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Summary of the Speech:

Professor Masson's tribute is a richly layered oration celebrating Sir Walter Scott's literary genius, personal character, and national importance. He situates Scott alongside Robert Burns, emphasising their complementary roles in Scottish literature—Burns as the bard of song, and Scott as the master of story. Masson reflects on Scott’s early life, his precocious literary instincts, and his prolific output—particularly his transition from verse to the novel with Waverley.

Scott’s passion for history, his imaginative engagement with the past, and his deep love of Scotland emerge as central themes. Masson praises Scott’s ability to unify Scotland—culturally and imaginatively—through his narratives. He discusses the geographical and chronological spread of Scott’s works and how Scott managed to elevate Scottish themes without narrow nationalism. He defends Scott’s romantic vision of history as a noble counterbalance to grim historical realities.

Finally, Masson speaks warmly of Scott the man: humble, benevolent, and stoic in adversity. Despite his financial collapse and massive debts, Scott faced hardship with courage and dignity, continuing to write until his death. The toast concludes with a wish that Edinburgh might one day see another towering figure like Scott.

Noteworthy Points

1. Scott and Burns: Song vs Story

Masson proposes a striking contrast: Burns embodied the song tradition, Scott the storytelling one. These, he suggests, are the two primal roots of all literature—especially among “the poorest tribes on earth” gathered round a fire.

2. Scott’s Early Literary Promise

Anecdotes such as Mrs. Cockburn’s 1777 letter describing the six-year-old Scott as “the most extraordinary genius of a boy I ever saw” show how early his brilliance was evident.

3. His Affection for the Past

Masson highlights Scott’s imaginative delight in history—especially the Gothic period from the 12th to 18th centuries—and compares it to a universal human yearning for certain past eras.

4. Love of Place: Scotland

Scott’s intense devotion to Scotland is emphasised. Even when writing about other lands, he often took a Scotsman with him in the story. His works helped unify regional Scottish identities, fostering a modern Scottish consciousness.

5. Catalogue of Scott’s Historical Novels

Masson carefully classifies the Waverley novels by century, setting, and nationality—showing how Scott's imagination traversed time but often returned to Scottish soil.

6. The Myth of Glorious Violence

He defends Scott’s romanticised history, arguing that not all of the past was brutal. Just as Chaucer depicted gentle nobility, Scott found nobility in Scottish heritage too.

7. Scott as a Moral Figure

Masson praises Scott’s character—his modesty, generosity, and resilience in the face of crippling debt. The image of Scott saying “There is a huge black mass of rock over me, but I will toss it over” becomes a symbol of perseverance.



8. A Hope for Edinburgh’s Future

The toast ends with a hopeful wish that Edinburgh might again produce someone of Scott’s stature, and a heartfelt declaration: “The immortal memory of Sir Walter Scott”.

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Subsidiary Toasts Summary:

1. The Queen
2. The Chairman noted that while Scott never lived under Queen Victoria’s reign, he did once see her as a young princess.
3. He speculated mystically on what she might have been thinking about her future role.
4. Scott couldn’t have imagined the greatness of her reign, the longest and one of the most glorious in British history.
5. The toast was received with enthusiasm, as were the toasts to the Prince and Princess of Wales and the rest of the Royal Family.
6. The Navy, Army, and Reserve Forces
7. Proposed by Mr W. W. Robertson, who reminded the room that Scott had served as a volunteer and even wrote verse praising fellow volunteers.
8. Colonel J. B. Sutherland responded, affirming the strength and readiness of Britain’s forces and calling for generous public funding to sustain them.
9. The Houses of Parliament
10. Toast proposed by Sheriff Vary Campbell; response by Sir Lewis M‘Iver.
11. M‘Iver gave a witty and self-deprecating speech, lamenting how often MPs are called to respond to this toast—“three million times since the Union,” he joked.
12. He noted that Parliament, often full of “amiably insincere laudation,” is at its best during recess—when it is blissfully silent.
13. He praised the “golden silence” of a non-sitting Parliament, especially during sensitive diplomatic times.
14. The City of Edinburgh
15. Proposed by Sir Thomas Gibson Carmichael, M.P.
16. The Lord Provost responded by highlighting major city projects and expressed confidence that new council members from recently incorporated Portobello would contribute to the city's progress.
17. He referred to Portobello as “Edinburgh by the Sea” and anticipated its positive integration into the wider city.
18. The Chairman
19. Proposed by Mr John Harrison.
20. The event ended with a rousing rendition of “Auld Lang Syne,” accompanied by Mr Dambmann’s band and songs from Mr James Galloway.
21. The evening’s printed menu, which featured a portrait of Professor Masson, was designed by Mr James Hay.

Interesting Points

• Scott’s military enthusiasm: The inclusion of Scott's own volunteerism and poetic tributes to local troops shows how civic duty and cultural pride were intertwined in his legacy.
• Humour and Parliament: Sir Lewis M‘Iver’s speech is a satirical gem. His mock-serious “arithmetical computation” of 30,000 speeches a year responding to the Houses of Parliament toast is a wry take on political oratory fatigue.
• Parliament in recess as a virtue: He cleverly suggests that Parliament is most admirable when it's silent, a point underscored with poetic flair: “In one sweet silence blent.”
• Edinburgh’s civic ambition: The expansion into Portobello and branding it “Edinburgh by the Sea” hints at the city’s aspirations to modernise and broaden its identity at the time.

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