He presently adds:—
“They are fools, however, for touching him. But thus they will go on to the end of the chapter. Force, force, that is all their reliance. How much better to do as I do—let slander work itself dead!
“… Bagshaw’s way is to be very quiet: when any one mentions the matter to him, to say that he did as others do, sold the book because it was called for. This prosecution is the very foolishest thing that the Duke of York ever was advised to do. Had he not begun this, Hogan would have gone nearly to whitewash him.… Poor Finnerty! what the devil did he suffer himself to be so provoked for? I hope he will not incur a prosecution for Hogan.…
“As to Howell, I always was afraid of him. I know that he is what the French call ‘un homme à grandes pretensions;’ as, indeed, all your authors are.… They think that every book that is printed is so much money coined. They take the price, the full retail price, of a volume, say a guinea-and-a-half, then they take the number of copies, and hence they reckon that the bookseller has so many guineas and halves in his drawer, the moment the book is printed. You cannot beat this out of their brains. They will have it so. Then they are full of their college conceit, which is so intolerable.… With such people, a partnership would be, for you and me, a most uncomfortable thing. I greatly approve of the scheme of a ‘fag;’ and as to expense, four guineas a week would be cheap. But he must work and be obedient.… I would sooner give an additional guinea a week on the score of obedience, than on the score of talent: though there must be considerable talent too. If you can get rid of H., I shall be very happy. I know what your college gentlemen are. They always have, and will have, the insolence to think themselves our betters; and our superior talents, and industry, and power, and weight, only excite their envy. I am heartily sorry we ever had anything to do with H. All this may blow off; but I shall never have confidence in him.…
“I will write to the major,[7] and to Holt White, upon the subject of the Trials. Two better men there are not in all England. The major is the very best writer that I know, though he has scarcely a drop of blood in his veins. Oh, that my mind, at his age, may be like his!
“Be sure to send off Register to Lord Cochrane, up to this time. He is not come home. And no one can tell when he will. Pray do not neglect this a day. I should like him to see that I did justice to him in this country. He, after all, is the best member for Westminster.
“Nancy will copy the manuscript of which you spoke lately. She copied the whole of the Winchester proceedings, with only three errors.”
The dissatisfaction with Mr. Howell would appear to have arisen partly from an extreme slackness in providing “copy;” and, with this, a disposition to consider his own remuneration as of the first importance. The difficulty, however, did blow over.
The following refers to a letter of Major Cartwright’s on the affairs of Spain:—