Sir W. Scott's Connection with Ashiesteel,byM.iss Russell. 437 



that Sir "Walter and Lady Scott could have entertained the class 

 of people they occasionally did at Ashiesteel. The phrase 

 'farm-house,' which, as used by Sir Walter, would naturally 

 suggest that idea, seems to have had a sort of jocular reference 

 to the sheep farm, which he had in his hands or took some charge 

 of. The house had five outer doors at that time, leading to 

 different additions to the original tower ; there are at present five 

 different dates in the building, though fewer doors. 



The ground-floor room at the end of the west wing was then 

 the drawing-room ; the room over it Lady Scott's bed-room. 



The small study was at that time a store-room and house- 

 keeper's room ; Sir "Walter's writing-room, as in his house in 

 Edinburgh, was the family dining-room ; that was then the 

 square parlour now forming part of the passage ; before the east 

 wing was built it must have had the same south-east aspect that 

 the present drawing-room and dining-room have. 



It had then three windows, those on each side of the fire open- 

 ing down to the ground ; one of these is now a door ; the other, 

 now replaced by .a press, was that by which Sir "Walter's grey- 

 hounds were always going in and out. (The two he had at 

 Ashiesteel were named Douglas and Percy). 



Sir "Walter kept his books in his own dressing-room upstairs ; 

 that has since been altered, which has sometimes be'en regretted ; 

 and it is now a small room off what is called the north bed-room. 

 He had the skull from the cave of Eigg, now in the hall at 

 Abbotsford, on the top of his bookcase there. 



The great leathern arm chair was a present — in those days a 

 very costly one — from Sir "Walter to his cousin, Jane Russell, 

 when she was struck with something that looked like paralysis, 

 after an appalling series of family disasters. She ultimately re- 

 covered entirely, under the influence of Italian mineral waters ; 

 but the chair was always too large to be comfortable for a woman, 

 and too heavy to be readily moved, even on the large wheels be- 

 longing to it. 



The chief interest of it is in the keen pity and sympathy which 

 induced Sir "Walter to spend nearly fifty pounds in getting the 

 then novelty of a folding-chair from London, as the only thing 

 he could possibly do for his cousin ; but it was borrowed for his 

 use during his last illness, at Abbotsford ; and when he was able 

 to sit up at all, it was probably in this chair. 



