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The Life and Letters of John Gibson Lockhart
Chapter 19: 1828-48
Thomas Carlyle to John Gibson Lockhart, 11 December 1839
INTRODUCTION & INDEXES
DOCUMENT INFORMATION
GO TO PAGE NUMBER:
Vol. I. Preface
Vol. I Contents.
Chapter 1: 1794-1808
Chapter 2: 1808-13
Chapter 3: 1813-15
Chapter 4: 1815-17
Chapter 5: 1817-18
Chapter 6: 1817-19
Chapter 7: 1818-20
Chapter 8: 1819-20
Chapter 9: 1820-21
Chapter 10: 1821-24
Chapter 11: 1817-24
Chapter 12: 1821-25
Chapter 13: 1826
Vol. II Contents
Chapter 14: 1826-32
Chapter 15: 1828-32
Chapter 16: 1832-36
Chapter 17: 1837-39
Chapter 18: 1837-43
Chapter 19: 1828-48
Chapter 20: 1826-52
Chapter 21: 1842-50
Chapter 22: 1850-53
Chapter 23: 1853-54
Chapter 24: Conclusion
Vol. II Index
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“5 Cheyne Row, Chelsea,
December 11, 1839.

“My dear Sir,—There are two books of yours here; which I beg you to understand are not meant to be kept as black-mail, but to be returned with thanks. I retain them only till the Chartism concern be printed—till I can send you a copy of that along with them.

“However, the reason of my writing is not these books, which are probably of no value at all to you; but a reflection I made yesterday on the irritable nature of authors—on the doubts you may by possibility have about my being irritated! God knows I am much gratified, by your praise of me especially, which I believe to have much more sincerity in it than praise usually has. For the rest, I consider
CARLYLE’S COVENANTERS229
that your decision about that wild piece as an article for the Quarterly was altogether what it should have been, what on the whole I expected it to be. Fraser is printing the thing now as a separate pamphlet. Your negative was necessary to decide me as to that step. The Westminster people were willing to have taken the thing after you; but I was not willing to appear with it there. And so it comes out in the pamphlet way—quod bonum sit! One has an equation with more than one unknown quantity in it: eliminate the Quarterly y, there remains x—printing as a pamphlet.

“With many kind regards, and a hope to fall in with you again by-and-by,—I remain, my dear Sir, yours very truly always,

T. Carlyle.”