The poetical works of Sir Walter Scott, with memoir of the author.

16 INTRODUCTION TO THE
of making some figure in the field of literature.
But an established character with the public, in
my new capacity, still remained to be acquired.
I have noticed, that the translations from Burger
had been unsuccessful, nor had the original poetry which appeared under the auspices of Mr.
Lewis, in the "Tales of Wonder," in any great
degree raised my reputation. It is true, I had
private friends disposed to second me in my
efforts to obtain popularity. But I was sportsman enough to know, that if the greyhound does
not run well, the halloos of his patrons will not
obtain the prize for him.
Neither was I ignorant that the practice of
ballad-writing was for the present out of fashion,
and that any attempt to revive it, or to found a
poetical character upon it, would certainly fail of
success. The ballad-measure itself, which was
once listened to as an enchanting melody, had become hackneyed and sickening, from its being the
accompaniment of every grinding hand-organ;
and besides, a long work in quatrains, whether
those of the common ballad, or such as are
termed elegiac, has an effect upon the mind like
that of the bed of Procrustes upon the human
body; for, as it must be both awkward and difficult to carry on a long sentence from one stanza
to another, it follows, that the meaning of each
period must be comprehended within four lines,
and equally so that it must be extended so as to