A Publisher and His Friends Part 29

_September_ 25, 1818.

"What are people saying about that fellow Hazlitt attempting to prosecute? There was a rascally paragraph in the _Times_ of Friday last mentioning the prosecution, and saying the magazine was a work filled with private slander. My friends laugh at the idea of his prosecution."

Mr. Murray, however, became increasingly dissatisfied with this state of things; he never sympathised with the slashing criticisms of _Blackwood_, and strongly disapproved of the personalities, an opinion which was shared by most of his literary friends. At the same time his name was on the t.i.tle-page of the magazine, and he was jointly responsible with Blackwood for the articles which appeared there.

In a long letter dated September 28, 1818, Mr. Murray deprecated the personality of the articles in the magazine, and entreated that they be kept out. If not, he begged that Blackwood would omit his name from the t.i.tle-page of the work.

A long correspondence took place during the month of October between Murray and Blackwood: the former continuing to declaim against the personality of the articles; the latter averring that there was nothing of the sort in the magazine. If Blackwood would only keep out these personal attacks, Murray would take care to send him articles by Mr.

Frere, Mr. Barrow, and others, which would enhance the popularity and respectability of the publication.

In October of this year was published an anonymous pamphlet, ent.i.tled "Hypocrisy Unveiled," which raked up the whole of the joke contained in the "Translation from an Ancient Chaldee Ma.n.u.script," published a year before. The number containing it had, as we have already seen, been suppressed, because of the offence it had given to many persons of celebrity, while the general tone of bitterness and personality had been subsequently modified, if not abandoned. Murray a.s.sured Blackwood that his number for October 1818 was one of the best he had ever read, and he desired him to "offer to his friends his very best thanks and congratulations upon the production of so admirable a number." "With this number," he said, "you have given me a fulcrum upon which I will move heaven and earth to get subscribers and contributors." Indeed, several of the contributions in this surpa.s.singly excellent number had been sent to the Edinburgh publisher through the instrumentality of Murray himself.

"Hypocrisy Unveiled" was a lampoon of a scurrilous and commonplace character, in which the leading contributors to and the publishers of the magazine were violently attacked. Both Murray and Blackwood, who were abused openly, by name, resolved to take no notice of it; but Lockhart and Wilson, who were mentioned under the thin disguise of "the Scorpion" and "the Leopard," were so nettled by the remarks on themselves, that they, in October 1818, both sent challenges to the anonymous author, through the publisher of the pamphlet. This most injudicious step only increased their discomfiture, as the unknown writer not only refused to proclaim his ident.i.ty, but published and circulated the challenges, together with a further attack on Lockhart and Wilson.

This foolish disclosure caused bitter vexation to Murray, who wrote:

_John Murray to Mr. Blackwood_.

_October_ 27, 1818.

My DEAR BLACKWOOD,

I really can recollect no parallel to the palpable absurdity of your two friends. If they had planned the most complete triumph to their adversaries, nothing could have been so successfully effective. They have actually given up their names, as the authors of the offences charged upon them, by implication only, in the pamphlet. How they could possibly conceive that the writer of the pamphlet would be such an idiot as to quit his stronghold of concealment, and allow his head to be chopped off by exposure, I am at a loss to conceive....

I declare to G.o.d that had I known what I had so incautiously engaged in, I would not have undertaken what I have done, or have suffered what I have in my feelings and character--which no man had hitherto the slightest cause for a.s.sailing--I would not have done so for any sum....

In answer to these remonstrances Blackwood begged him to dismiss the matter from his mind, to preserve silence, and to do all that was possible to increase the popularity of the magazine. The next number, he said, would be excellent and unexceptionable; and it proved to be so.

The difficulty, however, was not yet over. While the princ.i.p.al editors of the Chaldee Ma.n.u.script had thus revealed themselves to the author of "Hypocrisy Unveiled," the London publisher of _Blackwood_ was, in November 1818, a.s.sailed by a biting pamphlet, ent.i.tled "A Letter to Mr.

