THE

QUARTERLY REVIEW.

No. 458.-JANUARY, 1919.

Art. 1.-JOHN MURRAY III.

My grandfather, John Murray the second, has received an ample meed of renown and credit at the hands of the public. Not more I think than he deserves, but rather to the eclipse of his predecessor and of his successor, both of whom in my humble opinion deserve a fuller recognition than has yet been given them.

One hundred and fifty years ago it required more resolution than it does to-day for a young man to give up his commission in the army and start a trading business on his own account; but this was what the first John Murray did in 1768. That he had many close friends in the service is shown by the letters of his correspondents, many of whom rose to distinction in later years. He had a genuine love of, and a taste for, literature, and he laid the foundation well and truly, although he died before he had attained to any great financial success. My present purpose however is not to write about him but about my father-the third John Murray in the direct line.

In 1843 he succeeded to the headship of the business, which had already taken its place among the leading publishing firms in London, but, owing to my grandfather's generous mode of living and of treating his authors, was not in a very flourishing financial position. My father therefore had before him many years of strenuous work to remedy this deficiency.

Of his early school days at Charterhouse he seldom spoke much, but an occasional reference to a bully who kept a cricket-stump with which to thrash small boys is remembered. However great the traditions of a public Vol. 231.-No. 458.

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school may be, it must have been a sad curtailment of the wholesome life of the boys to be cooped up in the centre of a city like London; and my father often said that he could not subject his own sons to such a disadvantage. From his earliest years he suffered from an inflammatory malady of the eyes, which greatly hampered his enjoyment of life and his power of taking part in games. I never knew him except as a very shortsighted man; and his was a form of short-sight which derived no aid from glasses. As we grew older, we children were accustomed to act as eyes for him in recognising friends. In spite of this, his powers of observation in regard to scenery, architecture, painting, etc., were extraordinary; and he never seemed to forget what he had once seen.

In January 1827, at the age of 18, he was sent to Edinburgh to study at the University, and there he entered upon a life of study and associations which were thoroughly congenial to him. He lodged with the Rev. Andrew Thomson, D.D., as a member of the family; and, from first to last, Dr Thomson's only word of complaint in regard to him was that he had too many friends in Edinburgh, and was tempted to go into society so much as to endanger his studies, although it is evident that in the long run they did not suffer. He attended the lectures of Prof. Jameson in geology and mineralogy, of Dr McCulloch in Political Economy, and Dr Hope in chemistry, besides taking lessons in French, German, mathematics and riding. From the outset to the end of his days, geology and mineralogy constituted his favourite pursuit. He never went on an excursion from Edinburgh without his hammer and bag and note-book, and he formed a good collection of minerals, which is now in the School Museum at Eton.

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I gather from my father's letters that Dr Thomson's misgivings in regard to social attractions were not unwarranted. He had many relations and friends in Edinburgh and appears to have received a large number of invitations to town parties and country houses. find him going to stay with General Elliot, a relative of his mother, at Rosebank, with Sir William Fettes at Gogar Bank and with General Bethune at Blebo. Here he was initiated in the art of partridge shooting, but

without much success owing to his defective eye-sight'I ought rather,' he writes, 'call it firing than shooting, as I only brought down one bird.'

In Edinburgh he dined frequently with Captain Basil Hall, in whose house he met a Mr Audubon,' the distinguished American naturalist. At Mr Ballantyne's he met Mrs Siddons; and he also went to see Dugald Stewart, a connexion of his father's. One of the most notable events of his stay in Edinburgh was the famous dinner of the Theatrical Fund, at which he was present, when Sir Walter first publicly owned to the authorship of the Waverley Novels. Of this he writes as follows:

'Edinburgh, Feb. 26, 1827.

