FICTION, FAIR AND FOUL. II. He hated greetings in the market-place, and there were generally loiterers in the streets to persecute him either about the events of the day, or about some petty pieces of business.' These lines, which the reader will find near the beginning of the sixteenth chapter of the first volume of the Antiquary, contain two indications of the old man's character, which, receiving the ideal of him as a portrait of Scott himself, are of extreme interest to me. They mean essentially that neither Monkbarns nor Scott had any mind to be called of men, Rabbi, in mere hearing of the mob; and especially that they hated to be drawn back out of their far-away thoughts, or forward out of their long-ago thoughts, by any manner of 'daily' news, whether printed or gabbled. Of which two vital characteristics, deeper in both the men, (for I must always speak of Scott's creations as if they were as real as himself,) than any of their superficial vanities, or passing enthusiasms, I have to speak more at another time. I quote the passage just now, because there was one piece of the daily news of the year 1815 which did extremely interest Scott, and materially direct the labour of the latter part of his life; nor is there any piece of history in this whole nineteenth century quite so pregnant with various instruction as the study of the reasons which influenced Scott and Byron in their opposite views of the glories of the battle of Waterloo. But I quote it for another reason also. The principal greeting which Mr. Oldbuck on this occasion receives in the market-place, being compared with the speech of Andrew Fairservice, examined in my first paper, will furnish me with the text of what I have mainly to say in the present one. "Mr. Oldbuck," said the town-clerk (a more important person, who came in front and ventured to stop the old gentleman), "the provost, understanding you were in town, begs on no account that you'll quit it without seeing him; he wants to speak to ye about bringing the water frae the Fairwell spring through a part o' your lands." ""What the deuce !—have they nobody's land but mine to cut and carve on ?—I won't consent, tell them." 1 "And the provost," said the clerk, going on, without noticing the rebuff, "and the council, wad be agreeable that you should hae the auld stanes at Donagild's Chapel, that ye was wussing to hae." "Eh ?—what?-Oho! that's another story-Well, well, I'll call upon the provost, and we'll talk about it." "But ye maun speak your mind on't forthwith, Monkbarns, if ye want the stanes; for Deacon Harlewalls thinks the carved throughstanes might be put with advantage on the front of the new councilhouse-that is, the twa cross-legged figures that the callants used to ca' Robbin and Bobbin, ane on ilka door-cheek; and the other stane, that they ca'd Ailie Dailie, abune the door. It will be very tastefu', the Deacon says, and just in the style of modern Gothic." ""Good Lord deliver me from this Gothic generation!" exclaimed the Antiquary," a monument of a knight-templar on each side of a Grecian porch, and a Madonna on the top of it!-0 crimini !— Well, tell the provost I wish to have the stones, and we'll not differ about the water-course. It's lucky I happened to come this way today." 'They parted mutually satisfied; but the wily clerk had most reason to exult in the dexterity he had displayed, since the whole proposal of an exchange between the monuments (which the council had determined to remove as a nuisance, because they encroached three feet upon the public road) and the privilege of conveying the water to the burgh, through the estate of Monkbarns, was an idea which had originated with himself upon the pressure of the moment.' In this single page of Scott, will the reader please note the kind of prophetic instinct with which the great men of every age mark and forecast its destinies? The water from the Fairwell is the future Thirlmere carried to Manchester; the 'auld stanes' at Donagild's The following fragments out of the letters in my own possession, written by Scott to the builder of Abbotsford, as the outer decorations of the house were in process of completion, will show how accurately Scott had pictured himself in Monkbarns. 'Abbotsford: April 21, 1817. 'Dear Sir,-Nothing can be more obliging than your attention to the old stones. You have been as true as the sundial itself.' [The sundial had just been erected.] 'Of the two I would prefer the larger one, as it is to be in front of a parapet quite in the old taste. But in case of accidents it will be safest in your custody till I come to town again on the 12th of May. Your former favours (which were weighty as acceptable) have come safely out here, and will be disposed of with great effect.' 'Abbotsford: July 30. 'I fancy the Tolbooth still keeps its feet, but, as it must soon descend, I hope you will remember me. I have an important use for the niche above the door; and though many a man has got a niche in the Tolbooth by building, I believe I am the first that ever got a niche out of it on such an occasion. For which I have to thank your kindness, and to remain very much your obliged humble servant, 'WALTER SCOTT.' Chapel, removed as a nuisance, foretell the necessary view taken by modern cockneyism, Liberalism, and progress, of all things that remind them of the noble dead, of their fathers' fame, or of their own duty; and the public road becomes their idol, instead of the saint's shrine. Finally, the roguery of the entire transaction-the mean man seeing the weakness of the honourable, and besting' him-in modern slang, in the manner and at the pace of modern trade on the pressure of the moment.' But neither are these things what I have at present quoted the passage for. I quote it, that we may consider how much wonderful and various history is gathered in the fact, recorded for us in this piece of entirely fair fiction, that in the Scottish borough of Fairport, (Montrose, really), in the year 17— of Christ, the knowledge given by the pastors and teachers provided for its children by enlightened Scottish Protestantism, of their fathers' history, and the origin of their religion, had resulted in this substance and sum;-that the statues of two crusading knights had become, to their children, Robin and Bobbin; and the statue of the Madonna, Ailie Dailie. A marvellous piece of history, truly: and far too comprehensive for general comment here. Only one small piece of it I must carry forward the readers' thoughts upon. The pastors and teachers aforesaid, (represented typically in another part of this errorless book by Mr. Blattergowl) are not, whatever else they may have to answer for, answerable for these The names are of the children's own choosing and bestowing, names. 