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1、【国外英文文学】The AbbotIllustration: ROLAND GRAEME AND CATHERINE SETON BEFORE QUEEN MARY. THE ABBOT.BEING THE SEQUEL TO THE MONASTERY. By Sir Walter Scott * * * * *INTRODUCTION-(1831.)From what is said in the Introduction to the Monastery, it mustnecessarily be inferred, that the Author considered that ro
2、mance assomething very like a failure. It is true, the booksellers did notcomplain of the sale, because, unless on very felicitous occasions, oron those which are equally the reverse, literary popularity is notgained or lost by a single publication. Leisure must be allowed forthe tide both to flow a
3、nd ebb. But I was conscious that, in mysituation, not to advance was in some Degree to recede, and beingnaturally unwilling to think that the principle of decay lay inmyself, I was at least desirous to know of a certainty, whether thedegree of discountenance which I had incurred, was now owing to an
4、ill-managed story, or an ill-chosen subject.I was never, I confess, one of those who are willing to suppose thebrains of an author to be a kind of milk, which will not stand above asingle creaming, and who are eternally harping to young authors tohusband their efforts, and to be chary of their reput
5、ation, lest itgrow hackneyed in the eyes of men. Perhaps I was, and have alwaysbeen, the more indifferent to the degree of estimation in which Imight be held as an author, because I did not put so high a value asmany others upon what is termed literary reputation in the abstract,or at least upon the
6、 species of popularity which had fallen to myshare; for though it were worse than affectation to deny that myvanity was satisfied at my success in the department in which chancehad in some measure enlisted me, I was, nevertheless, far fromthinking that the novelist or romance-writer stands high in t
7、he ranksof literature. But I spare the reader farther egotism on this subject,as I have expressed my opinion very fully in the Introductory Epistleto the Fortunes of Nigel, first edition; and, although it be composedin an imaginary character, it is as sincere and candid as if it hadbeen written with
8、out my gown and band.In a word, when I considered myself as having been unsuccessful in theMonastery, I was tempted to try whether I could not restore, even atthe risk of totally losing, my so-called reputation, by a newhazard-I looked round my library, and could not but observe, that,from the time
9、of Chaucer to that of Byron, the most popular authorshad been the most prolific. Even the aristarch Johnson allowed thatthe quality of readiness and profusion had a merit in itself,independent of the intrinsic value of the composition. Talking ofChurchill, I believe, who had little merit in his prej
10、udiced eyes, heallowed him that of fertility, with some such qualification as this,A Crab-apple can bear but crabs after all; but there is a greatdifference in favour of that which bears a large quantity of fruit,however indifferent, and that which produces only a few.Looking more attentively at the
11、 patriarchs of literature, whose earnerwas as long as it was brilliant, I thought I perceived that in thebusy and prolonged course of exertion, there were no doubt occasionalfailures, but that still those who were favourites of their agetriumphed over these miscarriages. By the new efforts which the
12、ymade, their errors were obliterated, they became identified with theliterature of their country, and after having long received law fromthe critics, came in some degree to impose it. And when such a writerwas at length called from the scene, his death first made the publicsensible what a large shar
13、e he had occupied in their attention. Irecollected a passage in Grimms Correspondence, that while theunexhausted Voltaire sent forth tract after tract to the very close ofa long life, the first impression made by each as it appeared, was,that it was inferior to its predecessors; an opinion adopted f
14、rom thegeneral idea that the Patriarch of Ferney must at last find the pointfrom which he was to decline. But the opinion of the public finallyranked in succession the last of Voltaires Essays on the same footingwith those which had formerly charmed the French nation. The inferencefrom this and simi
15、lar facts seemed to me to be, that new works wereoften judged of by the public, not so much from their own intrinsicmerit, as from extrinsic ideas which readers had previously formedwith regard to them, and over which a writer might hope to triumph bypatience and by exertion. There is risk in the at
