It has been the occasional occupation of the Author of Waverley,
for several years past, to revise and correct the voluminous
series of Novels which pass under that name, in order that, if
they should ever appear as his avowed productions, he might render
them in some degree deserving of a continuance of the public
favour with which they have been honoured ever since their first
appearance. For a long period, however, it seemed likely that the
improved and illustrated edition which he meditated would be a
posthumous publication. But the course of the events which
occasioned the disclosure of the Author's name having, in a great
measure, restored to him a sort of parental control over these
Works, he is naturally induced to give them to the press in a
corrected, and, he hopes, an improved form, while life and health
permit the task of revising and illustrating them. Such being his
purpose, it is necessary to say a few words on the plan of the
proposed Edition.
In stating it to be revised and corrected, it is not to be
inferred that any attempt is made to alter the tenor of the
stories, the character of the actors, or the spirit of the
dialogue. There is no doubt ample room for emendation in all these
points,—but where the tree falls it must lie. Any attempt to
obviate criticism, however just, by altering a work already in the
hands of the public is generally unsuccessful. In the most
improbable fiction, the reader still desires some air of
vraisemblance, and does not relish that the incidents of a tale
familiar to him should be altered to suit the taste of critics, or
the caprice of the Author himself. This process of feeling is so
natural, that it may be observed even in children, who cannot
endure that a nursery story should be repeated to them differently
from the manner in which it was first told.
But without altering, in the slightest degree, either the story
or
the mode of telling it, the Author has taken this opportunity to
correct errors of the press and slips of the pen. That such should
exist cannot be wondered at, when it is considered that the
Publishers found it their interest to hurry through the press a
succession of the early editions of the various Novels, and that
the Author had not the usual opportunity of revision. It is hoped
that the present edition will be found free from errors of that
accidental kind.
The Author has also ventured to make some emendations of a
different character, which, without being such apparent deviations
from the original stories as to disturb the reader's old
associations, will, he thinks, add something to the spirit of the
dialogue, narrative, or description. These consist in occasional
pruning where the language is redundant, compression where the
style is loose, infusion of vigour where it is languid, the
exchange of less forcible for more appropriate epithets—slight
alterations in short, like the last touches of an artist, which
contribute to heighten and finish the picture, though an
inexperienced eye can hardly detect in what they consist.
The General Preface to the new Edition, and the Introductory
Notices to each separate work, will contain an account of such
circumstances attending the first publication of the Novels and
Tales as may appear interesting in themselves, or proper to be
communicated to the public. The Author also proposes to publish,
on this occasion, the various legends, family traditions, or
obscure historical facts which have formed the ground-work of
these Novels, and to give some account of the places where the
scenes are laid, when these are altogether, or in part, real; as
well as a statement of particular incidents founded on fact;
together with a more copious Glossary, and Notes explanatory of
the ancient customs and popular superstitions referred to in the
Romances.
Upon the whole, it is hoped that the Waverley Novels, in their
new
dress, will not be found to have lost any part of their
attractions in consequence of receiving illustrations by the
Author, and undergoing his careful revision.