xvüi .JOURNAL OF JOHN LAUDER

him my Manuscript and my humble services. He insisted that
he would not rob me of the fruits of my pious labours. As I
know something of publishing," said he, with an intelligent smile
on his eountenance, H I shall be able to give you some assistance
and advice as to how to bring the work properly and respectably
out." 1 thanked him, and ventured to entreat that he would acid
to the obligation he was laying me under by giving me a few notes
to the proposed publication. In short, the result of an hour's
conversation was that he undertook to arrange everything about
the publication with a bookseller, and to give me the notes 1
asked, ~nd, in fact, to do everything in his power to assist me,
and I left him w ith very greàt regret that a matter of business
prevented me from accepting of his pressing invitation to break-
fast. Before parting, he wrote for me the ensuing letter to
Mr. Kirkpatrick Sharpe, which 1 was deprived of an opportunity
of delivering by the shortness of my visit to Edinburgh.'
Sir Thomas soon afterwllros completed his transcript, and
on 7th June 1823 he wrote

Relugas, near Forres,

7IIc June 1823.

` ~~Y DEAR SIR ~ŸALTER,-Can you pardon me for thus troubling
you, in order to have my curiosity satisfied about our old friend
Fountainhall, whose work I gave you in July last. 1 hope you
received the remainder of the Manuscript in October from my
agent, Mr. Macbean. If you can spare time to say, in a single
line, what is doing about Iiiiii, y ou will confer a great obligation,
on yours very faithfu1l)', T. D. LAUDER.'
Sir ~Valter replied

Viv DEAR Sin,e have not taken any steps about our vener-
able friend and your predecessor, w hose manuscript is lying safe
in my hands. Constable has been in London this long time, and is
still there, and Cadell does not seem willingly to embark in any
enterprize of consequence just now. We have set on foot a sort
~of~ Seottish Uoxburgh Club 1 here for publishing curiosities of

1 The Bannatyne Club was instituted on 15th February 1823- Its object was
to print works of the history, topography, poetry, and miscellaneous literature of
Scotland in former times. Sir Walter Scott was president till his death. The
Club's last meeting was in 1861, but there were some publications till 1867.