16、tempt;If he fall in, good night, or sink or swim.But this is a chance incident to every literary attempt, and by whichmen of a sanguine temper are little moved.I may illustrate what I mean, by the feelings of most men intravelling. If we have found any stage particularly tedious, or in anespecial de
17、gree interesting, particularly short, or much longer thanwe expected, our imaginations are so apt to exaggerate the originalimpression, that, on repeating the journey, we usually find that wehave considerably over-rated the predominating quality, and the roadappears to be duller or more pleasant, sh
18、orter or more tedious, thanwhat we expected, and, consequently, than what is actually the case.It requires a third or fourth journey to enable us to form an accuratejudgment of its beauty, its length, or its other attributes.In the same manner, the public, judging of a new work, which itreceives per
19、haps with little expectation, if surprised into applause,becomes very often ecstatic, gives a great deal more approbation thanis due, and elevates the child of its immediate favour to a rankwhich, as it affects the author, it is equally difficult to keep, andpainful to lose. If, on this occasion, th
20、e author trembles at theheight to which he is raised, and becomes afraid of the shadow of hisown renown, he may indeed retire from the lottery with the prize whichhe has drawn, but, in future ages, his honour will be only inproportion to his labours. If, on the contrary, he rushes again intothe list
21、s, he is sure to be judged with severity proportioned to theformer favour of the public. If he be daunted by a bad reception onthis second occasion, he may again become a stranger to the arena. If,on the contrary, he can keep his ground, and stand the shuttlecocksfate, of being struck up and down, h
22、e will probably, at length, holdwith some certainty the level in public opinion which he may be foundto deserve; and he may perhaps boast of arresting the generalattention, in the same manner as the Bachelor Samson Carrasco, offixing the weathercock La Giralda of Seville for weeks, months, oryears,
23、that is, for as long as the wind shall uniformly blow from onequarter. To this degree of popularity the author had the hardihood toaspire, while, in order to attain it, he assumed the daring resolutionto keep himself in the view of the public by frequent appearancesbefore them.It must be added, that
24、 the authors incognito gave him greater courageto renew his attempts to please the public, and an advantage similarto that which Jack the Giant-killer received from his coat ofdarkness. In sending the Abbot forth so soon after the Monastery, hehad used the well-known practice recommended by Bassanio
25、:- In my school days, when I had lost one shaft, I shot another of the self-same flight, The self-same way, with more advised watch, To find the other forth.And, to continue the simile, his shafts, like those of the lesserAjax, were discharged more readily that the archer was as inaccessibleto criti
26、cism, personally speaking, as the Grecian archer under hisbrothers sevenfold shield.Should the reader desire to know upon what principles the Abbot wasexpected to amend the fortune of the Monastery, I have first torequest his attention to the Introductory Epistle addressed to theimaginary Captain Cl
27、utterbuck; a mode by which, like his predecessorsin this walk of fiction, the real author makes one of his _dramatispersonae_ the means of communicating his own sentiments to thepublic, somewhat more artificially than by a direct address to thereaders. A pleasing French writer of fairy tales, Monsie
28、ur Pajon,author of the History of Prince Soly, has set a diverting example ofthe same machinery, where he introduces the presiding Genius of theland of Romance conversing with one of the personages of the tale.In this Introductory Epistle, the author communicates, in confidence,to Captain Clutterbuc
29、k, his sense that the White Lady had not met thetaste of the times, and his reason for withdrawing her from the scene.The author did not deem it equally necessary to be candid respectinganother alteration. The Monastery was designed, at first, to havecontained some supernatural agency, arising out o
30、f the fact, thatMelrose had been the place of deposit of the great Robert Brucesheart. The writer shrunk, however, from filling up, in thisparticular, the sketch as it was originally traced; nor did he ventureto resume, in continuation, the subject which he had left unattemptedin the original work.
