The Life and Letters of John Gibson Lockhart
Chapter 21: 1842-50
John Gibson Lockhart to Henry Hart Milman, 16 April 1849
“Sussex Place, Regent Park,
April 16, 1849.
“My dear Milman,—J. J.
Rousseau says, ‘Dans les
grandes afflictions le silence et la tristesse sont le vrai
language de l’amitié.’
C’est tout dire.
“I hope it would now do you good to do me good, I
mean by reviewing our friend Lyell’s two books on America. I have seen some sheets of
the new one, and Murray would gladly
supply you with them as they come to him if you could undertake the job. The
old one never was reviewed in the Quarterly Review, and was badly and scantily
treated by stupid young Merivale in the
Edinburgh, so you may consider it as fresh material.
“Of course there would be some delicate subjects to
touch on, and perhaps it would be necessary for you and me to talk over some of
them beforehand; but I have no doubt our feelings would be much the same on
anything of real moment. The tone ![]()
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of Lyell is very likely, I think, to promote the
great cause of international amity, and I know you would be ready to follow it
in the main, though he is too Whiggy for the Quarterly Review in some
details.
“The doom poem now sent is his. I add two volumes of
Whitefield’s Methodist Hymns,
in which you’ll find a new evangelisation of Tom Moore’s Melodies. These please quote after Book of
Doom, and let me have them again, for they are dear to me as the ruddy drops,
&c—Yours,
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).
Sir Charles Lyell, first baronet (1797-1875)
Scottish geologist educated at Exeter College, Oxford; he was author of
Principles of Geology (1830-33) and
The Antiquity of Man
(1863).
Herman Merivale (1806-1874)
The eldest son of the poet John Herman Merivale; he was professor of political economy at
Oxford (1837) and under-secretary for colonies (1847); he published
Lectures on Colonisation (1841) and wrote for the
Edinburgh
Review.
Henry Hart Milman (1791-1868)
Educated at Eton and Brasenose College, Oxford, he was a poet, historian and dean of St
Paul's (1849) who wrote for the
Quarterly Review.
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.
John Murray III (1808-1892)
The son of the Anak of publishers; he successfully carried on the family publishing
business.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778)
Swiss-born man of letters; author of, among others,
Julie ou la
Nouvelle Heloïse (1761),
Émile (1762) and
Les Confessions (1782).
George Whitefield (1714-1770)
Methodist preacher associated with John and Charles Wesley; he was particularly
influential in America where he visited on a number of occasions.
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.
