statements concerning Sir Walter Scott. 259 



as to taking his statements about him as final in all cases. 

 It is very inaccurate, though the incident happened in the 

 presence of some of his own family ; but he wrote in 

 London, away from nearly every one who could have 

 answered questions about him. His wife died, after being 

 long in bad health — just about the time the first volume of 

 the original Life was published — five years after the death 

 of her father. 



The real story of the stroke is a curious one, and illustrates 

 the force of will which, Mr Hope Scott says, impressed him 

 more than anything else about everything Sir Walter did. 



Lockhart's statement is that he was engaged, after break- 

 fast, in a conference with an old acquaintance, Miss Young 

 of Hawick, whose memoirs of her father he had (of course) 

 undertaken to coi-rect and revise for publication. That he 

 seemed to be occupied with them for about half-an-hour ; 

 then he arose, as if he wished the lady to go ; but sank 

 down again, with his face slightly distorted. That after 

 some minutes he rose and staggered to the drawing-room, 

 where Miss Violet Lockhart was sitting with Anne Scott, 

 and there fell on the floor. 



That they rushed to his assistance, and that he was bled 

 as soon as a surgeon could be fetched, and further cupped 

 in the evening ; and that he then recovered the power of 

 speech. 



But along with their sister, a younger brother of the 

 writer had come to breakfast with the Scotts, and he 

 remembered vividly how the door burst open, when he was 

 sitting with the two girls, and Sir Walter came into the 

 room, with his face quite drawn on one side, and carrying 

 his watch in his hand. He did not speak, but walked up 

 and down the room. There was no rushing to his assist- 

 ance, if he had wanted it ; for Anne Scott promptly fainted, 

 as ladies did then, and that Violet Lockhart was attending 

 to her, is no doubt the explanation of the very imperfect 

 account of the circumstances, which must have come from 

 her. The gentleman, on the other hand, remained watching 

 Sir Walter in astonishment, and at last he heard him say 

 "Fifteen minutes!" He had suddenly lost the power of 

 speech, but seems to have been aware it would return, and 

 he never seems to have lost it permanently. 



