Here he put off the gown and wig of a barrister, and
played the part of a country gentleman. He rode about
accompanied by his children and his friends, and followed by his
dogs. He fished, and walked, and learned to know every one
around, high and low. He was beloved by all the countryside, for
he was kindly and courteous to all, and was "aye the gentleman."
He would sit and talk with a poor man in his cottage, listening
to his tales of long ago, with the same ease and friendliness as
he would entertain the great in his own beautiful house. And
that house was always thronged with visitors, invited and
uninvited, with friends who came out of love of the genial host,
with strangers who came out of curiosity to see the great
novelist. For great as Scott's fame as a poet, it was nothing to
the fame he earned as a story-teller.
The first story he published was called Waverley, or 'Tis Sixty
Years Since. He had begun to write this tale years before, but
had put it aside as some of his friends did not think well of it.
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