A truce was, for a time, made between the firms, but it proved hollow.
The never-ending imposition of accommodation bills sent for acceptance
had now reached a point beyond endurance, having regard to Murray's
credit. The last letter from Murray to Constable & Co. was as follows:

_John Murray to Constable & Co_.

_April 30_, 1813.

GENTLEMEN,

I did not answer the letter to which the enclosed alludes, because its
impropriety in all respects rendered it impossible for me to do so
without involving myself in a personal dispute, which it is my anxious
resolution to avoid: and because my determination was fully taken to
abide by what I told you in my former letter, to which alone I can or
could have referred you. You made an express proposition to me, to
which, as you have deviated from it, it is not my intention to accede.
The books may remain with me upon sale or return, until you please to
order them elsewhere; and in the meantime I shall continue to avail
myself of every opportunity to sell them. I return, therefore, an
account and bills, with which I have nothing to do, and desire to have a
regular invoice.

I am, gentlemen, yours truly,

J. MURRAY.


Constable & Co. fired off a final shot on May 28 following, and the
correspondence and business between the firms then terminated.

No. 12 of the _Quarterly_ appeared in December 1811, and perhaps the
most interesting article in the number was that by Canning and Ellis, on
Trotter's "Life of Fox." Gifford writes to Murray about this article:

"I have not seen Canning yet, but he is undoubtedly at work by this
time. Pray take care that no one gets a sight of the slips. It will be a
delightful article, but say not a word till it comes out."

A pamphlet had been published by W.S. Landor, dedicated to the President
of the United States, entitled, "Remarks upon Memoirs of Mr. Fox lately
published." Gifford was furious about it. He wrote to Murray:

_Mr. Gifford to John Murray_.

"I never read so rascally a thing as the Dedication. It is almost too
bad for the Eatons and other publishers of mad democratic books. In the
pamphlet itself there are many clever bits, but there is no taste and
little judgment. His attacks on private men are very bad. Those on Mr.
C. are too stupid to do much harm, or, indeed, any. The Dedication is
the most abject piece of business that I ever read. It shows Landor to
have a most rancorous and malicious heart. Nothing but a rooted hatred
of his country could have made him dedicate his Jacobinical book to the
most contemptible wretch that ever crept into authority, and whose only
recommendation to him is his implacable enmity to his country. I think
you might write to Southey; but I would not, on any account, have you
publish such a scoundrel address."

The only entire article ever contributed to the _Review_ by Gifford
himself was that which he wrote, in conjunction with Barron Field, on
Ford's "Dramatic Works." It was an able paper, but it contained a
passage, the publication of which occasioned Gifford the deepest regret.
Towards the conclusion of the article these words occurred: The Editor
"has polluted his pages with the blasphemies of a poor maniac, who, it
seems, once published some detached scenes of the 'Broken Heart.'" This
referred to Charles Lamb, who likened the "transcendent scene [of the
Spartan boy and Calantha] in imagination to Calvary and the Cross." Now
Gifford had never heard of the personal history of Lamb, nor of the
occasional fits of lunacy to which his sister Mary was subject; and when
the paragraph was brought to his notice by Southey, through Murray, it
caused him unspeakable distress. He at once wrote to Southey [Footnote:
When the subject of a memoir of Charles Lamb by Serjeant Talfourd was
under consideration, Southey wrote to a friend: "I wish that I had
looked out for Mr. Talfourd the letter which Gifford wrote in reply to
one in which I remonstrated with him upon his designation of Lamb as a
poor maniac. The words were used in complete ignorance of their peculiar
bearings, and I believe nothing in the course of Gifford's life ever
occasioned him so much self-reproach. He was a man with whom I had no
literary sympathies; perhaps there was nothing upon which we agreed,
except great political questions; but I liked him the better ever after
for his conduct on this occasion."] the following letter:

_Mr. W. Gifford to Mr. Southey_.

_February_ 13, 1812.

MY DEAR SIR,

I break off here to say that I have this moment received your last
letter to Murray. It has grieved and shocked me beyond expression; but,
my dear friend, I am innocent so far as the intent goes. I call God to
witness that in the whole course of my life I never heard one syllable
of Mr. Lamb or his family. I knew not that he ever had a sister, or that
he had parents living, or that he or any person connected with him had
ever manifested the slightest tendency to insanity. In a word, I declare
to you _in the most solemn manner_ that all I ever knew or ever heard of
Mr. Lamb was merely his name. Had I been aware of one of the
circumstances which you mention, I would have lost my right arm sooner
than have written what I have. The truth is, that I was shocked at
seeing him compare the sufferings and death of a person who just
continues to dance after the death of his lover is announced (for this
is all his merit) to the pangs of Mount Calvary; and not choosing to
attribute it to folly, because I reserved that charge for Weber, I
unhappily in the present case ascribed it to madness, for which I pray
God to forgive me, since the blow has fallen heavily when I really
thought it would not be felt. I considered Lamb as a thoughtless
scribbler, who, in circumstances of ease, amused himself by writing on
any subject. Why I thought so, I cannot tell, but it was the opinion I
formed to myself, for I now regret to say I never made any inquiry upon
the subject; nor by any accident in the whole course of my life did I
hear him mentioned beyond the name.

I remain, my dear Sir,

Yours most sincerely,

W. GIFFORD.

It is unnecessary to describe in detail the further progress of the
_Quarterly_. The venture was now fairly launched. Occasionally, when
some friction arose from the editorial pruning of Southey's articles, or
when Mr. Murray remonstrated with the exclusion or inclusion of some
particular article, Mr. Gifford became depressed, or complained, "This
business begins to get too heavy for me, and I must soon have done, I
fear." Such discouragement was only momentary. Gifford continued to edit
the _Review_ for many years, until and long after its complete success
had become assured.

