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diff --git a/old/54380-0.txt b/old/54380-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index ff7912e..0000000 --- a/old/54380-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,7270 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of A Battle of the Books, recorded by an -unknown writer for the use of authors, by Gail Hamilton - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: A Battle of the Books, recorded by an unknown writer for the use of authors and publishers - To the first for doctrine, to the second for reproof, to - both for correction and for instruction in righteousness - -Author: Gail Hamilton - -Release Date: March 18, 2017 [EBook #54380] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A BATTLE OF THE BOOKS *** - - - - -Produced by MFR, Eleni Christofaki and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - - -Transcriber's Note. - -Gail Hamilton, cited as author, is the alias of Mary Abigail Dodge. - -A list of the changes made can be found at the end of the book. - -Mark-up: _italic_ - - - - - A - - BATTLE OF THE BOOKS, - - _RECORDED BY AN UNKNOWN WRITER_, - - FOR THE USE OF - - AUTHORS AND PUBLISHERS: - - TO THE FIRST FOR DOCTRINE, TO THE SECOND FOR REPROOF, - TO BOTH FOR CORRECTION AND FOR INSTRUCTION - IN RIGHTEOUSNESS. - - - EDITED AND PUBLISHED BY - GAIL HAMILTON. - - - "Why talk so dreffle big, John, - Of honor, when it meant - You didn't care a fig, John, - But jest for _ten per cent_?" - - BIGLOW PAPERS. - - - CAMBRIDGE: - Printed at the Riverside Press, - AND FOR SALE BY - HURD AND HOUGHTON, NEW YORK. - 1870. - - - - - Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1870, by - H. O. HOUGHTON AND COMPANY, - in the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the District of - Massachusetts. - - - RIVERSIDE, CAMBRIDGE: - STEREOTYPED AND PRINTED BY - H. O. HOUGHTON AND COMPANY. - - - - -CONTENTS. - - - PAGE - - I. EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION 1 - - II. AUTHOR'S INTRODUCTION 7 - - III. RISE AND PROGRESS OF SUSPICION IN THE SOUL 11 - - IV. DECLARATION OF WAR 33 - - V. SKIRMISHING 51 - - VI. A TRUCE 62 - - VII. RENEWAL OF HOSTILITIES 75 - - VIII. ARRANGEMENT OF PRELIMINARIES 125 - - IX. BATTLE OF GOG AND MAGOG 155 - - X. SOBER SECOND AND THIRD THOUGHTS 249 - - - - -[Illustration] - -A BATTLE OF THE BOOKS. - - -I. - -EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION. - -THE papers comprising the following narrative, called "A Battle of the -Books," were found in my state-room after a violent storm, during a -long and dangerous sea-voyage which I was once forced to undertake. -They were much stained with salt-water, but were for the most part -legible. The name of the author or compiler is not given; but I judge, -somewhat from the chirography, chiefly from incontestable internal -evidence, that the writer is a woman. As this evidence will unfold -itself to the reader in the course of the narrative, I shall not dwell -upon it; nor is it, indeed, a matter of importance, except as it bears -upon the question of the participation in the government by both sexes. -Viewed from that point, it shows with great force the inability of -women to understand affairs, and the groundlessness of the present -clamor for a change of status. It proves beyond question that all that -women need do is to trust, and all that men care to do is to protect. - -The date given is of the last century, but of its accuracy I am not -assured. The manuscript is soiled, and stained, and shabby enough; but -the storm which brought it to my feet would account for that. There -are references, allusions, and even names which point to a time far -within the memory of men still living; but this is not conclusive, -since I believe, according to the best scriptural exegesis, the name -of a historical person in a book, as, for instance, that of Cyrus in -Isaiah, does not determine the date, so much as the nature of the -writing, simply changing it from history to prophecy. No one, in -reading this story, will suspect it of scriptural inspiration; but -may not the writer have been in that state which is sometimes called -clairvoyant, and which is perhaps but a preternaturally acute condition -of the intellectual perceptions, wherein the logic of events is so -plainly seen that the future is as clear and certain as the past, and -that which is to happen seems as much a matter of fact as that which -has happened? If the human mind can calculate an eclipse of the sun, -with entire accuracy, three thousand years beforehand, why should it -be thought a thing incredible that the human heart should be able to -calculate some of the incidents of an eclipse of faith a hundred years -in advance? - -But as upon the question of authorship, so upon that of chronology, I -conceive the strongest evidence to be internal. The state of society -described in this narrative is surely no nearer than a hundred years. -It chronicles an age of barbarism, when author and publisher were -natural enemies, and relieved the monotony of their lives by petty -skirmishing or pitched battles with each other. This age, happily for -us, has passed away, and exists only in tradition. Whether from the -universal softening of manners which accompanies the introduction -of Christianity, and in which both publishers and authors may be -supposed to have shared, or from that equally universal brightening and -quickening of the intellect which attended the Renaissance, and which -may have enabled even publishers to see how he that watereth shall be -watered also himself,--certain it is that these times of turbulence -are gone, and we have peace. No longer does the wily publisher lie in -wait, seeking what chance he may have to devour his author. Rather he -woos him to receive his dues, wins open with gentle urgency the hand -no longer grasping, but modest and reluctant, and presses into it the -crisp, abundant bills. No longer do authors shamelessly drink toasts to -the despotic emperor to whose thousand crimes is linked the one virtue -of having hanged a bookseller. On the contrary, they raise their harps -and join voices to sing their benefactor's praise. Who has not seen in -all the newspapers the affecting tale of the great house of Fields, -Osgood, & Co.,--_nomen clarum et venerabile_,--on whom has fallen the -mantle of Ticknor & Fields? - - "Fame spread her wings, and with her trumpet blew" - -the story of their having offered payment to an author, which he -declined to receive because he had once had money for the writing. -"But," replied the firm, "we intend to use the article for a book. -We make a profit on both. Why should you hesitate to take pay?" "I -am sure I ought not to take it," said the author; "I should not if I -acted according to my ideal. I don't believe it is honest to take money -twice for the same piece of work." "But do," replied the publisher; "we -insist upon it as our right;" and insist he did, till the author coyly -yielded. History is silent from this point, but the imagination fondly -stoops to trace the scene. Undoubtedly this prince of publishers, like -Mr. Pecksniff when blessing Martin Chuzzlewit for hating him, "waved -his right hand with much solemnity.... There was emotion in his manner, -but his step was firm. Subject to human weaknesses, he was upheld by -conscience." - -Hear also what the "Atlantic Monthly" says: "There are no business men -more honorable or more generous than the publishers of the United -States, and especially honorable and considerate towards authors. The -relation usually existing between author and publisher in the United -States is that of a warm and lasting friendship,--such as ... now -animates and dignifies the intercourse between the literary men of New -England and Messrs. Ticknor & Fields.... The relation, too, is one of -a singular mutual trustfulness. The author receives his semi-annual -account from the publisher with as absolute a faith in its correctness -as though he had himself counted the volumes sold.... We have heard of -instances in which a publisher had serious cause of complaint against -an author, but never have we known an author to be intentionally -wronged by a publisher.... How common, too, it is in the trade for a -publisher to go beyond the letter of his bond, and after publishing -five books without profit, to give the author of the successful sixth -more than the stipulated price." - -Time and scissors would fail me to cull from the journals all the -ingenious and touching paragraphs which show how the eminent publishers -referred to do good by stealth and blush to find it fame. - -Doubtless similar illustrations might also be drawn in great numbers -from other sources, were ordinary publishers in the courtly habit of -keeping a historian to record their royal deeds. But enough has been -said to show that the publishers of to-day have become evangelized, and -no longer seek every man his own, but every man the things of another. -I infer, therefore, without hesitation, that the dates of the following -papers are correct, and that, notwithstanding a certain confusion -in the nomenclature, the state of things they describe, belongs -exclusively to the good old times of a hundred years ago. - -Joined to the main body of the narrative were injunctions the most -imperative regarding its publication. But even had I chosen to -disregard these, there are other reasons which might have impelled me -to the same course. As one sitting by his own fireside glows with a -deeper content for the sound of the storm without, so we, who live in -this golden age of love, may all the more rejoice, seeing how they let -their angry passions rise in the brave days of old. - -I would say, then, borrowing the language of an old Sunday-school -hymn:-- - - "Authors, attend, while I relate - A new and simple story; - 'Twill teach your hearts with thankfulness - To praise the Lord of glory" - -that the lines have fallen to you in pleasant places, and that you -receive your goodly heritage without having to fight for it. - - - - -[Illustration] - -II. - -AUTHOR'S INTRODUCTION. - - -WHEN, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for an author -to dissolve the bands which have connected him with his publishers, -a decent respect for the opinions of mankind requires that he should -declare the causes which impel him to the separation. - -The war between authors and publishers has been a conflict of ages. -On the one side, the publisher has been looked upon as a species of -Wantley dragon, whose daily food was the brain and blood of hapless -writers. - - "Devouréd he poor authors all, - That could not with him grapple; - But at one sup he ate them up, - As one would eat an apple." - -On the other side, the author has been considered, like Shelley, "an -eternal child" in all that relates to practical business matters, -and a terrible child at that,--incapable of comprehending details, -and unreasonably dissatisfied with results. A definite illustration -will sometimes throw more light on a general principle than reams -of abstract discussion. But in matters of this sort, definite -illustrations are very hard to come at. In any case of trouble between -author and publisher, it is for the interest of the latter that it -be kept as quiet as possible. Even if he be unquestionably right, -and the difficulty be owing solely to the author's inexperience and -impracticability, the ill odor of having had a quarrel will hardly be -neutralized by any knowledge of its causelessness. The sympathy of the -public is more likely to be with the author than with the publisher. - -The author also is held to silence by various considerations. The -difficulty of getting at the real state of the case, and the misgiving -which results from it; the always unpleasant nature of the controversy; -the obtrusion of one's private affairs, as if it were a theme of -general interest; the uncertainty of any good to be obtained; the -fatigue and disgust of the quarrel itself,--a thousand circumstances -combine to make it appear altogether easier and better to let the -matter go than to take the trouble of any adequate presentation or -explanation of it. But as he is never quite satisfied, he can never -quite let it go; and though there come not a real thunder-storm -crashing among the hills, but clearing the skies, there are low -mutterings and occasional flashes, which betoken a signal discontent of -the elements. - -Thus exists the chronic feud between authors and publishers; partly -traditional, partly experimental; a matter often for outward jest, -but quite as often of deep and serious import. It is a sort of -bush-whacking, in which every man whacks on his own account, and -frequently does not know that there is any other bushwhacker than -himself. So the warfare goes on, but to no end. Nobody learns wisdom -from another man's experience, because the other man keeps his -experience to himself. - -I propose to supply what the theologians call a "felt want," and to -become the historian of a contest all of which I saw, and part of -which I was. From the confusions of long misunderstanding I would fain -evolve an intelligent and lasting peace. "When," in the language of Dr. -Johnson, "I am animated by this wish, I look with pleasure on my book, -however defective, and deliver it to the world with the spirit of a -man that has endeavored well." If it be instigated by any other motive -than pure benevolence, the fact will doubtless appear in its progress. -Should my little cask of oil be poured out in vain upon the stormy -waters,--should I, instead of soothing their rage, be whelmed beneath -it,--there remains the consoling assurance that no one else is involved -in my fate. - -It would be hypocritical to apologize for the intrusion of private -affairs upon public notice, when it is notorious that there is -nothing the public so dearly loves, nothing upon which it so eagerly -fastens, nothing which it so greedily devours, as private affairs. -Indeed, the privacy of affairs seems to be sometimes the only element -of interest they possess, and the delight which the public finds in -them is proportioned to the amount of good manners it was necessary to -sacrifice in order to get at them.[1] - -I give fair warning that this narration is not intended to be of -interest or value to any but authors and publishers. A log-book is -not generally considered very entertaining reading, yet it may be -scanned with great eagerness by those who are following the track -it chronicles. This is simply the log-book of a desperate voyage, a -careful knowledge of which may prevent many a young mariner from being -drawn into it himself. - - - - -[Illustration] - -III. - -RISE AND PROGRESS OF SUSPICION IN THE SOUL. - - -MY relations with the house of Brummell and Hunt began somewhere about -the year 1760. Until 1768 these relations had always been agreeable. -I seemed to be living in an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant -fruits. I thought, as Mr. Tennyson remarked to the lily, "there is but -one" publishing house, and that is the house of Messrs. Brummell & -Hunt. All others were to me outside barbarians, mercenary hirelings, -mere hewers of wood and drawers of water. Messrs. Brummell & Hunt -published on high moral grounds, from love of literature and general -benevolence. Gingerbread followed their virtue, indeed, but had no -part nor lot in it. My dealings were with Mr. Hunt, and the business -aspect of our connection came to be nearly lost sight of behind the -veil of friendship. Money arrangements I left entirely to him. I -never stipulated for anything, either on books or magazine articles. -I considered that he best knew the money value of these things, and -that, as we are constantly told, the interest of author and that of -publisher are one. He accordingly paid me whatever he chose, and I was -entirely satisfied. - -One day in December, 1767, happening to want more money than was due -me,[2] I recollected having seen, a few weeks before, an article in the -"Segregationalissuemost,"[3] on the "Pay of Authors," which said:-- - -"In regard to books, the common percentage paid by publishers to -average writers is _ten per cent. upon the retail price of the book_; -the copies given to the press for notice not being included in the -estimate. Thus, for an edition of a volume whose retail price is $1.00, -the account would be made up thus: Suppose 1,000 copies to be printed, -of which 90 are distributed to the press, and otherwise given away -for notice, and the balance sold, the publishers would owe the author -(1,000-90 = 910 copies, at 10c. each) $91.00. And so proportionately -for larger works at costlier prices." - -Without the least presentiment of anything uncanny, I made the -following reference to it in a letter to Mr. Hunt. This extract unfolds -the beginning of sorrows. - - -"Now see, in the 'Segregationalissuemost,' this very morning, I saw an -article about the pay of authors, in which it said that the ordinary -price for average authors was ten per cent. on the retail price of the -book; but according to my account I don't have ten per cent. I only -have somewhere about seven or eight per cent. Looking in my papers, I -find that all the contracts I have are only for fifteen cents on the -two-dollar volumes, which certainly is not ten per cent., except the -first contract for 'City Lights,' which says ten per cent., but the -bills or accounts, or whatever it is, are made out for that,--not at -ten per cent., but, just as the other, fifteen cents on the volume. At -least, this is the way I make it out; but I am not good at figures, -and may have made some mistake. However, here are the papers, and you -can see for yourself, or I will show them to Judge Dane when I go to -Athens. I don't like to talk about it here at home any way. But perhaps -you will know all about it from what I have said, and perhaps it is all -right. But certainly I am an 'average writer,' and you are an 'ordinary -publisher,' not to say extraordinary! And I want all the money I can -possibly get and more too! Especially ---- dollars by and by. - -"It just occurs to me that you may possibly think that I think -that _you_ have been falling into temptation! My dear friend and -fellow-sinner, if you should stand up with both hands on your heart, -and swear that you had cheated me, I should not believe you. I should -say, 'Poor fellow, work and worry have done their work. His brilliant -intellect----I saw a lovely private asylum in Corinth. I would go there -and spend the summer!' - - "Yours, sane or insane, - - "M. N." - - -I waited nearly two weeks, and then, receiving no reply to this letter, -I wrote to my friend, Mr. Jackson, a book-publisher of Corinth, asking -him several questions, but avoiding as far as possible any personality, -or giving rise to any suspicion. I hoped he would think I was merely -collecting information. On the 16th of January, nearly three weeks -after my letter was sent, came a reply from Mr. Hunt, in which the only -reference to my inquiry was:-- - -"I have not answered your last letter, touching the terms expressed in -the contracts; for you and I went over that matter once, and it was -with your entire concurrence with our views, based upon the present -state of trade and manufacture, that the amount was decided on. When -you come to town, we will go all over it again, and it will be again -settled to your entire satisfaction." - -This reply did not meet my question. I was aware that I had concurred -in their views, as my name on the contract showed it. But I was not -aware of ever having gone over the matter; and I did not care for a -second settlement while I was as yet unassured of a first. I wrote -again, replying also to an invitation by telegram received the same day -from a member of Mr. Hunt's family. - - -"MY DEAR MR. HUNT: - -"That is great of you to come down here with a gay letter, and utterly -blink out of sight the fact of your having made me wretched for three -weeks by not writing. _Of course_ I concurred in your views. If you -had said to me, 'Owing to the state of trade and manufactures, all the -trees are now going to be bread and cheese, and all the rivers ink,' I -should have said, 'Yes, that is a very wise measure.' I don't remember -ever talking the thing over with you, but I dare say I did,--or, -rather, you talked, and I nodded, as usual! And of course I agreed; -for here are the contracts that say so, and if I don't know what is in -those contracts and accounts, it is not for want of patient industry. -If I had as many dollars as I have pored over those miserable papers -the last two weeks, I would build a meeting-house. Don't you see the -trouble lies back of the contract? Why did you _wish_ me to be having -seven or eight per cent. when other people are getting ten? If it was -because I was not worth more, you need not be afraid to say so. I can -bear a great deal of rugged truth. But why am I not worth more, when -there is not a paper of any standing in the country, to put it rather -strongly, that has not applied to me to become a contributor, offering -me my own terms? Does not that show that I have at least a commercial -value? Writing books seems a more dignified thing than writing -newspapers, but in point of money there is no comparison to be made.[4] -I could have got five times as much by putting 'Cotton-picking' in the -form of letters as I have from the book. - -"When day after day went by, and you did not write, I came to the -conclusion that your High Mightiness was standing on your dignity, -and then _I_ was indignant too. I can always be a great deal more -angry with any one than any one is with me, and I always _will_ be. -And I said last week, 'If he does not write me by Saturday, I will do -something.' And what I did was--write to Mr. Jackson. Now you will -perhaps be vexed at this, but you have no right to be. Do you think I -am going to die, and give no sign? Mr. Jackson is an older friend than -you,--I said an older soldier, not a better!--and then you did not -write. I did not mention your name, nor say anything about myself or -my affairs, only asked some general questions. I tell you this because -your letter was good-natured. If it had been cross, I would not tell -you anything; and if you will be as perplexed and uneasy for three -weeks as I was, and not do anything worse than that, I will award you -a gold medal. Mr. Hunt, you ought never under any circumstances to be -angry with me. In your large circle of friends you may have scores who -will bring you more personal revenue; but for the quality of loyalty -'pure and simple,' you will not find many who will go beyond me. I may -be infelicitous and inexplicable in demonstration, but I was never -anything but thoroughly true in mood. - -"The telegram came this morning in due season. A thousand thanks for -her kind remembrance, but of course I was not going to Athens with -your letter staring me in the face. Talking it over is the very thing -I don't want to do. There is nothing to be talked over. There are the -papers. I admit them all. But when ---- takes you to task for some -misdemeanor,--and if ever you go to the good place, it will be because -that woman has pulled you through,--you don't say, 'What are you -talking about? When I offered myself to you, did you not say you would -have me for better, for worse; and are you not perfectly satisfied?' -She was satisfied then according to her lights, but doubtless she has -thought twenty times since she might have done better. Any way, you -don't 'dast' ask her and see. Now my case is not parallel. 'England, -with all thy faults, I love thee still.' I cannot conceive of anybody -being a better publisher than you, because you don't seem like a -business man, but a friend. But here is the fact that I want [so much] -and I have only [so much] to get it with, and sales falling off, and I -getting on what is sold less than an unknown author gets on his first -book. Can you tell in a month whether the new book is going to sell or -not? I have another children's book nearly ready, but I suppose decency -demands an appreciable interval between two issues. Do you suppose the -unpopularity of my doctrines has anything to do with it? If it has, I -will thunder them out harder still. If I must go down, I will go down, -like the _Cumberland_, with a broadside volley. - -"Of the books I want I don't know how many,--a dozen or two. If people -won't buy them, I will give them away, for read them they shall.... - -"I will now close this short note with the reflection which I have -often made,--Be good, and you will be happy. And never bring up against -me a concurrence of views at any past time as a fortification against -_dis_currence in the present. And if that is, like Saint Paul, hard to -be understood,--good enough for you for not writing me sooner, and -throwing me into such a perturbation. Remember always the difference -between the assent of indifference and the assent of conviction. -Whatever I agreed to in times past was because I had no interest -whatever in the subject, and supposed it was all according to the laws -of the Medes and Persians. Now that ruin gapes before me, and I am, -after all, only the law unto myself, it makes no atom of difference to -me that I have not been fighting you the last century--steady. - -"While I am in a spasm of comparative serenity, I will declare -and affirm that you are and always have been one of the kindest, -brightest, and most agreeable of men; that you never said to me a word -of compliment, or silliness, or impatience, or anything that wounded -me,--and Heaven knows you have said bad things enough,--and this you -may cut out, and show to men and angels when we come to blows. The -worst thing I ever knew you to do was not answering my last letter, and -then _aggravating_ me by coming down as breezy and cheery as if nothing -had happened. Give my love to----. She deserves a better fate, but I -don't know that I can do aught to forward it." - - -Mr. Hunt's reply to this letter was through another person; in which -reply the only response to my letter was:-- - -"I sent off my telegram with perfect unconsciousness of your state -of mind, or of the fact that there was any business unsettled which -might be talked about. Your note last night was a surprise, and your -non-appearance a disappointment.... - -"Do you forget that a certain friend of ours cannot write a word with -his own hand? Do you wonder, matters having been many times explained, -that he thought they must sooner or later explain themselves through -your memory? - -"_We_ forget how in a retired life things work in the mind, and you -must therefore forgive the apparent neglect of one who is overwhelmed -by letters and people from day's beginning to day's end." - -This reply was not soothing. The suggestion that one is morbidly -suffering mole-hills to rise into mountains is not flattering to his -intellectual calibre. Nor is it agreeable to be assigned the part of -one who had been so given to dissatisfaction that it was not worth -while to try to quiet him again. One thing I did learn from it,--that -Mr. Hunt did not design to answer my question. - -I none the less desired an answer. I thought if I could not secure it, -perhaps some one else could. Mr. Dane was an old friend of Mr. Hunt's, -and a friend of mine. His office was but a short distance from Mr. -Hunt's. He had chanced to write me some excellent advice about saving -money just before,--without, however, any knowledge of this affair. -I wanted somebody's opinion, and I could not talk about the matter. I -therefore wrote to Mr. Dane a letter of self-justification, not to say -glorification,--saying:-- - -"You think, perhaps, because I have once or twice lost a few things, -therefore I take no heed of anything. On the contrary, there is -probably no one in the land who, on the whole, is more careful, -systematic, and provident than I! Truth!... There is no such thing as -independence, or dignity, scarcely honesty, without money. Perhaps that -is putting it a little too strong, but at any rate _impecuniosity_ is a -constant temptation. - -"I should have ... more if I had had ten per cent. on the books, as -the 'Segregationalissuemost' said the other day was the custom for -new authors. I don't. I have only fifteen cents on a two-dollar book, -and ten cents on a dollar-and-a-half book, which is not nearly ten -per cent.; and if you can tell me any reason why I should not have as -much as an unfledged author, I wish you would put up your patents and -do it.... I want money just now extremely. If I had a few thousand -dollars, I could benefit some very excellent persons certainly, and -in all probability should lose nothing myself, but in the course of a -few years, by the time I should want my money at least, have it all -back. I _can_ take up bonds to be sure, and I rather think I shall; -but as a general thing, one never wants to meddle with money that is -settled. Don't you think I talk sensibly? Don't you take back your -insinuations about my loose habits of expenditure? Unthrift, reckless -expenditure, improvidence, indicate an organic defect of character. -But I will not sacrifice the present to the future. 'The present, the -present, is all thou hast for thy sure possessing.' Whenever I see an -imminent need, I will not pass it by on the score of laying up for a -rainy day. For, don't you see, when the rainy day comes, I may not -be here to be rained on, while to my friend the rainy day is already -come. I will enjoy money as I go along,--not in so reckless a way as to -involve the necessity of one day imposing a burden upon others. And of -all enjoyment, I know of none so delightful and inexhaustible, and I -may say so marvelous, as to see the amount of relief, the quantity of -sunshine and help, put into another's life by the judicious bestowal of -even a very little money.[5] - -"Did you ever see such a letter as this? It is full of me, me, me, -_and_ me's money; but you began it. Your letter came down upon me just -when I have been full of perplexity for more than a month, and you -see I have not strength enough to keep myself to myself. You will of -course consider this all confidential. You better make sure of it by -destroying the letter as soon as you have read it. Yes, by all means. -Seems as if this letter was sort of virtuous. But you know I am not -virtuous at all. And don't misconstrue me about the books. Mr. Hunt has -always been everything that was generous and friendly, and I do not -permit myself to admit for a moment, even to myself, that everything -is not just as it should be. But that paragraph in the 'S.' induced -me to examine my own papers,--joined with my great longing for money -just now,--and I did not and do not understand it. Happily, it is not -necessary I should. Perhaps that refers chiefly to the great Corinthian -publishing houses." - - -MR. DANE TO M. N. - -"Ten per cent. was a fair amount--I mean ten per cent. on the retail -price--for B. & H. to pay you. When they put their dollar books up to -two dollars, whether they should pay you the same percentage, should -depend on their profits, and should be a matter of honor with them. -Probably at first they did not double their profits with their price, -but now I have no doubt they do, and more too. Still you are very much -in their hands, and it is very disagreeable for you to help yourself. -If the sale fell off with increase of price, although the profit per -volume was at the same percentage, they would make less money by doing -less business. - -"Did you make any contract with them ever, and what was it? - -"I don't believe anybody ever gets less than ten per cent. on _the -price_; but it may be on the wholesale price, which is forty per cent. -off the retail--_i.e._ a book that retails at $1.40 is wholesaled at -$1.00. Pardon me, but I never imagine that a woman comprehends what -per cent. means! Yes, your principles are good, but your practice is -probably very deficient." - - -M. N. TO MR. DANE. - -"I am going to finish up about _my_ business now, and then I shall not -ever mention the subject again. But I did want to talk with somebody -about it, having so little reliance on my own judgment. And your letter -came just then, and so I wrote. I have never mentioned it to another -soul. Confucius is a great deal better friend to me than you ever -were or ever will be, but somehow I could not speak to him about it. I -don't want to _speak_ to any one. Besides I was afraid he would take up -against Mr. Hunt. - -"I have looked into my papers, but I cannot make much out of them.... -I never thought the first thing about it till I saw in the 'S.' what -I told you before--and I hardly thought of it then; but several weeks -after, when I wanted money, and my account for this year was less than -I expected, I hunted up the old 'S.' to see if I had read it right, and -then I wrote to Mr. Hunt without thought of there being anything wrong, -but asking him how it was. I supposed there was some _modus operandi_, -... and wanted to know what. It was nearly three weeks before he wrote -again, and then came a pleasant letter; but all he said about mine -was--[then follows an account of the correspondence.] - -"Now I must confess I feel next door to being insulted. I hate to use -the word, but there it is. ---- is as innocent and as good as an angel, -and does not in the least know what she is writing about. But all that -Mr. Hunt ever said to me on the subject, or I to him, did not occupy -five minutes, and he never spoke but once. That was years ago. It must -have been before the second contract was made. He said that owing to -the fluctuations of the market, the uncertainties arising from the -war, or something of that sort, they were going to give their authors -a fixed sum--fifteen cents per volume--instead of a percentage. It was -at a time when prices (of books) were changing from one dollar and a -quarter to two dollars, but I don't know exactly when. I assented of -course; I neither knew nor cared anything about it. I had no interest -in it. And that is all that has ever passed between us. Even now I have -not the least fault to find if I am on the same footing as others. -But why does he not say so? Do you think I am entirely unreasonable -in being dissatisfied? I wish you would tell me if you think so, for -it is like death almost to think it possible that Mr. Hunt should be -in the wrong. I have had the most implicit confidence in him. I like -him so much that I hate to hear a word said against the 'Adriatic,' or -anything that he is concerned in. I would have been delighted to write -for him for nothing if he had needed the money, and asked me.... Mr. -Hunt's last letter to me by ---- was January 18. I did not reply to it, -and so the matter stands. I shall never say or do anything more about -it. You cannot conceive how distasteful it is to me. Nothing in all my -life--literary--ever touched me so nearly. If I had lost every speck -of money that I had--twice over--it would not have so disheartened me. -Confidence must be entire, or it is nothing. Do not you ever speak to -any one of this.... I shall never mention it. A dead friendship is as -sacred as a dead friend. - -[But if your dead friend will not rest quietly in his grave, but -persists in stalking up and down the earth, scaring the timid, -oppressing the weak, and boasting all the time his own beneficence, you -may presently learn with Browning, that even - - "Serene deadness - Tries a man's temper."] - -"Now I hope I have not overwearied you with my tiresome letter. You -need not be afraid of a repetition of it. In fact, there is nothing -more to say,--which you will perhaps think the strongest security of -all. I hope that you are good,--at least that you are content with -nothing less than good,--which is the highest that any of us can go, I -fancy. I think you had better burn this letter too. It will be safest." - - -MR. DANE TO M. N., FEBRUARY 4. - -"Let us try your case by admitted principles. Inasmuch as you put -yourself into Mr. Hunt's hands to do what was right, he was bound to -pay you as much as others receive upon whose winnings the same profits -are made. This is Law, Gospel, & Co. If he did more, it would be -generosity; if less, meanness or worse. - -"He agreed for ten per cent. on the 'City Lights,' and pays you fifteen -cents per copy, which is exactly right if it retailed at one dollar -fifty cents; and he pays you the same on the rest, I understand you. - -"Whether he was reasonable in asking you to assent to the fifteen cents -per copy depends on his sales. If they were very small, he would make -less than if large. I suppose you own the copyright, but he owns the -stereotype plates, which cost the same whether many or few copies are -printed. If when paper, and so forth, increased in value, he increased -the price _pro rata_, and the sales continued the same, he made a -larger profit, and should pay you more; that is, your percentage -should continue as large. Now, if he sends you any proper accounts of -sales, they will tell the story as to the number of copies sold, but -not whether they cost fifty or a hundred per cent. more than formerly. -Jackson or any book-publisher would know as to that. - -"It would seem that you have received the minimum price, according -to Jackson and the Segregationalissuemost, and my own notions. Your -books are well printed on tinted paper, and your _notions_ may have -abridged the profits. I mean you may have required expensive editions, -more so than was profitable; but I think not. Will you just show me -your contracts and accounts of sales.... I am bound professionally to -secresy, and my habits are fixed, so that I tell nobody other people's -affairs. - -"It is due to Mr. Hunt that you investigate the matter to some -conclusion.... Mr. Hunt mistook your position. Your ready assent to -his proposition and your confidence in him, which rendered any sharp -bargaining unnecessary on your part, was interpreted as inability to -comprehend matters of business; and so they said you understood it -once, and will again when you are where you can be talked to. You gave -no heed to what was said, and it is a waste of ink to write it all out! - -"But you and I know better. Your mind is logical, and your simplicity -as to business a sham." - - -M. N. TO MR. DANE. - -"Thank you for your letter.... - -"Second, I don't know whether the sales were large or small. Enormous I -should say, considering the quality of what was sold; but I don't know -what would be considered large as compared with other books. I remember -that the 'New Zealander,' a good while ago, said that for any book not -a novel five thousand was a success; and I think all mine, or nearly -all, have come up to that, and some must have gone beyond it. - -"Third, I do not know who owns the copyright or the stereotype plates. -I never heard anything about either. - -"Fourth, I am perfectly willing to push the matter to any agreeable -conclusion; but suppose I inquire around among the publishers, and find -that I have been underpaid, what do I gain? No money, for that is all -past and gone. Will it give me back Mr. Hunt? Does that strike you as -sentimental? It does me. Nevertheless, that is what it means. - -"Next, it is very cool in you, if the mercury _is_ below zero,--when -you have always been telling that a woman has no logic, and that _I_ -have no logic, and other similar endearments,--to turn around now and -quietly speak of my logical mind as if you had been preaching it up -all your life. _I_ knew it, but it is a good deal to have you even -indirectly confess it. As for business, if I chose to turn my attention -to it, I have no doubt I could master all its details, just as I could -in cooking. But if you have a cook or a publisher for the express -purpose of doing the business for you, what is the use of perplexing -yourself about it? - -"I am purposing to go to Athens next Saturday. I will gather up my -papers and take them to you, if you will burden yourself with them, but -it is a thankless task.... But I really do not want to talk about it. - -"I had yesterday a hearty sort of letter from Mr. Hunt. He says that an -unusual interest ever since the day of publication of 'The Rights of -Men' was evident on all hands; that elaborate newspaper notices have -followed the book in profuse showers; and though business is singularly -slow this season, he thinks it will have a good sale. He also says, -'When you come again, remember if there are any business matters to be -set right, we are to do it then,' and 'When the juvenile book is ready, -pray send it, for it takes some time to have illustrations made, and we -are even now preparing for autumn.' - -"Now that does not read like a man who is conscious of anything -blameworthy. It would be impossible he should go on talking as -pleasantly, and cheerily, and carelessly as if nothing had happened, if -anything _had_ happened. Doesn't it look so to you? And why should it -be? Brummell and Hunt are famous for their generosity and liberality, -and what motive could they have in changing their course for me? It -seems to me like an ugly dream. I wish I never had thought of it at -all. They could not have been any worse off, and I might have been -better." - - -MR. DANE TO M. N. - -"You throw yourself unreservedly into the arms of your publishers. -Few of us can safely be trusted so far. Mr. Hunt has apparently given -you the minimum share, but I do not know even that, and you don't -without inquiry.... What I should do is this,--satisfy myself that -he is probably keeping too large a share, then say to him frankly, -in what form you please, that it seems so, and ask him to explain. -As a business matter, it is proper. As between friends, it is due to -friendship. What right have you to listen to the suggestions of the -adversary, and give your friend no hearing? That you don't know much of -your affairs is evident, because you don't know who owns the copyright -or the stereotype plates. I do happen to know, for I asked Hunt once if -you retained the copyrights, and he said you did. The accounts which he -should render you will show exactly the sales. Of course Mr. H. will -answer verbally your letter when you meet. Why not tell him frankly -just as you tell me? Don't hesitate to let me do whatever you wish -done, only I don't want to be officious." - - -[Illustration] - - - - -[Illustration] - -IV. - -DECLARATION OF WAR. - - -MR. Dane, at my desire, and without mentioning any names, went to -several publishers in Athens, and was told by all whom he saw that ten -per cent. on the retail price was the author's customary share of the -profits. He was referred to Mr. Campton, of the firm of Murray & Elder, -as being the person who knew more about these things than any man in -Athens. Mr. C. said the same thing. I immediately wrote to Mr. Hunt, -February 11:-- - - -"In reply to the suggestion in your last letter, that I should send my -juvenile book, I am forced to say what I never thought to say, that I -cannot see how it will be for my interest that you should publish any -more of my books. Unhappily, it is not necessary that I should give any -explanation, since the reason, if it do not exist to your own knowledge -and by your own arrangement, does not exist at all." - - -M. N. TO MR. DANE. - -"This, you see, is a little different from what I spoke of, but what -is the use of keeping up appearances? If he has done what he seems to -have done, there is no possible way of getting over it, and I may as -well meet it face to face at once. If he takes no notice of this note, -or if he asks an explanation, I shall refer him to you, and you may -do whatever you think best. If he thinks this an unfriendly course, I -think it is for him to show that any other was possible. Certainly, I -tried hard enough to keep the matter between ourselves alone. Sometimes -I feel indignant, but somehow the uppermost feeling is a sense of loss. -There weighs upon me a burden, as if some great calamity had befallen. -Unless he may yet show something that has hitherto not appeared, giving -a new light." - - -M. N. TO MR. DANE, FEBRUARY 15. - -"Mr. Hunt shows an indifference quite in harmony with the theory -that his friendship for me is founded on his business relations. In -fact, it seems that business relations and friendly relations are -alike unimportant to him, for he has taken no notice whatever of my -letter. Of course, I shall not be careful to preserve what he values -so lightly; yet I would rather err on the side of caution than of -recklessness. It is possible my letter may have been missent, or that -he is out of town. Of course, when our breach becomes public, it can -never be healed; and I therefore do not wish it to pass beyond us till -there is no possibility of doubt. I therefore will write another note, -and inclose it in this letter. If you see no objection, I should like -to have you mail it to him in Athens. Then I will wait one week more. -The week after, that is, the week commencing February 23, I shall wish -you to call upon Mr. Hunt and get all the money, etc., of mine which he -holds." - - -MR. DANE TO M. N. - -"I am grieved and sorry with you at this thing. I thought Mr. Hunt -would hasten, at the suggestion of any real dissatisfaction, to satisfy -you.... Yours, inclosing a note to him, just came. I know that suspense -to you is very trying, and I want you to do all that is possible to -keep the trouble where it is; and I would therefore have you send him -the note which you inclose, before you suggest me or any one else as a -disjunctive conjunction...." - - -The note to Mr. Hunt simply said that I had received no answer to my -last note; that, indeed, no answer was necessary, but I should be glad -to know he had received it; and that, as it was hardly probable two -successive letters should go wrong, if I did not hear from him, I -should assume that he had received both notes. - - -M. N. TO MR. DANE, FEBRUARY 19. - -"No letter has come.... There is no use in waiting. I do not understand -Mr. Hunt's course, nor do I care to understand it. - -"The more I think of it, the more I am inclined _not_ to have you do -anything about the past. Let the dead bury their dead. It will be only -a disagreeable personal affair, whose sole satisfaction will be the -money. It will in effect be arguing and claiming a greater value than -he has set upon me. For my part, I would a great deal rather let it -all go. You just call and get the money that the account says is due. -Make as much of a settlement