Ch. 11: Major Bellenden arrives at Tillietudlem in response to Edith's letter, shortly followed by Claverhouse. Ch. 12 (25): After Major Bellenden rejects a letter from Henry proposing terms of surrender there is an indecisive skirmish. As a tribute of affection, gratitude, and respect by their two sons Nathaniel and Walter, ministers of the Free Church of Scotland." Humma, John B. “The Narrative Framing Apparatus of Scott’s Old Mortality.” Studies in the Novel 12, no. 4 (Winter, 1980): 301-315. Explores the problem of landlord, Pattieson, Cleishbotham, and editors as commentators upon the narrative. Most of the action of Old Mortalitytakes place in 1679 in the south-west of Scotland, during the reign of the catholic Stuart King Charles II (1660-1685) – this year was marked by the revolt of the Scottish Covenanters followed by a period of harsh repression. Thre are three important dates to remember.

Provisional number of deaths registered in England and Wales, including deaths involving coronavirus (COVID-19), in the latest weeks. Like the rest of Scott’s novels, it’s important to pay attention early on. If you get a good grasp on “who’s who,” his writing style is easy to follow. http://www.walterscott.lib.ed.ac.uk/works/novels/mortality.html James Corson, “librarian, scholar and Scottophile”I cheated the leddy for your clavers, but I wasna gaun to cheat my joe. But she may marry whae she likes now, for I'm clean dung ower. This is a waur dirdum than we got frae Mr Gudyill when ye garr'd me refuse to eat the plum-porridge on Yule-eve, as if it were ony matter to God or man whether a pleughman had suppit on minched pies or sour sowens." The presbyterian rebels--rather uncompromising, puritan folk who believe the whole country should be run according to their idea of Biblical principles--are shown to be frequently extreme, but perhaps more in the right than the government which does not allow them to practice their religion. Morton fights against the government tyranny, but would be satisfied with a compromise--let people worship as they will. That compromising spirit puts him in a bad spot with the other rebels, who want a complete win, complete capitulation from the king (which they cannot get), and he becomes everybody's enemy. Like most of Scott's novels, `Old Mortality' (1816) is rather difficult to get into but by the third chapter I was finding it a gripping and timely read. The story is set in late 17th century Scotland. Some people think of Scott as promoting a fanciful and sentimental view of Scottish history but in this novel he depicts a nation deeply divided along religious, cultural and political lines. Some of these divisions still exist.

In regard to these affectionate sons who erected this memorial stone, I may state that Nathaniel was minister of Galashiels in Selkirkshire, but left the Church of Scotland at the secession of 1843, and is now Free Church minister of St. Andrew's, Glasgow. He is the author of a very popular little work, The Manse Garden, and was Moderator of the Free Church in 1850. His brother Walter, some time a professor in a Prussian university, was minister of Kirkurd in Peebles-shire, but seceded in 1843. He is author of the Legend of Iona. The hero of the story is Henry Morton of Milnwood, a Presbyterian. He is arrested by Claverhouse's troops for hiding John Balfour of Burley who was involved in the murder of the Archbishop. In the autumn of 1799, while on a visit to Lord Douglas at Bothwell Castle, on the Clyde, Scott made an excursion to Craignethan and, as he afterwards said, immediately fell in love with it so much that he wanted to live there. Lord Douglas offered him the use for life of a very good house at one corner of the court. It was built in 1665 and we found it still in excellent repair. Scott did not at once decline the offer, but circumstances made it impossible to accept. That he made a very careful examination of the ruin, however, is shown by the unusually accurate descriptions. Ch. 13: An old jealousy of Henry's is reawakened by his misinterpretation of Edith's relationship with Evandale. Claverhouse agrees to spare him from instant execution at Evandale's request.When, as a young girl, I first discovered the books of Walter Scott I was not very fond of long descriptions and it was good because there was none in the abridged editions ;-). Today it’s exactly the contrary. I’m looking for them and more particularly the descriptions of landscapes. And don’t talk me about the Scottish landscapes ! We’ll never get tired of them ! In Old Mortality, as in the other works of Sir Walter, the landscape plays a very important part, creating the atmosphere, always in keeping with the action and the mood of the characters. Walter Scott gives us a good idea of what makes the Scottish landscape so special. We must keep in mind that Walter Scott was a tireless walker and an excellent rider. Since his childhood he had travelled far and wide his country and as he knew it perfectly he was second to none to describe it. As a passionate antiquarian and historian, he also loved ruins and castles and like his contemporaries, the poets William Wordsworth (1770-1850) and Samuel Coleridge (1772-1834), his writings marked the beginning of the romantic era.

Sir Walter Alva Scott created and called a series. Scott arranged the plots and characters so that the reader enters into the lives of great and ordinary persons, caught in violent, dramatic changes. The family connection with Jerome Bonaparte has since been proven to be a legend, and it throws other aspects reported here into doubt. The stories may have been embelished by Train for the benefit of Sir Walter Scott.The sculpture represents Robert Paterson in the act of restoring the inscription on the tombstone of one of the martyrs. The history of the figures is recorded on a mural tablet facing the spectator. Old Mortality is focused on questions of death and legacy and what the legacies that we inherit mean for our processes of self-discovery. Miranda is fascinated by photographs, keepsakes, and stories that give her windows into what her various relatives were and are like—Cousin Eva, Uncle Gabriel, and her late Aunt Amy especially.