SCOTT 



5267 



SCOTT 



mous." Marmion followed, and was even more 

 enthusiastically received; the swinging lines, as 

 one biographer has said, "took possession of the 

 public like a kind of madness; people could 

 not help spouting them in solitary places and 

 muttering them as they walked about the 

 streets." Scott himself was astonished at his 

 success, which was repeated in 1810 on the pub- 

 lication of The Lady of the Lake, which drew 

 crowds of tourists to the scenes it described and 

 raised the post-horse duty in Scotland. 



In 1804 Scott removed from Lasswade to the 

 banks of the Tweed, where seven years later he 

 bought a farm of one hundred acres, with an 



to return to the prose romance, strengthened in 

 his purpose by the fact that Byron was surpass- 

 ing him in his own field in poetry. In 1814 

 Waverley appeared anonymously, and the ear- 

 lier success of the poetry was duplicated. The 

 "Great Unknown" was discussed on all sides, 

 and although before long the secret became an 

 open one, it was not until 1827 that Scott for- 

 mally acknowledged the authorship. In in- 

 credibly rapid succession appeared the volumes 

 in the long series of Waverley Novels, two 

 often appearing in one year. Indeed, even to 

 those who were practically certain that they 

 were from Scott's pen, it seemed impossible 



ABBOTSFORD, THE "ROMANCE IN STONE" 



unpretentious cottage. From year to year, as 

 his income warranted, he bought more land, and 

 little by little built up the magnificent castle of 

 Abbotsford, "the romance in stone" which was 

 the pride of the countryside. Not until 1824 

 was it finished. Scott showed the keenest in- 

 terest in every phase of its progress and de- 

 lighted particularly in the library, with its 

 carved oak ceiling and thousands upon thou- 

 sands of books, and the armory, with its notable 

 collection of weapons. 



Abandoned Poetic Form. Scott had felt that 

 poetry was not for him the only possible mode 

 of expression, and as early as 1806 started 

 Waverley, which, however, he laid aside. As 

 he began to realize that the poems which fol- 

 lowed the Lady of the Lake were diminishing 

 rather than increasing his fame, he determined 



that he could produce them, at the same time 

 tending to his official duties, playing the gracious 

 host to the constant stream of visitors at Ab- 

 botsford and writing the things which were at 

 this same time appearing under his own name. 

 Among these novels the most noteworthy were 

 perhaps Guy Mannering, The Heart of Mid- 

 lothian, The Bride of Lammermoor, Ivanhoe, 

 Kenilworth, Quentin Durward and The Talis- 

 man, though to lovers of Scott no one of all the 

 volumes is without its peculiar interest and 

 charm. 



Struggle Against Financial Difficulties. In 

 1820 Scott's fortune seemed assured. The sales 

 of his .books amounted to at least $50,000 a 

 year, he was sought after by the notable and 

 the wealthy, and he had just been created a 

 baronet. His good fortune, however, was built 



