Excerpt from Lays and Letters From Linton All that is asked from the fair and just critic is - that he may read the book honestly through, before pronouncing upon it. Were we assured of the generosity of our friend, we might also request him to remember (or as is likely, if he is unaware of our difficulties, to accept the sad fact of them on our word), the terrible days and nights of trials and troubles to the author, during which the great feck of the Lays and Letters were composed and scribbled. Two small pieces which were printed in a former work, reappear in this book - a fault which could not either be easily or properly avoided. At the same time, however, in the places which they now occupy in this volume, they are just where they were originally meant to be. Should the present one meet with a tithe of the success of the book alluded to, certes, ere long, in a certain canny neuk of East Lothian at least, there will be many russet rustic faces exhibit ing the broad grin of heart-felt glee and satisfaction. Perhaps it is too audaciously presumptive to anticipate this? About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.