Sir  Walter  Scott. — The  truly  chivalrous  sense  of  honour
stamped  his  whole  conduct.  We  do  not  mean  that  Hotspur
honour  which  is  roused  only  by  the  drum  and  fife — though  he
says  of  himself,  '  I  like  the  sound  of  a  drum  as  well  as  Uncle
Toby  ever  did  ' — but  that  honour  which  is  deep-seated  in  the
heart  of  every  true  gentleman,  shrinking  with  sensitive  deli-
cacy from  the  least  stain,  or  imputation  of  a  stain,  on  his
faith.  '  If  we  lose  everything  else ',  writes  he,  on  a  trying
occasion  to  a  friend  who  was  not  so  nice  in  this  particular,
'  we  will  at  least  keep  our  honour  unblemished  '.  It  reminds
one  of  the  pithy  epistle  of  a  kindred  chivalrous  spirit,  Francis
the  First,  to  his  mother,  from  the  unlucky  field  of  Pavia  :
'Tout  est  perdu,  forsl'honneur'.  Scott's  latter  years  furnished
a  noble  commentary  on  the  sincerity  of  his  manly  principles.
1856,  W.  H.  Prescott,  Essays,  p.   122.
