The Life and Letters of John Gibson Lockhart
Chapter 20: 1826-52
John Gibson Lockhart to an anonymous correspondent, 1 January 1835
“January 1, 1835.
“Sir,—I cannot admit
literary labour to be placed,
1 For this letter I have to thank Mr. George Dunlop, of Kilmarnock, who
bought the original from a dealer. |
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| 288 | LIFE OF J. G. LOCKHART. | |
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as you seem to desire, on the same level with that of the
bricklayer or plumber. I consider it as entitled to be thought of as at least
as respectable a concern as that of the tailor or bootmaker, who never demand
to be paid for articles of their manufacture that don’t
fit.
“I never ordered a review from
you, to be accepted by me whatever its merits or demerits: I only, at your own
request, sanctioned your trying to make an article suitable for the Quarterly on
the subject of the Byzantines, which subject you told me you had curiously and
elaborately studied. It was this previous study that I relied on in listening
to your proposal; but I well knew the difference between sketching an outline
and finishing an essay, and was not surprised, though sorry, when I found your
performance a very poor affair.—Your obedient servant,
George Dunlop (1842 c.-1909)
Editor of the
Kilmarnock Standard and bibliophile.
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).
The Quarterly Review. (1809-1967). Published by John Murray, the
Quarterly was instigated by Walter
Scott as a Tory rival to the
Edinburgh Review. It was edited by
William Gifford to 1824, and by John Gibson Lockhart from 1826 to 1853.
