A Publisher And His Friends (Fiscle Part-4) - Samuel Smiles (books like beach read TXT) 📗
- Author: Samuel Smiles
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General Quality Of Literature Must Depend. Books, And Even Knowledge,
Like Other Commodities, May, In Proportion To The Ease With Which They
Are Obtained, Lose At Once Both Their External Value And Their Intrinsic
Merit.
Murray's Professional Success Is Sufficient Evidence Of The Extent Of
His Intellectual Powers. The Foregoing Memoir Has Confined Itself Almost
Exclusively To An Account Of His Life As A Publisher, And It Has Been
Left To The Reader's Imagination To Divine From A Few Glimpses How Much
Of This Success Was Due To Force Of Character And A Rare Combination Of
Personal Qualities. A Few Concluding Words On This Point May Not Be
Inappropriate.
Quick-Tempered And Impulsive, He Was At The Same Time Warm-Hearted And
Generous To A Fault, While A Genuine Sense Of Humour, Which Constantly
Shows Itself In His Letters, Saved Him Many A Time From Those Troubles
Chapter 30 ( George Borrow--Richard Ford--Horace Twiss--John Sterling--Mr. Gladstone--Death Of Southey, Etc.) Pg 200Into Which The Hasty Often Fall. "I Wish," Wrote George Borrow, Within A
Short Time Of The Publisher's Death, "That All The World Were As Gay As
He."
He Was In Some Respects Indolent, And Not Infrequently Caused Serious
Misunderstandings By His Neglect To Answer Letters; But When He Did
Apply Himself To Work, He Achieved Results More Solid Than Most Of His
Compeers. He Had, Moreover, A Wonderful Power Of Attraction, And Both In
His Conversation And Correspondence Possessed A Gift Of Felicitous
Expression Which Rarely Failed To Arouse A Sympathetic Response In Those
Whom He Addressed. Throughout "The Trade" He Was Beloved, And He Rarely
Lost A Friend Among Those Who Had Come Within His Personal Influence.
He Was Eager To Look For, And Quick To Discern, Any Promise Of Talent In
The Young. "Every One," He Would Say, "Has A Book In Him, Or Her, If One
Only Knew How To Extract It," And Many Was The Time That He Lent A
Helping Hand To Those Who Were First Entering On A Literary Career.
To His Remarkable Powers As A Host, The Many Descriptions Of His Dinner
Parties Which Have Been Preserved Amply Testify; He Was More Than A Mere
Entertainer, And Took The Utmost Pains So To Combine And To Place His
Guests As Best To Promote Sympathetic Conversation And The General
Harmony Of The Gathering. Among The Noted Wits And Talkers, Moreover,
Who Assembled Round His Table He Was Fully Able To Hold His Own In
Conversation And In Repartee.
On One Occasion Lady Bell Was Present At One Of These Parties, And
Wrote: "The Talk Was Of Wit, And Moore Gave Specimens. Charles Thought
That Our Host Murray Said The Best Things That Brilliant Night."
Many Of The Friends Whose Names Are Most Conspicuous In These Pages Had
Passed Away Before Him, But Of Those Who Remained There Was Scarcely One
Whose Letters Do Not Testify To The General Affection With Which He Was
Regarded. We Give Here One Or Two Extracts From Letters Received During
His Last Illness.
Thomas Mitchell Wrote To Mr. Murray's Son:
"Give My Most Affectionate Remembrances To Your Father. More Than Once I
Should Have Sunk Under The Ills Of Life But For His Kind Support And
Chapter 30 ( George Borrow--Richard Ford--Horace Twiss--John Sterling--Mr. Gladstone--Death Of Southey, Etc.) Pg 201Countenance, And So I Believe Would Many Others Say Besides Myself. Be
His Maladies Small Or Great, Assure Him That He Has The Earnest
Sympathies Of One Who Well Knows And Appreciates His Sterling Merits."
Sir Francis Palgrave, Who Had Known Mr. Murray During The Whole Course
Of His Career, Wrote To Him Affectionately Of "The Friendship And
Goodwill Which," Said He, "You Have Borne Towards Me During A Period Of
More Than Half My Life. I Am Sure," He Added, "As We Grow Older We Find
Day By Day The Impossibility Of Finding _Any_ Equivalent For Old
Friends." Sharon Turner Also, The Historian, Was Most Cordial In His
Letters.
"Our Old Friends," He Said, "Are Dropping Off So Often That It Becomes
More And More Pleasing To Know That Some Still Survive Whom We Esteem
And By Whom We Are Not Forgotten.... Certainly We Can Look Back On Each
Other Now For Forty Years, And I Can Do So As To You With Great Pleasure
And Satisfaction, When, Besides The Grounds Of Private Satisfaction And
Esteem, I Think Of The Many Works Of Great Benefit To Society Which You
Have Been Instrumental In Publishing, And In Some Instances Of
Suggesting And Causing. You Have Thus Made Your Life Serviceable To The
World As Well As Honourable To Yourself.... You Are Frequently In My
Recollections, And Always With Those Feelings Which Accompanied Our
Intercourse In Our Days Of Health And Activity. May Every Blessing
Accompany You And Yours, Both Here And Hereafter."
It Was Not Only In England That His Loss Was Felt, For The News Of His
Death Called Forth Many Tokens Of Respect And Regard From Beyond The
Seas, And We Will Close These Remarks With Two Typical Extracts From The
Letters Of American Correspondents.
To Mr. Murray's Son, Dr. Robinson Of New York Summed Up His Qualities In
These Words:
"I Have Deeply Sympathised With The Bereaved Family At The Tidings Of
The Decease Of One Of Whom I Have Heard And Read From Childhood, And To
Whose Kindness And Friendship I Had Recently Been Myself So Much
Indebted. He Has Indeed Left You A Rich Inheritance, Not Only By His
Successful Example In Business And A Wide Circle Of Friends, But Also
In That Good Name Which Is Better Than All Riches. He Lived In A
Fortunate Period--His Own Name Is Inseparably Connected With One Of The
Brightest Eras Of English Literature--One, Too, Which, If Not Created,
Was Yet Developed And Fostered By His Unparalleled Enterprise And
Princely Liberality. I Counted It A High Privilege To Be Connected With
Him As A Publisher, And Shall Rejoice In Continuing The Connection With
Chapter 30 ( George Borrow--Richard Ford--Horace Twiss--John Sterling--Mr. Gladstone--Death Of Southey, Etc.) Pg 202His Son And Successor."
Mrs. L.H. Sigourney Wrote From Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.:
"Your Father's Death Is A Loss Which Is Mourned On This Side Of The
Atlantic. His Powerful Agency On The Patronage Of A Correct Literature,
Which He Was So Well Qualified To Appreciate, Has Rendered Him A
Benefactor In That Realm Of Intellect Which Binds Men Together In All
Ages, However Dissevered By Political Creed Or Local Prejudice. His
Urbanity To Strangers Is Treasured With Gratitude In Many Hearts. To Me
His Personal Kindness Was So Great That I Deeply Regretted Not Having
Formed His Acquaintance Until Just On The Eve Of My Leaving London. But
His Parting Gifts Are Among The Chief Ornaments Of My Library, And His
Last Letter, Preserved As A Sacred Autograph, Expresses The Kindness Of
A Friend Of Long Standing, And Promises Another 'More At Length,' Which,
Unfortunately, I Had Never The Happiness Of Receiving."
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Publication Date: 06-02-2014
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