LITERARY AND DOMESTIC LIFE. 291 



" The funeral scene is certainly good, natural, and true, and as 

 part of a tale, I have no doubt it will be effective. Standing by it- 

 self it does not strike me as one of your best things (many of which 

 are most beautiful and most lively), and I should wish to have in 

 Janus one that i"at least like better. 



" I had in my possession, some time ago, a MS. volume of yours 

 containing several prose tales, one of which,* about a minister, a 

 bachelor, I think, or widower, loving or being made to love his 

 housekeeper, or somebody else, I thought admirable. Another tale, 

 too, there was, of a lively character that I liked much, but I forget 

 its name.f I generally forget, or at least retain an indistinct re- 

 membrance of what gives me most pleasure. Had I that volume I 

 would select a tale from it for Janus. The worst of Janus is, that 

 a page holds so little in comparison with a magazine page, that even 

 a short story takes up necessarily great room. 



"Should the volume prove an annual, I hope you will contribute. 



" This is not a confidential communication. Mr. Lockhart and I 

 have no objections to be spoken of as friends and contributors to 

 Janus, but, on the contrary, wish to be. But let all contributors 

 keep their own counsel. I am, my dear sir, yours with much re- 

 gard, John Wilson." 



On her way to Edinburgh from Elleray, my mother was taken 

 alarmingly ill, and was for some time in a very precarious state. 

 This, combined with the labors of the opening University session, 

 left little leisure for literary work ; MS. for Janus was therefore in 

 great demand, and proof-sheets had to be revised after the class 

 hour in the Professor's " retiring-room." Some contributions had 

 also been expected from Mr. De Quincey, which, however, did not 

 make their appearance. The work at last came out in the form of 

 a very finely-printed small octavo volume of 542 pages, which was 

 sold at the price of 12s. There were no embellishments beyond a 

 vignette representation of the two-faced god, and no names were 

 given on the title-page or in the table of contents. The preface an- 

 nounces that the volume is intended to be the first of a series, to be 

 published annually early in November. It never went, however, 

 beyond its first number, not having received encouragement enough 



* Tins appeared in the volume under the title, "Saturday Night in the Manse." 

 t Probably " Dauiel Cathie, tobacconist." 



