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

Such Remuneration

As Was Talked Of Between _Us_ Can, I Believe, At All Times, Be

Procured." He Then Proposed "A Quite New Negotiation, If You Incline To

Enter On Such"; And Requested His Decision. "If Not, Pray Have The

Goodness To Cause My Papers To Be Returned With The Least Possible

Delay." The Ms. Was At Once Returned; And Carlyle Acknowledged Its

Receipt:

 

 

 

_Mr. Carlyle To John Murray_.

 

 

 

_October_ 6, 1831.

 

 

 

My Dear Sir,

 

 

 

I Have Received The Ms., With Your Note And Your Friend's Criticism, And

I Find It All Safe And Right. In Conclusion, Allow Me To Thank You For

Your Punctuality And Courtesy In This Part Of The Business; And To Join

Cordially In The Hope You Express That, In Some Fitter Case, A Closer

Relation May Arise Between Us. I Remain, My Dear Sir, Faithfully Yours,

 

 

Chapter 28 (Benjamin Disraeli--Thomas Carlyle--And Others) Pg 165

 

T. Carlyle.

 

 

 

Mr. Carlyle Returned To Craigenputtock With His Manuscript In His

Pocket; Very Much Annoyed And Disgusted By The Treatment Of The London

Publishers. Shortly After His Arrival At Home, He Wrote To Mr. Macvey

Napier, Then Editor Of The _Edinburgh Review_:

 

 

 

"All Manner Of Perplexities Have Occurred In The Publishing Of My Poor

Book, Which Perplexities I Could Only Cut Asunder, Not Unloose; So The

Ms., Like An Unhappy Ghost, Still Lingers On The Wrong Side Of Styx: The

Charon Of Albemarle Street Durst Not Risk It In His _Sutilis Cymba_, So

It Leaped Ashore Again. Better Days Are Coming, And New Trials Will End

More Happily."

 

 

 

A Little Later (February 6, 1832) He Said:

 

 

 

"I Have Given Up The Notion Of Hawking My Little Manuscript Book About

Any Further. For A Long Time It Has Lain Quiet In Its Drawer, Waiting

For A Better Day. The Bookselling Trade Seems On The Edge Of

Dissolution; The Force Of Puffing Can Go No Further; Yet Bankruptcy

Clamours At Every Door: Sad Fate! To Serve The Devil, And Get No Wages

Even From Him! The Poor Bookseller Guild, I Often Predict To Myself,

Will Ere Long Be Found Unfit For The Strange Part It Now Plays In Our

European World; And Give Place To New And Higher Arrangements, Of Which

The Coming Shadows Are Already Becoming Visible."

 

 

 

The "Sartor Resartus" Was Not, However, Lost. Two Years After Carlyle's

Visit To London, It Came Out, Bit By Bit, In _Fraser's Magazine_.

Through The Influence Of Emerson, It Was Issued, As A Book, At Boston,

In The United States, And Carlyle Got Some Money For His Production. It

Was Eventually Published In England, And, Strange To Say, Has Had The

Largest Sale In The "People's Edition Of Carlyle's Works." Carlyle,

Himself, Created The Taste To Appreciate "Sartor Resartus."

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 29 (Mr. Gladstone And Others) Pg 166

 

In July 1838 Mr. W.E. Gladstone, Then Tory Member Of Parliament For

Newark-Upon-Trent, Wrote To Mr. Murray From 6 Carlton Gardens, Informing

Him That He Has Written And Thinks Of Publishing Some Papers On The

Subject Of The Relationship Of The "Church And The State," Which Would

Probably Fill A Moderate Octavo Volume, And That He Would Be Glad To

Know If Mr. Murray Would Be Inclined To See Them. Mr. Murray Saw The

Papers, And On August 9 He Agreed With Mr. Gladstone To Publish 750 Or

1,000 Copies Of The Work On "Church And State," On Half Profits, The

Copyright To Remain With The Author After The First Edition Was Sold.

The Work Was Immediately Sent To Press, And Proofs Were Sent To Mr.

Gladstone, About To Embark For Holland. A Note Was Received By Mr.

Murray From The Author (August 17, 1838):

 

 

 

"I Write A Line From Rotterdam To Say That Sea-Sickness Prevented My

Correcting The Proofs On The Passage."

 

 

 

This Was Mr. Gladstone's First Appearance In The Character Of An Author,

And The Work Proved Remarkably Successful, Four Editions Being Called

For In The Course Of Three Years. It Was Reviewed By Macaulay In The

_Edinburgh_ For April 1839, And In The _Quarterly_ By The Rev. W. Sewell

In December. "Church Principles," Published In 1840, Did Not Meet With

Equal Success. Two Years Later We Find A Reference To The Same Subject.

 

 

 

_Mr. W.E. Gladstone To John Murray_.

 

 

 

13 Carlton House Terrace, _April_ 6, 1842.

 

 

 

My Dear Sir,

 

 

 

I Thank You Very Much For Your Kindness In Sending Me The New Number Of

The _Quarterly_. As Yet I Have Only Read A Part Of The Article On The

Church Of England, Which Seems To Be By A Known Hand, And To Be Full Of

Very Valuable Research: I Hope Next To Turn To Lord Mahon's "Joan Of

Arc."

