of ennui, until he discerns some petty subject of investigation
commensurate to his talents, the study of which gives him employment
in solitude; while the conscious possession of information peculiar to
himself, adds to his consequence in society. I have often observed,
that the lighter and trivial branches of antiquarian study are
singularly useful in relieving vacuity of such a kind, and have known
them serve many a Captain Clutterbuck to retreat upon; I was therefore
a good deal surprised, when I found the antiquarian Captain identified
with a neighbour and friend of my own, who could never have been
confounded with him by any one who had read the book, and seen the
party alluded to. This erroneous identification occurs in a work
entitled, "Illustrations of the Author of Waverley, being Notices and
Anecdotes of real Characters, Scenes, and Incidents, supposed to be
described in his works, by Robert Chambers." This work was, of course,
liable to many errors, as any one of the kind must be, whatever may be
the ingenuity of the author, which takes the task of explaining what
can be only known to another person. Mistakes of place or inanimate
things referred to, are of very little moment; but the ingenious
author ought to have been more cautious of attaching real names to
fictitious characters. I think it is in the Spectator we read of a
rustic wag, who, in a copy of "The Whole Duty of Man," wrote opposite
to every vice the name of some individual in the neighbourhood, and
thus converted that excellent work into a libel on a whole parish.

The scenery being thus ready at the author's hand, the reminiscences
of the country were equally favourable. In a land where the horses
remained almost constantly saddled, and the sword seldom quitted the
warrior's side--where war was the natural and constant state of the
inhabitants, and peace only existed in the shape of brief and feverish
truces--there could be no want of the means to complicate and