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

Indisposition. Mrs. Murray Is Still Up And

Well, And Desires Me To Send Her Best Compliments To You And Mrs.

Turner.

 

 

 

Ever Yours Faithfully,

Chapter 19 (Works Published In 1817-18--Correspondence, Etc.--) Pg 15

 

 

 

J. Murray.

 

 

 

Mr. Turner Thanked Mr. Murray For His Letter, And Said That If He

Proceeded With His Intentions He Would Adopt His Advice. "I Have Always

Found Longman Very Kind And Honourable, But I Will Not Offer Him Now

What You Think It Right To Decline."

 

 

 

During Gifford's Now Almost Incessant Attacks Of Illness, Mr. Croker

Took Charge Of The _Quarterly Review_. The Following Letter Embodies

Some Of His Ideas As To Editing:

 

 

 

_Mr. Croker To John Murray_.

 

 

 

Brighton, _March_ 29, 1823.

 

 

 

Dear Murray,

 

 

 

As I Shall Not Be In Town In Time To See You To-Morrow, I Send You Some

Papers. I Return The _Poor_ Article [Footnote: "On The Poor Laws," By

Mr. Gleig.] With Its Additions. Let The Author's Amendments Be Attended

To, And Let His Termination Be Inserted _Between_ His Former Conclusion

And That Which I Have Written. It Is A Good Article, Not Overdone And

Yet Not Dull. I Return, To Be Set Up, The Article [By Captain Procter]

On Southey's "Peninsular War." It Is Very Bad--A Mere _Abstracted

History Of The War Itself_, And Not In The Least A _Review Of The Book_.

I Have Taken Pains To Remove Some Part Of This Error, But You Must Feel

How Impossible It Is To Change The Whole Frame Of Such An Article. A

Touch Thrown In Here And There Will Give Some Relief, And The Character

Of A _Review_ Will Be In Some Small Degree Preserved. This Cursed System

Of Writing Dissertations Will Be The Death Of Us, And If I Were To Edit

Another Number, I Should Make A Great Alteration In That Particular. But

For This Time I Must Be Satisfied With Plastering Up What I Have Not

Time To Rebuild. One Thing I Would Do Immediately If I Were You. I Would

Pay For Articles Of _One_ Sheet As Much As For Articles Of Two And

Three, And, In Fact, I Would _Scarcely_ Permit An Article To Exceed One

Sheet. I Would Reserve Such Extension For Matters Of Great And Immediate

Interest And Importance. I Am Delighted That W. [Footnote: Probably

Blanco White.] Undertakes One, He Will Do It Well; But Remember The

Necessity Of _Absolute Secrecy_ On This Point, And Indeed On All Others.

Chapter 19 (Works Published In 1817-18--Correspondence, Etc.--) Pg 16

If You Were To Publish Such Names As Cohen And Croker And Collinson And

Coleridge, The Magical We Would Have Little Effect, And Your _Review_

Would Be Absolutely Despised--_Omne Ignotum Pro Mirifico_. I Suppose I

Shall See You About Twelve On Tuesday. Could You Not Get Me A Gay Light

Article Or Two? If I Am To _Edit_ For You, I Cannot Find Time To

_Contribute_. Madame Campan's Poem Will More Than Expend My Leisure. I

Came Here For A Little Recreation, And I Am All Day At The Desk As If I

Were At The Admiralty. This Peninsular Article Has Cost Me Two Days'

Hard Work, And Is, After All, Not Worth The Trouble; But We Must Have

Something About It, And It Is, I Suppose, Too Late To Expect Anything

Better. Mr. Williams's Article On Sir W. Scott [Lord Stowell] Is

Contemptible, And Would Expose Your _Review_ To The Ridicule Of The

Whole Bar; But It May Be Made Something Of, And I Like The Subject. I

Had A Long And Amusing Talk With The Chancellor The Night Before Last,

On His Own And His Brother's Judgments; I Wish I Had Time To Embody Our

Conversation In An Article.

 

 

 

Yours Ever,

 

 

 

J.W.C.

 

 

 

Southey Is _Very_ Long, But As Good As He Is Long--I Have Nearly Done

With Him. I Write _Very Slowly_, And Cannot Write Long. This Letter Is

Written At Three Sittings.

 

 

 

No Sooner Had Croker Got No. 56 Of The _Review_ Out Of His Hands Than He

Made A Short Visit To Paris. On This Mr. Barrow Writes To Murray;

 

 

 

_Mr. Barrow To John Murray_.

 

 

 

_April_ 2, 1823.

 

 

 

"Croker Has Run Away To Paris, And Left Poor Gifford Helpless. What Will

Become Of The _Quarterly?_ ... Poor Gifford Told Me Yesterday That He

Felt He _Must_ Give Up The Editorship, And That The Doctors Had

_Ordered_ Him To Do So."

 

 

 

Some Months Later, Barrow Wrote To Murray Saying That He Had Seen

Chapter 19 (Works Published In 1817-18--Correspondence, Etc.--) Pg 17

Gifford That Morning:

 

 

 

_Mr. Barrow To John Murray_.

