r "promised to put the first volume in his hands by the
end of August, and that the whole would be ready for publication by
Christmas." Blackwood thought this reply was "humbug, as formerly."
Nevertheless, he was obliged to wait. At last he got the first sight of
the manuscript.

_Mr. Wm. Blackwood to John Murray_.

_August_ 23, 1816. _Midnight_.

"MY DEAR MURRAY,--I have this moment finished the reading of 192 pages
of our book--for ours it must be,--and I cannot go to bed without
telling you what is the strong and most favourable impression it has
made upon me. If the remainder be at all equal--which it cannot fail to
be, from the genius displayed in what is now before me--we have been
most fortunate indeed. The title as, TALKS OF MY LANDLORD; _collected
and reported by Jedediah Cleishbotham, Pariah Clerk and Schoolmaster of
Gandercleugh_."

Mr. Blackwood then proceeds to give an account of the Introduction, the
commencement of "The Black Dwarf," the first of the tales, and the
general nature of the story, to the end of the fourth chapter. His
letter is of great length, and extends to nine quarto pages. He
concludes:

"There cannot be a doubt as to the splendid merit of the work. It would
never have done to have hesitated and higgled about seeing more volumes.
In the note which accompanied the sheets, Ballantyne says, 'each volume
contains a Tale,' so there will be four in all. [Footnote: This, the
original intention, was departed from.] The next relates to the period
of the Covenanters. I have now neither doubts nor fears with regard to
the whole being good, and I anxiously hope that you will have as little.
I am so happy at the fortunate termination of all my pains and
anxieties, that I cannot be in bad humour with you for not writing me
two lines in answer to my last letters. I hope I shall hear from you
to-morrow; but I entreat of you to write me in course of post, as I wish
to hear from you before I leave this [for London], which I intend to do
on this day se'nnight by the smack."

At length the principal part of the manuscript of the novel was in the
press, and, as both the author and the printer were in sore straits for
money, they became importunate on Blackwood and Murray for payment on
account. They had taken Ballantyne's "wretched stock" of books, as
Blackwood styled them, and Lockhart, in his "Life of Scott," infers that
Murray had consented to anticipate the period of his payments. At all
events,