Corpus of Modern Scottish Writing (CMSW) - www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk/cmsw/ Document : 189 Title: Letter from Scott to Gifford, 25 Oct 1808 Author(s): Scott, Sir Walter 1 1 8 pp Oct 25 1808 Sir By a letter from the Lord Advocate of Scotland in con sequence of a communication between his Lordship & Mr Canning on the subject of a new Review to be attempted in London I have the pleasure to understand that you have consented to become the editor a point which in my opinion goes no small way to ensure success to the undertaking. In offering a few observations on the details of such a plan I only obey the commands of our distinguished friends without having the vanity to hope I can point out any thing of consequence which must not have readily occured to a person of Mr Giffords literary experience & eminence. The task however having been so imposed on me I beg permissi on to offer my sentiments in the miscellaneous way in which they occur to me. The extensive reputation & circulation of the Edinburgh Review is chiefly owing to two circumstances. First that it is entirely un :influenced by the Booksellers who have contrived to make most of the other reviews mere vehicles for advertising & puffing off their own publications or running down those of their rivals Secondly the very handsome recompence which the Editor not only holds forth to his regular assistants but actually forces upon those whose rank & fortune make it a matter of indif :ference to them. The Editor to my knowledge acts on the prin :ciple that even Czar Peter working in the trenches must accept the pay of a common soldier. This general rule re: moves all scruple of delicacy & fixes in his service a num: :ber of contributors who might otherwise have felt reluc: tance to accept of compensation for their labour even even the more because that compensation was a matter of convenience to them. There are many young men of talent & enterprize who are extremely glad of a handsome apology to work for fifteen or twenty guineas, upon whose gratuitous contributions no reliance could be placed & who nevertheless would not degrade themselves by being hired labourers in a work where others wrote for honour alone. From this I deduce two points of doctrine first that the projected work must be considered as independant of all bookselling influence secondly that the contributors must be handsomely recom penced & that it be a rule that each shall accept of the price of his labour. Mr. John Murray of Fleet street a young bookseller of capital & enterprize & who has more good sense and propriety of sentiment than fall to the share of most of his brethern paid me a visit some time ago at Ashestiel and as I found he had held some communication with Mr. Canning (altho indirectly) I did not hesitate to give him my sentiments on these points of the plan & I found his ideas most liberal & satisfactory. The office of Editor supposing all preliminaries arranged as of such consequence that had you not been pleased to under take it I fear the project might have fallen wholly to the ground. He must be invested with the unlimited power of controul for the purpose of selecting curtailing and correct =ing the contributions; and as the person immediately responsi =ble to the Public & to the Bookseller that each Number shall be published in its due time it will be the Editors duty to consider & settle the articles of which it shall consist & to take early measures for procuring them from the persons best qualified to write upon the several subjects of criticism. and this you will find so difficult 2 if entirely entrusted to auxiliaries that I foresee with pleasure you will be soon compelled to appear yourself (occasionally at least) in the field. At the same time if you think my services worth acceptance as a sort of Jackal or Lions provi =der I will do all in my power to assist in this trouble =some department of Editorial duty. But there is another point of consequence besides the task of providing & arran =ging materials for each number. One very successful ex =pedient of the Edinr. Editor & on which his popularity has in some measure risen is the art of giving life & interest even to the duller articles of his Review. He recieves for example a criticism upon a work of deep research from a person who has studied the book & understands the subject & if it happens to be written which may often be the case in a tone of stupefying mediocrity he renders it palatable by a few lively paragraphs or entertaining illustrations of his own or perhaps by generalising & systematising the knowledge which it contains. By this sort of finessing he converts without loss of time or hindrance of business an unmarketable commodity into one which from its general effect & spirit is not likely to disgrace those among which it is placed. Such exertions on the part of an Editor are indispensible to a well conducted review for those who possess the knowledge necessary to review books of research or of abstruse disquisition are sometimes unable to put their criticisms however just into a readable far less a pleasant or captivating shape & as their science can= not be obtained “for the nonce” by one capable of writing well the only remedy is that a man of talent for com =position should revise their lucubrations. And I should hope many friends & well wishers to the undertaking would would be disposed to assist in this part of the task & altho they might not have leisure to write themselves might yet revise & correct such articles. Permit me to add that you Sir possess in a peculiar degree a facility of the greatest consequence to the under= taking in having access to the best sources of political information. It would not certainly be advisable that the work should in its outset assume exclusively a political character. On the contrary the articles upon science & miscella =neous literature ought to be such as may challenge competiti =on with the best of contemporary reviews. But as the real reason of instituting the publication is the disgusting & deleterious doctrine with which the most popular of these periodical works disgraces its pages it is essential to consider how opposite & sounder principles can be most advantageously brought forward. On this ground I hope it is not too much to expect from those who have the power of befriending us in this respect that they should upon topics of national interest furnish the Reviewer confidentially & through the medium of the Editor with accurate views of points of fact so far as they are fit to be made public. This is the most delicate yet most essential part of our scheme. On the one hand it is certainly not to be understood that we are to be tied down to advo= cate upon all occasions & as matter of course the cause of ad= ministration. Such indiscriminate support & dereliction of in =dependance would prejudice both ourselves & our cause in the eye of the public. On the other hand the work will ob= =tain a decided ascendance over all competition so soon as the public shall learn (not from any vaunt of the conductors but from their own