In
the process of the romance, the page, intended to be a principal
person in the work, contrived (from the baseness of his natural
propensities, I suppose) to slink down stairs into the kitchen, and
now he must e'en abide there."[12] And I venture to say that no reader
of the poem ever has distinctly understood what the goblin page did or
did not do, what it was that was "lost" throughout the poem and
"found" at the conclusion, what was the object of his personating the
young heir of the house of Scott, and whether or not that object was
answered;--what use, if any, the magic book of Michael Scott was to
the Lady of Branksome, or whether it was only harm to her; and I doubt
moreover whether any one ever cared an iota what answer, or whether
any answer, might be given to any of these questions. All this, as
Scott himself clearly perceived, was left confused, and not simply
vague. The goblin imp had been more certainly an imp of mischief to
him than even to his boyish ancestor. But if Lady Dalkeith suggested
the poorest part of the poem, she certainly inspired its best part.
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