252 THE ESTABLISHMENT OF [1802. 



There was himself, ready to write any number of 

 articles, and to edit the whole ; there was Jeffrey, 

 facile princeps in all kinds of literature ; there was 

 myself, full of mathematics, and everything relating 

 to colonies ; there was Horner for political economy, 

 Murray for general subjects ; besides, might we not, 

 from our great and never - to - be - doubted success, 

 fairly hope to receive help from such leviathans as 

 Playfair, Dugald Stewart, Eobison, Thomas Brown, 

 Thomson, and others ? All this was irresistible, 

 and Jeffrey could not deny that he had already been 

 the author of many important papers in existing 

 periodicals. 



The Review was thus fairly begun ; yet Jeffrey's 

 inconceivable timidity not only retarded the publica- 

 tion of the first number (which, although projected in 

 March, was not published till October), but he kept 

 prophesying failure in the most disheartening way, 

 and seemed only anxious to be freed from the engage- 

 ment he and the rest of us had entered into with 

 Constable to guarantee him four numbers as an ex- 

 periment. Various other minor obstacles (such as 

 Horner's absence in London and Allen's in Paris) 

 arose which for a time almost threatened the aban- 

 donment of the undertaking; but at length a sufficient 

 number of articles were prepared to be revised by 

 Smith, and the first number came out early in October 

 1802. 



The success was far beyond any of our expectations. 

 It was so great that Jeffrey was utterly dumfounded, 