as can be settled; and if he chooses to -let everything remain as it is, I choose it also. If he can afford to -dispense with an explanation, so can I." - - -I had given to Mr. Dane an order upon Mr. Hunt for what money of mine -he had in his possession. - -Mr. Dane called for the money on the 24th of February, and on the -same day,--but whether before or after Mr. Dane's call, I can only -infer,--Mr. Hunt wrote to me:-- - - -"DEAR M. N.:-- - -"On my return home on Saturday, I found your note without date, -informing me that you had received no reply to your 'note of last -Tuesday.' I have not replied to your note of February 11th, because I -could not understand the purport of it, and hoped you might be in town -soon to explain it. - -"In the last letter I received from you, some days before the note -referred to above, written in the old friendly spirit and faith, -you tell me you have a juvenile book nearly ready, and ask if it -shall be sent for publication. I reply, please send it at once; and -then comes your note of the 11th inst., with this passage in it: 'I -cannot see how it will be for my interest that you should publish any -more of my books. Unhappily, it is not necessary that I should give -any explanation, since the reason, if it do not exist to your own -knowledge, and by your own arrangement, does not exist at all.' Now -there must have been something in my note to you (to which this note of -February 11th is a reply) which has offended you; else why this sudden -change from the sentiments in your long and friendly letter to those -of the unhappy note of February 11th? Now, pray let us understand each -other; and in all kindness, I ask you to tell me the ground of your -sudden dissatisfaction. - - "Very sincerely yours, - "R. S. HUNT." - - -Mr. Hunt's ignorance in face of my letters, his absolute inability to -conjecture in what direction the trouble lay, his misgiving that some -unremembered sentence in his letter had offended me, seemed to me not a -little remarkable. I wrote again. - - -M. N. TO MR. HUNT. - -"MY DEAR MR. HUNT:-- - -"It is an unpleasant story to tell, but since you desire it I will -repeat it. - -"You recollect the letter I wrote you some time last December, and -the question I asked you in it. The 'long and friendly letter,' -of which you speak, told you of my waiting, and of my writing to -Mr. Jackson. Mr. Jackson's letter confirmed the statement of the -Segregationalissuemost. He said, 'There is a custom of the trade -which obtains for the first venture of an author unknown to fame, to -receive ten per cent. on the retail price of the books after the first -thousand copies are sold.... As to the price per volume of M. N.'s -works, I should think twenty to twenty-five cents per volume would be -the fair copyright. Sometimes a moderate copyright makes larger sales -by enabling the publishers to give larger discounts to the trade,' -etc., etc. I still supposed there was some good reason for my receiving -a lower rate than any he mentioned, and in my long letter I tried to -make clear to you the point which I wished settled. In your reply, -you said, by E----, 'Do you wonder, matters having been many times -explained, that he thought they must sooner or later explain themselves -through your memory? _We_ forget how, in a retired life, things work -in the mind,' etc., etc. My memory is not wont to play me false; and -so far from matters having been many times explained, they have not -been explained at all. I have never so much as sought any explanation -till now. Never but once has the subject been referred to between us. -That was years ago, soon after the publication of 'City Lights,' and -while prices were as yet unfixed. You then said, of your own accord, -that owing to fluctuation of prices and general uncertainties, you -were making arrangements with your authors to pay them fifteen cents -a volume instead of a percentage. To this I readily assented. All -that you said did not take five minutes, and all that I said did not -amount to five words. I had a great deal more faith in your honorable -intentions toward me than I had in my literary power to serve you. I -had far more anxiety lest I should make you lose money, than I had lest -you should make me lose it. - -"I decided that if I were indeed brooding in a retired life over a -trifle, it was time to refer the matter to some one whose life was -not retired, and who was better able than I to judge. I gave the -whole matter to Hon. Mr. Dane. He made inquiries among the publishers, -without using your name, or in any way bringing you in question; and -as the result of his investigations, he reports ten per cent. on the -retail price as the very lowest paid to the author. One publisher told -him that they considered a book that was not worth to its author ten -per cent., was not worth publishing. - -"How, then, could I avoid the conclusion that you have been paying -me all these years from one fourth to one third less than the lowest -market price? For, notwithstanding the fixed sum was to avoid a change, -change has not been avoided. When a book was published whose retail -price was one dollar and fifty cents, the author's part went down to -ten cents. That is, the author's price was fixed against a rise, but -flexible toward a fall. - -"Is not this enough to explain my 'change of sentiment' and my 'sudden -dissatisfaction?' - -"Mr. Hunt, I cannot talk of this. I have suffered a loss that money -cannot measure, nor words express. The writing of this letter is the -most painful work my pen has ever done. My faith in you was perfect, -and my friendship boundless, and it has all come to this. - -"I was thoroughly identified with you. I counted your prosperity mine. -Not a word of praise or censure was passed upon you that I did not -feel. Had your needs demanded it, I would gladly have offered twice, -and thrice, and four times any reduction, and have reckoned it only -pleasure. - -"If I have failed to make anything clear, you can refer to Mr. Dane. No -one but himself knows anything about it; but how can it be kept longer? -And yet how can it be told?" - - -When Mr. Hunt rendered my account, and paid my money to Mr. Dane, I -found that they had allowed ten per cent. on the new book, "Rights of -Men." - -Mr. Hunt did not reply to my letter, but sought an interview with Mr. -Dane, of which the latter gives the following account:-- - - - "ATHENS, _March_ 2d, 1768. - -"I have had a long talk with Mr. Hunt; longer than I can write. He -asked me at first what you wished; said he had a long letter from you, -referring him to me, etc. I told him that it seemed to you, as it did -to me, strange that, while almost any author was receiving ten per -cent. on sales, you were allowed much less, and that was what had not -been explained. He expressed all through the greatest regard for you, -and surprise that you should have so little confidence in him. I told -him I should be very glad to be able to assure you that he had done -everything toward you that his confidential relations required, and -that I felt sure it was best, in every business point of view, that he -should continue your publisher. - -"He said your books are published more expensively than most books; -that a great deal has been always expended for advertising; that it -costs, for instance, $1,000 for one page of the 'Adriatic,' ---- copies -being printed; that they employ one man at a yearly salary of ---- -dollars to attend to having their books properly noticed in the papers; -that all the machinery for a large sale is expensive; that they make -forty per cent. discount to the trade--more on large orders; that Mr. -Somebody makes estimates of the actual cost of books published, and -submits them to him, and did so with yours, and so a fair price was -fixed; that you have made more out of the books than the publishers, -and that they could not and cannot afford to pay more than what has -been allowed; and upon my suggestion that more had been allowed on -'The Rights of Men,' he said that was a thin book, and took but little -paper, and so cost less. He says others will pay you much more for a -single work in order to get you, but thinks the style, etc., would not -be satisfactory, etc. In short, Mr. H. claims that in all respects, -they have done their best as publishers and friends for your reputation -and pecuniary interests in the long run. - -"Mr. H. said he was sorry you did not call as he suggested, and talk -about the matter; that he should never cease to be your friend--'I wish -you would tell her so;' that in your letter you had almost charged -him with dishonesty, which certainly you could not mean, etc. Upon -my inquiry, he said they made less on the books at the present high -prices, but he gave me no special estimates. He said he had arranged -with other authors at a specified price per copy, but did not tell me -what price. As the interview was at his request, I had no demands to -make, and could do little but hear him. I told him I should write you -to-day, placing the matter before you as he presented it; that I could -not, without inquiry, say to you that I was or was not satisfied that -all was right, but should be very glad to see your pleasant relations -continue; and so it ended." - - -This explanation was not satisfactory. If my books were published more -expensively than most books, Mr. Hunt should have told me before. -When the first one was to be published, he asked what style I should -like, and suggested that of the "City Curate." I preferred "Sir -Thomas Browne." He made no objection, nor even hinted that it was -more expensive than the other. He wrote to me, "It will be a beauty, -and look like 'Sir Thomas Browne,' in its red waistcoat." And again: -"I am glad you like the costume into which we put your first-born." -The following books were simply published in uniform style with the -first, and nothing was ever said about it between us. As to the cost of -advertising, why should it cost him more to advertise than it did other -publishers, or more to advertise me than other writers? What, again, -had I to do with the cost of the machinery for large sales, or with the -rate of discount, unless they were gotten up and arranged solely or -chiefly on my account? In that case I must indeed have been disastrous -to my publishers, for I cannot think my sales have been exceptionably -large. The reason alleged for the increased price allowed on "Rights of -Men," seemed trivial. True, it was but a thin book, and took but little -paper, and so cost less. But it was not so thin a book as "Holidays," -on which they allowed me but ten cents, while on "Rights of Men," -accounted for after I had begun to look into the matter, they allowed -fifteen cents. Yet both books were sold at the same retail price,--one -dollar and fifty cents. "Rights of Men" was one hundred and forty-four -pages thinner than "Winter Work," one hundred and twenty-three pages -thinner than "Cotton-picking," ninety-eight pages thinner than "Old -Miasmas." Those books were sold at a retail price of two dollars, while -this was one dollar and a half. On those books they allowed me seven -and a half per cent., while on this they allowed me ten per cent. - -But "Old Miasmas" is one hundred and fifty-one pages thinner than "City -Lights;" "Cotton-picking" is one hundred and twenty-six pages thinner -than "City Lights." All three of the books are sold at the same retail -price,--two dollars. And on all three I was allowed but seven and a -half per cent. That is, while all goes smoothly, a thinness of one -hundred and fifty-one pages is of no account. It neither makes the -price of a book less to the buyer, nor the pay of a book greater to -the author. But when ripples begin to rise, a thinness of ninety-eight -pages makes the buyer's price less by fifty cents, and the author's pay -greater by one-fourth. Thinness, thou art a jewel! - -One thing more: as these books are published in uniform style, if -they are published more expensively than most books, they must have -been so published in the beginning. Therefore the relative pay of the -author should then have been less. But the first contract is made out -according to the usual custom, at ten per cent. on the retail price. -When the author was unknown and the sale uncertain, he received ten per -cent. After he became known, and the risk, one would suppose, must have -been diminished, he went down to six and two-thirds per cent. Great is -the mystery of publishing! - -Thinking it possible that smallness of sales might have something to do -with it, I wrote to Mr. Dane:-- - - -"I can't tell a lie, pa. I wish I was satisfied, but I am not. If Mr. -Hunt had said this to me in the first place, I dare say I should have -been. The best light is this: that I asked him a question to which, for -three months, he made no reply. You asked it, and he answered at once. -This, however, is a slight matter. I can talk about it, and scold him -for it, and, without ever forgiving him, live on in perfect good-humor. -It is a surface matter, and if this is all it is nothing. - -"But I cannot thoroughly feel that this is all, and I cannot be the -same without feeling so. Mr. Jackson knew the style of the book, so did -Mr. Campton, and they knew the expenses of printing; and if Mr. Hunt -had so much regard for me as he thinks he had, why did he let me go on -making myself wretched for weeks, when an hour's time would have set -everything at rest? He who really regards me, will regard my whims as -well as my wants. And this was not a whim, either; it was a sensible -and natural question. Mr. Hunt is mistaken in supposing I did not mean -what I seemed to mean. I did mean just that. If I had meant less, I -should have felt less. I am not a simpleton to break my heart over a -difference of opinion.... - -"I do not think it necessary to apply to any others than Marsh & -Merriman, and Mr. Campton. If they think everything is as it should be, -then be it resolved that it is. Enough testimony is as good as a feast. -Why should others pay me more for a single work in order to get me? Can -they afford to pay more than he? But there is no good in talking upon -uncertainties. When we have found out any actual data, we can cipher on -interminably. I trust you are pleased with the prospect. I do not think -it is of any use to stop here, because inwardly I am no more content -than I was when I began--not so much, in fact. I am at one of those -places where it is easier to go forward than backward. Indeed, from -this point it is impossible to go back to where I was when I started. - -"Having slept over it, it occurs to me to say that I think you better -see Mr. Campton and perhaps no one else.... I am afraid it will somehow -get out." - - -Mr. Dane took my accounts to Mr. Campton and laid the facts before him, -making thus the matter personal for the first time. He reported:-- - - -"I have had a long talk with Mr. Campton, and stated to him all -that Mr. Hunt said as reasons for his course, as well as what the -sales had been, etc. He says your books are not within his--Murray -& Elder's--usual line of publication, but he knows all about them. -He says nobody would ask you to receive less than ten per cent, on -the retail price, and any publisher in Athens will give you more for -anything you may offer, and that now you ought to receive for all past -sales at that rate on all the books, and that you would be entitled to -that even on a book where only two thousand copies sold. - -"Mr. Campton measured and counted the pages, etc., in your books, and -figured the cost and all the items. At outside present prices it costs -to compose and stereotype such a book, $1.25 a page, or $500 for 400 -pages. That is the whole outlay for the plates ready to print. After -that, the books cost, all told, say 52 cents per copy. - -"The publisher receives, including what he retails and gives away, an -average of $1.20 per copy on the whole editions. - -"Such books of 400 pages cost each copy:-- - - Paper and press-work, .24 - Binding, .23 - Stereotype plates, $500, - 10,000 copies, each, .05 - ---- - .52 - - Retail price, $2.00 - 40 per cent. off, .80 - ---- - $1.20 - .52 - ---- - .68 - - Of which the publisher has .53 - The author .15 - -'Old Miasmas' has only 310 pages, and so costs less by 25 per cent. -Mr. C. says the books can be made at 15 per cent. less than these -estimates, but he wanted to keep within bounds.... The advertising, -etc., are part of the usual machinery of all publishers. He says B. & -H., so far from making unusual discounts to the trade, have recently -published a list prescribing so little discounts that 'the trade' are -offended." - - -I also directed Mr. Dane to write to some of the Corinthian publishers -to ascertain their custom. He wrote to Pearville & Co., and received -the following reply on March 20:-- - - -"DEAR SIR,--In reply to your favor of 18th, beg to say that, in the -absence of any agreement, we should pay to the author 10 per cent. on -the retail price for all copies sold. This on $2.00 would give the -author 20 cts.; and 1.50, 15 cts. per copy. - - "Very respectfully, B. PEARVILLE & CO." - - -My confidence in Mr. Hunt was lost, and I was too much disheartened to -do anything more except to close my connection with the firm, so far as -I could. I wrote to Mr. Dane:-- - - -"Do not _you_ be disturbed by this unhappy complication. If you do, I -shall be _désesperé_ indeed. There is nothing to be done between Mr. -Hunt and me. There is nothing between us worth preserving.... The case -has been presented to him. He is not inclined to do anything, and I -certainly cannot press him. Either he feels that he is right or that he -is wrong. If the former, any proceedings on my part will only bring on -active antagonism. If the latter, the consciousness of it is penalty -severe enough to atone for all. Moreover, so far as I am concerned, no -money could make amends for what it would cost me; and in fact, having -lost so much, I think I rather enjoy losing the money too.... I would -not see Mr. Hunt any more. Let it all go." - - -[Illustration] - - - - -[Illustration] - -V. - -SKIRMISHING. - - -MR. BRUMMELL had written me, some time before, a letter on some -business matter connected with his magazine, the "Buddhist," asking, I -think, for a contribution. Near the last of March I wrote to him saying -that I wished to have my editorial name removed from the covers of the -"Buddhist," not from any dissatisfaction with its management, but from -other causes; that if for any reason it might be awkward for him to do -it now, I would not press the matter, but wait his convenience. - -I had no quarrel with Mr. Brummell. My acquaintance with him was very -slight. I did not suppose he knew anything of my dealings with Mr. -Hunt, and I made no reference to them. - -A few days after, I chanced to see that my name, with those of the -other editors, had already, for the last two numbers, been removed from -the covers of the "Buddhist," and I wrote to Mr. Brummell again, saying -that, if I had discovered that fact sooner, I should not of course have -written as I did. - -He replied on the 31st of March:-- - -"I have been much away from my desk this month. During an absence -your letter--with an inclosure or two--came. Before I could reply I -was again called away, and, just returning, I receive your note of -yesterday. - -"I wrote to you in the first place because I thought you really took -an interest in the 'B.' as well as accepted its annual pecuniary -recognition of your association with it, and because, since the -completion of the first volume, you had contributed but very sparingly -to its pages,--had almost ceased even to send me good advice and better -criticism. - -"I did not consider that you had broken off relations with our house -_in toto_, just because you fancied another strong box more secure -than ours, or wished to try whether the _parvenu_ hawkers and peddlers -of books could make the future of your literary life more pleasant -and profitable than your past had proved by following the established -routine of regular publishing. I should have thought that I was doing -you an injustice had I allowed myself to fancy that, because you wanted -to try a promising experiment, you and ourselves were not to [be] -considered as 'on terms' any more. Was I wrong? - -"But, beyond this, I thought that if any difference of opinion were -to arise as to the proper earnings to be expected from, your books, -there could be no question as to the return made by the 'B.' for the -dozen or fifteen articles which you had contributed to it, and that as -you had sent but two papers to the volume of 1767 and none for that of -1768, there could be no _faux pas_ in asking you to supply something. -Again--was I wrong? - -"A word as to the matter of names. It was my intention to have no -editorial names on the new cover, as so much correspondence has been -inflicted on 'the trio,' and as so many subscriptions have been sent to -one or the other of them personally; but by some blunder at the office, -the names crept on twice before I could lay them quite. - -"Am I to understand that with the withdrawal of your name from the -cover of the 'B.' you desire that your relations with Maga shall cease, -and the allowance heretofore made in return for your name--and for your -contributions, which were originally expected to be monthly or when -desired--shall no longer be passed to your credit?" - - -M. N. TO MR. BRUMMELL. - -"Your letter of March 31 is before me. If you will be so good as to -refer to my letter to which yours is a reply, I think you will find a -declaration to the effect that my wish to leave the magazine was not -founded on any dissatisfaction connected with it. I certainly meant -to guard against the possibility of any such supposition on your part. -That I failed to do so, I must beg you to attribute to inability and -not to disinclination or indifference. - -"Nor did your previous letter give me the faintest shadow of offense. -I was never otherwise than gratified whenever you asked me to write. -When you say 'your contributions, which were originally expected to -be monthly or when desired,' do you mean to intimate that there was -an agreement between us to that effect? If so, permit me to say that -such an agreement never existed. Mr. Hunt came to me in Zoar with a -request for service and an offer of salary, which I felt obliged to -refuse. He then offered me $500 per year for the use of my name as one -of the editors and for such service as I chose to give the magazine. He -said they should be glad to have me write every month, but I should be -left absolutely free not to write at all. I thought the sum altogether -too great for what I should be able to do; and it was with the utmost -reluctance, and only after much urgency,--and because it was Mr. Hunt -who urged it,--that I consented to the arrangement. I made no promises, -but I determined in my own mind that I would send something every -month; and I satisfied my editorial conscience by carefully reading -every number as it came out, and noting its points, as you perhaps -have sometimes found to your sorrow, or at least fatigue. I did this -for a long time. Every gap in the earlier numbers is owing to a story -rejected or delayed by you, not to any failure on my part to send you -a story. When I found that a paper would lie two or three months in -your hands, I thought it was because you had so much better things to -print, and I considered that I was doing you a kindness by not sending -so frequently; and therefore, whenever you did ask me to write, I took -it as a compliment, and was always pleased. You cannot speak more -disparagingly than I think of my actual services on the 'Buddhist,' -but I could wish that your opinion had found an earlier expression. -Permit me distinctly to say that, until the reception of your last -letter, my relations towards you in connection with the magazine were -always agreeable; while my original scruples regarding the money value -of such an editorial arrangement were long ago set at rest in the most -conclusive manner by other publishers. - -"I do wish you to understand that I desire my relations with the -magazine shall cease at the earliest possible moment. - -"That part of your letter which refers to my reasons for breaking my -connection with your house, it is impossible for me to characterize, -and equally impossible for me to reply to." - - -MR. BRUMMELL TO M. N., APRIL 4. - -"I have your letter of the 1st instant, and I thank you for it. - -"May I correct the slight misunderstanding of my position which I fancy -I detect in your reply, and for which I am doubtless responsible by -reason of some ineffectiveness in my way of 'putting things.' - -"My notion was, that if your relation with the 'B.' had been agreeable, -and your work satisfactorily paid, I should be sorry to lose you as -helper and adviser, because you felt that you could publish elsewhere -and otherwise to better advantage. Pray consider that you and I have -only been in communication in regard to this magazine; of the precise -manner and nature of your dealing with our senior partner in other -matters, I, of course, can know nothing. I can only receive the results. - -"I had understood, on taking up the plan prepared for the 'B.,' that -its ostensible editors were to be _regular_ contributors,--supplying -for its pages articles whenever wanted, even as often as monthly. - -"If I misapprehended the agreement with yourself, you must excuse -me, and acquit me of intentionally overstraining it. I did use your -articles slowly, for the reason, on the one hand, that I seldom had -by me more than one at a time, and could not exactly count upon the -receipt of another; and, on the other hand, because I knew you to be -busy on other things, and hesitated to take from you time which you -might prefer to use differently, thinking that when you were moved to -write, you would do so. - -"Believe me, your letters of suggestion were always welcome, and -would still be so. If anything in my last note--which was somewhat -hurried--seemed to be cast in the form of a reflection upon you, I hope -that you will consider that I did not so intend it. - -"I have neither the right nor the desire to impugn your reasons for -seeking another channel of communicating with the public than such -as B. and H. have been able to afford, and I do not think I implied -anything to the contrary. It is for you to make the best market of -your writings that you can; and although I may, as well as any other -publisher, have my own view of what you should do, and what should -be done for you, I am most far from wishing you to accept my view -unconvinced, and I do not even offer it therefore. - -"I honestly and earnestly wish you as thorough success as you can -desire; and I hope that after you have put other publishers to the -_real test_,--not of telling you what their brethren ought to do, but -of themselves doing what they say should be done,--you will find as -complete satisfaction from the general average of your next _five -or six_ years, as I am inclined to think you might derive from a -consideration of a similar period just ending. - - "Sincerely yours, - "H. M. BRUMMELL." - - -Solomon, in the enthusiasm of his love for his little sister, conjures -up quaint fancies to embody his ardent longings to lavish gifts upon -her. "If she be a wall, we will build upon her a palace of silver; -and if she be a door, we will inclose her with boards of cedar." So, -if this correspondence with Mr. Brummell were the Sacred Scriptures, -one would express his admiration by writing a commentary upon it. His -especial appreciation would be given to the childlike innocence with -which Mr. Brummell darts out of his path in pursuit of chimerical -beetles, while admonishing _me_ to remember that we are concerned with -but a single bug. Nor would he refuse the meed of one melodious tear -to the _naïveté_ with which this complete letter-writer, in his first -epistle, lays bare the mercenary motives of his correspondent, and, in -the second, calmly affirms, as a corollary to his propositions, that -he knows nothing about the matter. We are all aware that men do speak -unadvisedly with their lips, but the unconscious sweetness of Mr. -Brummell's admission is the peculiar gift of Heaven to Mr. Brummell. -The learned commentator might not be able to throw any light upon -the points which are obscure to Mr. Brummell; nor can the impartial -historian furnish any clew to the mystery of the "strong box," the -"promising experiment," and the "parvenu hawkers and peddlers," so -significantly mentioned. The present writer has no information on these -points, and is inclined to believe that Mr. Brummell evolved them, as -the German philosopher did the camel, from his moral consciousness. - -But the question is not of sacred but profane literature, and we will -not darken counsel by words without knowledge. - -Until about the middle of March, this matter had not been mentioned to -any one except Mr. Dane. Seeing the sea-change into something rich and -strange, to which it was liable at the hands of the house of Brummell -& Hunt, I thought it might be well to give my own version of it; and -I spoke of it to some of those who were nearest me, and learned, as -reported in a letter of April 18, to Mr. Dane: "A. was not much taken -aback by the aspect of my affairs,--thinks they have only done by me -as by others; if one is 'up' to such things, he makes his bargains; if -he leaves it to them, he gets theirs, such as they are. A. has done -just as I did, never said anything about it, and they pay what they -choose. What they choose is twelve and a half cents on a dollar and a -half book, and ten cents on a dollar and a quarter book. He says he has -made some inquiries, and supposes he could get more elsewhere, but 'O, -he is rich!' B. has ten per cent. written contract. ---- says D. has -the same. E., of his own accord, told a friend of mine that he did not -think B. & H. were good publishers for authors, as they advertised so -little, and had no agencies for pushing sales. I don't agree with that, -for I would much rather a book would travel on its own merits. In fact, -I have always especially rejoiced in that attribute of B. & H. A. says -K. is shrewd and he has no doubt _he_ is well paid. But what is the use -of talking about it any more?" - - -MR. DANE TO M. N. - -"To us mere mortals it seems as if you authors were--as the countryman -told Arthur Gilman his lecture was--'plaguey kinder shaller.' That -... you should surrender yourself at discretion to some publisher is -natural enough, but that A. should be systematically humbugged out -of his dollars, and have the credit which I--and I presume mankind -generally--gave him for exacting so much for his copyright as to make -the price of his epistles and things extortionate, is, as the man -said of his wife's death, ridic'lous. There is nothing in the last -'Adriatic' but ----'s poem. Tell him that the world thinks he imposes -on us by making us pay a dollar and a half for his very thin books. We -suppose he gets their weight in gold per copyright." - - -[Illustration] - - - - -[Illustration] - -VI. - -A TRUCE. - - -THEN for a time, other events absorbed me, and the whole matter faded -out of sight and thought. - -Afterward, to save the trouble of repeated explanations, I determined -to arrange the tragedy in compact shape, and let such of my friends as -cared to know, learn it from the "original documents." Accordingly on -the 27th or 28th of May, I wrote to Mr. Hunt:-- - - -"Will you be so good as to permit me to take copies of those letters -that I have sent you which resulted in breaking the connection between -us? I have not my papers by me, and cannot give you the exact dates -of the letters I want, but the first was sent on or about the last of -December, the next, etc., etc., etc. If you desire it, I will return -the letters to you, or if you prefer that they should not go out of -your hands, and will say when and where I can see them, I shall be -happy to suit your convenience." - - -Mr. Hunt did not reply to this letter directly, but sought an interview -with Mr. Dane. - - -MR. DANE TO M. N. - -"Mr. Hunt has been at my office an hour, talking of you, etc. He at -first said you had written him for copies of your letters; that he -is taking account of stock and could not possibly have them copied -at present, and wished, if I were writing you, that I would say so. -I said, why not inclose the letters to M. N., and ask her to return -them if you want them. He said he would. He seems worried about the -matter, and said, 'If I only could know what M. N. wants, I would do -anything to satisfy her.' I said, 'I have done all I could to prevent a -final breach between you. From all I could learn, I thought M. N. had -not received what she was entitled to. Everybody to whom we referred -expressed this opinion. Nobody suggested that less than ten per cent. -was right, and you allow her six and two thirds, and seven and one -half. Her conclusion was inevitable, that you had not done right, etc.' -He replied with various abstractions as to how authors forgot the -various expenses, etc. - -"I told him you felt hurt that he did not notice your letters asking -explanation. He said he wrote you to come and see him, and he would -have gone to you had you suggested it. I said what I should have done, -was to see you and explain the matter, and not allow it to rest so for -weeks, as if it were a matter of indifference, etc. Finally I told him -what I advised you, to wait for their next account, and see whether -they would not, now that high prices have to some extent passed by, -allow a further percentage; and that I suggested to you to write them, -or allow me to, saying that it was hoped they might make their future -accounts more satisfactory. He made no reply. I mentioned that you -really felt that the 'Adriatic' was your proper avenue to the public, -and had a paper now that you hardly knew what to do with. He said, -'All she has to do is to send it along.' Well, all this talk came to -nothing. The only fact that at all modifies my views is, that A., B., -and the rest, seem to be treated the same, and that is a surprise to -me, and takes off in a measure the c---- of taking advantage of female -weakness. Ahem!" - - -M. N. TO MR. DANE, JUNE 1. - -"Your letter came Saturday; but _my_ letters have not yet appeared from -Mr. Hunt. His talk to you looks like subterfuge. I never suggested his -getting the letters copied, but send them to me and I would return -them, or tell me where and when I should see them, and I would wait his -convenience. Again, what have I to do with the expenses of publishers? -I am not complaining that he pays small per cent., but that he, in the -first place, pays less than other publishers, and secondly, pays me -less than he pays other authors, and is thereby guilty of a breach of -faith." - - -On the same day, May 29, the firm of Brummell & Hunt addressed a letter -to Mr. Dane, saying,-- - -"We have occasion to print several volumes of M. N.'s writings, which -under ordinary circumstances we should proceed to do at once. Before -doing so, however, in the present posture of affairs, we have an offer -to make to M. N. The dissatisfaction which she feels, and is constantly -expressing toward us as her publishers, would probably lead her to -prefer that her books should be in other hands. We are willing to -sell the stereotyped plates and manufactured stock of her books, at a -reasonable price, to any publisher with whom she may choose to arrange -for their future publication. - -"An early answer would be acceptable, as in the event of our retaining -the books, we wish to proceed with the manufacture." - - -MR. DANE TO M. N., JUNE 1, 1768. - -"The breezes from B. & H. are very fluctuating. The same day in which -Mr. H. came and had the long talk which I reported to you, the firm -seem to have written the inclosed, which I did not get till this -morning. - -"If you don't do anything for a month nothing in particular will -happen. Still, you want the books in the market, and perhaps somebody -will take them off B. & H.'s hands and do as well.... - -"I am somewhat inclined to say to them that we will take all the -stereotype plates, and all the books on hand of them, at the appraisal -of fair men. And the same men shall adjust all claims for the past -copyrights. - -"I am surprised at this blunt note, after Mr. H.'s amiable -conversation. If we are going to have a settlement, let us open the -past and make them refer the whole thing; let them give up everything -and adjust the balance as fair men shall say is right." .... - - -But the note of the firm did not suggest any settlement of past claims; -and therefore presented but a lame and impotent conclusion to the -matter. What I wanted was indemnity for the past, not security for -the future. If a man cheats me once, says the proverb, it is a shame -to him. If he cheats me twice it is a shame to me. The information -that I was feeling and constantly expressing dissatisfaction might -perhaps be classified among the "locals" as "startling if true." What -I felt must have been entirely a matter of inference, as it was long -since I had expressed either satisfaction or dissatisfaction; I had -been concerned in other matters. My note to Mr. Hunt contained no -emotional expressions whatever. But as I had had my full share of -sentimentalizing, it was no more than fair that Messrs. B. & H. should -have their turn at it. - -Their course seemed to me mere child's play, and not the play of good -children either; which must serve as excuse for the following reply -sent to Mr. Dane:-- - - -"Your letter came this morning. Messrs. Brummell & Hunt have improved -even on Mr. Brummell. His felicitous, original idea was only that I -was impelled by a desire to have recourse to the 'parvenu hawkers -and peddlers of books.' The combined wisdom of the firm seems to -point to my becoming a parvenu hawker and peddler myself. Their fine -instinct has doubtless divined my long-cherished dream of setting up -a book-stall beside the orange-woman in the neighboring corner of the -Common.[6] Pray present my compliments to Messrs. Brummell & Hunt, and -say to them with many thanks, that as this new career could hardly be -said to open brilliantly with an array of obsolete and obsolescent -volumes, I do not propose to enter upon it until some new work -appears, when I shall crave their blessing not their books. - -"Do not be at the trouble of transmitting this message. Send the letter -down bodily, and let it whistle itself." - - -On Monday, the 1st of June, one of my friends, Rev. Mr. Hayes, having -gone to Mr. Hunt with the olive-branch in his hand, but without my -knowledge, and been completely won over by his amiable bearing, came -to me, and begged me, if only out of regard to himself, to have an -interview with Mr. Hunt. I had been familiar for several years with Mr. -Hunt's gifts and graces, and knew that, though they were charming for -social intercourse, they were not easily reducible to two and a half, -still less to three and one-third per cent. But, as Mr. Hayes begged me -by his friendship; as, regarding Mr. Hunt, everything which I had cared -to save was lost, and as, I wanted my letters, which, though promised, -did not come, I consented, so far as to give Mr. Hayes permission -to say to Mr. Hunt that if he chose to come to my house to bring my -letters, I would be at home on Thursday, the 4th of June. - - -M. N. TO MR. DANE. - -"Mr. Hunt is coming down on Thursday to bring me my letters. I think it -a foolish and useless, as it is a most disagreeable thing; foolish, -simply because useless; but I have agreed to it so far as to say that -I should be at home. The talk will amount to nothing because I cannot -talk. He will have it all his own way, because it is a subject on which -he is informed and I am not. And then, talk is never tangible. I want -something that you can keep hold of. But at any rate, I shall get my -letters. It is impossible to refer it to arbitrators, because the worst -part of my trouble was not of such sort as could come before them. I -will never permit the matter to go before arbitrators unless it comes -to be a case of honor. That is, I will not do it for the sake of what -money I might get." - - -M. N. TO MR. DANE. - -"Mr. Hunt came down on Thursday, as I expected. He was in some sort -my guest, and we met amicably, and parted _friendlily_. The most -important development of his visit was, that [he says] he did, in the -early stages of the affair, send me just such a letter as I told him -he should have sent,--a letter written, as he says, by his own hand, -because he would not have his clerk mixed up in it; written with great -pain, and the only letter he has written since his hand has been so -lame, except one to Dickens.[7] In this, he assured me that it was -all right, that he had the figures to show me so, notwithstanding -appearances; and begged me to let him come to Zoar and do so. This, -without any other explanation, would have quite satisfied me in the -beginning; but this letter I never received. Of course, however, I -receive his assertion that such a letter was written, and I make the -best use I can of it. He assured me, in the most solemn manner, that -he has done by me as he has done by A., B., and the others; and that -he has always done what he thought the best thing and most to my -advantage. Now, when a man tells me that, I can have nothing more to -say to him. H. has a greater percentage because his books have never -been printed but once, and that when work was cheaper, and so they -pay him at the old prices. But I will go into particulars more fully -when I see you. I suppose it is pretty much the same as you have heard -yourself.... He admitted that he did not wonder at my course, seeing I -had not received his letter, yet seemed to think I should have had more -confidence in him; had always supposed _I_ should stand by him, though -the heavens fell. The heavens did not fall, though I sometimes think a -part of the sky is not there. I told him that I had no intention to -meddle with the past; agreed that they should go on with their books as -if nothing had happened, and desired him, whatever course I might take -in the future, to believe me not unfriendly toward himself, but that -the developments of this trouble had made it impossible for me at once -to resume my old place. But I don't think he minded that. - -"Now you see ... we are at peace. I do not deceive myself. It is not a -very rapturous sort of peace. The relations between us are but a thin, -meagre, unsubstantial substitute for those that formerly existed; but -they are better than war--and they are truer than the old ones,--and -truth is better than falsehood, however agreeable the falsehood be. I -do not mean that on either side there was any intentional falsehood, -but that there was a sort of glamour which is now removed. - -"Now, if any one ever speaks to you of this, say, as I shall, that -there was a misunderstanding, but that it is removed. - -"I hope that you will not disapprove of what I have done; or perhaps, -rather, of what I have not done, for my action has been chiefly a -negative. I have simply let things be, in form, which I have always -meant to do in substance. He assures me that it is all right, and I -cannot stand up and dispute his word." - - -Mr. Hunt, during this interview, insisted that at the time he made the -change from ten per cent. to fifteen cents, he had a long talk with -me and fully explained the reason. I insisted that he never had done -so. I admitted that he had announced that he was going to make the -change on account of the fluctuations in the prices of things, and the -consequent uncertainties. It was all I wanted, and more. If he had said -nothing I should have been just as well satisfied, I had so much faith -in him. A positive assurance generally carries it over a negative. -Still, if a man asserted that he had offered himself to a girl, her -negative assertion that he never had, would, of itself, be entitled -to as much credence as his positive one, supposing the character of -both to be equal. If the man were in the habit of offering himself to -girls, while the girl had never had another lover, her negative would -surely outweigh his positive. Mr. Hunt had dealings with many authors. -He was my only publisher, and he was more likely to be mistaken in this -than I. He might have intended to make the explanation, or might have -made it to some one else; but an explanation made to me, it is next to -impossible I should have forgotten. - -Really, the matter was not of importance, because if he had made it -then it would have answered every purpose. If I could have been made to -see at one time, that seven and a half equals ten, I could have been -made to see it at another. - -Here the controversy seemed to have come to a natural and pacific -conclusion, and I began to take up the burden of life again, saying -only, it might have been different perhaps, but then it might not. I -cannot affirm that I was entirely satisfied about the missing letter. -Letters never are lost in our climate. We often wish they would be. -There are dozens in this correspondence, nothing in whose life would -have become them like the leaving it. But they all went straight as an -arrow to the mark, and now, like Burns' sonsie, smirking, dear-bought -Bess, - - "They stare their daddy in the face; - Enough of aught ye like, but grace." - -On the 24th of February, Mr. Hunt seemed first to have awakened to the -fact that there was any cloud in the sky, and begged me in all kindness -to tell him the ground of my sudden dissatisfaction. Of course, the -missing letter could not have been written before that time. After I -replied to him, alleging the grounds of my sudden dissatisfaction, he -replied by calling on Mr. Dane, as Mr. Dane's letter to me shows. I was -not only unable to find any place where Mr. Hunt's explanatory letter -might have been missing, but I could not find a place where it could -have come in. - -But I let that pass. There seemed to be nothing more to do, and if -there had been, I was too tired to do it. I thought the affair, like -David's destructions, had come to a perpetual end, which, if not -absolutely satisfactory, was at least relatively so. There are very few -kinds of peace which are not better than war. I was not sure I had done -the wisest thing, and as I wrote to Mr. Dane in review of it, "to speak -the truth in love, I don't much care. That is, the whole affair had -become so utterly tiresome to me that I long ago grew indifferent to -it. How the business part of it should be settled, I little cared. What -I really had at stake, is lost." - - -[Illustration] - - - - -[Illustration] - -VII. - -RENEWAL OF HOSTILITIES. - - -BUT the traces of battle had hardly begun to be obliterated, when an -unexpected circumstance suddenly rekindled the flames of civil war. - -My sorrow's crown of sorrow had been that so bewailed in the -lamentations of the prophet, that there was no sorrow like unto my -sorrow; but by the chance of a word, without any revelation on my part, -I discovered that a friend of mine was, and had been for some months, -going through the same pleasant process which I had been enjoying. -The similarity of operation was, in certain respects, remarkable. No -accounts had been rendered for years, the author trusting entirely -in the friendship of his publishers; so that of course there were no -papers to be produced. But there was the same change from a still -higher percentage to a lower fixed sum; the same assertion on the one -side, of a full explanation made and accepted, which explanation was -totally denied on the other; and the same declaration of regard for -the author himself. The case was more aggravated than mine, not only -because the author in question had been of an immeasurably higher -standing than I, but also because he was dead, and the apparent -exactions were made upon those who were dearest to him in life, and -who were dependent upon the fruits of his genius. So then, mine was -no longer an isolated case, but part of a regular system. How many of -the writers who had received reduced pay had really and intelligently -agreed to it, and how many had found it, like greatness, thrust upon -them, and had accepted it on the representation of its being universal, -rather than make an ado and appear churlish? My friend certainly -denied that any explanation had been made, or even that any notice of -the change had been given her beforehand, and she rebelled against -the change as soon as she did know it. Now, it is hard fighting just -your own battles, since no matter how right you may deem your cause -for quarrel, still it _is_ a quarrel, and a mere personal altercation -has always something in it petty and demeaning; but if you can fight -for somebody else, you mount at once to higher ground and gain the -vantage. It came to me at once, as clear as light, that I was doing -exactly what Messrs. Brummell & Hunt had wisely counted on our all -doing, in case we did anything; that is, fretting a little, perhaps, -but eventually letting it all drop, silenced if not convinced. Was -it not the height of presumption for any one son of Jesse to come out -with a sling and a stone against this Goliath of the publishers? Would -it not be ridiculous to charge with injustice this house, whose praise -for liberality is in all the churches? Of course in discussing the -details of the business, the author would have to go entirely out of -his sphere, while the house would be perfectly at home. Still I thought -if I could not be a stone in the forehead of my giant, I could be a -thorn in his side.