A NOTE ON JOHN GALT.

Press, Volume LXVII, Issue 20168, 21 February 1931, Page 13

A NOTE ON JOHN GALT.

(By Donald • Cartrirell,the "NiW Statesman,**). s One afternoon in. iFebruary, 1826,, Sir Walter Scott' tame' back' from Cotot his lonely home in OftttlA street, and at onoo eat down at Ms desk to forget in labour that h$ was * rained ' ~ man. - He corrected proofs of "Woodstock" tiQ Mb eyes ached, and when that was finished he wrote -sheet tfitr sheet of bad bat high-spirited economics for a pamphlet in defence of the Scotch banks against certain legislative action promoted by the Treasury—which, conftidering the scandalous way in which the Scotch banks were treating him at the moment, was a triumph of patriotic ; Quixotism. Haviftg finished his day's ; tale of work he turned for relief to a novdl—a new one that had jttft come " 5 from William Blackwotfd and Which be . j had already heard well bpokeii of in Edinburgh. It was 6&llb<L "The Omen" —quite a little book compared frith a - Waverley novel, bat, like. & W&Verley , novel, it bore no flame 0& thfe titld-pago. -- ' <( It interested Sir Walter so mueh that, _ for the first time--that evening, he* . , really did forget his distresses. Hit literary judgment dfas apt to be erratic,; i >» but in one department it Was,''as things , , went in his day, weli'nigh infallible. .He . - ~ ' knew a good novel Whett he saw it. Ha . - i at once inscribed hid of "The •> , Omen" in his Journal. well "S i written, deep tod powerful language;" I The author's anonymity did not tronble , but rather gratified him. IK'waved ■ | aside (very jrtperljr} , the jpopular | opinion- that attributed- to!-,-Christopher. Jfqgth. -"It is passed for Wilson's/, but wilsoh falsetto of assumed .less b£ the .depth of gloomy, and /powerful feel-; ing." .Sir .Walter hiitt«&£; Md doubts. "/Ant Erasmus )>jri,iit Diaboli^B."' |t is Lockhart or stra&gely deceived.*' V -• 'V,, <, ' Three months later,, ttouj&.J**; have known by theh. tHAfc fcot;the author. Still' the -request vol consented' %o,4?evffttfr ( 'Maga.' l ', -He refeti -to, hi#; "a* few trifling for *he siys very l&dfc' (hoiigh - igajt £df do the best I My.agjiS^n iilnstrates 'as eTOn^^^.day^ha^i^^^^^^g - btrf stiver snusefC dbli ; a literary hack while ambitious Tfioheimes • 'settlement*" A» paw^ytie.