Indeed the _Castle of Otranto_ is highly praised;[212] but so also is Mrs.Radcliffe's work, except on the one point of the attempt to rationalize mysteries.

The kind of romance which she "introduced"[213] is compared with the melodrama, and its particular mode of appeal is analyzed in very interesting fashion.

In the _Life of Clara Reeve_ the proper treatment of ghosts is discussed at length, for that author had contended that ghosts should be very mild and of "sober demeanour." Scott justifies her practice, but not her theory, on the following grounds: "What are the limits to be placed to the reader's credulity, when those of common-sense and ordinary nature are at once exceeded?
The question admits only one answer, namely, that the author himself, being in fact the magician, shall evoke no spirits whom he is not capable of endowing with manners and language corresponding to their supernatural character." Scott writes with much enthusiasm about Defoe's famous little ghost-story, _The Apparition of Mrs.Veal_, praising Defoe's wonderful skill in making the unreal seem credible.

In connection with this tale Scott developed a very interesting anecdote to explain the fact that Drelincourt's _Defence against the Fear of Death_ is recommended by the apparition.

"Drelincourt's book," he says, "being neglected, lay a dead stock on the hands of the publisher.