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

The Question Of Publishing The Letters And

Reminiscences Of Lady Hervey, Grandmother Of The Earl Of Mulgrave, Was

Brought Under The Notice Of Mr. Murray. Lady Hervey Was The Daughter Of

Brigadier-General Lepel, And The Wife Of Lord Hervey Of Ickworth, Author

Of The "Memoirs Of The Court Of George Ii. And Queen Caroline." Her

Letters Formed A Sort Of Anecdotal History Of The Politics And

Literature Of Her Times. A Mysterious Attachment Is Said To Have Existed

Between Her And Lord Chesterfield, Who, In His Letters To His Son,

Desired Him Never To Mention Her Name When He Could Avoid It, While She,

On The Other Hand, Adopted All Lord Chesterfield's Opinions, As

Afterwards Appeared In The Aforesaid Letters. Mr. Walter Hamilton,

Author Of The "Gazetteer Of India," An Old And Intimate Friend Of Mr.

Murray, Who First Brought The Subject Under Mr. Murray's Notice, Said,

"Lady Hervey Writes More Like A Man Than A Woman, Something Like Lady

M.W. Montagu, And In Giving Her Opinion She Never Minces Matters." Mr.

Hamilton Recommended That Archdeacon Coxe, Author Of The "Lives Of Sir

Robert And Horace Walpole," Should Be The Editor. Mr. Murray, However,

Consulted His _Fidus Achates_, Mr. Croker; And, Putting The Letters In

His Hands, Asked Him To Peruse Them, And, If He Approved, To Edit Them.

The Following Was Mr. Croker's Answer:

 

 

 

_Mr. Croker To John Murray_.

 

 

 

_November_ 22, 1820.

 

 

 

Dear Murray,

 

 

 

I Shall Do More Than You Ask. I Shall Give You A Biographical

Sketch--Sketch, Do You Hear?--Of Lady Hervey, And Notes On Her Letters,

In Which I Shall Endeavour To Enliven A Little The _Sameness_ Of My

Chapter 21 (Memoirs Of Lady Hervey And Horace Walpole--Belzoni--Milman--Southey --Mrs. Rundell, Etc.) Pg 28

Author. Don't Think That I Say _Sameness_ In Derogation Of Dear Mary

Lepel's _Powers_ Of Entertainment. I Have Been _In Love_ With Her A Long

Time; Which, As She Was Dead Twenty Years Before I Was Born, I May

Without Indiscretion Avow; But All These Letters Being Written In A

Journal Style And To One Person, There Is A Want Of That Variety Which

Lady Hervey's Mind Was Capable Of Giving. I Have Applied To Her Family

For A Little Assistance; Hitherto Without Success; And I Think, As A

_Lover_ Of Lady Hervey's, I Might Reasonably Resent The Little

Enthusiasm I Find That Her Descendants Felt About Her. In Order To

Enable Me To Do This Little Job For You, I Wish You Would Procure For Me

A File, If Such A Thing Exists, Of Any Newspaper From About 1740 To

1758, At Which Latter Date The _Annual Register_ Begins, As I Remember.

So Many Little Circumstances Are Mentioned In Letters, And Forgotten In

History, That Without Some Such Guide, I Shall Make But Blind Work Of

It. If It Be Necessary, I Will Go To The Museum And _Grab_ Them, As My

Betters Have Done Before Me. My Dear Little Nony [Footnote: Mr. Croker's

Adopted Daughter, Afterwards Married To Sir George Barrow.] Was Worse

Last Night, And Not Better All To-Day; But This Evening They Make Me

Happy By Saying That She Is Decidedly Improved.

 

 

 

Yours Ever,

 

 

 

J.W. Croker.

 

 

 

Send Me "Walpoliana," I Have Lost Or Mislaid Mine. Are There Any Memoirs

About The Date Of 1743, Or Later, Beside Bubb's?

 

 

 

That Mr. Croker Made All Haste And Exercised His Usual Painstaking

Industry In Doing "This Little Job" For Mr. Murray Will Be Evident From

The Following Letters:

 

 

 

_Mr. Croker To John Murray_.

 

 

 

_December_ 27, 1820.

 

 

 

Dear Murray,

 

 

 

I Have Done "Lady Hervey." I Hear That There Is A Mr. Vincent In The

Chapter 21 (Memoirs Of Lady Hervey And Horace Walpole--Belzoni--Milman--Southey --Mrs. Rundell, Etc.) Pg 29

Treasury, The Son Of A Mr. And Mrs. Vincent, To Whom The Late General

Hervey, The Favourite Son Of Lady Hervey, Left His Fortune And His

Papers. Could You Find Out Who They Are? Nothing Is More Surprising Than

The Ignorance In Which I Find All Lady Hervey's Descendants About Her.

Most Of Them Never Heard Her Maiden Name. It Reminds One Of Walpole

Writing To George Montagu, To Tell Him Who His Grandmother Was! I Am

Anxious To Knock Off This Task Whilst What Little I Know Of It Is Fresh

In My Recollection; For I Foresee That Much Of The Entertainment Of The

Work Must Depend On The Elucidations In The Notes.

 

 

 

Yours,

 

 

 

J.W.C.

 

 

 

The Publication Of Lady Hervey's Letters In 1821 Was So Successful That

Mr. Croker Was Afterwards Induced To Edit, With Great Advantage, Letters

And Memorials Of A Similar Character. [Footnote: As Late As 1848, Mr.

Croker Edited Lord Hervey's "Memoirs Of The Court Of George Ii. And

Queen Caroline," From The Family Archives At Ickworth. The Editor In His

Preface Said That Lord Hervey Was Almost The Boswell Of George Ii. And

Queen Caroline.]