[8] If he were honorable and just in his dealings, -no charge could harm him. If he were unjust, no reputation could save -him. If his gains were well-gotten, investigation would only establish -him more firmly in his right way. If they were ill-gotten, it might be -possible to prevent his repose in enjoying them, if he could not be -induced to give them up, and he might thus be deterred from further -ravage upon the unwary. The best way to serve the general weal was to -take up my own relinquished cause. I accordingly once more put my hand -to the plough, resolved not to look back till I had drawn a straight -furrow through my pleasant fields. - -While I was reflecting upon total depravity, preparatory to a renewal -of hostilities--there may be a sudden transition from metaphor to -metaphor, but let us all be thankful if nothing more than rhetoric -becomes demoralized,--the following note came from Mr. Dane, to whom I -had communicated the tale of Mrs.----'s fancied or real woes, August 10. - - -"Whether those five postage-stamps pasted firmly on the first page -of your note were intended as a birth-day present, instead of the -Family Bible which I had some reason to think I might receive about -this time, or as payment of arrears for services _in re_ M. N. _vs._ -B. & H., I do not know. I might add,--but will not for fear of being -sarcastical,--that it is far more than I expected either way, and that -such munificence is more illustrative of the generosity of the giver -than of the deserts of the humble recipient. - -"And now I have a profound secret to impart to you and your nine -particular friends. I have kept it two days, and had some thoughts of -never telling you, but since you claim the relation of client, I am -not at liberty to humbug you,--pardon the inelegance,--as I cheerfully -would do were you only a dear female friend. Well, Mr. Edwards called -Saturday, and saying to him that I spoke, as St. Paul always speaks -to you when you don't agree with him, by permission and not by my own -inspiration, I renewed our griefs '_Jubes renovare dolorem?_' and -told him all. He, though like the rest of us, true to his client, is -evidently intimate with Mr. Hunt. He said B. & H. are willing, and -propose to Mrs.---- that the contract which Mr. Edwards has made with -them, that she should receive twelve cents a volume on the sales, shall -be given up, and that they will refer to two gentlemen of satisfactory -character the matter of her future percentage.... - -"Then with that admirable frankness which is so natural to me, I said -to Mr. Edwards that Mr. Hunt had made a great mistake with you; that -you had accepted his commercial civilities as personal regard, and that -he ought at least to keep up the standard of his conduct to common -civility in his correspondence, etc., and that it was only because you -would not follow my advice that matters were allowed to rest; that _my_ -opinion was, you had not received a just, much less a liberal share of -the profits, and that I had urged you to propose to refer the matter of -percentage to some disinterested person, which I thought they could not -decline. - -"Mr. Edwards at once said, 'Mr. Hunt shall do that. That shall be done -at once.' - -"Evidently Edwards thinks he can induce Hunt to propose that to you, -and will endeavor to do so. - -"Now, I thought at first I would not let you see my hand in the -matter, but that is, on reflection, not quite fair as between man and -man,--using the word in its largest sense, embracing woman. Wherefore, -pray do not call on B. & H. for any account just now, but wait and -see if they do write you, as Edwards is sure they will, proposing -to satisfy you in this way. If they do then you must accept the -proposition, provided the past be also included, for it is the past -which made you dissatisfied. You have not yet concluded yourself as to -past or future, so far as I know; and if the best man in the world says -you ought to have no more than has been allowed you _I_ say we ought -to be satisfied. The money I gave you ought to last longer than this. -If you want a hundred dollars send me an order on B. & H., and I will -present it and send you the money, and that will not commit us to their -percentage. - -"Now I expect partly that you will be vexed at my meddling with your -affairs in this way; but fiat justitia, etc., whoever _rue it_." - - -M. N. TO MR. DANE, AUGUST 11, 1768. - -"Unquestionably you _need_ the Family Bible more than the -postage-stamps, which I did _not_ paste on. It must have been the -dog-days that did it. - -"Of course I am not vexed at your meddling, and you only say that, -as you express it, shamming. I hate to have the thing come up again, -but it may be more effectually laid by it. One thing, though, if -all the men in the world say I have had enough, it will not alter my -relations toward Mr. Hunt. That is, if he proves conclusively that his -terms have been just and liberal, I shall still think that his course -toward me since I began to make inquiries has been ungentleman-like, -unfriendly, and calculated to arouse instead of allay suspicion, and -that Mr. Brummell was grossly impolite. So, after all, what will be -settled by a reference? Nothing but the money affair, which indeed, as -it involves justice, is much, but as it does not involve regard, is -little. However, integrity is all the world wide from and more than -good manners. I will not send for any account or money either. I let -a friend have my money for a few months to accommodate him, so that I -am penniless again; but I can borrow plenty, and Fred and Fritz are as -good as new milch cows in a house. Why I am in such a hurry to write -is, that I have a letter from Hyperion this morning, in which he seemed -to think you would be the proper person to act for Mrs.----, rather -than Sir Matthew Hale, who is occupied with the weightier matters of -the law. Now I do not want you to act for her. It would look as if you -made it a personal matter; as if we were persecuting Mr. Hunt, which -is not true. Mrs.----'s affair is as entirely different from mine as -if I did not know her at all.... I will let you know as soon as I -hear from Mr. Hunt. What day did you see Mr. Edwards? I had a letter -yesterday from Smilex conjuring me to write for the 'Heretic,' and -offering me good pay, but not stating what. I have not answered it yet. -I am in a strait betwixt two, not to say half a dozen.... If B. & H. -send to me, how will it do for you to come down? I will pay your fare, -and you can board round!" - - -MR. DANE TO M. N., AUGUST 14. - -"How foolish in you to expect Mr. Hunt to make you any such -proposition. He never will, though Mr. Edwards seems sure he will. What -do you care when he called? Call it the day before I wrote last.... - -"One little matter of business. You request me not to act for Mrs.----. -If you expect me not only to transact your business, but also not to -transact any for anybody else, you will see the necessity of your -charging yourself with the support of my family, largely dependent on -my business income for their thrice daily bread.... - -"As to writing for 'The Heretic,' you doubtless desire my opinion, -though diffidence or something prevents your saying so. If it was not -a dream of yours that they offered you a million, tell them you will -accept that proposition. If you don't publish something soon, I have -no doubt you will have a congestion of the intellect. - -"The 'Respectability' is nothing compared with 'The Heretic.' As you -write under your own signature you will not be responsible for the rest -of the paper. You want the pay,--to lend to your friends, who will -increase, as your capacity to lend is known to increase. - -"And now farewell; and don't expect any such letter from Hunt, though -he may probably write something." - - -MR. DANE TO M. N., AUGUST 21. - -"What did you send Mrs.----'s letter to me for, if you don't want me to -have anything to do with her affairs? Still, _homo sum_, I am somewhat -of a man, and although forbidden to advise Mrs.----, am interested in -general history. - -"You did not promise to tell me how you disburse your money; and what -good can it do for me to know that you have thrown it into the sea, or -laid it up where moths and rust do not corrupt? You are not fit to make -loans as matter of business, as perhaps I intimated to you soon after -our chase after that hundred dollars which was in your basket. I hope -you will help all you can. There is no better use for money, when one -has plenty of it, and I trust your efforts in behalf of young doctors -and things will be sanctified to their and your everlasting good. - -"As to sending for B. & H.'s account, I have no expectation that -they will take any notice of Mr. Edwards' advice, or make you any -proposition.... - -"The question is, do you mean to take just what they say, or do you -propose to insist on more than the fifteen cents per copy? - -"As you don't and won't take my advice and make them do right, you must -decide what you _will_ do." - - -M. N. TO MR. DANE, AUGUST 22. - -"Why I sent you the letters, was because I was interested in the case, -and what I am interested in it is proper you should be likewise. All -is, I don't want you to loom up as her advocate; but if you know the -circumstances you may perhaps, in a quiet way, keep her from falling -into a ditch. And so you being wise as a serpent, and I harmless -as a dove, we may perhaps circumvent those wicked and unprofitable -servants.... - -"Moreover, as you have already observed, the case does bear directly on -mine. Not only do they profess themselves willing to compromise with -Mrs.---- on ten per cent., but in this letter 'they say' that 'even B. -now has only ten per cent.' (from which I infer that he has had more). -But Mr. Hunt, in this house, told me that they did by me just as they -did by B. - -"Now I do not feel disposed to let the past go. They have not done by -me as they have done by others. Why would it not do for you to make the -proposal to them since they do not make it? I would just as soon make -it, if you say so. Perhaps it would come best from me in a letter to be -delivered by you. I have no sensitiveness whatever about it. I am as -hard as steel towards them. They are so bungling that I could find it -in my heart to be indignant.... - -"I do not propose to insist on ten per cent. to the extent of taking my -books away from them, but I _am_ ready to propose a reference. If they -agree to it, I think it would be a good plan to find out what is the -custom of other publishers, Troubadours, for instance, and a few more -of the leading ones. - -"I will also get one or two more of B. & H.'s authors. You see I am -prepared to do now what you wished me to do long ago; but do not plume -yourself on that fact, for the timing of a thing may be as strong a -test of wisdom as the doing of it. I must keep you in proper subjection -at any cost. - -"Mr. Heath, of the Ancient and Honorable, came down to see me, Tuesday, -but I was away. - -"Three hundred dollars for what I can do is more than five thousand for -what I cannot.... - -"_Monday morning._ It has all come to me as clear as day what to do. -You find out when the prices of the books went above $1.50. Until then, -ten per cent. and fifteen cents were the same thing. In 1763, they had -not gone up. Then cipher out from my accounts precisely how much is due -me on all the books at ten per cent. Then send the papers to me and I -will have Fritz _prove_ your figures, Fritzes being good at 'figgers.' -Then _I_ will write to Mr. H., saying I have been made acquainted -with Mrs.----'s affairs, and that he offers her ten per cent. or a -reference, and that I wish he would make me the same offer. You shall -see the letter, and you will see that it will be very wise, and I -_don't_ see how he can reject, and I think he will pay the arrearage. I -will tell him exactly what is due according to my thinking, and if he -sees the sum all reckoned up for him, he would rather pay it than have -any more fuss. Probably the reason he has not paid before is, that it -was such a hard "sum" to "do." He must see that I shall be a thorn in -his side as long as I live, and we, all of us, live to be eighty." - - -M. N. TO MR. HUNT, AS REFERRED TO IN THE PRECEDING LETTER. - -"On the 3d of August, I went on a visit to Mrs.----, and there learned -for the first time that her relations with you were not satisfactory -to herself. Since then, she has reported to me somewhat of her -proceedings,--and among other things, that Mr. Edwards says that you -say that even B. now has but ten per cent. But I understood you to -say the last time you were here that you did by B. just as you did by -me. Also, Mr. Edwards says that you are quite willing to pay Mrs.---- -ten per cent., or to refer the matter to disinterested persons for -decision. I understood from you when the second contract was made, -that you were going to do by all just as you proposed to do by me. I -understood when you were here that you had done by all just as you have -done by me. But Mr. Edwards reports you to have said that you pay B. -ten per cent., and are willing to pay Mrs.---- ten per cent. C. says -you pay F. ten per cent., and G. says you pay her ten per cent. Why, -then, should you not pay me ten per cent.? You have paid only six and -two thirds and seven and one half per cent. on a large part of the -books. So long as the price of the book was $1.50, ten per cent. and -fifteen cents were the same. After the price went up, they were not the -same. The difference it would not be hard for you to ascertain from -your books, and this difference, I believe, you ought to pay me. If you -think you ought not, have you any objection to refer the matter to -disinterested persons of good character and capacity? Of course, I know -that legally I have no right to go behind a contract, and, therefore, -no legal claim upon you for additional money on those books that are -named in the contract." - - -COMMENTS OF MR. DANE TO M. N., SEPTEMBER 5. - -"And so you have sent your letter. Much good may it do you. My private -opinion is, that you wont get much of a reply. All the money you will -make out of the frolic is, that possibly they will allow you ten per -cent. or more on future sales. As to the past, the woodchuck left that -hole, when you so verdantly assured Mr. H. that you had no idea of -making any claims for arrears; and any amount of barking (pardon me, -but the unity of the figure must be maintained at any cost) will not -scare out another animal. - -"Man is not a rhinoceri-hos that his skin should not be pervious, and -your arrows will rankle in the 'firm' skin of B. & H.; but business is -business, and, though a prophet spake unto them from above, a larger, -louder profit speaks to them from below. By the way, don't consider -my fees contingent on the arrearages. Arrearages don't maintain -families.... I want to see you. Perhaps you will come over and get that -money of B. & H. for arrearages. But don't wait for that." - - -M. N. TO MR. DANE, SEPTEMBER 7. - -"It is easy to see from the altered tone of your letters that you -consider my case hopeless. Formerly you were deferent and sympathetic. -Now, wounded dignity forbids me to say what you are, but, I repeat with -Mrs. Porcupine Temper, in the reading-book, 'Never man laughed at the -woman he loved. As long as you had the slightest remains of regard for -me you could not thus make me an object of ridicule. Happy, happy Mrs. -Granby!' - -"I wonder, however, that you should not have taken warning from the -great failure of Louis Napoleon anent Maximilian,[9] and waited till I -was actually overcome before you waxed fat and kicked. The figure may -seem rude, but, besides being apposite, it is Scriptural. I wish you -were susceptible to ideas. You pounce down with melancholy persistency -on the fact that I assured Mr. Hunt I had no idea of making any claims -for arrearages, which, by the way, is no fact at all. What I assured -him was, that I had no intention of taking my books out of his hands. -(That is what I meant by not meddling with the past.) Nor had I; nor -have I now even--but never mind that. The point is--now do squinny up -your eyes and try to see it, there's a dear, you cannot think how nice -it feels not to be stupid--the point is, when I told Mr. Hunt that, -or when I talked with him about it, he assured me that he had done by -others just as he had done by me. I had never investigated his dealings -with other writers, except----. What you and I looked into was the way -of other publishers with their writers. Did not you yourself, violating -all the commandments at one fell swoop, say that other writers of B. & -H. sharing my misery, took off the--the--the--kurrssee--of imposing on -unsuspecting innocence? Well, then, so I concluded my strength was to -sit still, and still accordingly I sat, till I found they had not done -by their other writers as they had by me, and then up I sprang again. -Now it seems to me that I have a right to open the case all new. - -"See here--let us put it scientifically. - - "PART I. - - "_Unexpressed basis of operations_, B. & H. will do as well as - other publishers. - - "_Ascertained fact_, They don't. - - "_Result_, I fly into a rage. - - "PART II. - - "_Their assurance_, They have the same rule for all, and believe it - to be the best for all, me included. - - "_Result second_, I am calmed if not convinced. - - "PART III. - - "_Unexpected development_, They do not have the same rule for all, - but make invidious distinctions, contrary to their own direct - assertions, and _I_ am invidiously distinguished. - - "_Result_, Seven spirits more wroth than the first, and the fat in - the fire. - - -"They have not answered my letter which I sent a week ago last -Saturday. It is their way of doing business, namely, _not_ doing it. I -shall not write again. What I think should be done next is for you to -call upon them and make a proposal of reference in form--if there is -any such thing. What I wish decided is, not future percentage merely, -but past percentage; whether my claim for ten per cent. on all past -sales is or is not founded in or on equity. If you are present, they -must make some reply. If they assent, the Troja may be comprehended in -a _nuce_. If they refuse, we will consider as to the next thing to be -done--but find that out first. If you don't understand this, just say -over the multiplication-table two or three times, and it will clear you -up like an egg-shell. The figure supposes that you are a pot of coffee. - -"Your candid opinion of my letter, as compared with Mrs.----'s, is -undoubtedly just, as well as candid. She is a very fine woman, far my -superior, and looks upon this affair quite as wisely as I; but if I -think the same as she does, of course it helps her. I wish I did know -how to advise her, but I don't, and you would not twit me if you did -not think I was going by the board. She is a lovely woman, and it is -wicked in them to make her so much trouble. I suppose I was born for -storms, and so it is not so sacrilegious to rain and hail and thunder -on me. But if you don't roar me gently, I will change lawyers, and then -what is to keep you from the work-house? - -"I had a letter to-day from Hawkers, asking me to let them publish a -book for me. They say they ... think they can make the results every -way satisfactory. I talked with Confucius about my letter to Mr. Hunt. -In fact, I talk with anybody now,--entertain my visitors with the -correspondence. If you don't wish to wait on Mr. Hunt with my proposal, -say so. I would invite you down here to talk it over, but there is -nothing in the house to eat but a lamb's tongue and a half, and a pot -of lard. My housekeeper has disappeared, and the season is over. Even -the hens have stopped laying. A friend who came Friday and stopped -till to-day, took the precaution to bring a pair of chickens with him. -I do not mean this as a hint, but as my woman is gone, I will remark -that unless you are fond of fowl _à la raw_, you had better roast your -chickens before you come. - -"As you said nothing about the particular point in the ---- letter, I -suppose your brain is as blank on the subject as mine. But I have not -that inordinate love of brilliancy that I cannot open my mouth unless I -expect diamonds to drop out. I am meekly content if only pebbles fall -for paving-stones to feet that I love! Great applause." - - -MR. DANE TO M. N., SEPTEMBER 9. - -"As a general rule or fact or thing, when a lawyer takes a view of the -case less hopeful than the client's, and presents the difficulties, -the client suspects that the lawyer is indifferent to his interests, -or bribed by the other side. Anything rather than that his case is -hopeless. Still the lawyer must be true; he can do no otherwise, _ruat -cælum_. - -"Now [here follow questions.] - -"You say now _I_ should propose a reference. Are you willing I should -write to B. & H., and say that you have placed with me (or with R. and -me, for we are partners in all law business, and have no separate names -as lawyers) your claim for arrearages, with instructions to enforce -them by law? If you are, I want the premier's opinion of the matter, -and if we think you have a case, we will proceed. Now that you, after -referring Mr. H. to me as your friend, and what has transpired under -that arrangement, have had a personal interview with him, which you -announce to your friends as a pacification, and have opened a new -correspondence with him, proposing a reference, there is embarrassment -all around. My office of friend or mediator, they will say, is -finished. They cannot be expected to deal with you and me both. I think -if they do not notice your proposition, we should make no further -move, unless it is to be followed by legal proceedings, if necessary. -There is no force or fitness in a proposition from me, unless we have -something besides wooden guns behind it. - -"Now, I wish you would come and see me. I don't eat raw chickens, so I -can't go there. Here, there are good victuals.... As Mrs.----'s case -bears on yours, it concerns me no further, except to save you from -conspicuous folly in your attempts to help. Mrs.---- has Mr. Edwards -for her friend, adviser, and legal counsellor, and although she is -worrying his life out by constantly twitting him of his folly, in the -contract he made as administrator, she wants no other. He is only skin -and bone, poor man, and would die gladly, except for fear of meeting ----- in some place where suicide is impossible, and "twelve cents a -volume" will sound forever in his ears. - -"If B. & H. do not reply to your last letter, you may depend upon it -that nothing but legal suasion will move them. This is not cross, -though it seems so. I am your very amiable." - - -FROM B. & H. TO M. N., SEPTEMBER 8. - -"Your letter of 29th ult., addressed to our Mr. Hunt, was duly -received, and we now beg to reply on his behalf and that of the firm. - -"In your letter you assume that we have but one set of terms with the -various authors whose works we publish. In this you are in error. -What we pay to any individual author is a matter quite between -him--or her--and ourselves, and it is not our custom to make one -author the criterion for another. Many elements enter into the case -that would make a uniform rate impracticable. Independently of other -considerations, the varying cost of manufacture caused by different -styles of publication, would alone preclude such an arrangement. We -must, therefore, decline to admit such an argument into the case. - -"We have given our reasons in justification of our course towards you -in full, and we see no occasion for repeating them here. As they were -unsatisfactory to you, we offered, on May 29 last, in a letter to your -attorney, Mr. Nathan Dane, to relinquish, at a fair price, the plates -and stock to any publisher whom you might prefer. This offer we now -respectfully renew. - -"Touching arbitration, we may say that at an earlier stage of the -proceedings we should have been willing to submit the matter to that -test. At present, however, we do not wish to do so." - - -M. N. TO MR. DANE, SEPTEMBER 11. - -"I am very glad you did not go to B. & H.'s, as the day after my letter -to you went I received one from them, saying, 'In your letter,' etc. - -"As the proceedings have been of an entirely private nature, without -any cost of money, and with the outlay of but a few pages of note paper -on their part, I do not see why the question of time is so important. - -"What I propose now to do, is to have you, if you see no objection, -send them by mail the note which I inclose to you for them. - -"Legal proceedings I cannot, for a moment, think of instituting. Even -if I should gain the case, it would be at a cost altogether too great. -I think it would be far wiser for me to go on winning new laurels than -to spend my energies in trying to pick up the withered twigs of last -year's growth! The figure, I perceive, has serious defects, but you -don't, so we will let it pass. I think now the whole thing would far -better be suffered to remain quiet. I shall be gathering facts which -will one day take shape, but I do not know what. Knowledge, however, is -always useful, and certainly one cannot move an army unless one has an -army. - -"So I suppose there is no need of answering your other questions. - -"I think it is as well to let the books be where they are.... Unless I -find there is more advantage to be gained by a removal than I can see, -the game would not be worth the candle. - -"I feel more satisfied than I have done at any time since the trouble -began. (While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept. But now he is -dead, wherefore should I fast?) Their refusal to refer seems to put me -in open seas again. - -"You say you are not cross, and I know you tried hard not to be. In -fact, you have been an angel of patience all through, and I mean to -reward you by conducting you honorably through some difficult Hell-gate -of your own. I use the term in a marine and figurative sense.... -From the beginning of your letter, I infer that you thought my last -letter found some fault with you client-wise. I cannot recall the -letter enough to know what may have given rise to the feeling, but I -assure you nothing was further from the truth. And nothing can be more -friendly and helpful than your whole course towards me has been. I -shall never cease to hold it in grateful remembrance until you offend -me, and then it will crisp up like flax in the flames, and I shall bear -down on you just as heavily as if you had never done me a good turn in -your life. Such, alas! is human nature." - - -M. N. TO B. & H., SEPTEMBER 11. - -"I have received your letter of the 8th inst., declining arbitration. - -"I suppose, therefore, the only resource left me is the arbitration of -public opinion. - -"The argument which you decline to admit into the case was introduced -there by Mr. Hunt. I recognize with you its disastrous effects, and -applaud your prudence in excluding it. - -"Regarding your offer to sell the books to another publisher, I may -say that as the cream of their sale is already gone, I do not see the -brilliant advantage to be derived from taking the skim milk to another -publisher. I will, however, consult my board of attorneys,--pray do -not suppose I limit myself to one--and beg you meanwhile, to accept my -thanks for the benefit you design me. - -"Will you have the goodness to send me my accounts for the last -half-year." - - -I supposed this was the end of it, but was surprised by a letter of -September 14, saying:-- - - -"We have your letter of the 11th inst. - -"We think no occasion for arbitration in the matters at issue -between us need ever have arisen. And we think, now, that a formal -arbitration--as a means of settling the existing difficulties--would -not prove a suitable or satisfactory method either to you or to us. We -wish, however, to deal with you in a spirit of entire fairness, and -we therefore propose another method, which will answer the same end -in a much better way. Let us find a proper person, whose relations to -both parties are such as to fit him to act as a confidential friend -and adviser in the case. Let us confide the entire case, in all its -bearings, to his intercession, and abide by his judgment. We have in -mind a gentleman who, as we believe, would be in every way suitable and -satisfactory to both,--Samuel Rogers, Esq., of this city. We understand -Mr. Rogers to be a warm friend of yours, and we know him to be a just -man, of sound judgment, and capable of taking a comprehensive view of -the whole matter. - -"If Mr. Rogers will accept the friendly office, we are quite ready to -meet him in all fairness and candor, and to open our books and accounts -to his inspection." - - -M. N. TO B. & H., SEPTEMBER 16. - -"Permit me to acknowledge the reception of your letter of the 14th inst. - -"I cannot, at present, give your proposal [I believe I said -_proposition_, but proposal must be the right word] sufficient -consideration to reply to it, but I will do so as soon as possible. -Meanwhile, may I ask you to send me my accounts for the last six -months? I suppose they can be made up independently of the question at -issue between us. - -"I most emphatically agree with you in the opinion that no occasion for -arbitration need ever have arisen." - - -M. N. TO MR. DANE, SEPTEMBER 17. - -"I thought I had pronounced my valedictory, but coming home after a few -day's absence, I find the following note from B. & H. [then follows a -copy of their last letter.] - -"Now, this is a move which I do not understand. Why should they have -declined so decidedly my proposal, and after they had received my note, -why should they up and make another which, for aught I see, amounts to -the same thing? I am inclined to accept the proposal, though I don't -see why they should not have accepted mine. Would not Mr. Rogers be a -good man? - -"Isn't it vexing to have Monsieur Tonson come again?" - - -MR. DANE TO M. N., SEPTEMBER 21. - -"'God moves in a mysterious way,' etc. B. & H.'s proposition does not -much surprise me, though it is an entire change of base, not to say -baseness. They now propose exactly what I wanted at first, a reference -to some fair man; and had I made a list of a half-dozen for them to -choose from, Mr. Rogers would probably have been one of them. He is -quite deaf, but transacts business, and it is for him to say whether -he is fit to _hear_ the matter. Of course you are at liberty to name -another or others. I have great confidence that any man of such a -character will do what he thinks is just.... - -"Now let me say this is getting to be a serious matter; and though you -may doubtless look on it as very plain, you may be much embarrassed -before you are through. - -"I do not see how you can decline their offer, which is precisely your -own, if you took the formality out as I suggested. I doubt now whether -B. & H. will not find some way to avoid a hearing. I think you had -better accept their offer, but with limitations that shall hold them -somewhere. In any reference of this sort, it will be understood that -you may have counsel and witnesses, unless the idea is excluded by -agreement.... - -"You see I bear your burdens almost instinctively. In fact, I fear to -trust you alone, you being, after all, but a poor little creeter, bless -you." - - -M. N. TO MR. DANE, SEPTEMBER 23. - -"Your letter did me heaps of good, yesterday. - -"Mr. Robertson promises to find out the ways of the Corinthian -publishers, and write or tell me.... What I want to do, if I do -anything, is to make out a written statement, as you suggest, but -appear only by that and you. I don't want myself to go on the stage. -I should injure the case more than I should help it. Everything that -is not in writing, you know as well as I, and I think it would be far -better for me to stay at home, the sweet, safe corner by the household -fire, behind the heads of children, la! In every other suggestion -I agree with you.... I could make my statement, send it to you for -decision and presentation, notify them of my acceptance and readiness, -and then let the Union slide. - -"Did I tell you I had a nice note from _Longinus_?... He says he wants -to talk with me about this--that he thinks authors ought to have an -understanding,--that generally with B. & H. he has such and such -arrangements; but he marks that whatever arrangement you make, the -publisher generally gets the lion's share. - -"Now do you think there is any hurry? If not--and as they have wandered -at their own sweet will hitherto, I think I might take my turn now; -do you think it will be worth while for me to give up my visit? -Considering the uncertainty of man, I should say not." - - -MR. DANE TO M. N., SEPTEMBER 24. - -"There is no reason why you should hurry about your B. & H. matter. -They have not been in great haste even to answer your letters. -Wherefore, although I shall be glad to see you very soon, you may take -your own time, and by thinking, perhaps, add a cubit to your mental -stature. - -"I am not quite sure you can be excused from being present. You can, -however, fortify or fiftify yourself with Fritz or Fred. - -"Now write down your claims against B. & H. like a lawyer." - - -About this time, the Athenian press seemed to have been seized with an -unwonted interest in the book trade, and began to break out in sapient -and significant little paragraphs like the following, which I copy from -the "Athenian Tribune," of September 30, 1768:-- - - -"BOOK PUBLISHING.--There is no class of business so liable to -misconstruction and misunderstanding, as that of a publisher of books. -It is difficult for an author to understand the business aspects of -publishing a book. In the first place, the expenses of composition, -correcting, stereotyping, paper, printing and binding, are very large, -compared sometimes to the size of the book. Then the advertising bills, -and two or three hundred gratuitous copies for notice and review, must -be added to the cost of publication. Then, of course, store rent, clerk -hire, and packing expenses, including paper, twine and boxes, should -be reckoned as part of the cost of getting up an edition of a book; -so that, in most instances, the sale of two or three thousand of a -new work hardly pays the publisher for the labor and capital included -in the outlay. Now all this the author, unless he or she happen to -understand the business thoroughly, rarely comprehends. The elder John -Murray, one of the most honorable and generous of publishers, used to -say, that an author who thoroughly understood all the intricacies and -expenses of issuing a book from the press, and properly launching it -into the hands of the public, was as rare a prize to find as a phœnix -or a unicorn." - - -Yes. - -When I came to reflect upon the matter, the proposal of B. & H. did -not seem so much like my own as it at first appeared. Partly, perhaps, -I feared the Greeks even bearing gifts. And if the two plans were in -substance the same, why did they suggest one so soon after rejecting -the other? If they were not the same, the difference would not be -likely to be in my favor. The superficial thinker might suggest that -the person to judge whether formal arbitration would be satisfactory -to me was myself. As I had proposed it, the information from Messrs. -B. & H. that it would not be satisfactory to _me_, seemed to be -premature, not to say supererogatory. But they not only set aside -formal arbitration and brought up a "confidential friendly" plan--not -with a suggestion that it might, but with the succinct assertion that -it would answer the same end in a much better way; they also chose the -confidential friend themselves; and this friend was a gentleman with -whom I had no acquaintance, whom I had never so much as seen, and of -whom my personal knowledge was confined to the interchange of some -half dozen letters. Now a man may have a very high reputation, and be -a very superior person, yet when you want a confidential friend, you -would hardly take him, unless you had, at least, a passing acquaintance -with him. Perhaps Messrs. B. & H.'s endorsement of any one as a -"just man," ought to be enough; though, under the circumstances, it -reminds one of the convicts in the Maine state prison, who drew up -resolutions against capital punishment,--but regarding the confidential -friendly way of doing business, I had become thoroughly disenchanted. -It was confidential friendliness that made the trouble, and I was -not homeopathically inclined. I languished for a little distrustful -business accuracy, and cried, "Save me from my friends," or rather from -Messrs. B. & H.'s friends. - -What philosopher was it who maintained that life and death are the -same? "Why do you not then kill yourself?" asked a skeptic. "Because -they are the same." - -If it was of no importance to Messrs. B. & H. whether we had one man or -two, I would have two, since it was of no importance. - -If it was important to them that we should not have two, then I would -have two, because it was important. - - -M. N. TO B. & H., NEAR THE LAST OF OCTOBER. - -"I accept your proposal, that the matter at issue between us should be -submitted to Mr. Samuel Rogers, for decision, with this modification, -that Mr. James Russell, of Stanton, be associated with him. If they -have any difficulty in coming to an agreement, let us empower them to -select a third person. - -"I will present my statement at any time that suits your and their -convenience. - -"Permit me, however, to suggest that it is just as much work for me to -prepare my case for two or three persons as it is for two or three -thousand; and, after all, nobody can know it better than you. You know -precisely what I want,--simply ten per cent. And you know also on what -grounds I base my claims. Would it not be less troublesome to you, -as well as infinitely less disagreeable to me, for you to decide the -matter yourselves at once, rather than refer it to others, who, after -the most careful study, can only learn what we already know? We shall -also thereby avoid a publicity which is utterly distasteful to me, -which can hardly be attractive to you, and which, beginning with two, -will end, no one knows where." - - -HUNT, PARRY, & CO. (FORMERLY B. & H.) TO M. N., NOVEMBER 9. - -"The preoccupation incident to the recent change in our firm (of which -we sent you a notice) has prevented our giving your proposal due -consideration earlier than now. - -"We proposed Mr. Samuel Rogers' name, with the thought that he was a -man who would be in every way satisfactory to both parties, and who -could act rather in the capacity of a friendly mediator than that of a -formal arbitrator. - -"Our objection to the addition of Mr. James Russell, is, that by -adding him we return to the idea of settling differences by a formal -arbitrator, which we always objected to. We should prefer to submit -the entire matter to Mr. Rogers alone, as we proposed. Still we are -desirous to have the matter settled justly and equitably, and if you -prefer to have more than one person, we are willing that Mr. Russell -(of whom we know nothing, except by reputation) should be added, -provided a third person shall be joined with the two, who shall be a -practical publisher and bookseller. We would name a gentleman who would -be perfectly capable of appreciating _all_ the points connected with -the case, and to whom, in conjunction with the two already named, we -are willing to submit it,--Mr. Henry Murray, formerly a partner in the -publishing firm of Constable & Sons, and now the head of the firm of -Murray & Blakeman. Mr. Murray is a highly honorable man, and from his -many years of experience, fully qualified to understand the case. - -"If you are willing to submit the case to these three gentlemen for -decision, we shall await your and their pleasure as to time." - - -M. N. TO H., P., & CO., NOVEMBER 17. - -"Your letter of November 9 has been forwarded to me from Athens. Your -notice of the change in the firm was probably sent to Zoar and has not -reached me. I did not know of the change when my letter was written. - -"In proposing Mr. Russell I did not design to return to formal -arbitration. I was, and am, quite willing to settle it by confidential -friendliness, only I do not wish the friendliness to be all on one -side. Mr. Rogers is your friend, but I never saw him; cannot judge -of his fitness to act in such a matter, and therefore could not put -implicit faith in his conclusions. I wish to associate with him a man -whom I do know, and on whose conclusions I could rely. - -"You say you know nothing of Mr. Russell except by reputation; neither -do I know anything of Mr. Rogers except by reputation. - -"You desire to join with them Mr. Murray of the firm of Murray & -Blakeman, a gentleman whom you know so well that you vouch for his -character and capacity, but whom I never saw, whom I scarcely know even -by reputation, but of whom I do know this: Soon after the publication -of 'The Rights of Men,' the firm, of which he is the head, issued an -advertisement of one of their publications by Rev. Bishop Burnet, in -which, by detaching sentences from 'The Rights of Men,' they made me -speak in the highest praise of Bishop Burnet's book, whereas, in truth, -I had spoken with the greatest censure. You say that Mr. Murray is a -highly honorable man, but I say that this was a highly dishonorable -proceeding. - -"Observe now the position you take. _You_ are not even willing to -trust to my friend, joined with your friend, but you want me to trust -to your friend alone. - -"Secondly, you are not willing to refer to the arbitrator, a lawyer, -whom you have selected, and the arbitrator, a lawyer, whom I have -selected, and the third person whom they two shall select, but you wish -yourself to select the third person, and the person you select is a man -of your own trade, a man of your intimate acquaintance, a man whom I -never saw, and of whom personally I only know that he has been guilty -of trickery toward me. - -"If it is to be settled by confidential friendship, you wish to choose -the confidential friend. If by formal arbitration, you wish to choose -two out of three of the arbitrators. - -"You consider Mr. Rogers quite capable of settling the matter alone, -but incapable of settling it in connection with a friend of mine, -unless another friend of yours be joined with him. - -"I am quite willing to meet you on the confidential friendly platform, -or on the formal arbitration platform; but if the former, which I also -prefer, I wish to have a share in the confidential friendship. If the -second, I wish the arbitrators to be selected in the regular way, each -party choosing one, and those two selected choosing a third. - -"You can ascertain from Mr. Rogers whether he has any objection to -confidential consultation with Mr. Russell. So far as a practical -publisher or bookseller is concerned you can state the case yourselves -to these gentlemen,--or you can bring Mr. Murray or any other person -you choose before them. We must assume that they are sufficiently -fair-minded to judge according to facts, else there is no use in having -any judgment at all, and Mr. Murray can present the facts as witness -quite as well as if he were arbitrator." - - -H., P., & CO. TO M. N., NOVEMBER 20. - -"The desire which you impute to us of having a one-sided settlement, -or of referring the matter at issue between us to any 'confidential -friend' of our own has never entered our thoughts. We named Mr. Rogers -in the first instance because we thought he was a warm personal friend -of your own, and one in whom you could put unhesitating confidence. We -never had a word with him on the subject in any way. As for Mr. Murray, -we certainly have no desire to press him, or any other person not -agreeable to you. - -"We very decidedly prefer that _one_ person shall take cognizance -of the matter rather than _two_ or _three_; and to show that we do -not desire that the person chosen shall be a partisan of our own, we -suggest that the matter be submitted to the friendly offices of Mr. -Henry Brook, of Corinth. We do not know Mr. Brook personally, and have -never had any relations with him except a correspondence which he -initiated several days ago. If he is willing to act in the matter we -will accept any decision he makes." - - -M. N. TO H., P., & CO., NOVEMBER 23. - -"Your letter of November 20 reached me Saturday night. So far as it -disclaims any undue partisanship in selecting Mr. Rogers, it is germane -to the case. I take the earliest opportunity to thank you for the -disinterested kindness to me which governed your choice. I was not -before aware of it, or I should have been earlier in my acknowledgment. - -"The remainder of your letter, you will pardon me for saying, is -entirely irrelevant. The question of one or two is no longer open. We -have already agreed upon two, and the question now is concerning a -third. The point to be decided is simply this: Will you or will you not -refer the matter to the friendly mediation or the formal arbitration of -Messrs. Rogers and Russell and a third person to be selected by them in -case a third person shall be necessary?" - - -H., P., & CO. TO M. N., NOVEMBER 28. - -"Your statement, that 'the question of one or two persons is no longer -open, and that two have already been agreed upon, and the question now -is concerning a third,' is not correct. _We_ have not agreed to refer -the matter to Messrs. Rogers and Russell except with our proposed -addition of Mr. Murray, which addition you did not approve. By your -non-approval of him the matter was thrown back to the original proposal -to refer it to one person, and in that posture of affairs we must -consider that our proposal of Mr. Brook as that person was strictly -relevant. - -"But in all this correspondence we seem to be playing at -cross-purposes, neither arriving at a result nor succeeding in -understanding each other. You are no doubt as tired of this as we -are. A reference--should we ever reach it on mutually satisfactory -terms--would take a long time and be a tedious mode of settlement. -Would it not be better to close the matter at issue finally by a -definite proposal which cannot be misunderstood. We estimate the time -that would be occupied by a reference, and the trouble and annoyance it -would occasion, at five hundred dollars, and we propose to send you our -check for that sum that this unprofitable controversy may be closed. -And we further propose to pay you hereafter ten per cent. of the -retail price, in cloth, for all copies sold of your various books now -published by us. Should you accept this offer, please advise us and we -will send you check and draw new contracts at once." - - -I think, notwithstanding the modest disclaimer of Messrs. Hunt, Parry, -& Co., we were getting to understand each other perfectly, except -that so far from becoming tired of the controversy, _I_ was only just -warming up to it. - - -M. N. TO H., P., & CO., DECEMBER 8. - -"When I pointed out to you the impropriety of your imposing Mr. Murray -upon me as arbitrator, you replied that you did not wish to press Mr. -Murray. You now say that Mr. Murray was essential to the arbitration. -Either he was or he was not. If he was, then, as I said in a previous -letter, you refused arbitration unless you could choose two out of -three of the arbitrators, and those two friends of your own and -strangers to me, and one of them guilty of trickery towards me. If Mr. -Murray was not essential, then, as I said in my last letter, we had -already agreed upon two, and the only question is, concerning a third. -Do I understand you to decide that you refuse arbitration unless you -have power to make Mr. Murray third arbitrator? - -"The reference which seems to you so tedious, seems to me a relief from -tedium. Your definite proposal proposes to buy me off from arbitration, -but does not touch my claim to ten per cent. on past sales. I do not -even consider it, much less accept it. - -"The cost of arbitration would, I suppose, be defrayed as usual by the -losing party, and amounts to hardly if any more than one-sixth part of -the sum which I believe to be due me." - - -M. N. TO H., P., & CO., DECEMBER 21. - -"A week ago, last Tuesday, I sent you a letter from Paris, to which I -have received no answer. To guard against any misunderstanding arising -from a lost letter, will you be so good as to inform me by the bearer -whether you have received such a letter from me, and if so, whether you -have replied to it." - - -They evidently thought the enemy was preparing to move immediately upon -their works, and they replied at once,-- - - -"We duly received your communication alluded to in your note of this -morning. - -"Owing to the absence of one of the members of our firm and the great -pressure of business incident to the season of the year, we have not -had an opportunity since its receipt to give the question at issue the -attention it deserves. In a very few days you shall hear from us." - - -On the sixteenth of December, appeared another of those paragraphs in -the "Athenian Gazette," to which I have previously referred. Hitherto -the dove had only gyrated around the whole heavens, spreading its white -wings of praise over publishers in general, but now, loving, like -Death, a shining mark, it circled down and settled squarely upon the -modest brows of Messrs. Brummell & Hunt, in the following style:-- - - -"MESSRS. B. & H.'S ANNOUNCEMENTS.