98 ANDREW JACKSON HOWE. 



ioning her causes. His burning patriotism bursts forth 

 in the lines 



" Breathes there a man with soul so dead, 

 Who never to himself hath said, 



This is my own, my native land?" 



In early life, Walter Scott was physically feeble, 

 and a sickness resulted in a lameness which always 

 continued. In manhood he was robust and jolly, but 

 in the last years of his life he became a paralytic, and 

 died at the age of sixty-one, at Abbotsford. His re- 

 mains were buried beside those of his wife, in Dry burg 

 Abbey. As a student, the youthful Scott was easy to 

 learn, and possessed a remarkably good memory. He 

 took to modern languages, and knew little of the 

 classics. 



Through the influence of distinguished friends, 

 young Scott obtained a lucrative office at Selkirk. 

 Having much leisure, he read much, and began to try 

 his talents at ballad writing. At twenty-five he was 

 established on a liberal salary in Edinburgh, and there 

 wrote Border Minstrelsy. At thirty-two he gave to 

 the world The Lay of the Last Minstrel, and stepped 

 to the front as a popular writer. Then in rapid suc- 

 cession came Marmion and The Lady of the Lake. 



At twenty-six he married, and lived happily with 

 his wife during her lifetime. Sometimes they dwelt 

 in Edinburgh, and sometimes in the country. As 

 Scott's fortune grew, a desire developed to have a 

 home in a rustic neighborhood. After consulting the 

 wishes of his consort, the admirer of rural scenes 

 bought a farm-house on the " Border," and converted 

 the estate into "Abbotsford," as he christened his 

 growing mansion. On some broad acres of alluvial 



