with a splendid energy to match, but he had also costly tastes which he aspired to gratify on a magnificent scale. His social position meant much more to him than his fame as a writer, and to maintain and increase that position he thought that he must acquire large estates and dispense a profuse hospitality. He began to realize his dream in 1812 when he bought the small farm of Abbotsford. Then he added one piece of land after another until he had spent about £30,000; he built himself a castle, and he lived on a scale which, in view of his tangled affairs, even his large income did not justify. It was only the discovery of his incomparable gifts for prose romance that his financial ruin was postponed for so long.

Early in July 1814, just after the edition of Swift in 19 volumes marked the culmination of Scott's career as an editor though not as a critic, the romance Waverley, or 'tis Sixty Years Since, an anonymous story dealing with the period of the Young Pretender, made its appearance and took the novel-reading world by something like a storm, six editions being needed before the close of the year. Scott had begun the tale as far back as 1805, the year of the "Lay," but Erskine and James Ballantyne, who wanted another well-paying poem, discouraged his attempt, and the easy-tempered author put it aside. In 1808 his attention was again directed to historical fiction through the fact that he undertook to prepare for the press an unfinished romance by the antiquary Joseph Strutt, entitled 'Queenhoo Hall.' He had always had a faculty for narrative and had enjoyed the tales and novels of others, especially, in recent years, the Irish stories of Miss Edgeworth (q.v.). We have already seen that the comparative waning of his poetic fame before that of Byron-illustrated by the failure of "The Bridal of Triermain' (1813) which was anonymous, and to be confirmed later by the reception of "The Lord of the Isles' (1815) and of Harold the Dauntless' (1817) — led him to think that he must transfer his energy to other fields, and he would probably have tried prose fiction again, sooner or later, even if a famous accident had not recalled his early attempt to his mind. One day at the end of 1813, while searching for some fishing tackle, he found the manuscript of his forgotten tale in a drawer. He read it over and determined to complete it. This time Erskine had the good sense to approve his friend's experiment, and Scott, writing with his phenomenal steadiness and rapidity, finished the last two-thirds of the book in three weeks. He did not put his name to it, partly for fear of losing some of his reputation if it failed, partly because novels were still looked upon in the main as an inferior form of literature in which a dignified officer like a clerk of session would not be expected to dabble.

Of course his fears proved to be ill-founded and there was no necessity for his preserving his anonymity, but he seems to have liked the mystery involved, and perhaps he thought that by remaining "The Great Unknown" he appeared to be less of a professional man of letters and in consequence more of a country gentleman of high standing. There have been squeamish people who could not easily forgive Scott for his innocent deceptions and his failure to come out into the open as a proud representa

443

tive of his art; but it is not difficult to understand him and it seems idle to be irritated with him. After all, he did not succeed thoroughly in his attempt to remain anonymous, for competent critics like John Wilson (q.v.) saw in the author of the novels the man who had written the poems and edited the ballads. The matter was enough discussed, however, to lead to the writing of J. L. Adolphus's "Letters" to Heber on the Waverley Novels and the question of their authorship (1821), but even after this unmasking Scott continued to wear his tenuous disguise for about six years.

His

Waverley was followed shortly by Guy Mannering, which illustrated his genius as a painter of Scotch life and a revealer of Scotch character - especially in the lower ranks of life. Like its predecessor it was dashed off, but was none the less immensely successful. Scott was delighted, particularly as money began to flow in and he was thus enabled to pay obligations and buy more land. He visited London and was over-enchanted at the flattering reception given him by the Prince Regent; but then Scott was a born Tory and consequently not likely to see the spots in a royal sun. cordial relations with Byron were much more to his credit, especially as he championed that unfortunate poet when all England was crying out upon him. Later he visited Waterloo and met Wellington, who greatly impressed him. The literary results of this tour, 'Paul's Letters to His Kinsfolk' and 'The Field of Waterloo,' a poem, were failures; yet Scott was a great martial poet, would probably have been a soldier if he had not been lame and could scarcely have had a more congenial subject. Fortunately no decline was visible in (The Antiquary); and in 'Old Mortality, which came later in 1816, forming with The Black Dwarf' the first series of Tales of My Landlord,' Scott produced a story which in construction, characterization, historical imagination and sympathy, power of description and broad human interest, ranks deservedly, not only very high in the list of his own creations, but as one of the masterpieces of English fiction. The style is not flawless, the psychology is not penetrating, the art in general is less subtle and refined than that to which the novelists who have followed in Scott's wake have accustomed us; but in the essential points of wholesomeness and truth to nature and of large, copious, equable creative powers, Scott, as his influence upon other lands and generations plainly shows, has little reason to fear comparison with any of his successors.

