George Combe to John Chapman, Edinburgh, 2 March 1854
Title
George Combe to John Chapman, Edinburgh, 2 March 1854
Title
George Combe to John Chapman, Edinburgh, 2 March 1854
Sender
George Combe
Recipient
John Chapman
Date(s)
- 1854-03-02
Place
Edinburgh
Letter Content
George Combe to John Chapman, Edinburgh, 2 March 1854
MS: Copy in Combe Letter Book, National Library of Scotland.
Edinburgh 2d March 1854.
John Chapman Esq.
My dear Sir
Your letter of the 28th February reached me only this morning. Before answering it, I must refresh your memory on a few points which you, in thinking of your own interest and convenience, seem to have forgotten. -- You expressed a desire that I should furnish you with an article on prison discipline for the January number of the Review: and I agreed to place it in your hands on the day named by Miss Evans, 1st December, and on your own terms, as to pecuniary remuneration, or rather non-remuneration. -- At the sacrifice of my health and convenience, I had the article ready by the day named; and wrote that it was at your command. You wrote to me begging that, for your convenience, it might stand over till April. -- I felt that it was one-sided to leave me to labour, at every cost, to keep faith with you, while you coolly consulted your own convenience, and bid me wait; but making every allowance for your necessities, I did not express what I felt, but assented frankly to your proposal. -- I was then desired to send the M.S. to London by a certain day in January. I availed myself of the interval in working up my materials into a full exposition of the subject for a pamphlet, and wrote to you offering as much of it as you chose to print for an article in the April number, and you were satisfied with my terms. The M.S. was delivered to Miss Evans two days before the day specified for its being sent. If delay in setting it up and sending me a proof ensued, this was no fault of mine. No proof reached me till 23d February nearly 7 weeks after the M.S. was delivered in London. I immediately wrote that I could make it into an article, and desired you to send a proof to be cut down. You lost two posts in sending it. It reached me on 28th February at 9. a.m. and by one o'clock on the same day, I wrote to you that I had gone over it and reduced it to 35 pages and would reduce it to 32 if you could not afford to give 35. -- But after putting me to all this trouble, I then, on the 2d March, receive a letter from you, dated 28 February, requesting me to postpone its insertion till July!
Now, there has never been a delay of one hour on my part: I have made health, convenience, and every consideration in money, give way to meet your wishes: the whole disappointments have arisen from your own style of managing business: But your style does not suit mine. I have borne as long as my patience would hold out; and now I have done. You may do as you please about inserting or not inserting the article; but it shall not wait till July. The pamphlet shall be published as soon as it can be completed: and here again my interest is sacrified to your convenience. Had I known that you were to delay sending me a proof till you could not insert the article, I should have printed the pamphlet here, at less expense, in a neater form, and saved Miss Evans a world of trouble.
By this evening's post I shall return to Miss Evans the proof with all my corrections, and the proof cut down for the Review, and you can do precisely as you please in the matter; but you will excuse me for never again subjecting myself to this kind of treatment. I remain, My dear Sir
Yours faithfully
Geo. Combe.
II, 144:11 George Combe to John Chapman, Edinburgh, 2 March 1854
MS: Copy in Combe Letter Book, National Library of Scotland.
Edinburgh 2 March 1854 | 4 p.m.
John Chapman Esq.
My dear Sir
Your letter to me dated 1 March reached me after mine to you of this date was posted for our morning mail. Had it arrived sooner, it would have saved me writing, and your reading that letter. However, I do not regret that it has gone; because I wish you to know that when I make an engagement, I make every possible exertion to fulfil it; and that I expect corresponding treatment from others.
I send you the remaining sheets revised; and to-morrow I shall send the reduced proof to Miss Evans. Your proof to me was paid correctly; but if Dr. Browne's was not, the 1/- worth of stamps sent by you will pay his double postage. In no case, could it have paid both his and mine. I have written him on the subject.
The reasons why I wish my own publisher's names inserted was that it will save opening a new publishing account; that it will save us all trouble attending to advertising, sales, etc. for they do all that most attentively without my needing to prompt them; and lastly, it will save separate advertisements, for they will add it as a line or two to my other advertisements.
You may order 500 copies of the pamphlet to be thrown off and I wish a complete copy for my own use as soon as it is thrown off. -- The top line at present is a sheer waste of paper and type; but it would be expensive to alter it now, otherwise it might be withdrawn from the pamphlet. I shall send a table of contents, and also advertisements to go at the end of it. These and the title page may stand over, till the decision of Sir James Clark is known, unless the Title is already part of the first sheet, in which case it may go to press. I remain, My dear Sir
Yours sincerely
Geo. Combe.
