A Journey to London in 1840. 171 



I had almost forgotten to mention that previous to his 

 leaving Edinburgh, Mr M'Culloch had published Principles of 

 Political Economy, a second edition of which much enlarged 

 and improved appeared in 1830. For this work Mr William 

 Tait paid him £500. He also, while in Edinburgh, super- 

 intended an edition of the Wealth of Nations, to which he 

 contributed a life of the author, an introductory discourse, notes, 

 and supplemental dissertations. For this he got from Mr Adam 

 Black a similar sum of £500. A new impression of this work, 

 compressed into one \olume, yet with many improvements and 

 additions, appeared in 1828. Mr M'Culloch mentioned to me 

 that he thought he had made this work perfect, and on this- 

 account and as it was stereotyped he ne\'er intended to alter a 

 single word of it. 



Before he had retired from his Profes.sorship he had com- 

 menced that great work, A Dictionary of Commerce and Com- 

 mercial Navigation, which is, perhaps, the most wonderful 

 work of the kind ever produced by one man. He says in the 

 preface to the first edition, 1833, " The author has been almost 

 incessantly engaged on it for upwards of nine years, and he mav 

 be said to have spent the previous part of his life in preparing 

 for the undertaking." In a note to the preface printed in the 

 third edition of 1837 he says, " The preparation of this new 

 edition has cost nearly two years of additional labour. ' ' For this, 

 work he got one thousand guineas, and as he published annually 

 a supplement in order to keep the book up to the existing time, 

 and as he often substitutes new articles for old ones in the body 

 of the work, he derives from it no inconsiderable sum annually — - 

 about £250, I believe, judging from a hint given me by himself. 



His Statistical Account of the British Empire, in two 

 volumes, appeared in 1837, and was published by Charles 

 Knight & Co. \Yhat sum he got for the copyright of this work 

 I have never been told, but I should think about as much as 

 for the Dictionary. The book has been since reprinted. 



He is now engaged in the publication of a Universal 

 Gazetteer, assisted by various contributors, a work of which 

 four numbers have already appeared. It will have no parallel 

 in the department to which it belongs. It embraces every merit, 

 being minute, ample, accurate, learnefl, and contains information 

 never given in anv other similar publication. It is altogether 



