A Publisher And His Friends (Fiscle Part-4), Samuel Smiles [good beach reads txt] 📗
- Author: Samuel Smiles
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Absolute Necessity Of Carefully Reconsidering And Revising The Third
Volume, And Particularly The Conclusion Of The Novel.
"Mr. Gifford, I Dare Say, Will Agree With Me That Since The Time Of
Lucian All The Representations Of The Infernal Regions, Which Have Been
Attempted By Satirical Writers, Such As 'Fielding's Journey From This
World To The Next,' Have Been Feeble And Flat. The Sketch In "Ada Reis"
Is Commonplace In Its Observations And Altogether Insufficient, And It
Would Not Do Now To Come With A Decisive Failure In An Attempt Of
Considerable Boldness. I Think, If It Were Thought That Anything Could
Be Done With The Novel, And That The Faults Of Its Design And Structure
Can Be Got Over, That I Could Put Her In The Way Of Writing Up This Part
A Little, And Giving It Something Of Strength, Spirit, And Novelty, And
Of Making It At Once More Moral And More Interesting. I Wish You Would
Communicate These My Hasty Suggestions To Mr. Gifford, And He Will See
The Propriety Of Pressing Lady Caroline To Take A Little More Time To
This Part Of The Novel. She Will Be Guided By His Authority, And Her
Fault At Present Is To Be Too Hasty And Too Impatient Of The Trouble Of
Correcting And Recasting What Is Faulty."
"Ada Reis" Was Published In March 1823.
Another Of England's Prime Ministers, Lord John Russell, Had In
Contemplation A History Of Europe, And Consulted Mr. Murray On The
Subject. A First Volume, Entitled "The Affairs Of Europe," Was Published
Without The Author's Name On The Title-Page, And A Few Years Later
Another Volume Was Published, But It Remained An Unfinished Work. Lord
John Was An Ambitious And Restless Author; Without Steady Perseverance
In Any Branch Of Literature; He Went From Poems To Tragedies, From
Tragedies To Memoirs, Then To History, Tales, Translations Of Part Of
The "Odyssey," Essays (By The Gentleman Who Left His Lodgings), And Then
To Memoirs And Histories Again. Mr. Croker Said Of His "Don Carlos": "It
Is Not Easy To Find Any Poetry, Or Even Oratory, Of The Present Day
Delivered With Such Cold And Heavy Diction, Such Distorted Tropes And
Disjointed Limbs Of Similes Worn To The Bones Long Ago."
Another Work That Excited Greater Interest Than Lord John Russell's
Anonymous History Was Mr. James Morier's "Hajji Baba." Mr. Morier Had In
His Youth Travelled Through The East, Especially In Persia, Where He
Held A Post Under Sir Gore Ouseley, Then English Ambassador. On His
Return To England, He Published Accounts Of His Travels; But His "Hajji
Baba" Was More Read Than Any Other Of His Works. Sir Walter Scott Was
Especially Pleased With It, And Remarked That "Hajji Baba" Might Be
Termed The Oriental "Gil Bias." Mr. Morier Afterwards Published "The
Adventures Of Hajji Baba In England," As Well As Other Works Of An
Eastern Character. The Following Letter, Written By The Persian Envoy In
Chapter 22 ( Washington Irving--Ugo Foscolo--Lady Caroline Lamb--"Hajji Baba"--Mrs. Markham's Histories.) Pg 53England, Miiza Abul Hassan, Shows The Impression Created By English
Society On A Foreigner In April 1824:
_Letter From The Persian Envoy, Mirza Abul Hassan, To The London
Gentleman Without, Who Lately Wrote Letter To Him And Ask Very Much To
Give Answer_.
_April 3, 1824._
Sir, My Lord,
When You Write To Me Some Time Ago To Give My Thought Of What I See Good
And Bad This Country, That Time I Not Speak English Very Well. Now I
Read, I Write Much Little Better. Now I Give To You My Think. In This
Country Bad Not Too Much, Everything Very Good. But Suppose I Not Tell
Something Little Bad, Then You Say I Tell All Flattery--Therefore I Tell
Most Bad Thing. I Not Like Such Crowd In Evening Party Every Night. In
Cold Weather Not Very Good, Now Hot Weather, Much Too Bad. I Very Much
Astonish Every Day Now Much Hot Than Before, Evening Parties Much Crowd
Than Before. Pretty Beautiful Ladies Come Sweat, That Not Very Good. I
Always Afraid Some Old Lady In Crowd Come Dead, That Not Very Good, And
Spoil My Happiness. I Think Old Ladies After 85 Years Not Come To
Evening Party, That Much Better. Why For Take So Much Trouble? Some
Other Thing Rather Bad. Very Beautiful Young Lady She Got Ugly Fellow
For Husband, That Not Very Good, Very Shocking. I Ask Sr Gore [Sir Gore
Ouseley] Why For This. He Says Me--"Perhaps He Very Good Man, Not
Handsome; No Matter, Perhaps He Got Too Much Money, Perhaps Got Title."
