--especially during his Hebridean tour of 1814, and his
Continental one of 1815--and prompted and enforced the idea of trying
other booksellers from time to time, instead of adhering to Constable,
merely for the selfish purposes,--first, of facilitating the immediate
discount of bills;--secondly, of further perplexing Scott's affairs,
the entire disentanglement of which would have been, as he fancied,
prejudicial to his own personal importance.

It was resolved, accordingly, to offer the risk and half profits of
the first edition of another new novel--or rather collection of
novels--not to Messrs. Constable, but to Mr. Murray of Albemarle
Street, and Mr. Blackwood, who was then Murray's agent in Scotland;
but it was at the same time resolved, partly because Scott wished to
try another experiment on the public sagacity, but partly also, no
question, from the wish to spare Constable's feelings, that the
title-page of the Tales of my Landlord should not bear the magical
words "By the Author of Waverley." The facility with which both Murray
and Blackwood embraced such a proposal, as no untried novelist, being
sane, could have dreamt of hazarding, shows that neither of them had
any doubt as to the identity of the author. They both considered the
withholding of the avowal on the forthcoming title-page as likely to
check very much the first success of the book; but they were both
eager to prevent Constable's acquiring {p.111} a sort of prescriptive
right to publish for the unrivalled novelist, and willing to disturb
his tenure at this additional, and, as they thought it, wholly
unnecessary risk.

How sharply the unseen parent watched this first negotiation of his
_Jedediah Cleishbotham_ will appear from one of his letters:--

TO MR. JOHN BALLANTYNE, HANOVER STREET, EDINBURGH.

ABBOTSFORD, April 29, 1816.

DEAR JOHN,--James has made one or two important mistakes in
the bargain with Murray and Blackwood. Briefly as follows:--

1stly, Having only authority from me to promise 6000 copies,
he proposes they shall have the copyright _forever_. I will
see their noses cheese first.

2dly, He proposes I shall have twelve months' bills--I have
always got six. However, I would not stand on that.

3dly, He talks of volumes being put into the publisher's
hands to consider and decide on. No such thing; a bare
perusal at St. John Street[38]