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

The Other Two In A Fortnight."

 

 

 

While The Work Was Passing Through The Press Lockhart Again Wrote:

 

 

 

_Mr. Lockhart To John Murray_.

 

 

 

"I Am Reading The New 'Boswell' With Great Pleasure, Though, I Think,

The Editor Is Often Wrong. A Prodigious Flood Of Light Is Thrown On The

Book Assuredly; And The Incorporation Of The 'Tour' Is A Great

Advantage. Now, Do Have A Really Good Index. That To The Former Edition

I Have Continually Found Inadequate And Faulty. The Book Is A Dictionary

Of Wisdom And Wit, And One Should Know Exactly Where To Find The _Dictum

Magistri_. Many Of Croker's Own Remarks And Little Disquisitions Will

Also Be Hereafter Among The Choicest Of _Quotabilia_."

 

 

 

Croker Carried Out The Work With Great Industry And Vigour, And It

Appeared In 1831. It Contained Numerous Additions, Notes, Explanations,

And Memoranda, And, As The First Attempt To Explain The Difficulties And

Enigmas Which Lapse Of Time Had Created, It May Not Unfairly Be Said To

Have Been Admirably Edited; And Though Macaulay, According To His Own

Account, "Smashed" It In The _Edinburgh_, [Footnote: The Correspondence

Chapter 26 ( Napier's "Peninsular War"--Choker's "Boswell"--"The Family Library," Etc.) Pg 122

On The Subject, And The Criticism On The Work By Macaulay, Will Be Found

In The "Croker Correspondence," Vol. Ii. Pp. 24-49.] Some Fifty Thousand

Of The "Life" Have Been Sold.

 

 

 

It Has Been The Fashion With Certain Recent Editors Of "Boswell's

Johnson" To Depreciate Croker's Edition; But To Any One Who Has Taken

The Pains To Make Himself Familiar With That Work, And To Study The Vast

Amount Of Information There Collected, Such Criticism Cannot But Appear

Most Ungenerous. Croker Was Acquainted With, Or Sought Out, All The

Distinguished Survivors Of Dr. Johnson's Own Generation, And By His

Indefatigable Efforts Was Enabled To Add To The Results Of His Own

Literary Research, Oral Traditions And Personal Reminiscences, Which But

For Him Would Have Been Irrevocably Lost.

 

 

 

The Additions Of Subsequent Editors Are But Of Trifling Value Compared

With The Information Collected By Mr. Croker, And One Of His Successors

At Least Has Not Hesitated Slightly To Transpose Or Alter Many Of Mr.

Croker's Notes, And Mark Them As His Own.

 

 

 

Mrs. Shelley, Widow Of The Poet, On Receiving A Present Of Croker's

"Boswell," From Mr. Murray, Said:

 

 

 

_Mrs. Shelley To John Murray_.

 

 

 

"I Have Read 'Boswell's Journal' Ten Times: I Hope To Read It Many More.

It Is The Most Amusing Book In The World. Beside That, I Do Love The

Kind-Hearted, Wise, And Gentle Bear, And Think Him As Lovable And Kind A

Friend As A Profound Philosopher."

 

 

 

Mr. Henry Taylor Submitted His Play Of "Isaac Comnenus"--His First

Work--To Mr. Murray, In February 1827. Lockhart Was Consulted, And,

After Perusing The Play, He Wrote To Mr. Murray:

 

 

 

_Mr. Lockhart To John Murray_.

 

 

 

"There Can Be No Sort Of Doubt That This Play Is Everyway Worthy Of

Coming Out From Albemarle Street. That The Author Might Greatly Improve

It By Shortening Its Dialogue Often, And, Once At Least, Leaving Out A

Chapter 26 ( Napier's "Peninsular War"--Choker's "Boswell"--"The Family Library," Etc.) Pg 123

Scene, And By Dramatizing The Scene At The Synod, Instead Of Narrating

It, I Think Sufficiently Clear: But, Probably, The Author Has Followed

His Own Course, Upon Deliberation, In All These Matters. I Am Of

Opinion, Certainly, That _No Poem_ Has Been Lately Published Of Anything

Like The Power Or Promise Of This."

 

 

 

Lockhart's Suggestion Was Submitted To Mr. Taylor, Who Gratefully

Acknowledged His Criticism, And Amended His Play.

 

 

 

Mr. Taylor Made A Very Unusual Request. He Proposed To Divide The Loss

On His Drama With The Publisher! He Wrote To Mr. Murray:

 

 

 

"I Have Been Pretty Well Convinced, For Some Time Past, That My Book

Will Never Sell, And, Under These Circumstances, I Cannot Think It

Proper That You Should Be The Sole Sufferer. Whenever, Therefore, You

Are Of Opinion That The Book Has Had A Fair Trial, I Beg You To

Understand That I Shall Be Ready To Divide The Loss Equally With You,

That Being, I Conceive, The Just Arrangement In The Case."

 

 

 

Though Mr. Lockhart Gave An Interesting Review Of "Isaac Comnenus" In

The _Quarterly_, It Still Hung Fire, And Did Not Sell. A Few Years

Later, However, Henry Taylor Showed What He Could Do, As A Poet, By His

"Philip Van Artevelde," Which Raised His Reputation To The Highest

Point. Moore, After The Publication Of This Drama, Wrote In His "Diary":

"I Breakfasted In The Morning At Rogers's, To Meet The New Poet, Mr.

