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

Was No Other Than Thomas Carlyle, Who, When He Made The Acquaintance Of

Mr. Murray, Had Translated Goethe's "Wilhelm Meister," Written The "Life

Of Schiller," And Several Articles In The Reviews; But Was Not Yet Known

As A Literary Man Of Mark. He Was Living Among The Bleak, Bare Moors Of

Dumfriesshire At Craigenputtock, Where He Was Consoled At Times By

Visits From Jeffrey And Emerson, And By Letters From Goethe, And Where

He Wrote That Strange And Rhapsodical Book "Sartor Resartus," Containing

A Considerable Portion Of His Own Experience. After The Ms. Was Nearly

Finished, He Wrapt It In A Piece Of Paper, Put In It His Pocket, And

Started For Dumfries, On His Way To London.

 

 

 

Mr. Francis Jeffrey, Then Lord Advocate, Recommended Carlyle To Try

Murray, Because, "In Spite Of Its Radicalism, He Would Be The Better

Publisher." Jeffrey Wrote To Mr. Murray On The Subject, Without

Mentioning Carlyle's Name:

 

 

 

_Mr. Jeffrey To John Murray_. _May_ I, 1831.

 

 

 

"Lord Jeffrey [Footnote: Jeffrey Writes Thus, Although He Did Not Become

A Lord Of Session Till 1834.] Understands That The Earlier Chapters Of

This Work (Which Is The Production Of A Friend Of His) Were Shown Some

Months Ago To Mr. Murray (Or His Reader), And Were Formally Judged Of;

Though, From Its Incomplete State, No Proposal For Its Publication Could

Then Be Entertained. What Is Now Sent Completes It; The Earlier Chapters

Being Now Under The Final Perusal Of The Author.

 

 

 

"Lord Jeffrey, Who Thinks Highly Of The Author's Abilities, Ventures To

Beg Mr. Murray To Look At The Ms. Now Left With Him, And To Give Him, As

Soon As Possible, His Opinion As To Its Probable Success On Publication;

And Also To Say Whether He Is Willing To Undertake It, And On What

Terms."

 

 

 

Carlyle, Who Was Himself At The Time In London, Called Upon Mr. Murray,

And Left With Him A Portion Of The Manuscript, And An Outline Of The

Proposed Volume.

 

 

 

_Mr. Carlyle To John Murray_.

 

 

 

6 Woburn Buildings, Tavistock Square,

 

Chapter 28 (Benjamin Disraeli--Thomas Carlyle--And Others) Pg 160

 

 

_Wednesday, August_ 10, 1831.

 

 

 

Dear Sir,

 

 

 

I Here Send You The Ms. Concerning Which I Have, For The Present, Only

To Repeat My Urgent Request That No Time May Be Lost In Deciding On It.

At Latest, Next Wednesday I Shall Wait Upon You, To See What Further, Or

Whether Anything Further Is To Be Done.

 

 

 

In The Meanwhile, It Is Perhaps Unnecessary To Say, That The Whole

Business Is Strictly Confidential; The Rather, As I Wish To Publish

Anonymously.

 

 

 

I Remain, Dear Sir, Yours Truly,

 

 

 

Thomas Carlyle.

 

 

 

Be So Kind As To Write, By The Bearer, These Two Words, "Ms. Received."

 

 

 

When Carlyle Called A Second Time Murray Was Not At Home, But He Found

That The Parcel Containing The Ms. Had Not Been Opened. He Again Wrote

To The Publisher On The Following Friday:

 

 

 

_Mr. Carlyle To John Murray_.

 

 

 

Dear Sir,

 

 

 

As I Am Naturally Very Anxious To Have This Little Business That Lies

Between Us Off My Hands--And, Perhaps, A Few Minutes' Conversation Would

Suffice To Settle It All--I Will Again Request, In Case I Should Be So

Unlucky As To Miss You In Albemarle Street, That You Would Have The

Goodness To Appoint Me A Short Meeting At Any, The Earliest, Hour That

Chapter 28 (Benjamin Disraeli--Thomas Carlyle--And Others) Pg 161

Suits Your Convenience.

 

 

 

I Remain, Dear Sir, Yours Truly,

 

 

 

Thomas Carlyle.

 

 

 

This Was Followed Up By A Letter From Mr. Jeffrey:

 

 

 

_Mr. Jeffrey To John Murray_.

 

 

 

_Sunday, August_ 28, 1831.

 

 

 

My Dear Sir,

 

 

 

Will You Favour Me With A Few Minutes' Conversation, Any Morning Of This

Week (The Early Part Of It, If Possible), On The Subject Of My Friend

Carlyle's Projected Publication. I Have Looked A Little Into The Ms. And

Can Tell You Something About It. Believe Me, Always, Very Faithfully

Yours,

 

 

 

F. Jeffrey.

 

 

 

The Interview Between Jeffrey And Murray Led To An Offer For The Ms.

 

 

 

_Mr. Carlyle To John Murray_.

 

 

 

Tuesday.

