JOHN MURRAY (II.)--BEGINNING OF HIS PUBLISHING CAREER--ISAAC D'ISRAELI,
ETC.
John Murray the Second--the "Anax of Publishers," according to Lord
Byron--was born on November 27, 1778. He was his father's only surviving
son by his second marriage, and being only fifteen at his father's
death, was too young to enter upon the business of the firm, which was
carried on by Samuel Highley--the "faithful shopman" mentioned in the
elder Murray's will--for the benefit of his widow and family. What his
father thought of him, of his health, spirits, and good nature, will
have been seen from the preceding chapter.
Young Murray returned to school, and remained there for about two years
longer, until the marriage of his mother to Lieutenant Henry Paget, of
the West Norfolk Militia, on September 28, 1795, when he returned to 32,
Meet Street, to take part in the business. Mrs. Paget ceased to be an
executor, retired from Fleet Street, and went to live at Bridgenorth
with her husband, taking her two daughters--Jane and Mary Anne
Murray--to live with her, and receiving from time to time the money
necessary for their education.
The executors secured the tenancy of No. 32, Fleet Street, part of the
stock and part of the copyrights, for the firm of Murray & Highley,
between whom a partnership was concluded in 1795, though Murray was
still a minor. In the circumstances Mr. Highley of course took the
principal share of the management, but though a very respectable person,
he was not much of a business man, and being possessed by an almost
morbid fear of running any risks, he brought out no new works, took no
share in the new books that were published, and it is doubtful whether
he looked very sharply after the copyrights belonging to the firm. He
was mainly occupied in selling books brought out by other publishers.
The late Mr. Murray had many good friends in India, who continued to
send home their orders to the new firm of Murray & Highley. Amongst them
were Warren Hastings and Joseph Hume. Hume had taken out with him an
assortment of books from the late Mr. Murray, which had proved very
useful; and he wrote to Murray and Highley for more. Indeed, he became a
regular customer for books.
Meanwhile Murray fretted very much under the careless and indifferent
management of Highley. The executors did not like to be troubled with
his differences with his partner, and paid very little attention to him
or his affairs. Since his mother's remarriage and removal to
Bridgenorth, the young man had literally no one to advise with, and was
compelled to buffet with the troubles and difficulties of life alone.
Though inexperienced, he had, however, spirit and common sense enough to
see that he had but little help to expect from his partner, and the
difficulties of his position no doubt contributed to draw forth and
develop his own mental energy. He was not a finished scholar, but had
acquired a thorough love of knowledge and literature, and a keen
perception of the beauties of our great English classics. By acquiring
and cultivating a purity of taste, he laid the foundations of that quick
discrimination which, combined with his rapidly growing knowledge of men
and authors, rendered him afterwards so useful, and even powerful, in
the pursuit of his profession.
Mr. Murray came of age on November 27, 1799; but he was prudent enough
to continue with Highley for a few years longer. After four years more,
he determined to set himself free to follow his own course, and the
innumerable alterations and erasures in his own rough draft of the
following letter testify to the pains and care which he bestowed on this
momentous step.
_John Murray to Mr. Highley_.
GREAT QUEEN STREET, _Friday, November 19, 1802._
MR. HIGHLEY,
I propose to you that our partnership should be dissolved on the
twenty-fifth day of March next:
That the disposal of the lease of the house and every other matter of
difference that may arise respecting our dissolution shall be determined
by arbitrators--each of us to choose one--and that so chosen they shall
appoint a third person as umpire whom they may mutually agree upon
previous to their entering upon the business:
I am willing to sign a bond to this effect immediately, and I think that
I shall be able to determine my arbitrator some day next week.
As I know this proposal to be as fair as one man could make to another
in a like situation, and in order to prevent unpleasant altercation or
unnecessary discussion, I declare it to be the last with which I intend
to trouble you.
I take this opportunity of saying that, however much we may differ upon
matters of business, I most sincerely wish you well.
JOHN MURRAY.
In the end they agreed to draw lots for the house, and Murray had the
good fortune to remain at No. 32, Fleet Street. Mr. Highley removed to
No. 24 in the same street, and took with him, by agreement, the
principal part of the medical works of the firm. Mr. Murray now started
on his own account, and began a career of publication almost unrivalled
in the history of letters.