--The attractive advertisement of -Messrs. B. & H., which appears in our columns to-day, is interesting -to those who watch the progress of events, as an indication not only -of the success which this publishing house has achieved, but as an -evidence of the literary supremacy of the 'hub.' Years ago, when -Sophocles, after enjoying the entree into the leading social circles -of the city, styled Athens 'The Modern Eden,' our neighbors of the -other cities quoted the remark in derision. But time has proved that -the title was not merely complimentary. A glance at the list of authors -whose works are published by Messrs. B. & H., will at once surprise -those unacquainted with the large number of the _Adriatic_ coterie who -have residence within the shadow of the Acropolis. The Athenian authors -who have their established headquarters with this publishing house are -more widely known and more thoroughly read than any equal number who -have acquired literary distinction, while the number of Roman authors -who are represented in this country by Messrs. B. & H. include the Poet -Laureate of Italy and the great master of fiction, Josephus. - -"While we may congratulate the firm upon the success they have -achieved in producing the most exquisite illustrated gift books of the -season, and compliment them upon the typographical execution of all -their publications, we think still higher praise is due to this house -for their encouragement of Athenian talent, and their rare tact in -introducing many who have become popular mainly by the discriminating -manner in which they have been ushered into the presence of the reading -public. Whatever share of prosperity this publishing house has reached, -there are none to attribute it to any narrow or selfish policy. They -have dealt with authors of all lands upon the broad ground of mutual -benefit, and have never sought to make bread out of other people's -brainwork and leave the worker without fair compensation. It is a -credit to Athens that such an establishment has grown up and flourished -in our city." - - -Which reminds me of a rural schoolmaster who taught the village school -for several winters in succession, and whose specialty was writing. -Years after, if the handwriting of any of his pupils was spoken of, the -honest man would reply innocently, "Yes, he is a very fine writer, very -superior. His writing is precisely like mine!" - -Messrs. Brummel & Hunt's authors are the most widely known and the most -thoroughly read in the country. - -And we who belong to that Happy Family feel that the lines have -fallen to us in pleasant places, and try to look unconscious of our -preëminence, while we cannot wholly repress a glow of gratification. - -But what is this? We, or rather you,--for just here I find it agreeable -to follow the admonition of Mr. Guppy's mother, and "get out" of the -company--_you_ have become popular mainly by the discriminating manner -in which you have been ushered into the presence of the reading public! -O, what a fall is here, my countrymen! Imagine the emotions of the -belle on being told that the attention and admiration which she fondly -supposed had been excited by her wit and beauty, were mainly owing -to the discriminating manner in which she had been ushered into the -ball-room! - -Some little margin is left for grace of form, loveliness of feature, -elegance of dress, but mainly it is the white-gloved usher to whom her -success is due! - -There are never wanting persons who, not content with writing history -as it is, are always conjuring up what would have been if things had -happened differently. If Charles I. had not lost his head, if Napoleon -had beaten at Waterloo, if Booth's pistol had missed fire, events would -have gone thus and thus. A fruitful field opens before such speculators -in the history of our country's literature. Had Messrs. Brummell & Hunt -gone into the grocery business, for instance, Homer would have been -cobbling shoes in Haverhill, or at most, chronicling small beer in a -country newspaper. Dante would have been a lawyer in chambers, drawing -up wills and plodding through deeds, but leaving no foot-prints on the -sands of time. Boccaccio would have been milking cows at Brook Farm, or -growing round shouldered over his desk in the Jerusalem Court House. -Miriam would have been writing children's stories for the "Little -Cormorant," at fifty cents a column, and as Uncle Tom's Cabin would -never have been built, the South would never have been provoked into -rebellion; we should have had no war and no greenbacks, prices would -never have risen, ten per cent. and fifteen cents would have been the -same, and we should all have died comfortably in our beds. - -But it is a theme for lasting gratitude not only that this house did -not go into the "cotton trade and sugar line," but also that whatever -share of prosperity it has reached, there are none to attribute it -to any narrow or selfish policy. It has never sought to make bread -out of other people's brain-work and leave the worker without fair -compensation. But upon what meat hath this our "Athens Gazette" fed, -that it is able to make so sweeping a negative, asks the unsanctified -heart. By what authority saith it these things, and who gave it this -authority? Has it had personal interviews with all the persons who -ever had or sought business connections with Messrs. Brummel & Hunt, -and learned from them that no narrow or selfish policy has ever been -attributed to them? Even this would not establish its assertion, but -surely nothing less than this would. It does not say that no narrow -or selfish policy was ever indulged in, but that nobody so much as -attributed it to them. Cæsar's wife is above suspicion. But has any one -asked Cæsar? - -It is not, of course, to be for a moment supposed that so great a house -as the one in question would ever stoop to manufacture its own "puffs," -if I may be pardoned the term. Such a course might befit the "parvenu -hawkers and peddlers" of books, but not an hereditary aristocracy -like this. Its "Poet-Publisher" has indeed distinguished himself by -other figures than those of the day-book and ledger, but I have never -heard that any member of the firm has been ambitious of a place among -the prose writers of Greece. Nor is it I suspect any the more to be -presumed because these paragraphs came to me conspicuously marked with -blue and red lines, and superscribed in the handwriting with which many -years of correspondence with the firm of B. & H. had made me familiar. -For do we not all, as soon as we see ourselves complimented in the -newspaper, send it around to all our friends by the early mail? But -I am reminded of a story which I learned and recited many times in -school. While the regicides Goffe, Whalley, and Maxwell were hiding in -Connecticut, a rough fellow came from afar and terrified the simple -villagers by challenging them to mortal combat. As they stood pale -with consternation, a venerable man, unknown to all, appeared, gravely -accepted the challenge, and immediately disappeared. At the appointed -time throngs were gathered to witness the conflict. As the clock struck -the hour, the mysterious combatant threaded the crowd and took his -place in the arena armed only with a broom, and armored with a huge -cheese fastened upon his person as a breastplate. The astonished bully -began the fight by plunging his sword into the breast, or rather the -cheese, of his opponent. The latter responded by dipping his broom into -the neighboring mud-puddle and giving the bully a gentle swash about -the neck. A second lunge into the cheese and the broom went higher, -sweeping the fighter's chin. A third, and with a fresh baptism of -mud the broom was drawn tenderly over the whole face of the baffled -ruffian, who, unused to such warfare, threw down his sword in terror, -crying, "Who are you? You must be either Goffe, Whalley, or the Devil!" - -Moral: So I, viewing this paragraph and sundry others that follow it, -and seeing how finely they are timed to the issues of the contest, -cannot avoid the mental soliloquy, "Brummell & Hunt, or--Planchette!" - - -J. S. PARRY, OF THE FIRM OF H., P., & CO., TO M. N., JANUARY 1, 1769. - -"The experience of the past few months suggests that it is likely to -take some time to settle the details of the proposed arbitration by -correspondence. A personal interview of half an hour would obviate -much writing and delay. Will you see me at Zoar at such time next week -(after Tuesday) as may be convenient to yourself?" - - -M. N. TO MR. PARRY. - -"If you really think it worth while, by all means come; only the -preliminaries seem to me so simple that they might almost be left to -whistle themselves. I will see you, if you please, at two o'clock, P. -M., Wednesday, the sixth,--day after to-morrow. A train leaves the -Athens Railroad Station, I think, at 12.15. You must leave the train at -Zoar. Probably there will be a carriage at the station if you prefer it -to walking, but whichever way you come you will wish you had taken the -other. - - -M. N. TO MR. DANE, JANUARY 4, 1769. - -"Saturday I had a letter from Mr. Parry, proposing to come down and -arrange with me the preliminaries for (or of) arbitration. I would much -rather he should go to you and do it. Still, I fear if I suggest that, -it will only occasion further delay, and if I can get any hold on them, -perhaps I had better get it. But I don't know what the preliminaries -ought to be. Maybe it is nothing in particular, only arrangements as -to time, and so forth. Still, if there is anything I should stipulate -for, or any boundary lines I ought to draw, or any precautions I ought -to take, can you not advise me by letter? If there is any doubt on my -part, I shall make no engagements, but say to him frankly, I wish to -consult you first, and then I shall come to Athens bright and early, -Thursday, and _consult_ you _nolens volens_." - - -MR. DANE TO M. N., JANUARY 5, 1769. - -"A happy New Year to you. My opinion is that Mr. Parry will try to -_settle_ matters with you, and have no reference or intervention. If he -proposes to arrange a reference, you know what you want and can write -it, perhaps, though my honest opinion is you need help. You may call it -snubbing, or sneering, or flattery, but my opinion is you are not fit -to meet these people in such a matter. - -"Hunt fooled you just as he pleased when he went over, and you wrote me -quite a penitent letter, which showed a good heart, but a feeble mind! -If you arrange for any reference, they should agree to pay you any -amount that may be adjudged to be equitably due to you for arrearages -of copyright. - -"You are [&c.] But as I have told you, there is not a lawyer in Athens -who would undertake personally to manage a controversy of this kind, -being himself the party, and you are not exempt from the laws of -gravitation." ... - - -[Illustration] - - - - -[Illustration] - -VIII. - -ARRANGEMENT OF PRELIMINARIES. - - -AT the appointed time, Mr. Parry presented himself. But instead of -proceeding, at once, to settling the preliminaries of the proposed -arbitration, he wished to discuss the question at issue to see if we -could not settle it between ourselves. I unhesitatingly declined, as I -had from the beginning declined to do so. He said he had brought with -him the papers and figures to show exactly how we stood. I declined -to look at them, telling him that I was entirely incompetent to make -a satisfactory examination of such a point, being unsound even on the -multiplication-table. He asked if I would not be satisfied, supposing -they could clearly prove that I had made more money out of the books -than they had. I said not at all, that I had arrived at that point -where I did not, in the least, care how much the publishers made; that -if other authors had ten per cent., I wanted ten per cent., even if -the publishers had to beg their bread from door to door. He seemed a -little nonplused at such heartlessness; said he had come prepared to -show that they had made only about seven tenths as much as I, and he -had supposed that would satisfy me. As I affirmed it would not, he was -somewhat at a loss how to proceed. I told him that in the beginning, -that--and a great deal less, indeed--would have satisfied me, but that -affairs had gone on so long, and feeling been so much aroused, that -no sort of explanation would satisfy me; that I wished the matter to -go entirely away from ourselves into the hands of unprejudiced and -uninterested persons. - -[After several months of profound reflection, I will here interpolate -a remark which future commentators will please to remember does -not belong to the original text, namely: that I do not see why the -publisher's profits need be considered as the _ultima Thule_ of an -author's. Is it the phantom of a distorted imagination that the author -has a far larger property in the book than the publisher? Does it -not cost him infinitely more than it costs the publisher? And even -leaving the infinite, and coming down to finite matters, are not the -fields which the publisher reaps so much broader than the author's one -little close, that a far smaller share in the gleanings would give -the publisher a far more heaping granary. An author, we will say, -publishes one book in a year. His profits are a thousand dollars. But -the publisher publishes twenty books a year, on which, in the same -ratio, he gets twenty thousand dollars. Suppose five hundred dollars -were taken from the publisher's profits and added to the author's. The -publisher would still have an income of ten thousand dollars, while the -author would have one of only fifteen hundred.] - -Mr. Parry then suggested leaving it to Mr. Stanhope, one of my friends, -a suggestion which I did not adopt. He asked me if I still continued to -prefer that it should be left to more than one person, and I left him -no doubt on that point. He then suggested that we should give up the -two we had chosen, and select entirely new ones. I assured him that I -was not in the least dissatisfied with their choice or my own, and I -would prefer to make no change. He suggested that Mr. Rogers was very -hard of hearing, and might not be able to act on that account. I asked -if he was materially harder of hearing now than when they selected -him to settle the case alone. Mr. Parry did not know that he was, and -finally consented to go on as we had begun. This, in the telling, does -not sound quite straightforward, yet Mr. Parry seemed so frank and fair -that I was more than half convinced, in spite of all other appearances, -that they meant no wrong. At least I did not see how any one could -be conscious of wrong, and yet seem so honest as he seemed. He was -certainly entirely courteous, though, perhaps, it is not parliamentary -to put that in. One tenth part of his fairness in the beginning would -have set my doubts completely at rest. He said--but tenderly enough, as -if he loved me à la Isaak Walton--that they lost money on "Holidays," -and that the books have not been selling very well for two years past. -For all which I am very sorry. Still I remember that Mr. Hunt was -always urgent for me to make books. The last two books were published -in book form at his suggestion. My first notion was to publish them as -magazine articles. The same was the case with "Old Miasmas." They grew -into books, and I have just found an old letter in which Mr. Hunt says, -"Come out with a bang. The book's the thing in which you will catch the -conscience of the public." And again, "A volume by all means." Nothing -could be more encouraging, and stimulating, and agreeable than his tone -and bearing. I recollect his saying to me, when we were discussing the -last book, "You ought to write only books." In a letter of October 23, -1767, he says, "I think you are quite right not to print your Burnet -article at present, and I hope your thoughts will grow into a volume -to be issued by B. & H., in the spring." In a letter of December 11, -1765, he says, "Your sermon is good, but I hope you will not print it -till you put it into a volume. Ask Brother S., your neighbor, if I am -not right. If you were here, I could tell you a thousand reasons _why_ -your interest would not be served in the printing of this paper in a -newspaper or magazine, nor the interest of the reading world, either. I -speak as a fool, no doubt, but in your service. - -"I hope you will give all your energy and time to 'Winter Work.' A new -book from your pen in the spring will help the old ones, and is already -asked for by our booksellers in the West and elsewhere." - -In short, as I look back, it seems to me that Mr. Hunt's -influence--always pleasantly and heartily exerted--was towards the -production and not the repression of books. I deeply regret that they -have not enriched him to the extent of his desires and deserts, and I -should regret it still more deeply had I urged the publications upon -him as warmly as he urged them upon me. - -Although the firm lost money on "Holidays," this paper shows that they -were ready to accept another juvenile book as soon as I told them of -its existence. I suppose there is some occult reason for it, known only -to publishers; but the carnal mind would naturally infer that having -lost money on one, they would be shy of a second venture. - -Mr. Parry repeated Mr. Hunt's assertion, that he replied with his own -hand to my first letter of inquiry. Mr. Hunt, in speaking of it to -me, could not recall the exact time of his writing it, but Mr. Parry -said that Mr. Hunt told him that morning, that it was written directly -after the reception of my letter. But in a letter written two or three -weeks after mine was sent, Mr. Hunt says by his amanuensis, "I have -_not_ answered your last letter touching the terms expressed in the -contracts." Mr. Hunt apparently labors under the curious psychological -infelicity of remembering the letters he does not write, and forgetting -the letters he does write. - -After Mr. Parry had told me that my books had not been selling well -for a year or two, and that they had lost money on them, I hunted up -old letters of Mr. Hunt's to see if they would not show that he had -urged me to write in the form of books. In doing so I found a letter -dated September 23, 1764, from which I make the following extract: "The -contract has been delayed for a sufficient cause." (He then gives as -a reason Mr. Brummell's absence.) "The percentage will read fifteen -cents per copy, as the business times are fluctuating the prices of -manufacture so there is no telling to-morrow or for a new edition what -may be the expenses of publication, so we reckon your percentage in -every and any event as fixed at fifteen cents per volume on all your -works. If it should cost $1.50 to make the volumes you are sure of -your author profit of fifteen cents. The price at retail may be $1.50, -$2.00, or $3.00, as the high or low rates of paper, binding, etc., may -be, but _you_ are all right. This arrangement we make now with all our -authors." - -If I had discovered this letter sooner it would have simplified matters -greatly; but I did not find it till this statement had been, as I -supposed, finished. I therefore thought best to put it in here, in a -sort of chronological order. What I had previously said touching its -substance, I said from memory solely. I could not even have declared -whether its assertions had been made by pen or lips. But I think it -not only fully bears out all that I have alleged, but shows more than -my memory had retained or my perception divined. The letter before its -close says, "As I write the contracts are reported ready, so I enclose -them. Sign both and send back the one marked with red X. You keep one -and we the other." - -I see now that in case the books _had_ gone up to $3.00, I should have -been sure of my author profits of fifteen cents and "all right," even -if I had continued on the old terms of ten per cent; but I did not see -it then, nor anything else, for that matter. The reasoning of this -process is not a little remarkable. Prices of all kinds are changing, -therefore your price shall not change. And what kind of percentage is -that which is no percentage at all but an unchangeable quantity? - -I made direct inquiries of all the authors accessible to me, whose -works were in the hands of Messrs. Brummell & Hunt, at or about that -time. I received information from some fifteen different persons. With -no one of them did Messrs. Brummell & Hunt make the arrangement they -made with me. Nine reported receiving ten per cent. Some received half -profits. One received twelve cents on a book that retailed at a dollar -and a quarter. One said that he received twelve cents on a dollar and -a half book and ten cents on a dollar and a quarter. Another that he -receives ten per cent. sometimes but not always. - -Mr. Hunt often urged upon me the advantage and importance of -my writing only for them; so that, with the exception of the -"Segregationalissuemost," for which I was writing when I began with -Messrs. Brummell & Hunt, I have neither in periodical or book, written -for any other house than theirs. It might seem as if this injunction of -his, all friendly and judicious as it may have been, did put them under -something like an obligation to do as well by me as any other house -would do. - -When "City Lights" was published, its retail price was a dollar and a -quarter, and the first account allows me twelve and a quarter cents a -volume. Mr. Parry said that the retail price of the books was changed -five or six times after my percentage was changed to a fixed sum. The -latter change was made in the autumn of 1764. In a copy of "Rocks of -Offense," date 1764, the advertised retail price of all the books -is one dollar and a half. "Old Miasmas" was published in the autumn -of 1764, and was, from the beginning, sold at two dollars. These -are the only prices that I have seen or heard of since the first. -Mr. Parry, however, says they have at two different times been held -at one dollar and seventy-five cents. I think those times must have -been of very short duration, as I never saw those prices advertised, -and never knew of their existence. I have inquired incognito of the -principal booksellers in Athens and not one of them was aware that the -price had ever been put down since it was put up. But, with all the -changes, the difficulties of computing percentage can hardly have been -insurmountable. - -Mr. Parry at this time told me what I did not know before,--that the -publishers reserved to themselves in the first contract for "City -Lights" fifteen hundred books. The contract specifies only the first -edition. I suppose an edition has no prescribed size; but I have never -in any other case known more than the first thousand being reserved to -the publishers. - -"City Lights" was published September, 1762. On the first of December -of the same year Mr. Hunt reported that before January it would have -gone to a fourth edition. I should like to know if each of those four -editions numbered fifteen hundred volumes. What, for instance, was the -size of the second edition, or the third? - -After careful inquiry I found no one in the "regular line" paying or -receiving less than ten per cent., with the possible exceptions I have -mentioned. Mr. Dickson was assured by a prominent member of the firm, -that the Troubadours never think in any case of offering less than -ten per cent. on the retail price, and that in some cases they pay -twelve and a half or fifteen. He is confident that there has been no -change within the last few years, and that ten per cent. is the current -copyright with all reputable publishers, not only in Corinth, but in -other cities. He says an instance occurred with one of their writers in -which they agreed to pay a certain amount per volume; but as there was -an implied understanding that it was so much per cent. on the retail -price, the matter was compromised between publishers and author when -prices went up. - - -M. N. TO MR. DANE, JANUARY 7, 1769. - -"Your letter made me laugh, and so did me good, like a medicine. By -turning to the latter pages of my bulky book you will find the gist -of Mr. P.'s errand here. He desired first to explain the matters to -me, then to refer to Mr. S., then to take two new men, but I persuaded -him out of them all.... He was to communicate with Mr. Russell to-day, -and I expect to hear the result to-morrow. I am in hopes to have the -thing begun on Saturday, if we can make forty ends meet. Mr. Parry -thinks it will take several days, as he says they shall bring out their -books for examination;--shall not confine themselves to the prescribed -custom of publishers to pay ten per cent. but shall bring in other -things, I don't know what,--their figures, I suppose, to show what an -unprofitable thing publishing is. He was uncertain whether Mr. Rogers -would consent to act. I begged Mr. P. to say to him that I should not -consider it any hostility to me. Mr. P. suggested that I write it to -him and I did. Can you appear on Saturday, in case they agree to meet? -I don't want to come out myself. I send you here a little book for you -to look upon like John Rogers, and I think that will answer far better -than I could. I will send you also my accounts in case you might want -them. I believe you have the contracts. You can read the statement I -suppose, or simply present it and let them read it themselves.... - -"I would have preferred that you should see Mr. Parry, but I could -find no sufficient excuse for not seeing him myself, and I feared it -might be offensive to insist upon your presence.... But as it was, Mr. -Parry apparently had no mischievous intent. He said they should pay if -the arbitrators so decided, but seemed particularly desirous that I -also should agree to accept the decision and fully to exonerate B. & H. -in case the decision should be for them, and that I should say so to my -friends and those who had been made acquainted with my dissatisfaction. -Of course it would be infamous not to do that. I was very favorably -impressed. It seems as if they must be honest or he could not appear -as he did, but I assure you I did not 'gush' in the least. I told him -I should accept the decision as far as regarded the past before this -year, but all the world could not convince me that they had met me -fairly and satisfactorily since I began to investigate; that I thought -their course had been such as to aggravate and even to originate -suspicion." - - -HUNT, PARRY, & CO. TO M. N., JANUARY 7, 1769. - -"We have had an interview with Mr. Russell this morning. He agrees -with us that it would not be wise to enter into the business of the -reference without ample time to consider all the points involved, -especially as Mr. Rogers declines positively to act, and we are now -compelled to choose another referee. Mr. Russell is obliged to leave -for London on Saturday night; and he on the whole prefers to come to -Athens some four weeks hence if need be, or on his return from the -Witenagemote the 1st of March. We trust this will be satisfactory to -you. - -"For the associate of Mr. Russell in the case, we select the Hon. G. W. -Hampden, late member of Witenagemote from this city. The two gentlemen -are well known to each other. Please inform us if he is satisfactory to -you; and also please inform us if it is your wish that a third person -should be chosen by these two before a hearing be had, or only in the -event of their disagreeing." - - -M. N. TO MR. DANE. - -"So here it is you see, apparently as far off as ever. What do you say? -I think I have heard that Mr. Hampden is a large paper-manufacturer, -and also that the House have their paper of him. If so I think it -would not be best that he should be the one, but I don't wish to be -_cantankerous_. I will not answer them till I hear from you." - - -MR. DANE TO M. N., JANUARY 9. - -"When you have practiced law thirty years, man and boy, as I have, you -will know that any business that requires the presence of five or six -business men at a given time and place, is of indefinite duration, and -if those men are five hundred miles apart, the indefiniteness becomes -definitely long, at least. You know there is to be an organization of -the new Witenagemote after March 4, so that if we wait for Mr. Russell, -we can have no hearing this winter. I know of no objection to Mr. -Hampden." - - -M. N. TO H., P., & CO. - -"I cannot say that it is 'satisfactory,' because nothing can be really -satisfactory to me but an immediate and pacific settlement of my claims. - -"To Mr. Hampden I have no personal objection whatever, but I seem to -recollect, when we were all living in Paradise, before the fall, having -heard Mr. Hampden spoken of by Mr. Hunt as a paper-manufacturer, with -whom you had large dealings. If so would it not be almost too much to -expect of human nature that it should be strictly impartial under such -circumstances? I simply make the suggestion, not even being sure that -it is 'founded on fact.' - -"The choosing of a third person I should leave entirely with the two -chosen. If they think a third unnecessary so much the better. I should -certainly think two fair-minded, unprejudiced persons might get at the -truth without recourse to a third." - - -H., P., & CO. TO M. N., JANUARY 26. - -"Our business relations with the firm of which Hon. G. W. Hampden -is the head, have been for the last three or four years of the most -insignificant amount, certainly not of a nature to warp his judgment in -our favor. Besides Mr. Hampden is, like Mr. Russell, too honorable a -man [still harping on my honor] to accept the position of a judge where -his prejudices are enlisted. - -"We do not understand from your letter that you object to Mr. Hampden. -On hearing from you we will write to Mr. Russell, and say that the -Reference only waits his convenience." - - -M. N. TO H., P., & CO., FEBRUARY 1. - -"I am advised--and the advice is in accordance with my own -opinion--that I have no right to object to your choice, unless the -person chosen be so undesirable that I decline arbitration rather than -accept him as arbitrator. This certainly is not true in the case of Mr. -Hampden. I have given you my only reason for objecting to him. Since -you assure me this reason does not exist, I withdraw my objection." - - -H., P., & CO. TO M. N., FEBRUARY 11. - -"We have written to Mr. Russell to say that Mr. Hampden will meet him -in London during the week of Inauguration, and that the two gentlemen -can then fix such time for hearing the case as may suit their own -convenience." - - -M. N. TO MR. DANE, FEBRUARY 11. - -"I believe that you have gone on a mission to the king of the Cannibal -Islands. Otherwise, as Cicero says, where in the world are you? Nothing -is more evident than that you have given the world a quitclaim deed of -me. - -"And that is why I am writing. About a fortnight ago, Mr. Woodlee, the -Grand Vizier, wrote to me saying that he should be off duty on the 4th -of March, and if I liked would be very happy, as a friend, to present -my grievances to the referees. Mr. Woodlee is an intimate friend of -mine, and when he was down to see me last summer I reno-varied my -dolores at his own request. I wrote to Mr. Woodlee at once that we -must not swap horses in crossing a stream, even though the horse was -a poor one. I did not use those words, but that was the substance of -doctrine--the poor horse, my love, meaning you! He did not know your -connection with it, or did not remember. Since then your intense and -aggravated silence has led me to think that perhaps you are so utterly -weary with the whole thing, and me into the bargain, that you would -hail with delight any opportunity to bid farewell, a long farewell, to -all my greatness. If you do, here is your chance. If you write to me -and say that you should be happy to wash your hands of me with Castile -soap and three waters, I shall weep salt tears from the briny deep, and -send on to London by next mail. - -"You have had a rich time of it with me I know, if I only meant to -pay you. Well, truly, I do mean to pay you--a little, not much--say -seventy-five cents or a dollar,--not half as much as you deserve. But I -tell you now so you need not think I am leaving your family penniless. -And what I do not pay in money, I shall make up to you in appreciation, -for I think you have managed the case with clear insight and much -skill,--that is, under my supervision. I have held you back from what -was rash and inaccurate, and between us we have got matters pretty well -in hand. Now it seems to me that if you have held out so long it will -be better for you to hold out to the end. The making-up is about made -up. To be sure I am going to rewrite my statement and shall probably -continue the process so long as it remains in my possession, but the -main points will be the same, so you will apparently have little more -trouble with it. Now please to tell me just how you feel about it--or -rather, for that is too much to ask,--just how you propose to feel. I -think you have had my 'Statement' about long enough for your share, -so I will take my turn at holding the baby. You may send it down by -express if you please, together with the bills and contracts thereunto -appertaining, and let me see if it has improved with age." - - -MR. DANE TO M. N., FEBRUARY 18. - -"Ungrateful Female, After all my trials and tribulations, and -fault-findings at your course, you now purpose to swap me off. Well, -I will free my mind, if I die for it. My opinion is, that neither Mr. -Woodlee, nor principalities, nor powers, nor any other creature, can -do so much for you in your trial as I can. I believe Mr. Woodlee is a -few years younger than I and so has a greater chance to live to the end -of it _cœteris paribus_, but _cœteris_ are _not_ _paribus_, because he -lives away from the scene, and there never could be a conjunction of -Hampden, Woodlee, Russell, etc. If I were to fly up and say I would -have nothing more to do with your case, because you won't follow -my advice, there would be reason in it, but for you to take a new -adviser--Why you don't know how much Mr. Woodlee must go through to be -as familiar with the matter as I am, and don't you see that you must -not tax these far-off friends in this way? I, who am your real friend, -you may do anything with, but Mr. Woodlee and Mr. Russell never will -leave all and follow you to Athens and spend days on this trial.... - -"Do not be foolish unless it is really necessary. I want to make H., -P., & Co. do right, and I want to do all for you that is possible. As -the matter must be heard at Athens, I am the person to do it with least -trouble. Your letter found me at Marathon yesterday. I shall be home -next week, and your papers shall be sent. In the mean time the Lord -restore you to reason. Swap me off indeed! Your _only_ friend!" - - -M. N. TO MR. DANE, MARCH 8. - -"I am bright but not quick. In short I am slow. When you -inf--ex--ci--well--asked me in Oxford what I was writing my Statement -for, I suppose you saw what I only just now see,--that a large part of -it was not necessary. I had in mind the justification of my mode as -well as of my claim, and for that the whole case needed to be unfolded. -But since that letter was found, my mind has somehow clarified--the -brown sugar has all turned white, and if you want to eat me while I am -sweet now is your time. - -"Now then, as you are a man and inexperienced, let me briefly jot down -for you an outline of my proper mode of defense. - -"The brief is a perfect Troy in a nutshell and all you need to plume -your wings with. Read that in the Valley of Decision and immediately -walk across the room to the corner where H. & P. will be cowering, and -shake your fists in their face. They will reply that they do not make -one author the criterion for another, whereat you will take a flying -leap over all the intervening pages to the letter which says, 'This -arrangement we now make with all our authors.' - -"They will then bring forward their books to show that they cannot pay -me more without starving themselves. You will immediately rule that out -of court as not germane to the case, and the arbitrators will at once -award me three thousand dollars due, and three thousand more damages, -which you will bring me in gold to Zoar, and I will buy two pounds of -New York candy and give a party in honor of the event. I don't see why -the rest of the Statement need to be brought in at all unless, first, - -"They deny that they have not made the same arrangements with all their -authors. If they do, you must turn to my declaration and proof; or, -second, - -"They say that my mode of making my claim was so offensive that they -could not notice it. This I have heard of in substance privately. If -they do this then I insist upon the whole Statement's being laid before -them." - - -M. N. TO MR. DANE, MARCH 10. - -"'The sense of the dear!' as Peggotty said when Davy gave in his -adhesion to her marriage on the ground of her being able to come and -see him without cost of coach-hire. - -"Apropos to what? Why, to your letter, of course, and a two months' -session, and Dark Care sitting behind the horseman, in general. - -"Isn't the tenth of March the Prince of Wales' wedding-day? - -"The advantage of Halliday being in the Cabinet is, that I shall -control you, you will control him, he will control Grant, and for once -we shall be sure of having the government well administered. - -"For my private fortunes, if I have the Lord High Chancellor for my -judge, the co-Secretary of State for my fighting corps, and the Grand -Vizier Suzerain for my reserve force, I shall at least fall into as -well as in good company. - -"Dr. Edwards used to say that if Mr. Springfield were not a sharp New -England lawyer, he would be the first statesman of the day. _Mutato -nomine de te fabula et pluribus unum et cetera._ - -"It seems impossible to get the kink of the law out of your brain. -I can stand it very well because I have you only in spots, but poor -F., who has the whole vast sandy plain destitute of vegetation on her -hands, must have a life of it. - -"Behold a few of the holes which I am about to punch in your case to -let in light:-- - -"'We claim ten per cent.' Right. - -"'H. says it is more than you were worth, and besides you agreed to -less.' Very well put and very probable. - -"'We reply, Ten per cent. is the least anybody is worth.' No we don't. -We decline to enter into the question of worth, and demand the pound -of flesh. They say, 'Very well, here is the bond;' and _then_ we -say,--'You deceived us into our assent by,' etc., etc. - -"As for their 'cruelty'--not a bit of it. It is legitimate warfare. -They made my fame by advertising, they say. Very well. I reply, first, -they didn't, and second, what if they did? If they made my sales by -advertising, why did they not make A.'s in the same way? He has never -yet received a penny for the B treatise. Why not C.'s books, of which -he says all that have been sold a cat could carry, and so on. On the -other hand, that they have done a great deal towards circulating them I -readily admit. What do I pay them ninety per cent. for, I should like -to know, if not that? Publishing is their business. That they have done -more than another publisher would, I deny. They have simply transacted -their business in the way they deemed most profitable to themselves. I -deny that they have done anything for me out of the usual course of -trade. - -"About the advertising, I am indeed not fully persuaded.... Possibly -the books have had their day and would have fallen off any way. A -fortnight or so ago, perhaps more, Mr. Smith applied to me to write -for his paper. I named my price. He rather _recalcitrated_. I wrote a -letter that _tickled_ him, and he then proposed to come down and see -me and make an arrangement. He was to be in Athens, 'the guest of his -friend Mr.