John Murray, of Albemarle Street, occasioned by his having undertaken the publication, in London, of _Blackwood's Magazine_." "The curse of his respectability," he was told, had brought the letter upon him. "Your name stands among the very highest in the department of Literature which has fallen to your lot: the eminent persons who have confided in you, and the works you have given to the world, have conduced to your establishment in the public favour; while your liberality, your impartiality, and your private motives, bear testimony to the justice of your claims to that honourable distinction."

Other criticisms of the same kind reached Mr. Murray's ear. Moore, in his Diary (November 4, 1818), writes: "Received two most civil and anxious letters from the great 'Bibliopola Tryphon' Murray, expressing his regret at the article in _Blackwood_, and his resolution to give up all concern in it if it contained any more such personalities."

[Footnote: "Memoirs, Journal, and Correspondence of Thomas Moore," ii.

210. By Lord John Russell.]

Finally the Hazlitt action was settled. Blackwood gave to Murray the following account of the matter:

_December_ 16, 1818.

"I have had two letters from Mr. Patmore, informing me that Mr. Hazlitt was to drop the prosecution. His agent has since applied to mine offering to do this, if the expenses and a small sum for some charity were paid. My agent told him he would certainly advise any client of his to get out of court, but that he would never advise me to pay anything to be made a talk of, as a sum for a charity would be. He would advise me, he said, to pay the expenses, and a trifle to Hazlitt himself privately. Hazlitt's agent agreed to this." [Footnote: I have not been able to discover what sum, if any, was paid to Hazlitt privately.]

Notwithstanding promises of amendment, Murray still complained of the personalities, and of the way in which the magazine was edited. He also objected to the "echo of the _Edinburgh Review's_ abuse of Sharon Turner. It was sufficient to give pain to me, and to my most valued friend. There was another ungentlemanly and uncalled-for thrust at Thomas Moore. That just makes so many more enemies, unnecessarily; and you not only deprive me of the communications of my friends, but you positively provoke them to go over to your adversary."

It seemed impossible to exercise any control over the editors, and Murray had no alternative left but to expostulate, and if his expostulations were unheeded, to retire from the magazine. The last course was that which he eventually decided to adopt, and the end of the partnership in _Blackwood's Magazine_, which had long been antic.i.p.ated, at length arrived. Murray's name appeared for the last time on No. 22, for January 1819; the following number bore no London publisher's name; but on the number for March the names of T. Cadell and W. Davies were advertised as the London agents for the magazine.

On December 17, 1819, 1,000 were remitted to Mr. Murray in payment of the sum which he had originally advanced to purchase his share, and his connection with _Blackwood's Magazine_ finally ceased. He thereupon transferred his agency for Scotland to Messrs. Oliver & Boyd, with whose firm it has ever since remained. The friendly correspondence between Murray and Blackwood nevertheless continued, as they were jointly interested in several works of importance.

In the course of the following year, "Christopher North" made the following statement in _Blackwood's Magazine_ in "An Hour's Tete-a-tete with the Public":

"The Chaldee Ma.n.u.script, which appeared in our seventh number, gave us both a lift and a shove. Nothing else was talked of for a long while; and after 10,000 copies had been sold, it became a very great rarity, quite a desideratum.... The sale of the _Quarterly_ is about 14,000, of the _Edinburgh_ upwards of 7,000.... It is not our intention, at present, to suffer our sale to go beyond 17,000.... Mr. Murray, under whose auspices our _magnum opus_ issued for a few months from Albemarle Street, began to suspect that we might be eclipsing the _Quarterly Review_. No such eclipse had been foretold; and Mr. Murray, being no great astronomer, was at a loss to know whether, in the darkness that was but too visible, we were eclipsing the _Quarterly_, or the _Quarterly_ eclipsing us. We accordingly took our pen, and erased his name from our t.i.tle-page, and he was once more happy. Under our present publishers we carry everything before us in London."

