Basil Hall
Published: 1831
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Explaining how he had arranged through Sir James Graham for Sir Walter Scott and his daughter to travel to the Mediterranean on the Barham; saying "I called to mention to you that I had a letter yesterday from Scotland about Sir W. Scott's travelling plans - in which it was stated that much anxiety was felt by Sir Walter's friends on account of the great length of the Journey to Naples & that the Medical men seemed to wish that, if possible, he might go straight to the Mediterranean in a man of war. My correspondent (Mr. Cadell) expressed a strong wish that I should discover how far such a thing was possible. I thought it best to see Sir James Graham at once on the subject & I had scarcely read the paragraphs in Mr. Cadell's letter before he said the whole should be arranged without any trouble to Sir Walter - for that he (Sir James) would write to Cap't Pigot of the Barham to request him to give Sir Walter & Miss Scott a passage. Nothing could be more handsome than the manner in which this was done & he desired me to write to Sir Walter Scott to say how happy he felt to have it in his power to be of any use to a person who had contributed so much to the public happiness &c &c &c. My occasion for troubling you with all this is that in Mr. Cadell's Letter, he says it is possible Mr. Lockhart may have written to you on the subject - It occurred to me besides that you would at all events, be glad to know that the affair was settled - & that it has been done in so pleasant a manner. Sir Walter had some scruples, I understand, about asking such a favor but Sir James Graham bid me assure him that he [illegible] there was no favor in the matter - for that there was no officer in the service who could not gladly have accommodated such a man - & no person of any party in the country who would not have done his utmost to contribute anything to the preservation of a life so valuable to us all - This is creditable to all parties, I think."