HIS TRADITIONS. 299 



The reference to Mr Shortrede's London correspond- 

 ent was unavailing. Nothing remained but to foil 

 back upon the scheme of publication by subscription. 

 'I stated/ he writes to Sir Thomas Dick Lauder in 

 June, 1834, 'when I had last the honour of addressing 

 you, that some of my townspeople and acquaintance 

 seemed to be more anxious to see my history in print 

 than I was myself, and that they were urging me to 

 publish it by subscription. It is not difficult to be 

 persuaded to what one half-inclines ; my chief objection 

 to the scheme arose out of a dread of subjecting myself 

 to a charge of meanness by teasing the public into an 

 unfair bargain, giving it a bad book, and pocketing \ 

 money not counterfeit in return. But I am assured 

 that the book is not bad, and that there would therefore 

 be nothing mean or unfair in the transaction ; and the 

 partiality for one's own performances, so natural to the 

 poor author, has rendered the argument a convincing 

 one. I publish therefore by subscription so soon as 

 300 subscribers at 8s. can be procured ; pecuniary 

 advantage forms no part of my scheme ; and though 

 not very sanguine, I trust I shall succeed. . . . If ever ] J 

 my Traditions get abroad I find they will be all the/ 

 better for having stayed so long at home. Since send- 

 ing you my MS. I have thought of alterations which 

 will materially improve some of the chapters.' 



The subscription scheme was attended with com- 

 plete success. Miller's townsmen and friends exerted 

 themselves strenuously in his behalf, and in due time 

 his book saw the light. But we must not anticipate. 



His correspondence, while these negotiations on 

 the subject of his volume were in progress, had been 

 copious, and some portion of it must be laid before 

 the reader. No further introduction is required to 



