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

Of A Publisher, They Were Only Such As

Custom Has Established, And Experience Proved To Be No More Than

Equivalent To His Peculiar Trouble And The Inordinate Risque Which He

Incurs.

 

 

 

My Long Acquaintance With Lord Dudley, And The Kindness And Friendship

With Which He Honoured Me To The Last, Made Me, In Addition To My

Admiration Of His Talents, Desire, And, Indeed, Expect To Become The

Publisher Of His Posthumous Works, Being Convinced That He Would Have

Had No Other. After What Has Passed On Your Lordship's Side, However, I

Feel That It Would Be Inconsistent With My Own Character To Embarrass

You Any Longer, And I Therefore Release Your Lordship At Once From Any

Promise Or Supposed Understanding Whatever Regarding This Publication,

And Remain, My Lord,

 

 

 

Your Lordship's Humble Servant,

 

 

 

John Murray.

 

Chapter 29 (Mr. Gladstone And Others) Pg 170

The Bishop Of Llandaff Seems To Have Thought Better Of The Matter, And

In Mr. Murray's Second Letter To Him (January 1, 1840) He States That,

After His Lordship's Satisfactory Letter, He "Renews His Engagement As

Publisher Of Lord Dudley's 'Letters' With Increased Pleasure." The

Volume Was Published In The Following Year, But Was Afterwards

Suppressed; It Is Now Very Scarce.

 

 

 

Mrs. Jameson Proposed To Mr. Murray To Publish A "Guide To The

Picture-Galleries Of London." He Was Willing To Comply With Her Request,

Provided She Submitted Her Manuscript For Perusal And Approval. But As

She Did Not Comply With His Request, Mr. Murray Wrote To Her As Follows:

 

 

 

_John Murray To Mrs. Jameson_.

 

 

 

_July_ 14, 1840

 

 

 

My Dear Madam,

 

 

 

It Is With Unfeigned Regret That I Perceive That You And I Are Not

Likely To Understand Each Other. The Change From A Publisher, To Whose

Mode Of Conducting Business You Are Accustomed, To Another Of Whom You

Have Heard Merely Good Reports, Operates Something Like Second

Marriages, In Which, Whatever Occurs That Is Different From That Which

Was Experienced In The First, Is Always Considered Wrong By The Party

Who Has Married A Second Time. If, For A Particular Case, You Have Been

Induced To Change Your Physician, You Should Not Take Offence, Or Feel

Even Surprise, At A Different Mode Of Treatment.

 

 

 

My Rule Is, Never To Engage In The Publication Of Any Work Of Which I

Have Not Been Allowed To Form A Judgment Of Its Merits And Chances Of

Success, By Having The Mss. Left With Me A Reasonable Time, In Order To

Form Such Opinion; And From This Habit Of Many Years' Exercise, I

Confess To You That It Will Not, Even Upon The Present Occasion, Suit Me

To Deviate.

 

 

 

I Am Well Aware That You Would Not Wish To Publish Anything Derogatory

To The High Reputation Which You Have So Deservedly Acquired; But

Shakespeare, Byron, And Scott Have Written Works That Do Not Sell; And,

As You Expect Money For The Work Which You Wish To Allow Me The Honour

Of Publishing, How Am I To Judge Of Its Value If I Am Not Previously

Chapter 29 (Mr. Gladstone And Others) Pg 171

Allowed To Read It?

 

 

 

Mrs. Jameson At Length Submitted Her Work For Mr. Murray's Inspection;

And After Some Negotiation, Her Guide-Book Was Purchased For L400.

 

 

 

Mr. Murray, It May Here Be Mentioned, Had Much Communication With Sir

Robert Peel During His Parliamentary Career. He Published Many Of Peel's

Speeches And Addresses--His Address To The Students Of Glasgow

University; His Speeches On The Irish Disturbances Bill, The Coercion

Bill, The Repeal Of The Union, And The Sugar Bills--All Of Which Were

Most Carefully Revised Before Being Issued. Sugar Had Become So Cloying

With Sir Robert, That He Refused To Read His Speeches On The Subject. "I

Am So Sick Of Sugar," He Wrote To Murray, "And Of The Eight Nights'

Debate, That I Have Not The Courage To Look At Any Report Of My

Speech--At Least At Present." A Later Letter Shows That The Connection

Continued.

 

 

 

_The Rt. Hon. Sir R. Peel To John Murray_.

 

 

 

_July_ Or _August_, 1840.

 

 

 

Dear Sir,

 

 

 

Your Printer Must Be Descended From Him Who Omitted _Not_ From The

Seventh Commandment, And Finding A Superfluous "Not" In His Possession,

Is Anxious To Find A Place For It.

 

 

 

I Am Sorry He Has Bestowed It Upon Me, And Has Made Me Assure My

Constituents That I Do _Not_ Intend To Support My Political Principles.

Pray Look At The 4th Line Of The Second Page Of The Enclosed.

 

 

 

Faithfully Yours,

 

 

 

Robert Peel.

