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

With A Piece Of Plate For The Liberal

Manner In Which He Has Written Their History.

 

 

 

The Piece Of Plate Was Duly Subscribed For And Presented, With Every

Demonstration Of Acknowledgment And Thanks. Milman's "History Of The

Jews" Did Not Prevent His Preferment, As He Was Promoted From The

Chapter 26 ( Napier's "Peninsular War"--Choker's "Boswell"--"The Family Library," Etc.) Pg 126

Vicarage Of St. Mary's, Reading, To The Rectorship Of St. Margaret's,

Westminster, And A Canonry In The Collegiate Church Of St. Peter; After

Which, In 1849, He Was Made Dean Of St. Paul's.

 

 

 

 

Chapter 27 (Moore's "Life Of Byron") Pg 127

In 1827 Or 1828 Mr. Hanson, The Late Lord Byron's Solicitor, Wrote To

Murray, Enquiring, On Behalf Of The Executors, Whether He Would Be

Willing To Dispose Of His Interest In The First Five Cantos Of "Don

Juan." Mr. Murray, However, Had Long Been Desirous Of Publishing A

Complete Edition Of The Works Of Lord Byron, "For The Public," He Wrote,

"Are Absolutely Indignant At Not Being Able To Obtain A Complete Edition

Of Lord Byron's Works In This Country; And At Least 15,000 Copies Have

Been Brought Here From France." Murray Proposed That Those Copyrights Of

Lord Byron, Which Were The Property Of His Executors, Should Be Valued

By Three Respectable Publishers, And That He Should Purchase Them At

Their Valuation. Mr. Hobhouse, To Whom As One Of The Executors This

Proposal Was Made, Was Anxious That The Complete Edition Should Be

Published In England With As Little Delay As Possible, But He Stated

That "Some Obstacles Have Arisen In Consequence Of The Messrs. Hunt

Having Upon Hand Some Hundred Copies Of Their Two Volumes, Which They

Have Asked A Little Time To Get Rid Of, And For Which They Are Now

Accounting To The Executors."

 

 

 

Murray Requested Mr. Hanson To Apply To The Executors, And Inform Him

What Sum They Required For The Works Of Lord Byron, The Copyrights Of

Which Were In Their Possession. This They Refused To State, But After

Considerable Delay, During Which The Hunts Were Disposing Of The Two

Volumes, The Whole Of The Works Of Lord Byron Which Were Not In Mr.

Murray's Possession Were Put Up To Auction, And Bought By Him For The

Sum Of L3,885. These Included The "Hours Of Idleness," Eleven Cantos Of

"Don Juan," The "Age Of Bronze," And Other Works--All Of Which Had

Already Been Published.

 

 

 

Notwithstanding The Destruction Of Lord Byron's Memoirs, Described In A

Previous Chapter, Murray Had Never Abandoned The Intention Of Bringing

Chapter 27 (Moore's "Life Of Byron") Pg 128

Out A Biography Of His Old Friend The Poet, For Which He Possessed

Plenteous Materials In The Mass Of Correspondence Which Had Passed

Between Them. Although His Arrangement With Thomas Moore Had Been

Cancelled By That Event, His Eye Rested On Him As The Fittest Person,

From His Long Intimacy With The Poet, To Be Entrusted With The Task, For

Which, Indeed, Lord Byron Had Himself Selected Him.

 

 

 

Accordingly In 1826 Author And Publisher Seem To Have Drawn Together

Again, And Begun The Collection Of Materials, Which Was Carried On In A

Leisurely Way, Until Leigh Hunt's Scandalous Attack On His Old Patron

And Benefactor [Footnote: "Recollections Of Lord Byron And Some Of His

Contemporaries," 1828. 4to.] Roused Murray's Ardour Into Immediate

Action.

 

 

 

It Was Eventually Resolved To Publish The Life And Correspondence

Together; And Many Letters Passed Between Murray And Moore On The

Subject.

 

 

 

From The Voluminous Correspondence We Retain The Following Extract From

A Letter From Moore To Murray:

 

 

 

"One Of My Great Objects, As You Will See In Reading Me, Is To Keep My

Style Down To As Much Simplicity As I Am Capable Of; For Nothing Could

Be Imagined More Discordant Than The Mixture Of Any Of Our

Asiatico-Hibernian Eloquence With The Simple English Diction Of Byron's

Letters."

 

 

 

Murray Showed The Early Part Of "Byron's Life" To Lockhart, Who Replied

To Him At Once:

 

 

 

_Mr. Lockhart To John Murray_.

 

 

 

_February_ 23, 1829.