At the close of 1817 Rob Roy' followed and six months later came The Heart of Midlothian, which to many readers marks the culmination of Scott's genius as a novelist. The public responded heartily to every fresh appeal, but, unfortunately, Scott's popularity was used as a club to force publishers to take over the worthless stock of his publishing firm, and Scott and the Ballantynes were inextricably involved with Constable, who finally became Scott's sole publisher and dragged him down in his own failure. Meanwhile, the tragic 'Bride of Lammermoor,' which appealed so deeply to the sombre genius of Poe, and The Legend of Montrose appeared in 1819, despite the fact that Scott had suffered tortures from a stomachic trouble. The heroic way in which he dictated the 'Bride' to Laidlaw and John

Ballantyne is well known, as is also the fact that, when he got up from an illness which it was feared would prove fatal, he could not recall "a single incident, character or conversation" in the story. Yet such was his pluck that he not only began a new book, but actually branched out into a new type of novel by crossing the border and throwing his scene back into a remote past. Ivanhoe,' for so this important venture was named, appeared at the close of 1819 and may be regarded, not as the best, but as the most popular of all Scott's works and as the one which made him a favorite and a great influence throughout Europe. The brilliance of its descriptions and the thrilling interest of its plot continue to atone for the carelessness of its construction and the untrustworthiness of its representation of the epoch in which its scene is laid.

Scott was now at the height of his literary and his social renown. In 1820 he accepted a baronetcy from George IV - he had previously declined the laureateship and published 'The Monastery' and 'The Abbot.' The next year came the popular Kenilworth' and The Pirate, followed in 1822 by The Fortunes of Nigel,' and in 1823 by Peveril of the Peak.' A stroke that seemed apoplectic did not affect the power of that masterly portrayal of the age of Louis XI, Quentin Durward' (1823), but 'Saint Ronan's Well,' a novel of contemporary manners, has never been popular, a fate shared by Redgauntlet) (1824) and by the first of The Tales of the Crusaders' (1825)- "The Betrothed.' The companion of the last named, The Talisman,' revealed, however, the old Scott; but despite the merits of this and of 'Ivanhoe and Kenilworth' and the greatness of Quentin Durward,' the novels of this second period do not deserve to rank with those of the first. The stories of his period of financial ruin, Woodstock' (1826), The Fair Maid of Perth (1828), Anne of Geierstein) (1829), were the work of a still vigorous and an even more heroic man; those of his complete physical breakdown, Count Robert of Paris' and 'Castle Dangerous' (1831), call for no criticism.

Meanwhile, the crash had come. Scott, confident in his powers, had not narrowly scrutinized his relations with the Ballantynes and Constable and, in his mania for lands and buildings and lavish hospitality, he had raised money on Constable's notes given for novels yet unwritten. A general period of depression came on and Constable failed in January 1826, bringing down with him the firm of James Ballantyne and Company, of which Scott was a partner. The result was that as Ballantyne was practically without resources, Scott felt bound in honor to pay off alone a debt of nearly £120,000. How he set to work on Woodstock, how he refused all offers of help, how he made in two years, especially through his 'Life of Napoleon Buonaparte) (1827), the enormous sum of £40,000, how he bore the loss of his wife (1826) and his own infirmities, how he turned his pen to every possible task of profit-Tales of a Grandfather) (1829) combined pleasure with profit,- how he wrote admirable prefaces for a new edition of his novels

all this is familiar to the reader of Lockhart. Early in 1830 he had a paralytic stroke and after that his efforts to save Abbotsford, where his creditors let him continue to reside, as the seat of the family he had so longed to estab

lish, became truly pathetic. In April 1831 he had a still more serious stroke and a little later he suffered perhaps even more acutely from the rude treatment he received from the mob at Jedburgh, where he had gone to protest against the proposed reform of Parliament. A born conservative and ever a true child of the past, it was time for him to say good-bye to a world that was entering upon a series of rapid and far-reaching changes. After his last novel had been published, it seemed that he ought to try a milder climate in order to prolong his life. The government offered him the use of a frigate; and, after a notable parting with Wordsworth, he set out for Plymouth to take it. He visited Malta, Naples and Rome, then the Tyrol and the Rhine region. At Nimeguen, on 9 June 1832, he was severely stricken and was shortly after brought home to Abbotsford, where, on the afternoon of 21 Sept. 1832, he died, surrounded by his children.