 

 

 

Dear Sir,

 

Chapter 28 (Benjamin Disraeli--Thomas Carlyle--And Others) Pg 162

 

 

I Have Seen The Lord Advocate [Jeffrey], Who Informs Me That You Are

Willing To Print An Edition Of 750 Copies Of My Ms., At Your Own Cost,

On The Principle Of What Is Called "Half Profits"; The Copyright Of The

Book After That To Belong To Myself. I Came Down At Present To Say

That, Being Very Anxious To Have You As A Publisher, And To See My Book

Put Forth Soon, I Am Ready To Accede To These Terms; And I Should Like

Much To Meet You, Or Hear From You, At Your Earliest Convenience, That

The Business Might Be Actually Put In Motion. I Much Incline To Think,

In Contrasting The Character Of My Little Speculation With The Character

Of The Times, That _Now_ (Even In These Months, Say In November) Were

The Best Season For Emitting It. Hoping Soon To See All This Pleasantly

Settled,

 

 

 

I Remain, Dear Sir, Yours Truly,

 

 

 

Thomas Carlyle.

 

 

 

Mr. Murray Was Willing To Undertake The Risk Of Publishing 750 Copies,

And Thus To Allow The Author To Exhibit His Literary Wares To The

Public. Even If The Whole Edition Had Sold, The Pecuniary Results To

Both Author And Publisher Would Have Been Comparatively Trifling, But As

The Copyright Was To Remain In The Author's Possession, And He Would

Have Been Able To Make A Much Better Bargain With The Future Editions,

The Terms May Be Considered Very Liberal, Having Regard To The

Exceptional Nature Of The Work. Mr. Carlyle, However, Who Did Not Know

The Usual Custom Of Publishers, Had In The Meantime Taken Away His Ms.

And Offered It To Other Publishers In London, Evidently To Try Whether

He Could Not Get A Better Bid For His Book. Even Jeffrey Thought It "Was

Too Much Of The Nature Of A Rhapsody, To Command Success Or Respectful

Attention." The Publishers Thought The Same. Carlyle Took The Ms. To

Fraser Of Regent Street, Who Offered To Publish It If Carlyle Would

_Give Him_ A Sum Not Exceeding L150 Sterling. He Had Already Been To

Longmans & Co., Offering Them His "German Literary History," But They

Declined To Publish The Work, And He Now Offered Them His "Sartor

Resartus," With A Similar Result. He Also Tried Colburn And Bentley, But

Without Success. When Murray, Then At Ramsgate, Heard That Carlyle Had

Been Offering His Book To Other Publishers, He Wrote To Him:

 

 

 

_John Murray To Mr. Carlyle_.

 

 

 

_September_ 17, 1831.

 

Chapter 28 (Benjamin Disraeli--Thomas Carlyle--And Others) Pg 163

 

 

Dear Sir,

 

 

 

Your Conversation With Me Respecting The Publication Of Your Ms. Led Me

To Infer That You Had Given Me The Preference, And Certainly Not That

You Had Already Submitted It To The Greatest Publishers In London, Who

Had Declined To Engage In It. Under These Circumstances It Will Be

Necessary For Me Also To Get It Read By Some Literary Friend, Before I

Can, In Justice To Myself, Engage In The Printing Of It.

 

 

 

I Am, Dear Sir, Your Faithful Servant,

 

 

 

John Murray.

 

 

 

To This Mr. Carlyle Replied:

 

 

 

_September_ 19, 1831

 

 

 

Sir,

 

 

 

I Am This Moment Favoured With Your Note Of The 17th, And Beg To Say, In

Reply,:

 

 

 

_First_.--That Your Idea, Derived From Conversation With Me, Of My

Giving You The Preference To All Other Publishers, Was Perfectly

Correct. I Had Heard You Described As A Man Of Honour, Frankness, And

Even Generosity, And Knew You To Have The Best And Widest Connexions; On

Which Grounds, I Might Well Say, And Can Still Well Say, That A

Transaction With You Would Please Me Better Than A Similar One With Any

Other Member Of The Trade.

 

 

 

_Secondly_.--That Your Information, Of My Having Submitted My Ms. To The

Greatest Publishers In London, If You Mean That, After Coming Out Of

Your Hands, It Lay Two Days In Those Of Messrs. Longman & Rees, And Was

From Them Delivered Over To The Lord Advocate, Is Also Perfectly

Chapter 28 (Benjamin Disraeli--Thomas Carlyle--And Others) Pg 164

Correct: If You Mean Anything Else, Incorrect.

 

 

 

_Thirdly_.--That If You Wish The Bargain, Which I Had Understood Myself

To Have Made With You, Unmade, You Have Only To Cause Your Printer, Who

Is Now Working On My Ms., To Return The Same, Without Damage Or Delay,

And Consider The Business As Finished. I Remain, Sir, Your Obedient

Servant,

 

 

 

Thomas Carlyle.

 

 

 

In The Meantime Murray Submitted The Ms. To One Of His Literary

Advisers, Probably Lockhart, Whose Report Was Not Very Encouraging.

Later, As Mr. Carlyle Was Unwilling To Entertain The Idea Of Taking His

Manuscript Home With Him, And None Of The Other Publishers Would Accept

It, He Urgently Requested Mr. Murray Again To Examine It, And Come To

Some Further Decision. "While I, With Great Readiness," He Said, "Admit

Your Views, And Shall Cheerfully Release You From All Engagement, Or

Shadow Of Engagement, With Me In Regard To It: The Rather, As It Seems

Reasonable For Me To Expect Some Higher Remuneration For A Work That Has

Cost Me So Much Effort, Were It Once Fairly Examined,