Sir Walter Scott, página 2 de 5

Edited By George Saintsbury

Introductory Essay and Notes by Andrew Lang

(Note: from Tales Of My Landlord, 3rd Series)

I den fagra trakt av gamla England, som vattnas av floden Don, utbredde sig i forna tider en stor skog. Den betackte storre delen av de vackra kullar och dalar, som ligga mellan Sheffield och den trevna staden Doncaster, och litet av den finns annu kvar vid de sttliga herresatena Wentworth och Warncliff Park samt kring Rotherham. Har hade fordom den i sagorna omtalade Wantleydraken sitt tillhll; har utkampades under Rosornas krig mnga av de haftigaste drabbningarna, och har huserade forr dessa skaror av ridderliga och tappra stigman, vilkas bragder blivit forevigade i engelsk sagen och sng.Denna nejd ar den egentliga skdeplatsen for vr berattelse, och tiden ar slutet av Rickard I:s regering, d denne konungs terkomst frn den lnga fngenskapen var ngot, som hans fortvivlade och under tiden p alla satt fortryckta understar mera langtade efter an vgade hoppas p. Adeln, som under Stefans regering tillvallat sig en otillborlig makt och genom Henrik II:s forsiktiga styrelse knappast terforts till ngon namnvard grad av underkastelse under konungamakten, var nu sjalvsvldigare an ngonsin. Foraktande den engelska regeringens kraftlosa tgarder, befaste adelsmannen sina slott, okade antalet av sina underlydande och lade hela sin omgivning under sin lanshoghet, och var och en sokte med alla till buds stende medel satta sig i spetsen for en sdan vapenmakt, att han kunde bliva en faktor att rakna med i de inre omvalvningar, som tycktes forest.

"Harp of the North! that mouldering long hast hungOn the witch-elm that shades Saint Fillans springAnd down the fitful breeze thy numbers flung,Till envious ivy did around thee cling,Muffling with verdant ringlet every string,O Minstrel Harp, still must thine accents sleep?Mid rustling leaves and fountains murmuring,Still must thy sweeter sounds their silence keep,Nor bid a warrior smile, nor teach a maid to weep?"

The period of "Ivanhoe" is a few months subsequent to "The Talisman." Richard I has abandoned his Crusade, and, after an incarceration in an Austrian prison returns to his English throne to find plots against him headed by his brother John, and also a general state of unrest. Normans and Saxons still quarrel, and the story as a whole gives an admirable picture of feudal times.Ivanhoe is the only son of Cedric the Saxon, and has been disinherited by his father on account of his love for Cedrics ward, the Lady Rowena. lie thereupon goes with King Richard to Palestine and wins renown in the Crusade. He returns to England disguised as a Palmer. Meanwhile his father maintains the ancient Saxon state at his manor of Rotherwood, at odds with the Norman "interlopers." Cedric therefore accords but grudging hospitality to a Norman knight, Sir Brian de Bois-Guilbert, when the latter seeks shelter from a storm, being guided thereto by a pilgrim. During the evening repast, Lady Rowena inquires news of the Crusade and is informed that Ivanhoe has gained fame and the favor of the King. Bois-Guilbert thereupon boasts that he himself would like to meet him at a pending tournament; at which the pilgrim takes up the gage forthe knight ...

"Peveril of the Peak" is an elaborately constructed tale dealing with a pretended Popish plot against Charles II of England, but introducing a great variety of figures and interests, only a few of which can be given in a brief outline.Sir Geoffrey Peveril, currently known as "Peveril of the Peak,"the popular title of all his ancestors from the time of William the Conqueror their natural father, because of their mountain castle in Derbyshire,is an old friend of Major Bridgenorth, a neighbor. Peveril is a Royalist and Bridgenorth a Puritan, but their personal friendship is undisturbed during the troubled days of Civil War; and in fact the Major is able to render his friend great service at this time. It is requited when the Majors wife dies, leaving an infant daughter, Alice, whom Lady Peveril rears like her own; the little girl being the childhoods comrade of Julian Peveril, only heir of the Peak estates.When Alice is in her third year the two families become estranged, in this wise. The Countess of Derby, feudal sovereign of the Isle of Man, having suffered imprisonment at the hands of the Roundheads, causes one of their leaders, William Christian, to be executed ...

