The price
by the year will be L2 2s."] and he set up in print a specimen copy.
Many of his correspondents offered to assist him, amongst others Mr. J.
Macculloch, Lord Sheffield, Dr. Polidori, then settled at St. Peter's,
Norwich, Mr. Bulmer of the British Museum, and many other contributors.
He sent copies of the specimen number to Mr. Croker and received the
following candid reply:
_Mr. Croker to John Murray_.
_January_ 11, 1818.
MY DEAR MURRAY,
Our friend Sepping [Footnote: A naval surveyor.] says, "Nothing is
stronger than its weakest part," and this is as true in book-making as
in shipbuilding. I am sorry to say your _Register_ has, in my opinion, a
great many weak parts. It is for nobody's use; it is too popular and
trivial for the learned, and too abstruse and plodding for the
multitude. The preface is not English, nor yet Scotch or Irish. It must
have been written by Lady Morgan. In the body of the volume, there is
not _one_ new nor curious article, unless it be Lady Hood's "Tiger
Hunt." In your Mechanics there is a miserable want of information, and
in your Statistics there is a sad superabundance of American hyperbole
and dulness mixed together, like the mud and gunpowder which, when a
boy, I used to mix together to make a fizz.
Pages:
408
409
410
411
412
413
414
415
416
417
418
419
420
421
422
423
424
425
426
427
428
429
430
431
432