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

Year We Find Mr. Isaac D'israeli

Communicating With Mr. Murray Respecting Wool's "Life Of Joseph Warton,"

And Certain Selected Letters By Warton Which He Thought Worthy Of

Republication; And With Respect To His Son, Mr. Benjamin Disraeli,

Although He Published His First Work, "Vivian Grey," Through Colburn,

He Returned To Albemarle Street A Few Years Later, And Published His

"Contarini Fleming" Through Mr. Murray.

 

 

 

Note.--It Appears From The Correspondence That Mr. Murray Had Been Led

By The "Unrelenting Excitement And Importunity" Of His Young Friend To

Make Some Joint Speculation In South American Mines. The Same Financial

Crisis Which Prevented Mr. Powles From Fulfilling His Obligations

Probably Swept Away All Chance Of Profit From This Investment. The

Financial Loss Involved In The Failure Of The _Representative_ Was More

Serious, But Mr. Murray's Resentment Against Young Mr. Disraeli Was Not

Due To Any Such Considerations. Justly Or Unjustly He Felt Bitterly

Aggrieved At Certain Personalities Which, He Thought, Were To Be

Detected In "Vivian Grey." Mr. Disraeli Was Also Suspected Of Being

Concerned In An Ephemeral Publication Called _The Star Chamber_, To

Which He Undoubtedly Contributed Certain Articles, And In Which

Paragraphs Appeared Giving Offence In Albemarle Street. The Story Of

Vivian Grey (As It Appeared In The First Edition) Is Transposed From The

Literary To The Political Key. It Is Undoubtedly Autobiographical, But

The Identification Of Mr. Murray With The Marquis Of Carabas Must Seem

Very Far-Fetched. It Is, At All Times, Difficult To Say Within What

Limits The Novelist Is Entitled To Resort To Portraiture In Order To

Build Up The Fabric Of His Romance. Intention Of Offence Was Vehemently

Denied By The D'israeli Family, Which, As The Correspondence Shows,

Rushed With One Accord To The Defence Of The Future Lord Beaconsfield.

It Was Really A Storm In A Teacup, And But For The Future Eminence Of

One Of The Friends Concerned Would Call For No Remark. Mr. Disraeli's

Bitter Disappointment At The Failure Of His Great Journalistic

Chapter 23 (Gifford's Retirement From The Editorship Of The "Quarterly"--And Death.) Pg 91

Combination Sharpened The Keen Edge Of His Wit And Perhaps Magnified The

Irksomeness Of The Restraint Which His Older Fellow-Adventurer Tried To

Put On His "Unrelenting Excitement," And It Is Possible That His

Feelings Found Vent In The Novel Which He Then Was Composing. It Is

Pleasing To Remark That At A Later Date His Confidence And Esteem For

His Father's Old Friend Returned To Him, And That The Incident Ended In

A Way Honourable To All Concerned.--T.M.

 

 

 

 

Chapter 24 ( Mr. Lockhart As Editor Of The "Quarterly"--Hallam--Wordsworth--Death Of Constable) Pg 92

 

The Appointment Of A New Editor Naturally Excited Much Interest Among

The Contributors And Supporters Of The _Quarterly Review_. Comments Were

Made, And Drew From Scott The Following Letter:

 

 

 

_Sir Walter Scott To John Murray_.

 

 

 

Abbotsford, _November_ 17, 1825.

 

 

 

My Dear Sir,

 

 

 

I Was Much Surprised To-Day To Learn From Lockhart By Letter That Some

Scruples Were In Circulation Among Some Of The Respectable Among The

Supporters Of The _Quarterly Review_ Concerning His Capacity To

Undertake That Highly Responsible Task. In Most Cases I Might Not Be

Considered As A Disinterested Witness On Behalf Of So Near A Connection,

But In The Present Instance I Have Some Claim To Call Myself So. The

Plan (I Need Not Remind You) Of Calling Lockhart To This Distinguished

Situation, Far From Being Favoured By Me, Or In Any Respect Advanced Or

Furthered By Such Interest As I Might Have Urged, Was Not Communicated

To Me Until It Was Formed; And As It Involved The Removal Of My Daughter

And Of Her Husband, Who Has Always Loved And Honoured Me As A Son, From

Their Native Country And From My Vicinity, My Private Wish And That Of

Chapter 24 ( Mr. Lockhart As Editor Of The "Quarterly"--Hallam--Wordsworth--Death Of Constable) Pg 93