The following extract, from a letter of Southey's to his friend Bedford,
describes very happily the position which Mr. Murray had now attained.

"Murray offers me a thousand guineas for my intended poem in blank
verse, and begs it may not be a line longer than "Thomson's Seasons"! I
rather think the poem will be a post obit, and in that case, twice that
sum, at least, may be demanded for it. What his real feelings may be
towards me, I cannot tell; but he is a happy fellow, living in the light
of his own glory. The _Review_ is the greatest of all works, and it is
all his own creation; he prints 10,000, and fifty times ten thousand
read its contents, in the East and in the West. Joy be with him and his
journal!"




CHAPTER IX

LORD BYRON'S WORKS, 1811 TO 1814


The origin of Mr. Murray's connection with Lord Byron was as follows.
Lord Byron had made Mr. Dallas [Footnote: Robert Charles Dallas
(1754-1824). His sister married Captain George Anson Byron, and her
descendants now hold the title.] a present of the MS. of the first two
cantos of "Childe Harold," and allowed him to make arrangements for
their publication. Mr. Dallas's first intention was to offer them to the
publisher of "English Bards and Scotch Reviewers," but Cawthorn did not
rank sufficiently high among his brethren of the trade. He was precluded
from offering them to Longman & Co. because of their refusal to publish
the Satire. He then went to Mr. Miller, of Albemarle Street, and left
the manuscript with him, "enjoining the strictest secrecy as to the
author." After a few days' consideration Miller declined to publish the
poem, principally because of the sceptical stanzas which it contained,
and also because of its denunciation as a "plunderer" of his friend and
patron the Earl of Elgin, who was mentioned by name in the original
manuscript of the poem.

After hearing from Dallas that Miller had declined to publish "Childe
Harold," Lord Byron wrote to him from Reddish's Hotel:

_Lord Byron to Mr. Miller_.

_July_ 30, 1811.

SIR,

I am perfectly aware of the justice of your remarks, and am convinced
that if ever the poem is published the same objections will be made in
much stronger terms. But, as it was intended to be a poem on _Ariosto's
plan_, that is to say on _no plan_ at all, and, as is usual in similar
cases, having a predilection for the worst passages, I shall retain
those parts, though I cannot venture to defend them. Under these
circumstances I regret that you decline the publication, on my own
account, as I think the book would have done better in your hands; the
pecuniary part, you know, I have nothing to do with.... But I can
perfectly conceive, and indeed approve your reasons, and assure you my
sensations are not _Archiepiscopal_ enough as yet to regret the
rejection of my Homilies.

I am, Sir, your very obedient, humble servant,

BYRON.

"Next to these publishers," proceeds Dallas, in his "Recollections of
the Life of Lord Byron," "I wished to oblige Mr. Murray, who had then a
shop opposite St. Dunstan's Church, in Fleet Street. Both he and his
father before him had published for myself. He had expressed to me his
regret that I did not carry him the 'English Bards and Scotch
Reviewers.' But this was after its success; I think he would have
refused it in its embryo state. After Lord Byron's arrival I had met
him, and he said he wished I would obtain some work of his Lordship's
for him. I now had it in my power, and I put 'Childe Harold's
Pilgrimage' into his hands, telling him that Lord Byron had made me a
present of it, and that I expected he would make a very liberal
arrangement with me for it.

"He took some days to consider, during which time he consulted
his literary advisers, among whom, no doubt, was Mr. Gifford,
who was Editor of the _Quarterly Review_. That Mr. Gifford gave
a favourable opinion I afterwards learned from Mr. Murray himself; but
the objections I have stated stared him in the face, and he was kept in
suspense between the desire of possessing a work of Lord Byron's and the
fear of an unsuccessful speculation. We came to this conclusion: that he
should print, at his expense, a handsome quarto edition, the profits of
which I should share equally with him, and that the agreement for the
copyright should depend upon the success of this edition. When I told
this to Lord Byron he was highly pleased, but still doubted the
copyright being worth my acceptance, promising, however, if the poem
went through the edition, to give me other poems to annex to 'Childe
Harold.'"

Mr. Murray had long desired to make Lord Byron's acquaintance, and now
that Mr. Dallas had arranged with him for the publication of the first
two cantos of "Childe Harold," he had many opportunities of seeing Byron
at his place of business. The first time that he saw him was when he
called one day with Mr. Hobhouse in Fleet Street. He afterwards looked
in from time to time, while the sheets were passing through the press,
fresh from the fencing rooms of Angelo and Jackson, and used to amuse
himself by renewing his practice of "Carte et Tierce," with his
walking-cane directed against the book-shelves, while Murray was reading
passages from the poem, with occasional ejaculations of admiration; on
which Byron would say, "You think that a good idea, do you, Murray?"
Then he would fence and lunge with his walking-stick at some special
book which he had picked out on the shelves before him. As Murray
afterwards said, "I was often very glad to get rid of him!"

A correspondence took place with regard to certain omissions,
alterations, and improvements which were strongly urged both by Mr.
Dallas and the publisher. Mr. Murray wrote as follows:

_John Murray to Lord Byron_.

_September_ 4, 1811.

