WALTER SCOTT.--First in order of the new romantic poets was Scott, alike
renowned for his _Lays_ and for his wonderful prose fictions; at once the
most equable and the most prolific of English authors.
Walter Scott was born in Edinburgh, on the 15th of August, 1771. His
father was a writer to the signet; his mother was Anne Rutherford, the
daughter of a medical professor in the University of Edinburgh. His
father's family belonged to the clan Buccleugh. Lame from his early
childhood, and thus debarred the more active pleasures of children, his
imagination was unusually vigorous; and he took special pleasure in the
many stories, current at the time, of predatory warfare, border forays,
bogles, warlocks, and second sight. He spent some of his early days in the
country, and thus became robust and healthy; although his lameness
remained throughout life. He was educated in Edinburgh, at the High School
and the university; and, although not noted for excellence as a scholar,
he exhibited precocity in verse, and delighted his companions by his
readiness in reproducing old stories or improving new ones.
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