In stature, Sir Walter Scott was above six feet; but his form which had otherwise been commanding, was marred by the lameness of his right limb, which caused him considerably to limp, and ultimately to walk with difficulty. His countenance, so correctly represented in his portraits and busts, was remarkable for depth of forehead; his features have been described. His eyes, covered with thick eyelashes, were dull, unless animated by congenial conversation. He was of a fair complexion; and his hair, originally sandy, became grey after a severe illness which he suffered in his forty-eighth year. His conversation abounded in anecdotes of the old times. His memory treasured up accurately, and could readily recall, all that he had read. In fertility of invention he surpassed all his contemporaries. As a poet, if he does not possess the graceful elegance of Campbell and the fervid energy of Byron, he excels the latter in purity of sentiment, and the former in vigour of conception. His style was well adapted for the composition of lyric poetry; but as he had no ear for music, his songs are few. Several of them have been set to music, and are frequently sung. But Sir Walter's skill as a poet, great as it is, has been eclipsed by his power as a writer of fiction; the Waverley Novels will be forgotten only when the English language is disused. A cabinet edition of his novels, illustrated with elegant engravings, appeared in forty-eight volumes shortly before his decease. Numerous editions were issued by Mr Cadell; and Messrs Adam and Charles Black, the present possessors of the copyright, have distinguished themselves not only by producing several elegant library editions, but by placing within reach of the humblest artisan those instructive, interesting, and admirable works. From a gentleman, who was many years manager of Mr Cadell's publishing house, we have received some details respecting the production of Sir Walter's publications, which seem worthy of being recorded. Down to October 1856 there had, writes our informant, been printed of his Works and Life, 7,967,369 volumes, in which had been used 99,592 reams of paper, weighing 1245 tons. Mr Cadell's "People's Editions" exhausted 227,631 reams, or 2848 tons. The gross weight of paper in Mr Cadell's original and cheap editions amounted to 4093 tons. The sheets of paper used in the entire works were 106,542,438, which, laid side by side, would cover 3363 square miles.
Sir Walter Scott lived at a period when indifference to religion among men of letters, even in Scotland, was by no means uncommon, and many of his contemporaries were, it is to be feared, most imperfectly influenced with proper views of Christian obligation. With sentiments of indifference on a theme so important, Sir Walter had no sympathy. While contemning sectarian exclusiveness, and abhorring superstition, he was zealous in maintaining sound Scriptural doctrine, and he discouraged the utterance of every sentiment which savoured of profanity or bordered on scepticism. His "Religious Discourses," published anonymously, indicate deep moral earnestness, while his hymn on the "Day of Judgment" attests the sincerity of his devotion.
Desirous that these brief memorials might contain some additional testimony to the religious earnestness of one who occupies so prominent a place in national and literary history, we requested our venerated friend Dean Ramsay to state his impressions of Sir Walter's personal bearing during his residence at Abbotsford after Lady Scott's death, and before her funeral. To our request the Dean, with his usual courtesy, acceded. He writes thus:
"You ask me the impression left on my mind by my visit to Abbotsford on the occasion of Lady Scott's death. It is indeed a very easy and a very pleasing office to give you that impression. I could not but feel all the time I was there that our great Sir Walter was as much to be loved for the qualities of his heart as he had been admired for the high gifts of his intellect and his genius. He displayed throughout the whole time the subdued and calm spirit of a Christian mourner. There was manifest an entire acquiescence in the wisdom and goodness of his heavenly Father, who had bereaved him of the wife and companion of his early years. His kind, gentle manner to his domestics; his devoted attention to his daughter, who was in deep distress; his serious appearance during the funeral service; his own proposal in the evening to have domestic worship, and his devotional manner at the time, have left a deep and pleasing impression on my mind—the impression that I had witnessed so much gentleness and so much right feeling, which, I could not but perceive, were the genuine emotions of his heart. Sir Walter Scott was one of the good and the great of his race and country."
During his last illness, Sir Walter desired portions of the New Testament and of the Church Service to be frequently read to him, and when free of pain he repeated portions of the Scottish version of the Psalms and of evangelical hymns. To Mr Lockhart, his son-in-law, he said: "Be a good man-be virtuous-be religious-be a good man! Nothing else will give you any comfort when you come to lie here." These were among his last words.
For sterling integrity, Sir Walter Scott requires no eulogy from his biographer. To the effort to cancel his pecuniary obligations he fell a martyr; while to his survivors it was a source of satisfaction to know that, by his extraordinary exertions, the policy of life insurance payable at his death, and the sum of £30,000 given by Mr Cadell for copyrights, his debt was fully discharged.
The object of his original ambition, Sir Walter did not attain: no family of his descent and name has been planted at Abbotsford to point to him as their founder. His children, two sons and two daughters, died young. His eldest daughter, Sophia, married to Mr Lockhart, gave birth to several children, all of whom are dead. Her only daughter married Mr James Hope, Q.C., who has added to his patronymic the name of Scott, and made Abbotsford his autumnal residence. Mrs Hope Scott died at Edinburgh on the 26th October 1858, leaving three children. One child, a daughter, Mary Monica, survives, Sir Walter's only living descendant.
But Sir Walter has obtained posthumous honours far exceeding those of establishing a landed family in Tweedside. His name is imperishable in his works-of which the popularity is steadily on the increase. Nor have his fellow-countrymen lacked in evincing their vigorous appreciation. Besides several local memorials of respectable construction, the most graceful monument ever raised by human instrumentality, has been dedicated to his memory.
An account of that monument will form no inappropriate sequel to the present narrative. On the 24th day of September 1832, being the third day after Sir Walter's death, a circular letter was issued convening a meeting at the Rooms of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, to consider the best means of honouring his memory. At this meeting a committee was appointed to arrange a convocation of the citizens. This took place on the 5th of October, under the presidency of the Lord Provost, when a resolution in favour of a national monument to Sir Walter, was moved by the Duke of Buccleuch, and seconded by Lord Rosebery. Sir John Forbes, Bart., announced that the Bank of Scotland and other banks in Edinburgh, Sir Walter's creditors, would subscribe £500, in token of their appreciation of the honourable feelings which induced the deceased Baronet to dedicate his talents in insuring the full payment of his debts. Differences arose as to the character of the monument By a London Committee, of which the Bishop of Exeter and Sir Robert Peel were conspicuous members, nearly £10,000 were collected. A portion of this sum was embezzled by a young person unhappily intrusted with the secretaryship. The balance, amounting to nearly £8000, was employed in liquidating the debt on the library and museum at Abbotsford. At Glasgow the subscriptions amounted to about £1200, and a handsome Corinthian column, surmounted with a statue, has been erected in the chief square of that city, which is likewise adorned with elegant monuments to royal personages and national celebrities.
In the market-place at Selkirk, a statue in freestone, by Handyside Ritchie, commemorates Sir Walter in his capacity of Sheriff of "The Forest."