MY LORD,

An absence of some days, passed in the country, has prevented me from
writing earlier, in answer to your obliging letters. [Footnote: These
letters are given in Moore's "Life and Letters of Lord Byron."] I have
now, however, the pleasure of sending you, under a separate cover, the
first proof sheets of your poem; which is so good as to be entitled to
all your care in rendering it perfect. Besides its general merits, there
are parts which, I am tempted to believe, far excel anything that you
have hitherto published; and it were therefore grievous indeed if you do
not condescend to bestow upon it all the improvements of which your mind
is so capable. Every correction already made is valuable, and this
circumstance renders me more confident in soliciting your further
attention. There are some expressions concerning Spain and Portugal
which, however just at the time they were conceived, yet, as they do not
harmonise with the now prevalent feeling, I am persuaded would so
greatly interfere with the popularity which the poem is, in other
respects, certainly calculated to excite, that, in compassion to your
publisher, who does not presume to reason upon the subject, otherwise
than as a mere matter of business, I hope your goodness will induce you
to remove them; and with them perhaps some religious sentiments which
may deprive me of some customers amongst the Orthodox. Could I flatter
myself that these suggestions were not obtrusive, I would hazard
another,--that you would add the two promised cantos, and complete the
poem. It were cruel indeed not to perfect a work which contains so much
that is excellent. Your fame, my Lord, demands it. You are raising a
monument that will outlive your present feelings; and it should
therefore be constructed in such a manner as to excite no other
association than that of respect and admiration for your character and
genius. I trust that you will pardon the warmth of this address, when I
assure you that it arises, in the greatest degree, from a sincere regard
for your best reputation; with, however, some view to that portion of it
which must attend the publisher of so beautiful a poem as you are
capable of rendering in the 'Romaunt of Childe Harold.'"

In compliance with the suggestions of the publisher, Byron altered and
improved the stanzas relating to Elgin and Wellington. With respect to
the religious, or anti-religious sentiments, Byron wrote to Murray: "As
for the 'orthodox,' let us hope they will buy on purpose to abuse--you
will forgive the one if they will do the other." Yet he did alter Stanza
VIII, and inserted what Moore calls a "magnificent stanza" in place of
one that was churlish and sneering, and in all respects very much
inferior.

Byron then proceeded to another point. "Tell me fairly, did you show the
MS. to some of your corps?" "I will have no traps for applause," he
wrote to Mr. Murray, at the same time forbidding him to show the
manuscript of "Childe Harold" to his Aristarchus, Mr. Gifford, though he
had no objection to letting it be seen by any one else. But it was too
late. Mr. Gifford had already seen the manuscript, and pronounced a
favourable opinion as to its great poetic merits. Byron was not
satisfied with this assurance, and seemed, in his next letter, to be
very angry. He could not bear to have it thought that he was
endeavouring to ensure a favourable review of his work in the
_Quarterly_. To Mr. Dallas he wrote (September 23, 1811):

"I _will_ be angry with Murray. It was a book-selling, back-shop,
Paternoster Row, paltry proceeding; and if the experiment had turned out
as it deserved, I would have raised all Fleet Street, and borrowed the
giant's staff from St. Dunstan's Church, to immolate the betrayer of
trust. I have written to him as he was never written to before by an
author, I'll be sworn; and I hope you will amplify my wrath, till it has
an effect upon him."

Byron at first objected to allow the new poem to be published with his
name, thinking that this would bring down upon him the enmity of his
critics in the North, as well as the venom of the southern scribblers,
whom he had enraged by his Satire. At last, on Mr. Murray's strong
representation, he consented to allow his name to be published on the
title-page as the author. Even to the last, however, his doubts were
great as to the probable success of the poem; and he more than once
talked of suppressing it.

In October 1811 Lord Byron wrote from Newstead Abbey to his friend Mr.
Hodgson: [Footnote: The Rev. Francis Hodgson was then residing at
Cambridge as Fellow and Tutor of King's College. He formed an intimate
friendship with Byron, who communicated with him freely as to his
poetical as well as his religious difficulties. Hodgson afterwards
became Provost of Eton.]

"'Childe Harold's Pilgrimage' must wait till Murray's is finished. He is
making a tour in Middlesex, and is to return soon, when high matter may
be expected. He wants to have it in quarto, which is a cursed unsaleable
size; but it is pestilent long, and one must obey one's publisher."

The whole of the sheets were printed off in the following month of
January; and the work was published on March 1, 1812. Of the first
edition only 500 copies, demy quarto, were printed.

It is unnecessary to say with what applause the book was received. The
impression it produced was as instantaneous as it proved to be lasting.
Byron himself briefly described the result of the publication in his
memoranda: "I awoke one morning and found myself famous." The publisher
had already taken pains to spread abroad the merits of the poem. Many of
his friends had re-echoed its praises. The attention of the public was
fixed upon the work; and in three days after its appearance the whole
edition was disposed of. When Mr. Dallas went to see Lord Byron at his
house in St. James's Street, he found him loaded with letters from
critics, poets, and authors, all lavish of their raptures. A handsome
new edition, in octavo, was proposed, to which his Lordship agreed.

Eventually Mr. Murray consented to give Mr. Dallas £600 for the
copyright of the poem; although Mr. Gifford and others were of opinion
that it might prove a bad bargain at that price. There was, however, one
exception, namely Mr. Rogers, who told Mr. Murray not to be
disheartened, for he might rely upon its turning out the most fortunate
purchase he had ever made; and so it proved. Three thousand copies of
the second and third editions of the poem in octavo were printed; and
these went off in rapid succession.

On the appearance of "Childe Harold's Pilgrimage" Lord Byron became an
object of interest in the fashionable world of London. His poem was the
subject of conversation everywhere, and many literary, noble, and royal
personages desired to make his acquaintance. In the month of June he was
invited to a party at Miss Johnson's, at which His Royal Highness the
Prince Regent was present. As Lord Byron had not yet been to Court, it
was not considered etiquette that he should appear before His Royal
Highness. He accordingly retired to another room. But on the Prince
being informed that Lord Byron was in the house, he expressed a desire
to see him. Lord Byron was sent for, and the following is Mr. Murray's
account of the conversation that took place.

