The inquiries addressed to me by Mr. BOLTON CORNEY in your paper of the
15th of November appear to amount to this:--Whether the whole or part of
the expense of his proposed volume will be defrayed out of the fund
appropriated to the Caxton Memorial? To this question, so far as my own
information extends, I can only give a negative reply. The Society of
Arts, in compliance with a request preferred to them by the subscribers
at their last meeting, have accepted the charge of the Caxton Fund; and
it is sufficient, for my present purpose, to state that negociations are
now in progress between the Council and the Dean and Chapter, for
liberty to erect a suitable memorial within the precincts of Westminster
to the memory of William Caxton. This is as it should be; the memorial,
be it what it may, statue, obelisk or fountain, or even a niche in a
wall, should be substantial and enduring, calculated to remind the
passing stranger that within the precincts of Westminster, William
Caxton first exercised in England the art of printing. This circumstance
forms one of those epochs in the history of civilisation which deserve
public commemoration; and any memorial of Caxton should be placed as
near as possible to the scene of his literary labours.
Mr. BOLTON CORNEY says, that I seem to regard his project with somewhat
less of disfavour. Now I do not wish to be misunderstood. As a
substitute for the Caxton Memorial, originally proposed at the great
meeting over which the Earl of Carlisle presided, I am disposed to
reject it altogether, for reasons which I have already stated in your
columns. But as a literary undertaking I am willing to give it a fair
consideration upon its own merits. The apothegm that a man's best
monument consists in his own works, is capable of considerable
modification from the nature of the works themselves. In the case before
us, I believe the interest felt by the public in the works of Caxton to
be too limited to justify the republication of his collected works. The
proposal which Mr. CORNEY makes for a selection from those works, with a
new life of the author, and a glossary, the latter proving how much they
are out of date, is much more feasible than his original plan. There is
a Caxton Society which has already issued several publications, and
whose usefulness would be materially increased by such a publication as
that suggested by Mr. CORNEY, if the Society to which he alludes (the
Camden, I presume) should not be disposed to undertake it. The true
object of these and similar societies is the production of books of
interest and value, which are not sufficiently popular to justify a
bookseller, or an individual, in incurring the pecuniary risk of their
separate publication. Mr. CORNEY's literary memorial of Caxton appears
to me to come under this head, and as such might be properly undertaken
by any of the clubs or societies formed for the cultivation of early
English literature. He might perhaps more easily attain the object of
his wishes in this manner than by that which he has hitherto pursued.
When a selection is to be made from the works of any author, much will
depend upon the taste and discretion of the editor. Now I gather from
Mr. CORNEY's letter, that he is fully prepared to undertake that office
himself; and I may be permitted to add that his scrupulous accuracy and
unwearied diligence afford the best guarantee that the work will be
executed in such a manner as to fully satisfy the public interest in
Caxton, and to form a graceful and appropriate tribute to the
illustrious father of the English press.