Memoirs of the Life of Sir Walter Scott, Bart.
Walter Scott to John Ballantyne, [April 1817]
“Abbotsford, Monday. [April, 1817.]
“I have a good subject for a work of fiction
in petto. What do you think Constable would give for a smell of it? You
ran away without taking leave the other morning, or I wished to have spoken to
you about it. I don’t mean a continuation of Jedediah, because there might be some delicacy
in putting that by the
| ROB ROY PROJECTED—MAY, 1817. | 67 |
original publishers. You may write if any thing occurs to you on this subject.
It will not interrupt my History. By the way, I have a great lot of the Register ready for delivery, and no
man asks for it. I shall want to pay up some cash at Whitsunday, which will
make me draw on my brains. Yours truly,
John Ballantyne (1774-1821)
Edinburgh publisher and literary agent for Walter Scott; he was the younger brother of
the printer James Ballantyne.
Archibald Constable (1774-1827)
Edinburgh bookseller who published the
Edinburgh Review and works
of Sir Walter Scott; he went bankrupt in 1826.