Page:A biographical dictionary of eminent Scotsmen, vol 7.djvu/102

238 The principal assets which he could present against the large claims now made upon him, were the mansion and grounds of Abbotsford, which he had entailed upon his son, at the marriage of that young gentleman to Miss Jobson of Lochore, but in a manner now found invalid, and which were burdened by a bond for £10,000. He had also his house in Edinburgh, and the furniture of both mansions. His creditors proposed a composition; but his honourable nature, and perhaps a sense of reputation, prevented him from listening to any such'scheme. "No, gentlemen," said he, quoting a favourite Spanish proverb, "Time and I against any two. Allow me time, and I will endeavour to pay all" A trust-deed was, accordingly, executed in favour of certain gentlemen, whose duties were to receive the funds realized by our author's labours, and gradually pay off the debts, with interest, by instalments. He likewise insured his life, with the sanction of his trustees, for the sum of 22,000, by which a post-obit interest to that amount was secured to his creditors. He was the better enabled to carry into execution the schemes of retrenchment which he had resolved on, by the death of lady Scott, in May, 1826. Her ladyship had born to him two sons and two daughters; of the latter of whom, the elder had been married, in 1820, to Mr J. G. Lockhart, advocate.

Sir Walter was engaged, at the time of his bankruptcy, in the composition of a Life of Napoleon Bonaparte, which was originally designed to fill only four volumes, but eventually extended to nine. In the autumn of 1826, he paid a visit to Pajus, in company with his youngest and only unmarried daughter, in order to acquaint himself with several historical and local details, requisite for the work upon which he was engaged. On this occasion, he was received with distinguished kindness by the reigning monarch, Charles X. The "Life of Napoleon" appeared in summer, 1827; and, though too bulky to be very popular, and perhaps too hastily written to bear the test of rigid criticism, it was understood to produce to its author a sum little short of £12,000. This, with other earnings and accessory resources, enabled him to pay a dividend of six shillings and eightpence to his creditors.

Till this period, Sir Walter Scott had made no avowal to the public of his being the author of that long series of prose fictions, which had for some years engaged so much of public attention. It being no longer possible to preserve his incognito, he permitted himself, at a dinner for the benefit of the Edinburgh Theatrical Fund, February 23, 1827, to be drawn into a disclosure of the secret On his health being proposed by lord Meadonbank, as the "Great Unknown," now unknown no longer, he acknowledged the compliment in suitable terms, and declared himself, unequivocally, to be the sole author of what were called the Waverley Novels.

About the same time, the copyright of all his past novels was brought to the hammer, as part of the bankrupt stock of Messrs Constable and Company. It was bought by Mr Robert Cadell, of the late firm of Archibald Constable and Company, and who was now once more engaged in the bookselling business, at £8,400, for the purpose of republishing the whole of these delightful works in a cheap uniform series of volumes, illustrated by notes and prefaces, and amended in many parts by the finishing touches of the author. Sir Walter or his creditors were to have half the profits, in consideration of his literary aid.

This was a most fortunate design. The new edition began to appear in June, 1829; and such was its adaptation to the public convenience, and the eagerness of all ranks of people to contribute in a way convenient to themselves towards the reconstruction of the author's fortunes, that the sale soon reached an average of twenty-three thousand copies. To give the reader an idea of the