Alexander was an amiable and modest man, never connected with Scott in any business matters, but always his favourite in private. During some temporary financial difficulty of Scott in 1826, he was able to lend him £500. He was the father of Mr. John Ballantyne, R.S.A., a well-known artist in London, who died in May 1897, and of the late Mr. R. M. Ballantyne, celebrated for his tales of travel and adventure, published by Messrs. James Nisbet & Co., which are still popular with young people. CHAPTER IV SCOTT’S POETICAL ROMANCES For many years after its institution the Ballantyne Press was in continuous action, and the number of volumes that issued from it can hardly be reckoned. Besides work for publishing houses in London and Edinburgh, all Scott’s writings were first printed there, and the printing-house was constantly occupied in pouring forth edition after edition of his works. “Sir Tristrem” was published in May 1804 by Constable, who expected so little popularity for it that the edition consisted of 150 copies only, which were sold at the high price of two guineas. In due time, however, the work had its share in the celebrity attached to the name of its editor, and it was through the printing of this poem that the intimate connection of Constable and the Ballantyne Press began. “The Lay of the Last Minstrel” was published in January 1805. It was a splendid quarto volume, with “meadows of margin,” and was greeted with unbounded applause, both for its intrinsic merits and for its beautiful printing.