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

Was Captain For Many Years. If I Live, And My

Spirits Keep Up Tolerably Well, I Hope That Within A Year I Shall Be

Able To Go To Press With Something Which Shall Beat The 'Bible In

Spain.'"

 

 

 

And A Few Days Later:

 

 

 

Chapter 30 ( George Borrow--Richard Ford--Horace Twiss--John Sterling--Mr. Gladstone--Death Of Southey, Etc.) Pg 183

I Have Received Your Account For The Two Editions. I Am Perfectly

Satisfied. We Will Now, Whenever You Please, Bring Out A Third Edition.

 

 

 

"The Book Which I Am At Present About Will Consist, If I Live To Finish

It, Of A Series Of Rembrandt Pictures, Interspersed Here And There With

A Claude. I Shall Tell The World Of My Parentage, My Early Thoughts And

Habits, How I Become A _Sap-Engro,_ Or Viper-Catcher: My Wanderings With

The Regiment In England, Scotland, And Ireland, In Which Last Place My

Jockey Habits First Commenced: Then A Great Deal About Norwich, Billy

Taylor, Thurtell, Etc.: How I Took To Study And Became A _Lav-Engro._

What Do You Think Of This For A Bill Of Fare? I Am Now In A Blacksmith's

Shop In The South Of Ireland Taking Lessons From The Vulcan In Horse

Charming And Horse-Shoe Making. By The Bye, I Wish I Were Acquainted

With Sir Robert Peel. I Could Give Him Many A Useful Hint With Respect

To Ireland And The Irish. I Know Both Tolerably Well. Whenever There's A

Row, I Intend To Go Over With Sidi Habesmith And Put Myself At The Head

Of A Body Of Volunteers."

 

 

 

During The Negotiations For The Publication Of Mr. Horace Twiss's "Life

Of The Earl Of Eldon," Mr. Murray Wrote To Mr. Twiss:

 

 

 

_John Murray To Mr. Twiss_.

 

 

 

_May_ 11, 1842.

 

 

 

"I Am Very Sorry To Say That The Publishing Of Books At This Time

Involves Nothing But Loss, And That I Have Found It Absolutely

Necessary To Withdraw From The Printers Every Work That I Had In The

Press, And To Return To The Authors Any Ms. For Which They Required

Immediate Publication."

 

 

 

Mr. Murray Nevertheless Agreed To Publish The "Life Of Eldon" On

Commission, And It Proved Very Successful, Going Through Several

Editions.

 

 

 

Another Work Offered To Mr. Murray In 1841 Was "The Moor And The Loch,"

By John Colquhoun, Of Luss. He Had Published The First Edition At

Edinburgh Through Mr. Blackwood; And, Having Had Some Differences With

That Publisher, He Now Proposed To Issue The Second Edition In London.

He Wrote To Mr. Murray Desiring Him To Undertake The Work, And Received

Chapter 30 ( George Borrow--Richard Ford--Horace Twiss--John Sterling--Mr. Gladstone--Death Of Southey, Etc.) Pg 184

The Following Reply:

 

 

 

_John Murray To Mr. Colquhoun_.

 

 

 

_March_ 16, 1841.

 

 

 

Sir,

 

 

 

I Should Certainly Have Had Much Pleasure In Being The Original

Publisher Of Your Very Interesting Work "The Moor And The Loch," But I

Have A Very Great Dislike To The _Appearance Even_ Of Interfering With

Any Other Publisher. Having Glass Windows, I Must Not Throw Stones. With

Blackwood, Indeed, I Have Long Had Particular Relations, And They For

Several Years Acted As My Agents In Edinburgh; So Pray Have The Kindness

To Confide To Me The Cause Of Your Misunderstanding With That House, And

Let Me Have The Satisfaction Of At Least Trying In The First Place To

Settle The Matter Amicably. In Any Case, However, You May Rely Upon All

My Means To Promote The Success Of Your Work, The Offer Of Which Has

Made Me, Dear Sir,

 

 

 

Your Obliged And Faithful Servant,

 

 

 

John Murray.

 

 

 

_Mr. Colquhoun To John Murray_.

 

 

 

_March_ 20, 1841.

 

 

 

Dear Sir,

 

 

 

I Am Much Obliged By Your Note Which I Received Yesterday. I Shall

Endeavour To See You Directly, And When I Explain The Cause Of My

Dissatisfaction With Messrs. Blackwood, I Am Sure You Will At Once See

That It Would Be Impossible For Us To Go On Comfortably Together With My

Chapter 30 ( George Borrow--Richard Ford--Horace Twiss--John Sterling--Mr. Gladstone--Death Of Southey, Etc.) Pg 185

Second Edition; And Even If Any Adjustment Was Brought About, I Feel

Convinced That The Book Would Suffer. I Do Not Mean To Imply Anything

Against The Messrs. Blackwood As Men Of Business, And Should Be Sorry To

Be Thus Understood; But This Case Has Been A Peculiar One, And Requires

Too Long An Explanation For A Letter. In The Meantime I Have Written To

You Under The Strictest Confidence, As The Messrs. B. Are Not Aware Of

My Intention Of Bringing Out A Second Edition At The Present Time, Or Of

My Leaving Them. My Reasons, However, Are Such That My Determination

Cannot Be Altered; And I Hope, After A Full Explanation With You, That

We Shall At Once Agree To Publish The Book With The Least Possible

Delay. I Shall Be Most Happy To Return Your Note, Which You May

Afterwards Show To Messrs. B., And I May Add That Had You Altogether

Refused To Publish My Book, It Could In No Way Have Affected My Decision

Of Leaving Them.