Mr. Murray took no notice of this statement, preferring, without any more words, to be quit of his bargain.

It need scarcely be added that when Mr. Blackwood had got his critics and contributors well in hand--when his journal had pa.s.sed its frisky and juvenile life of fun and frolic--when the personalities had ceased to appear in its columns, and it had reached the years of judgment and discretion--and especially when its princ.i.p.al editor, Mr. John Wilson (Christopher North), had been appointed to the distinguished position of Professor of Moral Philosophy in the University of Edinburgh--the journal took that high rank in periodical literature which it has ever since maintained.

CHAPTER XIX

WORKS PUBLISHED IN 1817-18--CORRESPONDENCE, ETC.--

Scott was now beginning to suffer from the terrible mental and bodily strain to which he had subjected himself, and was shortly after seized with the illness to which reference has been made in a previous chapter, and which disabled him for some time. Blackwood informed Murray (March 7, 1817) that Mr. Scott "has been most dangerously ill, with violent pain arising from spasmodic action in the stomach; but he is gradually getting better."

For some time he remained in a state of exhaustion, unable either to stir for weakness and giddiness; or to read, for dazzling in his eyes; or to listen, for a whizzing sound in his ears--all indications of too much brain-work and mental worry. Yet, as soon as he was able to resume his labours, we find him characteristically employed in helping his poorer friends.

_Mr. Blackwood to John Murray_.

_May_ 28, 1817.

"Mr. Scott and some of his friends, in order to raise a sum of money to make the poor Shepherd comfortable, have projected a fourth edition of "The Queen's Wake," with a few plates, to be published by subscription.

We have inserted your name, as we have no doubt of your doing everything you can for the poor poet. The advertis.e.m.e.nt, which is excellent, is written by Mr. Scott."

Hogg was tempted by the Duke of Buccleuch's gift of a farm on Eltrive Lake to build himself a house, as Scott was doing, and applied to Murray for a loan of 50, which was granted. In acknowledging the receipt of the money he wrote:

_Mr. James Hogg to John Murray_.

_August_ 11, 1818.

.... I am told Gifford has a hard prejudice against me, but I cannot believe it. I do not see how any man can have a prejudice against me. He may, indeed, consider me an intruder in the walks of literature, but I am only a saunterer, and malign n.o.body who chooses to let me pa.s.s.... I was going to say before, but forgot, and said quite another thing, that if Mr. Gifford would point out any light work for me to review for him, I'll bet a MS. poem with him that I'll write it better than he expects.

Yours ever most sincerely,

JAMES HOGG.

As Scott still remained the Great Unknown, Murray's correspondence with him related princ.i.p.ally to his articles in the _Quarterly_, to which he continued an occasional contributor. Murray suggested to him the subjects of articles, and also requested him to beat up for a few more contributors. He wanted an article on the Gypsies, and if Scott could not muster time to do it, he hoped that Mr. Erskine might be persuaded to favour him with an essay.

Scott, however, in the midst of pain and distress, was now busy with his "Rob Roy," which was issued towards the end of the year.

A short interruption of his correspondence with Murray occurred--Scott being busy in getting the long buried and almost forgotten "Regalia of Scotland" exposed to light; he was also busy with one of his best novels, the "Heart of Midlothian." Murray, knowing nothing of these things, again endeavoured to induce him to renew his correspondence, especially his articles for the _Review_. In response Scott contributed articles on Kirkton's "History of the Church of Scotland," on Military Bridges, and on Lord Orford's Memoirs.

Towards the end of the year, Mr. Murray paid a visit to Edinburgh on business, and after seeing Mr. Blackwood, made his way southward, to pay his promised visit to Walter Scott at Abbotsford, an account of which has already been given in the correspondence with Lord Byron.

James Hogg, who was present at the meeting of Scott and Murray at Abbotsford, wrote to Murray as follows:

_James Hogg to John Murray_.

EDINBURGH, _February_ 20, 1819.