I received your favour of Friday this morning, and now enclose the sheet. I wish some of your learned men would still give a glance at the algebra. I am not confident in these matters, and a blunder would be discreditable.
My delay to review Canto IV., ‘Childe Harold,’ does not arise from my not liking the conclusion of that extraordinary poem,—very much the contrary. But I would like to have full time to read over the former Cantos, and form something like a general view of the whole, and the time did not suffice for that purpose. I will endeavour to meet your wishes against the next number. By this you will have received Orford. I have got D’Israeli from Blackwood, and I enclose reference to the quotation, which you will patch together as well as may be, unless you have done it already.
Hogg’s Tales are a great failure, to be sure. With a very considerable portion of original genius he is sadly deficient, not only in correct taste, but in common tact. But I hope you will not cancel the title-page, because it would be doing the poor fellow irretrievable injury. We are now trying to get subscriptions for an edition of ‘The Queen’s Wake,’ his best poem, for his own immediate benefit, for by the failure of the bookseller he was deprived of all emolument from his most popular work. Now your withdrawing your name from his Tales would be a sad slap in the face. After all, you who print so many good books can suffer nothing from now and then publishing one which, for the sake of the author, we may all wish better.
In case you have time I add a curious quotation from ‘Kirkton.’ The copy I had in the country lacked the leaves which contain it, otherwise I would have inserted it before, for it is capital. I am here for two months, but I hope your journey and visit will rather take place when I am at Abbotsford.
What manner of book is ‘Evelyn’s Diary’? If there is stuff in it for a review I should like to try it.
Remember me kindly to Gifford, to whom I will write in two days. I trouble you with a letter for the twopenny post-bag.
| 12 | MEMOIRS OF JOHN MURRAY |
I will give you an article on D’Israeli—I have notes lying by me—on the Calamities of Authors, which contain some curious literary anecdotes. I suppose they may be blended together.