_John Murray to Mr. Scott_.

_June_ 27, 1812.

DEAR SIR,

I cannot refrain, notwithstanding my fears of intrusion, from mentioning
to you a conversation which Lord Byron had with H.R.H. the Prince
Regent, and of which you formed the leading subject. He was at an
evening party at Miss Johnson's this week, when the Prince, hearing that
Lord Byron was present, expressed a desire to be introduced to him; and
for more than half an hour they conversed on poetry and poets, with
which the Prince displayed an intimacy and critical taste which at once
surprised and delighted Lord Byron. But the Prince's great delight was
Walter Scott, whose name and writings he dwelt upon and recurred to
incessantly. He preferred him far beyond any other poet of the time,
repeated several passages with fervour, and criticized them faithfully.
He spoke chiefly of the 'Lay of the Last Minstrel,' which he expressed
himself as admiring most of the three poems. He quoted Homer, and even
some of the obscurer Greek poets, and appeared, as Lord Byron supposes,
to have read more poetry than any prince in Europe. He paid, of course,
many compliments to Lord Byron, but the greatest was "that he ought to
be offended with Lord B., for that he had thought it impossible for any
poet to equal Walter Scott, and that he had made him find himself
mistaken." Lord Byron called upon me, merely to let off the raptures of
the Prince respecting you, thinking, as he said, that if I were likely
to have occasion to write to you, it might not be ungrateful for you to
hear of his praises.

In reply Scott wrote to Mr. Murray as follows, enclosing a letter to
Lord Byron, which has already been published in the Lives of both
authors:

_Mr. Scott to John Murray_.

EDINBURGH, _July 2_, 1812.

MY DEAR SIR,

I have been very silent, partly through pressure of business and partly
from idleness and procrastination, but it would be very ungracious to
delay returning my thanks for your kindness in transmitting the very
flattering particulars of the Prince Regent's conversation with Lord
Byron. I trouble you with a few lines to his Lordship expressive of my
thanks for his very handsome and gratifying communication, and I hope he
will not consider it as intrusive in a veteran author to pay my debt of
gratitude for the high pleasure I have received from the perusal of
'Childe Harold,' which is certainly the most original poem which we have
had this many a day....

Your obliged, humble Servant,

WALTER SCOTT.

This episode led to the opening of an agreeable correspondence between
Scott and Byron, and to a lasting friendship between the two poets.

The fit of inspiration was now on Lord Byron. In May 1813 appeared "The
Giaour," and in the midst of his corrections of successive editions of
it, he wrote in four nights his second Turkish story, "Zuleika,"
afterwards known as "The Bride of Abydos."

With respect to the business arrangement as to the two poems, Mr. Murray
wrote to Lord Byron as follows:

_John Murray to Lord Byron_.

_November_ 18, 1813.

MY DEAR LORD,

I am very anxious that our business transactions should occur
frequently, and that they should be settled immediately; for short
accounts are favourable to long friendships.

I restore "The Giaour" to your Lordship entirely, and for it, the "Bride
of Abydos," and the miscellaneous poems intended to fill up the volume
of the small edition, I beg leave to offer you the sum of One Thousand
Guineas; and I shall be happy if you perceive that my estimation of your
talents in my character of a man of business is not much under my
admiration of them as a man.

I do most heartily accept the offer of your portrait, as the most noble
mark of friendship with which you could in any way honour me. I do
assure you that I am truly proud of being distinguished as your
publisher, and that I shall ever continue,

Your Lordship's faithful Servant,

JOHN MURRAY.

With reference to the foregoing letter we read in Lord Byron's Diary:

"Mr. Murray has offered me one thousand guineas for 'The Giaour' and
'The Bride of Abydos.' I won't. It is too much: though I am strongly
tempted, merely for the say of it. No bad price for a fortnight's (a
week each) what?--the gods know. It was intended to be called poetry."

The "Bride of Abydos" was received with almost as much applause as the
"Giaour." "Lord Byron," said Sir James Mackintosh, "is the author of the
day; six thousand of his 'Bride of Abydos' have been sold within a
month."

"The Corsair" was Lord Byron's next poem, written with great vehemence,
literally "struck off at a heat," at the rate of about two hundred lines
a day,--"a circumstance," says Moore, "that is, perhaps, wholly without
a parallel in the history of genius." "The Corsair" was begun on the
18th, and finished on the 31st of December, 1813.

A sudden impulse induced Lord Byron to present the copyright of this
poem also to Mr. Dallas, with the single stipulation that he would offer
it for publication to Mr. Murray, who eventually paid Mr. Dallas five
hundred guineas for the copyright, and the work was published in
February 1814. The following letters will give some idea of the
reception it met with.

_John Murray to Lord Byron_.

_February_ 3, 1814.

MY LORD,

I have been unwilling to write until I had something to say, an occasion
to which I do not always restrict myself. I am most happy to tell you
that your last poem _is_--what Mr. Southey's is _called_--_a Carmen
Triumphale_. Never, in my recollection, has any work, since the "Letter
of Burke to the Duke of Bedford," excited such a ferment--a ferment
which, I am happy to say, will subside into lasting fame. I sold, on the
day of publication--a thing perfectly unprecedented--10,000 copies....
Gifford did what I never knew him do before--he repeated several
passages from memory."

The "Ode to Napoleon Bonaparte," which appeared in April 1814, was on
the whole a failure. It was known to be Lord Byron's, and its
publication was seized upon by the press as the occasion for many bitter
criticisms, mingled with personalities against the writer's genius and
character. He was cut to the quick by these notices, and came to the
determination to buy back the whole of the copyrights of his works, and
suppress every line he had ever written. On April 29, 1814, he wrote to
Mr. Murray:

_Lord Byron to John Murray_.

