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

These Was Mr. Robert Baldwin, Of Paternoster

Row, Who Expressed His Repeated Obligations To Mr. Murray For His Help

In Time Of Need. The Events Of This Crisis Clearly Demonstrated The

Wisdom And Foresight Of Murray In Breaking Loose From The Ballantyne And

Constable Connection, In Spite Of The Promising Advantages Which It Had

Offered Him.

 

 

 

Murray Still Went On With The _Representative_, Though The Result Was

Increasing Annoyance And Vexation. Mr. Milman Wrote To Him, "Do Get A

New Editor For The Lighter Part Of Your Paper, And Look Well To The

_Quarterly_." The Advice Was Taken, And Dr. Maginn Was Brought Over From

Paris To Take Charge Of The Lighter Part Of The Paper At A Salary Of

L700 A Year, With A House. The Result Was, That A Number Of Clever _Jeux

D'esprit_ Were Inserted By Him, But These Were Intermingled With Some

Biting Articles, Which Gave Considerable Offence.

 

 

 

At Length The Strain Became More Than He Could Bear, And He Sought The

First Opportunity For Stopping The Further Publication Of The Paper.

This Occurred At The End Of The General Election, And The

_Representative_ Ceased To Exist On July 29, 1826, After A Career Of

Only Six Months, During Which Brief Period It Had Involved Mr. Murray In

A Loss Of Not Less Than L26,000. [Footnote: The _Representative_ Was

Afterwards Incorporated With The _New Times_, Another Unfortunate

Paper.]

 

 

 

Mr. Murray Bore His Loss With Much Equanimity, And Found It An

Inexpressible Relief To Be Rid Of The _Representative_ Even At Such A

Sacrifice. To Washington Irving He Wrote:

 

 

 

_John Murray To Mr. Irving_.

 

 

 

"One Cause Of My Not Writing To You During One Whole Year Was My

'Entanglement,' As Lady G---- Says, With A Newspaper, Which Absorbed My

Chapter 23 (Gifford's Retirement From The Editorship Of The "Quarterly"--And Death.) Pg 87

Money, And Distracted And Depressed My Mind; But I Have Cut The Knot Of

Evil, Which I Could Not Untie, And Am Now, By The Blessing Of God, Again

Returned To Reason And The Shop."

 

 

 

One Of The Unfortunate Results Of The Initiation And Publication Of The

_Representative_ Was That It Disturbed The Friendship Which Had So Long

Existed Between Mr. Murray And Mr. Isaac D'israeli. The Real Cause Of

Benjamin's Sudden Dissociation From An Enterprise Of Which In Its

Earlier Stages He Had Been The Moving Spirit, Can Only Be Matter Of

Conjecture. The Only Mention Of His Name In The Later Correspondence

Regarding The Newspaper Occurs In The Following Letter:

 

 

 

_Mr. Lockhart To John Murray_.

 

 

 

Thursday, _February_ 14, 1826.

 

 

 

I Think Mr. B. Disraeli Ought To Tell You What It Is That He Wishes To

Say To Mr. Croker On A Business _Of Yours_ Ere He Asks Of You A Letter

To The Secretary. If There Really Be Something Worth Saying, I Certainly

Know Nobody That Would Say It Better, But I Confess I Think, All Things

Considered, You Have No Need Of Anybody To Come Between You And Mr.

Croker. What Can It Be?

 

 

 

Yours,

 

 

 

J.G.L.

 

 

 

But After The _Representative_, Had Ceased To Be Published, The Elder

D'israeli Thought He Had A Cause Of Quarrel With Mr. Murray, And

Proposed To Publish A Pamphlet On The Subject. The Matter Was Brought

Under The Notice Of Mr. Sharon Turner, The Historian And Solicitor, And

The Friend Of Both. Mr. Turner Strongly Advised Mr. Isaac D'israeli To

Abstain From Issuing Any Such Publication.

 

 

 

_Mr. Sharon Turner To Mr. D'israeli._

 

 

 

Chapter 23 (Gifford's Retirement From The Editorship Of The "Quarterly"--And Death.) Pg 88

October_ 6, 1826.

 

 

 

"Fame Is Pleasant, If It Arise From What Will Give Credit Or Do Good.

But To Make Oneself Notorious Only To Be The Football Of All The

Dinner-Tables, Tea-Tables, And Gossiping Visits Of The Country, Will Be

So Great A Weakness, That Until I See You Actually Committing Yourself

To It, I Shall Not Believe That You, At An Age Like My Own, Can Wilfully

And Deliberately Do Anything That Will Bring The Evil On You. Therefore

I Earnestly Advise That Whatever Has Passed Be Left As It Is.... If You

Give It Any Further Publicity, You Will, I Think, Cast A Shade Over A

Name That At Present Stands Quite Fair Before The Public Eye. And

Nothing Can Dim It To You That Will Not Injure All Who Belong To You.