31、Thus, the incident of the discovery of theheart, which occupies the greater part of the Introduction to theMonastery, is a mystery unnecessarily introduced, and which remains atlast very imperfectly explained. In this particular, I was happy toshroud myself by the example of the author of Caleb Will
32、iams, whonever condescends to inform us of the actual contents of that IronChest which makes such a figure in his interesting work, and gives thename to Mr. Colmans drama.The public had some claim to inquire into this matter, but it seemedindifferent policy in the author to give the explanation. For
33、,whatever praise may be due to the ingenuity which brings to a generalcombination all the loose threads of a narrative, like the knitter atthe finishing of her stocking, I am greatly deceived if in many casesa superior advantage is not attained, by the air of reality which thedeficiency of explanati
34、on attaches to a work written on a differentsystem. In life itself, many things befall every mortal, of which theindividual never knows the real cause or origin; and were we to pointout the most marked distinction between a real and a fictitiousnarrative, we would say, that the former in reference t
35、o the remotecauses of the events it relates, is obscure, doubtful, and mysterious;whereas, in the latter case, it is a part of the authors duty toafford satisfactory details upon the causes of the separate events hehas recorded, and, in a word, to account for every thing. The reader,like Mungo in th
36、e Padlock, will not be satisfied with hearing what heis not made fully to comprehend.I omitted, therefore, in the Introduction to the Abbot, any attempt toexplain the previous story, or to apologize for unintelligibility.Neither would it have been prudent to have endeavoured to proclaim, inthe Intro
37、duction to the Abbot, the real spring, by which I hoped itmight attract a greater degree of interest than its immediatepredecessor. A taking title, or the announcement of a popular subject,is a recipe for success much in favour with booksellers, but whichauthors will not always find efficacious. The
38、 cause is worth amoments examination.There occur in every country some peculiar historical characters,which are, like a spell or charm, sovereign to excite curiosity andattract attention, since every one in the slightest degree interestedin the land which they belong to, has heard much of them, and
39、longs tohear more. A tale turning on the fortunes of Alfred or Elizabeth inEngland, or of Wallace or Bruce in Scotland, is sure by the veryannouncement to excite public curiosity to a considerable degree, andensure the publishers being relieved of the greater part of animpression, even before the co
40、ntents of the work are known. This is ofthe last importance to the bookseller, who is at once, to use atechnical phrase, brought home, all his outlay being repaid. But itis a different case with the author, since it cannot be denied that weare apt to feel least satisfied with the works of which we h
41、ave beeninduced, by titles and laudatory advertisements, to entertainexaggerated expectations. The intention of the work has beenanticipated, and misconceived or misrepresented, and although thedifficulty of executing the work again reminds us of Hotspurs task ofoer-walking a current roaring loud, y
42、et the adventurer must lookfor more ridicule if he fails, than applause if he executes, hisundertaking.Notwithstanding a risk, which should make authors pause ere they adopta theme which, exciting general interest and curiosity, is often thepreparative for disappointment, yet it would be an injudici
43、ousregulation which should deter the poet or painter from attempting tointroduce historical portraits, merely from the difficulty ofexecuting the task in a satisfactory manner. Something must be trustedto the generous impulse, which often thrusts an artist upon feats ofwhich he knows the difficulty,
44、 while he trusts courage and exertionmay afford the means of surmounting it.It is especially when he is sensible of losing ground with the public,that an author may be justified in using with address, such selectionof subject or title as is most likely to procure a rehearing. It waswith these feelin
45、gs of hope and apprehension, that I venture toawaken, in a work of fiction, the memory of Queen Mary, so interestingby her wit, her beauty, her misfortunes, and the mystery which stilldoes, and probably always will, overhang her history. In doing so, Iwas aware that failure would be a conclusive dis
46、aster, so that my taskwas something like that of an enchanter who raises a spirit over whomhe is uncertain of possessing an effectual control; and I naturallypaid attention to such principles of composition, as I conceived werebest suited to the historical novel.Enough has been already said to expla
47、in the purpose of composing theAbbot. The historical references are, as usual, explained in thenotes. That which relates to Queen Marys escape from LochlevenCastle, is a more minute account of that romantic adventure, than isto be found in the histories of the period. ABBOTSFORD, 1_st January_, 1831. * * * * *INTRODUCTORY EPISTLE.FROM THE AUTHOR OF WAVERLEY, TO CAPTAIN CLUTTERBUCK, LATE OF HISMAJESTYS - REGIMENT OF INFANTRY.DEAR CAPTAIN:I am sorry to observe, by your last favour, that you disapprove of thenumerous retrenchments and alterations which I ha