B., a general in the army, and for some time ambassador at
Vienna; Sir Basil Keith, Knight, captain in the navy, who
died governor of Jamaica; and my excellent friend, Anne
Murray Keith, who ultimately came into possession of the family
estates, and died not long before the date of this Introduction,
(1831.)
death occurring shortly before had saddened
a wide circle, much attached to her, as well
for her genuine virtue and amiable qualities of
disposition, as for the extent of information
which she possessed, and the delightful manner
in which she was used to communicate it.
In truth, the author had, on many occasions,
been indebted to her vivid memory for the
_substratum_ of his Scottish fictions---and she
accordingly had been, from an early period, at
no loss to fix the Waverley Novels on the
right culprit.
In the sketch of Chrystal Croftangry's
own history, the author has been accused of
introducing some not polite allusions to respectable
living individuals: but he may safely, he
presumes, pass over such an insinuation. The
first of the narratives which Mr Croftangry
proceeds to lay before the public, ``The Highland
Widow,'' was derived from Mrs Murray
Keith, and is given, with the exception of a few
additional circumstances---the introduction of
which I am rather inclined to regret---very
much as the excellent old lady used to tell the
story.
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