The Life and Letters of John Gibson Lockhart
Chapter 14: 1826-32
Sir Walter Scott to John Gibson Lockhart, 5 February 1828
“Edinburgh, 5th
February 1828.
“My dear Lockhart,—I
send you enclosed a letter from Horace
Smith,1 which I received this morning. I
knew him only from seeing him once at breakfast, but what he wishes seems only
to be justice to him. I am by no means sure that Leigh
Hunt was completely in bona
fides in his panegyric, which I have not seen; but Mr.
Smith seems sensible it is over-coloured, for the purpose of
including him in the group of Liberals. You will do in it what you please; only I am sure
you will give currency to his disclamation of Atheism.2
I am speaking in the idea that you are taking Leigh Hunt
in hand, which he richly deserves; only remember the lash is administered with
most cutting severity when the executioner keeps his temper.
Hunt has behaved like a hyena to Byron, whom he has dug up to girn and howl over
him in the same breath. I have not seen Moore’s lines, but I hear they are clever.
“The world (bookselling world) seem mad about
‘Forget-me-nots’
and Christmas boxes. Here has been
Heath the artist offering me
£800 per annum to take charge of such a concern, which I declined, of
course. Perhaps it might be turned your way if you liked it. I would support as
well as I could, and the labour would be no great thing. The book is the
‘Keepsake,’ I
think, a book
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singularly beautiful in respect of
the prints; the letterpress is sorry enough. Mr. Heath is
well enough for his profession; a Mr.
Reynolds who was with him, is a son of the dramatist, and a forward chip of the old
block. I gave him, at his particular request, a note of introduction to you,
which I think it is right to do. I rather think they want to frame some
proposal to you. Certainly there could be little difficulty in giving such a
thing a superiority in point of merit. I pointed out to Mr.
Heath, that having already the superiority in point of art, I
saw no great object could be obtained by being at great expense to obtain as
great a superiority in literature, because two candles do not give twice as
much light as one, though they cost double price. But he seemed to think he
could increase his income.
“I see you have got a critic in the Athenæum; pray don’t take the least notice of so
trumpery a fellow. There is a custom among the South American Indians to choose
their chief by the length of time during which he is able to sustain a
temporary interment in an owl’s nest. Literary respect and eminence is
won by similar powers of endurance.
“Charles has
received his appointment in the Foreign Office, and will be up on Friday night,
and I hope you and Sophia will find him
a quiet inmate.
“I have heard with pleasure of the christening.
Whether we shall come up or not is in the womb of fate. Certainly, were it not
for Sophia and you and ![]()
| 24 | LIFE OF J. G. LOCKHART. | |
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the dear babies, all other circumstances would make me
wish to stay where I am, making money, instead of going where I must spend it.
All things are clearing up here very well.
“Love to Sophia and babies, especially the Ciceronian John, who understands what folks say to him.”
Charles Theodosius Heath (1785-1848)
English illustrator and engraver whose work was published in
The
Keepsake and other literary annuals.
James Henry Leigh Hunt (1784-1859)
English poet, journalist, and man of letters; editor of
The
Examiner and
The Liberal; friend of Byron, Keats, and
Shelley.
John Gibson Lockhart (1794-1854)
Editor of the
Quarterly Review (1825-1853); son-in-law of Walter
Scott and author of the
Life of Scott 5 vols (1838).
John Hugh Lockhart (1821-1831)
The first child of John Gibson Lockhart and his wife Sophia, for whom Sir Walter Scott
wrote
Tales of a Grandfather (1828-1831).
Thomas Moore (1779-1852)
Irish poet and biographer, author of the
Irish Melodies (1807-34),
The Fudge Family in Paris (1818), and
Lalla
Rookh (1817); he was Byron's close friend and designated biographer.
Frederick Reynolds (1764-1841)
The author of nearly a hundred plays, among them
The Dramatist
(1789) and
The Caravan; or the Driver and his Dog (1803). He was a
friend of Charles Lamb.
Frederic Mansel Reynolds (1801-1850)
Son of the dramatist Frederick Reynolds; he edited
The Keepsake
and published a novel,
Miserrimus: a Tale (1833).
Charles Scott (1805-1841)
The younger son of Sir Walter Scott; educated at Oxford, he pursued a career in diplomacy
and died in Tehran.
John Scott (1784-1821)
After Marischal College he worked as a journalist with Leigh Hunt, edited
The Champion (1814-1817), and edited the
London
Magazine (1820) until he was killed in the duel at Chalk Farm.
Horace Smith (1779-1849)
English poet and novelist; with his brother James he wrote
Rejected
Addresses (1812) and
Horace in London (1813). Among his
novels was
Brambletye House (1826).
The Athenaeum. London Literary and Critical
Journal. (1828-1921). The
Athenaeum was founded by James Silk Buckingham; editors
included Frederick Denison Maurice (July 1828-May 1829) John Sterling (May 1829-June 1830),
Charles Wentworth Dilke (June 1830-1846), and Thomas Kibble Hervey (1846-1853).
The Keepsake. 30 vols (London: Hurst, Chance and Co., 1828-1857). An illustrated annual edited by William Harrison Ainsworth (1828), Frederic Mansel
Reynolds (1829-35), and Caroline Norton (1836).