Before the dissolution of partnership, Mr. Murray had seen the first
representation of Column's Comedy of "John Bull" at Covent Garden
Theatre, and was so fascinated by its "union of wit, sentiment, and
humour," that the day after its representation he wrote to Mr. Colman,
and offered him £300 for the copyright. No doubt Mr. Highley would have
thought this a rash proceeding.
_John Murray to Mr. Colman_.
"The truth is that during my minority I have been shackled to a drone of
a partner; but the day of emancipation is at hand. On the twenty-fifth
of this month [March 1803] I plunge alone into the depths of literary
speculation. I am therefore honestly ambitious that my first appearance
before the public should be such as will at once stamp my character and
respectability. On this account, therefore, I think that your Play would
be more advantageous to me than to any other bookseller; and as 'I am
not covetous of Gold,' I should hope that no trifling consideration
will be allowed to prevent my having the honour of being Mr. Colman's
publisher. You see, sir, that I am endeavouring to interest your
feelings, both as a Poet and as a Man."
Mr. Colman replied in a pleasant letter, thanking Mr. Murray for his
liberal offer. The copyright, however, had been sold to the proprietor
of the theatre, and Mr. Murray was disappointed in this, his first
independent venture in business.
The times were very bad. Money was difficult to be had on any terms, and
Mr. Murray had a hard task to call in the money due to Murray & Highley,
as well as to collect the sums due to himself.
Mr. Joseph Hume, not yet the scrupulous financier which he grew to be,
among others, was not very prompt in settling his accounts; and Mr.
Murray wrote to him, on July 11, 1804:
"On the other side is a list of books (amount £92 8s. 6d.), containing
all those for which you did me the favour to write: and I trust that
they will reach you safely.... If in future you could so arrange that my
account should be paid by some house in town within six months after the
goods are shipped, I shall be perfectly satisfied, and shall execute
your orders with much more despatch and pleasure. I mention this, not
from any apprehension of not being paid, but because my circumstances
will not permit me to give so large an extent of credit. It affords me
great pleasure to hear of your advancement; and I trust that your health
will enable you to enjoy all the success to which your talents entitle
you."
He was, for the same reason, under the necessity of declining to publish
several new works offered to him, especially those dealing with medical
and poetical subjects.
Mr. Archibald Constable of Edinburgh, and Messrs. Bell & Bradfute, Mr.
Murray's agents in Edinburgh, were also communicated with as to the
settlement of their accounts with Murray & Highley. "I expected," he
said, "to have been able to pay my respects to you both this summer
[1803], but my _military duties_, and the serious aspect of the times,
oblige me to remain at home." It was the time of a patriotic volunteer
movement, and Mr. Murray was enrolled as an ensign in the 3rd Regiment
of Royal London Volunteers.
It cannot now be ascertained what was the origin of the acquaintance
between the D'Israeli and Murray families, but it was of old standing.
The first John Murray published the first volumes of Isaac D'Israeli's
"Curiosities of Literature" (1791), and though no correspondence between
them has been preserved, we find frequent mention of the founder of the
house in Isaac D'Israeli's letters to John Murray the Second. His
experiences are held up for his son's guidance, as for example, when
Isaac, urging the young publisher to support some petition to the East
India Company, writes, "It was a ground your father trod, and I suppose
that connection cannot do you any harm"; or again, when dissuading him
from undertaking some work submitted to him, "You can mention to Mr.
Harley the fate of Professor Musaeus' 'Popular Tales,' which never sold,
and how much your father was disappointed." On another occasion we find
D'Israeli, in 1809, inviting his publisher to pay a visit to a yet older
generation, "to my father, who will be very glad to see you at Margate."
Besides the "Curiosities of Literature," and "Flim-Flams," the last a
volume not mentioned by Lord Beaconsfield in the "Life" of his father
prefixed to the 1865 edition of the "Curiosities of Literature," Mr.
D'Israeli published through Murray, in 1803, a small volume of
"Narrative Poems" in 4to. They consisted of "An Ode to his Favourite
Critic"; "The Carder and the Currier, a Story of Amorous Florence";
"Cominge, a Story of La Trappe"; and "A Tale addressed to a Sybarite."
The verses in these poems run smoothly, but they contain no wit, no
poetry, nor even any story. They were never reprinted.
The following letter is of especial interest, as fixing the date of an
event which has given rise to much discussion--the birth of Benjamin
Disraeli.
