of the skirmish at Drumclog, from a Cameronian pub'lication of the period. In another note he introduces the venerable enthusiast from whom the tale of Old Mortality is named; and quotes an epitaph preserved by his industry in the church-yard of Lesmahagow+, very similar in taste and spirit to the monumental inscription over John Balfour, transcribed by Jedediah Cleishbotham. Francis Stuart, a private in the horse-guards, is spoken of in the Memoirs as the Earl of Bothwell's grandson; but the editor supposes him to have been a degree further removed, as he is stated to be in the novel ‡.

But to explore all the sources of information which the novelist and poet have used in common; to trace out their footsteps in every spot which, from time to time, they have selected as vantage ground for their invention, would be a wearisome and interminable task. Nor shall I detain you long by pressing the inferences to be drawn from their frequent recurrence to the same authors for the purpose of quotation, though a few words on this subject will perhaps not appear superfluous.

Both writers occasionally borrow a phrase, verse, or sentence from the Latin classics. The old Patavinian§,' Titus Livius, in particular, is much talked of in Waverley, and is bantered on his prodigies by the author of Marmion. Among the French historical writers, Froissart and Brantome are particularly distinguished. Of British

* Swift, ut supra, vol. x. p. 128.

+ Ibid. p. 160, 1. Tales of My Landlord, First Series, vol. iv. ch. 15.

Swift, ut supra, vol. x. p. 124. Tales of My Landlord, First Series, vol. ii. ch. 9.

§ Waverley, vol. i. ch. 6.

|| Introductory Epistle to canto vi.

6

authors, the principal favourites are the elder dramatists, particularly Shakspeare, Jonson, and Beaumont and Fletcher, and these in their comic rather than their tragic" productions; the writers of comedy from the Restoration to the early part of the last century; the old Scottish poets*; Spenser; and above all the great John Dryden†,' who, I believe, of all writers, is the most frequently quoted and mentioned in terms of admiration by the novelist and poet throughout their works. Swift, on the other hand, is less frequently referred to than might be expected. Pope's Iliad and Odyssey are often resorted to for extracts. Somerville is several times complimented in the same manner. Home's Douglas is frequently quoted. The Arabian Nights' Entertainments, and other Eastern tales that have been naturalized in our country, (and to these I may add the English Oriental tale of Vathek‡,) supply both writers with some fanciful allusions. It is not, I think, unreasonable to suppose that the detail in Waverley of the hero's favourite studies, may afford a view (of course very partial and imperfect) of the novelist's own§.

The frequent and complimentary notice of contemporary poets has been already pointed out as a characteristic habit of the author of Waverley, and the author of Marmion has nearly the same favourites. He mentions Campbell with

*The same two lines,

"O Douglas! Douglas!
Tender and true,"

are introduced from the old poem of The Howlet, in Marmion (canto v. st. 16), and The Abbot (vol. iii. ch. 8). They are made use of, on both occasions, in the body of the dialogue.

+ Bride of Lammermoor, vol. i. ch. 8.

Referred to in Guy Mannering, vol. i. ch. 19. Paul's Letters, letter xiv.

§ Waverley, vol. i. ch. 3.

distinguished praise*; from Wordsworth he cites the lines which also appear in the title-page of Rob Roy†; he quotes with expressions of high admiration Mr. Coleridge's Ancient Mariner‡, a poem referred to in a manner no less flattering by the novelist §, who quotes it at least twice ||. We find in Paul's Letters a specimen of the same poet's translation of Schiller's Wallenstein introduced with warm commendations ¶; and other extracts occur in the novels**. Southey's Thalaba, which is frequently quoted by the author of Waverley, is alluded to in Paul's Letters††. Crabbe, who is so often cited by the novelist, is at least closely studied by the poet, who has published an avowed imitation of his style. I find in Guy Mannering §§ a spirited passage from Dr. Leyden, who is so repeatedly and affectionately mentioned by the author of Marmion. The very frequent notice and warm praise of Miss Baillie's works by the author of Waverley, have been already observed upon. The author of Marmion is, if possible, a more constant and enthusiastic eulogist of that highly-gifted lady; uniting in his language the expressions of cordial friendship with those of applauding criticism. Shakspeare's lyre, he says, had

* See particularly Marmion, canto v. note 1. Paul's Letters, letter ii.