MS: Copy in Combe Letter Book, National Library of Scotland.
Edinburgh 2d March 1854.
John Chapman Esq.
My dear Sir
Your letter of the 28th February reached me only this morning. Before answering it, I must refresh your memory on a few points which you, in thinking of your own interest and convenience, seem to have forgotten. -- You expressed a desire that I should furnish you with an article on prison discipline for the January number of the Review: and I agreed to place it in your hands on the day named by Miss Evans, 1st December, and on your own terms, as to pecuniary remuneration, or rather non-remuneration. -- At the sacrifice of my health and convenience, I had the article ready by the day named; and wrote that it was at your command. You wrote to me begging that, for your convenience, it might stand over till April. -- I felt that it was one-sided to leave me to labour, at every cost, to keep faith with you, while you coolly consulted your own convenience, and bid me wait; but making every allowance for your necessities, I did not express what I felt, but assented frankly to your proposal. -- I was then desired to send the M.S. to London by a certain day in January. I availed myself of the interval in working up my materials into a full exposition of the subject for a pamphlet, and wrote to you offering as much of it as you chose to print for an article in the April number, and you were satisfied with my terms. The M.S. was delivered to Miss Evans two days before the day specified for its being sent. If delay in setting it up and sending me a proof ensued, this was no fault of mine. No proof reached me till 23d February nearly 7 weeks after the M.S. was delivered in London. I immediately wrote that I could make it into an article, and desired you to send a proof to be cut down. You lost two posts in sending it. It reached me on 28th February at 9. a.m. and by one o'clock on the same day, I wrote to you that I had gone over it and reduced it to 35 pages and would reduce it to 32 if you could not afford to give 35. -- But after putting me to all this trouble, I then, on the 2d March, receive a letter from you, dated 28 February, requesting me to postpone its insertion till July!
Now, there has never been a delay of one hour on my part: I have made health, convenience, and every consideration in money, give way to meet your wishes: the whole disappointments have arisen from your own style of managing business: But your style does not suit mine. I have borne as long as my patience would hold out; and now I have done. You may do as you please about inserting or not inserting the article; but it shall not wait till July. The pamphlet shall be published as soon as it can be completed: and here again my interest is sacrified to your convenience. Had I known that you were to delay sending me a proof till you could not insert the article, I should have printed the pamphlet here, at less expense, in a neater form, and saved Miss Evans a world of trouble.
By this evening's post I shall return to Miss Evans the proof with all my corrections, and the proof cut down for the Review, and you can do precisely as you please in the matter; but you will excuse me for never again subjecting myself to this kind of treatment. I remain, My dear Sir
Yours faithfully
Geo. Combe.
II, 144:11 George Combe to John Chapman, Edinburgh, 2 March 1854
MS: Copy in Combe Letter Book, National Library of Scotland.
Edinburgh 2 March 1854 | 4 p.m.
John Chapman Esq.
My dear Sir
Your letter to me dated 1 March reached me after mine to you of this date was posted for our morning mail. Had it arrived sooner, it would have saved me writing, and your reading that letter. However, I do not regret that it has gone; because I wish you to know that when I make an engagement, I make every possible exertion to fulfil it; and that I expect corresponding treatment from others.
I send you the remaining sheets revised; and to-morrow I shall send the reduced proof to Miss Evans. Your proof to me was paid correctly; but if Dr. Browne's was not, the 1/- worth of stamps sent by you will pay his double postage. In no case, could it have paid both his and mine. I have written him on the subject.
The reasons why I wish my own publisher's names inserted was that it will save opening a new publishing account; that it will save us all trouble attending to advertising, sales, etc. for they do all that most attentively without my needing to prompt them; and lastly, it will save separate advertisements, for they will add it as a line or two to my other advertisements.
You may order 500 copies of the pamphlet to be thrown off and I wish a complete copy for my own use as soon as it is thrown off. -- The top line at present is a sheer waste of paper and type; but it would be expensive to alter it now, otherwise it might be withdrawn from the pamphlet. I shall send a table of contents, and also advertisements to go at the end of it. These and the title page may stand over, till the decision of Sir James Clark is known, unless the Title is already part of the first sheet, in which case it may go to press. I remain, My dear Sir
Yours sincerely
Geo. Combe.
Signature
Geo. Combe.
Citation
George Combe, George Combe to John Chapman, Edinburgh, 2 March 1854, Complete George Eliot Letters(2026), George Eliot Archive, edited by Beverley Park Rilett. https://GeorgeEliotArchive.org, Accessed September 7, 2026. https://georgeeliotarchive.org/items/show/94243