Memoirs of the Life of Sir Walter Scott, Bart.
Walter Scott to Lord Montagu of Boughton, 12 November 1818
“Edinburgh, 12th Nov., 1818.
“My dear Lord,
“I am about to write to you with feelings of the
deepest anxiety. I have hesitated for two or three days whether I should
communicate to your Lordship the sincere alarm which I entertain on account of
the Duke’s present state of health,
but I have come to persuade myself, that it will be discharging a part of the
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which I owe to him to
mention my own most distressing apprehensions. I was at the cattle-show on the
6th, and executed the delegated task of toastmaster, and so forth. I was told
by * * * that the Duke is under the
influence of the muriatic bath, which occasions a good deal of uneasiness when
the medicine is in possession of the system. The Duke observed the strictest
diet, and remained only a short time at table, leaving me to do the honours,
which I did with a sorrowful heart, endeavouring, however, to persuade myself
that * * *’s account, and the natural depression of
spirits incidental to his finding himself unable for the time to discharge the
duty to his guests, which no man could do with so much grace and kindness, were
sufficient to account for the alteration of his manner and appearance. I spent
Monday with him quietly and alone, and I must say that all I saw and heard was
calculated to give me the greatest pain. His strength is much less, his spirits
lower, and his general appearance far more unfavourable than when I left him at
Drumlanrig a few weeks before. What * * *, and, indeed,
what the Duke himself says of the medicine, may be true but * *
* is very sanguine, and, like all the personal physicians
attached to a person of such consequence, he is too much addicted to the placebo—at least I think so too apt to fear to give
offence by contradiction, or by telling that sort of truth which may contravert
the wishes or habits of his patient. I feel I am communicating much pain to
your Lordship, but I am sure that, excepting yourself, there is not a man in
the world whose sorrow and apprehension could exceed mine in having such a task
to discharge; for, as your Lordship well knows, the ties which bind me to your
excellent brother are of a much stronger kind than usually connect persons so
different in rank. But the alteration in voice and person, in features, and in
spirits, ![]()
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all argue the decay of natural strength, and the
increase of some internal disorder, which is gradually triumphing over the
system. Much has been done in these cases by change of climate. I hinted this
to the Duke at Drumlanrig, but I found his mind totally averse to it. But he
made some enquiries at Harden (just
returned from Italy), which seemed to imply that at least the idea of a winter
in Italy or the south of France was not altogether out of his consideration.
Your Lordship will consider whether he can or ought to be pressed upon this
point. He is partial to Scotland, and feels the many high duties which bind him
to it. But the air of this country, with its alternations of moisture and dry
frost, although excellent for a healthy person, is very trying to a
valetudinarian.
“I should not have thought of volunteering to
communicate such unpleasant news, but that the family do not seem alarmed. I am
not surprised at this, because, where the decay of health is very gradual, it
is more easily traced by a friend who sees the patient from interval to
interval, than by the affectionate eyes which are daily beholding him.
“Adieu, my dear Lord. God knows you will scarce read
this letter with more pain than I feel in writing it. But it seems
indispensable to me to communicate my sentiments of the Duke’s present
situation to his nearest relation and dearest friend. His life is invaluable to
his country and to his family, and how dear it is to his friends can only be
estimated by those who know the soundness of his understanding, the uprightness
and truth of his judgment, and the generosity and warmth of his feelings. I am
always, my dear Lord, most truly yours,