'My dear Sir,-I trouble you with this [sic] few lines to thank you for the very accurate drawings and measurements of the Tolbooth door, and for your kind promise to attend to my interest and that of Abbotsford in the matter of the Thistle and Fleur de Lis. Most of our scutcheons are now mounted, and look very well, as the house is something after the model of an old hall (not a castle), where such things are well in character.' [Alas-Sir Walter, Sir Walter !] I intend the old lion to predominate over a well which the children have christened the Fountain of the Lions. His present den, however, continues to be the hall at Castle Street.' 'September 5. ‘Dear Sir,—I am greatly obliged to you for securing the stone. I am not sure that I will put up the gate quite in the old form, but I would like to secure the means of doing so. The ornamental stones are now put up, and have a very happy effect. If you will have the kindness to let me know when the Tolbooth door comes down, I will send in my carts for the stones; I have an admirable situation for it. I suppose the door itself' [he means, the wooden one] will be kept for the new jail; if not, and not otherwise wanted, I would esteem it curious to possess it. Certainly I hope so many sore hearts will not pass through the celebrated door when in my possession as heretofore.' 6 'September 8. 'I should esteem it very fortunate if I could have the door also, though I suppose it is modern, having been burned down at the time of Porteous-mob. 'I am very much obliged to the gentlemen who thought these remains of the Heart of Midlothian are not ill bestowed on their intended possessor.' but not of the children's own inventing. Robin' is a classically endearing cognomen, recording the errant heroism of old daysthe name of the Bruce and of Rob Roy. 'Bobbin' is a poetical and symmetrical fulfilment and adornment of the original phrase. "Ailie' is the last echo of Ave,' changed into the softest Scottish christian name familiar to the children, itself the beautiful feminine form of royal' Louis;' the 'Dailie' again symmetrically added for kinder and more musical endearment. The last vestiges, you see, of honour for the heroism and religion of their ancestors, lingering on the lips of babes and sucklings. But what is the meaning of this necessity the children find themselves under of completing the nomenclature rhythmically and rhymingly? Note first the difference carefully, and the attainment of both qualities by the couplets in question. Rhythm is the syllabic and quantitative measure of the words, in which Robin, both in weight and time, balances Bobbin; and Dailie holds level scale with Ailie. But rhyme is the added correspondence of sound; unknown and undesired, so far as we can learn, by the Greek Orpheus, but absolutely essential to, and, as special virtue, becoming titular of, the Scottish Thomas. 2 The Ryme,' you may at first fancy, is the especially childish part of the work. Not so. It is the especially chivalric and Christian part of it. It characterises the Christian chant or canticle, as a higher thing than a Greek ode, melos, or hymnos, or than a Latin carmen. Think of it; for this again is wonderful! That these children of Montrose should have an element of music in their souls which Homer had not,-which a melos of David the Prophet and King had not,which Orpheus and Amphion had not,—which Apollo's unrymed oracles became mute at the sound of. A strange new equity this,—melodious justice and judgment as it were, in all words spoken solemnly and ritualistically by Christian human creatures ;-Robin and Bobbin-by the Crusader's tomb, up to' Dies iræ, dies illa,' at judgment of the crusading soul. You have to understand this most deeply of all Christian minstrels, from first to last; that they are more musical, because more joyful, than any others on earth: ethereal minstrels, pilgrims of the sky, true to the kindred points of heaven and home; their joy essentially the sky-lark's, in light, in purity; but, with their human eyes, looking for the glorious appearing of something in the sky, which the bird cannot. This it is that changes Etruscan murmur into Terza rima— Horatian Latin into Provençal troubadour's melody; not, because less artful, less wise. Here is a little bit, for instance, of French ryming just before 2 Henceforward, not in affectation, but for the reader's better convenience, I shall continue to spell Ryme' without our wrongly added h. Chaucer's time-near enough to our own French to be intelligible to us yet. 'O quant très-glorieuse vie, Quant cil qui tout peut et maistrie, The only law of metre, observed in this song, is that each line shall be octosyllabic: Qui fut tousjours | fresche et | nouvelle, D'autrement vi | vret de | bien (ben) plaire. Et pen soit den | tendret | de taire But the reader must note that words which were two-syllabled in Latin mostly remain yet so in the French. La vie de Marthe | sa mie, although mie, which is pet language, loving abbreviation of amica through amie, remains monosyllabic. But vie elides its e before a Vowel : Car Mar- the me | nait vie | active Et Ma- ri-e | contemplative; and custom endures many exceptions. Thus Marie may be threesyllabled as above, or answer to mie as a dissyllable; but vierge is always, I think, dissyllabic, vier-ge, with even stronger accent on the -ge, for the Latin -go. Then, secondly, of quantity, there is scarcely any fixed law. The metres may be timed as the minstrel chooses-fast or slow—and the iambic current checked in reverted eddy, as the words chance to come. But, thirdly, there is to be rich ryming and chiming, no matter |