The Heart of Mid-Lothian | Page 2

want to get rid of the story, and
hardly care how." Lady Lousia adds that Sir George Staunton would
never have hazarded himself in the streets of Edinburgh. "The end of
poor Madge Wildfire is most pathetic. The meeting at Muschat's Cairn
tremendous. Dumbiedikes and Rory Beau are delightful. . . . I dare
swear many of your readers never heard of the Duke of Argyle before."
She ends: "If I had known nothing, and the whole world had told me
the contrary, I should have found you out in that one parenthesis, 'for
the man was mortal, and had been a schoolmaster.'"
Lady Louisa omits a character who was probably as essential to Scott's
scheme as any--Douce Davie Deans, the old Cameronian. He had
almost been annoyed by the criticism of his Covenanters in "Old
Mortality," "the heavy artillery out of the Christian Instructor or some
such obscure field work," and was determined to "tickle off" another.
There are signs of a war between literary Cavaliers and literary
Covenanters at this time, after the discharge of Dr. McCrie's "heavy
artillery." Charles Kirkpatrick Sharpe was presented by Surtees of
Mainsforth with a manuscript of Kirkton's unprinted "History of the
Church of Scotland." This he set forth to edite, with the determination
not to "let the Whig dogs have the best of it." Every Covenanting
scandal and absurdity, such as the old story of Mess David
Williamson--"Dainty Davie"--and his remarkable prowess, and
presence of mind at Cherrytrees, was raked up, and inserted in notes to
Kirkton. Scott was Sharpe's ally in this enterprise. "I had in the persons
of my forbears a full share, you see, of religious persecution . . . for all
my greatgrandfathers were under the ban, and I think there were hardly
two of them out of jail at once." "I think it would be most scandalous to
let the godly carry it oft thus." "It" seems to have been the editing of
Kirkton. "It is very odd the volume of Wodrow, containing the memoir
of Russell concerning the murder, is positively vanished from the
library" (the Advocates' Library). "Neither book nor receipt is to be
found: surely they have stolen it in the fear of the Lord." The truth

seems to have been that Cavaliers and Covenanters were racing for the
manuscripts wherein they found smooth stones of the brook to pelt
their opponents withal. Soon after Scott writes: "It was not without
exertion and trouble that I this day detected Russell's manuscript (the
account of the murder of Sharpe by one of the murderers), also Kirkton
and one or two others, which Mr. McCrie had removed from their place
in the library and deposited in a snug and secret corner." The
Covenanters had made a raid on the ammunition of the Cavaliers. "I
have given," adds Sir Walter, "an infernal row on the subject of hiding
books in this manner." Sharpe replies that the "villainous biographer of
John Knox" (Dr. McCrie), "that canting rogue," is about to edite
Kirkton. Sharpe therefore advertised his own edition at once, and edited
Kirkton by forced marches as it were. Scott reviewed the book in the
Quarterly (Jan. 1818). He remarked that Sharpe "had not escaped the
censure of these industrious literary gentlemen of opposite principles,
who have suffered a work always relied upon as one of their chief
authorities to lie dormant for a hundred and forty years." Their
"querulous outcries" (probably from the field-work of the Christian
Instructor) he disregards. Among the passions of this literary "bicker,"
which Scott allowed to amuse him, was Davie Deans conceived. Scott
was not going to be driven by querulous outcries off the Covenanting
field, where he erected another trophy. This time he was more friendly
to the "True Blue Presbyterians." His Scotch patriotism was one of his
most earnest feelings, the Covenanters, at worst, were essentially
Scotch, and he introduced a new Cameronian, with all the sterling
honesty, the Puritanism, the impracticable ideas of the Covenant, in
contact with changed times, and compelled to compromise.
He possessed a curious pamphlet, Haldane's "Active Testimony of the
true blue Presbyterians" (12mo, 1749). It is a most impartial work,
"containing a declaration and testimony against the late unjust invasion
of Scotland by Charles, Pretended Prince of Wales, and William,
Pretended Duke of Cumberland." Everything and everybody not
Covenanted, the House of Stuart, the House of Brunswick, the House
of Hapsburg, Papists, Prelatists and Turks, are cursed up hill and down
dale, by these worthy survivors of the Auld Leaven. Everybody except
the authors, Haldane and Leslie, "has broken the everlasting Covenant."

The very Confession of Westminster is arraigned for its laxity. "The
whole Civil and Judicial Law of God," as given to the Jews (except the
ritual, polygamy, divorce, slavery, and so forth), is to