† Rokeby, canto iv. note 6.

Lord of the Isles, canto i. note 9.

§ Monastery, vol. i. c. 11.

Again, in The Bride of Lammermoor, vol. i. ch. 9.
¶ Letter xv.

** Guy Mannering, vol. i. ch. 4. Kenilworth, vol. ii. ch. 6. ++ Letter xv.

The Poacher. Miscellaneous Poems, Edinburgh, 1820. §§ Vol. i. ch. 8.

-Silent hung

By silver Avon's holy shore,

Till twice an hundred years roll'd o'er ;
When she, the bold Enchantress, came
With fearless hand and heart on flame!
From the pale willow snatch'd the treasure,
And swept it with a kindred measure,
Till Avon's swans, while rung the grove
With Monfort's hate and Basil's love,
Awakening at the inspired strain,

Deem'd their own Shakespeare lived again."

In another place she is mentioned as 'my gifted friend, Miss Joanna Baillie, whose dramatic works display such ⚫ intimate acquaintance with the operations of human pas'sion.' The lines quoted in Paul's Letters as those of • our admired friend,' are, I believe, Miss Baillie's; and in a note on Absalom and Achitophel she is styled 'the ' reviver of tragedy‡.' Can poetical ambition form a higher wish, than to merit such praises, and to receive them at such a hand?

It is a remarkable feature in the characters of both these writers, that, while they very seldom speak of a contemporary in terms of dispraise, they appear to feel a peculiar delight and pride in complimenting those who possess any title to their attention, either as personal friends, or as ornaments of general society. The introductory epistles in Marmion, addressed to gentlemen having both recommendations, were an early and marked proof of this disposition in the poet. Similar instances, though of a less finished and

* Rokeby, canto i. note 2.

+ Letter ix.

Note iii. Dryden's Works, vol. ix.

elaborate description, abound in his other works, and particularly in his notes, prefaces, and introductions. The author of Waverley indulges his honest enthusiasm for merit and talent in his contemporaries and friends at the risk, I think, sometimes of betraying his secret. Among the many names which he has mentioned with characteristic warmth of commendation (and some of them with the kindness of old acquaintance) are those of his friends Wilkie ' and Allan*;' of Raeburn and Chantrey+; of Miss Edgeworth, Mrs. Hamilton, and Mrs. Grant §; of Mackenzie; of the author of Marriage, a novel¶; of Mr. Chalmers, the historian of Queen Mary**; and of the secretary to the Antiquarian Society in Scotland, the 'best amateur draftsman (says the novelist) in that kingdom++. Dr. Graham, of Aberfoil, receives honourable mention for his urbanity and communicative disposition, and for his stores of legendary lore‡‡. And a niche is found for Mr. John Ballantyne, the novelist's publisher, who is good-humouredly remembered, if I am not mistaken, in more than one passage §§.

I do not, however, find that the author of Marmion has hitherto in any of his productions taken notice of the author

* Heart of Mid-Lothian, vol. iv. ch. 5.

+ Waverley, vol. iii. ch. 23. Kenilworth, vol. iii. ch. 12. Waverley, concluding chapter. Monastery-Answer to

Captain Clutterbuck.

§ Waverley, concluding chapter.

Il Ibid.

¶ Tales of My Landlord, First Series, vol. iv. conclusion. ** Abbot, vol. iii. ch. 10.

++ Introduction to Ivanhoe.

‡‡ Rob Roy, vol. iii. ch. 3.

§§ Answer to Captain Clutterbuck, Introduction to the Monastery. And (as I suppose) in the Introduction to the First Series of Tales of My Landlord.