Book excerpt: Excerpt from The Centenary Memorial of Sir Walter Scott, Bart "The fame of an illustrious poet is not confined to his own person and writings, but imparts a share of its splendour to whatever has been, even remotely, connected with him; and not only ennobles the objects of his friendships, his loves, and even his likings, but on every spot where he has sojourned through life, leaves traces of its light that do not easily pass away." - Thomas Moore. The English claim Scott for the world; the Scotch ken him for their own. He is beloved at home, and revered abroad. We all know him intimately already from his Poems, his Tales, and his Life. There is a nobility of thought and action in his Poems which stamps him as the Poet of Chivalry. Combined with this high tone, there is minute fidelity of description, which marks careful observation and the love of Truth. There is an active principle in Scott's Novels, which, like a bracing wind, brings invigorating health and purity along with it. Where his spirit meets with kindred feeling, the reader rises a stouter-hearted man, a more genial companion, and returns to his work in life with a determination to throw greater energy into what he has to do. The "Life of Sir Walter Scott" by J. G. Lockhart is allowed to be a masterpiece in English Biography. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.