...
As bitter as gall, and as sharp as a razor,
And feeding on herbs as a Nebuchadnezzar,
His diet too acid, his temper too sour,
Little Ritson came out with his two volumes more.
But one volume more, my friends, one volume more,
We’ll dine on roast beef, and print one volume more.”
One noble specimen of the Bannatyne Club books was the “Catalogue of the Library of Abbotsford,” presented to the members by Major Sir Walter Scott, December 1838. This Catalogue was prepared by Mr. Cochrane of the London Library.