 

 

 

I Remain, Dear Sir, Faithfully Yours,

 

 

 

John Colquhoun.

 

 

 

Mr. Colquhoun Came Up Expressly To London, And After An Interview With

Mr. Murray, Who Again Expressed His Willingness To Mediate With The

Edinburgh Publishers, Mr. Colquhoun Repeated His Final Decision, And Mr.

Murray At Length Agreed To Publish The Second Edition Of "The Moor And

The Loch." It May Be Added That In The End Mr. Colquhoun Did, As Urged

By Murray, Return To The Blackwoods, Who Still Continue To Publish His

Work.

 

 

 

Allan Cunningham Ended His Literary Life By Preparing The "Memoirs" Of

His Friend Sir David Wilkie. Shortly Before He Undertook The Work He Had

Been Prostrated By A Stroke Of Paralysis, But On His Partial Recovery He

Proceeded With The Memoirs, And The Enfeebling Effects Of His Attack May

Be Traced In Portions Of The Work. Towards The Close Of His Life Wilkie

Had Made A Journey To The East, Had Painted The Sultan At

Constantinople, And Afterwards Made His Way To Smyrna, Rhodes, Beyrout,

Jaffa, And Jerusalem. He Returned Through Egypt, And At Alexandria He

Embarked On Board The _Oriental_ Steamship For England. While At

Alexandria, He Had Complained Of Illness, Which Increased, Partly In

Consequence Of His Intense Sickness At Sea, And He Died Off Gibraltar On

June 1, 1841, When His Body Was Committed To The Deep. Turner's Splendid

Picture Of The Scene Was One Of Wilkie's Best Memorials. A Review Of

Allan Cunningham's Work, By Mr. Lockhart, Appeared In The _Quarterly_,

No. 144. Previous To Its Appearance He Wrote To Mr. Murray As Follows:

 

 

 

_Mr. Lockhart To John Murray_.

Chapter 30 ( George Borrow--Richard Ford--Horace Twiss--John Sterling--Mr. Gladstone--Death Of Southey, Etc.) Pg 186

 

 

 

_February_ 25, 1843.

 

 

 

Dear Murray,

 

 

 

I Don't Know If You Have Read Much Of "The Life Of Wilkie." All

Cunningham's Part Seems To Be Wretched, But In The "Italian And Spanish

Journals And Letters" Wilkie Shines Out In A Comparatively New

Character. He Is A Very Eloquent And, I Fancy, A Deep And Instructive

Critic On Painting; At All Events, Vol. Ii. Is Full Of Very High

Interest.... Is There Anywhere A Good Criticism On The Alteration That

Wilkie's Style Exhibited After His Italian And Spanish Tours? The

General Impression Always Was, And I Suppose Will Always Be, That The

Change Was For The Worse. But It Will Be A Nice Piece Of Work To Account

For An Unfortunate Change Being The Result Of Travel And Observation,

Which We Now Own To Have Produced Such A Stock Of Admirable Theoretical

Disquisition On The Principles Of The Art. I Can See Little To Admire Or

Like In The Man Wilkie. Some Good Homely Scotch Kindness For Kith And

Kin, And For Some Old Friends Too Perhaps; But Generally The Character

Seems Not To Rise Above The Dull Prudentialities Of A Decent Man In Awe

Of The World And The Great, And Awfully Careful About No. 1. No Genuine

Enjoyment, Save In Study Of Art, And Getting Money Through That Study.

He Is A Fellow That You Can't Suppose Ever To Have Been Drunk Or In

Love--Too Much A Presbyterian Elder For Either You Or Me.

 

 

 

Mr. Murray Received A Communication (December 16, 1841), From Mr. John

Sterling, Carlyle's Friend, With Whom He Had Had Transactions On His Own

Account. "Not," He Said, "Respecting His Own Literary Affairs, But Those

Of A Friend." The Friend Was Mr. John Stuart Mill, Son Of The Historian

Of British India. He Had Completed His Work On Logic, Of Which Mr.

Sterling Had The Highest Opinion. He Said It Had Been The "Labour Of

Many Years Of A Singularly Subtle, Patient, And Comprehensive Mind. It

Will Be Our Chief Speculative Monument Of This Age." Mr. Mill Himself

Addressed Mr. Murray, First On December 20, 1841, While He Was Preparing

The Work For The Press, And Again In January And February, 1842, When He

Had Forwarded The Ms. To The Publisher, And Requested His Decision. We

Find, However, That Mr. Murray Was Very Ill At The Time; That He Could

Not Give The Necessary Attention To The Subject; And That The Ms. Was

Eventually Returned.

 

 

 

When Copyright Became The Subject Of Legislation In 1843, Mr. Murray

Received A Letter From Mr. Gladstone.

 

 

 

Chapter 30 (