A Publisher And His Friends (Fiscle Part-4), Samuel Smiles [good beach reads txt] 📗

Yours Very Truly,

 

 

 

R.W. Hay.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter Xxiv

 

 

 

The "Representative"

 

 

 

 

Mr. Murray Had For Long Been Desirous Of Publishing A Journal Which

Should Appear More Frequently Than Once A Quarter, More Especially After

The Discontinuance Of His Interest In Blackwood's Magazine. In 1825 He

Conceived The More Ambitious Design Of Publishing A Daily Morning Paper,

A Project Now Chiefly Interesting From The Fact That In This Venture He

Had The Assistance Of The Future Lord Beaconsfield. The Intimacy Which

Existed Between The Murrays And D'israelis Had Afforded Mr. Murray

Exceptional Opportunities Of Forming An Opinion Of Benjamin's Character,

And He Saw With Delight The Rapidly Developing Capacities Of His Old

Friend's Son. Even In His Eighteenth Year Benjamin Was Consulted By Mr.

Murray As To The Merits Of A Ms., And Two Years Later He Wrote A Novel

Entitled "Aylmer Papillon," Which Did Not See The Light. He Also Edited

A "History Of Paul Jones, Admiral In The Russian Navy," Written By

Chapter 23 (Gifford's Retirement From The Editorship Of The "Quarterly"--And Death.) Pg 65

Theophilus Smart, An American, And Originally Published In The United

States.

 

 

 

Young Disraeli Was Already Gifted With A Power Of Influencing Others,

Unusual In A Man Of His Age. He Was Eloquent, Persuasive, And Ingenious,

And Even Then, As In Future Years, When He Became A Leading Figure In

The Political World, He Had The Power Of Drawing Others Over To The

Views Which He Entertained, However Different They Might Be From Their

Own. Looking Merely To His Literary Career As A Successful Novel Writer,

His Correspondence With Mr. Murray About His Proposed Work Of "Aylmer

Papillon" Is Not Without Interest.

 

 

 

_Mr. Benjamin Disraeli To John Murray_.

 

 

 

_May_, 1824.

 

 

 

My Dear Sir,

 

 

 

Your Very Kind Letter Induces Me To Trouble You With This Most Trivial

Of Trifles. My Plan Has Been In These Few Pages So To Mix Up Any

Observations Which I Had To Make On The Present State Of Society With

The Bustle And Hurry Of A Story, That My Satire Should Never Be

Protruded On My Reader. If You Will Look At The Last Chapter But One,

Entitled "Lady Modeley's," You Will See What I Mean Better Than I Can

Express It. The First Pages Of That Chapter I Have Written In The Same

Manner As I Would A Common Novel, But I Have Endeavoured To Put In

_Action_ At The _End_, The Present Fashion Of Getting On In The World. I

Write No Humbug About "Candidly Giving Your Opinion, Etc., Etc." You

Must Be Aware That You Cannot Do Me A Greater Favour Than Refusing To

Publish It, If You Think _It Won't Do_; And Who Should Be A Better Judge

Than Yourself?

 

 

 

Believe Me Ever To Be, My Dear Sir,

 

 

 

Your Most Faithful And Obliged,

 

 

 

B. Disraeli. [Footnote: It Will Be Observed That While The Father

Maintained The Older Spelling Of The Name, The Son Invariably Writes It

Chapter 23 (Gifford's Retirement From The Editorship Of The "Quarterly"--And Death.) Pg 66

Thus.]

 

 

 

P.S.--The Second And The Last Chapters Are Unfortunately Mislaid, But

They Have No Particular Connection With The Story. They Are Both Very

Short, The First Contains An Adventure On The Road, And The Last Mr.

Papillon's Banishment Under The Alien Act From A Ministerial

Misconception Of A Metaphysical Sonnet.

 

 

 

Thursday Morn.: Excuse Want Of Seal, As We're Doing A Bit Of Summer

To-Day, And There Is Not A Fire In The House.

 

 

 

 

Frederick Place, _May_ 25, 1824.

 

 

 

1/2 Past 1 O'clock A.M.

 

 

 

My Dear Sir,

 

 

 

The Travels, To Which I Alluded This Morning, Would Not Bind Up With

"Parry," Since A Moderate Duodecimo Would Contain The Adventures Of A

Certain Mr. Aylmer Papillon In A _Terra Incognita_. I Certainly Should

Never Have Mentioned Them Had I Been Aware That You Were So Very Much

Engaged, And I Only Allude To Them Once More That No Confusion May Arise

From The Half-Explanations Given This Morning. You Will Oblige Me By Not

Mentioning This To Anybody.

 

 

 

Believe Me To Be, My Dear Sir,

 

 

 

Your Very Faithful And Obliged Servant,

 

 

 

B. Disraeli.

 

 

 

 

Frederick Place, _June_ 1824.