 

 

 

"I Can't Wait Till Tomorrow To Say That I Think The Beginning Of 'Byron'

Quite Perfect In Every Way--The Style Simple, And Unaffected, As The

Materials Are Rich, And How Sad. It Will Be Moore's Greatest Work--At

Least, Next To The 'Melodies,' And Will Be A Fortune To You. My Wife

Chapter 27 (Moore's "Life Of Byron") Pg 129

Says It Is Divine. By All Means Engrave The Early Miniature. Never Was

Anything So Drearily Satisfactory To The Imagination As The Whole

Picture Of The Lame Boy's Start In Life."

 

 

 

Moore Was Greatly Touched By This Letter. He Wrote From Sloperton:

 

 

 

_Mr. Moore To John Murray_.

 

 

 

"Lockhart's Praise Has Given Me Great Pleasure, And His Wife's Even

Still Greater; But, After All, The Merit Is In My Subject--In The Man,

Not In Me. He Must Be A Sad Bungler Who Would Spoil Such A Story."

 

 

 

As The Work Advanced, Sir Walter Scott's Opinion Also Was Asked.

 

 

 

_Mr. Lockhart To John Murray_.

 

 

 

_September_ 29, 1829.

 

 

 

"Sir Walter Has Read The First 120 Pages Of Moore's 'Life Of Byron'; And

He Says They Are Charming, And Not A Syllable _De Trop_. He Is Now Busy

At A Grand Rummage Among His Papers, And Has Already Found One Of Lord

Byron's Letters Which Shall Be At Mr. Moore's Service Forthwith. He

Expects To Find More Of Them. This Is Curious, As Being The First Of

'Byron' To Scott."

 

 

 

The First Volume Of "Lord Byron's Life And Letters," Published On

January 1, 1830, Was Read With Enthusiasm, And Met With A Very

Favourable Reception. Moore Says In His Diary That "Lady Byron Was

Highly Pleased With The 'Life,'" But Among The Letters Received By Mr.

Murray, One Of The Most Interesting Was From Mrs. Shelley, To Whom A

Presentation Copy Had Been Sent.

 

 

 

_Mrs. Shelley To John Murray_.

 

 

 

Chapter 27 (Moore's "Life Of Byron") Pg 130

January_ 19, 1830.

 

 

 

Except The Occupation Of One Or Two Annoyances, I Have Done Nothing But

Read, Since I Got "Lord Byron's Life." I Have No Pretensions To Being A

Critic, Yet I Know Infinitely Well What Pleases Me. Not To Mention The

Judicious Arrangement And Happy _Tact_ Displayed By Mr. Moore, Which

Distinguish The Book, I Must Say A Word Concerning The Style, Which Is

Elegant And Forcible. I Was Particularly Struck By The Observations On

Lord Byron's Character Before His Departure To Greece, And On His

Return. There Is Strength And Richness, As Well As Sweetness.

 

 

 

The Great Charm Of The Work To Me, And It Will Have The Same To You, Is

That The Lord Byron I Find There Is _Our_ Lord Byron--The Fascinating,

Faulty, Philosophical Being--Daring The World, Docile To A Private

Circle, Impetuous And Indolent, Gloomy, And Yet More Gay Than Any Other.

I Live With Him Again In These Pages--Getting Reconciled (As I Used In

His Lifetime) To Those Waywardnesses Which Annoyed Me When He Was Away,

Through The Delightful Tone Of His Conversation And Manners.

 

 

 

His Own Letters And Journals Mirror Himself As He Was, And Are

Invaluable. There Is Something Cruelly Kind In This Single Volume. When

Will The Next Come? Impatient Before, How Tenfold More So Am I Now.

Among Its Many Other Virtues, This Book Is Accurate To A Miracle. I Have

Not Stumbled On One Mistake With Regard Either To Time, Place, Or

Feeling.

 

 

 

I Am, Dear Sir,

 

 

 

Your Obedient And Obliged Servant,

 

 

 

Mary Shelley.

 

 

 

The Preparation Of The Second Volume Proceeded More Rapidly Than The

First, For Lord Byron's Letters To Murray And Moore During The Later

Years Of His Life Covered The Whole Period, And Gave To The Record An

Almost Autobiographical Character. It Appeared In January 1831, And

Amongst Many Other Readers Of It Mrs. Somerville, To Whom Mr. Murray

Sent A Present Of The Book, Was Full Of Unstinted Praise.

 

 

Chapter 27 (Moore's "Life Of Byron") Pg 131

 

_Mrs. Somerville To John Murray_.

 

 

 

_January_ 13, 1831.

 

 

 

You Have Kindly Afforded Me A Source Of Very Great Interest And Pleasure

In The Perusal Of The Second Volume Of Moore's "Life Of Byron." In My

Opinion, It Is Very Superior To The First; There Is Less Repetition Of

The Letters; They Are Better Written, Abound More In Criticism And

Observation, And Make The Reader Better