Volume 1 - Electric Scotland

160 WILLIAM BLACKWOOD.
Messrs Baldwin & Cradock, held on for some time,
despite all these vagaries, though they irritated and
vexed him ; but his irritation, as well as that of the
victims, was chiefly directed against Blackwood, of
whom he heard many jealous murmurs on the part
of *' the Trade," and whom he reproaches on one occa-
sion as being trusted by none of his brother book-
sellers. To this letter Blackwood made a spirited
reply. "You have been misinformed on some points,
and perhaps unjust on others," he says. The letter
is dated 28th April 1818 :—
W. Blackwood to John Murray.
In the first place, I must tell you that you labour under a
grievous mistake in supposing that I have excited the hostility
of my brethren. The quarter you must have got such intelligence
from might have led you to suspect its truth. Had you
ever given me the smallest hint on the subject, I could have
told you that on the contrary the real men of business and those
worth caring for are as well disposed towards me as ever, and
indeed well pleased to see me a counterpoise to Constable. You
know well enough his implacable hatred of me, and his rage at
seeing your review and all your books flourishing so much, and
of course so many of them sold by me for you. It is not, there-
fore, to be wondered at that my Magazine was a new source of
vexation to him. Unfortunately for me, at the time, the Chaldee
MS. gave him and his partisans something on which to ground
their attacks. They, however, carried them so far that in a very
short time the public saw through the selfish object; and I gained
much more than I lost by it, as my friends rallied round me, and
many came forward who were formerly unknown to me. As a
specimen of the way they attacked me personally and some of
my friends, I send you some of the scurrilous pamphlets. These
tracts, though not published by Constable, were printed at his
expense, and industriously circulated. I never thought of tak-
ing any notice of them, nor did I ever complain of their conduct.
It is not my province to vindicate everything that has been