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

Is Cut Away Behind Him For A

Retreat, Nor Can Such A Thing Be Proposed As Matters Now Stand.

 

 

 

Upon What Grounds Or By Whom Lockhart Was First Recommended To You I

Have No Right Or Wish To Inquire, Having No Access Whatsoever To The

Negotiation, The Result Of Which Must Be In Every Wise Painful Enough To

Me. But As Their Advice Must In Addition To Your Own Judgment Have Had

Great Weight With You, I Conceive They Will Join With Me In The

Expectation That The Other Respectable Friends Of This Important Work

Will Not Form Any Decision To Lockhart's Prejudice Till They Shall See

How The Business Is Conducted. By A Different Conduct They May Do Harm

To The Editor, Publisher, And The Work Itself, As Far As The Withdrawing

Of Their Countenance Must Necessarily Be Prejudicial To Its Currency.

But If It Shall Prove That Their Suspicions Prove Unfounded, I Am Sure

It Will Give Pain To Them To Have Listened To Them For A Moment.

 

 

 

It Has Been My Lot Twice Before Now To Stand Forward To The Best Of My

Power As The Assistant Of Two Individuals Against Whom A Party Run Was

Made. The One Case Was That Of Wilson, To Whom A Thousand Idle Pranks

Were Imputed Of A Character Very Different And Far More Eccentric Than

Chapter 24 ( Mr. Lockhart As Editor Of The "Quarterly"--Hallam--Wordsworth--Death Of Constable) Pg 95

Anything That Ever Attached To Lockhart. We Carried Him Through Upon The

Fair Principle That In The Case Of Good Morals And Perfect Talents For A

Situation, Where Vice Or Crimes Are Not Alleged, The Follies Of Youth

Should Not Obstruct The Fair Prospects Of Advanced Manhood. God Help Us

All If Some Such Modification Of Censure Is Not Extended To Us, Since

Most Men Have Sown Wild Oats Enough! Wilson Was Made A Professor, As You

Know, Has One Of The Fullest Classes In The University, Lectures Most

Eloquently, And Is Much Beloved By His Pupils. The Other Was The Case Of

John Williams, Now Rector Of Our New Academy Here, Who Was Opposed Most

Violently Upon What On Examination Proved To Be Exaggerated Rumours Of

Old Winchester Stories. He Got The Situation Chiefly, I Think, By My

Own Standing Firm And Keeping Others Together. And The Gentlemen Who

Opposed Him Most Violently Have Repeatedly Told Me That I Did The Utmost

Service To The Academy By Bringing Him In, For Never Was A Man In Such A

Situation So Eminently Qualified For The Task Of Education.

 

 

 

I Only Mention These Things To Show That It Is Not In My Son-In-Law's

Affairs Alone That I Would Endeavour To Remove That Sort Of Prejudice

Which Envy And Party Zeal Are Always Ready To Throw In The Way Of Rising

Talent. Those Who Are Interested In The Matter May Be Well Assured That

With Whatever Prejudice They May Receive Lockhart At First, All Who Have

Candour Enough To Wait Till He Can Afford Them The Means Of Judging Will

Be Of Opinion That They Have Got A Person Possibly As Well Situated For

The Duties Of Such An Office As Any Man That England Could Afford Them.

 

 

 

I Would Rather Have Written A Letter Of This Kind Concerning Any Other

Person Than One Connected With Myself, But It Is Every Word True, Were

There Neither Son Nor Daughter In The Case; But As Such I Leave It At

Your Discretion To Show It, Not Generally, But To Such Friends And

Patrons Of The _Review_ As In Your Opinion Have A Title To Know The

Contents.

 

 

 

Believe Me, Dear Sir, Your Most Obedient Servant, Walter Scott.

 

 

 

Mr. Lockhart Himself Addressed The Two Following Letters To Mr. Murray:

 

 

 

_Mr. Lockhart To John Murray_.

 

 

 

Chiefswood, _November_ 19, 1825.

 

 

 

Chapter 24 ( Mr. Lockhart As Editor Of The "Quarterly"--Hallam--Wordsworth--Death Of Constable) Pg 96

My Dear Sir, I Am Deeply Indebted To Disraeli For The Trouble He Has

Taken To Come Hither Again At A Time When He Has So Many Matters Of Real

Importance To Attend To In London. The Sort Of Stuff That Certain Grave

Gentlemen Have Been Mincing At, Was Of Course Thoroughly Foreseen By Sir

W. Scott And By Myself From The Beginning Of The Business. Such

Prejudices I Cannot Hope To Overcome, Except By Doing Well What Has Been

Entrusted To Me, And After All I Should Like To Know What Man Could Have

Been Put At The Head Of The _Quarterly Review_ At My Time Of Life

Without Having The Doctors Uttering Doctorisms On The Occasion. If You

But Knew It, You Yourself Personally Could In One Moment Overcome And

Silence For Ever The Whole Of These People. As For Me, Nobody Has More

Sincere Respect For Them In Their Own Different Walks Of Excellence Than

Myself; And If There Be One Thing That I May Promise For Myself, It Is,

That Age, Experience, And Eminence, Shall Never Find Fair Reason To

Accuse Me Of Treating Them With Presumption. I Am Much More Afraid Of

Falling Into The Opposite Error. I Have Written At Some Length On These

Matters To Mr. Croker, Mr. Ellis, And Mr. Rose--And To No One Else; Nor

Will I Again Put Pen To Paper, Unless Someone, Having A Right To Put A

Distinct Question To Me, Does Put It.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

_Mr. Lockhart To John Murray_.