_Mr. Isaac D'Israeli to John Murray_.
_December_ 22, 1804. [Footnote: Mr. D'Israeli was living at this time in
King's Road (now 1, John Street), Bedford Row, in a corner house
overlooking Gray's Inn Gardens.]
MY DEAR SIR,
Mrs. D'Israeli will receive particular gratification from the
interesting note you have sent us on the birth of our boy--when she
shall have read it. In the meanwhile accept my thanks, and my best
compliments to your sister. The mother and infant are both doing well.
Ever yours.
I. D'I.
Some extracts from their correspondence will afford an insight into the
nature of the friendship and business relations which existed between
Isaac D'Israeli and his young publisher as well as into the characters
of the two men themselves.
From a letter dated Brighton, August 5, 1805, from Mr. D'Israeli to John
Murray:
"Your letter is one of the repeated specimens I have seen of your happy
art of giving interest even to commonplace correspondence, and I, who am
so feelingly alive to the 'pains and penalties' of postage, must
acknowledge that such letters, ten times repeated, would please me as
often.
We should have been very happy to see you here, provided it occasioned
no intermission in your more serious occupations, and could have added
to your amusements.
With respect to the projected 'Institute,' [Footnote: This was a work at
one time projected by Mr. Murray, but other more pressing literary
arrangements prevented the scheme being carried into effect.] if that
title be English--doubtless the times are highly favourable to patronize
a work skilfully executed, whose periodical pages would be at once
useful information, and delightful for elegant composition, embellished
by plates, such as have never yet been given, both for their subjects
and their execution. Literature is a perpetual source opened to us; but
the Fine Arts present an unploughed field, and an originality of
character ... But Money, Money must not be spared in respect to rich,
beautiful, and interesting Engravings. On this I have something to
communicate. Encourage Dagley, [Footnote: The engraver of the
frontispiece of "Flim-Flams."] whose busts of Seneca and Scarron are
pleasingly executed; but you will also want artists of name. I have a
friend, extremely attached to literature and the fine arts, a gentleman
of opulent fortune; by what passed with him in conversation, I have
reason to believe that he would be ready to assist by money to a
considerable extent. Would that suit you? How would you arrange with
him? Would you like to divide your work in _Shares_? He is an intimate
friend of West's, and himself too an ingenious writer.
How came you to advertise 'Domestic Anecdotes'? Kearsley printed 1,250
copies. I desire that no notice of the authors of that work may be known
from _your_ side.
* * * * *
At this moment I receive your packet of poems, and Shee's letter. I
perceive that he is impressed by your attentions and your ability. It
will always afford me one of my best pleasures to forward your views; I
claim no merit from this, but my discernment in discovering your
talents, which, under the genius of Prudence (the best of all Genii for
human affairs), must inevitably reach the goal. The literary productions
of I.D['Israeli] and others may not augment the profits o£ your trade in
any considerable degree; but to get the talents of such writers at your
command is a prime object, and others will follow.
I had various conversations with Phillips [Footnote: Sir Richard
Phillips, bookseller. This is the publisher whose book on philosophy
George Borrow was set to translate into German, and who recommended him
to produce something in the style of "The Dairyman's Daughter"!] here;
he is equally active, but more _wise_. He owns his _belles-lettres_
books have given no great profits; in my opinion he must have lost even
by some. But he makes a fortune by juvenile and useful compilations. You
know I always told you he wanted _literary taste_--like an atheist, who
is usually a disappointed man, he thinks all _belles lettres_ are
nonsense, and denies the existence of _taste_; but it exists! and I
flatter myself you will profit under that divinity. I have much to say
on this subject and on him when we meet.
At length I have got through your poetry: it has been a weary task! The
writer has a good deal of fire, but it is rarely a very bright flame.
Here and there we see it just blaze, and then sink into mediocrity. He
is too redundant and tiresome.... 'Tis a great disadvantage to read them
in MS., as one cannot readily turn to passages; but life is too short to
be peeping into other peoples' MSS. _I prefer your prose to your verse_.
Let me know if you receive it safely, and pray give no notion to any one
that I have seen the MS."
_Mr. D'Israeli to John Murray_.