 

 

 

_August_ 18, 1823.

 

 

 

"I Told Him To Look Out For Some One To Conduct The _Review_, But He

Comes To No Decision. I Told Him That You Very Naturally Looked To Him

For Naming A Proper Person. He Replied He Had--Nassau Senior--But That

You Had Taken Some Dislike To Him. [Footnote: This, So Far As Can Be

Ascertained, Was A Groundless Assumption On Mr. Gifford's Part.] I Then

Said, 'You Are Now Well; Go On, And Let Neither Murray Nor You Trouble

Yourselves About A Future Editor Yet; For Should You Even Break Down In

The Midst Of A Number, I Can Only Repeat That Croker And Myself Will

Bring It Round, And A Second Number If Necessary, To Give Him Time To

Look Out For And Fix Upon A Proper Person, But That The Work Should Not

Stop.' I Saw He Did Not Like To Continue The Subject, And We Talked Of

Something Else."

 

 

 

Croker Also Was Quite Willing To Enter Into This Scheme, And Jointly

With Barrow To Undertake The Temporary Conduct Of The _Review_. They

Received Much Assistance Also From Mr. J.T. Coleridge, Then A Young

Barrister. Mr. Coleridge, As Will Be Noticed Presently, Became For A

Time Editor Of The _Quarterly_. "Mr. C. Is Too Long," Gifford Wrote To

Murray, "And I Am Sorry For It. But He Is A Nice Young Man, And Should

Be Encouraged."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 20 (Hallam Basil Hall--Crabbe--Hope--Horace And James Smith-) Pg 18

 

In 1817 Mr. Murray Published For Mr. Hallam His "View Of The State Of

Europe During The Middle Ages." The Acquaintance Thus Formed Led To A

Close Friendship, Which Lasted Unbroken Till Mr. Murray's Death.

Chapter 20 (Hallam Basil Hall--Crabbe--Hope--Horace And James Smith-) Pg 19

 

 

 

Mr. Murray Published At This Time A Variety Of Books Of Travel. Some Of

These Were Sent To The Marquess Of Abercorn--Amongst Them Mr.

(Afterwards Sir) Henry Ellis's "Proceedings Of Lord Amherst's Embassy To

China," [Footnote: "Journal Of The Proceedings Of The Late Embassy To

China, Comprising A Correct Narrative Of The Public Transactions Of The

Embassy, Of The Voyage To And From China, And Of The Journey From The

Mouth Of The Peiho To The Return To Canton." By Henry Ellis, Esq.,

Secretary Of The Embassy, And Third Commissioner.] About Which The

Marchioness, At Her Husband's Request, Wrote To The Publisher As

Follows:

 

 

 

_Marchioness Of Abercorn To John Murray_,

 

 

 

_December_ 4, 1817.

 

 

 

"He Returns Walpole, As He Says Since The Age Of Fifteen He Has Read So

Much Grecian History And Antiquity That He Has These Last Ten Years Been

Sick Of The Subject. He Does Not Like Ellis's Account Of 'The Embassy To

China,' [Footnote: Ellis Seems To Have Been Made Very Uncomfortable By

The Publication Of His Book. It Was Severely Reviewed In The _Times_,

Where It Was Said That The Account (Then In The Press) By Clark Abel,

M.D., Principal Medical Officer And Naturalist To The Embassy, Would Be

Greatly Superior. On This Ellis Wrote To Murray (October 19, 1817): "An

Individual Has Seldom Committed An Act So Detrimental To His Interests

As I Have Done In This Unfortunate Publication; And I Shall Be Too Happy

When The Lapse Of Time Will Allow Of My Utterly Forgetting The

Occurrence. I Am Already Indifferent To Literary Criticism, And Had

Almost Forgotten Abel's Approaching Competition." The Work Went Through

Two Editions.] But Is Pleased With Macleod's [Footnote: "Narrative Of A

Voyage In His Majesty's Late Ship _Alceste_ To The Yellow Sea, Along The

Coast Of Corea, And Through Its Numerous Hitherto Undiscovered Islands

To The Island Of Lewchew, With An Account Of Her Shipwreck In The

Straits Of Gaspar." By John Macleod, Surgeon Of The _Alceste_.]

Narrative. He Bids Me Tell You To Say The Best And What Is Least

Obnoxious Of The [Former] Book. The Composition And The Narrative Are So

Thoroughly Wretched That He Should Be Ashamed To Let It Stand In His

Library. He Will Be Obliged To You To Send Him Leyden's 'Africa.' Leyden

Was A Friend Of His, And Desired Leave To Dedicate To Him While He

Lived."

 

 

 

Mr. Murray, In His Reply, Deprecated The Severity Of The Marquess Of

Abercorn's Criticism On The Work Of Sir H. Ellis, Who Had Done The Best

That He Could On A Subject Of Exceeding Interest