Chapter 23 (Gifford's Retirement From The Editorship Of The "Quarterly"--And Death.) Pg 67

 

 

My Dear Sir,

 

 

 

Until I Received Your Note This Morning I Had Flattered Myself That My

Indiscretion Had Been Forgotten. It Is To Me A Matter Of Great Regret

That, As Appears By Your Letter, Any More Trouble Should Be Given

Respecting This Unfortunate Ms., Which Will, Most Probably, Be

Considered Too Crude A Production For The Public, And Which, If It Is

Even Imagined To Possess Any Interest, Is Certainly Too Late For This

Season, And Will Be Obsolete In The Next. I Think, Therefore, That The

Sooner It Be Put Behind The Fire The Better, And As You Have Some Small

Experience In Burning Mss., [Footnote: Byron's Memoirs Had Been Burnt At

Albemarle Street During The Preceding Month.] You Will Be Perhaps So

Kind As To Consign It To The Flames. Once More Apologising For All The

Trouble I Have Given You, I Remain Ever, My Dear Sir,

 

 

 

Yours Very Faithfully,

 

 

 

B. Disraeli.

 

 

 

Murray Had A Special Regard For The Remarkable Young Man, And By Degrees

Had Thoroughly Taken Him Into His Confidence; Had Related To Him His

Experiences Of Men And Affairs, And Ere Long Began To Consult Him About

A Variety Of Schemes And Projects. These Long Confidential

Communications Led Eventually To The Suggestion Of A Much More Ambitious

And Hazardous Scheme, The Establishment Of A Daily Paper In The

Conservative Interest. Daring As This Must Appear, Murray Was Encouraged

In It By The Recollection Of The Success Which Had Attended The

Foundation Of The _Quarterly_, And Believed, Rashly, That His Personal

Energy And Resources, Aided By The Abilities Displayed By His Young

Counsellor, Would Lead To Equal Success. He Evidently Had Too

Superficially Weighed The Enormous Difficulties Of This Far Greater

Undertaking, And The Vast Difference Between The Conduct Of A _Quarterly

Review_ And A Daily Newspaper.

 

 

 

Intent Upon Gaining A Position In The World, Benjamin Disraeli Saw A

Prospect Of Advancing His Own Interests-By Obtaining The Influential

Position Of Director Of A Conservative Daily Paper, Which He Fully

Imagined Was Destined To Equal The _Times_, And He Succeeded In Imbuing

Murray With The Like Fallacious Hopes.

 

 

Chapter 23 (Gifford's Retirement From The Editorship Of The "Quarterly"--And Death.) Pg 68

 

The Emancipation Of The Colonies Of Spain In South America In 1824-25

Gave Rise To Much Speculation In The Money Market In The Expectation Of

Developing The Resources Of That Country, Especially Its Mines. Shares,

Stocks, And Loans Were Issued To An Unlimited Extent.

 

 

 

Mr. Benjamin Disraeli Seems To Have Thrown Himself Into The Vortex, For

He Became Connected With At Least One Financial Firm In The City, That

Of Messrs. Powles, And Employed His Abilities In Writing Several

Pamphlets On The Subject. This Led To His Inducing Messrs. Powles To

Embark With Him In The Scheme Of A Daily Paper. At Length An Arrangement

Was Entered Into, By Which John Murray, J.D. Powles, And Benjamin

Disraeli Were To Become The Joint Proprietors Of The Proposed New

Journal. The Arrangement Was As Follows:

 

 

 

Memorandum.

 

 

 

London, _August_ 3, 1825.

 

 

 

The Undersigned Parties Agree To Establish A Morning Paper, The Property

In Which Is To Be In The Following Proportions, Viz.:

 

 

 

Mr. Murray.... One-Half. Mr. Powles.... One-Quarter. Mr. Disraeli....

One-Quarter.

 

 

 

Each Party Contributing To The Expense, Capital, And Risk, In Those

Proportions.

 

 

 

The Paper To Be Published By, And Be Under The Management Of Mr. Murray.

 

 

 

John Murray.

 

 

 

J.D. Powles.

 

 

 

Chapter 23 (Gifford's Retirement From The Editorship Of The "Quarterly"--And Death.) Pg 69

B. Disraeli.

 

 

 

Such Was The Memorandum Of Agreement Entered Into With A View To The

Publication Of The New Morning Paper, Eventually Called The

_Representative_. As The First Number Was To Appear In January 1826,

There Was Little Time To Be Lost In Making The Necessary Arrangements

For Its Publication. In The First Place, An Able Editor Had To Be Found;

And, Perhaps Of Almost Equal Importance, An Able Subeditor. Trustworthy

Reporters Had To Be Engaged; Foreign And Home Correspondents Had Also To

Be Selected With Care; A Printing Office Had To Be Taken; All The

Necessary Plant And Apparatus Had To Be Provided, And A Staff Of Men

Brought Together Preliminary To The Opening Day.

 

 

 

The Most Important Point In Connection With The Proposed Journal Was To

Find The Editor. Mr. Murray Had Been So Ably Assisted By Sir Walter

Scott In The Projection Of The _Quarterly Review_, That He Resolved To

Consult Him On The Subject; And This Mission Was Undertaken By Benjamin

Disraeli, Part Proprietor Of The Intended Daily Journal, Though He Was

Then Only Twenty Years Old. It Was Hoped That Mr. Lockhart, Sir Walter

Scott's Son-In-Law, Might Be Induced To Undertake The Editorship. The

Following Are Mr. Disraeli's Letters To Mr. Murray, Giving An Account Of

The Progress Of His Negotiations. It Will Be Observed That He Surrounds

The Subject With A Degree Of Mystery, Through The Names Which He Gives

To The Gentlemen Whom He Interviewed. Thus The