----!' But in Athens he heard from "two different sources -that I was less popular than I had been," and so he beat a retreat to -Corinth without seeing me at all. Isn't there a wheel within a wheel? - -"Is this wearing away my soul? Then my soul must be like the liver of -Tityus, forever spent, renewed forever. - -"If you think I don't value money, send me down a hundred dollar note -and see! - -"The _manner_ of my making my claim is not material to the issue. -No. But there is no use in wasting the time and temper of the men by -unnecessary words. - -"Now I beg you to disabuse your mind of the supposition that we are a -court! The especial advantage of this way of settlement is, that we are -not a court.... You will probably little relish this letter, but it is -for your good." - - -M. N. TO MR. DANE, MARCH 20. - -"I do not know whether your letter requires an answer, but as the old -philosopher said, 'I have often been sorry I kept still but never was -sorry I spoke.' So I will give you the benefit of the doubt. - -"Ellingwood & Sampson are respectable. So far so good. I suppose -they stand first in New England, don't they, by all odds? But they -are in New England, and I have conceived a distaste for New England -publishing. Also they don't publish solid books such as mine, but -Whately, Bacon, Wheaton, and similar light literature. Would they -be as likely to do well by me as a big New York Mandarin, like the -Troubadours or Pearvilles? Do they know that my popularity is like that -retired clergyman whose sands of life are nearly run out? They will -take a new book, but shall I let the old go to waste, and ought not the -new to go with the old to communicate an impulse thereunto? And is it -not better to let the whole be till after arbitration, or the overthrow -of the existing order of things? I should like H., P., & Co. to be -as little exasperated as possible before Gog and Magog come to close -quarters.... _Homer_ had to pay an immense sum for one of his books -which was quite out of print and of no use to the publisher.... If Mr. -Campton testifies that the cost of making my books is so much and the -profit so much, they must admit or deny it. If they admit his figures -they admit the profits which they have heretofore denied. If they deny -his figures they deny profits; and how can they ask high prices for -unprofitable property? If Mertons have personal grievances to redress -they would be more likely to take me up _con amore_, and so I make -friends of the mammon of unrighteousness. But I shall be a troublesome -person hereafter to transact business with. Having once wasted my -sweetness on the desert air, I shall be henceforth only the mother of -vinegar. Whenever I see a publisher coming in at the front gate, I -shall drop the cake-basket into the wash-boiler, slip the spoons into -my pocket and keep my hand on my watch all the time I am talking with -him, which might not look conciliatory. Be sure and tell Mr. Campton -this, and also that there is no sale for the books, that is, if you -ever say more to him about it. I don't wish to sail into anybody's good -graces under false colors, and am willing to take for granted Butler's -(Samuel) declaration that the pleasure is as great in being cheated as -to cheat. I am not sure I shall not write a book and call it - - 'HARI-KARI, - OR - A CURIOSITY OF LITERATURE,' - -and put The Whole Deviltry of Man into it.... Is not he who compounds -with wickedness as bad as he who commits it? And oughtn't I to hold -up my beacon as a warning to all future generations? If I am not only -to be fought above ground, but am also to be undermined, shall not I -countermine? - - "'And shall Trelawney die, and shall Trelawney die, - Then thirty thousand Cornish boys will know the reason why!' - -"I am that thirty thousand Cornish boys. - -"You are not expected to answer my questions. You can ponder them as a -theme for meditation in the night-watches." - - -MR. DANE TO M. N., MARCH 22. - -"Mr. Hunt proposes to pass _the season_ abroad--probably will go about -the time the Lord High Chancellor & Co. are ready to hear us." - - -HUNT, PARRY, & CO. TO M. N., APRIL 12. - -"We are in hopes of getting a meeting of our referees early next week. -Mr. Russell has advised us of his intention of being in Athens some -time next week, and we have requested him to appoint as early a day -as possible in order to accommodate Mr. Hampden. We trust you will be -prepared to meet the referees on any day they may appoint." - - -M. N. TO H., P., & CO., APRIL 13. - -"I have been ready to meet the referees for five months, and I trust -nothing will hinder me from meeting them on any day they may appoint." - - -A conjunction of the heavenly bodies was at length agreed upon for -April 22, 1769. I mention the year for the benefit of future ages. - - -MR. DANE TO H., P., & CO., APRIL 16. - -"To any right understanding of the questions involved in the proposed -reference, it seems necessary that the referees should have information -such as is indicated in the interrogatories herewith inclosed, which -can come only from yourselves. If you can send me the answers before -the referees meet, it may prevent delay." - - -The interrogatories were as follows:-- - -"1. How many copies of each of the works of M. N. have been printed by -your authority; how many editions of each, at what dates, and how many -in each edition? - -"2. How many copies of each of said works have you accounted to her -for, and at what rate of compensation for each respectively? Please -exhibit a full and exact account. - -"3. How many copies of each of the works of the authors named below -have you accounted for to said authors respectively, and at what rate -per centum on the retail price of each, when reckoned by percentage, -and at what price in gross when paid in gross, and upon what contract, -if any, with each, for each of their works, that is to say,--A., B., -C., D., E., F., G., H., I., J., K., L., M., N.? - -"4. Had you with either of the authors named above, on the day of the -date of your last contract with M. N., or to wit, on September 4th, -1764, or afterwards, and when any, and if any what agreement with -either, and which of them, that such authors should receive any and -what sum in gross instead of a percentage, and was such agreement -written or verbal? - -"5. What were the net profits of the 'Adriatic' each year, from 1762 to -1767, inclusive? - -"6. What were the net profits of the firm of Brummell & Hunt each year, -from 1762 to 1767, inclusive?" - - -H., P., & CO. TO MR. DANE, APRIL 19. - -"We are in receipt of your note addressed to Brummell & Hunt of the -16th inst., with its inclosure. - -"It seems to us premature to now consider the evidence to be used -before the referees, as the ordinary preliminaries to the reference -itself have not been completed." - - -MR. DANE TO M. N., APRIL 19. - -"Your package came an hour ago, and while I was reading it came this -note from H., P., & Co. It means delay, I suppose, or perchance it -means if M. N. has a lawyer we will have one and put all in legal -shape." - - -H., P., & CO. TO M. N., APRIL 21. - -"On the 16th we received a communication from Mr. Nathan Dane, which -led us to suppose he was acting as your attorney, and had charge of the -matter of reference on your behalf. We replied to his communication, -and we have heard nothing from him since." - - -I did not see that there was any point to any of these letters and I -did not reply to them or give myself any trouble about them. If Messrs. -Hunt, Parry, & Co., wanted further delay why had they agreed upon a -day, and what should they want of further delay? As they had frequently -had communication with Mr. Dane concerning this matter, and had -themselves spoken of him as my attorney without contradiction from me, -I did not quite see how they could have waited for the interrogatories, -to be led to any new supposition in that respect. As to their having a -lawyer, while I did not see why they should want one, I certainly had -no objection. I thought Mr. Parry had come down to Zoar on purpose -to arrange the preliminaries of the reference, and that they were -sufficiently arranged at that time. But I apprehended no trouble on -that score, and took no thought about it. - - - - -[Illustration] - -IX. - -BATTLE OF GOG AND MAGOG. - - -WE have now reached a point in the tragedy where the English language -breaks down and Pius Æneas must the rescue and tell-- - - "Trojanas ut opes, et lamentabile regnum - Eruerint Danai; quæque ipse miserrima vidi, - Et quorum pars magna fui. Quis talia fando, - Myrmidonum, Dolopumve, aut duri miles Ulyssei, - Temperet à lachrymis? - Sed si tantus amor(?) casus cognoscere nostros, - Et breviter Trojæ supremum audire laborem; - Quamquam animus meminisse horret, luctuque refugit, - Incipiam." - -And, giving the "Æneid" with some variations, I might go on-- - - "Est in conspectu M. N. notissima famâ - Insula, dives opum, agrorum et osboni dum regna manebant." - -I consented to be _in conspectu_ on Mr. Dane's earnest representations -that matters might come up on which I was better informed than he, and -on which my statements might be important. Of course, after all this -trouble, it was not worth while to run any risk through mere personal -feeling. - -At the appointed time, accordingly, the combatants appeared upon the -arena at Mars Hill House, in martial array. Messrs. Hunt, Parry, & Co. -were led by a lawyer, Mr. Sudlow, whose purpose, it soon appeared, was -not to open, but to postpone the battle. I must admit I listened in -amazement. Here, after sixteen months of backing and filling, three -months after an arbitration had been agreed on, and more than a week -after the day had been appointed by them and accepted by me, they -appeared for the purpose of saying that they could not go on with the -case. I remembered with astonishment that on the thirteenth of November -preceding, the affair had seemed so simple to Mr. Hunt that he had -written to one of those friends of mine to whom he had wished and I had -declined to refer the case, "If you and I, business men, could have -half an hour's talk together, and M. N. would abide by your decision, -I think that half hour would be sufficient to settle the whole thing." -Whereas, now, before the man whom I had chosen, three months did not -seem long enough. The reasons presented by Mr. Sudlow were, first, that -the preliminaries were not arranged. The referees themselves averred -in substance that this could be done in five minutes on the spot, and -there need be no delay on that account. - -Mr. Sudlow said, secondly, that at an early stage of the affair I -had waived all legal claim, or had never made any, yet that I now -appeared with a lawyer as if to establish a legal claim; that this -was an entirely new phase, and one which they could not meet without -due preparation. It was alleged in reply, that our courts do not -distinguish between legal claims and claims in equity, and that however -I might present my claim, it was as a debt and not as a gift; that -it surely would not be held by Messrs. Hunt, Parry, & Co., that the -reference had been called to arbitrate upon a gratuity. After a good -deal of talk, Mr. Dane called for the authority by which they said I -had waived all legal claims; and they produced the letter sent them by -me on the 29th August, 1767, about eight months before this time, which -said, "Of course I know that legally I have no right to go behind a -contract, and therefore no legal claim upon you for additional money -on those books that are named in the contract." Mr. Dane pointed out, -that, even on this ground there was no waiving of legal claims, except -on those books named in the contract referred to. As only three books -were embraced in that contract, as one was published under a different -contract which we wished carried out, and five were published without -any contract at all, the postponing of the case on this pretext -was simply preposterous. It seemed to me, moreover, though I said -nothing, that even if I had supposed eight months ago that I had no -legal claims, I might have subsequently learned otherwise, and that -any person who really wanted the case looked into and satisfactorily -settled would never have been deterred by so slight an obstacle. But -the contest as it stood was two-thirds legal, and it would seem as -if an enterprising firm of four shrewd business men might have been -prepared to illustrate it in eight months if they had given their minds -to it. - -Mr. Sudlow affirmed, thirdly, that Messrs. Hunt, Parry, & Co. had -supposed they should meet me alone for a friendly reference; that on -such a supposition they had arranged to be represented before the -referees by one member of their firm, Mr. Markman, who had accordingly -prepared to present the case; that until they received Mr. Dane's -letter of interrogatories of the 16th instant, they had not supposed -I should employ counsel, but if I employed counsel they also should -employ counsel; that they were not prepared to appear with counsel, and -must have a postponement for the purpose of making such preparation, -and as Mr. Hunt was to leave for Europe on the following Monday, the -postponement must hold till after his return from Europe. - -Mr. Dane asked them if they meant to allege that they had stipulated -that I should not employ counsel. They said they had not so stipulated, -but that they supposed I would not employ it. Mr. Dane then said that -he had been my adviser from the beginning, both as my friend and as -a friend of Mr. Hunt, Mr. Hunt having done him the honor to speak of -him as an old friend; that he had had frequent communications with -them on this subject, as they well knew, and that they had made no -objection to his connection with it; that it made no difference except -in name, whether he was called my counsel or my friend; that, although -he was a lawyer he trusted he was not on that account to be excluded -from the circle of my friends, and that, under the circumstances, -it might be proper for him to state that my name had never been on -his account-books, and that he had all along counseled me only as a -friend. "This thing," he said, "is not to be misunderstood. We want to -be definite. Will you say that you will not proceed because M. N. has -counsel,--if you choose to call it so,--when she never said that she -would not have counsel, nothing ever having been said about it?" - -They still reiterated their assertion that under the circumstances -they could not go on with the case. As the business had looked to Mr. -Hunt so simple that two business men could settle it in half an hour, -it would seem as if almost any kind of a lawyer might have mastered -it in the time between the 16th of April, when the idea of my having -counsel first dawned upon the unsuspecting minds of Messrs. H., P., & -Co., and the 22d, when the hearing was to be had. The firm must rank -law far below commerce, if a lawyer could not understand in six days -with three men to help him, what a merchant could comprehend in half an -hour alone. - -Mr. Dane then consulted with me, and I told him upon the impulse of the -moment that I would go on. This, perhaps, was hardly prudent or proper. -But there had been so much difficulty and delay in bringing things even -to this stage, the trouble had weighed so heavily and disastrously -upon me, that anything seemed better than an indefinite postponement. -Moreover, the reasons which they alleged for delay appeared to me mere -quibbles. I thought I saw that they did not design to have any hearing, -and that if we should ever get together again, there would be just as -much reason for further delay as now, and if I did not secure a hearing -now, I never should. I felt that the referees must surely think they -had been summoned on a fool's errand. I was quite aware not only of -my inability to present the case adequately, but to present it at all -in person,--but I had the "brief," which Mr. Dane would have used, -and I had my formidable history in which the referees could quarry at -pleasure. Even if I should lose the case, I was not without resource; -for upon the instant when I saw that Messrs. Hunt, Parry, & Co. were -about to evade the only thing which I had wanted, namely, a fair and -full discussion, there came into my mind another tribunal which it -would be impossible for them to evade, and before which I could present -my case with or without counsel, in my own time and way. I had all -along had a vague feeling that something of service to my craft must -come out of all this harassment to me, though no definite idea had -ever evolved itself. But at that moment, tingling with indignation and -contempt, and a sense of outrage,--an outrage greater than appears -here, greater I think than the junior members of the firm knew or -intended, but not greater than Mr. Hunt knew, and I believe counted -on,--at that moment I resolved that so far as I could help it, no -person should ever be placed in the position in which I found myself. -If any writer thereafter should get into such a snare, he should not -blunder in as I had done, but walk in with his eyes open. I thought -that my brief and my "Universal History" would be enough to draw -the enemy's fire. I should know where they stood, and if I could not -understand the analysis and cultivation of the soil, I could at least -map out the ground for other investigators. I felt that I could better -afford to lose my case than my time. Mr. Hunt had calculated accurately -enough the quality and amount of resistance he was accumulating against -me. The thing he had not sufficiently calculated was the amount of -force that could be brought to overcome that resistance. - -Mr. Dane then said, that, having consulted me, he had one more -proposition to make; he was not himself surprised at the turn affairs -had taken; he had at the beginning advised me to have recourse to the -courts as the only sure way of redress, but that I had always refused -to do so; that he had repeatedly predicted--even to the preceding -day--that some way would be found to avoid a hearing; that he thought -it hardly fair for them to force me to go on alone, whom they knew to -be entirely unfamiliar with the details of business, who had scarcely -in my whole life had any business transactions except with themselves, -and had left those entirely in their hands, who had not indeed expected -to appear at all in the case, and had only the night before reluctantly -consented, at his solicitations, to be present--"If you, gentlemen, -think it fair and honorable to insist now, at the last hour, that M. -N. shall, without any friend, and entirely unprepared, meet you alone, -and conduct the case herself, she will do so. We have come here in good -faith to have a hearing, and if such are the only conditions on which -it can be had, we will accept them, although I think them hard. We will -accept your understanding of the conditions instead of our own. Your -firm shall have its representative, I will withdraw, M. N. will do the -best she can, and you may see if you can make anything out of it." - -Mr. Parry seemed to think, like David Copperfield, that this was a -disagreeable way of putting the business, and wished me to state that -I did not feel that they wished to take any advantage of me. Mr. -Dane said, "I do not know what M. N.'s feelings are. _My_ opinion is -understood, and I shall state it whenever and wherever I choose." - -As my feelings were not under arbitration, I declined, through Mr. -Dane, to make any declaration concerning them, but said I wished to go -on with the case. Mr. Dane and Mr. Sudlow then withdrew, and the firm -were reduced to the painful necessity of proceeding, although their -anxiety in regard to my feelings was not relieved. - -They did not, however, proceed according to their own statement of -what had been their understanding concerning the mode of procedure. -Before Messrs. Dane and Sudlow withdrew, Mr. Sudlow said that they were -to be represented by one member of their firm, and that Mr. Markman -had prepared himself for such representation. Mr. Dane had distinctly -stated that he withdrew on this understanding. After he was gone, I -expected that Messrs. Hunt & Parry would also withdraw, according to -their statement of their original intention, and its acceptance by Mr. -Dane. Instead of which, Mr. Parry came to me and asked me if I had -any preference as to whether the whole firm should remain or only one -member of it. I conceived that this matter had been previously settled -by express stipulation, that they had no right to open it again, and -place the decision on my preference. I disdained to receive as a favor -what seemed to me the least of my rights, and I refused to express any -preference about it. - -Mr. Parry said, if I had no preference, of course they would rather -stay, and they all stayed. - -The following paper was then drawn up by the referees and signed by -Messrs. Hunt, Parry, & Co. and myself:-- - - - "ATHENS, _April_ 22, 1769. - -"There being a controversy between Hunt, Parry, & Co., as successors -to Brummell & Hunt of Athens, and M. N. of Zoar, in regard to the -amount due from the former to the latter for proceeds arising from the -publication and sale of the books of which M. N. is the author, it is -hereby agreed between the parties to the controversy to submit the -points in dispute to George W. Hampden and James Russell, as friendly -referees, with the right to the referees to choose a third as umpire, -either on the general merits or on any specific point that may be -submitted to said third person. And both parties to this agreement -hereby bind themselves to accept the award of said referees as binding -and conclusive, without reserving any right of appeal to any court of -law. - -"In witness whereof this agreement is signed by both parties in -presence of the referees, to whose custody it is committed." - - -As I did not intend ever again to sign a paper whose import I did not -fully comprehend, it may be supposed that I listened attentively to the -reading of this paper. As I had no design to appeal to any court of -law, and as it did not preclude me from appealing to the court to which -I had made up my mind to appeal, I had no hesitation in signing it. - -The case being thus begun, nothing remained but to place in the hands -of the referees-- - - -_The "entire case in all its bearings" between the firm of Brummell & -Hunt and M. N.--as presented by the latter._ - -_Compiled chiefly from the original documents._ - - -In two parts:-- - -_Part First._ The case in brief. - -_Part Second._ The case in full. - -Each part complete in itself. - -The part to be selected according to the taste, object, or judgment of -the reader. - - _October_ 22, 1768. - - -THE CASE IN BRIEF. - -When Messrs. Brummell & Hunt published "City Lights," they made a -contract to pay me ten per cent. on the retail price of the book after -the first thousand copies were sold. I did not know that a contract -was necessary, but they told me it was, and they also wrote my name in -pencil to indicate where I was to write it in ink. - -Afterwards they published "Alba Dies" and "Rocks of Offense," without -any contract. When "Old Miasmas" was about to be published, it occurred -to me that if a contract were necessary in one case, it was in another, -and I suggested it to Mr. Hunt. He accordingly had a new contract made -out, embracing these three books, in which the firm agreed to pay me -fifteen cents a volume for each volume sold. I think it must have been -at the time this contract was made out--but I cannot be sure as to the -time--that Mr. Hunt told me that they were going to pay me a fixed -sum, fifteen cents on a volume, instead of a percentage; that that -was the way they were going to do with their authors, on account of -fluctuations, general uncertainties, and so forth. I made no objection. -I felt none. I assented as a matter of course. I thought that was his -business and no affair of mine. I should have thought it intermeddling, -and offensive to friendship, to take exception, and I did not dream -there was anything to take exception to. I had perfect faith in Mr. -Hunt, and reckoned my interests far safer in his hands than in my own. - -In the winter of 1767-8, I suddenly awoke to the fact that ten per -cent. was the ordinary rate of payment to the author, and that I had -been receiving for several years only six and two-thirds and seven and -one-half per cent. At the time Mr. Hunt changed his mode of payment, my -books were selling at a dollar and fifty cents a volume, so that ten -per cent. and fifteen cents were the same. I was therefore the less -likely to take exception to the change. The contract embraced "Old -Miasmas," which was about to be published, but when it was published -the price of it and of the rest of the books was put at two dollars, -and has remained so ever since. - -All the books that have been published for me by Messrs. H., P., & Co., -since "Old Miasmas," have been published without contract. On each of -these books, five in number, they have paid me fifteen cents a volume, -except "Holidays," on which they paid ten cents a volume. "Holidays" -was sold at retail for one dollar and a half; "The Rights of Men" for -one dollar and a half; the others were at the price of two dollars. -"The Rights of Men" was not published until after I had made objection -to the low price I had been receiving. - -Pearvilles and Troubadours of Corinth, and publishers of Athens, have -told me that ten per cent. on the retail price is the customary pay of -authors. - -I claim that Messrs. Brummell & Hunt should pay me the difference -between what they have paid and what ten per cent. would have been, and -that on all books sold in the future, they should pay ten per cent. I -agreed to less, in full faith in their uprightness, and in the belief, -based on Mr. Hunt's statement, and on my own high opinion of their -justice and liberality, that I was faring just as others fared. - -Messrs. Brummell & Hunt refuse to pay me more than six and two-thirds -and seven and a half per cent. either for the past or the future, -except on "The Rights of Men." - -To which I had added, February 26, 1769:-- - -"I claim now, after fourteen months of what theologians call 'waiting -in the use of means,' that they should reimburse me for the time and -trouble it has cost me to enforce my claims." - - -THE CASE IN FULL. - -The case in full was the history just given; compiled, as its perusal -shows, from various motives, at various times, for various persons. -A few letters between Mr. Dane and myself have been inserted to meet -sundry points which afterwards came up. A few slight verbal alterations -have been made, and some elegant extracts from the newspapers have been -introduced. Otherwise, the statement here made, covering the time from -October, 1767, to February, 1769, is the one which was presented to -and acted upon by the referees. It was indeed a formidable object, and -those unhappy gentlemen may be pardoned if, for a moment, as they held -it in their hands, they looked into each other's faces in dismay. But -it gives me pleasure to add for the credit of our common humanity, that -they met their fate like men, and by a well-organized system of "ride -and tie" arrived at their journey's end in a much fresher condition -than could have been expected of mere mortals. - -When the reading of this document was completed, Messrs. Hunt, Parry, & -Co. took up the parable, Mr. Parry being the first spokesman. And here -I may say, that notwithstanding their assertion that they had expected -to be represented by one of their firm, Mr. Markman, and that on such -expectation Mr. Markman had prepared a presentation of the case, when -I gave up my arrangements and consented to adopt theirs, their own -seemed to have been changed. Instead of one member having it in charge, -they all had a share in it, perhaps on the Pauline theory, that if one -member suffer, all the members must suffer with him. Mr. Parry began, -speaking from notes. Mr. Hunt followed, and Mr. Markman brought up -the rear with day-book and ledger. Each one seemed to have his part -carefully marked out and assigned to him, and if it had not been for -the assertion that they had intended to be represented by one, I should -never have suspected that the subsequent management of this case by all -three, was a sudden and unaccountable afterthought. - -Mr. Parry began by giving a general outline of the trouble as seen -from the "Firm" point of sight. He admitted the pleasant relations in -which we had previously stood. It seemed that in the latter part of -1767, I had something of a disappointment that the balance due me was -not larger, and cast about to see how it could be increased, that the -Segregationalissuemost alleged that a larger sum was generally paid -than I had received, and Mr. Jackson seemed to confirm this statement; -that Mr. Dane, to whom also I had had recourse, had not alleviated my -uneasiness, but had rather poisoned my mind against them, as could be -seen by the attitude he had assumed here this morning, saying that he -had never believed I should have a hearing, and so forth; that as a -result of it all, I considered that I had a claim for additional money, -a claim that lay back of the contracts, as I had said; that I believed -they had paid me less than they paid others, and in short brought -against them a charge of general disingenuousness. - -In replying to Messrs. Hunt, Parry, & Co., I was obliged to omit -allusion to sundry points of minor importance, out of a tenderness -to the referees--a tenderness of which, probably, until this moment, -they had no suspicion. To the readers of this narrative I have no -tenderness whatever, since the matter lies in their own hands, and -they can dismiss it at pleasure. I shall therefore touch upon various -omitted points while sketching the outlines of the defense, and will -say here that Mr. Parry's declaration regarding the cause of "The Great -Awakening," is strictly true. My eyes were not opened by any profound -reflections on the "Origin of Evil," or the "Analogy of Religion, -Natural and Revealed, to the Constitution and Course of Nature," but -simply by the ignoble circumstance that I wanted money in my own -miserable purse. The only consolation to be found for this shameful -disclosure, is the recollection of that three pence a pound on tea -which produced George Washington and the great American Republic. I -have, however, in mitigation of this sordidness, brought forward one -or two letters, which show that I wanted the money for others--the -inference naturally being that I was not in so imminent danger of -starvation that the difference between _meum_ and _tuum_ was in my mind -entirely obliterated. - -Several letters between Mr. Dane and myself have also been introduced -for the purpose of showing to what extent my mind was susceptible of -being poisoned, with what ingredients the attempt was made, and how far -it assimilated and how far rejected these ingredients. My opinion is, -that if such poisoning be a capital offense, my "attorney" and myself -must die together, for I fear we are equally guilty. - -So far as Mr. Jackson was concerned, Mr. Parry said that he had been -unsuccessful in business, was not now a regular publisher, and he -did not think his testimony of what was a custom several years ago -was available in deciding what was the custom now. Regarding Messrs. -Troubadour, Pearvilles, and others, he preserved a discreet silence, -but objected to the introduction of the testimony of other publishers, -as Messrs. H., P., & Co. conducted their business with their authors -alone, without thinking it necessary to consult other publishers. -Unless, therefore, I insisted upon other publishers being brought in, -they should prefer to have them kept out. In reply to a question, Mr. -Parry said he did not know what was the custom of other publishers in -regard to paying authors. Now it was a very important part of my plan -to have other publishers appealed to, but I was not in a condition to -insist upon anything. I did not know what to do with them, even if I -had them there. I certainly could not put them through a catechism, and -I had no one to do it for me. So I said nothing, and the publishers -were of course ruled out--by default, is it? - -Mr. Parry deprecated any attributing of hostility to them. They had -been desirous to have the matter amicably settled, so desirous that -they had even offered to refer it to various friends of my own, with -one of whom they had no acquaintance at all, with another of whom they -had but a slight acquaintance, but whom they thought competent to -settle it; and they had also offered to pay me ten per cent. on all -future sales, all of which I had declined. - -With regard to the question of fraud, Mr. Parry would say in a general -way, that I went to them an unknown author, very urgent to publish -"City Lights," that I had a great deal of confidence in them, spoke -emphatically of the important advantage to me of being published by -Brummell & Hunt; that in short, I came to them in such a way as almost -to hold out to them a temptation to defraud me; so that if they had -been inclined to it, they would have been likely to do it then. He -produced the following extracts from letters written by me to Mr. Hunt, -to sustain his charge. And if the printing of these letters seems -somewhat appalling, let me assure the objector that it is a pleasing -entertainment compared with the sensation of hearing them read before -five men, two of whom are indifferent to you, three hostile, and four -strangers. - - "Kits, cats, sacks, and wives, - How many were there going to St. Ives."[10] - -I am moved here to say, that those persons who during the present -century have been annoyed by letters from this now repentant and -remorseful writer, may find ample revenge for all their discomfort -in a knowledge of the manner in which these letters have returned to -plague the inventor. - -The first is dated April 14, 1762. - - -"I hope this letter sounds light and airy to you. I assure you it is -very ghastly joking for me. I am burdened with a terrible secret which -I wish to confide to you, at the risk of losing your complaisance -forever. I dread to come at it, but I don't see how I can beat about -the bush any longer. I am _not_ at work on anything for the 'Adriatic.' -You would not print my papers, and you would not answer my letters. -So Satan subsidized my idle hands, and I thought I would make a book. -So I _made_ a book. It is not about the war, nor the times, nor -anything sensible. It is not a novel, nor a history, nor a poem, nor -a criticism, nor a volume of sermons. Somehow it does not look like a -book, nor sound like a book, nor act like a book, but it _is_ a book. I -can make 'my davy' on that. There is a title and a place for a preface, -and an introduction, and I can put in an appendix if I wish, and -explanatory notes and a glossary, and errata, and if you will publish -it I will give you the copyright and the premium, and the patent, and -the monopoly, and all the dividends, and if there is anything else, -that--its title is 'City Lights.' It is blocked out in twelve chapters. - - -"'1. Moving'--That gets us out of the old house into the new one, and -gives us a local habitation and a starting-point. I wrote it for the A. -M. but you stunned me so with hurling back my paper pellets at my head -that I did not dare try it again. - -"'2. The Bank'--That means a grass bank, not a money bank. That has -been printed. - -"'3. My Garden'--That you have heard of. That was what I wanted the -proof-sheets for, and you may conceive how guilty I felt. It seemed -all the while like when Joab said to Amasa, 'Art thou in health, my -brother?' and took him by the beard with the right hand to kiss him, -and smote him under the fifth rib,--the wretch! But you see I was -forced to be wily. If you had known that I was conspiring against your -peace of mind, of course you would not have put the weapon into my -hand. So I had to take you by the beard tenderly, or I should not have -got the fifth rib at all, and that is the backbone of my book. - -"'4. Men and Women'--Been printed. - -"'5. Tommy'--Been printed. - -"'6. Boston and home again'--Been printed--personal adventures of a -rustic in the city. - -"'7. Friendship'--In your hands--will be when you get this. - -"'8. Dog-days'--Been printed. - -"'9. Fading as a leaf'--Or something of that sort--knocks the bottom -all out of the autumnal, sentimental kind of moral reflections--been -printed. - -"'10. Winter'--Snow and coal-fires--been printed. - -"'11. My Flower-bed'--A success, to offset the failure to 'My Garden.' - -"'12. Happiest Days.' - -"Now, the question is, will you let me send it to you? You see it is -almost all in print, so it will take but a minute to run it over--a -longish kind of a minute, of course. I have not the least idea whether -it is worth publishing or not. I don't want it published unless it will -reflect credit on the literature of the country. Now, may I be forgiven -for telling a lie; but I don't want it published if it will reflect -_dis_credit--I will stick to that. I don't I want it published unless -it will be read and liked by cultivated people. I don't want it to be -at the level of school-girls and shop-boys. I want it to be such a book -as ---- or ---- or ---- or ---- or ---- might take into the country, -not for the thought or the theory, but for amusement, and such as would -amuse them; such as Englishmen might read and value for its little -side-lights thrown on American country life. I don't aim to do anything -above amusement, and if it wont do that it is a failure, for there is -nothing else for it to do. You see it was not written with any view to -a book. I suppose I have enough things printed to make a dozen books, -and I have taken out enough for one about the size of 'Sir Thomas -Browne.' So far as the people I write for are concerned, I think now is -as good a time as any. There is a kind of hiatus in book-making, and -that gives me a chance for a hearing. My audience is more at leisure -now and not much poorer. It is specially adapted to the times in that -it has not anything to do with them, and so will be a recreation if -it is not a bore. I should not think it would sell, I must say, for -there is not anything of it. Still, all the parts of it that have been -printed have 'taken'--I don't understand why.... - -"I have a certain vivacity of style which would be well enough if I -had anything solid underneath; but I have no thought, no depth, no -severe and careful culture, no comprehensiveness, no substance, nothing -to raise me above the penny-a-liners, except perhaps the matter of -vivacity, or whatever it is--but that is nothing to depend upon--no -resource, no capital. My chief talent consists in raising great -expectations--which will turn out like Pip's, I expect. It is no fault -of mine. I do conscientiously the best I can; you are an illustration -of this thing. You expect 'A number one' things of me. But you have -no ground for it. I have sent you my 'A number one' things already, -and you see they are not 'up to the mark.' But they are the very best -I can do under the circumstances. What right have you then to expect -anything better? I consider it a great misfortune that somehow my -performances seem to give a promise that is entirely unwarrantable. O -well, I must stop some time, so I suppose I might as well stop here. -All is, may I send the thing to you? It is all ready, only I have to -take it to some book-binder somewhere to have the things pasted in. I -hope I do not annoy you by asking you--not _much_ I mean; of course it -must annoy you a little--I assure you you need not have the slightest -feeling about saying _no_. It would be no kindness to me to suffer me -to disgrace myself or my country. There is only one sin that I will -never forgive. If you ever tell anybody, my wrath will kindle against -you into a perpetual fire; and you know about furies, and scorned -women, and the wicked place! I hope this will get at you in some little -crack between two '_mad_'nesses, but if it does not, pray don't turn -'mad' at me. I can bear anything but to be snapped up. I wonder if you -would be more likely to be pleased if I had stopped before; if so, you -can just turn back to the place where your temper began to crack, and -make believe 'Yours, respectfully,' came there. But you have been so -generous hitherto that I am afraid I perhaps presume too far--now I am -sure that compliment is very well turned, seeing that kind of thing is -not in my line--but the fact is I want you to stay good-humored so much -that I would say anything! - - Yours very truly, M. N." - - -The letters from Mr. Hunt in reply to mine, are inserted here for -a better understanding of my letters, and to preserve the unity of -the drama. As I did not anticipate the appearance of mine before the -referees, Mr. Hunt's were not arranged with reference to them, but have -been placed here since. Several sentences concerning magazine articles -are quoted, to show that though I had not printed a book I was not -wholly unknown as an author at the time of the publication of "City -Lights," and that therefore the risk was not quite so great as one -would perhaps judge from Mr. Parry's statement, which will presently -appear. - - -MR. HUNT TO M. N. - -"Send along the book by all means, and I will give it early -attention.... A _book_ from your hand is worthy attention, and it shall -have it from yours truly." - - -APRIL 20, 1762. - -"I have read 'Moving' and the 'Friendship' paper to-day, both of which -I shall be glad to print in the Magazine if you will let me.... As soon -as I can find more time I will make up my mind about the book." - - -APRIL 25, 1762. - -"I wish to begin at once to set up the copy, and no time should be lost -in waiting. October will soon be here! - -"I think we shall be able to get into a volume your articles, in form -like 'Old Sir Thomas.' At any rate I shall try to do so." - - -APRIL 29. - -"Why do you hop about so when you attempt an epistle? I can't find the -place. Now you are on the right side of a sheet, and, _presto!_ I can't -tell next where you are. A reader of your letters ought to stand on his -head half the time. Page two is nowhere to be found, without twisting -the spinal apparatus fearfully. Why don't you have a plan and stick to -it? Or are you a law unto yourself? (See Hebrews). - -"Let me tell you what I would like to do: Print in the Magazine several -of the articles in your proposed volume, postponing the publication in -book form for the present. 