I Say I Not Like That, All Very Shocking. This All Bad I Know. Now I Say
Good. English People All Very Good People. All Very Happy. Do What They
Like, Say What Like, Write In Newspaper What Like. I Love English People
Very Much, They Very Civil To Me. I Tell My King English Love Persian
Very Much. English King Best Man In World, He Love His People Very Good
Much; He Speak Very Kind To Me, I Love Him Very Much. Queen Very Best
Woman I Ever Saw. Prince Of Wales Such A Fine Elegant Beautiful Man. I
Not Understand English Enough Proper To Praise Him, He Too Great For My
Language. I Respect Him Same As My Own King. I Love Him Much Better, His
Manner All Same As Talisman And Charm. All The Princes Very Fine Men,
Very Handsome Men, Very Sweet Words, Very Affable. I Like All Too Much.
I Think The Ladies And Gentlemen This Country Most High Rank, High
Honour, Very Rich, Except Two Or Three Most Good, Very Kind To Inferior
Peoples. This Very Good. I Go To See Chelsea. All Old Men Sit On Grass
In Shade Of Fine Tree, Fine River Run By, Beautiful Place, Plenty To
Eat, Drink, Good Coat, Everything Very Good. Sir Gore He Tell Me King
Charles And King Jame. I Say Sir Gore, They Not Musselman, But I Think
God Love Them Very Much. I Think God He Love The King Very Well For
Keeping Up That Charity. Then I See One Small Regiment Of Children Go To
Chapter 22 ( Washington Irving--Ugo Foscolo--Lady Caroline Lamb--"Hajji Baba"--Mrs. Markham's Histories.) Pg 54Dinner, One Small Boy He Say Thanks To God For Eat, For Drink, For
Clothes, Other Little Boys They All Answer Amen. Then I Cry A Little, My
Heart Too Much Pleased. This All Very Good For Two Things--One Thing,
God Very Much Please; Two Things, Soldiers Fight Much Better, Because
See Their Good King Take Care Of Old Wounded Fathers And Little
Children. Then I Go To Greenwich, That Too Good Place, Such A Fine Sight
Make Me A Little Sick For Joy. All Old Men So Happy, Eat Dinner, So
Well, Fine House, Fine Beds--All Very Good. This Very Good Country.
English Ladies Very Handsome, Very Beautiful. I Travel Great Deal. I Go
Arabia, I Go Calcutta, Hyderabad, Poonah, Bombay, Georgia, Armenia,
Constantinople, Malta, Gibraltar. I See Best Georgia, Circassian,
Turkish, Greek Ladies, But Nothing Not So Beautiful As English Ladies,
All Very Clever, Speak French, Speak English, Speak Italian, Play Music
Very Well, Sing Very Good. Very Glad For Me If Persian Ladies Like Them.
But English Ladies Speak Such Sweet Words. I Think Tell A Little
Story--That Not Very Good.
One Thing More I See But I Not Understand That Thing Good Or Bad. Last
Thursday I See Some Fine Horses, Fine Carriages, Thousand People Go To
Look That Carriages. I Ask Why For? They Say Me, That Gentleman On Boxes
They Drive Their Own Carriages. I Say Why For Take So Much Trouble? They
Say Me He Drive Very Well; That Very Good Thing. It Rain Very Hard, Some
Lord Some Gentleman He Get Very Wet. I Say Why He Not Go Inside? They
Tell Me Good Coachman Not Mind Get Wet Every Day, Will Be Much Ashamed
If Go Inside; That I Not Understand.
Sir, My Lord, Good-Night,
Abul Hassan.
Mr. Murray Invariably Consulted Mr. Barrow As To Any Works On Voyages Or
Travels He Was Required To Publish, And Found Him A Faithful Adviser.
The Following Expression Of Opinion, From One With So Large An
Experience, Is Interesting:
_Mr. J. Barrow To John Murray_.
_March 28, 1823._
Chapter 22 ( Washington Irving--Ugo Foscolo--Lady Caroline Lamb--"Hajji Baba"--Mrs. Markham's Histories.) Pg 55
"I Need Not Tell You That Caprice Rather Than Merit Governs The Sale Of
A Work. If Instances Are Wanting, I Might Quote Those Of Belzoni And
Hamilton. [Footnote: This Reference Probably Refers To Walter Hamilton's
"Description Of Hindostan And Adjacent Countries," Published A Few Years
Before.] The First Absolute Trumpery When Put In Competition With The
Second; Yet The Former, I Believe, Sold About Ten Times The Number Of
The Latter."
Another Little Book Published About This Time Has A Curious History, And
Illustrates The Lottery Of Book Publishing. Mrs. Markham's [Footnote:
This Lady's Real Name Was Mrs. Penrose.] "History Of England" Was First
Published By Constable, But It Fell Still-Born From The Press. Mr.
Murray, Discerning The Merit Of The Work In 1824, Bought The Remainder
Of 333 Copies From Constable, And Had It Revised, Corrected, And
Enlarged, And Brought Out In An Entirely New Form. He Placed It In His
List Of School Books, And Pushed It Among The Teachers Throughout The
Country, Until At Length It Obtained A Very Large And Regular
Circulation. The Book Has Subsequently Undergone Frequent Revision, And
Down To The Present Date It Continues To Be A Great Favourite,
Especially In Ladies' Schools.
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