The Porteous Riot, which occurred in Edinburgh during the reign of George II, is the historical rallying point of this story of Scotch middle life. The narrative, however, harks back several months and also extends forward some years; the present argument, therefore, will be more intelligible if it gives the facts in their proper order, rather than as set forth in the opening chapters of the novel.David Deans, an honest but stern old Scotch Covenanter and farmer, marries twice in the course of his life, and by each wife has a daughterJeanie being some ten years older than her half-sister, Effie. Jeanie has two suitorsa childhoods playmate, Reuben Butler, now a university graduate and candidate for the ministry; and the dull Laird of Dumbiedikes, who is content to come month in and month out and merely look his admiration. Effie grows up into beautiful girlhood, being called the "Lily of St. Leonards," but is willful and spoiled. Her sister Jeanie has little control over the motherless girl, who secretly frequents dances and other gatherings abhorred by her father ...

"The Antiquary" is an intimate picture of Scotch neighborhood life in its varied phases, from the fishermans hut to the noblemans castle, at the close of the eighteenth century. The popular tumult over the threatened French invasion, following upon the Revolution in that country, is the only hint of historical connection. Jonathan Oldbuck, a gentleman past middle life and of pronounced antiquarian tastes, takes a great liking to a young man known as Lovel, whom he meets on a short journey. Lovel is an army officer, but both his actions and his antecedents are somewhat of a mystery to the curious villagers of Fairport, a seaport town, near Oldbucks country estate. Oldbuck, however, recognizes him to be a gentleman, and invites him to dinner, where he is presented to Sir Arthur Wardour and his daughter, Isabella. The two young people greet as strangers, although they have met before. In fact, Lovel is then in Fairport to urge his suit for the young ladys hand, but a cloud upon his parentage renders him unsuccessful ...

Rob Roy MacGregor was a historical figurean outlaw who "owed his fame in a great measure to his residing on the very verge of the Highlands, and playing such pranks in the beginning of the eighteenth century as are usually ascribed to Robin Hood in the Middle Ages,and that within forty miles of Glasgow." He was implicated in the Jacobite rebellion of 1715 which is the period of this storybut from motives of self-interest.Francis Osbaldistone, the ostensible narrator of this tale, is a young Londoner whose father is a successful merchant and naturally wishes his son to succeed him in the business. But Francis has other ideas, and a quarrel results, in which his father sets him adrift in the world to make his own way, and threatens to disinherit him in favor of Rashleigh Osbaldistone, a Scottish cousin. Francis rides northward on a visit to Rashleighs father, Sir Hildebrand of Osbaldistone Hall. On his way thither he falls in with a nervous traveller named Morris, who afterwards accuses him wrongly of the theft of his bag; but is cleared on the intervention of a supposed cattle-dealer, Campbell ...

In a historical sense " Redgauntlet" is a sequel to Waverley. It takes up the action some eighteen years later, at "that point of time when the Chevalier Charles Edward, though fallen into the sere and yellow leaf, was yet meditating a second attempt, which could scarcely have been more hopeless than his first."Mr. Alexander Fairford, a worthy advocate of Edinburgh, has received into his home, for his son Alans sake, an impulsive young man known as Darsie Latimer. Darsie has an ample income and is assured of a legacy upon reaching the age of twenty-five; but meanwhile knows nothing of his family history and is warned not to venture into England. The two young men have a David and Jonathan affection, although Mr. Fairford eyes Darsies harum-scarum tendencies with disapproval. Alan enters the law, while Darsie sets forth on a jaunt to Dumfries, writing back chatty letters to his friend, who replies in kind.At Solway Firth, Darsie escapes the dangers of tide and quicksand by the intervention of a taciturn stranger, who conducts him grudgingly to an out-of-the-way and mysterious home, where Darsie is sheltered for the night ....

Although France is the scene of this romance, the hero and several other characters are members of the Scottish guard to the French King. The period is that when chivalry and feudalism are passing away, and the governments becoming centralized, Louis XI of France is, in fact, warring against his most powerful vassal, Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy.Quentin Durward, a Scotch youth, comes to Tours, where his uncle is a member of the celebrated Scottish bodyguard, and seeks military service. First, however, he meets the pretended merchant, Maitre Pierre, who is actually King Louis himself; and next the young adventurer narrowly escapes hanging for interfering with a public execution. He is enrolled among the guards and finds favor in Louiss eyes by aiding him against the attack of a frenzied boar, in a hunt.On the same day of the hunt, the Count de Crevecoeur, on behalf of his master, openly renounces allegiance to Louis, and also demands the surrender of Isabelle de Croye, the Dukes ward, who has fled from Burgundy to escape a political marriage ...

