A Publisher And His Friends (Fiscle Part-4) - Samuel Smiles (books like beach read TXT) 📗
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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 184The 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 185Second 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 (
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