A Publisher And His Friends (Fiscle Part-4) by Samuel Smiles (essential books to read .txt) 📕

George Borrow--Richard Ford--Horace Twiss--John Sterling--Mr. Gladstone--Death Of Southey, Etc.) Pg 187

 

_Mr. Gladstone To John Murray_.

 

 

 

Whitehall, _February_ 6, 1843.

 

 

 

My Dear Sir,

 

 

 

I Beg Leave To Thank You For The Information Contained In And

Accompanying Your Note Which Reached Me On Saturday. The View With Which

The Clauses Relating To Copyright In The Customs Act Were Framed Was

That Those Interested In The Exclusion Of Pirated Works Would Take Care

To Supply The Board Of Customs From Time To Time With Lists Of All Works

Under Copyright Which Were At All Likely To Be Reprinted Abroad, And

That This Would Render The Law Upon The Whole Much More Operative And

More Fair Than An Enormous Catalogue Of All The Works Entitled To The

Privilege, Of Which It Would Be Found Very Difficult For The Officers At

The Ports To Manage The Use.

 

 

 

Directions In Conformity With The Acts Of Last Session Will Be Sent To

The Colonies.

 

 

 

But I Cannot Omit To State That I Learn From Your Note With Great

Satisfaction, That Steps Are To Be Taken Here To Back The Recent

Proceedings Of The Legislature. I Must Not Hesitate To Express My

Conviction That What Parliament Has Done Will Be Fruitless, Unless The

_Law_ Be Seconded By The Adoption Of Such Modes Of Publication, As Will

Allow The Public Here And In The Colonies To Obtain Possession Of New

And Popular English Works At Moderate Prices. If It Be Practicable For

Authors And Publishers To Make Such Arrangements, I Should Hope To See A

Great Extension Of Our Book Trade, As Well As Much Advantage To

Literature, From The Measures That Have Now Been Taken And From Those

Which I Trust We Shall Be Enabled To Take In Completion Of Them; But

Unless The Proceedings Of The Trade Itself Adapt And Adjust Themselves

To The Altered Circumstances, I Can Feel No Doubt That We Shall Relapse

Into Or Towards The Old State Of Things; The Law Will Be First Evaded

And Then Relaxed.

 

 

 

I Am, My Dear Sir,

 

 

 

Faithfully Yours,

Chapter 30 ( George Borrow--Richard Ford--Horace Twiss--John Sterling--Mr. Gladstone--Death Of Southey, Etc.) Pg 188

 

 

 

W.E. Gladstone.

 

 

 

Here It Is Fitting That A Few Paragraphs Should Be Devoted To The

Closing Years Of Robert Southey, Who For So Many Years Had Been The

Friend And Coadjutor Of The Publisher Of The _Quarterly_.

 

 

 

Between 1808 And 1838, Southey Had Written Ninety-Four Articles For The

_Quarterly_; The Last Was Upon His Friend Thomas Telford, The Engineer,

Who Left Him A Legacy. He Had Been Returned Member Of Parliament For

Downton (Before The Reform Bill Passed), But Refused The Honour--A

Curious Episode Not Often Remembered In The Career Of This Distinguished

Man Of Letters. When About Fifty-Five Years Old, His Only Certain Source

Of Income Was From His Pension, From Which He Received L145, And From

His Laureateship, Which Was L90. But The Larger Portion Of These Sums

Went In Payment For His Life Insurance, So That Not More Than L100 Could

Be Calculated On As Available. His Works Were Not Always Profitable. In

One Year He Only Received L26 For Twenty-One Of His Books, Published By

Longman.

 

 

 

Murray Gave Him L1,000 For The Copyright Of The "Peninsular War"; But

His "Book Of The Church" And His "Vindiciae" Produced Nothing.

 

 

 

Southey's Chief Means Of Support Was The Payments (Generally L100 For

Each Article) Which He Received For His Contributions To The

_Quarterly_; But While Recognizing This, As He Could Not Fail To Do, As

Well As Murray's General Kindness Towards Him, He Occasionally Allowed A

Vein Of Discontent To Show Itself Even In His Acknowledgment Of Favours

Received.

 

 

 

In 1835 Southey Received A Pension Of L300 From The Government Of Sir

Robert Peel. He Was Offered A Baronetcy At The Same Time, But He

Declined It, As His Circumstances Did Not Permit Him To Accept The

Honour.

 

 

 

_Mr. Southey To John Murray_.

 

 

 

_June_ 17, 1835.

Chapter 30 ( George Borrow--Richard Ford--Horace Twiss--John Sterling--Mr. Gladstone--Death Of Southey, Etc.) Pg 189

 

 

 

"What Sir Robert Peel Has Done For Me Will Enable Me, When My Present

Engagements Are Completed, To Employ The Remainder Of My Life Upon Those

Works For Which Inclination, Peculiar Circumstances, And Long

Preparation, Have Best Qualified Me. They Are "The History Of Portugal,"

"The History Of The Monastic Orders," And "The History Of English

Literature," From The Time When Wharton Breaks Off. The Possibility Of

Accomplishing Three Such Works At My Age Could Not Be Dreamt Of, If I

Had Not Made Very Considerable Progress With One, And No Little, Though

Not In Such Regular Order, With The Others."

 

 

 

Shortly After His Second Marriage, Southey's Intellect Began To Fail

Him, And He Soon Sank Into A State Of Mental Imbecility. He Would Wander

About His Library, Take Down A Book, Look Into It, And Then Put It Back

Again, But Was Incapable Of Work. When Mr. Murray Sent Him The Octavo

Edition Of The "Peninsular War," His Wife Answered:

 

 

 

_Mrs. Southey To John Murray_.

