similar enormity on a poor idiot girl, was
discovered by means of the print of his foot which he left upon the clay floor
of the cottage in the death-struggle. It pleased Heaven (for nothing short of a
miracle could have done it) to enlighten the understanding of an old ram-headed
sheriff, who was usually nick-named Leather-head. The
steps which he took to discover the murderer were most sagacious. As the poor
girl was pregnant (for it was not a case of violation), it was pretty clear
that her paramour had done the deed, and equally so that he must be a native of
the district. The sheriff caused the minister to advertise from the pulpit that
the girl would be buried on a particular day, and that all persons in the
neighbourhood were invited to attend the funeral, to show their detestation of
such an enormous crime, as well as to
| 40 | LIFE OF SIR WALTER SCOTT. |
“On calling at Ballantyne’s, I find, as I had anticipated, that your copy, being of royal size, requires some particular nicety in hot-pressing. It will be sent by the Carlisle mail quam primum. Ever yours,
“P.S. Love to Mrs Morritt. John Ballantyne says he has just about eighty copies left, out of 3250, this being the second day of publication, and the book a two guinea one.”
