Volume 1 - Electric Scotland

58 WILLIAM BLACKWOOD.
edition : these profits to be ascertained by deducting the paper
and printing from the proceeds of the book sold at sale price
the publishers to be at the whole of the expense of advertising.
2. The property of the book to be the publishers', who were to
print such editions as they chose. 3. The only condition upon
which the author would agree to these terms is, that the pub-
lisher should take £600 of John Ballantyne's stock selected
from the list annexed, deducting 25 per cent from the affixed
sale prices. 4. If these terms are agreed to, the stock to the
above amount to be immediately delivered, and a bill granted
at twelve months. 5. That in the course of six or eight weeks
J. B. expected to be able to put into my hands the first two
volumes printed, and that if, on perusal, we did not like the
bargain, we should be at liberty to give it up. This he con-
sidered to be most unlikely ; but if it should be the case, he
would bind himself to repay or re-deliver the bill on the books
being returned. 6. That the edition, consisting of 2000 copies,
should be printed and ready for delivery by the 1st October
next.
I have thus stated to you as nearly as I can the substance of
what passed. I tried in various ways to learn something with
regard to the author, but he was quite impenetrable. My own
impression now is that it must be Walter Scott, for no one else
would think of burdening us with such trash as John B.'s
wretched stock. This is such a burden that I am puzzled not a
little. I endeavoured every way I could to get him to propose
other terms, but he told me these could not be departed from in
a single part ; and the other works had been taken on the same
conditions, and he knew they would be greedily accepted again
in the same quarter. After giving it my consideration and
making some calculations, I confess I feel inclined to hazard
the speculation ; but still I feel doubtful until I hear what you
think of it.
That this curious offer of a mysterious work without
name or author known, however strongly and justly
divined, and weighted by a preliminary tax of £600,
for the unsaleable books of John Ballantyne's "wretched
stock," should yet have been, notwithstanding their
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