He had been what, in his last words, he told Lockhart to be - a good man. His foibles and faults we cannot lay the whole blame for his misfortunes on the Ballantynes and Constable

when they were not those of his class and his age, were such as detracted little from the greatness of his character, and much the same thing may be said of his defects as a writer. There have been few nobler spirits in the world's history; nor is it clear that since Milton's day a more illustrious or, take him all in all, a greater writer has been born within the lands that use the English tongue. Abbotsford yields only to Stratford as a literary shrine, but it is an ironical comment on Scott's labors to aggrandize his family that no direct male heir should welcome pilgrims to it. See GUY MANNERING; HEART OF MIDLOTHIAN: IVANHOE; KENILWORTH; LADY OF THE LAKE; MARMION; OLD MORTALITY; QUENTIN DURWARD; ROB Roy; also SCOTT, LOCKHART'S LIFE OF.

Bibliography.— The standard editions of Scott's poems and novels are those in 11 and 48 volumes with his prefaces (1829-33). The miscellaneous works fill 28 volumes in the edition of 1834-36. Of the numerous later editions mention may be made of the "Cambridge Edition" of the poems edited by H. E. Scudder (1 vol.) and of the "Border Edition" of the novels (48 vols., 1892-94) with excellent introductions, by Andrew Lang. The chief authority for Scott's life is his son-in-law, J. G. Lockhart's (q.v.) admirable biography (7 vols., 1837, but best read in the Cambridge Edition, Boston, 1902). There are short lives by R. H. Hutton (English Men of Letters'), C. D. Yonge (Great Writers'-with a bibliography), W. H. Hudson (1901), Lang, Literary Lives' (1906), Saintsbury (Famous Scots, 1897), Norgate, G. Le G., Life of Sir Walter Scott' (London 1906), and others. Attention should also be given to Scott's last Journals' (1890) and his Familiar Letters (1894) edited by David Douglas. For criticism consult Lang's biography and introductions; F. T. Palgrave's introduction to the "Globe" edition of the poems; Leslie Stephen, 'Studies of a Biographer (Vol. II, 1898) and Hours in a Library) (Vol. I); Ruskin, 'Fors Clavigera' and the histories of English literature.

WILLIAM P. TRENT, Professor of English Literature, Columbia University.

SCOTT, Walter, Canadian statesman: b. London, Ontario, 27 Oct. 1867. He was educated in the public schools, and early settled in the North West Territory, where he engaged in printing and journalism. He owned and edited various newspapers in 1892-1906, and in 1900 was elected to the Canadian House of Commons. He was instrumental in creating the provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta in 1905, became the leader of the Liberal party in Saskatchewan and served as its first Prime Minister in 1905-17. He was also Minister of Public Works in 1905-12, and later was president of the council and Minister of Education.

SCOTT, William Amasa, American political economist: b. Clarkson, Monroe County, N. Y., 17 April 1862. He was graduated from the University of Rochester in 1886, was professor of history and political science in the University of South Dakota, 1887-90 instructor and graduate student at Johns Hopkins University, 1890-92, receiving the degree of Ph.D. from that institution in June of the latter year; assistant professor of political economy in the University of Wisconsin, 1892-93; associate professor there 1892-97 and professor 1897-1900. Since the date last named he has been director of the school of commerce and professor of political economy in that institution. In 1911 he received the honorary degree of LL.D., from the University of Rochester. He has published 'Repudiation of State Debts' (1893); Money and Banking (1903; 5th ed., revised and enlarged, 1916); Money) (1914); 'Banking' (1914); chapter on The Austrian School and Recent Developments' in Ingram's 'History of Political Economy (new and enlarged edition, 1915); Introduction to 'Recent Literature on Interest' (1884-99) by Eugen von BöhmBawerk, translated from the German by him in co-operation with S. Feilbogen; several articles and monographs on economic and educational topics in encyclopedias and periodicals.