Taylor, Author Of 'Philip Van Artevelde': Our Company, Besides, Being

Sydney Smith And Southey. 'Van Artevelde' Is A Tall, Handsome Young

Fellow. Conversation Chiefly About The Profits Booksellers Make Of Us

Scribblers. I Remember Peter Pindar Saying, One Of The Few Times I Ever

Met Him, That The Booksellers Drank Their Wine In The Manner Of The

Heroes In The Hall Of Odin, Out Of Authors' Skulls." This Was A Sharp

Saying; But Rogers, If He Had Chosen To Relate His Own Experiences When

He Negotiated With Mr. Murray About The Sale Of Crabbe's Works, And The

Result Of That Negotiation, Might Have Proved That The Rule Was Not Of

Universal Application.

 

 

 

"The Family Library" Has Already Been Mentioned. Mr. Murray Had Long

Contemplated A Serial Publication, By Means Of Which Good Literature And

Copyright Works Might Be Rendered Cheaper And Accessible To A Wider

Circle Of Readers Than They Had Hitherto Been.

 

 

 

The Society For The Diffusion Of Useful Knowledge Was Established In

Chapter 26 ( Napier's "Peninsular War"--Choker's "Boswell"--"The Family Library," Etc.) Pg 124

1828, With Henry Brougham As Chairman. Mr. Murray Subscribed L10 To This

Society, And Agreed To Publish Their "Library Of Entertaining

Knowledge." Shortly Afterwards, However, He Withdrew From This

Undertaking, Which Was Transferred To Mr. Knight, And Reverted To His

Own Proposed Publication Of Cheap Works.

 

 

 

The First Volume Of "The Family Library" Appeared In April 1829. Murray

Sent A Copy To Charles Knight, Who Returned Him The First Volume Of The

"Library Of Entertaining Knowledge."

 

 

 

_Mr. Charles Knight To John Murray_.

 

 

 

"We Each Launch Our Vessels On The Same Day, And I Most Earnestly Hope

That Both Will Succeed, For Good Must Come Of That Success. We Have

Plenty Of Sea-Room And Need Never Run Foul Of Each Other. My Belief Is

That, In A Very Few Years, Scarcely Any Other Description Of Books Will

Be Published, And In That Case We That Are First In The Field May Hope

To Win The Race."

 

 

 

Mr. Murray's Intention Was To Include In The Library Works On A Variety

Of Subjects, Including History, Biography, Voyages And Travels, Natural

History, Science, And General Literature. They Were To Be Written By The

Best-Known Authors Of The Day--Sir Walter Scott, Southey, Milman,

Lockhart, Washington Irving, Barrow, Allan Cunningham, Dr. Brewster,

Captain Head, G.R. Gleig, Palgrave, And Others. The Collection Was

Headed By An Admirable "Life Of Napoleon," By J.G. Lockhart, Partly

Condensed From Scott's "Life Of Napoleon Bonaparte," And Illustrated By

George Cruikshank. When Lockhart Was First Invited To Undertake This

Biography He Consulted Sir Walter Scott As To The Propriety Of His Doing

So. Sir Walter Replied:

 

 

 

_Sir W. Scott To Mr. Lockhart_.

 

 

 

_October_ 30, 1828.

 

 

 

"Your Scruples About Doing An Epitome Of The 'Life Of Boney' For The

Family Library That Is To Be, Are A Great Deal Over Delicate. My Book In

Nine Thick Volumes Can Never Fill The Place Which Our Friend Murray

Wants You To Fill, And Which If You Don't Some One Else Will Right Soon.

Moreover, You Took Much Pains In Helping Me When I Was Beginning My

Chapter 26 ( Napier's "Peninsular War"--Choker's "Boswell"--"The Family Library," Etc.) Pg 125

Task, And I Afterwards Greatly Regretted That Constable Had No Means Of

Remunerating You, As No Doubt He Intended When You Were Giving Him So

Much Good Advice In Laying Down His Grand Plans About The Miscellany. By

All Means Do What The Emperor [Footnote: From The Time Of His Removal To

Albemarle Street, Mr. Murray Was Universally Known Among "The Trade" As

"The Emperor Of The West."] Asks. He Is What The Emperor Napoleon Was

Not, Much A Gentleman, And Knowing Our Footing In All Things, Would Not

Have Proposed Anything That Ought To Have Excited Scruples On Your

Side." [Footnote: Lockhart's "Life Of Scott."]

 

 

 

The Book Met With A Warm Reception From The Public, And Went Through

Many Editions.

 

 

 

Among Other Works Published In "The Family Library" Was The Rev. H.H.

Milman's "History Of The Jews," In Three Vols., Which Occasioned Much

Adverse Criticism And Controversy. It Is Difficult For Us Who Live In

Such Different Times To Understand Or Account For The Tempest Of

Disapprobation With Which A Work, Which Now Appears So Innocent, Was

Greeted, Or The Obloquy With Which Its Author Was Assailed. The "History

Of The Jews" Was Pronounced _Unsound_; It Was Alleged That The Miracles

Had Been Too Summarily Disposed Of; Abraham Was Referred To As An Arab

Sheik, And Jewish History Was Too Sacred To Be Submitted To The Laws Of

Ordinary Investigation. Hence Milman Was Preached Against, From Sunday

To Sunday, From The University And Other Pulpits. Even Mr. Sharon Turner

Expostulated With Mr. Murray As To The Publication Of The Book. He Said

He Had Seen It In The Window Of Carlile, The Infidel Bookseller, "As If

He Thought It Suited His Purpose." The Following Letter Is Interesting

As Indicating What The Jews Themselves Thought Of The History.

 

 

 

_Mr. Magnus To John Murray_. _March_ 17, 1834.

 

 

 

Sir,

 

 

 

Will You Have The Goodness To Inform Me Of The Christian Name Of The

Rev. Mr. Milman, And The Correct Manner Of Spelling His Name; As A

Subscription Is About To Be Opened By Individuals Of The Jewish Nation

For The Purpose Of Presenting Him