 

 

 

_Sunday_, Chiefswood, _November_ 27, 1825.

 

 

 

My Dear Murray,

 

 

 

I Have Read The Letter I Received Yesterday Evening With The Greatest

Interest, And Closed It With The Sincerest Pleasure. I Think We Now

Begin To Understand Each Other, And If We Do That I Am Sure _I_ Have No

Sort Of Apprehension As To The Result Of The Whole Business. But In

Writing One Must Come To The Point, Therefore I Proceed At Once To Your

Topics In Their Order, And Rely On It I Shall Speak As Openly On Every

One Of Them As I Would _To My Brother_.

 

 

 

Mr. Croker's Behaviour Has Indeed Distressed Me, For I Had Always

Considered Him As One Of Those Bad Enemies Who Make Excellent Friends. I

Had Not The Least Idea That He Had Ever Ceased To Regard You Personally

With Friendship, Even Affection, Until B.D. Told Me About His

Trafficking With Knight; For As To The Little Hints You Gave Me When In

Town, I Set All That Down To His Aversion For The Notion Of Your Setting

Chapter 24 ( Mr. Lockhart As Editor Of The "Quarterly"--Hallam--Wordsworth--Death Of Constable) Pg 97

Up A Paper, And Thereby Dethroning Him From His Invisible Predominance

Over The Tory Daily Press, And Of Course Attached Little Importance To

It. I Am Now Satisfied, More Particularly After Hearing How He Behaved

Himself In The Interview With You, That There Is Some Deeper Feeling In

His Mind. The Correspondence That Has Been Passing Between Him And Me

May Have Been Somewhat Imprudently Managed On My Part. I May Have

_Committed_ Myself To A Certain Extent In It In More Ways Than One. It

Is Needless To Regret What Cannot Be Undone; At All Events, I Perceive

That It Is Now Over With Us For The Present. I Do Not, However, Believe

But That He Will Continue To Do What He Has Been Used To Do For The

_Review_; Indeed, Unless He Makes The Newspaper Business His Excuse, He

Stands Completely Pledged To Me To Adhere To That.

 

 

 

But With Reverence Be It Spoken, Even This Does Not Seem To Me A Matter

Of Very Great Moment. On The Contrary, I Believe That His Papers In The

_Review_ Have (With A Few Exceptions) Done The Work A Great Deal More

Harm Than Good. I Cannot Express What I Feel; But There Was Always The

Bitterness Of Gifford Without His Dignity, And The Bigotry Of Southey

Without His _Bonne-Foi._ His Scourging Of Such Poor Deer As Lady Morgan

Was Unworthy Of A Work Of That Rank. If We Can Get The Same

_Information_ Elsewhere, No Fear That We Need Equally Regret The

Secretary's Quill. As It Is, We Must Be Contented To Watch The Course Of

Things And Recollect The Roman's Maxim, "Quae Casus Obtullerint Ad

Sapientiam Vertenda."

 

 

 

I An Vexed Not A Little At Mr. Barrow's Imprudence In Mentioning My Name

To Croker And To Rose As In Connection With The Paper; And For This

Reason That I Was Most Anxious To Have Produced At Least One Number Of

The _Review_ Ere That Matter Should Have Been At All Suspected. As It

Is, I Hope You Will Still Find Means To Make Barrow, Rose, And Croker

(At All Events The Two Last) Completely Understand That You Had, Indeed,

Wished Me To Edit The Paper, But That I Had Declined That, And That

_Then_ You Had Offered Me The _Review_.

 

 

 

No Matter What You Say As To The Firm Belief I Have Expressed That The

Paper _Will_ Answer, And The Resolutions I Have Made To Assist You By

Writing Political Articles In It. It Is Of The Highest Importance That

In Our Anxiety About A New Affair One Should Not Lose Sight Of The Old

And Established One, And I _Can_ Believe That If The Real State Of The

Case Were Known At The Outset Of My Career In London, A Considerable

Feeling Detrimental To The _Quarterly Might_ Be Excited. We Have Enough

Of Adverse Feelings To Meet, Without Unnecessarily Swelling Their Number

And Aggravating Their Quality.

 

 

 

I Beg You To Have A Serious Conversation With Mr. Barrow On This Head,

And In The Course Of It Take Care To Make Him Thoroughly Understand That

Chapter 24 ( Mr. Lockhart As Editor Of The "Quarterly"--Hallam--Wordsworth--Death Of Constable) Pg 98

The Prejudices Or Doubts He Gave Utterance To In Regard