the
terms dictated by Scott--namely, granting bills for L1500, and
relieving John Ballantyne and Company of stock to the extent of L500
more; and Constable's first information of the transaction was from
Messrs. Longman themselves, when they, in compliance with Scott's
wish, as signified in the letter last quoted, offered him a share in
the edition which they had purchased. With one or two exceptions,
originating in circumstances nearly similar, the house of Constable
published all the subsequent series of the Waverley Novels.

I must not, however, forget that The Lord of the Isles was published a
month before Guy Mannering. The poem was received with an interest
much heightened by the recent and growing success of the mysterious
Waverley. Its appearance, so rapidly following that novel, and
accompanied with the announcement of another prose tale, just about to
be published, by the same hand, puzzled and confounded the mob of
dulness.[7] The more sagacious few said to themselves--Scott is making
one serious effort more in his old line, and by this it will be
determined whether he does or does not altogether renounce that for
his new one.

[Footnote 7: John Ballantyne put forth the following
paragraph in the _Scots Magazine_ of December, 1814:--

"Mr. Scott's poem of _The Lord of the Isles_ will appear
early in January. The Author of _Waverley_ is about to
amuse the public with a new novel, in three volumes,
entitled _Guy Mannering_."]

The Edinburgh Review on The Lord of the Isles begins with,--

"Here is another genuine Lay of the Great Minstrel, with all
his characteristic faults, beauties, and irregularities. The
same glow of coloring--the same energy of narration--the
same amplitude of description are conspicuous--with the same
still more characteristic disdain of puny graces and small
originalities--the true poetical hardihood, in the strength
of which he urges on his Pegasus fearlessly through dense
and rare, and aiming gallantly at the great ends of truth
and effect, {p.020} stoops but rarely to study the means by
which they are to be attained; avails himself without
scruple of common sentiments and common images wherever they
seem fitted for his purpose; and is original by the very
boldness of his borrowing, and impressive by his disregard
of epigram and