"It is a most disagreeable office to give opinions on MSS.; one reads
them at a moment when one has other things in one's head--then one is
obliged to fatigue the brain with _thinking_; but if I can occasionally
hinder you from publishing nugatory works, I do not grudge the pains. At
the same time I surely need not add, how very _confidential_ such
communications ought to be."
_Mr. I. D'Israeli to John Murray_.
I am delighted by your apology for not having called on me after I had
taken my leave of you the day before; but you can make an unnecessary
apology as agreeable as any other act of kindness....
You are sanguine in your hope of a good sale of "Curiosities," it will
afford us a mutual gratification; but when you consider it is not a new
work, though considerably improved I confess, and that those kinds of
works cannot boast of so much novelty as they did about ten years ago, I
am somewhat more moderate in my hopes.
What you tell me of F.F. from Symond's, is _new_ to me. I sometimes
throw out in the shop _remote hints_ about the sale of books, all the
while meaning only _mine_; but they have no skill in construing the
timid wishes of a modest author; they are not aware of his suppressed
sighs, nor see the blushes of hope and fear tingling his cheek; they are
provokingly silent, and petrify the imagination....
Believe me, with the truest regard,
Yours ever,
I. D'ISRAELI.
_Mr. D'Israeli to John Murray_. _Saturday, May_ 31, 1806. KING'S ROAD.
MY DEAR FRIEND,
It is my wish to see you for five minutes this day, but as you must be
much engaged, and I am likely to be prevented reaching you this morning,
I shall only trouble you with a line.
Most warmly I must impress on your mind the _necessity_ of taking the
advice of a physician. Who? You know many. We have heard extraordinary
accounts of Dr. Baillie, and that (what is more extraordinary) he is not
mercenary....
I have written this to impress on your mind this point. Seeing you as we
see you, and your friend at a fault, how to decide, and you without some
relative or domestic friend about you, gives Mrs. D'I. and myself very
serious concerns--for you know we do take the warmest interest in your
welfare--and your talents and industry want nothing but health to make
you yet what it has always been one of my most gratifying hopes to
conceive of you.
Yours very affectionately,
I. D'ISRAELI.
A circumstance, not without influence on Murray's future, occurred about
this time with respect to the "Miniature," a volume of comparatively
small importance, consisting of essays written by boys at Eton, and
originally published at Windsor by Charles Knight. Through Dr. Kennell,
Master of the Temple, his friend and neighbour, who lived close at hand,
Murray became acquainted with the younger Kennell, Mr. Stratford
Canning, Gally Knight, the two sons of the Marquis Wellesley, and other
young Etonians, who had originated and conducted this School magazine.
Thirty-four numbers appeared in the course of a year, and were then
brought out in a volume by Mr. Knight at the expense of the authors. The
transaction had involved them in debt. "Whatever chance of success our
hopes may dictate," wrote Stratford Canning, "yet our apprehensions
teach us to tremble at the possibility of additional expenses," and the
sheets lay unsold on the bookseller's hands. Mr. Murray, who was
consulted about the matter, said to Dr. Rennell, "Tell them to send the
unsold sheets to me, and I will pay the debt due to the printer." The
whole of the unsold sheets were sent by the "Windsor Waggon" to Mr.
Murray's at Fleet Street. He made waste-paper of the whole bundle--there
were 6,376 numbers in all,--brought out a new edition of 750 copies,
printed in good type, and neatly bound, and announced to Stratford
Canning that he did this at his own cost and risk, and would make over
to the above Etonians half the profits of the work. The young authors
were highly pleased by this arrangement, and Stratford Canning wrote to
Murray (October 20, 1805): "We cannot sufficiently thank you for your
kind attention to our concerns, and only hope that the success of the
_embryo_ edition may be equal to your care." How great was the
importance of the venture in his eyes may be judged from the naïve
allusion with which he proceeds: "It will be a week or two before we
commit it to the press, for amidst our other occupations the business of
the school must not be neglected, and that by itself is no trivial
employment."
By means of this transaction Murray had the sagacity to anticipate an
opportunity of making friends of Canning and Frere, who were never tired
of eulogizing the spirit and enterprise of the young Fleet Street
publisher. Stratford Canning introduced him to his cousin George, the
great minister, whose friendship and support had a very considerable
influence in promoting and establishing his future prosperity. It is
scarcely necessary to add that the new edition of the "Miniature"
speedily became waste paper.