_April_ 29, 1814.

I enclose a draft for the money; when paid, send the copyrights. I
release you from the thousand pounds agreed on for "The Giaour" and
"Bride," and there's an end.... For all this, it might be well to assign
some reason. I have none to give, except my own caprice, and I do not
consider the circumstance of consequence enough to require
explanation.... It will give me great pleasure to preserve your
acquaintance, and to consider you as my friend. Believe me very truly,
and for much attention,

Yours, etc.,

BYRON.

Mr. Murray was of course very much concerned at this decision, and
remonstrated. Three days later Lord Byron revoked his determination. To
Mr. Murray he wrote (May 1, 1814):

"If your present note is serious, and it really would be inconvenient,
there is an end of the matter; tear my draft, and go on as usual: in
that case, we will recur to our former basis."

Before the end of the month Lord Byron began the composition of his next
poem, "Lara," usually considered a continuation of "The Corsair." It was
published conjointly with Mr. Rogers's "Jacqueline." "Rogers and I,"
said Lord Byron to Moore, "have almost coalesced into a joint invasion
of the public. Whether it will take place or not, I do not yet know, and
I am afraid 'Jacqueline' (which is very beautiful) will be in bad
company. But in this case, the lady will not be the sufferer."

The two poems were published anonymously in the following August (1814):
Murray allowed 500 guineas for the copyright of each.




CHAPTER X

MR. MURRAY'S REMOVAL TO 50, ALBEMARLE STREET

We must now revert to the beginning of 1812, at which time Mr. William
Miller, who commenced business in Bond Street in 1791, and had in 1804
removed to 50, Albemarle Street, desired to retire from "the Trade." He
communicated his resolve to Mr. Murray, who had some time held the
intention of moving westward from Fleet Street, and had been on the
point of settling in Pall Mall. Murray at once entered into an
arrangement with Miller, and in a letter to Mr. Constable of Edinburgh
he observed:

_John Murray to Mr. A. Constable_.

_May_ 1, 1812.

"You will probably have heard that Miller is about to retire, and that I
have ventured to undertake to succeed him. I had for some time
determined upon moving, and I did not very long hesitate about accepting
his offer. I am to take no part of his stock but such as I may deem
expedient, and for it and the rest I shall have very long credit. How
far it may answer, I know not; but if I can judge of my own views, I
think it may prove an advantageous opening. Miller's retirement is very
extraordinary, for no one in the trade will believe that he has made a
fortune; but from what he has laid open to me, it is clear that he has
succeeded. In this arrangement, I propose of course to dispose of my
present house, and my medical works, with other parts of my business. I
have two offers for it, waiting my decision as to terms.... I am to
enter at Miller's on September 29th next." [Footnote: The Fleet Street
business was eventually purchased by Thomas and George Underwood. It
appears from the "Memoirs of Adam Black" that Black was for a short time
a partner with the Underwoods. Adam Black quitted the business in 1813.
Upon the failure of the Underwoods in 1831, Mr. Samuel Highley, son of
Mr. Murray's former partner, took possession, and the name of Highley
again appeared over the door.]

The terms arranged with Mr. Miller were as follows: The lease of the
house, No. 50, Albemarle Street, was purchased by Mr. Murray, together
with the copyrights, stock, etc., for the sum of £3,822 12_s_. 6_d_.;
Mr. Miller receiving as surety, during the time the purchase money
remained unpaid, the copyright of "Domestic Cookery," of the _Quarterly
Review_, and the one-fourth share in "Marmion." The debt was not finally
paid off until the year 1821.

Amongst the miscellaneous works which Mr. Murray published shortly after
his removal to Albemarle Street were William Sotheby's translation of
the "Georgies of Virgil"--the most perfect translation, according to
Lord Jeffrey, of a Latin classic which exists in our language; Robert
Bland's "Collection from the Greek Anthology"; Prince Hoare's "Epochs of
the Arts"; Lord Glenbervie's work on the "Cultivation of Timber";
Granville Penn's "Bioscope, or Dial of Life explained"; John Herman
Merivale's "Orlando in Roncesvalles"; and Sir James Hall's splendid work
on "Gothic Architecture." Besides these, there was a very important
contribution to our literature--in the "Miscellaneous Works of Gibbon"
in 5 volumes, for the copyright of which Mr. Murray paid Lord Sheffield
the sum of £1,000.

In 1812 he published Sir John Malcolm's "Sketch of the Sikhs," and in
the following year Mr. Macdonald Kinneir's "Persia." Mr. D'Israeli's
"Calamities of Authors" appeared in 1812, and Murray forwarded copies of
the work to Scott and Southey.


_Mr. Scott to John Murray_.

_July_ 2,1812.

I owe you best thanks for the 'Calamities of Authors,' which has all the
entertaining and lively features of the 'Amenities of Literature.' I am
just packing them up with a few other books for my hermitage at
Abbotsford, where my present parlour is only 12 feet square, and my
book-press in Lilliputian proportion. Poor Andrew Macdonald I knew in
days of yore, and could have supplied some curious anecdotes respecting
him. He died of a poet's consumption, viz. want of food.

"The present volume of 'Somers' [Footnote: Lord Somers' "Tracts," a new
edition in 12 volumes.] will be out immediately; with whom am I to
correspond on this subject since the secession of Will. Miller? I shall
be happy to hear you have succeeded to him in this department, as well
as in Albemarle Street. What has moved Miller to retire? He is surely
too young to have made a fortune, and it is uncommon to quit a thriving
trade. I have had a packet half finished for Gifford this many a day."