'Mr Allan had kindly offered to take me with him to a Theatrical Dinner which took place on Friday last. There were present about 300 persons, a mixed company, many of them not of the most respectable order. Sir Walter Scott took the chair, and there was scarcely another person of any note to support him, except the actors. The dinner therefore would have been little better than tolerable had it not been for the confession of Sir Walter Scott that he was the author of the Waverley Novels. This acknowledgment was elicited from him in this manner. Lord Meadowbank, who sat on his left hand, proposed his health, and, after paying him many compliments, ended his speech by saying that the clouds and mists which had so long surrounded the Great Unknown were now removed, and he appeared in his true character (probably alluding to the exposé made before Constable's creditors, for I do not think there was any preconcerted plan). Upon this Sir Walter rose and said, "I did not expect, on coming here to-day, that I should have to disclose before 300 people a secret which, considering that it has already been made known to about 30 persons, has been tolerably well kept. I am not prepared to give any reasons for preserving it a secret; caprice had certainly a good share in the matter. Now that it is out, I beg leave to observe that I am sole and undivided author of those Novels; every part of them has originated with me, or has been suggested to me in the course of my reading. I confess I am guilty and am almost afraid to examine the extent of my delinquency. Look on 't again I dare not.' The wand of Prospero is now broken, and my book is buried; but before I retire I shall propose the health of a person who has given so much delight, I dare say, to all now present, the Baillie Nicol Jarvie."

'I report this from memory; of course it is not quite accurate in words, but you will find a tolerable report of it in the Caledonian Mercury of Saturday. This declaration was received with loud and long applause; as this was gradually subsiding, the Baillie (Mackay) exclaims in character, Ma conscience, if my Father the Deacon had been alive, etc., which, as you may suppose, had a most excellent effect.'

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*

Whenever he could get a few days' leave, his chief delight was in making excursions over Scotland, which he seems to have explored pretty thoroughly from Galloway to Aberdeen, and from Arran to St Andrews, all the time making careful notes of antiquities and places of historical interest, but above all of geological and mineralogical features. During his sojourn in Edinburgh he made at least three close and lifelong friendships-with Allen Thomson, the son of his host and tutor, with Torrie, a nephew of Professor Jameson, and with Copland. In company with one or other of the two last named he made many of his subsequent prolonged excursions on the Continent.

On leaving Edinburgh he was destined to begin serious work in his father's office, but, according to his invariable custom, he sought and obtained permission to make a circuitous journey home, in order that he might inspect some remarkable prehistoric foot-prints of animals in the sandstone at Ruthwell in Dumfriesshire, and afterwards made his first acquaintance with the English Lakes. These same foot-prints caused no little stir among the geologists of the day; and the following letter gives an amusing account of one of the experiments made to explain their origin:

Jan. 23, 1828.

'I went on Saturday last to a party at Mr Murchison's house, assembled to behold tortoises in the act of walking upon dough. Prof. Buckland acted as master of the ceremonies. There were present many other geologists and savants, among them Dr Wollaston. At first the beasts took it into their heads to be refractory and to stand still. Hereupon the ingenuity of the professor was called forth in order to make them move. This he endeavoured to do by applying

* Mackay, the actor, who had made a hit in the part.

sundry flips with his fingers upon their tails; deil a bit however would they stir; and no wonder, for on endeavouring to take them up it was found that they had stuck so fast to the pie-crust as only to be removed with half a pound of dough sticking to each foot. This being the case it was found necessary to employ a rolling pin, and to knead the paste afresh; nor did geological fingers disdain the culinary offices. It was really a glorious scene to behold all the philosophers, flour-besmeared, working away with tucked-up sleeves. Their exertions, I am happy to say, were at length crowned with success; a proper consistency of paste was attained, and the animals walked over the course in a very satisfactory manner; insomuch that many who came to scoff returned rather better disposed towards believing.'

From Keswick he rode round Derwentwater on horseback, and arrived in London near the end of the year 1827. In 1828 he spent his first summer holiday in Scotland and made notes on Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire for Mr Moore, who was then engaged in writing Byron's Life. He was now fairly launched on his business career, and never relaxed his steady application to work until within a few days of his death in 1892; but from 1829 to 1884 all his holidays were saved up for travel.

There can be no doubt that the need of good guidebooks for travellers had taken firm hold of his mind in his student days; and by sheer hard personal labour he built up a series which held the field against all competitors till the time when cheap travel introduced the vast horde of travellers who cared little for intellectual information, and required a totally different class of vade mecum-travellers to whom where to feed was a more important question than what to see.

The influence of the Red Books used to be shown by various interesting incidents. One of the points invariably insisted on by my Father was the sanitary conditions and arrangements in hotels and cities; and I have no doubt that the vast improvement which has taken place in this respect in the succeeding years was more due to him than to any other individual. He used to receive accusations and threats from hotel-keepers and syndics, and always replied that, if they would furnish proof of amendment, he would alter his remarks, but not otherwise.