576 Edward Livingston Youmans. 



common with publications of every kind. I desired, there- 

 fore, that the Appletons should bring it out in a respectable 

 shape and at a moderate price, that the book might be had 

 at any time in a form suitable for preservation. 



I protest that these considerations were not vitiated by 

 any covetous desire or purpose whatever. Mr. Harrison 

 says it is a case of " piracy " ; but, so far as this involves 

 the taking of his property without compensation, there was 

 no thought of it. In his opening letter he virtually accused 

 Mr. Spencer of collusion in the piracy of his articles, from 

 a sordid intention. Judged by this extraordinary letter, 

 Mr. Harrison's religion of humanity consists chiefly in im- 

 puting vile motives to his fellow-men. He said, " May I 

 ask if it is proposed to hand you the profits of a book of 

 which I am (in part) the author, or are these to be retained 

 by your American publishers and friend?" Evidently the 

 pecuniary consideration was uppermost in his own mind. 

 But he had here gone too far. Everybody recognized the 

 outrage. The reader will note the striking difference in 

 tone, amounting to a collapse, between his first and his 

 second letters. He withdrew the offensive insinuation so 

 far as Mr. Spencer was concerned, saying, " I know too 

 well his great generosity in money matters to suppose that 

 any question of profit crossed his mind." But he knew this 

 no better when he wrote his second letter than when he 

 wrote the first. He sent Mr. Spencer a private note asking 

 explanations about the book, and this Mr. Spencer an- 

 swered, but said nothing respecting the copyright ; this 

 did not enter his mind, probably for the reason that the 

 house which issued it had published his books for twenty- 

 five years, paying him regularly on all of them from the 

 first, and he had no care about it, knowing that the equita- 

 ble thing would of course be done to all concerned. But 

 the inadvertence gave Harrison his opportunity. 



But while Mr. Harrison exonerates Mr. Spencer from 