The scene of "A Legend of Montrose" is laid "during the period of that great and bloody Civil War which agitated Britain during the 17th century," and which finally cost Charles I his kingdom and head. In the Scottish Highlands the struggle lay between the Covenanters who adhered to the Royalist cause, and the Presbyterians; the field being further complicated by private feuds and the presence of outlaw clans.Dugald Dalgetty, a boastful soldier of fortune, meets the Earl of Menteith, who persuades him to join the Royalist army. They remain overnight at Darnlinvaroch Castle, where Dalgetty is told the story of Angus and Allan McAulay and their troubles at the hands of outlaws. Allan, who is of gloomy nature, is soothed by the harp-playing of Annot Lyle, a girl whose birth is enshrouded in mystery. The next day several heads of clans arrive; whereupon the Earl of Montrose, who has been in disguise, takes command of the troops in the Kings name ...

"Old Mortality" was the familiar title of an actual personage, Robert Paterson, a harmless itinerant hermit who received this nickname because of his habit of visiting the tombs of Scotch Covenanters. His daily labor of love was to care for these stones and deepen their lettering with his chisel; doing this in honor of the martyrs for the cause, who had fallen in their struggle against the state. He died about the beginning of the 19th century. The incidents of the present story are supposed to be based on reminiscences which he related to a friend. They deal with the Covenanters insurrection during the reign of Charles II of England.At a general muster of troops and volunteers, in Lanarkshire, Henry Morton, a young man of Presbyterian stock, wins a victory over Lord Evandale in a target-shooting contest. Morton stops with friends at a neighboring tavern where he meets John Balfour, a Covenanter or Whig, and also is party to a quarrel with Sergeant Bothwell of the Kings troops. Balfour escapes from the sergeant and is sheltered for the night by Morton. The next day the young man is arrested by the trooper, for aiding the insurgent, and is carried to Lady Bellendens castle, where Colonel Graham of Claverhouse is stationed temporarily ...

Scotts extensive biography of John Dryden is essentially the first of eighteen volumes that were published as "The Works of John Dryden". There are many biographies like this on the market, but there is hardly any that offers such an in-depth and healthy knowledge about the author.

King Richard I, of England, known as Lionheart, leads the Third Crusade to the Holy Land. A truce is declared between his forces and those of the Saracens under Saladin, just prior to the abandonment of the Crusade; and during this trucethe events of the present story take place. The "Talisman" itself is a pebble of wonderful healing powers carried by Saladin. Sir Kenneth, a Scottish Crusader, rides alone through the Dead Sea desert of Syria, when he is suddenly attacked by an Emir of the Saracens. The Scot is victorious and the two warriors declare a friendly truce. They ride together to the cave of Theodorick, a fanatic monkish recluse, who at first lays violent hands upon the Saracen, but finally receives them both hospitably. The Crusader is charged with a secret message to the hermitfrom the Council of Princes; and while the Saracen sleeps, the knight and monk go to a neighboring chapel and witness a mass. Among the veiled worshippers is Lady Edith Plantagenet, whom the knight loves and under whose colors he has fought. She recognizes him by dropping a rosebud at his feet. The Saracen, who calls himself Ilderim, an Arabian physician, has heard that King Richard lies ill of a fever; and he thereupon states that he can heal the royal invalid ...

In point of time, this romance follows close upon "Quentin Durward," Charles the Bold being a leading figure in both. Here, however, the scene is largely Switzerland, while the characters are drawn from several countries. An idyllic romance between a Swiss maiden and an English refugee has for background the gathering cloud of the battle of Nancy.John Philipson, an English "merchant," and his son Arthur, are travelling with a guide through Switzerland, when Arthur narrowly escapes death over a cliffs edge. He is rescued by Anne of Geierstein, a mountain maiden, who conducts him to the home of her uncle, Arnold Biederman. Arthur distinguishes himself at archery and thus arouses the jealousy of Annes suitor, Rudolph Donnerhugel, who challenges him to a duel with swords. This is frustrated by the maiden, who has overheard the quarrel. Arthur and his father are invited to join a deputation of Swiss who are on their way to lay a grievance before Charles the Bold, on account of excessive taxation. The travellers are denied admittance to Basle, although provided with food by its citizens. They take refuge in the ruins of a castle, and while Arthur is on guard he fancies he sees an apparition resembling Anne of Geierstein ...