Many thanks to you for your goodness. My little boy is, thank God, recovered. I sat up with him for two nights, expecting every moment would be his last. My great effort was to keep up Mrs. Sydney’s spirits, in which I succeeded tolerably well. I will not exercise my profession of preaching commonplaces to you; I acknowledge your loss was a heavy calamity, for I can measure what you felt by what I felt for you.
You have raised up to yourself here, individually, a very high and solid reputation by your writings in the Edinburgh Review. You are said to be the ablest man in Scotland; and other dainty phrases are used about you, which show the effect you have produced. Mackintosh, ever anxious to bring men of merit into notice, is the loudest of your panegyrists, and the warmest of your admirers. I have now had an opportunity of appreciating the manner in which the Review is felt, and I do assure you it has acquired a most brilliant and extensive reputation.
Follow it up, by all means. On the first of every month,
Horner and I will meet together,
and. order books for Edinburgh: this we can do from the monthly lists. In
addition, we will scan the French booksellers’ shops, and send you
anything valuable, excepting a certain portion that we will reserve for
ourselves. We will, in this division, be just and candid as we can; if you do
not think us so, let us know. You will have the lists, and can order for
yourselves any books, not before ordered for you; many catalogue articles I
will take, to avoid the expense of sending them backwards
18 | MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. |