EDITORIAL COLLOQUY. 519 



" So far I agree with you ; the House has been made the arena 

 for some curious displays of vulgar abuse on both sides. The whole 

 is in bad taste ; indeed, parliamentary eloquence is assuming a very 

 odd shape : witness the ex-chancellor's puff direct upon the ' Pennies 

 and the London Review.' " 



" Yes, we should think the ' Lords' must be now and then tired 

 with his lordship's forensic eloquence. There's no such thing as 

 * bowing a man out,' or saying, as the second Frederick was in the 

 habit of saying to his tiresome guests at Sans Souci, ' On me dit, 

 que vous allez me quitter : j'en suis desole. Vous partez done de- 

 main matin. H6 bien ! nous ferons nos adieux ce soir.' He is, 

 nevertheless, an extraordinary man, gifted highly, but with a craving 

 after notoriety, which now and then injures him in the estimation of 

 that class of men whose opinions are alone worthy a wise man's 

 cultivation." 



" It is curious to read the accounts given by different journalists 

 of the day of the motives and actions of public men ; and yet I fancy, 

 that wide as these are asunder, they are much more frequently 

 sincere than people imagine." 



" Not a doubt of it ! politics, though they warp men's opinions, 

 do not lessen their sincerity. With literature, in which equally 

 diverse views appear, the case is different, and it js lamentable to 

 see how utterly men forget occasionally every principle of honour 

 and honesty in the indulgence of private spleen, or to gratify the 

 malice of third parties." 



" What surprises me frequently is the little influence produced by 

 Reviewing upon the success of books ; for it would appear that many 

 works, which are most cruelly abused by the press, nevertheless sell 

 well; and that others, which have the 'go by ' given them, as they 

 call it, or are strenuously praised, never sell at all. How is this 

 accounted for?" 



" Easily ; the Trade, in the first instance, are book takers. The 

 reading public however judges for itself: let a book be kept fairly 

 before it, and if it has merit it will make its way. This holding it 

 up to attention is absolutely needful at the present day. With a 

 book of merit this is enough ; a certain number of copies are distri- 

 buted, and these act as so many centres of distribution ; they recom- 

 mend themselves, are taken up by the country press, and the work 

 sells. With a bad work the same means, in the first instance, have 