'Moving,' and 'Friends and Friendship,' -I certainly wish for the Magazine.... Your book will keep, won't it? -Meantime the papers, as printed in the 'Adriatic,' will not badly -advertise the coming volume. Do you agree with me?... - -"Your 'My Garden,' is a hit number one. Crowds of inquiries for the -author's name beseech me, but I cry '_mum_' to the myriads." - - -M. N. TO MR. HUNT, MAY 1, 1762. - -"Can't you read figures, dear? Don't you know a five when you see it? -Aren't you able to tell a two from a four unless they are labelled? I -fondly believed you were, but as indications point the other way, I -will have everything in a right line hereafter, so that I shall just -have to drop you into the groove at the beginning and you will spin -along of yourself to the end. I am your serf and slave--till I get -the upper hands of you, which I shall one day--I always do, sooner or -later. Don't be frightened, though. I shall roar you as gently as a -sucking-dove. And please remember that Hebrews is not Romans--or, as -one cannot remember what he never knew, please be informed. Aren't you -glad you have somebody who can always set you right? - -"There is one thing about my letters though;--when you do find the -place you know where you are. Yours I don't. Now what do you mean? Do -you mean that my book is not good enough to publish? If you do, why -don't you say so? - -"When I was in Congress anything that was indefinitely postponed was -as good as lost. I wish you would say, straight as an arrow, just what -you mean. You need not be afraid of wounding my feelings. I have boxed -them up in ice and sawdust and set them on the top shelf till such -time as my fortunes shall permit me to indulge in such luxuries. I am -rhinocerine and pachydermatous. Lay on Macbeth, or Duff, or whoever you -are. - -"You see it is absurd for you to talk about postponing the publication -of a general kind of book if it is worth publicating at all. If it were -what I want it to be, you would rectangle it up in ten minutes and have -it out. If it is not what I want it to be, I don't want it published at -all. If it is only so-so, pay-the-way-y, very good, I will have none of -it. I want it to be triumphantly good. I don't want any drawn battle. -I want an unconditional surrender, with fort, guns, and ammunition. If -I can't have that I don't want anything. Now can I have that? You tell -me. I know you know. I have been flattered to death all my life.... -If the book is coarse, and violent, and insipid, and diffuse, and -superficial, and egotistical, and worthless, say so. That is just what -I am afraid it is, and it keeps me awake nights. - -"It occurs to me that possibly you may have so much on your hands that -you cannot publish it. I don't believe that, though. People can always -find time to do what they will to do,--any way I can, and I am a female -Atlas. But if it were so, and you would tell me that you thought the -book was good, I would get somebody else to publish it. I should not -like to do it to be sure. I have set my heart on your publishing my -first book. You see, as Mrs. Browning says, 'I love high though I live -low.' You know if you aim at the sun you won't probably hit it, but -you will hit higher than you would if you made your target out of a -scrub oak. I don't want to go into the world through the back door. I -want to go in, sir, by the main entrance! with drums beating and colors -flying! with body-guard on each side, and carriages drawn up in line! -That means you--Brummell & Hunt is the triumphal arch and the Seventh -Regiment! But you see I am tired to death and disgust of waiting. It -is three years now since I took to writing in good earnest, and all -this while I have been burrowing under ground. It is almost two years -since I sent 'My Garden' to the 'A. M.' Two years apiece for the other -two things will be four years, and by that time I shall be a coral -reef, with all the pulp of my soul dried up, and nothing left but the -dead shell. You understand I am not impatient of preparation. I am not -only willing but eager to work. If I thought I could be more worthy by -waiting; if I thought crudeness would mellow, I would wait; but the -book is done. It is not a question of improving it, but to be or not to -be. - -"It would be a great disappointment, and I am sure a positive loss -to me, not to have you publish the book if it is fit to publish. You -would give me a prestige which I assure you I have sense enough to -value. And yet will not the book, if it is good, make its own way, -even if it should be born in a garret? You see I look at this from my -standing-point only, for you of course are too well established to be -disgraced by my failure or illustrated by my success. I am the only -one affected, don't you see? If I fail it will nerve me. If I succeed -it will give me a point of support. You understand, by success I don't -mean that I desire to make a sensation. The public, whose countenance -I court, would be comprised in a hundred men and women. If I should -secure their suffrage, the rest of the world might go whistle. If the -hundred put me on the pedestal, the ten millions cannot pull me down, -for it is quality and not quantity that leads in this world, no matter -what the world thinks. - -"I want to be out too, because that thing is only the inch of an ell. -If that succeeds I have half a dozen others--'City Lights,'--in the -same style--and 'Rocks of Offense,' which is to put everybody right in -religious matters. You don't know what my prophetic style is? I tell -you it leaves Isaiah and Jeremiah nowhere! Then there is 'Night Caps' -for children, and 'Holiday Stories' for all the holidays, and 'Stories -of the Old School-House,' etc. I have sent those to the Tract Society -and all the Eleemosynary Institutions, but they were not considered -pious enough, and I am afraid you profane establishments would think -they were too pious, so betwixt the clergy and the laity I should come -to the ground with a thud, from which, like Antæus, I always gather -strength. - -"I don't believe you half read my letters. I don't know that I blame -you, but it leads you into obvious mistakes. You say you want to print -several of the articles--two certainly. Goosey-goosey-gander, where -shall I wander; did not I tell you that all but those two had been -printed before, and the last one which you had rejected? Why do you -talk?... I am going to Athens to buy a new dress the first pleasant -day of next week after Monday. Would you be willing to send those -two papers around to----? I can look them over and manipulate them, -and return them the next day. If you obey the impulse of the natural -heart, unmodified by pressure of editorial duties, you will tell me, as -General Taylor told Santa Anna, 'Come and take them.' And I would be -glad to do it and talk about these matters instead of writing. But you -must know that I cannot talk--I say what I don't mean and I mean what -I don't say, and so an interview would be entirely inconclusive and -unsatisfactory. - -"You will understand from this brief epistle that it is not the book -that won't keep so much as it is my own self. - -"If I have said anything here that I ought not to say, pray make -believe that--there, I just remember that my little book is not -'Night-Caps' but 'Make-Believes'--there is a book 'Night-Caps' already. -Well, what I was going to say is--make believe I have not said it. I -am writing in greatest stress of time, for our mail goes at unearthly -hours, and I cannot stop to be proper. I wish you would give me a -general absolution, retro-and pro-spective, till this business is over. -Yours very truly." - - -MR. HUNT TO M. N. - -"I see we must speak by the card when we write to Miss Wont-understand. - -"This then, is what I wished to say in my last clear and felicitous -epistle. - -"Of course your book cannot be published till the articles I propose -to print in the A. M. have appeared there. This is what I meant by -postponing the issue of the volume. I wished to say that, B. & H. -would print your book, certainly, but the time when must at present -be unsettled for the reason above given. I have read the articles now -and like them hugely. They are capital stuff for a book, full of all -readable qualities.... - -"I will not eat you if you call in here when you come to town, but you -must have your own way." - - -All the confidence, and all the respect for the house of Brummell & -Hunt, which these letters indicate, I not only admit, but I introduced -my case by avowing that I thought them the head and front of all -publishing houses. - -With regard to the exemption of fifteen hundred as the first edition of -"City Lights," Mr. Parry said that the word edition meant nothing as -to number. It meant simply a single issue. In reply to a question, he -said he did not know what was the usage of publishers in this regard. -They had sometimes exempted as many as two thousand, and had known -cases in which five thousand had been exempted, and, I understood -him to say, had done it themselves. One thousand, he said, was the -usual number. Being asked what would be his own understanding of an -edition, if nothing were specified, he said he would frankly admit that -he should suppose it meant one thousand; that when any larger number -than a thousand was exempted, it was their custom always to specify -the number; that he did not know why it was not done now, and presumed -this was the only time they had exempted more than a thousand without -specifying the number. The reason of this large exemption was that -there was so much risk in publishing a new book, and that this book was -published in a style that was unusually expensive. It cost a great deal -more than any other on their list; that there was no prescribed usage -in such matters, and they could have exempted more, but had no desire -to do so. I had said that if it were to cost more, they should have -told me.[11] They had letters of mine showing that I did know it cost -more, but that I was so desirous to have it printed in this way, that, -in my own language, which Mr. Markman read and Mr. Hunt repeated with -an air which showed that whatever literature had gained, the stage lost -its chief ornament when Mr. Hunt went into the book trade, "I went -down on my knees to you to have it like Sir Thomas Browne." - -In my original statement I had said, "When the first book was to be -published, Mr. Hunt asked me what style I should like, and suggested -that of the 'City Curate.' I preferred 'Sir Thomas Browne.' He made no -objection, nor even hinted that it was more expensive than the other. -[Then came the quotations.] "I do not recollect that anything was said -about it afterwards. The following books were simply published in -uniform style with the first." This is my recollection of the matter, -which is simple and commonplace enough. - -From my letters at the time, however, the firm of Brummell & Hunt infer -a thrilling dramatic scene in which Mr. Hunt was the obdurate autocrat, -or the wise and thrifty guardian, as the case may be, who, like Mrs. -John Gilpin, though on publishing bent, had a frugal mind; but was at -length moved by me, - - "Languendo, gemendo - Et genuflectendo," - -to lay aside prudence and launch out into a style of publication -which could be met only by some extraordinary sacrifice on my part, I -professing to be until this late disclosure ignorant both of style and -sacrifice. - -I give the correspondence, inserting Mr. Hunt's letters to throw light -on mine--the latter only appearing in Mr. Parry's defense. - -Let it be remembered that the book was published September 18, 1762. - - -MR. HUNT TO M. N., SEPT. 2, 1762. - -"It is our intention to publish 'C. L.,' on Saturday, the 13th of -this month: not before, certainly. If any great excitement befall the -country, we shall postpone till the following Saturday.... - -"Your new preface is pungent as a pepper. Your motto seems to be, 'Je -suis prêt.' - -"Give it to 'em any way you like. A proof of the preface will go to you -in a few days. As to the binding of your book, I propose same style as -'Rs. of a City Curate,' gilt top leaves and beveled boards. Do you like -that way?" - - -M. N. TO MR. HUNT, SEPTEMBER 3. - -"For you to set up and pretend to ask me if I like 'City Curate' style, -when you knew I went down on my knees to you to have it like 'Sir -Thomas Browne,' and you said you would. - -"The next book you publish for me, I am going to stand over you with -a grip on your coat-collar from the time you give the first copy to -the printer till the first edition stands on the shelf, and see if -you cannot be kept to something. I don't know what your beveled -boards are--only if you put a _d_ in, the adjective would apply more -accurately--and I don't want my book to be boarded up any way, and if -there is anything I hate, it is gilt tops, and if you don't do it as I -want it, I don't care how it is done." - - -MR. HUNT TO M. N., SEPTEMBER 15. - -"We shall publish, unless a defeat crowns our victories, your book this -week. It will be a beauty, and look like 'Sir Thomas Browne,' in its -red waistcoat." - - -[This letter was delayed and not received till the following letter was -partly written.] - - -M. N. TO MR. HUNT, SEPTEMBER 20, 1762. - -"You darling Traddles,--why do I call you Traddles? Because you are -'the dearest fellow.' It was not Traddles, though, was it? It was his -wife, and she was not a fellow but a girl--never mind. The fact I wish -to impress upon your mind is, that you have tricked out my book so -beautifully that nothing could be lovelier. You would not have done it -though if I had not threatened you within an inch of your life, would -you? You don't know how delighted I was when I opened the bundle, -expecting to see those cheap-looking paste-boardy things, and you -had gone and done them just as I wanted you to do them, and you said -you would, and then said you wouldn't, and they are _beautiful_. They -are better even than 'Sir Thomas.' The paper is finer. But now see--I -never thought till yesterday that they must cost more than the other -way, and I have been distressed all along, and this makes me more so. -But listen: I shall either live, or die, or marry. If I live I shall -get money, if not by writing, then by teaching, or something, so that -I shall pay you sometime. If I die I shall leave money enough of my -own to pay you, and you keep this letter to show to my heirs to let -them know I desire you to be paid. If I marry, Smith of course will be -delighted to pay all my debts, and I shall make that the condition of -my becoming Smithess; so that you shall not _lose_ money on my book, -even if you don't make any, which I hope you will--millions of dollars; -but I am sure you must see for yourself that it is better to have a -book look substantial and high-bred, and suit you, even if it does cost -a little more. - -"Just here comes your letter and check, which was delayed in Boston -because you did not put a stamp on. - -"One of my friends has been questioning me about the business part of -my book--copyrights and contract, and all that trash of which I know -and care nothing." - -[Foolish as this all seems to me now, I can only say that it expressed -exactly my state of mind. It was not that I had any lofty disregard -of money, but simply that I was so intent on writing, that I had room -for nothing else. I had plenty of money, or if I had not, I did not -know it, which amounts to the same thing, and it made me impatient -to be bothered with these outside, and what seemed to me entirely -insignificant matters.] - -"But I want to know if by publishing articles in the 'A. M.' they pass -out of my hands. I mean, if I wanted to collect them and have Tilton, -say, publish them, couldn't I? I will any way; because you see, though -_I_ am amiable, you know what _your_ temper is, and suppose we flare -up and have a quarrel, what then? I tell you I don't discard lines of -retreat. Now you know I would rather have you publish than anybody -else--supposing I had anything to be published; but I want to do it -because I want to do it, and not because I _have_ to do it--don't you -understand? - -"Do you know that it scares me to see my book out in the open day? -Seems to me it is a romping kind of a book, and there is a regiment of -I's on every page, and 'lots' of 'tricksys' and 'exasperatings' and -'for my parts.' You cannot tell how a book will look till it is born, -can you? I shall make the next one better. Shall you read it now it is -out? I wish I knew whether it disappoints you. It does me. It is crude -and botchy--it is so awfully unlike 'Sir Thomas Browne;' and if it -_isn't_ good, it is frightfully pretentious. A book ought not to come -out in that style, unless it has some merit. To think of----reading it, -and----and----and----I should like to go into a hole and burrow--and---- - -"O dear! I don't suppose they will read it, but I wanted to have such -a book as they will read. Any way, you have done your part, and I want -you to know that I am aware of it and not ungrateful." - -"Hurrah! Good news! I have heard of a man in S----, who _said_ he was -_going_ to buy my book! There is one copy as good as sold. - -"The man who told me about the purchaser in S----, tells me also that -the dress of my book is very much admired, and says I ought to be very -grateful to B. & H. for doing me up in such style, just as if I was -not! But what can I do about it? There is a white cloud at the toe of -my boot. As soon as it resolves itself into a well-defined hole, I am -coming to Athens to get a new pair. I have nothing in the world to say -to you, and I shall not come to see you. Still, if you should say, -'Hadn't you better?' perhaps I might be induced to rasp my knuckles -against No. 7--." - - -MR. HUNT TO M. N., SEPTEMBER 23. - -"I am glad you like the costume into which we put your first-born. It -is a handsome baby and will go alone uncommonly early." - - -So it seems that notwithstanding all the importunities and posturings -of the kneeling scene, Mr. Hunt was unmoved--for it was after the -curtain had fallen on this act that he quietly writes, "I propose same -style as 'City Curate.' Do you like it?" All its pathos had not been -sufficient to keep the act itself in mind. When I first suggested "Sir -Thomas Browne," he agreed at once, but afterwards apparently forgot it -and mentioned "City Curate," as if nothing had before been said on the -subject. Finding then that I wanted the "Sir Thomas," he does not so -much as reply, but simply binds the book according to my wishes. There -is no sign of any objection to it on his part from the beginning to -the end, so that the candid inquirer is at a loss to know why I should -have knelt, except from native humility of spirit and taste for the -suppliant posture--which nobody can deny. - -As the ministers remark, "we shall resume this subject in the -afternoon's discourse." I only say here what, _à la_ Ollendorf's -grammar, I had a mind but no time to say to the referees. - -After we had all slept upon it and returned to our _moutons_ next -morning, Messrs. Hunt, Parry, & Co. brought in proof to show that I did -know that fifteen hundred books were exempted in the first edition. -This was an account in one of their books in which the exemption -appeared. But in their copy of the accounts sent to me, drawn up by -their clerk for the referees, the latter remarked that no such item -appeared. Messrs. Parry and Markman thought it might be the clerk's -mistake in copying. The referees asked me if I had my accounts with -me. As they had been my literature for sixteen months, I was inclined -to think I had. The original papers were produced and no mention was -found in them of any exempted copies. Mr. Parry said that as the item -was down in the books it must have been put there for the purpose of -sending to me. Mr. Markman thought this particular account might have -been lost in the mail. But the accounts which I held covered all the -time of my transactions with Messrs. B. & H. Mr. Parry thought the -entry in their books would at least show their good intentions. - -The second edition of "City Lights" numbered five hundred copies. No -edition was so large as the first, except the eleventh, which numbered -two thousand copies. Another fact came out of which I had not before -been aware, that three hundred copies had been exempted on every book. -These I suppose had been distributed as advertisements. - -Regarding the change in payments from percentage to a fixed sum, the -firm claimed that it was made with my full knowledge, understanding, -and consent, as would be proved by Mr. Hunt's testimony. Whereupon -Mr. Parry gave place to Mr. Hunt, who deposed and said--or rather, to -his grief, did not depose, but was obliged to content himself with -saying,--that on a certain time he held a long conversation with me -on the subject of the change, in which he fully explained to me its -nature and necessity. He remembered that at first I was disposed to be -trifling, but he begged that I would be serious, and assured me that -this was a serious matter. He remembered using the expression, that -their house was shaking in the wind. He explained to me over and over -again, to make sure that I understood the state of affairs and the -reasons which necessitated the change, and repeatedly asked me, "Do you -understand this clearly?" and I said that I did, and "Do you assent to -it?" and I answered "Yes." Then, fastening upon me a look--apparently -designed to be penetrating and powerful enough to reach the lowest -depths of duplicity and to wring late confession even from a perjured -soul,--he exclaimed, "I think, M. N., you _must_ remember this." - -Of course I was overwhelmed with confusion, but having persisted in -the falsehood so long it was hardly worth while to go down on my knees -to the gentleman a second time, so I received his gaze in silence. In -fact, Mars Hill House witnessed then what the hymn calls "the young -dawn of heaven below," inasmuch as there was silence in the room for -the space of not quite half an hour. It was broken by the referees, who -said that it was perhaps proper to ask me here if I remembered any such -conversation. I said that I did not recollect it. They asked Mr. Hunt -if he had any correspondence which referred to it. He said no, only the -letter of mine which I had myself produced, in which I admitted it. But -he remembered it with exact clearness. He could recall just the sofa on -which he sat. He was so confident that he wished he could take his oath -on it. They asked him whether I happened to be in Athens or whether he -sent for me. He was not sure, but thought he sent for me. They asked -him if in this conversation it was understood that "City Lights" was to -be included in the second contract. He said "distinctly." I asked if -he could define the time when the conversation occurred. He could not, -but it was some time before the second contract was made, and was the -basis of that contract. I asked if he could tell whether it was in the -old shop or the new. He said it was in the new. He did _not_ add, what -would have been a most effective peroration to his speech,-- - - "I reside at Table Mountain, and my name is Truthful James; - I am not up to small deceit or any sinful games." - -This little matter being thus comfortably disposed of, Mr. Parry again -took up the thread of his discourse. - -With regard to the change in payment to authors from a percentage to a -fixed sum, he said that such a change was desirable because everything -was changing and uncertain. He reiterated his statement as to the -variations that had been made in the retail price of my books; said -that authors generally did accede to the change; admitted that Mrs.---- -had had some difficulty, that her mind seemed to have been jaundiced -towards them, that her sister, Miss----, had examined their books, and -that Mrs.---- had now become satisfied that all was right; that I, -before the reference, neither admitted nor denied that I had acceded to -their proposal, but only affirmed that I did not recollect about it. -He denied that there was any prescriptive custom of paying the author -ten per cent., though as before, he objected to bringing in the modes -of other publishers, as Hunt, Parry, & Co. transacted business on -their own account without consulting others. Which is all very true, -doubtless, yet the prejudiced observer, seeing how much is said about -the great liberality of this firm, can but marvel that they should -have been willing to miss so brilliant an opportunity of contrasting -their own liberality with the niggardliness of those sordid book-men -who publish, not for glory and high emprise, but simply to make money. -Mr. Parry said this also was a reason why the questions propounded to -them by Mr. Dane antecedent to the reference seemed irrelevant. They -were asked to state their income and that from the "Adriatic." But they -might make a great deal of money in outside ways,--by speculating in -butter, for instance,--of which it was not pertinent that they should -give any account. He was asked why, if there was no prescribed custom -to pay ten per cent., they themselves fixed on ten per cent. as the -rate of payment for "City Lights." He said that they were disposed -to be liberal; that there were no fluctuations then; that such a -prescriptive custom may then have existed, he would not say that ten -per cent. was not common, though he did not himself know what was the -custom among other publishers. He was asked why "City Lights" was -not by name included in the second contract if its provisions were -intended to apply to "City Lights," and why the other works were not -also included in a contract. He replied, that it was because a verbal -understanding had been reached; that if they had supposed or intended -any wrong, they would certainly have so included it; that the absence -of contracts was owing to a basis of mutual understanding and verbal -agreements. He was asked if they had any letters bearing on such verbal -agreements, and he said they had not. - -He affirmed that the publishers made but insignificant profits on -the books compared with mine; that up to September, 1764, when the -second contract was made, when "City Lights" had been two years out -and "Alba Dies" and "Rocks of Offense" had been published, and "Old -Miasmas" was about to be published, their net cash profit on the books -for these two years had been three hundred dollars. Here they went -into the details of the business with a minuteness altogether beyond -my power to comprehend or report. The referees and themselves carried -on a long discussion about the condition of business in general, and -their business in particular, in 1762, 1764, and subsequently. The firm -foresaw that they should have to advance the retail price of their -books. Everything connected with their business advanced. The price -and quality of paper, the size of books, taxes, interest, stereotype -plates, pro rata increase, press-work, expenses of business, -comparative costs of comparative thinness, if there is any such thing, -number of pounds of paper in thin books and thick books, discounts to -the trade, were discussed with apparent intelligence. I can give only -a few of the mysterious tongues of flames that shot above the level of -the luminous, and still more mysterious corona. - -[It will be seen that this part of my paper is like Milton's "fatal and -perfidious bark," in "being built in the eclipse" as well as "rigged -with curses dark."] - -The stereotype plates of the nine volumes were estimated at three -thousand nine hundred and fifty-three dollars, ninety-seven cents. - - Paper, printing, and binding of about 72,000 volumes $38,422.08 - Advertising in outside mediums 1,500.00 - Advertising in their own periodicals 500.00 - -[The latter embraced only _cost_ of paper and printing.] - - Government manufacturing tax, five per cent. on sales, October 1764 - to July 1766 $1,814.04 - Seven per cent. interest on stereotype plates 991.46 - Expenses of doing business, ten per cent. on sales 7,061.14 - -The latter included rent, insurance, clerk hire, packing, store -expenses, business risks and losses, taxes on business-property, except -income-tax, etc. Reckoning up the sums expended they proved beyond -doubt, if there be truth in figures, that their profits were not quite -seven-tenths as large as those of the opulent and insatiable author, -who, in spite of all this inequality was clamoring for more. But they -admitted that, though their expenses had been out of all proportion to -their profits since the rise in prices, their profits had lately "been -_some_ larger than before." - -With all due respect to Messrs. Hunt, Parry, & Co., I must still avow -that these estimates are entirely valueless. What would have been of -value was their cost-book, which would have showed what they actually -did pay. This I asked for but it was not produced. They simply made an -estimate. They brought forward not a single voucher. They reckon the -item of advertising at two thousand dollars, but they produced not a -paper to show that they had paid anything. This advertising extended -over several years and embraced advertisements of nine books. Whether -they counted in the three hundred volumes reserved on each book; -whether they counted in the advertisements of every book advertised -and issued simultaneously with mine, on what basis they did calculate, -or what sums they did pay, I have no means of knowing, except their -assertion. - -In the same way they make their estimate of the cost of paper and -press-work; but that it is anything more than an estimate, that it -represents the actual sum which they paid to printers and binders, -there is no proof. From the fact that I asked for their cost-book, and -that it was not produced, I infer that it does not represent that sum, -notwithstanding the laudable accuracy involved in the eight cents. - -Again, having set down a certain sum for the cost of the stereotype -plates, for the interest of that money, for the paper and press-work, -for the advertising and taxes, they bring in a grand finale for the -expenses of doing business. That is, having charged once for the items -specifically, they lump them together and charge for them all over -again abstractly. For what is the advertising and the taxes but a part -of the expenses of doing business? Why could not everything except the -raw material of the book be classed under the head of doing business? -What is there to a book but the book itself and the publication of it? -And why again should interest be charged on the sum paid for stereotype -plates any more than for that paid to the printer and binder? - -[Since the reference I have showed their statement to several -publishers, and am assured that any person whose correct accounts -should stand thus is unfit for the business, and that the profit on -those books is from four to five times as much as Messrs. Hunt, Parry, -& Co. represent it.] - -But, even supposing all these figures to be correct, it will at once -be seen that the publishers set off their own net profits against the -author's gross receipts. Having charged for every item of their own -expense in producing the book, and for some of them twice over, they -make no allowance whatever for the author's having been at any expense -in his part of the production. What the publisher gets after every -expense is paid is set over against what the author gets to pay every -expense with. But the publisher's profits, according to their showing, -are only about one tenth of his gross receipts. What then is the -author's share of what may truly be termed profits? Or is the author's -share in the production of the book to be considered as of no pecuniary -value? - -The remainder of the case, as presented by Messrs. Hunt, Parry, & Co., -will appear, to the best of my ability, in the written reply presented -to the referees and here subjoined. It must not be forgotten that one -is always liable to misrepresent an opponent's case. I labor under -the additional disadvantage of possessing a natural aptitude for -"conspicuous inexactness" perfected by long practice. This innate -depravity is, however, held in check at the present crisis, by the -consciousness that I am reporting what took place in the presence of -five persons, of whom three were on the other side, and two on neither -side, so that any lapse from truth would be speedily detected. With -such vigor does Providence barricade our weaker virtues! - - -INTRODUCTION. - -(This "Introduction" will doubtless induce in the reader a despair akin -to that felt by a sleepy worshipper on a warm Sunday afternoon, when, -nearing, as he supposes, the close of the discourse, the preacher turns -over a new leaf, and announces, "Secondly!") - - -"INTRODUCTION. - -"Before proceeding to the subject-matter of the controversy, will the -referees permit me to apologize for appearing before them to present -the case myself. Nothing was further from my intention. Until the -evening before the reference I did not mean to be present at all, -and I then consented to be in the room only at Mr. Dane's urgent -solicitation. I wished a full, clear, and exhaustive discussion. I -knew that I was not able to enter into it myself. I have steadfastly -refused to attempt it even in private with Messrs. Hunt and Parry, -because I knew I was so ignorant of the details of business, that such -a discussion would be fruitless. How much less then should I have -attempted it before two gentlemen of the character and ability of the -referees, appealed to for a formal and final decision? - -"The paper already presented to the referees was prepared originally -for my own convenience, and was subsequently put into Mr. Dane's hands -for his exact understanding of the matter. It was not designed for the -referees. It contained much irrelevant matter, and my only excuse for -offering it, is the embarrassment and perplexity in which I suddenly -found myself involved, and from which this seemed the only way of -escape. - -"The same circumstances must be my apology to Mr. Hunt for certain -letters which appeared in that statement. They were placed there -only for the sake of a few lines which were in them. These extracts -were all that were designed to be read. But in the confusion of the -moment I was entirely unable to make any separation or distinction. I -mention this, not because the letters contained anything discreditable -to Mr. Hunt, for they did not; but because I would wish to avoid -even the appearance of unnecessarily giving private letters to the -semi-publicity of arbitration.[12] - -"For the paper which I now present, I must also beg the indulgence of -the referees. I have done the best I could do under the circumstances, -but I know that it must seem to them redundant, deficient, -unsystematic, and perhaps inadequate. I can only assure them that had -I thought it possible I should be forced to conduct the case myself, I -should never have appealed to arbitration. - -"I beg to thank the referees most sincerely for their unvarying -kindness and forbearance. - - -"SUBJECT-MATTER OF THE CONTROVERSY. - -"I claim what is justly due for copyright on eight works, namely:-- - - "'City Lights,' - "'Alba Dies,' - "'Rocks of Offense,' - "'Old Miasmas,' - "'Pencillings,' - "'Holidays,' - "'Cotton-Picking,' - "'Winter Work,' - -Published by Messrs. Brummell & Hunt, since Hunt, Parry, & Co. - -"Were there no contracts, the author's share should, I suppose, be -determined by the usage of publishers and authors, as to similar works -with similar sales. - -"For four of these books there is no contract. - -"On the first book, 'City Lights,' there is a written contract at ten -per cent. on the retail price after the first edition is sold. This -price was fixed voluntarily by the publishers without suggestion from -or consultation with me, and must be considered as expressing their -idea of what was fair and usual under ordinary circumstances, even with -a new author. This contract has never been rescinded. Messrs. Hunt, -Parry, & Co. claim that it has been rescinded. No one can be called -upon to prove a negative. To prove that the contract exists, I produce -the contract. To prove that the rescission exists, I demand that they -produce the rescission. This they have utterly failed to do. Mr. Hunt -simply asserts a verbal agreement, which I deny. A verbal agreement -between two parties, which one party stoutly maintains, and the other -flatly denies, is, I submit, an agreement more suited to the latitude -and longitude of Dublin than of Athens. A verbal agreement, which on -examination proves to be an utter and absolute disagreement, cannot -cancel a written contract. - -"They not only attempt to rescind the first contract, but to substitute -another for it by including 'City Lights' in the second contract. -But 'City Lights' is not named in the second contract. They do not -even pretend that they intended to name it there. They simply assert -a conversation in which both parties agreed that, the first contract -still existing, they would act as if it did not exist; and that 'City -Lights' not being inserted in the second contract, both parties should -act as if it were so inserted. I beg to inquire if there is anything -in the Union as it was, or the Constitution as it is, that could make -such a procedure reasonable? Is it credible that a shrewd business firm -should rely on a verbal agreement to cancel a written one and leave the -latter uncancelled in the possession of the other party? - -"'Dies Alba,' 'Rocks of Offense,' and 'Old Miasmas,' were published -at different periods subsequent to the publication of 'City Lights.' -They are all embraced in one contract, which bears date September 24, -1764. This contract is not at ten per cent. on the retail price, but at -fifteen cents a volume on all volumes sold. - -"This contract I claim to be invalid, because it was obtained from me -under false representations, and because it is not equitable. - -"Mr. Hunt asserts that before entering into this contract, and as a -basis of this contract, he had a long conversation with me in which he -fully showed me the reason of the proposed change from ten per cent. -to fifteen cents on a volume. His recollection of this conversation is -so vivid that he even recalls the sofa on which he sat. He thinks he -sent for me, but is not quite sure. He remembers that I was disposed -at first to be trifling, but he begged me to be serious, and assured -me that this was a serious matter. He remembers using the expression, -'that their house was shaking in the wind.' He says, he explained to -me over and over again the state of affairs and the reasons which -necessitated the change; and repeatedly asked me, 'Do you understand -this clearly?' and I answered that I did, and 'Do you agree to it?' and -I said yes. He is so positive in his assurance that he expresses the -wish that he could take his oath on it; the referees ask him if, in -that conversation, 'City Lights' was included among the other books, -and he replies, 'distinctly.' Then, in face of my repeated written -and verbal assertions to him that I had no recollection of any such -conversation, he fixes his eyes upon me and says, with emphasis, 'I -think, M. N., you _must_ remember this.' - -"I have already stated to the referees that I had no recollection -of any such conversation or of any verbal agreement. I was willing -to attribute the assertion to a mistaken impression on the part of -Mr. Hunt. Now, after his positive, persistent, and circumstantial -assertion, I go further. I deny his assertion in part and in whole, -in every point and particular. I deny it not simply as a mistaken -impression, but I deny it as a question of veracity between Mr. Hunt -and myself. - -"As I have said before, I cannot be called upon to prove a negative. -The burden of proof lies on Mr. Hunt who asserts the positive. He -admits that he has no correspondence to show it, but affirms that I -admit it myself in one of my early letters by saying, 'I dare say' -I did have such a conversation. The letter to which he refers is my -second letter of inquiry, written before my faith in him had been -shaken, and before the question of such a conversation had assumed any -prominence or arrested my attention. I had asked him, as my letters -show, why he wanted me to take less than ten per cent. He had replied, -that we had talked it over and I agreed to less. I replied that I knew -I agreed to it, for here were the contracts, but why did he wish me -to make such contracts? My exact words were, 'I don't remember ever -talking the things over with you, but I dare say I did--or rather you -talked and I nodded,--as usual. And of course I agreed, for here are -the contracts that say so.... Don't you see the trouble lies back of -the contracts. Why did you _wish_ me to be having seven or eight per -cent. when other people are getting ten?' Here it is seen that in the -very beginning, almost before any suspicion was aroused, and before my -attention was at all fixed upon the importance of this conversation, I, -first, carelessly but distinctly assert that I remember no such talk; -second, I found my recognition of my assent not upon any remembered -talk but upon the written contract; and third, I reiterate my questions -concerning what lay back of the contract in entire unconsciousness that -the talk had anything to do with it. - -"So then, the only testimony which Mr. Hunt can produce of a verbal -agreement which vitiates one contract and forms the basis of another, -is a letter of mine in which I distinctly affirm that I don't remember -anything about it! Mr. Hunt is welcome to all the sunshine he can find -in _that_ cucumber. - -"Again, Mr. Hunt cannot fix the time when this explanatory conversation -occurred and this verbal agreement was made; but it was the basis of a -contract which was executed on the 24th September. It would naturally, -therefore, be somewhere within speaking distance of that time. Now, in -my statement of the case, made out on the 22nd October, 1768, and put -into the hands of my friend Mr. Dane a few days after, and read before -the referees, I said, 'I think it must have been at the time this -contract was made out--but I cannot be sure as to the time,--that Mr. -Hunt told me that they were going to pay me a fixed sum, fifteen cents -on a volume, instead of a percentage;' adopting this course with their -authors, 'on account of fluctuations, general uncertainties, and so -forth.' In the following January my vague recollections were confirmed -by finding unexpectedly, and without seeking it or knowing that I had -it, a letter from Mr. Hunt dated September 23, 1764, from which I make -the following extract: 'The contract has been delayed for a sufficient -cause.' [He then gives the cause of the delay, namely, Mr. Brummell's -absence]. 'The percentage will read fifteen cents per copy, as the -business times are fluctuating the prices of manufacture so there is -no telling to-morrow, or for a new edition, what may be the expenses -of publication. So we reckon your percentage in every and any event as -fixed at fifteen cents per volume on all your books. If it should cost -$1.50 to make the volumes you are sure of your author profit of fifteen -cents. The price at retail may be $1.50, $2.00, or $3.00, as the high -or low rates of paper, binding, etc., may be, but _you_ are all right. -This arrangement we make now with all our authors.... - -"'As I write, the contracts are reported ready, so I enclose them. Sign -both, and send back the one marked with red X. You keep one and we the -other.' - -"I submit, that this extract, bearing date the day before the contract, -has every sign of being fresh information. All the circumstances -combine with my own distinct recollection, apart from them, to show -that a new contract was made at my suggestion, not with any view -whatever of changing the terms, but because I thought if a contract -was necessary with one book, it was with another. I did not know that -there had been or was to be any change from percentage to a fixed sum, -until this letter told me. The retail price of the books had gone up to -$1.50, so that ten per cent. and fifteen cents were the same. In this -letter no allusion whatever is made to any previous conversation on the -subject of the change from percentage to a fixed sum. Is it credible, -I ask, that Mr. Hunt should have sent for me; should have assured me -that this was a very serious matter; should have explained it all to me -over and over again; should have repeatedly asked me if I understood -it; should remember the conversation five years after, so vividly that -the intensity of his convictions cannot find adequate expression in -simple declaration but craves the relief of an oath; is it credible, -that in his letter of the period he should have made no allusion to -this conversation, but should have mentioned the arrangement as then -communicated to me for the first time,--as it actually was? - -"But further than this, my diary for 1764, carefully kept, with not a -day missing, shows that during the whole summer and autumn preceding -the 23d September, 1764, I was not once in Athens!" - -[And yet again,--I set on foot an inquiry at the time but did not -get an answer in season to use it before the reference,--Mr. Hunt -distinctly remembered that he sat on a certain sofa in the new shop -during the conversation which was the basis of the contract of -September, 1764. But the firm did not move into the new shop till May, -1765! - -Now if Mr. Hunt should gratify himself with the wished-for oath, I am -sure that the accusing angel who flies up to Heaven's chancery with it, -will blush as he gives it in, and the recording angel as he writes it -down, will drop a tear upon the word and blot it out forever.] - -"But it may be urged, giving up the conversation and relying only -on the letter, that in any event I accepted and assented to the new -contract with a full understanding of its meaning and effect, and am -hence bound by it. This I deny. The law always scrutinizes transactions -between parties in confidential relations, as father and son, guardian -and ward, attorney and client, husband and wife, and demands the -utmost frankness and fullest disclosure of circumstances, allows no -concealments, and sets aside all contracts where any advantage is -gained by reason of the confidence reposed. It recognizes the influence -of superior position, and the right to trust in the party occupying -it, and demands the strictest honor on his part. I think my position -with my publishers comes within the scope of this principle. In respect -of the matters involved in this contract, were we or could we be -equal? They were practiced business men living in the city, with full -knowledge of all the details of their affairs. It was their business -to manage the external material parts of books. I was living in the -country, with no knowledge of these affairs, and as I supposed, no -need and no means of acquiring it. It was my part to attend to the -interior and intangible souls of books. I could not look into their -business without neglecting my own; as indeed I have been forced to -do for sixteen months past, and as I should do with equal pertinacity -for sixteen years, were it necessary. I never sent for my accounts, -except when I wanted money and wished not to overdraw. When they came, -I scarcely did more than glance at the footing to ascertain what was -due me. Nor do I now see of what use it would have been to examine them -ever so minutely. I was proceeding entirely on a basis of confidence, -which I think I had a clear right to assume, and which was complete and -unimpaired until the date mentioned in my first paper, when I awoke to -the fact that I was not receiving what I seemed to be entitled to, and -what, on the closest scrutiny, I believe to be my legal and equitable -dues. - -"Such being the relation of the parties, let us examine for a -moment--that is a pulpit fiction, I mean for a good many moments--the -inducements held out to me by my publishers, as they are found in this -letter. I maintain that the proposed change from percentage to a fixed -sum is so mentioned as directly--I do not say intentionally--to mislead -me. It is held up as an arrangement peculiarly to my advantage, as -guaranteeing me in any event against a loss to which I might otherwise -be exposed, and as securing me my profits by some stronger safeguard -than I had before possessed. But whereas I was blind I now see that it -guarantees me against no loss, and the only safeguard it presents, is -a safeguard against any benefit which might accrue to me from the rise -in prices. Mr. Hunt says, "if it should cost $1.50 to make the volumes, -you are sure of your author profits of fifteen cents,"--as if I should -not have been just as sure of them had I received percentage! "The -price at retail may be $1.50, $2.00, or $3.00, as the high or low rates -of paper, binding, etc., may be, but _you_ are all right,"--whereas I -was all wrong, for if I had kept to a percentage, and the retail price -had become $3.00, I should have had thirty cents instead of fifteen. - -"It was almost immediately after this contract that the retail price of -all my books went up to $2.00, and has remained so ever since. This was -a fact which my publishers had the means to foresee, but which I could -not and did not anticipate or even conjecture. The absolute identity of -ten per cent. and a fixed sum at the time of the new contract, together -with their representations of its superior advantage to me, and my -confidence in them, all combined to deceive me. I should have adopted -the same reasoning and drawn the same inference if a year earlier I -had been asked to change the ten per cent. to twelve and a half cents, -which at that time amounted to precisely the same thing. - -"Had I been distinctly told that my books were largely to advance -in price, but that all the profit of the advance was to accrue to -the publishers and none of it to me, should I have consented to such -an arrangement? The referees and my publishers, in discussing these -matters, plunged into an abyss of figures into which I cannot attempt -to follow them. I do not even understand the jargon--I trust they will -pardon the term--in which they appeared to be communicating ideas. I -had provided myself with a friend who was, I believed, fully competent -to dive as deep as the best of them. But I was not allowed to retain -him, and I could only sit in despair on the brink of the gulf and stare -at the spectacle. From the few intelligible sounds that did reach me -I infer that the sacrifices of publishers in behalf of authors have -never been fully appreciated. I felt that in claiming ten per cent. I -was guilty of an extortion second only to that of David Copperfield in -suggesting to Mr. Dolloby eighteen pence as the price of 'this here -little weskit.' 