Bruce's pious and chivalrous request in his dying hour, that his heart
might be carried to the Holy Land and placed in the Holy Sepulchre, in
fulfilment of a vow of pilgrimage; and of the loyal expedition of Sir
James Douglas to convey the glorious relic. Much might be made, he
said, out of the adventures of Sir James in that adventurous age; of
his fortunes in Spain, and his death in a crusade against the Moors;
with the subsequent fortunes of the heart of Robert Bruce, until it was
brought back to its native land, and enshrined within the holy walls of
old Melrose.

As Scott sat on a stone talking in this way, and knocking with his
staff against the little red lion which lay prostrate before him, his
gray eyes twinkled beneath his shagged eyebrows; scenes, images,
incidents, kept breaking upon his mind as he proceeded, mingled with
touches of the mysterious and supernatural as connected with the heart
of Bruce. It seemed as if a poem or romance were breaking vaguely on
his imagination. That he subsequently contemplated something of the
kind, as connected with this subject, and with his favorite ruin of
Melrose, is evident from his introduction to "The Monastery;" and it is
a pity that he never succeeded in following out these shadowy, but
enthusiastic conceptions.

A summons to breakfast broke off our conversation, when I begged to
recommend to Scott's attention my friend the little red lion, who had
led to such an interesting topic, and hoped he might receive some niche
or station in the future castle, worthy of his evident antiquity and
apparent dignity. Scott assured me, with comic gravity, that the
valiant little lion should be most honorably entertained; I hope,
therefore, that he still flourishes at Abbotsford.