leasure the steady rise which you make in public opinion,
and expect, one day, to hail you stage-manager. Believe me,
my dear Terry, always very much yours,

W. SCOTT.

P. S.--The Counsellor and both the Ballantynes are well and
hearty.

On the first of December, the first series of the Tales of my Landlord
appeared, and notwithstanding the silence of the title-page, and the
change of publishers, and {p.124} the attempt which had certainly
been made to vary the style both of delineation and of language, all
doubts whether they were or were not from the same hand with Waverley
had worn themselves out before the lapse of a week.--The enthusiasm of
their reception among the highest literary circles of London may be
gathered from the following letter:--

TO WALTER SCOTT, ESQ., EDINBURGH.

ALBEMARLE STREET, 14th December, 1816.

DEAR SIR,--Although I dare not address you as the author of
certain "Tales" (which, however, must be written either by
Walter Scott or the Devil), yet nothing can restrain me from
thinking it is to your influence with the author that I am
indebted for the essential honor of being one of their
publishers, and I must intrude upon you to offer my most
hearty thanks--not divided, but doubled--alike for my
worldly gain therein, and for the great acquisition of
professional reputation which their publication has already
procured me. I believe I might, under any oath that could be
proposed, swear that I never experienced such unmixed
pleasure as the reading of this exquisite work has afforded
me; and if you could see me, as the author's literary
chamberlain, receiving the unanimous and vehement praises of
every one who has read it, and the curses of those whose
needs my scanty supply could not satisfy, you might judge of
the sincerity with which I now entreat you to assure him of
the most complete success. Lord Holland said, when I asked
his opinion--"Opinion! We did not one of us go to bed last
night--nothing slept but my gout." Frere, Hallam,
Boswell,[45] Lord Glenbervie, William Lamb,[46] all agree
that it surpasses all the other novels. Gifford's estimate
is increased at every reperusal. Heber says there are only
two men in the world--Walter Scott and Lord Byron. Between
yo