Volume 1 - Electric Scotland

FIRE AND BRIMSTONE. 73
description what it was. There is no reason to sup-
pose this was not true enough. One of Blackwood's
principles, always clearly acknowledged, was his habit
of " taking an interest in the literary department of
my business"—so there can be little doubt that he
would say his say with vigour and precision. To the
letter containing these suggestions James Ballantyne
replies on the 4th October 1816 with a different version
of Scott's angry note :
—
J. Ballantyne to W. Blackwood.
Our application to the author of ' Tales of my Landlord ' has
been anything but successful, and in order to explain to you the
reason why I must decline to address him in this way in future,
I shall copy his reply verbatim
:
—
" My respects to our friends the Booksellers. I belong to the
Death -head Hussars of Literature, who neither take nor give
criticism. I am extremely sorry they showed my work to
Gifford, nor would I cancel a leaf to please all the critics of
Edinburgh and London ; and so let that be as it is. They are
mistaken if they think I don't know when I am writing ill, as
well as Gifford can tell me. I beg there may be no more com-
munications with critics."
Observe—that I shall at all times be ready to convey any-
thing from you to the author in a written form, but I do not
feel warranted to interfere further.
The reader may believe that this was how Signor
Aldiborontophoscophornio "translated" Scott's note
" into a dialect " that could be submitted to Blackwood
but I think for my own part that there is more
in it—that it was probably an amalgam of two notes,
and that the reference to Gifford was genuine, and not
the invention of the smooth - tongued James. The
intrusion of the London critic no doubt changed the
;