RECOLLECTIONS OF SIR WALTER SCOTT. 425 



the eye of no second party should see them. I will not now be po- 

 sitive as to the novel ; but, if I recollect rightly, it was " Anne of 

 Gierstein." This I remember perfectly well, that the work was not 

 published for four weeks afterwards. 



I may here, by way of episode, mention that every possible pre- 

 caution was taken to preserve Sir Walter's incognito, until he himself 

 thought fit to throw it off. Mr. James Ballantme, the printer of the 

 Scotch novels, copied the manuscript over himself, instead of hazard- 

 ing the secret by committing the task to any subordinate in his esta- 

 blishment. And one of the sons of the late respected Mr. Constable, 

 Sir Walter's publisher, mentioned to me on one occasion that, when 

 his father wrote even to Sir Walter himself on the subject of the Wa- 

 verly novels, he never spoke of them in any other terms than as the 

 " novels," " certain popular works,'' or in some such indefinite phraseo- 

 logy. This precaution was taken lest any of Mi-. Constable's letters 

 should accidentally have fallen into the hands of a third party, and 

 thus the secret have escaped. 



Sir Walter possessed an extraordinary memory, especially with 

 respect to old ballads. The number of Scotch ballads he could re- 

 peat without the least hesitation, and without mistaking a word, was 

 almost incredible. I saw enough on the evening in question to sa- 

 tisfy me of this ; but the fact was still further borne out by the state- 

 ments of Mr. Ballantine. Indeed, there was hardly a Scotch ballad 

 of any note that he could not repeat from beginning to end. His 

 memory was remarkably retentive, too, with regard to all literary 

 matters. Whatever he once read, if it deeply interested him, he 

 never afterwards forgot in substance, and, indeed, often for years 

 after he recollected the very words. 



One Herculean part of the labours he perfornked is little known to 

 the world, though it nmst not only have been irksome in itself, but 

 consumed a great portion of his time. 



There was scarcely an hour, certainly not a day, in which some 

 unfledged author was not sending him his manuscript for the pur- 

 pose of getting his opinion as to its merits, or some young writer 

 sending him his maiden printed production with the same view. 

 Two instances of this occurred on the evening in question, and Mr. 

 Ballantine assured me that in almost every instance Sir Walter paid 

 the most respectful attention to such applications. His remarks in 

 such cases were always full of good nature, but were at the same 

 time candid. To him it was the most grateful task to discover and 

 p«>int out excellencies, but he never shrunk from specifying defects. 

 The minuteness of his criticisms, in many instances, showed not only 

 his candour but the remarkable care with which he had read the 

 manuscript or printed book submitted to him. He always concluded 

 in sucli cases by advising the young author, whether embryo or al- 

 ready before the public, to guard against making literature a profes- 

 sion, that is to say, depending for his bread on the fruits of his pen, 

 assuring them that if they did they would find, to their cost, they 

 were leaning on a broken reed. He urged them to pursue literature 

 as a recreation, or a refined source of enjoyment, rather than as a 

 business, adding that, if it were their good fortune to rise to such 



