Henry D. Thoreau 25
From the tenor of this I infer that Thoreau had written to say that he
might wish to read his "Thomas Carlyle" as a lecture, and desired to
stipulate for that before it was printed. He might be excused for some
solicitude concerning payment, from his recent experience with the
publishers of the "Boston Miscellany," which had printed, in 1843, his
"Walk to Wachusett." At the very time when Thoreau, in New York, was
making Greeley's acquaintance, Mr. Emerson, in Boston, was dunning the
Miscellaneous publishers, and wrote to Thoreau (July 20, 1843):--
"When I called on ----, their partner, in their absence,
informed me that they could not pay you, at present, any
part of their debt on account of the Boston 'Miscellany.'
After much talking all the promise he could offer was,
'that within a year it would probably be paid,'--a
probability which certainly looks very slender. The very
worst thing he said was the proposition that you should
take your payment in the form of Boston Miscellanies! I
shall not fail to refresh their memory at intervals."
But I cannot learn that anything came of it. Mr. Greeley, as we shall
see, was a more successful collector. On the 26th of October, 1846, he
continued the adventures of the wandering essay as follows:--
"MY FRIEND THOREAU,--I know you think it odd that you have
not heard further, and, perhaps blame my negligence or
engrossing cares, but, if so, without good reason. I have
to-day received a letter from Griswold, in Philadelphia,
who says: 'The article by Thoreau on Carlyle is in type,
and will be paid for liberally.' 'Liberally' is quoted
as an __EXPRESSION__ of Graham's. I know well the difference
between a publisher's and an author's idea of what _is_
'liberally'; but I give you the best I can get as the
result of three letters to Philadelphia on this subject.
"Success to you, my friend! Remind Mr. and Mrs. Emerson of
my existence, and my lively remembrance of their various
kindnesses.
"Yours, very busy in our political contest,
"HORACE GREELEY."
It would seem that "Griswold" (who was Rufus W. Griswold, the
biographer of Poe) and "Graham" (who was George R. Graham, the
magazine publisher of Philadelphia), did not move so fast either in
publication or in payment as they had led Mr. Greeley to expect;
and also that Thoreau became impatient and wrote to his friend that
he would withdraw the essay. Whereupon Mr. Greeley, under date of
February 5, 1847, wrote thus:--
"MY DEAR THOREAU,--Although your letter only came to hand
to-day, I attended to its subject yesterday, when I was in
Philadelphia, on my way home from Washington. Your article
is this moment in type, and will appear about the 20th
inst., _as the leading article_ in 'Graham's Magazine' for
next month. Now don't object to this, nor be unreasonably
sensitive at the delay. It is immensely more important to
you that the article should appear thus (that is, if you
have any literary aspirations) than it is that you should
make a few dollars by issuing it in some other way. As to
lecturing, you have been at perfect liberty to deliver it
as a lecture a hundred times, if you had chosen,--the more
the better. It is really a good thing, and I will see that
Graham pays you fairly for it. But its appearance there is
worth far more to you than money. I know there has been
too much delay, and have done my best to obviate it. But I
could not. A magazine that pays, and which it is desirable
to be known as a contributor to, is always crowded with
articles, and has to postpone some for others of even less
merit. I do this myself with good things that I am not
required to pay for.
"Thoreau, do not think hard of Graham. Do not try to stop
the publication of your article. It is best as it is. But
just sit down and write a like article about Emerson,
which I will give you $25 for, if you cannot do better
with it; then one about Hawthorne at your leisure, etc.,
etc. I will pay you the money for each of these articles
on delivery, publish them when and how I please, leaving
to you the copyright expressly. In a year or two, if you
take care not to write faster than you think, you will have
the material of a volume worth publishing,--and then we
will see what can be done. There is a text somewhere in St.
Paul--my scriptural reading is getting rusty,--which says,
'Look not back to the things which are behind, but rather
to those which are before,' etc. Commending this to your
thoughtful appreciation, I am, yours, etc.
"HORACE GREELEY."
