New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-04-05
all not differ. think, about terms. am. my

| dear sir. faithfully yours, ro,,>- ,urPRAY
DR.. Smiles observes that Irving was more sue
cessful in selling his books to the publishers oah
the publishers were in selling them 10 tne puoi0
| and the case cited above seems to ne III poinV'
The finest illustration of John Murrays chalac-
| ter TO be- found in the Memoir, 10 our 'lihhins'
| consists in his action when Sir "ai'er ocott, Vhen
occupied in gathering all his copyrights aiter 'ne
great collapse of his publishers wrote asAns ~
be allowed to buy Murny's interest In Marmlon.
We give the publishers letter In answer 10 tnls
nronosal and Sir Walters response, for the letters
| do equal credit to both men:
LJobn Murray to Sir Walter Scott
'oon'' June 9Th. 500.
Nv aear sir: Mr. Lockhart has at this moment
| oo,nmnnicated 10 me your letter respecting my
| fourth share Of the copyright OF Marnilon. h,a
have already been applied TO oy MessrSi Con s"m
and nv Messrs. Longman. to know what sum !
,ynnld sell tbis share for; but SO highly do esu-
mate the honor of being even IN SO small eesis,
the publisher Of the author OF the poem tna' no
necuniarv consideration whatever can induce niS
n mart with it, But there is consideration VI
another kind. which. until now. was not aw ,sre
of. which would make it painful to me II WI
TO retain it q moment longer. mean. inc knGG 80
edge of its being required by the author i NJ
whose hands il spontaneously resigned III oro
same instant that read his request es hoyn m what
has been profitable to me ffty-fold peyo ,G w."
either publisher author could have anticlp@1u
and therefore, my returning 1t on sucn a ~
sion you will trust do me the favor W ntoSul
In no other light than a mere act Oh gla graz L
Acknowledgement for benefits already received Oy'
my dear sir, your obliged and fait1i1 nrTppSV
&c r. will ba nronar for YOUR man OF bust
ness to prepare a regular deed to carry tns mo
effect. which I will sign with the greatest SELL
satisfaction. as soon as receive IT,
ESir W. Scott TO John MurrayJ $500
Edinburgh. June II, 1879.
NV dear sir: Nothing can be more oohglng OF
gratifying to me than the very, KIND manner Ia
which you have resigned to me the snare you neiu
in Marmion." which. as am circumstance, Is
, a favor of real value and most Handsomely reI-
dered. ] hope an opportunity may occur IN wmch
/ may more enectuallv express my sense oil t1e 90,
liqation than by mere words. / will send the
document of transference when it can be made OUT
In the meantime am. with sincere regards and
'n"'iA'' WALTER SCOTT
In connection with Sir Walter Scott. the follow
ing account in a letter written by the present Mr.
Murray. of the occasion upon which the great
Unknown revealed the identity of the author OF
"Waycrly" will be found interesting
81 believe | mentioned to you that Mr. Allan
had kindly offered TO take me with him 10 a
Theatrical Fund dinner, which took place on
Friday last. There were present about 300 per
sons-a mixed company. many Of them not OF me
most remarkable order. Sir Waiter Scout TOOK
the chair and there was scarcely another person
of any note to support him, except the actors
The dinner therefore. would have been little
better than Cndurable had 1t not been remarkable
for the confession Of Sir Walter Scott that he was
the author of the Waverley Novels
This acknowledgment was forced from him. i
believe contrary to his own wish in this manner
Lord Meadowbanl<. who sat on his left hand, pro-
posed his health and after paying him many com
pliments, ended his speech by saying that the
clouds and mists which had so long surrounded
the Great Unknown were now revealed, and he
appeared in his true character probably allmding
to his expose made before ConStable's creditors,
for | do not think there was any precOnccrted
PLAN. Upon this Sir Walter rose, and SAID,
did not expect on coming here to-day that should
have TO disclose before 300 people secret Wihch,
considering it had already been made known to
about thirty persons. had been toleraby well kept
| am not prepared to give my reasons for pre-
serving it a secret caprice had certainly great
share in the matter. Now that it is out beg
leave to observe that | am sole and undivided
author of those novels. Every part of them has
originated with me. or has been suggested to me
in the course of my reading. l confess l am
guilty. and am almost afraid TO examine the OK
tent Of my delinquency. Look ont again. dare
The wand Of ProspSp9 is now broken h Snd
propose the health Of person vino he's given so
much delight to all now present. The Bailie Nicol
Jaryie' 49,. , - q. ,ouu :. g
not quite accurate in words. but You will find a
toerable report of it in The Caledonlan Mer;
curry of Saturday. This declaration was received
gradually subsidng, a voice from the end of the
room was heards exclaiming in character. Ma
conscience! if my father the Battle had been alive
to hear that ma health had been proposed by the
author Of Waverley,' etc. which, as you may
suppose, had q most excellent effect"
%The speaker on this occasion was the actor
Mackay. who attained considerable celebrity by
his representation of Scottish characters and
especially Of that Of the famous Iiailie In Rob
Roy
We must pass over a thousand points Of in
terest and glimnses here and there Of people whose
names stimulate curiosity and attract attention
Murray touched the literary world almost every
where. and his position was such that the most
iStin cd he'd wit def
while his reputation secured him the confidence
of his ntimates and the esteem of strangers
In all Murray'S business transactions the first
note is that of lberality. He suffered heavy
losses through it, He overpaid the contributors
| TO the Quarterly" Sometimes. Croker more than
once refuses TO accept such payments Byron. as
| is well known, began by giving away his copy
rights, and concluded by accepting all that his
publisher would give him. Southey declared that
Murray paid him too highly. Yet at times he
| expressed a doubt whether he could not have
made more in some other way Yet Southey
more than any other man, was dependent upon
| Murray and the Quarterly for his subsistence
1t is probable that if the Emperor OF the West
as the trade called him, had been a thoroughly
practical man of busness-that is to say, had
been swayed by no altruistic tendencies-he would
have doubled or trebled his fortune BY the bye.
DR.. Smiles states that Thomas Campbell
was the person who wrote Now Barab-
| bas was a Publisher whether in Bible
or otherwise is not automatically recorded, and
forwarded it to a friend" He adds but Mr.
Murray was not the publisher to whom il referred
nor was Lord Byron. has been so frequently
stated the author of the joke" The first of these
facts is selfevident; nor had the aggreved author
who proposed the health of Napoleon Bonaparte
because he had shot publisher any thought
of Murray in his mind.
The latter stands ont in admirable relief
throughout the Memoir which u.s. speaking broadly.
a really noble monument to his memory. Murray
was a man who deserved such a tribute. and il
will he all the more enduring because il links his
name and career with so many great and familiar
memories cherished by all lovers of literature and