 

 

Chapter 29 (Mr. Gladstone And Others) Pg 172

 

No Account Of Mr. Murray's Career Would Be Complete Without Some Mention

Of The "Handbooks," With Which His Name Has Been For Sixty Years

Associated; For Though This Series Was In Reality The Invention Of His

Son, It Was Mr. Murray Who Provided The Means And Encouragement For The

Execution Of The Scheme, And By His Own Experience Was Instrumental In

Ensuring Its Success.

 

 

 

As Early As 1817 Hobhouse Had Remarked On The Inadequate Character Of

Most Books Of European Travel. In Later Years Mrs. Starke Made A

Beginning, But Her Works Were Very Superficial And Inadequate, And After

Personally Testing Them On Their Own Ground, Mr. John Murray Decided

That Something Better Was Needed.

 

 

 

Of The Origin Of The Guide-Books Mr. John Murray The Third Has Given

The Following Account In Murray's Magazine For November 1889.

 

 

 

"Since So Many Thousands Of Persons Have Profited By These Books, It May

Be Of Some Interest To The Public To Learn Their Origin, And The Cause

Which Led Me To Prepare Them. Having From My Early Youth Been Possessed

By An Ardent Desire To Travel, My Very Indulgent Father Acceded To My

Request, On Condition That I Should Prepare Myself By Mastering The

Language Of The Country I Was To Travel In. Accordingly, In 1829, Having

Brushed Up My German, I First Set Foot On The Continent At Rotterdam,

And My 'Handbook For Holland' Gives The Results Of My Personal

Observations And Private Studies Of That Wonderful Country.

 

 

 

"At That Time Such A Thing As A Guide-Book For Germany, France, Or Spain

Did Not Exist. The Only Guides Deserving The Name Were: Ebel, For

Switzerland; Boyce, For Belgium; And Mrs. Starke, For Italy. Hers Was A

Work Of Real Utility, Because, Amidst A Singular Medley Of Classical

Lore, Borrowed From Lempriere's Dictionary, Interwoven With Details

Regulating The Charges In Washing-Bills At Sorrento And Naples, And An

Elaborate Theory On The Origin Of _Devonshire Cream_, In Which She

Proves That It Was Brought By Phoenician Colonists From Asia Minor Into

The West Of England, It Contained Much Practical Information Gathered On

The Spot. But I Set Forth For The North Of Europe Unprovided With Any

Guide, Excepting A Few Manuscript Notes About Towns And Inns, Etc., In

Holland, Furnished Me By My Good Friend Dr. Somerville, Husband Of The

Learned Mrs. Somerville. These Were Of The Greatest Use. Sorry Was I

When, On Landing At Hamburg, I Found Myself Destitute Of Such Friendly

Aid. It Was This That Impressed On My Mind The Value Of Practical

Information Gathered On The Spot, And I Set To Work To Collect For

Myself All The Facts, Information, Statistics, Etc., Which An English

Tourist Would Be Likely To Require Or Find Useful.

 

Chapter 29 (Mr. Gladstone And Others) Pg 173

 

 

The First Of Mr. John Murray's Handbooks To The Continent, Published

1836, Included Holland, Belgium, And North Germany, And Was Followed At

Short Intervals By South Germany, Switzerland--In Which He Was Assisted

By His Intimate Friend And Fellow-Traveller, William Brockedon, The

Artist, Who Was Then Engaged In Preparing His Own Splendid Work On "The

Peaks, Passes, And Glaciers Of The Alps"--And France. These Were All

Written By Mr. Murray Himself; But, As The Series Proceeded, It Was

Necessary To Call In The Aid Of Other Writers And Travellers.

Switzerland, Which Appeared In 1838, Was Followed In 1839 By Norway,

Sweden, And Denmark, And In 1840 By The Handbook To The East, The Work

Of Mr. H. Parish, Aided By Mr. Godfrey Levinge. In 1842 Sir Francis

Palgrave Completed The Guide To Northern Italy, While Central And

Southern Italy Were Entrusted To Mr. Octavian Blewitt, For Many Years

Secretary Of The Royal Literary Fund.

 

 

 

In Later Years, As Well As At The Earlier Period, The Originator Of The

Handbooks Was Fortunate Enough To Secure Very Able Colleagues, Among

Whom It Is Sufficient To Mention Richard Ford For Spain, Sir Gardner

Wilkinson For Egypt, Dr. Porter For Palestine, Sir George Bowen For

Greece, Sir Lambert Playfair For Algiers And The Mediterranean, And Mr.

George Dennis For Sicily.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 30 ( George Borrow--Richard Ford--Horace Twiss--John Sterling--Mr. Gladstone--Death Of Southey, Etc.) Pg 174

 

In November 1840 A Tall Athletic Gentleman In Black Called Upon Mr.

Murray Offering A Ms. For Perusal And Publication. George Borrow Had

Been A Travelling Missionary Of The Bible Society In Spain, Though In

Early Life He Had Prided Himself On Being An Athlete, And Had Even Taken

Lessons In Pugilism From Thurtell, Who Was A Fellow-Townsman. He Was A

Native Of Dereham, Norfolk, But Had Wandered