 

 

 

The Next Important _Memoires Pour Servir_ Were Brought Under Mr.

Murray's Notice By Lord Holland, In The Following Letter:

 

 

 

 

_Lord Holland To John Murray_.

 

 

 

Holland House, _November_ 1820.

 

 

 

Sir,

 

 

 

I Wrote A Letter To You Last Week Which By Some Accident Lord

Lauderdale, Who Had Taken Charge Of It, Has Mislaid. The Object Of It

Was To Request You To Call Here Some Morning, And To Let Me Know The

Hour By A Line By Two-Penny Post. I Am Authorized To Dispose Of Two

Historical Works, The One A Short But Admirably Written And Interesting

Memoir Of The Late Lord Waldegrave, Who Was A Favourite Of George Ii.,

Chapter 21 (Memoirs Of Lady Hervey And Horace Walpole--Belzoni--Milman--Southey --Mrs. Rundell, Etc.) Pg 30

And Governor Of George Iii. When Prince Of Wales. The Second Consists Of

Three Close-Written Volumes Of "Memoirs By Horace Walpole" (Afterwards

Lord Orford), Which Comprise The Last Nine Years Of George Ii.'S Reign.

I Am Anxious To Give You The Refusal Of Them, As I Hear You Have Already

Expressed A Wish To Publish Anything Of This Kind Written By Horace

Walpole, And Had Indirectly Conveyed That Wish To Lord Waldegrave, To

Whom These And Many Other Mss. Of That Lively And Laborious Writer

Belong. Lord Lauderdale Has Offered To Assist Me In Adjusting The Terms

Of The Agreement, And Perhaps You Will Arrange With Him; He Lives At

Warren's Hotel, Waterloo Place, Where You Can Make It Convenient To Meet

Him. I Would Meet You There, Or Call At Your House; But Before You Can

Make Any Specific Offer, You Will No Doubt Like To Look At The Mss.,

Which Are Here, And Which (Not Being Mine) I Do Not Like To Expose

Unnecessarily To The Risk Even Of A Removal To London And Back Again.

 

 

 

I Am, Sir, Your Obedient Humble Servant, Etc.,

 

 

 

Vassall Holland.

 

 

 

 

It Would Appear That Mr. Murray Called Upon Lord Holland And Looked Over

The Mss., But Made No Proposal To Purchase The Papers. The Matter Lay

Over Until Lord Holland Again Addressed Mr. Murray.

 

 

 

 

_Lord Holland To John Murray_.

 

 

 

"It Appears That You Are Either Not Aware Of The Interesting Nature Of

The Mss. Which I Showed You, Or That The Indifference Produced By The

Present Frenzy About The Queen's Business [Footnote: The Trial Of Queen

Caroline Was Then Occupying Public Attention.] To All Literary

Publications, Has Discouraged You From An Undertaking In Which You Would

Otherwise Engage Most Willingly. However, To Come To The Point. I Have

Consulted Lord Waldegrave On The Subject, And We Agree That The Two

Works, Viz. His Grandfather, Lord Waldegrave's "Memoirs," And Horace

Walpole's "Memoirs Of The Last Nine Years Of George Ii.," Should Not Be

Sold For Less Than 3,000 Guineas. If That Sum Would Meet Your Ideas, Or

If You Have Any Other Offer To Make, I Will Thank You To Let Me Know

Before The Second Of Next Month."

 

 

 

Three Thousand Guineas Was Certainly A Very Large Price To Ask For The

Memoirs, And Mr. Murray Hesitated Very Much Before Acceding To Lord

Chapter 21 (Memoirs Of Lady Hervey And Horace Walpole--Belzoni--Milman--Southey --Mrs. Rundell, Etc.) Pg 31

Holland's Proposal. He Requested To Have The Mss. For The Purpose Of

Consulting His Literary Adviser--Probably Mr. Croker, Though The

Following Remarks, Now Before Us, Are Not In His Handwriting.

 

 

 

"This Book Of Yours," Says The Critic, "Is A Singular Production. It Is

Ill-Written, Deficient In Grammar, And Often In English; And Yet It

Interests And Even Amuses. Now, The Subjects Of It Are All, I Suppose,

Gone _Ad Plures_; Otherwise It Would Be Intolerable. The Writer Richly

Deserves A Licking Or A Cudgelling To Every Page, And Yet I Am Ashamed

To Say I Have Travelled Unwearied With Him Through The Whole, Divided

Between A Grin And A Scowl. I Never Saw Nor Heard Of Such An Animal As A

Splenetic, Bustling Kind Of A Poco-Curante. By The Way, If You Happen To

Hear Of Any Plan For Making Me A King, Be So Good As To Say That I Am

Deceased; Or Tell Any Other Good-Natured Lie To Put The King-Makers Off

Their Purpose. I Really Cannot Submit To Be The Only Slave In The

Nation, Especially When I Have A Crossing To Sweep Within Five Yards Of

My Door, And May Gain My Bread With Less Ill-Usage Than A King Is

Obliged To Put Up With. If Half That Is Here Told Be True, Lord Holland

Seems To Me To Tread On

 

 

 

 

                                   'Ignes

                Suppositos Cineri Doloso'

 

 

 

 

In Retouching Any Part Of The Manuscript. He Is So Perfectly Kind And

Good-Natured, That He Will Feel More Than Any Man The Complaints Of

Partiality And Injustice; And Where He Is To Stop, I See Not. There Is

So Much Abuse That Little Is To Be Gained By An Occasional Erasure,

While Suspicion Is Excited. He Would Have Consulted His Quiet More By

Leaving The Author To Bear The Blame Of His Own Scandal."

 

 

 

Notwithstanding This Adverse Judgment, Mr. Murray Was Disposed To Buy

The Memoirs. Lord Holland