 

Chapter 29 (Mr. Gladstone And Others) Pg 167

 

 

Amidst The Pressure Of More Urgent Affairs, I Have Held No Consultation

With You Regarding My Books And The Sale Or No Sale Of Them. As To The

Third Edition Of The "State In Its Relations," I Should Think The

Remaining Copies Had Better Be Got Rid Of In Whatever Summary Or

Ignominious Mode You May Deem Best. They Must Be Dead Beyond Recall. As

To The Others, I Do Not Know Whether The Season Of The Year Has At All

Revived The Demand; And Would Suggest To You Whether It Would Be Well To

Advertise Them A Little. I Do Not Think They Find Their Way Much Into

The Second-Hand Shops.

 

 

 

With Regard To The Fourth Edition, I Do Not Know Whether It Would Be

Well To Procure Any Review Or Notice Of It, And I Am Not A Fair Judge Of

Its Merits Even In Comparison With The Original Form Of The Work; But My

Idea Is, That It Is Less Defective Both In The Theoretical And In The

Historical Development, And Ought To Be Worth The Notice Of Those Who

Deemed The Earlier Editions Worth Their Notice And Purchase: That It

Would Really Put A Reader In Possession Of The View It Was Intended To

Convey, Which I Fear Is More Than Can With Any Truth Be Said Of Its

Predecessors.

 

 

 

I Am Not, However, In Any State Of Anxiety Or Impatience: And I Am

Chiefly Moved To Refer These Suggestions To Your Judgment From

Perceiving That The Fourth Edition Is As Yet Far From Having Cleared

Itself.

 

 

 

I Remain Always,

 

 

 

Very Faithfully Yours,

 

 

 

W.E. Gladstone.

 

 

 

In The Same Year Another Author Of Different Politics And Strong

Anti-Slavery Views Appeared To Claim Mr. Murray's Assistance As A

Publisher. It Was Mr. Thomas Fowell Buxton, M.P., Who Desired Him To

Publish His Work Upon The "Slave Trade And Its Remedy."

 

 

 

_Mr. Buxton To John Murray_.

 

Chapter 29 (Mr. Gladstone And Others) Pg 168

 

 

_December_ 31, 1837.

 

 

 

"The Basis Of My Proposed Book Has Already Been Brought Before The

Cabinet Ministers In A Confidential Letter Addressed To Lord

Melbourne.... It Is Now My Purpose To Publish A Portion Of The Work, On

The Nature, Extent, And Horrors Of The Slave Trade, And The Failure Of

The Efforts Hitherto Made To Suppress It, [Footnote: See "Life Of W.E.

Forster," Ch. Iv.] Reserving The Remainder For Another Volume To Be

Published At A Future Day. I Should Like To Have 1,500 Copies Of The

First Volume Thrown Off Without Delay."

 

 

 

The Book Was Published, And Was Followed By A Cheaper Volume In The

Following Year, Of Which A Large Number Was Sold And Distributed.

 

 

 

The Following Letter Illustrates The Dangerous Results Of Reading Sleepy

Books By Candle-Light In Bed:

 

 

 

_Mr. Longman To John Murray_.

 

 

 

2 Hanover Terrace, 1838.

 

 

 

My Dear Murray,

 

 

 

Can You Oblige Me By Letting Me Have A Third Volume Of "Wilberforce"?

The Fact Is, That In Reading That Work, My Neighbour, Mr. Alexander,

Fell Fast Asleep From Exhaustion, And, Setting Himself On Fire, Burnt

The Volume And His Bed, To The Narrow Escape Of The Whole Terrace. Since

That Book Has Been Published, Premiums Of Fire Assurance Are Up, And Not

Having Already Insured My No. 2, Now That The Fire Has Broken Out Near

My Own Door, No Office Will Touch My House Nor Any Others In The Terrace

Until It Is Ascertained That Mr. Alexander Has Finished With The Book.

So Pray Consider Our Position, And Let Me Have A Third Volume To Make Up

The Set As Soon As Possible.

 

 

 

Mr. Murray Had Agreed With The Bishop Of Llandaff To Publish Lord

Dudley's Posthumous Works, But The Bishop Made Certain Complaints Which

Chapter 29 (Mr. Gladstone And Others) Pg 169

Led To The Following Letter From Mr. Murray:

 

 

 

_John Murray To The Bishop Of Llandaff_.

 

 

 

_December_ 31, 1839.

 

 

 

My Lord,

 

 

 

I Am Told That Your Lordship Continues To Make Heavy Complaints Of The

Inconvenience You Incur By Making Me The Publisher Of "Lord Dudley's

Letters," In Consequence Of The Great Distance Between St. Paul's

Churchyard And Albemarle Street, And That You Have Discovered Another

Cause For Dissatisfaction In What You Consider The Inordinate Profits Of

A Publisher.

 

 

 

My Lord, When I Had The Honour To Publish For Sir Walter Scott And Lord

Byron, The One Resided In Edinburgh, The Other In Venice; And, With

Regard To The Supposed Advantages