All The Members Of My Family Was That Such A Change Should Not Take

Place. But The Advantages Proposed Were So Considerable, That It Removed

All Title On My Part To State My Own Strong Desire That He Should Remain

In Scotland. Now I Do Assure You That If In These Circumstances I Had

Seen Anything In Lockhart's Habits, Cast Of Mind, Or Mode Of Thinking Or

Composition Which Made Him Unfit For The Duty He Had To Undertake, I

Should Have Been The Last Man In The World To Permit, Without The

Strongest Expostulation Not With Him Alone But With You, His Exchanging

An Easy And Increasing Income In His Own Country And Amongst His Own

Friends For A Larger Income Perhaps, But A Highly Responsible Situation

In London. I Considered This Matter Very Attentively, And Recalled To My

Recollection All I Had Known Of Mr. Lockhart Both Before And Since His

Connection With My Family. I Have No Hesitation In Saying That When He

Was Paying His Addresses In My Family I Fairly Stated To Him That

However I Might Be Pleased With His General Talents And Accomplishments,

With His Family, Which Is Highly Respectable, And His Views In Life,

Which I Thought Satisfactory, I Did Decidedly Object To The Use He And

Others Had Made Of Their Wit And Satirical Talent In _Blackwood's

Magazine_, Which, Though A Work Of Considerable Power, I Thought Too

Personal To Be In Good Taste Or To Be Quite Respectable. Mr. Lockhart

Then Pledged His Word To Me That He Would Withdraw From This Species Of

Warfare, And I Have Every Reason To Believe That He Has Kept His Word

With Me. In Particular I _Know_ That He Had Not The Least Concern With

The _Beacon_ Newspaper, Though Strongly Urged By His Young Friends At

The Bar, And I Also Know That While He Has Sometimes Contributed An

Essay To _Blackwood_ On General Literature, Or Politics, Which Can Be

Referred To If Necessary, He Has No Connection Whatever With The

Satirical Part Of The Work Or With Its General Management, Nor Was He At

Any Time The Editor Of The Publication.

 

 

 

It Seems Extremely Hard (Though Not Perhaps To Be Wondered At) That The

Follies Of Three--Or Four And Twenty Should Be Remembered Against A Man

Of Thirty, Who Has Abstained During The Interval From Giving The Least

Cause Of Offence. There Are Few Men Of Any Rank In Letters Who Have Not

At Some Time Or Other Been Guilty Of Some Abuse Of Their Satirical

Powers, And Very Few Who Have Not Seen Reason To Wish That They Had

Restrained Their Vein Of Pleasantry. Thinking Over Lockhart's Offences

With My Own, And Other Men's Whom Either Politics Or Literary

Controversy Has Led Into Such Effusions, I Cannot Help Thinking That

Five Years' Proscription Ought To Obtain A Full Immunity On Their

Account. There Were None Of Them Which Could Be Ascribed To Any Worse

Motive Than A Wicked Wit, And Many Of The Individuals Against Whom They

Were Directed Were Worthy Of More Severe Chastisement. The Blame Was In

Meddling With Such Men At All. Lockhart Is Reckoned An Excellent

Scholar, And Oxford Has Said So. He Is Born A Gentleman, Has Always Kept

The Best Society, And His Personal Character Is Without A Shadow Of

Blame. In The Most Unfortunate Affair Of His Life He Did All That Man

Could Do, And The Unhappy Tragedy Was The Result Of The Poor Sufferer's

After-Thought To Get Out Of A Scrape. [Footnote: This Refers, Without

Doubt, To The Unfortunate Death Of John Scott, The Editor Of The _London

Magazine_, In A Duel With Lockhart's Friend Christie, The Result Of A

Quarrel In Which Lockhart Himself Had Been Concerned.] Of His General

Chapter 24 ( Mr. Lockhart As Editor Of The "Quarterly"--Hallam--Wordsworth--Death Of Constable) Pg 94

Talents I Will Not Presume To Speak, But They Are Generally Allowed To

Be Of The First Order. This, However, I _Will_ Say, That I Have Known

The Most Able Men Of My Time, And I Never Met Any One Who Had Such Ready

Command Of His Own Mind, Or Possessed In A Greater Degree The Power Of

Making His Talents Available Upon The Shortest Notice, And Upon Any

Subject. He Is Also Remarkably Docile And Willing To Receive Advice Or

Admonition From The Old And Experienced. He Is A Fond Husband And Almost

A Doating Father, Seeks No Amusement Out Of His Own Family, And Is Not

Only Addicted To No Bad Habits, But Averse To Spending Time In Society

Or The Dissipations Connected With It. Speaking Upon My Honour As A

Gentleman And My Credit As A Man Of Letters, I Do Not Know A Person So

Well Qualified For The Very Difficult And Responsible Task He Has

Undertaken, And I Think The Distinct Testimony Of One Who Must Know The

Individual Well Ought To Bear Weight Against All Vague Rumours, Whether

Arising From Idle Squibs He May Have Been Guilty Of When He Came From

College--And I Know None Of These Which Indicate A Bad Heart In The

Jester--Or, As Is Much More Likely, From Those Which Have Been Rashly

And Falsely Ascribed To Him.

 

 

 

Had Any Shadow Of This Want Of Confidence Been Expressed In The

Beginning Of The Business I For One Would Have Advised Lockhart To Have

Nothing To Do With A Concern For Which His Capacity Was Called In

Question. But _Now_ What Can Be Done? A Liberal Offer, Handsomely Made,

Has Been Accepted With The Same Confidence With Which It Was Offered.

Lockhart Has Resigned His Office In Edinburgh, Given Up His Business,

Taken A House In London, And Has Let, Or Is On The Eve Of Letting, His

House Here. The Thing Is So Public, That About Thirty Of The Most

Respectable Gentlemen In Edinburgh Have Proposed To Me That A Dinner

Should Be Given In His Honour. The Ground