SCOTT, William Bell, Scottish poet and painter, brother of David Scott (q.v.): b. Edinburgh, 12 Sept. 1811; d. Perthshire, 22 Nov. 1890. He received his first education in art from his father, who was an engraver, and in 1834 began to write poetry for the current magazines. His first picture of note, The Old English Ballad Singer,' was exhibited in 1838. From this time forward his reputation as a painter was established. He is best remembered, however, as a poet. While for many years he was an exhibitor in the Royal Academy, his greatest activity was along literary lines. His most noted poetical works are 'The Year of the World' (1846); Poems by a Painter' (1854) and 'Ballads,' etc. (1875). His other writings include 'Lectures on Art' (1861); Albert Dürer: His Life and Works' (1869); The Little Masters' (1879); 'Life and Works of David Scott.'

SCOTT, William Berryman, American geologist, brother of Gen. H. L. Scott (q.v.): b. Cincinnati, Ohio, 12 Feb. 1858. He was graduated at Princeton University in 1877, and took his Ph.D. at Heidelberg in 1880. He was associated with the Princeton faculty from 1883 and from 1884 was professor of geology and palæontology there. He conducted the Princeton expeditions in Patagonia and was joint editor of the reports of the expeditions

445

(8 vols.). He has written numerous monographs on geology and palæontology and is author of Introduction to Geology) (1897; 2d ed., 1907); History of Land Mammels of the Western Hemisphere) (1913); The Theory of Evolution' (1917).

SCOTT, Winfield, American soldier: b. near Petersburg, Dinwiddie County, Va., 13 June 1786; d. West Point, N. Y., 29 May 1866. After study at William and Mary College in 1805, he read law at Petersburg, and having obtained his license, rode the circuit and was retained in several causes. In 1808 he obtained a captain's commission in the United States army, and in 1809 embarked with his company from Norfolk to New Orleans. On 18 June 1812 war was declared by Congress against Great Britain (see WAR of 1812). On 6 July following Scott was commissioned the lieutenant-colonel of the Second Artillery. He at once was ordered to mobilize his regiment at Philadelphia and soon after, at his request, to proceed to the Canadian frontier. He arrived at the headquarters of Brig.-Gen. Alexander Smyth 4 October. The affair at Queenstown took place on 13 October. Scott did not take part in the successful attack on the heights, but commanded the American forces in the ensuing battle, and after brisk fighting was obliged to surrender to much superior numbers. He was soon after exchanged, in March 1813, was appointed adjutant-general with rank of colonel, and at about the same time was promoted colonel of his regiment. With the regiment he joined General Dearborn on the Niagara frontier, became Dearborn's chief of staff, led the successful attack on Fort George 27 May, commanded the rear guard in the retreat from Stony Creek to Fort George and cooperated with the naval forces in the descent on Burlington Heights and York. Promoted 9 March 1814 to be brigadier-general, he established a camp of instruction at Buffalo. Scott's brigade and Ripley's crossed the Niagara 3 July 1814; Fort Erie was invested and captured; and on the 4th Scott moved toward Chippewa. On 5 July occurred the battle of Chippewa (q.v.). Scott greatly distinguished himself, and General Brown, commanding, declared that to Scott more than any other the American victory was due. The battle of Lundy's Lane (q.v.) followed on the 25th, where Scott again displayed great ability. These battles, both won chiefly by Scott, fully established American military prestige. For his services, Scott received a gold medal from Congress, and was made brevet major-general (from 25 July). He declined to act as Secretary of War, and was in Europe in 1815-16. In 1826 he was made president of a board of army and militia officers convened at Washington for the consideration of various military questions, and in 1829 was assigned to the command of the Department of the East. In July 1832 he was ordered to Illinois to take command of the forces in the Black Hawk War (see BLACK HAWK), and left Buffalo for Chicago with 1,000 troops. He was not in the active campaign, but co-operated with Governor Reynolds of Illinois in concluding treaties with the Sacs, Foxes, Winnebagoes, Sioux and Menominees. At the time of the nullification troubles he was sent to South Carolina (1831-32), where he was successful