On the death of Constable in 1827 the various manuscripts of Scott’s works in his possession were claimed by the creditors on Sir Walter’s estate and also by Sir Walter himself. The matter having been referred to arbitration, it was decided that the condition originally attached was no longer of any avail, and the author of the Waverley Novels then said, “If they are not mine, I do not wish to interfere in the matter in the slightest degree.” The trustees accordingly sent the manuscripts to Mr. Evans, at that time the principal literary auctioneer in London, and they were put up for sale in August 1831. “The sale-rooms of Mr. Evans,” says a literary journal of the day, “were crowded by the curious to witness the sale of the original manuscripts of the Waverley Novels.” They did not realise anything like the prices expected. The whole amount obtained for the manuscripts of the Constable lot was only £317, and it was believed that rumours of the large sums such manuscripts would be likely to fetch had deterred many prospective purchasers from attending the sale. For instance, it may be mentioned that the manuscript of “Waverley” was bought by Mr. Wilks, M.P., for £18, and re-sold a few days after to Mr. Hall for £42. The latter subsequently gave a small portion of it to Cadell, and this portion afterwards found its way to Abbotsford. The main part of “Waverley,” however, was presented, in September 1850, by Mr. Hall to the Advocates’ Library at Edinburgh, where it may now be seen.[31] The manuscript of “Rob Roy” was another purchase of Mr. Wilks, for £50, and at his death it was bought by Cadell for £82, the latter afterwards presenting it to Lockhart. [Illustration: FACSIMILE OF A PAGE OF THE MS. OF “WAVERLEY”] Shortly after their publication many of the Waverley Novels were pirated in Germany. A copy of one, picked up at a bookstall in Edinburgh some years ago, bears the title: “The Monastery, a Romance. By the Author of ‘Waverley.’ In Four Volumes. Zwickau, printed for the Brothers Schumann. 1824.” It is actually in two volumes—1 and 2 being together, but each of the four has separate title and steel frontispiece. There was also published, in 1825, a German romance called “Walladmor,” which was impudently ascribed to Sir Walter Scott. Presumably the long-continued anonymity regarding the authorship of the Waverley Novels encouraged the publisher of this book to hope for a successful sale.[32] CHAPTER VIII COMMERCIAL TROUBLES AND SUCCESSES—“THE WEEKLY JOURNAL”