ound; nor do I think he had
any intention of altering the destination which divides his
effects between his surviving brothers.--Your affectionate

W. S.

[Footnote 34: The late Mr. Hay Donaldson, W. S.,--an
intimate friend of both Thomas and Walter Scott,--and
Mr. Macculloch of Ardwell, the brother of Mrs. Thomas
Scott.]

A few days afterwards, he hands to Mr. Thomas Scott a formal statement
of pecuniary affairs; the result of which was, that the Major had left
something not much under L6000. Major Scott, from all I have heard,
was {p.100} a sober, sedate bachelor, of dull mind and frugal tastes,
who, after his retirement from the army, divided his time between his
mother's primitive fireside, and the society of a few whist-playing
brother officers, that met for an evening rubber at Fortune's tavern.
But, making every allowance for his retired and thrifty habits, I
infer that the payments made to each of the three brothers out of
their father's estate must have, prior to 1816, amounted to L5000.
From the letter conveying this statement (29th May), I extract a few
sentences:--

DEAR TOM,--... Should the possession of this sum, and the
certainty that you must, according to the course of nature,
in a short space of years succeed to a similar sum of L3000
belonging to our mother, induce you to turn your thoughts to
Scotland, I shall be most happy to forward your views with
any influence I may possess; and I have little doubt that,
sooner or later, something may be done. But, unfortunately,
every avenue is now choked with applicants, whose claims are
very strong; for the number of disbanded officers, and
public servants dismissed in consequence of Parliament
turning restive and refusing the income-tax, is great and
increasing. Economy is the order of the day, and I assure
you they are shaving properly close. It would, no doubt, be
comparatively easy to get you a better situation where you
are, but then it is bidding farewell to your country, at
least for a long time, and separating your children from all
knowledge of those with whom they are naturally connected. I
shall anxiously expect to hear from you on your views and
wishes. I think, at all events, you ought to get rid of the
drudgery of the paymastership--but n