Southey expressed himself as greatly interested in the "Calamities of
Authors," and proposed to make it the subject of an article for the
_Quarterly_.


_Mr. Southey to John Murray_.

_August_ 14, 1812.

"I should like to enlarge a little upon the subject of literary
property, on which he has touched, in my opinion, with proper feeling.
Certainly I am a party concerned. I should like to say something upon
the absurd purposes of the Literary Fund, with its despicable
ostentation of patronage, and to build a sort of National Academy in the
air, in the hope that Canning might one day lay its foundation in a more
solid manner. [Footnote: Canning had his own opinion on the subject.
When the Royal Society of Literature was about to be established, an
application was made to him to join the committee. He refused, for
reasons "partly general, partly personal." He added, "I am really of
opinion, with Dr. Johnson, that the multitudinous personage, called The
Public, is after all, the best patron of literature and learned men."]
And I could say something on the other side of the picture, showing that
although literature in almost all cases is the worst trade to which a
man can possibly betake himself, it is the best and wisest of all
pursuits for those whose provision is already made, and of all
amusements for those who have leisure to amuse themselves. It has long
been my intention to leave behind me my own Memoirs, as a post-obit for
my family--a wise intention no doubt, and one which it is not very
prudent to procrastinate. Should this ever be completed, it would
exhibit a case directly in contrast to D'Israeli's view of the subject.
I chose literature for my own profession, with every advantage of
education it is true, but under more disadvantages perhaps of any other
kind than any of the persons in his catalogue. I have never repented the
choice. The usual censure, ridicule, and even calumnies, which it has
drawn on me never gave me a moment's pain; but on the other hand,
literature has given me friends; among the best and wisest and most
celebrated of my contemporaries it has given me distinction. If I live
twenty years longer, I do not doubt that it will give me fortune, and if
it pleases God to take me before my family are provided for, I doubt as
little that in my name and in my works they will find a provision. I
want to give you a 'Life of Wesley.' The history of the Dissenters must
be finished by that time, and it will afford me opportunity."

During the year 1813 the recklessness of the younger Ballantyne,
combined with the formation of the incipient estate at Abbotsford, were
weighing heavily on Walter Scott. This led to a fresh alliance with
Constable, "in which," wrote Scott, "I am sensible he has gained a great
advantage"; but in accordance with the agreement Constable, in return
for a share in Scott's new works, was to relieve the Ballantynes of some
of their heavy stock, and in May Scott was enabled "for the first time
these many weeks to lay my head on a quiet pillow." But nothing could
check John Ballantyne. "I sometimes fear," wrote Scott to him, "that
between the long dates of your bills and the tardy settlements of the
Edinburgh trade, some difficulties will occur even in June; and July I
always regard with deep anxiety." How true this forecast proved to be is
shown by the following letter:


_Mr. Scott to John Murray_,

EDINBURGH, _July 5_, 1813.

I delayed answering your favour, thinking I could have overtaken the
"Daemonology" for the _Review_, but I had no books in the country where
it found me, and since that Swift, who is now nearly finished, has kept
me incessantly labouring. When that is off my hand I will have plenty of
leisure for reviewing, though you really have no need of my assistance.
The volume of "Somers" being now out of my hands I take the liberty to
draw at this date as usual for £105. Now I have a favour to ask which I
do with the more confidence because, if it is convenient and agreeable
to you to oblige me in the matter, it will be the means of putting our
connection as author and publisher upon its former footing, which I
trust will not be disagreeable to you. I am making up a large sum of
money to pay for a late purchase, and as part of my funds is secured on
an heritable bond which cannot be exacted till Martinmas, I find myself
some hundreds short, which the circumstances of the money market here
renders it not so easy to supply as formerly. Now if you will oblige me
by giving me a lift with your credit and accepting the enclosed bills,
[Footnote: Three bills for £300 each at three, four, and six months
respectively.] it will accommodate me particularly at this moment, and
as I shall have ample means of putting you in cash to replace them as
they fall due, will not, I should hope, occasion you any inconvenience.
Longmans' house on a former occasion obliged me in this way, and I hope
found their account in it. But I entreat you will not stand on the
least ceremony should you think you could not oblige me without
inconveniencing yourself. The property I have purchased cost about
£6,000, so it is no wonder I am a little out for the moment. Will you
have the goodness to return an answer in course of post, as, failing
your benevolent aid, I must look about elsewhere?

You will understand distinctly that I do not propose that you should
advance any part of the money by way of loan or otherwise, but only the
assistance of your credit, the bills being to be retired by cash
remitted by me before they fall due.

Believe me, very truly,

Your obedient Servant,

WALTER SCOTT.

Mr. Murray at once replied:


_John Murray to Mr. Scott_.

_July_ 8, 1813.

DEAR SIR,

I have the pleasure of returning accepted the bills which I received
from you this morning. In thus availing myself of your confidential
application, I trust that you will do me the justice to believe that it
is done for kindness already received, and not with the remotest view
towards prospective advantages. I shall at all times feel proud of being
one of your publishers, but this must be allowed to arise solely out of
your own feelings and convenience when the occasions shall present
themselves. I am sufficiently content in the belief that even negative
obstacles to our perfect confidence have now subsided.

When weightier concerns permit we hope that you will again appear in our
_Review_. In confidence I may tell you that your long silence led us to
avail ourselves of your friend Mr. Rose's offer to review Ferriar,
[Footnote: Dr. Ferriar on "Apparitions."] and his article is already
printing.

I will send you a new edition of the "Giaour," in which there are one or
two stanzas added of peculiar beauty.