Therefore, As I Have Said To Murray, I Say To You: Let Oblivion Absorb

The Whole Question As Soon As Possible, And Do Not Stir A Step To Rescue

It From Her Salutary Power.... If I Did Not Gee Your Words Before Me, I

Could Not Have Supposed That After Your Experience Of These Things And

Of The World, You Could Deliberately Intend To Write--That Is, To

Publish In Print--Anything On The Differences Between You, Murray, And

The _Representative_, And Your Son.... If You Do, Murray Will Be Driven

To Answer. To Him The Worst That Can Befall Will Be The Public Smile

That He Could Have Embarked In A Speculation That Has Cost Him Many

Thousand Pounds, And A Criticism On What Led To It.... The Public Know

It, And Talk As They Please About It, But In A Short Time Will Say No

More Upon It. It Is Now Dying Away. Very Few At Present Know That You

Were In Any Way Concerned About It. To You, Therefore, All That Results

Will Be New Matter For The Public Discussion And Censure. And, After

Reading Benjamin's Agreement Of The 3rd August, 1825, And Your Letters

To Murray On Him And The Business, Of The 27th September, The 29th

September, And The 9th October, My Sincere Opinion Is That You Cannot,

With A Due Regard To Your Own Reputation, _Write_ Or _Publish_ Anything

About It. I Send You Hastily My Immediate Thoughts, That He Whom I Have

Always Respected May Not, By Publishing What Will Be Immediately

Contradicted, Diminish Or Destroy In Others That Respect Which At

Present He Possesses, And Which I Hope He Will Continue To Enjoy."

 

 

 

Mr. D'israeli Did Not Write His Proposed Pamphlet. What Mr. Murray

Thought Of His Intention May Be Inferred From The Following Extract From

His Letter To Mr. Sharon Turner:

 

 

 

_John Murray To Mr. Sharon Turner_.

 

 

 

_October_ 16, 1826.

 

 

 

"Mr. D'israeli Is Totally Wrong In Supposing That My Indignation Against

Chapter 23 (Gifford's Retirement From The Editorship Of The "Quarterly"--And Death.) Pg 89

His Son Arises In The Smallest Degree From The Sum Which I Have Lost By

Yielding To That Son's Unrelenting Excitement And Importunity; This

Loss, Whilst It Was In Weekly Operation, May Be Supposed, And Naturally

Enough, To Have Been Sufficiently Painful, [Footnote: See Note At The

End Of The Chapter.] But Now That It Has Ceased, I Solemnly Declare That

I Neither Care Nor Think About It, More Than One Does Of The

Long-Suffered Agonies Of An Aching Tooth The Day After We Have Summoned

Resolution Enough To Have It Extracted. On The Contrary, I Am Disposed

To Consider This Apparent Misfortune As One Of That Chastening Class

Which, If Suffered Wisely, May Be Productive Of Greater Good, And I Feel

Confidently That, As It Has Re-Kindled My Ancient Ardour In Business, A

Very Few Months Will Enable Me To Replace This Temporary Loss, And Make

Me Infinitely The Gainer, If I Profit By The Prudential Lesson Which

This Whole Affair Is Calculated To Teach.... From Me His Son Had

Received Nothing But The Most Unbounded Confidence And Parental

Attachment; My Fault Was In Having Loved, Not Wisely, But Too Well."

 

 

 

To Conclude The Story, As Far As Mr. Disraeli Was Concerned, We May

Print Here A Letter Written Some Time Later. Mr. Powles Had Availed

Himself Of Disraeli's Literary Skill To Recommend His Mining

Speculations To The Public. In March 1825, Mr. Murray Had Published, On

Commission, "American Mining Companies," And The Same Year "Present

State Of Mexico," And "Lawyers And Legislators," All Of Them Written By,

Or Under The Superintendence Of, Mr. Disraeli. Mr. Powles, However,

Again Proved Faithless, And Although The Money For The Printing Had Been

Due For Some Time, He Paid Nothing; And At Length Mr. Disraeli Addressed

Mr. Murray In The Following Letter:

 

 

 

_Mr. Benjamin Disraeli To John Murray_.

 

 

 

6 Bloomsbury Square, _March_ 19, 1827.

 

 

 

Sir,

 

 

 

I Beg To Enclose You The Sum Of One Hundred And Fifty Pounds, Which I

Believe To Be The Amount Due To You For Certain Pamphlets Published

Respecting The American Mining Companies, As Stated In Accounts Sent In

Some Time Since. I Have Never Been Able To Obtain A Settlement Of These

Accounts From The Parties Originally Responsible, And It Has Hitherto

Been Quite Out Of My Power To Exempt Myself From The Liability, Which, I

Have Ever Been Conscious, On Their Incompetency, Resulted From The

Peculiar Circumstances Of The Case To Myself. In Now Enclosing You What

I Consider To Be The Amount, I Beg Also To State That I Have Fixed Upon

It From Memory, Having Been Unsuccessful In My Endeavours To Obtain Even

Chapter 23 (Gifford's Retirement From The Editorship Of The "Quarterly"--And Death.) Pg 90

A Return Of The Accounts From The Original Parties, And Being Unwilling

To Trouble You Again For A Second Set Of Accounts, Which Had Been So

Long And So Improperly Kept Unsettled. In The Event, Therefore, Of There

Being Any Mistake, I Will Be Obliged By Your Clerk Instantly Informing

Me Of It, And It Will Be As Instantly Rectified; And I Will Also Thank

You To Enclose Me A Receipt, In Order To Substantiate My Claims And

Enforce My Demands Against The Parties Originally Responsible. I Have To

Express My Sense Of Your Courtesy In This Business, And

 

 

 

I Am, Sir, Yours Truly,

 

 

 

Benjamin Disraeli.

 

 

 

Fortunately, The Misunderstanding Between The Two Old Friends Did Not

Last Long, For Towards The End Of The