'I should rob my family,' says Mr. Dolloby, 'if I was -to offer ninepence for it.' It is gratifying to recollect that the -last winter was a mild one, so that the cases of extreme suffering -must have been rare. If it were not for an occasional glimpse at our -impertinent income-returns one would be inconsolable. As it is, would -the referees count it as bringing in new facts if I should send one or -two postage-stamps to the retired clergyman whose sands of life have -nearly run out, and beg a receipt for returning an income of fifty -thousand dollars on a bi-annual cash profit of three hundred dollars? - -"But though I cannot bring up a fact from the bottom of the sea, I can -see a fact when it stares me in the face on land. If there was any -reason except uncovenanted mercies for advancing my copyright from -twelve and a half cents to fifteen, when the books went from $1.25 to -$1.50, it must have applied with equal force to advancing my copyright -from fifteen to twenty cents when the books advanced from $1.50 to -$2.00. I deny that the increased cost of doing business should be -reckoned solely on the side of the publisher as the justification of -_his_ receipts and profits, while the author should be held down to -the same fixed sum. The same causes that increased the cost of doing -business to Messrs. Brummell & Hunt as publishers, increased in quite -as large a ratio the cost of my doing business as an author. Every -conceivable form of expenditure to which I was subjected was all the -time increasing, and I was as much in need of a _pro rata_ increase of -receipts from my books as the publishers could be. But Messrs. Brummell -& Hunt take the opposite ground and maintain that no matter what the -added expenditure of the author may necessarily become, only a fixed -sum shall be allowed to meet it, while the vast increase of receipts -and of profits shall be absorbed by the publisher alone. If this be -justice, equity, or law, I think we would better stop hammering on the -jubilee house, and begin back again at the Ten Commandments.[13] - -"But though I was not able to follow my publishers through the technics -and tactics of their business, there were two ways in which I might -have formed and presented some opinion of the justice of their course. -Had I been allowed, I would have called in other publishers and have -asked them what would be a fair price for books with the character, -dress, and sales of mine. I do not see that there could be any -unfairness in this. They surely would not be likely to decide unjustly -against their own craft, and they surely would be able to give an -intelligent answer. - -"From the inquiries which Mr. Dane has made among other publishers, I -believe that the sum which Messrs. Brummell & Hunt allege that they -have made on all my books represents much more nearly the profits which -they made on a single one of them, 'City Lights,' and that the profits -which accrued to themselves from the rise in the prices of books are -much larger than they represent them. - -"It was for the purpose of elucidating this matter, also, that the -questions were sent to Messrs. Hunt, Parry, & Co. some days before the -reference began. Had I known the profits of their firm, the number and -sales of their books, and the profits of their periodicals, I should -have been in a position to judge of the correctness of their statements -regarding the cost and profits of my books. Mr. Parry objects to -such testimony, as he says they may make a great deal of money in -outside ways, by speculating in butter, for instance. Precisely. But -they advertise themselves as a publishing house solely, not as a -publishing and butter house. It is Hunt, Parry, & Co., publishers, not -publishers and dairymen. When I am charged in my books with the cost -of store-rent, I wish to know whether the rent is for packing-cases -or butter-tubs. I am charged for insurance and clerk-hire. How can -I tell whether the insurance and clerk-hire cover my share alone or -whether they may not also embrace the safety and the management of -the "Adriatic?" There is a separate item for the cost of advertising; -but I am told that in a single year the receipts of the firm for -advertising in their periodicals are ten thousand dollars more than the -cost to them of all the advertisements which they publish elsewhere. -Undoubtedly the sagacity of the firm in managing their periodicals -has much to do with that circulation which makes them so valuable as -advertising mediums; but is it not just possible that the quality of -the writing has some slight influence on their circulation. Yet not -only are the authors of the books and of the magazine articles often -one and the same, but the articles themselves are frequently but -extracts from the books, and the books themselves are frequently made -up in part or in whole from the articles. I do not mention this as -an advantage to the publishers and a disadvantage to the author, but -simply to show that the book business and the magazine business are so -interwoven that an investigation of the one, to be exhaustive, must be, -to some extent, an investigation of the other. Messrs. Hunt, Parry, & -Co. must give us all the data if we are to make their 'sums prove,' as -the children say. As they decline to do this, and as I never learned -to 'cipher in turkey rule,' they have everything their own way in -arithmetic. - -"Another point in Mr. Hunt's letter of explanation was, as he says, -'This arrangement we make now with all our authors.' - -"When I wrote to Mr. Hunt about the last of August, 1768, that, -contrary to what I had understood his assertion to be, several authors -had ten per cent., and therefore I thought I ought to have ten per -cent., the firm did not deny my premise, but simply said, 'In your -letter you assume that we have but one set of terms with the various -authors whose works we publish. In this you are in error. What we pay -to any individual author is a matter quite between him, or her, and -ourselves, and it is not our custom to make one author the criterion -for another. Many elements enter into the case that would make a -uniform rate impracticable. Independently of other considerations, the -varying cost of manufacture caused by different styles of publication -would alone preclude such an arrangement. We must therefore decline to -admit such an argument into the case.' - -"The fact is, it was not necessary to admit it, since it was already -there--placed there by Mr. Hunt's own hands. It was offered as an -inducement for me to accept the new terms, "this arrangement we now -make with all our authors." Either, then, Messrs. Brummell & Hunt do -make a uniform arrangement with all their authors or they do not. If -they do, this last letter cannot be a correct statement of facts, and -the question arises, what is that uniform arrangement? If they do -not, then Mr. Hunt's letter of September 23, 1764, cannot be true, -and the representation which he held out to me of a uniform mode of -payment as an inducement for me to come into the arrangement, was not -a correct representation. To ascertain whether or not they did make -such an arrangement, I applied to such authors as were within reach to -know what were and had been their rates of payment. A. writes, 'I have -always received a percentage. I remember no change in 1764, unless -that B. & H. about that time (perhaps earlier), without my asking it, -raised the sum they paid me for a poem, by one third.' B. says, 'I have -been content with ten per cent.' Messrs. Hunt, Parry, & Co. write to -C., 'Even D. now has only ten per cent.' E. says, 'I never published -but one book (prose) with Brummell & Hunt.... I received on this the -usual beggarly percentage.' F. says, 'Generally we go on the system -of half profits.... In regard to 'Old King Cole,' they print and sell -and allow me a certain sum on each copy sold.' G. says, 'Brummell & -Hunt have, I believe, allowed me ten per cent. on the retail price -of my books.' H. says, 'I believe it (the book) was to have yielded -ten per cent. if anything.' I. says, 'Messrs. H., P., & Co. have -published four books for me. The three first sell for $1.25, and I -receive twelve cents each copy. The last is a joint affair, published -by subscription.' K. says, 'All my contracts have been for _one half -the net profits_. The two volumes published by the Troubadours, were -offered to Parry, but as he wanted to make other terms, I declined, and -they went to the Troubadours. This is the sum of my transactions with -Messrs. B. & H.' - -"On Friday, April 16, Mr. Dane sent to Messrs. Hunt, Parry, & Co. -certain questions, in writing, which the referees now hold, asking -them to cite their contracts with other authors, and giving a list -of names. Did they meet this question fairly? On Friday, April 23, -they made their reply to my statement. On the question of contracts, -they cited A.'s collected poems, B.'s poems, F.'s 'Old King Cole,' -M.'s works (collected), a part of which had to be bought from another -publisher, and the works of Theodore Winthrop, which I believe were not -asked for. All these they cited as examples of works on which similar -contracts to mine had been made, and they cited no others. If these -persons had written no other works this would have been fair as far as -it goes. But these persons had written other works, and I maintain that -Messrs. Hunt, Parry, & Co. had selected out of these works those that -were most unlike mine in scope, style, cost, and probable circulation, -and said nothing whatever about books by the same authors which -would more nearly resemble mine in these respects. A., besides his -collected poems, his blue and gold and cabinet editions of his poems, -has written separate poems and prose works, which have been issued in -separate editions, and which, therefore, furnish a far more proper -basis of comparison with mine. But about these separate books they said -nothing. Of his separate books, a, b, c, d, e, they made no mention. -They brought up B. as one whose works were treated in the same way as -mine; but they mentioned only his Poems, blue and gold, and his Songs. -They never hinted that he had printed and they had published any prose -book for him. Yet it is these prose books, his novels and essays, -which form the true basis of comparison between him and me. They -cited F., but they cited only his 'Old King Cole,' which they did not -originally publish, and which they own by a peculiar bargain, and said -nothing about the original books which they have published for him, -novels, essays, and stories. They cited M., but while bringing in his -collected poems, which were entangled in a bargain with some previous -contumacious publisher, one Fussey, they said nothing of his separate -volumes. They cited Winthrop, but Winthrop, like Marley, was dead to -begin with; and if the living have hard work to hold their own against -this enterprising firm, what can be expected of the dead? - -"Here they rested their case so far as the contracts go; but as a -desire was expressed to see the contracts, they promised to produce -them next morning. On Saturday, accordingly, we began with one set of -contracts which proved to be a most perplexing medley--a sort of contra -dance between written contracts and verbal agreements with the rattling -of stereotype plates for tambourines. As the government of Russia is -said to be despotism tempered by assassination, so the business of -Messrs. Hunt, Parry, & Co. may be said to be conducted on the basis of -written contracts annulled by verbal agreements. If we were met for the -purpose of preparing a Mars Hill House Shorter Catechism and should -ask, 'What is the chief end of a written contract?' Messrs. H., P., -& Co. would promptly reply, 'A written contract's chief end is to be -canceled by a verbal agreement and annihilated forever!' According to -their practice, it seems that we all agree, in writing, as to what we -will do, for the sake of saying afterwards that we won't do it. - -"However, plodding my way along as best I could through the contracts, -with Mr. Markman's kind assistance, I found, or thought I found, -that for one book its author received at first twenty per cent., he -owning the stereotype plates. Whether this was by written contract or -verbal agreement Mr. Markman does not recollect. From 1762 to 1764, he -received twenty cents a volume, the retail price, meanwhile, having -advanced from one to two dollars. Since then a written contract gives -him twenty cents a volume, the retail price being two dollars. - -"A second book by the same author is on the same principle, except that -there is no written contract. - -"A third, in 1762, either by contract or verbal agreement, was -receiving twenty per cent. on $1.00, retail price, the author owning -stereotype plates. In 1764 it was changed verbally from percentage to -twenty cents a volume, the price having gone up to two dollars. - -"While I was painfully thridding these labyrinthine ways, I was -arrested by a proposition from some quarter that time should be saved -by intrusting the further examination of these contracts to the -referees. I had every confidence in the referees, but how could I make -my argument concerning these contracts without having seen them? It -was said that I should be present and examine them with the referees; -but the referees were about to disperse to the four quarters of the -earth--or, as there are only two of them, I suppose it might be more -strictly accurate to say, the two hemispheres--not to meet again till -Thursday, when I was to make my final statement. Mr. Markman then -said that he would have the principal points of the contracts copied -and sent to me either Saturday afternoon or Monday; but on Tuesday -I received a letter from him saying that his time has been so much -occupied with matters relating to Mr. Hunt's absence, that he has not -had time to complete the copyright memorandum which he promised to -send me, but will surely send it to-morrow--all of which I do not in -the least doubt, but it does not alter the fact that the information -concerning the contracts, for which I asked ten days ago, has not yet -been furnished; that I am to hand in my argument on Wednesday, and find -myself at home to write up the play of Hamlet with a pretty important -part of Hamlet left out. - -"From what goes in, however, I am left, like Providence among the -heathen, not without witness. Accepting alleged verbal agreements, it -seems that the author cited, in changing from percentage to a fixed -sum, came down to a sum fixed as high as the highest of my percentage. -That is, he, at his lowest, is precisely where I was at my highest. -My sole ambition was to climb as high as the point where he stopped -falling! Does this fairly make out the assertion, 'this arrangement we -make now with all our authors'? - -"But I cannot reason upon contracts which I have never seen. I fall -back upon the statements made to me by the authors I have quoted, and -on this ground I affirm that I have not fared as the other authors, -even of Messrs. Hunt, Parry, & Co., have fared. Neither can I accept -their allegations of verbal agreements which cancel written contracts. -The only verbal agreement I know anything about is one that never -existed. I did not intend to mention Mrs.---- any further than I -have done, but Mr. Parry has cited her case and I may therefore be -permitted to say that verbal agreements and explanations were brought -to bear on her in the same way. In a letter to me dated August 9, 1768, -she says, 'A letter arrived from Mr. Hunt [Thursday] telling me that -_he had explained as I knew_, just what he had never once explained as -he knew--and I read it and denied totally all his assertions.' August -20, 1768, she says, 'Do you see all the contracts Mr. Hunt tells Mr. E. -were verbal. I do not believe Mr.---- ever consented to change to ten -per cent., because he would have told me, and besides you see he had -fifteen per cent. for the very last book he gave them!... And now they -say he made a verbal agreement with Mr. Brummell who is dead and cannot -say anything. But they show no papers.' - -"I have been a practitioner at law but four days, and it becomes me -to be modest; yet I will hazard the remark, that a verbal agreement -without witnesses, between two dead men, is as near nothing as anything -in the way of evidence can well be. - -"Mr. Parry affirms that Mrs.----'s sister afterwards examined -their books and found nothing wrong therein, and that Mrs.---- was -subsequently satisfied. I saw Mrs.---- in Paris on her way to Asia, -and it seemed to me that she was very far from satisfied, but that -she _was_ worried out, and preferred peace to pence. One can imagine -Miss---- hunting up Messrs. Hunt, Parry, & Co.'s account books in -pursuit of knowledge! - -"Neither do I accept accounts as proofs of a verbal agreement. My -accounts ran on for years, unchallenged, without any such agreement, -though that agreement is now alleged as the basis of the accounts. J. -wrote to me, May 11, 1768, 'In the accounts of sale I believe the price -paid me was ten per cent. of the _original_ retail price, that is, the -'Ambrosia' was published at a dollar fifty and I have always received -fifteen cents a copy on that. When paper became so high during the war, -the price of the book was raised to $1.75, but I am pretty sure I never -received seventeen and a half cents, but always only fifteen, yet, as -the papers are at home, I cannot be certain; only in a little account -of sale sent here this winter the reckoning was at fifteen cents a copy -for one, and twelve and a half cents for the other, but the account -covered a space of three years during which the books had been selling -at $1.75 and $1.50 respectively; so that, literally, he has not been -paying me ten per cent.; but I did not think much about it, taking it -for granted that the extra price was due to hard times. But I do not -know why our labor is the only labor to remain low-priced.' Here it -will be seen that for three years J.'s accounts might have been cited -at any time as proof of a verbal agreement, though no such agreement -had ever been made or even alleged. Messrs. H., P., & Co. may say that -they have a right to infer that silence gives consent, and that authors -have no right to be so loose in money matters. Leaving out any silence -which might arise from delicacy, I would say, it is true that they -ought to be more accurate and systematic, but surely we may say to our -publishers, as the crab remarked to his father, when rebuked for going -sidewise, 'Gladly, my father, would we walk straight, if we could first -see you setting the example!' - -"But authors are not always to be blamed for their silence. We are not -very large buyers of our own books and do not always know when the -price is raised. Surely we cannot be expected to sit inflexibly upon -our property, like Miss Betsy Trotwood, watching the rates of sale. It -was a considerable time after L.'s story-book advanced in price before -its author discovered it; as soon as she did, she made a note of it, -and after a little trouble succeeded in having her contract fulfilled. -But any time between the change and her discovery of it, her account -might have been alleged as proof of a verbal agreement which did not -exist. I am, of course, not saying that it would have been so, but -that it might have been so. What we want, therefore, is _facts_, Mr. -Gradgrind. - -"Since writing this, Mr. Markman's memoranda of contracts have put in -an appearance, and if correct, show beyond question, that their letter -of September, 1768, was true, and that the statement in Mr. Hunt's -September 1764 letter was not true. There is scarcely an approach to -uniformity in the arrangements made with authors. Taking those books -which most resemble mine, the contracts are of every species. There -are contracts for twenty per cent. where the author owns the plates, -and ten per cent. where the publisher owns them. Books that retail at -$1.25 pay the author ten cents per volume, or fifteen cents per volume, -he owning the stereotype plates, or twelve cents per volume, or twelve -and a half cents per volume; books that retail at $1.50 pay the author -fifteen cents, and ten cents; books that retail at seventy-five cents -pay five per copy; books that retail at $1.00 pay twenty cents per -copy; books that retail at $2.00 and $1.75 do the same; books that -retail at $1.12 pay ten cents. When a verbal agreement is alleged as -a substitute for a written contract, the substitute also varies. Some -of the contracts are for half profits. I do not find a single example -of a book that retails at $2.00 and pays the author fifteen cents. I -shall depend upon the referees to discover any fault in my figures, but -I believe they are correct. When a change is made from percentage to -a fixed sum, there is generally a decrease to the author, but not so -great as in my case. The aggregate of one set of books at a percentage -was $1.36¼; after the change to a fixed sum it amounted to $1.68. On -some of the books there has been no change. So that when Mr. Hunt says, -'this arrangement we make now with all our authors,' whether he means -that they change from percentage to a fixed sum, or whether he means -that they make with all the same ratio of decrease that they make with -me, he is equally incorrect. There is no sense in which his words can -be understood, in which they are true." - -[There is one sense in which they may be counted correct. If we -construe them to mean, "We pay all our authors just as little as we -think they will stand. You, being rather the most pliable of any, will -bear the greatest reduction, and we have accordingly reduced you to the -lowest point," they appear to be marvellously accurate.] - -"I claim, therefore, that I never assented to the second contract -because I never understood it, and because the representations made to -me as inducements were not correct. I claim that Mr. Hunt's letter was -calculated (I do not say intentionally) to mislead and deceive me; that -I was misled and deceived by it, and as the result of this deception, -I signed a contract which deprived me of my plainest rights in the -premises; and the accounts subsequently rendered were accepted by me in -the same good faith with which I sought the contract, with scarcely an -examination, certainly without the least suspicion. - -"Of the books not named in the contracts I believe I need say little. -Even had the second contract been valid, no understanding can be -inferred from it as to the five books not included in it. Why should -the second contract be taken as a guide any more than the first? The -first was made under ordinary circumstances, the second under peculiar -ones which soon changed. They did not themselves understand that the -second contract governed all the rest, for they did not pay me fifteen -cents but only ten cents on 'Holidays.' They say that it was a small -book; but so was 'The Rights of Men.' Yet 'Holidays' contained 141 -pages, was retailed at $1.50, and paid me ten cents, while 'The Rights -of Men' contained 212 pages, retailed at $1.50, and paid me fifteen -cents--no accounts being rendered till after the trouble began. Mr. -Parry says that 'Holidays' was a different kind of book, a children's -book with pictures, and therefore he supposed they did not class it -with the others, but simply fixed a price which they thought equitable. -But X.'s story-book was also a juvenile book, with pictures, of the -same class as mine; yet on that they paid by contract ten per cent. -C.'s story-book was also an illustrated juvenile, and on that they paid -half profits. - -"But I hold that the contract pretending to cover 'Dies Alba,' 'Rocks -of Offense,' and 'Old Miasmas,' is inoperative and void, and cannot -regulate the compensation to which I am entitled by copyright on these -three books; still less can it regulate the compensation to which I -am entitled on subsequent ones. If a contract is void in the direct -operation claimed for it, its inferential operation must be shadowy -indeed. With all due respect, I hold that it is little less than absurd -for Messrs. Hunt, Parry, & Co. to claim that I am bound to accept that -contract as the basis of settlement for subsequent publications. I hold -that on these five books, published under no contract, I may claim what -is just according to the usages of the trade. - -"I do not know what may be the result of the inquiries of the referees -among publishers. Mr. Dane, as his letter shows, made careful -investigations, and found no one who did not say that ten per cent. -was the minimum price. I believe that no respectable publisher can -be found in the country who, regarding the cost of the books and the -number sold, will not say that ten per cent. on the retail price is the -very lowest sum that an honorable publisher would have paid me had the -whole matter been referred to his own honor. - -"Nor is it necessary to scour the country for evidence, since Messrs. -Hunt, Parry, & Co. recognize such a usage themselves, even if they do -not follow it. On what other principle did they allow me ten per cent. -in the beginning on 'City Lights,' when I was a new author, and they -had the whole matter of price in their own hands? During the reference -they have also offered to return to ten per cent. Why should they offer -ten per cent. in the beginning, and ten per cent. at the close, and -skip about meanwhile from six and two thirds to seven and a half per -cent. according to their fancy or caprice? This is a specimen of piping -on the part of publishers, and dancing on the part of authors, that I -do not propose to take part in. - -"My claim to compensation on five hundred of the fifteen hundred books -exempted in the first edition of 'City Lights,' needs no labored -argument. Their attempt to prove from their books that I had due -notice of the fact, proves that I ought to have had notice, while the -accounts received and produced by me prove that no such notice was -given me. Mr. Markman thinks it may have been lost in the mail, but -the accounts which I hold cover the whole time of my transactions with -Messrs. Brummell & Hunt, and I submit that the mails shall be believed -innocent till they are proved guilty, and that Messrs. Brummell & Hunt -must be nipped in the bud, or they will soon, as Sidney Smith says, be -speaking disrespectfully of the equator. Mr. Parry admits that without -explanation the word edition means a thousand copies. He also admits -that in all cases when more than a thousand copies are exempted, the -specific number is given. He believes mine to be the only exception -to this rule. He alleges as the reason of this unusual exemption the -unusual cost of my books, saying that they cost a great deal more than -any other on their list. To this I reply that I should have been told -in the beginning that they did or would cost more than others. Mr. -Markman then brings forward a letter of mine to prove that I _was_ -told, and did know that the books cost more. This letter bears date -September 20th, 1762, two days after the publication of 'City Lights,' -and the extract says: 'The fact that I wish to impress upon your mind -is that you have tricked out my book so beautifully that nothing could -be lovelier. You would not have done it though, if I had not threatened -you within an inch of your life, would you? [etc., etc., etc.] But now -see, I never thought till yesterday that they must cost more than the -other way, and I have been distressed all along and this makes me more -so,' etc. - -"This does not prove what Mr. Markman introduced it to prove, but it -proves just the opposite, which is the next best thing. It shows that -until the day after the book was published I had never thought of the -book's cost, and that then the thought was spontaneous, not suggested -to me by others. It proves beyond question that nothing had ever been -said to me about it. - -"On one or two other points, not strictly necessary to the case but -introduced by Mr. Parry, I must beg a moment's forbearance. Mr. Parry, -feeling that my claim involves fraud, reads extracts from my early -letters, to show that I was very urgent to publish 'City Lights,' that -I expressed the greatest confidence in them, and that, in short, I came -to them in such a way as, to use his own language, would have almost -held out a temptation to defraud me. So that if they had been disposed -to defraud me at all they would have done it then. - -"Fraud is a hard word, and I believe I have not used it; but if Mr. -Parry insists, I will say that the exemption of the fifteen hundred -books under cover of _an edition_ occurred with the first edition of -my first book, and I really don't see how they could have begun _much_ -earlier if they had tried. - -"Mr. Parry mentions as a proof of their friendly intentions, that they -desired to refer the whole matter to Mr. Rogers because they thought he -was my friend; that they offered to refer it to my friend Mr. Brook, -of whom they knew nothing, and to my friend Mr. Greatheart, of whom -they knew very little. It will be observed that they did not once ask -me to select a friend, but generously took the whole burden of the -selection upon themselves. - -"The first person to whom they offered to refer it was Mr. Rogers, -and I accepted him gladly. I was so much in earnest that I wrote him -myself begging him not to decline--and this although I had never seen -him. On account of his health he felt obliged to decline; but before -he had declined, Messrs. Hunt, Parry, & Co. proposed to relinquish -him, for what reason I do not know. They proposed that I should give -up Mr. Russell, and they should give up Mr. Rogers, and we should each -make a new selection. I was entirely satisfied both with my choice and -theirs, and I saw no reason for changing. So that I not only accepted -the nail they drove, but I clinched it myself. I not only kept to my -own choice, but I had to make them keep to theirs. It was while they -stood thus shivering on the brink, after Mr. Rogers had been proposed -and accepted, and before he had declined, that they proposed Mr. Brook -and Mr. Greatheart. - -"But was it friendly in them to turn away from their own choice, and go -about among my friends choosing persons of whose qualifications they -were ignorant, forcing me to reject them, and thus to discriminate -against my own friends? Did not Messrs. Hunt, Parry, & Co. know that -this was a matter not to be settled by sentiment? I should have -considered it a far more unequivocal sign of friendliness if they had -permitted me to appear before the referees with the friend whom I had -intelligently chosen, who had stood by me through the whole trouble, -who was familiar with all the details of my case, and capable of -understanding all the details of theirs, and by whose aid, therefore, -arbitration might be satisfactory as well as conclusive. Instead of -which they compelled me to stand alone, unaided, without preparation, -without the possibility of being prepared, in a position for which -their long acquaintance with me must have told them I was eminently -unfit, and which one at least of their number must have known would be -to me peculiarly embarrassing and distressing. Their idea of a friendly -arbitration seems to be that of imposing upon me the friends I do not -want, and taking away from me the friend I do want. - -"Mr. Parry thinks indeed that Mr. Dane had poisoned my mind regarding -them. But he also thought Mrs.----'s mind was jaundiced. Perhaps that -question belongs to the doctors rather than the referees. Whether it be -poison or jaundice it is to be hoped the disease may not spread. - -"There are other parts of Mr. Parry's statements which I should like -to lay before the referees, but I remember that they are mortal, and -though the spirit is willing the flesh is weak, and I forbear. - - -"IN CONCLUSION, - -I claim that my first contract for 'City Lights,' specially stipulating -ten per cent., shall be carried out in good faith; and that it shall -not be considered as changed or modified by any conversation remembered -by Mr. Hunt, but absolutely denied by myself. And I claim that the word -edition used therein shall be held to mean just what Mr. Parry admits -it would mean in common acceptation with the book-trade, namely, one -thousand copies. - -"2. I claim that my second contract, covering 'Alba Dies,' 'Rocks -of Offense,' and 'Old Miasmas,' was obtained from me under a total -misapprehension of facts, that this misapprehension of mine was the -result of a misrepresentation (I do not say intentional) made to me by -Mr. Hunt in his letter of September 23, 1764, wherein he represents -the arrangement as one uniform among their authors and as assuring -me a rate of compensation, which he leaves me to infer, I might not -otherwise obtain, whereas he knew that the arrangement was not uniform -and that my percentage would amount to more as prices were then -tending,--and the arrangement was made by him so as to prevent my ten -per cent. from amounting to more than fifteen cents per copy. This I -did not understand, and should not have assented to if I had understood -it. I hold that neither in law, equity, morals, nor manners should I -be held to an agreement which I did not comprehend, which the opposite -party so presented as to prevent my comprehending it, and which -deprived me of my proportionate share of an increase of profit admitted -to have been made on the books published under it. The contract, -therefore, should be set aside, and I should be paid according to the -usage of publishers, or at the same rate as appears in the contract for -'City Lights,' namely, ten per cent. - -"3. I claim that on my books published since the date of my second -contract, and not alluded to or included in either contract, namely, -'Winter Work,' 'Holidays,' 'Pencillings,' 'Cotton Picking,' and 'Rights -of Men,' my compensation shall be fixed by the usage existing among -publishers and authors. - -"4. I claim and must certainly be entitled to receive interest at the -rate of seven per cent. on all sums found to be due me at the date of -the several semi-annual settlements, counting my compensation uniformly -at the rate of ten per cent. on the retail price of the books at the -date of the settlement. This point is so plain that it can need no -argument. - -"5. I claim that I am equitably entitled to damages to compensate me -for the loss that has resulted to me pecuniarily and otherwise from -this unhappy occurrence. My pecuniary damage alone amounts to more than -three thousand dollars. There are hurts of other kinds to which money -bears no relation. - -"My actual expenses in preparing for this reference have been very -considerable, and under the award of costs I claim that I should have -an ample allowance made me to cover my outlays in this regard." - - -After this statement had been read, Messrs. Hunt, Parry, & Co. were -permitted to make whatever of reply they chose. They denied no fact, -and challenged no inference in my statement. - -The referees, after two days of deliberation, returned the following -decision:-- - - -"The undersigned, mutually agreed upon as referees in the matter in -controversy between M. N. and Messrs. Hunt, Parry, & Co., on their own -account, and as successors of Brummell & Hunt, hereby award to M. N. -the sum of twelve hundred and fifty dollars, to be paid her by Hunt, -Parry, & Co., within three days from the date of this paper in full -compensation for her claims upon the matter in this controversy--and -that hereafter M. N. shall receive ten per cent. copyright on the -retail price of all her books printed by Hunt, Parry, & Co., except -the three books embraced in the contract between the parties dated -September 24, 1764. The referees decline any compensation for services -or expenses and leave each party to pay their own costs. - -"Signed and delivered, April 30, 1769. - - "J. RUSSELL. - - "G. W. HAMPDEN." - - -[Illustration] - - - - -[Illustration] - -X. - -SOBER SECOND AND THIRD THOUGHTS. - - -HAVING trespassed so far on the patience of the reader, I may as well -presume a little further, and indulge in a few reflections. - -First, from the investigations and observations of the last two -years, I infer that authors are very much to blame in their business -dealings. By their inexactness, their indifference, their unreasonable -and indolent trust, and their excessive monetary stupidity, they not -only become an easy prey of, but they offer a direct temptation to the -cupidity of publishers. Not a single author to whom I appealed showed -the slightest reluctance to answer my questions, nor, I may almost -add, the slightest ability to answer them adequately. For instance, -the points I wished to ascertain were whether a writer was paid by -percentage or by a fixed sum: what was the percentage and what the -fixed sum: and whether during or subsequent to the year 1764 any change -was made in the mode or rate of payment. - -See now how charmingly the authors met my points. - -Says one, "Brummell and Hunt never published but ---- with me and I -received on this the usual beggarly percentage;" leaving me entirely in -the dark as to what was the beggarly percentage. - -Says another: "What terms do I make with B. & H.? Yes, with all my -heart. In regard to ----, they print and sell and allow me a certain -sum on all copies sold;" but with the greatest inclination in the world -giving me no hint of the amount of that "certain sum." - -Says another: "Brummell & Hunt have, I believe, allowed me ten per -cent. on the retail price of my books. That was the first arrangement -at least, but I must confess I never look at their statements of -account." - -Says a fourth: "I have always received a percentage.... I remember no -change in 1764, unless that B. & H. about that time (perhaps earlier) -without my asking it, raised the sum they paid me for ----, etc.... The -interests of authors and publishers are identical--a fact which they -understand better than we do." - -Yet the firm testified of this very writer that they had written -agreements to pay him percentage, and that when prices advanced they -waived the percentage, and paid him a certain (lower) sum per volume. - -A fifth says: "I have not the least objection in the world in replying -to your letter in the most straightforward way.... I have been -contented with ten per cent. on the retail price of my printed books." - -Yet the written contracts of this writer showed every variety of -arrangement from twenty per cent. downward. - -A sixth says: "Messrs. B. & H. have published four books for me.... The -three first named sell for $1.25, and I receive twelve cents each copy." - -But Messrs. B. & H. affirmed that these books sold for $1.50 each. - -A seventh says: "I did not send your letter to ----, for the reason -that she does not know as much as you do about the subject of its -inquiry. The most she could tell you would be, that now and then there -comes a bit of paper very neatly and tastefully diversified by red and -blue lines, and dreadfully complicated by sundry hieroglyphics, which -she has been told are figures, and that a check embellished with one of -the rows of figures accompanies it.... I have an impression that years -ago, when ---- was taking such sesquipedalian strides to public favor, -Mr. Brummell told me that after the number of copies sold had reached -a certain point, the author received a reduced percentage, and I think -I remember wondering by what perversion of commercial philosophy, an -article of which fifty thousand copies could be sold, was worth less, -proportionally, than one of which only five thousand could be bartered, -for of course the ratio of cost decreased with every successive -thousand manufactured." - -Here, it will be perceived, is a faint glimmer of sense, which will be -completely extinguished by the next extract. - -"---- said you made a mistake in thinking yourself differently used -from the rest of the writing craft, and explained that the profits of -the author did not keep up the same proportion in repeated editions, -but went to pay the increased circulation. For his part he would rather -be more poorly paid for the sake of being more widely read." - -Must not that have been an explanation worth having? It is not -difficult to conjecture the source whence that form of explanation -originated, for another letter says, "Mr.