I trust that your family are well, and remain, dear Sir,

Your obliged and faithful Servant,

JOHN MURRAY.


Within a few months of this correspondence, Scott was looking into an
old writing-desk in search of some fishing-tackle, when his eye chanced
to light upon the Ashestiel fragment of "Waverley," begun several years
before. He read over the introductory chapters, and then determined to
finish the story. It is said that he first offered it anonymously to Sir
R. Phillips, London, who refused to publish it. "Waverley" was
afterwards accepted by Constable & Co., and published on half profits,
on July 7, 1814. When it came out, Murray got an early copy of the
novel; he read it, and sent it to Mr. Canning, and wrote upon the
title-page, "By Walter Scott." The reason why he fixed upon Scott as the
author was as follows. When he met Ballantyne at Boroughbridge, in 1809,
to settle some arrangements as to the works which Walter Scott proposed
to place in his hands for publication, he remembered that among those
works were three--1st, an edition of "Beaumont and Fletcher"; 2nd, a
poem; and 3rd, a novel. Now, both the edition of "Beaumont and Fletcher"
(though edited by Weber) and the poem, the "Lady of the Lake," had been
published; and now, at last, appeared _the novel_. [Footnote: Indeed, in
Ballantyne & Co.'s printed list of "New Works and Publications for
1809-10," issued August 1810 (now before us), we find the following
entry: "Waverley; or, 'Tis Sixty Years Since; a novel in 3 vols. 12mo."
The work was not, however, published until July 1814.] He was confirmed
in his idea that Walter Scott was the author after carefully reading the
book. Canning called on Murray next day; said he had begun it, found it
very dull, and concluded: "You are quite mistaken; it cannot be by
Walter Scott." But a few days later he wrote to Murray: "Yes, it is so;
you are right: Walter Scott, and no one else."

In the autumn of 1814 Mrs. Murray went to Leith by sailing-ship from the
Thames, to visit her mother and friends in Edinburgh. She was
accompanied by her son John and her two daughters. During her absence,
Mr. Murray wrote to her two or three times a week, and kept her _au
courant_ with the news of the day. In his letter of August 9 he
intimated that he had been dining with D'Israeli, and that he afterwards
went with him to Sadler's Wells Theatre to see the "Corsair," at which
he was "woefully disappointed and enraged.... They have actually omitted
his wife altogether, and made him a mere ruffian, ultimately overcome by
the Sultan, and drowned in the New River!"

Mr. Blackwood, of Edinburgh, was then in London, spending several days
with Mr. Murray over their accounts and future arrangements. The latter
was thinking of making a visit to Paris, in the company of his friend
D'Israeli, during the peace which followed the exile of Napoleon to
Elba. D'Israeli had taken a house at Brighton, from which place the
voyagers intended to set sail, and make the passage to Dieppe in about
fourteen hours. On August 13 Mr. Murray informs his wife that "Lord
Byron was here yesterday, and I introduced him to Blackwood, to whom he
was very civil. They say," he added, "that Madame de Staël has been
ordered to quit Paris, for writing lightly respecting the Bourbons." Two
days later he wrote to Mrs. Murray:


_August_ 15, 1814.

"I dined yesterday with D'Israeli, and in the afternoon we partly walked
and partly rode to Islington, to drink tea with Mrs. Lindo, who, with
Mr. L. and her family, were well pleased to see me. Mr. Cervetto was
induced to accompany the ladies at the piano with his violoncello, which
he did delightfully. We walked home at 10 o'clock. On Saturday we passed
a very pleasant day at Petersham with Turner and his family....

"I have got at last Mr. Eagle's 'Journal of Penrose, the Seaman,' for
which, as you may remember, I am to pay £200 in twelve months for 1,000
copies: too dear perhaps; but Lord Byron sent me word this morning by
letter (for he borrowed the MS. last night): 'Penrose is most amusing. I
never read so much of a book at one sitting in my life. He kept me up
half the night, and made me dream of him the other half. It has all the
air of truth, and is most entertaining and interesting in every point of
view.'"

Writing again on August 24, 1814, he says:

"Lord Byron set out for Newstead on Sunday. It is finally settled to be
his again, the proposed purchaser forfeiting £25,000. 'Lara' and
'Jacqueline' are nearly sold off, to the extent of 6,000, which leaves
me £130, and the certain sale of 10,000 more in the 8vo form. Mr.
Canning called upon Gifford yesterday, and from their conversation I
infer very favourably for my _Review_. We shall now take a decided tone
in Politics, and we are all in one boat. Croker has gone down to the
Prince Regent, at Brighton, where I ought to have been last night, to
have witnessed the rejoicings and splendour of the Duke of Clarence's
birthday. But I am ever out of luck. 'O, indolence and indecision of
mind! if not in yourselves vices, to how much exquisite misery do you
frequently prepare the way!' Have you come to this passage in 'Waverley'
yet? Pray read 'Waverley'; it is excellent."

On September 5, 1814, Mr. Murray communicated with Mrs. Murray as to
the education of his son John, then six-and-a-half years old:


_John Murray to Mrs. Murray_.

"I am glad that you venture to say something about the children, for it
is only by such minutiae that I can judge of the manner in which they
amuse or behave themselves. I really do not see the least propriety in
leaving John, at an age when the first impressions are so deep and
lasting, to receive the rudiments and foundation of his education in
Scotland. If learning English, his native language, mean anything, it is
not merely to read it correctly and understand it grammatically, but to
speak and pronounce it like the most polished native. But how can you
expect this to be effected, even with the aid of the best teachers, when
everybody around him, with whom he can practise his instructions, speaks
in a totally different manner? No! I rather think it better that he
should go to Edinburgh after he has passed through the schools here, and
when he is sixteen or seventeen. He should certainly go to some school
next spring, and I most confidingly trust that you are unremitting in
your duty to give him daily lessons of preparation, or he may be so far
behind children of his age when he does go to school, that the derision
he may meet there may destroy emulation. All this, however, is matter
for serious consideration and for future consultation, in which your
voice shall have its rightful influence...."