observation) that upon political sub= jects the new critics are possessed of early & of accurate in =formation. The opposition have regularly furnishd the 3 Edinburgh review with this command of facts so far as they themselves possessed them And surely you my dear Sir enjoying the confidence of Mr Canning & other persons in power and in defence of whose principles we are buckling our armour may safely expect to be entrusted with the political infor= mation necessary to give credit to the work & with the task of communicating it to those whom you may chose to em= ploy in laying it before the public. Concerning the mode & time of publishing the Review perhaps you will judge a quarterly publication most advisable. It is difficult to support one of more frequent recurrence both on account of the want of important books & the time necessary to collect valuable materials. The name is of some consequence at least in Mr Murrays estimation, for my= self I think any one which has little pretension might serve the turn. The English Review for example once conducted by Gilbert Stewart might be revived under your auspices. The search after regular correspondents whose contributions can be relied upon ought to be begun but should not stop the publication of the first No: I am not afraid of finding many such when the reputation of the work has been decidedly established by three or four numbers of the very first order. Besides hunting about for these persons would make the design public which should if possible be confined to persons worthy of trust for it will have a double effect if the first No comes on the public by surprize without being prejudiced either by the unrea =sonable expectation of friends or the artifices & misrepre= sentations of the enemy. The first No should be out in January if possible & might contain the following political articles Foxes history Grattans Speeches & any book or pamphlet which could give occasion for a distinct and enlightened view of Spanish affairs. This last alone would establish the character of the work. The Lucubrations of the Edinburgh Review on that topic have done the work great injury with the public & I think the sale of the publication might be reduced at least one half by the appearance of a rival review which with pretensions to the same height of literary talent & independence of character should speak a political language more familiar to the British ear than that of subjugation to France. After all the matter is become very serious. From eight to nine thou: sand copies of that review are quarterly dispersed & with all deference to the information & high talents of the Editor (which nobody can think of more highly than I do) much of this popularity is owing to its being the only respectable and independent publication of the kind. In Edinburgh or I may say in Scotland there is not one out of twenty who reads the work that agrees in political opinion with the Editor, but it is ably conducted & how long the generality of readers will continue to dislike the strain of politics so artfully mingled with copies of information & amusement is worthy of deep consideration. But I am convinced it is not too late to stand in the breach. The first No. of our proposed Review if it can be compiled without the plan taking wind & if executed with the talent which may reaso: nably expected will burst among the Whigs (as they call themselves) like a bomb. From the little observation I have made I think they suffer peculiarly under cool sarcastic ridicule accompanied by dispassionate argument. Having long had a sort of exclusive occupation of the press owing to the negligence of all literary assistance on the 4 on the part of those who thought their good cause should fight its own battle they seem to feel with great acuteness any appeal to the reading public like champions who having been long accustomed to push have lost the art of parrying. Now suppose that upon a foe of this humour our projected work steals out only drawing the attention of the public by the accuracy of its facts & the state of its execution without giving them the satisfaction of bidding a public defiance I conceive that that their indignation expressed probably through the Edinr Review will soon give us an opportunity of coming to close quarters with that publication should it be thought advisable & that with a much better grace than were we to announce a previous determination of hostility. In the mean while I am for gliding into a state of hostility without a formal declaration of war & if our [forces for] one or two numbers be composed of volunteers & amateurs we will find it easy when our arms have acquired reputation to hire troops of condot= =tieri & to raise & discipline regular forces of the line. You are a much better judge than I can be who are fit to be put into the van of the battle — you have the Ellis's the Roses cum plurimes aliis — we have lost a host in Mr Frere & can only hope he is serving the common cause more effectually in another capacity. You can never want scholars while Oxford stands where it did. Richad Heber was with me during Murrays visit & knowing his zeal for the good cause I availd myself of his advice: his brother Reginald would be a most excellent coadjuter & I doubt not to get his assistance. I believe I can command some respectable assistance here but I rely much on on that of Mr William Erskine the Advocates brother in law & my most intimate friend. I think we can get you both some scientific articles & some Scotch metaphysics which you know are fashionable however deservedly or otherwise My own studies have been rather limited but I understand in some sort literary antiquities & history & have been reckoned a respectable tirailleur in the [quizz][¿] department of the Edinr Review in which I wrote occasionally until these last two years when its tone of politics became so violent; I only mention this lest you should either estimate my talents by my zeal (which would occasion great disappointment) or think me like many good folks more ready to offer advice than assistance. Mr Murray seems to count upon Mal= thus for the department of political economy & if you approve I could when I come to town sound [Matthias] whose study of foreign classics has been [proceeding exten][¿] [It is certain some] push must be made at first for if we fail we shall disgrace ourselves & do great injury to our cause I would not willingly be like my namesake, Walter the pennyless, at the head of a crusade consisting of a disorderly rabble & I judge of your feelings by my own. But “screw your courage to the stick =ing place & we'll not fail.” Supposing the work conducted with spirit the only ground from which it can be assaild with a prospect of success would be a charge of its being con =ducted entirely under ministerial influence. But this may be parried first by labouring the literary articles with as much pains as the political & so giving to the review a decided character independent of the latter department & further the respect of the public may be maintaind by the impartiality of our criticism. I would not willingly