 

 

 

Greta Hall, _May_ 15, 1840.

 

 

 

If The Word _Pleasure_ Were Not Become To Me As A _Dead Letter, I_

Should Tell You With How Much I Took Possession Of Your Kind Gift. But I

_May_ Tell You Truly That It Gratified, And More Than Gratified Me, By

Giving Pleasure To My Dear Husband, As A Token Of Your Regard For Him,

So Testified Towards Myself. The Time Is Not Far Passed When We Should

Have Rejoiced Together Like Children Over Such An Acquisition.

 

 

 

Yours Very Truly And Thankfully,

 

 

 

Car. Southey.

 

 

 

_May_ 23, 1840.

 

 

 

Dear Sir,

 

Chapter 30 ( George Borrow--Richard Ford--Horace Twiss--John Sterling--Mr. Gladstone--Death Of Southey, Etc.) Pg 190

 

Very Cordially I Return Your Friendly Salutations, Feeling, As I Do,

That Every Manifestation Of Kindness For My Husband's Sake Is More

Precious To Me Than Any I Could Receive For My Own Exclusively.

Two-And-Twenty Years Ago, When He Wished To Put Into Your Hands, As

Publisher, A First Attempt Of Mine, Of Which He Thought Better Than It

Deserved, He Little Thought In That So Doing He Was Endeavouring To

Forward The Interests Of His Future Wife; Of Her For Whom It Was

Appointed (A Sad But Honoured Lot) To Be The Companion Of His Later

Days, Over Which It Has Pleased God To Cast The "Shadow Before" Of That

"Night In Which No Man Can Work." But Twelve Short Months Ago He Was

Cheerfully Anticipating (In The Bright Buoyancy Of His Happy Nature) A

Far Other Companionship For The Short Remainder Of Our Earthly Sojourn;

Never Forgetting, However, That Ours Must Be Short At The Longest, And

That "In The Midst Of Life We Are In Death." He Desires Me To Thank You

For Your Kind Expressions Towards Him, And To Be Most Kindly Remembered

To You. Your Intimation Of The Favourable Progress Of His 8vo "Book Of

The Church" Gave Him Pleasure, And He Thanks You For So Promptly

Attending To His Wishes About A Neatly Bound Set Of His "Peninsular

War." Accept My Assurances Of Regard, And Believe Me To Be, Dear Sir,

 

 

 

Yours Very Truly,

 

 

 

Caroline Southey.

 

 

 

On September 17, 1840, Mr. Murray Sent To Mr. Southey A Draft For L259,

Being The Balance For His "Book Of The Church," And Informed Him That He

Would Be Pleased To Know That Another Edition Was Called For. Mrs.

Southey Replied:

 

 

 

_Mrs. Southey To John Murray_.

 

 

 

"He Made No Remark On Your Request To Be Favoured With Any Suggestions

He Might Have To Offer. _My_ Sad Persuasion Is That Robert Southey's

Works Have Received Their Last Revision And Correction From His Mind And

Pen."

 

 

 

Greta Hall, _October 5_, 1840.

 

 

 

Chapter 30 ( George Borrow--Richard Ford--Horace Twiss--John Sterling--Mr. Gladstone--Death Of Southey, Etc.) Pg 191

Dear Sir,

 

 

 

I Will Not Let Another Post Go Out, Without Conveying To You My Thanks

For Your Very Kind Letter Last Night Received. It Will Gratify You To

Know That Its Contents (The Copy Of The Critique Included), Aroused And

Fixed Mr. Southey's Attention More Than Anything That Has Occurred For

Months Past--Gratifying Him, I Believe, Far More Than Anything More

Immediately Concerning Himself Could Have Done. "Tell Murray," He Said,

"I Am Very Much Obliged To Him." It Is Long Since He Has Sent A Message

To Friend Or Relation.

 

 

 

Now Let Me Say For Myself That I Am Very Thankful To _You_--Very

Thankful To My Indulgent Reviewer--And That If I Could Yet Feel Interest

About Anything Of My Own Writing, I Should Be Pleased And Encouraged By

His Encomium--As Well As Grateful For It. But If It Did _Not Sound

Thanklessly_, I Should Say, "Too Late--Too Late--It Comes Too Late!"

And That Bitter Feeling Came Upon Me So Suddenly, As My Eyes Fell Upon

The Passage In Question, That They Overflowed With Tears Before It Was

Finished.

 

 

 

But He _Did Take Interest In_ It, At Least For A Few Moments, And So It

Was Not _Quite_ Too Late; And (Doing As I _Know He Would Have Me)_, I

Shall Act Upon Your Most _Kind_ And _Friendly_ Advice, And Transmit It

To Blackwood, Who Will, I Doubt Not, Be Willingly Guided By It.

 

 

 

It Was One Of My Husband's Pleasant Visions Before Our Marriage, And His

Favourite Prospect, To Publish A Volume Of Poetry Conjointly With Me,

Not Weighing The Disproportion Of Talent.

 

 

 

I Must Tell You That Immediately On Receiving The _Review_, I Should

Have Written To Express My Sense Of Your Kindness, And Of The Flattering

Nature Of The Critique; But Happening To _Tell_ Miss Southey And Her

Brother That You Had Sent It Me, As I Believed, As An Obliging Personal

Attention, They Assured Me I Was