Mr. Murray was under the necessity of postponing his visit to France. He
went to Brighton instead, and spent a few pleasant days with Mr.
D'Israeli and his friends.

On September 24 Mr. Murray, having returned to London, informed his
wife, still at Edinburgh, of an extraordinary piece of news.


_John Murray to Mrs. Murray_.

"I was much surprised to learn from Dallas, whom I accidentally met
yesterday, that Lord Byron was expected in town every hour. I
accordingly left my card at his house, with a notice that I would attend
him as soon as he pleased; and it pleased him to summon my attendance
about seven in the evening. He had come to town on business, and
regretted that he would not be at Newstead until a fortnight, as he
wished to have seen me there on my way to Scotland. Says he, 'Can you
keep a secret?' 'Certainly--positively--my wife's out of town!' 'Then--I
am going to be MARRIED!' 'The devil! I shall have no poem this winter
then?' 'No.' 'Who is the lady who is to do me this injury?' 'Miss
Milbanke--do you know her?' 'No, my lord.'

"So here is news for you! I fancy the lady is rich, noble, and
beautiful; but this shall be my day's business to enquire about. Oh!
how he did curse poor Lady C---- as the fiend who had interrupted all
his projects, and who would do so now if possible. I think he hinted
that she had managed to interrupt this connexion two years ago. He
thought she was abroad, and, to his torment and astonishment, he finds
her not only in England, but in London. He says he has written some
small poems which his friends think beautiful, particularly one of eight
lines, his very best--all of which, I believe, I am to have; and,
moreover, he gives me permission to publish the octavo edition of 'Lara'
with his name, which secures, I think, £700 to you and me. So Scott's
poem is announced ['Lord of the Isles'], and I am cut out. I wish I had
been in Scotland six weeks ago, and I might have come in for a share.
Should I apply for one to him, it would oblige me to be a partner with
Constable, who is desperately in want of money. He has applied to Cadell
& Davies (the latter told me in confidence) and they refused."


At the beginning of October Mr. Murray set out for Edinburgh, journeying
by Nottingham for the purpose of visiting Newstead Abbey.

The following is Mr. Murray's account of his visit to Newstead. His
letter is dated Matlock, October 5, 1814:


"I got to Newstead about 11 o'clock yesterday and found the steward, my
namesake, and the butler waiting for me. The first, who is good-looking
and a respectable old man of about sixty-five years, showed me over the
house and grounds, which occupied two hours, for I was anxious to
examine everything. But never was I more disappointed, for my notions, I
suppose, had been raised to the romantic. I had surmised the possibly
easy restoration of this once famous abbey, the mere skeleton of which
is now fast crumbling to ruin. Lord Byron's immediate predecessor
stripped the whole place of all that was splendid and interesting; and
you may judge of what he must have done to the mansion when inform you
that he converted the ground, which used to be covered with the finest
trees, like a forest, into an absolute desert. Not a tree is left
standing, and the wood thus shamefully cut down was sold in one day for
£60,000. The hall of entrance has about eighteen large niches, which had
been filled with statues, and the side walls covered with family
portraits and armour. All these have been mercilessly torn down, as well
as the magnificent fireplace, and sold. All the beautiful paintings
which filled the galleries--valued at that day at £80,000--have
disappeared, and the whole place is crumbling into dust. No sum short of
£100,000 would make the place habitable. Lord Byron's few apartments
contain some modern upholstery, but serve only to show what ought to
have been there. They are now digging round the cloisters for a
traditionary cannon, and in their progress, about five days ago, they
discovered a corpse in too decayed a state to admit of removal. I saw
the drinking-skull [Footnote: When the father of the present Mr. Murray
was a student in Edinburgh, he wrote to his father (April 10,1827): "I
saw yesterday at a jeweller's shop in Edinburgh a great curiosity, no
less than Lord Byron's skull cup, upon which he wrote the poem. It is
for sale; the owner, whose name I could not learn (it appears he does
not wish it known), wants £200 for it."] and the marble mausoleum erected
over Lord Byron's dog. I came away with my heart aching and full of
melancholy reflections--producing a lowness of spirits which I did not
get the better of until this morning, when the most enchanting scenery I
have ever beheld has at length restored me. I am far more surprised that
Lord Byron should ever have lived at Newstead, than that he should be
inclined to part with it; for, as there is no possibility of his being
able, by any reasonable amount of expense, to reinstate it, the place
can present nothing but a perpetual memorial of the wickedness of his
ancestors. There are three, or at most four, domestics at board wages.
All that I was asked to taste was a piece of bread-and-butter. As my
foot was on the step of the chaise, when about to enter it, I was
informed that his lordship had ordered that I should take as much game
as I liked. What makes the steward, Joe Murray, an interesting object to
me, is that the old man has seen the abbey in all its vicissitudes of
greatness and degradation. Once it was full of unbounded hospitality and
splendour, and now it is simply miserable. If this man has feelings--of
which, by the way, he betrays no symptom--he would possibly be miserable
himself. He has seen three hundred of the first people in the county
filling the gallery, and seen five hundred deer disporting themselves in
the beautiful park, now covered with stunted offshoots of felled trees.
Again I say it gave me the heartache to witness all this ruin, and I
regret that my romantic picture has been destroyed by the reality."