The Carlyle essay did appear in two numbers of "Graham's Magazine"
(March and April, 1847), but alas, no payment came to hand. After
waiting a year longer, Thoreau wrote to Greeley again (March 31,
1848), informing him of the delinquency of Griswold and Graham. At
once, his friend replied (April 3), "It saddens and surprises me to
know that your article was not paid for by Graham; and, since my honor
is involved in the matter, I will see that you _are_ paid, and that at
no distant day." Accordingly on the 17th of May, 1848, he writes again
as follows:--
"DEAR FRIEND THOREAU,--I trust you have not thought me
neglectful or dilatory with regard to your business. I have
done my very best, throughout, and it is only to-day that
I have been able to lay my hand on the money due you from
Graham. I have been to see him in Philadelphia, but did not
catch him in his business office; then I have been here to
meet him, and been referred to his brother, etc. I finally
found the two numbers of the work in which your article
was published (not easy, I assure you, for he has them not,
nor his brother, and I hunted them up, and bought one of
them at a very out-of-the-way place), and with these I made
out a regular bill for the contribution; drew a draft on
G. R. Graham for the amount, gave it to his brother here
for collection, and to-day received the money. Now you see
how to get pay yourself, another time; I have pioneered
the way, and you can follow it easily yourself. There has
been no intentional injustice on Graham's part; but he is
overwhelmed with business, has too many irons in the fire,
and we did not go at him the right way. Had you drawn a
draft on him, at first, and given it to the Concord Bank to
send in for collection, you would have received your money
long since. Enough of this. I have made Graham pay you
$75, but I only send you $50, for, having got so much for
Carlyle, I am ashamed to take your 'Maine Woods' for $25."
This last allusion is to a new phase of the queer patronage which the
good Mæcenas extended to our Concord poet. In his letter of March 31,
1848, Thoreau had offered Greeley, in compliance with his suggestion
of the previous year, a paper on "Ktaadn and the Maine Woods," which
afterwards appeared in the "Union Magazine." On the 17th of April
Greeley writes:--
"I inclose you $25 for your article on Maine Scenery, as
promised. I know it is worth more, though I have not yet
found time to read it; but I have tried once to sell it
without success. It is rather long for my columns, and too
fine for the million; but I consider it a cheap bargain,
and shall print it myself, if I do not dispose of it
to better advantage. You will not, of course, consider
yourself under any sort of obligation to me, for my offer
was in the way of business, and I have got more than the
worth of my money."
On the 17th of May he adds:--
"I have expectations of procuring it a place in a new
magazine of high character that will pay. I don't expect
to get as much for it as for Carlyle, but I hope to get
$50. If you are satisfied to take the $25 for your 'Maine
Woods,' say so, and I will send on the money; but I don't
want to seem a Jew, buying your articles at half price to
speculate upon. If you choose to let it go that way, it
shall be so; but I would sooner do my best for you, and
send you the money."
On the 28th of October, 1848, he writes:
"I break a silence of some duration to inform you that I
hope on Monday to receive payment for your glorious account
of 'Ktaadn and the Maine Woods,' which I bought of you at
a Jew's bargain, and sold to the 'Union Magazine.' I am to
get $75 for it, and, as I don't choose to _exploiter_ you
at such a rate, I shall insist on inclosing you $25 more in
this letter, which will still leave me $25 to pay various
charges and labors I have incurred in selling your articles
and getting paid for them,--the latter by far the more
difficult portion of the business."
In the letter of April 17, 1848, Mr. Greeley had further said:--
"If you will write me two or three articles in the
course of the summer, I think I can dispose of them for
your benefit. But write not more than half as long as
your article just sent me, for that is too long for the
magazines. If that were in two, it would be far more
valuable. What about your book (the 'Week')? Is anything
going on about it now? Why did not Emerson try it in
England? I think the Howitts could get it favorably before
the British public. If you can suggest any way wherein I
can put it forward, do not hesitate, but command me."
In the letter of May 17th, he reiterates the advice to be brief:--
"Thoreau, if you will only write one or two articles, when
in the spirit, about half the length of this, I can sell it
readily and advantageously. The length of your papers is
the only impediment to their appreciation by the magazines.
Give me one or two shorter, and I will try to coin them
speedily."
May 25th he returns to the charge, when sending the last twenty-five
dollars for the "Maine Woods":--
"Write me something shorter when the spirit moves (never
write a line otherwise, for the hack writer is a slavish
beast, _I_ know), and I will sell it for you soon. I want
one shorter article from your pen that will be quoted, as
these long articles cannot be, and let the public know
something of your way of thinking and seeing. It will do
good. What do you think of following out your thought in an
essay on 'The Literary Life?' You need not make a personal
allusion, but I know you can write an article worth reading
on that theme, when you are in the vein."
After a six months' interval (November 19, 1848), Greeley resumes in a similar strain:
댓글 없음:
댓글 쓰기