Memoirs of the Life of Sir Walter Scott, Bart.
Walter Scott to James Ballantyne, 28 March 1820
“28th March, 96, Piccadilly.
“I am much obliged by your attentive letter.
Unquestionably Longman and Co. sell
their books at subscription price, because they have the first of the market,
and only one-third of the books; so that, as they say with us,* let them
‘care that come ahint.’
* The general election was going on.
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This I knew and foresaw, and the
ragings of the booksellers, considerably aggravated by the displeasure of
Constable and his house, are
ridiculous enough; and as to their injuring the work, if it have a principle of
locomotion in it, they cannot stop it—if it has not, they cannot make it move.
I care not a bent twopence about their quarrels; only I say now, as I always
said, that Constable’s management is best, both for
himself and the author; and, had we not been controlled by the narrowness of
discount, I would put nothing past him. I agree with the public in thinking the
work not very interesting; but it was written with as much care as the
others—that is, with no care at all; and, ‘If it is na weil bobbit we’ll bobb it again.’
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“On these points I am Atlas. I cannot write much in this bustle of engagements, with
Sir Francis’s mob hollowing
under the windows. I find that even this light composition demands a certain
degree of silence, and I might as well live in a cotton-mill. Lord Sidmouth tells me I will obtain leave to
quit London by the 30th, which will be delightful news, for I find I cannot
bear late hours and great society so well as formerly; and yet it is a fine
thing to hear politics talked of by Ministers of State, and war discussed by
the Duke of Wellington.
“My occasions here will require that John or you send me two notes payable at
Coutts’ for L.300 each, at two
and three months’ date. I will write to Constable for one at L.350, which will settle my affairs here
which, with fees and other matters, come, as you may think, pretty heavy. Let
the bills be drawn payable at Coutts’, and sent
without delay. I will receive them safe if sent under Mr Freeling’s cover. Mention
particularly what you are doing, for now is your time to push miscellaneous
work. Pray take great notice of inaccuracies in the ![]()
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Novels. They are very very many—some mine, I dare say—but all such as you may
and ought to correct. If you would call on William
Erskine (who is your well-wisher, and a little mortified he
never sees you), he would point out some of them.
“Do you ever see Lockhart? You should consult him on every doubt where you would
refer to me if present. Yours very truly.
W. S.
“You say nothing of John, yet I am anxious about him.”
James Ballantyne (1772-1833)
Edinburgh printer in partnership with his younger brother John; the company failed in the
financial collapse of 1826.
John Ballantyne (1774-1821)
Edinburgh publisher and literary agent for Walter Scott; he was the younger brother of
the printer James Ballantyne.
Sir Francis Burdett, fifth baronet (1770-1844)
Whig MP for Westminster (1807-1837) who was imprisoned on political charges in 1810 and
again in 1820; in the 1830s he voted with the Conservatives.
Archibald Constable (1774-1827)
Edinburgh bookseller who published the
Edinburgh Review and works
of Sir Walter Scott; he went bankrupt in 1826.
Thomas Coutts (1735-1822)
Edinburgh-born banker to royalty and aristocracy—and patron of Benjamin Robert Haydon;
his daughter Sophia married Sir Francis Burnett.
William Erskine, Lord Kinneder (1768-1822)
The son of an episcopal clergyman of the same name, he was a Scottish advocate and a
close friend and literary advisor to Sir Walter Scott.
Sir Francis Freeling, first baronet (1764-1836)
Postal reformer and member of the Roxburghe Club; he was secretary to the General Post
Office. He was a friend of William Jerdan and Sir Walter Scott.
John Gibson Lockhart (1794-1854)
Editor of the
Quarterly Review (1825-1853); son-in-law of Walter
Scott and author of the
Life of Scott 5 vols (1838).
Thomas Norton Longman (1771-1842)
A leading London publisher whose authors included Southey, Wordsworth, Scott, and
Moore.
