the shortness of my visit to Edinburgh.'

Sir Thomas soon afterwards completed his transcript, and on 7th June 1823
he wrote:--

'_Relugas, near Forres,
7th June_ 1823.

'MY DEAR SIR WALTER,--Can you pardon me for thus troubling you, in order
to have my curiosity satisfied about our old friend Fountainhall, whose
work I gave you in July last. I hope you received the remainder of the
Manuscript in October from my agent, Mr. Macbean. If you can spare time
to say, in a single line, what is doing about him, you will confer a
great obligation, on yours very faithfully,

T.D. LAUDER.'

Sir Walter replied:--

'MY DEAR SIR,--We have not taken any steps about our venerable friend
and your predecessor, whose manuscript is lying safe in my hands.
Constable has been in London this long time, and is still there, and
Cadell does not seem willingly to embark in any enterprize of
consequence just now. We have set on foot a sort [of] Scottish Roxburgh
Club[16] here for publishing curiosities of Scottish Literature, but
Fountainhall would be a work rather too heavy for our limited funds,
although few can be concerned which would come more legitimately under
the purpose of our association, which is made in order to rescue from
the chance of destruction the documents most essential to the history
and literature of Scotland.