---- went to see Mr. Hunt.... -Mr. Hunt expressed great regret that it had all happened; said 'Rights -of Men,' had done more for your reputation than any other book; that -you made more than the publishers did, etc., and that they thought -better to have a low per cent. and large sales, than the contrary; -though I don't see what a low per cent. paid to the author has to do -with large sales, if the price of the book is kept high to purchasers." - -The fact, is that as a bad woman is said to be a great deal worse than -a bad man, so a man innocent of business capacity, is far more innocent -than any woman can be. A woman may be never so silly, but there is -generally a substratum of hard sense somewhere. A man may be never so -wise, and yet completely destitute of this practical ability. It is -largely in behalf of these helpless, harmless, deluded, and betrayed -gentlemen, that I have felt called to take up arms. What sword would -not leap from its scabbard to maintain the cause of the weak and the -wronged? - -But though I admit and lament that authors are unpractical and -unbusiness-like to the last degree, I must affirm that they have less -inducement to be business-like and less opportunity to be practical -than any other class of persons. Suppose a writer sets out with the -determination to be prudent and sagacious, where shall he begin? If a -farmer has a bushel of potatoes to sell, he knows, or can learn in a -moment, precisely their market value. The Early Rose has its price, -and the Jackson White has its price; there is no room for doubt, or -misgiving, or mistake. But the author has not and cannot have the least -notion of the market value of his products. He does not even know their -intrinsic value. He does not know whether he has raised an Early Rose -or a dead-and-gone Chenango. He may have spent his strength on what -is absolutely unsalable. His work is production, but for its worth he -must depend solely on the word of those who buy and sell. After a while -he does indeed arrive at something like a scale of value, but he never -reaches such a degree of certainty as to feel assured of any special -piece of work. Every one must be judged by itself. Five successful -books are no absolute guaranty that the sixth will not be worthless. - -It seems to me, also, that there is no business in which so few checks -exist as in that of publishing. An author, we will say, agrees to -receive ten per cent. on the retail price of all copies of his works -that are sold, but he has literally nothing but the publisher's word by -which to know how many copies are sold. The manufacturer knows how many -he has made, but it would be offensive to ask for the manufacturer's -accounts, and moreover he would probably not render them if asked. He -would consider it as betraying the secrets of the trade, or the trust -of his employers, or otherwise impertinent and unwarranted. Of course a -false return of sales would be fraud, and somewhat complicated fraud; -but human ingenuity combined with human depravity has been known to -surmount obstacles to crime as formidable as these, and the danger of -detection is infinitessimally small. If there be any such thing in -arithmetic as the Double Rule of Three,--and I seem to have a vague -impression that there is,--it may well be brought to the solution of -the problem: if a publisher may for years safely disregard, not to say -violate, the condition of a contract which an author has before his -eyes in plain black and white, how long may another publisher safely -falsify accounts which an author never sees, and which he could not -understand if he should see? I have no doubt that in nine cases out -of ten, and perhaps also in the tenth, the returns of sales are as -accurate as the moral law. What I maintain is, that the author, be -he wise as Solomon, has no means of knowing whether they are or not, -while the manufacturer of all other goods knows precisely how much raw -material goes into the mill and how much of the manufactured article -comes out. - -If the author, instead of receiving a percentage, takes half profits, -he is even more at the mercy of the publisher. In the very outset the -wildest theories prevail as to what constitute profits, and though the -author may make heroic struggles to be exhaustively mathematical, the -probabilities are that the only draught made upon his science will be -the very simple effort of dividing by two whatever sum the publisher -has chosen to figure up. The plan adopted by actors and actresses, to -take half the gross receipts, is far more simple and sensible. - -It is true that an author may take advantage of competition and seek -a second market if the first prove unsatisfactory, but it is also -certain that he cannot do this to any effective extent without serious -injury to himself. All the skill, the vitality, the invention, the -thought, which he brings to the disposition of his wares is so much -taken from his producing power. He ought to be wholly free to do his -best work. He ought to be able to concentrate himself on his writing. -If he must turn aside to study the state of the market and superintend -the details of sale and circulation, that necessity will surely tell in -the deterioration of his works; and even at that cost he will not be -so good a business manager as one who is to the manner born. It is a -very pretty thing to be a poet-publisher--in the newspapers, but if the -poet's imagination happens to get loose among the publisher's facts, it -makes sad work, and it is not merry work when the publisher crops out -in the poet's verses. - -What then remains? It has been proposed that authors combine and form -a publishing-house by themselves, publishing their own books and -receiving their own profits. This plan looks simple enough, but I -must confess it seems to me chimerical in the last degree. Excepting -the temptations of their trade, doubtless a hundred publishers are as -honest as a hundred authors, and surely they have a great deal more -business sagacity. But as soon as authors turn publishers they fall -into all the publisher's temptations without acquiring his business -power; so that when you have chemically combined author and publisher -you have an amalgam wholly and disastrously different from either of -the original simples, namely, a publisher minus his common sense. - -No, the publisher is not an artificial member of society. Like all -other middle-men he meets a real want. He exists because in the -long run it is cheaper and better for writers to employ him than to -do his work themselves. Of course, the wiser and more righteous he -is, the better he answers the end of his creation; but with all his -imperfections on his head, he is better than nobody. A man may as well -undertake to build his house with his own hands to save himself from -the short-comings and extortions of carpenters, as to manufacture -and distribute his own books to save himself from the extortions of -publishers. We may send missionaries among them, we may gather them in -to our Sunday-schools, but we need not think to exterminate them. - -Authors may form publishing houses, and those houses may be successful, -but if so it will be simply by adopting substantially the methods of -successful publishing-houses already established. It seems to me easier -and more economical to let such institutions spring from the soil, -rather than attempt to construct them out of material which has already -been organized into another form of life. - -Shall we then take the publishers _cum grano salis_, and try to guard -our interests by keeping a strict look-out? We must turn publishers -ourselves to make it of any account. A detective, to be worth anything, -ought to be at least as wily as the rogue he watches, and to be so he -must give his mind to it, and if he give his mind to that, where-withal -shall he set up any other business? An author need not rush in among -publishers as Cincinnati swine are said to invade the streets with -whetted knives, crying "come and eat me"; but if he on the contrary -objects, steadfastly and stoutly, to being devoured, he does not know -where his vulnerable point is, and cannot therefore arm himself against -attack. He is not and cannot become, consistently with the proper -pursuit of his own profession, sufficiently acquainted with the details -of publishing to know whether a measure proposed by a publisher be or -be not fair. For instance, the publisher contracts to pay ten per cent. -on the retail price of a sixty-two cent book. A war comes, bringing -high prices, and the book goes up to a dollar and a quarter. The -publisher continues to pay the author ten per cent. of sixty-two cents, -making no reference to the increased price. The author presently -chances to discover it, and remonstrates. The publishers say curtly, -"You will make the price of the book so large that it will have no -sale," oblivious of the fact that it is not the author but themselves -who have raised the price of the book. He replies that the price is not -his affair; he must insist upon the contract. The publishers yield, -and the author is apparently victorious. But when a second author -brings up this case as a reason why he should receive his percentage, -the publishers reply, "True, we did continue percentage because he -insisted, but, as a warning, the book had a very poor sale." But what -effect on the sale can the author's twelve and a half, instead of six -and a half cents have if the price to the buyer is the same? Until some -better answer is given I shall believe that the sale diminishes because -the publisher chooses it; because he prefers to sacrifice a small sum -on a single volume as a warning to contumacious authors, rather than -encourage rebellion by continuing to receive profits of which he must -divert a larger share to the author. If he can, by one or two examples, -show restive writers that the question is not between six and a half -cents and twelve and a half cents on a thousand books, but between six -and a half on a thousand, and twelve and a half on a hundred, the sum -he sacrifices in showing it is not a bad investment. - -Since, then, the publisher has matters within his own grasp so entirely -that what he is forced to pay with one hand he can easily pluck with -the other, I do not clearly see the advantage to be gained by insisting -on any special bargain with him. Perhaps I do not quite know what I am -talking about. I suspect, on the whole, I do not. But my remarks are -all the more valuable for that. If, after two years of clapper-clawing -among a quartette of cats, a mouse is still unskilled in feline ways, -in what state of helplessness must be those unadventurous little things -who have never left their holes? - -But there are the books of the firm which the suspected publisher opens -to you with a frankness of innocence that ought to disarm and convince -the most hardened unbeliever. Any demur is met by an invitation to -come and look at "the books." The trail of the Serpent is over all the -rest of the world, but "the books" have escaped the contamination of -original sin and shine with the purity of Paradise. Burglars blow open -safes, banks and directors and cashiers and tellers come to grief, but -"the books" always tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the -truth. Nowithstanding which I, from the beginning, instinctively gave -those "books" a wide berth. They were to me like the "magick bookes" -of Spenser's hermite. "Let none them read." That "the books" are not -always "reliable gentlemen" will have been inferred from the account -which they professed to have sent me, and which was--lost in the mail. -That "the books" are not always intelligible witnesses would appear, -could we know how many unwary persons have gone to them in pursuit of -knowledge, and found the difficulty insurmountable. "We had the books -here," said one benighted author of no mean repute, "and I examined -them, and Kate examined them, and Frank examined them, and the Major -examined them, and we could make nothing of them." That the books -have been made to do yeoman's service in this battle has already been -seen, and by various tokens it would seem that they have not yet been -dismissed the service. Only to-day a letter says, "But the account of -the sales of your book and the sums paid you for them, as I derived -them from the books of Mr. Hunt, convinced me that whatever the bargain -might be you had a better one than _I_ had. I have half profits--you -have had more." - -That is what "the books" say unquestionably; but what a stiff-necked -and perverse author refuses to believe without further proof. When -a publisher shows me receipted bills for the sums he has actually -paid in manufacturing and publishing my books, and for the sums he -has received from their sale, I will--take them to an expert for -examination; but when he proposes to set me down before a mighty maze -of figures, which for aught that appears, may all have been conjured -up by his imagination, and begs me to deduce from them any conclusion -whatever, I decline with thanks. That contention I leave off before it -be meddled with. It is not necessary to be a Solomon in order to know -enough to keep away from figures which it is necessary to be a Solomon -to understand, and which when understood are much like the "litle flyes -cal'd out of deepe darknes dredd" by the hermite before referred to, -and which,-- - - "Fluttring about his ever-damned hedd, - Awaite whereto their service he applyes, - To aide his friendes, or fray his enemies." - -There remains also to the wronged or suspicious author recourse to the -law or to the more informal arbitration, but this also is vanity. To me -a lawsuit seemed utterly intolerable, but my experience of arbitration -was so repulsive, and is so hideous in memory--and this solely from -the nature of things, since, alike from the referees and from Messrs. -Parry and Markman who, like St. Paul, were the chief speakers, on the -other side, I met only courtesy--that a lawsuit seems attractive in -comparison; but if I had instituted a lawsuit, without doubt adverse -fate hereafter would have been implored to take any shape but that! If -two parties are really bent on getting at the vital facts, presenting -absolute truth, securing exact and essential justice, nothing can be -more to the purpose apparently than a reference to disinterested, -non-professional, intelligent, and friendly persons; but two parties -honestly bent on such an object would probably have nothing to quarrel -over. Even if they have it is not certain that the informal is better -than the formal mode of settlement. If there are no facts to be hushed -up, a legal investigation will do no harm; if there are facts to be -hushed up, a legal investigation is necessary. We look at the law as at -best a clumsy roundabout way of arriving at just conclusions--a method -full of ingenious devices to entangle and confuse witnesses and make -the worse appear the better reason. We take the informal arbitration as -a short cut to the desired goal. On the whole I am inclined to think -that the law is the shortest cut in the known world. The rules which -obtain in courts of justice and which seem to the unprofessional mind -a mere medley of arbitrary vexations and restrictions, are the result -of the experience of ages, and with all their short-comings and their -long-comings do probably present the most expeditious and unerring mode -of reaching truth which human wit and wisdom have yet devised. If so we -cannot depart from them without loss. In ridding ourselves of their -clumsiness we rid ourselves also of their effectiveness. We rend away -the red tape, but the package immediately falls apart into a worthless -heap of memoranda. You avoid a lawsuit because of the publicity and -multiplicity and infelicity of lawyers, witnesses, judge, and jury. You -adopt a reference because it dispenses with all these and goes straight -at the heart of things. But you find by experience that unless your -opponent wishes it you may not get at the heart of things at all. In -a lawsuit you can enforce measures; in a reference you are dependent -upon courtesy. Your opponent presents only that which is good in his -own eyes. He produces what he chooses; he withholds what he chooses. To -be sure you do the same; but you, angel that you are, have nothing to -hide, while he, the fiend! has all manner of wiles and wickedness to -conceal. If now you were in court, politeness and impertinence would -be equally and wholly out of the question. It is the duty and delight -of lawyers to find out everything--and such is the depravity of the -legal heart, it is especially their duty and delight to ferret out what -the opposite party desires to conceal. It is not what a man wishes -and means to say, but everything which he can be made to say, that a -lawyer wants. His hand can put aside the proffered "books," and grab -the books which are withheld. He does not permit the opposite parties -to select and exclude witnesses, but goes out into the highways and -hedges and compels to come in whom he wants. The law winds a long way -round, but it sets you down as near your journey's end as the nature of -things permits. A private reference takes a short cut, but it has no -inherent power to carry you far from your starting-point. Arbitration -has the advantage in respect of privacy, and that is an advantage -not to be overestimated. Still, if there is anything to choose when -both are intolerable, it seems rather worse to speak yourself before -five men, than to have some one else to speak for you before five -hundred. It matters not how wise, how impartial, referees may be, their -jurisdiction is necessarily limited, and they cannot go beyond it to -compel, or extort, or present. They must judge on what is spontaneously -set before them. If to avoid trouble and unpleasantness be your object, -it is better to submit to everything and keep out of strife altogether. -If you set out to accomplish an end, it is better to shut eyes and ears -to disagreements, and take the road which common experience designates -as the surest and safest in the long run. - -But I most heartily advise writers in general to do neither. So far -as the improvement of one's fortune goes, nothing is more futile. -One should be exact, prompt, methodical, and intelligent so far as -possible. He will thus exert a salutary influence over his publisher, -and will be far more likely to receive his dues than if he believes -"in uninquiring trust" and lives wholly by faith. But it is better for -his purse to take what a publisher chooses to give than to make an ado -about it afterwards. Even if successful in regard to the particular -sum he claims, it is at a cost of time and trouble altogether -disproportionate to it. He plays an unequal game at best, because the -publisher's business goes on serenely, during all the difficulty, -while the author's must be at a stand-still. The very instrument that -he uses in defending his works is the instrument which he ought to -be using in producing them. Even as a pecuniary transaction it is -far more profitable to sow seed for future harvests than to spend -strength in trying to secure the gleanings of last year's growths. The -money proceeds of the insurrection, whose history has been given in -these pages, was twelve hundred and fifty dollars. The whole amount -claimed to make up ten per cent. was about three thousand dollars, and -considering that my whole plan of proceedings was demolished in the -beginning, and that the case had to present itself, as one may say, -smothered in a mass of irrelevant details, and deprived of much that -was to the purpose, I reckoned myself extremely well off. But even -had the whole sum been awarded, it would have been no very munificent -compensation for eighteen months of literary labor, apart from the -fact that the labor was of a kind for which no money could compensate. -In its baldest shape, the results of a year and a half of work were -twelve hundred and fifty dollars, or little more than one third of what -was claimed on previous work. I think myself therefore justified in -asserting that though quarreling with your publishers may be very good -as a crusade, it is a very poor way of getting a living. - -Let me here correct an impression that seems to prevail somewhat -extensively as to the rewards of literary life. It certainly has its -rewards, and of the most delightful kind. What joys it may bring in -the higher walks I do not know, but even on the lower levels, I should -like to live forever--a thousand years to begin with, at any rate. I -could speak as enthusiastically as a certain popular writer, "once -more famous than now," "Of all the blessings which my books have -brought me,--blessings of inward wealth that cannot be so much as -named,--blessings so rich, so divine, that I sometimes think nothing -ever was so beautiful as to have written a book." - -But so far as literature pays cash down it is not to be compared -to--shoemaking, for instance. The daily papers have been circulating -a paragraph to the effect that a recent popular book had gone to a -second edition and that its author had already received from it twelve -thousand dollars. I am not prepared to deny the statement; but I know -an author of nine books, not it is to be hoped on the same footing of -intrinsic merit, but books which have travelled up to nine, ten, and -fourteen editions, whose author never has received and never expects to -receive twelve thousand dollars on the whole lot. - -Let nothing in this remark be construed into anything like complaint. -On the contrary, authors ought to be grateful to their publishers for -allowing them so large a gratuity. As Mr. Parry remarked concerning -the appropriation of an edition of fifteen hundred books to the use -of the firm, they might have taken more if they had chosen. And when -we reflect that not only do they bestow upon us these large sums of -money, but, as sundry extracts in other parts of this volume show, they -first manufacture for us the fame which brings the money, we are, in -the language of the hymn, lost in wonder, love, and praise. It must be -heart-rending to fashion your graven image and then have that image -turn upon you and demand a share of the profits! - -Unhappily a dense ignorance upon this subject broods over the -community, and there should be added to our literature an - - AUTHOR'S CATECHISM. - - 1. _Question._ Can you tell me, child, who made you? - - _Answer._ The great House of Hunt, Parry, & Co., which made heaven - and earth. - -In controversies with publishers, the author is at a signal -disadvantage by reason of the connection of publishers with the press. -Publishers have the entrée of the newspapers by their advertising, and -all in the way of business, it is the easiest thing in the world to -give public opinion a tilt in the desired direction without the least -suspicion on the part of the reader, or any more collusion on the part -of the editor than is implied in a good-natured relinquishment of a -few lines of editorial space. Here, we will say, is a house which -advertises to the extent of hundreds, perhaps thousands of dollars in -a single paper. In connection with an extraordinary advertisement, -it hands to the editor an extraordinary paragraph, celebrating its -more extraordinary virtues. The advertisement goes in among the -advertisements, and the eulogy goes in among the editorials and becomes -the voice of the paper. Nobody is hurt, and the firm is greatly helped -in building up for itself name and fame. When the Athenian newspapers -glow with reflections upon the inability of authors to understand the -details of publishing and the unimpeached and unimpeachable honor of -the house of Hunt, Parry, & Co., not half a dozen readers suspect -that those reflections are anything but the spontaneous tribute of -a grateful people to the eminent firm in question. Nobody suspects -that behind all the glitter and glory some pestiferous little author -is poking an inquisitive finger in among those details, is indeed -questioning that unimpeached and unimpeachable honor, and that this -beating of gongs is but Chinese strategy on the part of the attacked, -to scare away the impertinent foe. I can make no avowal on this head, -having nothing but internal evidence to go upon: but applying the rules -of Scriptural exegesis, it seems to me that we attribute to the four -Gospels a divine origin on less evidence than we may attribute to these -eulogies a common origin. - -For instance, during that portion of the sidereal year known throughout -the solar system as Jubilee week, the press of Athens burned with -enthusiasm for the house of Hunt, Parry, & Co. - - -"The broadside advertisement," says one, "with which the renowned -publishing house of Messrs. Hunt, Parry, & Co. salute the country in -this jubilee time on another page of this morning's Post, will excite -universal attention and remark. It details the literary achievements -of this enterprising firm during the last year and a half in a form -that is both novel and impressive. Where are the publishers on this -continent who within that term have presented to the reading public -works from [how many?] different authors, nearly all of whom are living -celebrities? It would be glory enough for any firm to have announced -original works from less than one fourth that number of well-known -authors. Read the glittering roll of names as they are presented. In -poetry, L., T., L., B., and W. Of novelists, D., T., S., H., H., R., -and G. And of essayists, travellers, writers on natural history and -science, such a shining company of men and women of genius as will -make book-shelves brilliant for all time to come. But these publishers -have not compromised quality with quantity. They hold up to their high -standard in every essay in which they engage. Nor are they in any sense -such devotees of Mammon as to think it possible to build a lasting -reputation on anything less substantial than true honor in dealing as -well as indisputable worth in selection. - -"Their shelves and counters are an embarrassment of literary riches. -Such a display of the ripest fruits of culture, taste, judgment, -enterprise, and business sagacity cannot be surpassed. Their wonderful -march to their eminent and leading position as publishers has given an -excellent example to the country in refining and solidifying the common -rules of business in their own field, and elevating and dignifying -a branch of trade than which not one is clothed with nobler and -purer associations. From this house, also, go forth a quarterly, two -monthlies, and a weekly magazine, any one of which would add lustre to -the repute of the publishers. None but sound and sweet literature comes -from hence. It is the aim of the firm to keep the fountain clear from -which such incessant streams of influence are to flow. American authors -contribute in large store to the rich treasury of its productions, -while foreign, and especially British writers supply in large degree -the stores of reading, which are the recreation and delight of -cultivated people everywhere." - - -And thus another paper takes up the parable:-- - - -"Our first page to-day is entirely devoted to a remarkable -advertisement, which tells the story of rare business enterprise, and -is filled to overflowing with attractive announcements. But it is -for characteristics other than these that it will command attention -and really deserve study. Within a year and a half, Hunt, Parry, & -Co. have given to the public works from the pens of two score of -authors, American and English, almost all of them living and of widest -popularity. To represent in print a half-dozen of the most prominent on -the list might be the making of any firm; to take care of the whole of -them would seem to be an embarrassment of riches. But the establishment -has done and is doing this, with unremitting energy and in good style. -We need not take room to run over the long and brilliant catalogue; -a glance at the eight columns will reveal a galaxy of shining names. -Observe the poets,--T., B., L., and L., W., and the rest; count up the -novelists--S., T., D., R., G., H., and others of the tribe; consider -the array of essayists, travellers, and naturalists, men and women of -mark; and then ask whether Hunt, Parry, & Co. are surpassed by any -of their contemporaries in their numerous issues, taking quantity, -quality, and variety into the account. In offering this broadside -programme of their performances, as bookmakers and booksellers, to the -crowds of Jubilee week, they put forth a statement of indisputable -facts; give a transcript of the record of the volumes they have issued, -and their relations to eminent writers. - -"Their achievements imply something more than an immediate and -exclusive eye to the main chance. It is evident that the honorable -pursuit of profit is not with them the sole consideration. [O that -it were!] They desire to connect their names with good literature, -advanced thought, and the intellectual progress of the age. They -would be known for their taste and liberal policy as well as for -their mercantile success; acting upon the principle that character as -well as money is worth earning in the pursuits of trade and commerce. -Without entering into comparisons, thus much is fairly to be inferred -from their extended advertisement. It tells of results which imply the -existence of the qualities we have attributed to them; for without -such qualities such results could not have been attained. The evidence -of culture, judgment, sagacity, energy, boldness, tact, skill, and -whatever else goes to the building up of a publishing house known at -home and abroad for its magnitude and the extent and variety of its -ventures, is literally such that he who runs may read and see that -it is beyond controversy. This is not extravagant praise or mere -compliment; but simply the statement of the truth as made manifest by -the facts. - -"In this general reference to Messrs. Hunt, Parry, & Co., we must not, -in passing, omit an allusion to their periodicals. To them the public -are indebted for the maintenance of the oldest Greek Quarterly, the -agreeable and fresh weekly selections of 'Every Tuesday,' the wide -circulation and high character for ability, diversity, and independence -of the 'Adriatic Monthly,' and that leading magazine of its class, 'The -Buddhist.' - -"In thus calling attention to a publishing house whose imprint is -known wherever the Greek language is spoken or read, we are pointing -to what is one of the leading concerns in a most important branch of -the business of the city, of which others besides its proprietors -may well be proud. Not only has it grown with the growing culture of -the country, but it has encouraged home authors, and spread far and -wide the best productions of the best writers on the other side of -the Atlantic; thus giving it a claim to honorable consideration as -holding a high place among the beneficent agencies of the advancing -civilization of the world." - - -And a third chimes in:-- - - -"The firm of Hunt, Parry, & Co., now almost as familiar to the public -under the new name as under the old colors with which it sailed so -long, has been a bulwark and a rallying point for our literature, on -which book buyers as well as book writers depended for many years. It -has always been active, but never so active as now. In another part -of this paper, this house advertise their principal publications -for the past eighteen months. With little more amplification than a -catalogue, the list fills a very considerable space; but it is when we -come to appreciate quality as well as quantity that its full importance -is realized. No other Athenian house could bulletin such a list of -authors, beginning with L., and ranging along the varied types of our -literature, from W., S., H., H., and L., to P., H., and A. Nor can any -house exhibit such a list of English writers, with the added merit of -the authors' sanction, as T., B., H., E., D., and R. - -"Periodicals have come to be recognized as necessary tenders to the -business of every book firm; but the monthlies and the quarterly, etc., -etc., etc. - -"Whatever may be the differing opinions after the experiences of this -week, upon the commercial position and prospects of Athens and the -success of her musical experiments, there can be no dispute as to our -preëminence among Greek cities as a literary centre. Even Corinthians, -bitterly as they may sneer at our Jubilee, are forced to read the -works of Athenian authors and to supply their libraries with Athenian -books. It would be impossible to estimate approximately the influence -in producing the literary character of the city, its clustering of -authors, its tone of society, of one great publishing house; but -unquestionably that influence is very great." - -An ill-timed modesty on the part of the firm of Hunt, Parry, & Co. has -apparently prevented the publication of the fact, but it is well known -in Athenian social circles that the eclipse which made the last summer -famous, and which elicited so much interest throughout the scientific -world, was not owing to the interposition of the moon between our -planet and the sun, but was chiefly due to the temporary disappearance -from this continent of the senior partner of the house of Hunt, Parry, -& Co. - -I do not say that the extracts which I have quoted, and others which -I might quote, emanated from the same pen, or that that pen was held -in the interest of Hunt, Parry, & Co., but I do say that on any other -theory the correspondence of thought, of illustration, and even of -language is not a little remarkable. - -And if this theory be correct, if the house which has perhaps the -reputation of being the most liberal, the most generous, and the most -refined publishing house in this country, has attained that reputation -by assiduously blowing its own trumpet while assiduously strangling its -own authors, of what value is reputation? - -A novel and striking illustration of my theme has just come to hand in -the publication of Miss Mitbridge's "Letters." In 1754 she writes of -Mr. Hunt: "He is a partner in the greatest publishing house of Greece, -and the especial patron of----, whom he found starving, and has made -affluent by his encouragement and liberality, for the great romancer is -so nervous that he wants as much kindness of management, as much mental -nursing as a sick child. I have never known a more charming person than -Mr. Hunt." - -The author to whom Miss Mitbridge refers is the author of whose real -or supposed wrongs I have before spoken. If these publishers were -indeed so liberal towards him, the unanimity with which that author's -family and friends agree in attributing to them the contrary policy -is a singular proof of ingratitude to benefactors; and Mr. Hunt may -well exclaim with the Prophet of old, "I have nourished and brought up -children, and they have rebelled against me." - -I do not know what force these adulatory remarks may have upon the -minds of others, but my experience and my information are such that -whenever I see in the newspapers a fresh ascription of praise to the -liberality of this house, I immediately infer that the screw has -been given another turn on some unlucky author. The firm appears -to me in the similitude of evil-minded hens cackling their noisy -cut-cut-cut-ca-dah-cut over each new-laid egg, designing to conceal -from an uninquiring public that, like those laymen denounced by Isaiah, -they "hatch cockatrices' eggs; he that eateth of their eggs dieth, and -that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper." - -At a later period these general paragraphs began to converge around a -particular point, and snugly nestled in among the literary items of -religious newspapers may be found such announcements as this:-- - - -"The public is threatened with a new book by the once redoubtable M. -N., in which she is to narrate her tribulations, real or imaginary, -with the eminent publishers, Hunt, Parry, & Co. Authors are very apt to -have extravagant ideas of the popularity and profits of their books, -unmindful of the fact that, generally, they are indebted to their -publishers for a large proportion of their fame, and it will take -several books to convince the public that H., P., & Co. deal unfairly -with their authors. Thus far, H., P., & Co. have kept quiet during M. -N.'s attacks, but we hope the time will come when they will vindicate -themselves." - - -And almost simultaneously, in another quarter of the heavens, appears -a similar turtle-dove, its pin-feathers developed into well-defined -plumage, but unquestionably a bird of the same brood:-- - - -"M. N., once more famous than now, had a little 'unpleasantness' with -her publishers, Hunt, Parry, & Co. In plain words, she accused them of -cheating her out of some thousands of dollars by making false returns -of sales of her books. Like many authors, she had become inordinately -vain, and had extravagant ideas of the popularity of her books, and -was, as is too often the case, unmindful of the fact that a large -portion of what fame she then had (but has now lost) was made for her -by these self-same publishers. She had a quarrel with them of eighteen -months standing, but they would not even appear in self-defense; -what man would want to have an open quarrel with a woman? To any one -acquainted with the details of book publishing, the charge she brings -against H., P., & Co. is simply absurd; and besides, no business man -would ever dare to suspect this publishing house to attempt such a -system of petty cheating, and which, if attempted, would involve an -amount of detail inconsistent with the end to be reached. H., P., & -Co. are above the taint of suspicion. The truth is, M. N.'s books did -not sell so well as she expected, and her pride (and her pocket) had a -fall. It is known to us that an enormous outlay in advertising failed -to make a remunerative sale on her last book. It fell dead on the -market. It is now very quietly rumored that she has written a little -volume which she proposes to call 'Little Men,' in which she describes -her tribulations with the house of H., P., & Co.... M. N., you had -better not! the public will not believe you." - - -The public will at least believe that, though a once redoubtable -author, like Giant Pope in the Pilgrim's Progress, by reason of age, -and also of the many shrewd brushes that he met with in his younger -days, be grown crazy and stiff in his joints, he can at least sit in -his cave's mouth, grinning at publishers as they go by, and biting his -nails, because he cannot come at them! - -It is not probable that these later paragraphs were actually written -by the rose, but by some one who lives near the rose, and who takes -roseate views of the situation. - -When one has been introduced behind the scenes, these little touches -go for what they are worth, but outside, they unquestionably, if -imperceptibly, affect public opinion, and like an army of moral polyps -build high the walls of lofty Rome. (A new species of polyps, the -naturalist will say, but it answers my purpose.) - -But while recognizing, to its fullest extent, the great power and -prestige of a flourishing publishing house, and the great risk a -writer runs in opposing it, I cannot bring myself to accept its -invincibility, or its infallibility, or its indispensability. Of -course a good reputation is, or ought to be, the sign of a good -character; but a thing which is wrong is wrong, whatever be the -reputation of him who does it. A charge of wrong is to be met by -denial. It is not to dazzled out of sight in a general brilliancy. -When the course of our true love ceased to run smooth, I supposed -my pebble was the only obstacle which my publishers' rivulet had -ever known, and I was dismayed accordingly. But if all the rocks I -have since discovered could be cast into one heap, we should have a -bigger monument than Joshua made to mark the passage of Jordan. But -the monumenteers suffer in silence or speak with a bated breath that -cannot be heard outside their own circle, while the flourishing firm -keeps up such a continuous tooting with its rams' horns as would have -flung flat the walls of Jericho had they been twice as stout as they -were. Undoubtedly it is not wise always to make an outcry over your -follies or misfortunes. Neither is it wise always to go through the -world with a chip on your shoulder, challenging people to fillip it -off. Yet we all admit that there are times when short, sharp, and -decisive resistance to aggression is the wisest plan. So also is there -a time to speak as well as a time to refrain from speaking. There -may be dignity, there may be generosity, there may be prudence, or -pusillanimity, or selfishness in silence. There may be all in speech. -Of this I am certain, if any of those writers who have escaped harm by -their own skill, or any of those who have thought to escape further -harm by silence had but given warning of the existence of rocks, some -of us, with less skill, would have avoided that vicinage and might have -had smooth sailing through the whole voyage. By their silence they -have not only indirectly contributed to our disaster, but they have -actually strengthened against us the hands of our natural foes, the -publishers. They make it possible for a newspaper to say, in reference -to the present difficulty, "As the house (of H., P., & Co.) has been in -thriving existence for more than a quarter of a century, and has never -before quarreled with an author,--or more correctly speaking, never -had an author quarrel with it,--there will be a general disposition," -and so forth. They thus directly increase the resistance which any -succeeding author must overcome. "Nothing," says "The Nation" newspaper -of January 13, 1770, in harsher language than I care to use, but we -must take language as we find it,--"Nothing so promotes swindle as the -readiness of the victims to pocket their losses, go their way with a -sickly smile, and let the rogues begin again." But of course this must -be left for each person to decide for himself. It is only that if one -feels moved in the spirit to bear witness against wrong in any of -the relations of life, there is nothing in the height, or depth, or -breadth, or brilliancy of any reputation to overawe him. Nothing is -real but the right. There is no life but in truth. When faith is lost, -when honor dies, the man is dead. Dead? He never was born. There never -was any such person. He was a mirage, an apparition. The stars dim -twinkle through his form. - -As to the harm that may accrue to an author from adopting the course -which he counts wise, it seems to me entirely insignificant. Nobody -expects to go through the world intact, but we all expect to do that -which presents itself to be done. If a writer has life in himself he -will not easily die. If he has not life in himself the sooner he dies -the better. If there is no life outside one charmed circle, - - "Then am I dead to all the globe, - And all the globe is dead to me." - -Nothing is indispensable but a mind at peace with itself. It is -pleasant to celebrate the glory of those you love, but better trudge -comfortably across country on foot and alone, with all your worldly -goods knotted up in a yellow bandana than ride unwillingly behind -anybody's triumphal car. - -So then, while it is undoubtedly best as a general thing for an author -to live at peace with publishers, and sinners, there is also no reason -why he should not make war if it is borne in upon him to do so. - -But the only royal road to justice is for authors, in the beginning, -to be intelligent, prompt, exact and exacting on all business matters -which come within their scope. This seems a little thing, but it -would work a revolution in the literary world. Let writers deal -with publishers, not like women and idiots, but as business men -with business men. If an author chooses to relinquish all pecuniary -rewards from his books and to make an outright gift of the profits to -his publishers, he may leave the whole matter in their hands; but if -he condescends to take any part in the spoils, he thereby becomes a -business partner, and the only question is whether he shall be a good -business man or a poor one. By not being prompt and intelligent, by -neglecting to secure or to examine his accounts, or to correct them -when they are wrong, or to understand them when they are obscure, -he does not approve himself an unmercenary person; he simply shows -himself to be shambling and shiftless, and puts a direct temptation in -his publisher's path. Many a servant would be honest if her careless -mistress would not leave money lying about. Had I but used the ordinary -care and caution which a lawyer, or a merchant, or a marketman brings -to his business, this trouble doubtless would never have happened, and -we should all have been the happier for it. The simple consciousness -on the part of a publisher, that an author is observant of what is -visible, will have a tendency to make him exact and upright concerning -what is invisible. An author should so order his affairs that a -publisher must make an effort to be dishonest. On the contrary, he -so neglects them that a publisher must make an effort to be honest. -Confidence and trust are excellent things and never more excellent than -when they have a solid basis of paper and ink. Do the best he can there -will still be points enough for the author to exercise his trust on, -but to do business wholly on the trust system is utterly childish. No -confidence can be more complete than was mine, and none apparently can -be founded on a more honorable reputation. The confidential, friendly -way of conducting affairs is pretty and sentimental, grateful to one's -indolence and vanity and over fastidiousness, and confirmatory of one's -conviction that he is too dainty and delicate to touch a bargain with -the tips of his fingers. But in fact we all do take money for our work -when we can get it; we want just as much money and money just as much -as other people--rather more--and, in sober truth, the friction, the -sacrifice of delicacy in keeping your money affairs straight from day -to day, is not for a moment to be compared to the delicacy which may -be sacrificed by leaving them at the mercy of others. You run well for -a while, but a day of reckoning is almost sure to come. The thriftless, -hap-hazard way of bargaining or not bargaining, common among literary -people, is the fruitful parent of uneasiness, anxiety, disappointment, -and bitterness, before which delicacy must be rudely and ruthlessly -brushed. - -It is the same with women as with men, for in literature as in the -gospel, there is neither male nor female. When a woman does any work -for which she receives money she becomes so far a man, and passes -immediately and inevitably under the yoke of trade. She has no right -to demand a favorable judgment of her work because she is a woman, -nor has she the least right to require that chivalry shall come in -to help fix or secure her compensation. Trade laws know no more of -gallantry than trade winds--and it is well they do not. Individuals and -societies wheedle and flatter and threaten and torture according to the -fashion, or passion, or panic of the hour, but under it all, the great, -pitiless, unseen, inexorable law of the world holds from age to age, -never relaxing its grasp, never revoking its decree, deaf to the wail -of weakness, dumb to the cry of despair, forever and forever teaching -with unrelenting persistency, _by_ unrelenting persistency, the good -and wholesome lesson that will be taught no other way. Under this law -there is no sex, no chivalry, no deference, no mercy. There is nothing -but supply and demand; nothing but buy and sell. To him who understands -it, and guides himself by it, it is a chariot of state bearing him -on to fame and fortune. To him who does not comprehend it and flings -himself against it, it is a car of Juggernaut, crushing him beneath its -wheels, without passion, but without pity. - - -[Illustration] - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[1] The most casual observer will readily see that this strain of -remark can refer only to a far distant past. If our age is remarkable -for any one thing, it is for a delicate reticence regarding what is not -lawfully, and by divine right, its own.--_Note by Editor._ - -[2] A circumstance which at once relegates this story to the last -century.--_Note by Editor._ - -[3] Proof that this paper belongs to an age when people had time to -pronounce long words.--_Ed._ - -[4] This was in reference to Mr. Hunt's repeated injunctions that I -should write only books. - -[5] The editor cannot allow this sentiment to go out into the world -unchallenged. To him few things are more marvelous than the amount of -provender which the ill-favored and lean-fleshed kine will consume -without giving any sign of feeding. Poverty, or incapacity, which -in this country is the almost inseparable companion of permanent -poverty--poverty is a sort of Chatmoss into which cart-loads of gravel -may be upset without giving any solid foundation to build on. Horace -Greeley was as true as the multiplication-table when he said that -people generally earn money as fast as they have the ability to expend -it judiciously.--_Ed._ - -[6] A "Common" is a tract of ground which belongs not to individuals -but to the public. Probably the bookstore referred to was on -the outskirts of the city, and the "Common" was the land as yet -unappropriated by builders, and on which, doubtless, sheep and cows -grazed undisturbed.--_Note by Editor._ - -[7] "The dickens!" is an exclamation of playful surprise. Probably -the word as here used, is a corruption of this phrase, and was merely -a strong way of expressing, on Mr. Hunt's part, that he had written -no other letter at all. But after so great a lapse of time it is -impossible to get at the exact truth.--_Note by Editor._ - -[8] The Editor trusts that it is not necessary for him to point out to -his youthful readers that this spirit is not presented to them for an -example. - -[9] Here the narrative seems to deviate into prophecy.--_Note by Ed._ - -[10] The editor considers this levity highly unbecoming so solemn an -occasion. - -[11] I think this matter in detail came up subsequently in connection -with the diminished price paid me for copyright, but as it belongs here -also, I put it in all at once. - -[12] These letters do not appear in this publication. - -[13] The "jubilee house" seems to be a reference to the institution -of the jubilee year among the Hebrews,--a year in which impoverished -families might redeem the property from which, at any time during -fifty years previous, they had been forced to part. Thus we are told -that if a man purchased of the Levites, the house that was sold should -go out in the year of jubilee. Such a house might long be known in -the neighborhood as the "jubilee house." The hammering spoken of was -probably connected with the repairing of some such lately redeemed -house, and seems to point to an Eastern origin and locality for this -narrative.--NOTE BY EDITOR. - - - - -Transcriber's Note. - -Variable spelling and hyphenation have been retained. Minor punctuation -inconsistencies have been silently repaired. - -Corrections. - -The first line indicates the original, the second the correction. - -p. 145: - - Appropos to what? - Apropos to what? - -p. 159: - - Emeruit Danai; - Eruerint Danai; - - Quanquam animus meminisse horret - Quamquam animus meminisse horret - - -p. 182: - - Your book will keep, wont it? - Your book will keep, won't it? - -p. 195: - - to buy my my book! - to buy my book! - - -p. 278: - - similtude of evil-minded - similitude of evil-minded - - -Footnote 8: - - not presented to them for an ensample - not presented to them for an example - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of A Battle of the Books, recorded by an -unknown writer for the use of authors, by Gail Hamilton - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A BATTLE OF THE BOOKS *** - -***** This file should be named 54380-0.txt or 54380-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/4/3/8/54380/ - -Produced by MFR, Eleni Christofaki and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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