216 



KIDD'S LONDON JOURNAL. 



TO CORRESPONDENTS. 



To ael whom it mat Concern. — Anonymous writers are> 

 at heart and by practice, the very worst of assassins* 

 Their doings are all in the dark— shunning the light. 

 No man need hesitate, under any circumstances, ! to 

 attach his name to an honest, straightforward docu- 

 ment. In us, such characters shall find no advocates. 

 "We denounce them as the very scum of society. They 

 would unhesitatingly rob you, if your back were turned ; 

 and as remorselessly stab you while you slept. 



To Country Booksellers, Liverpool, &c, &c. Your 

 anonymous favors continue to arrive; and we keep 

 them as so many proofs of the justice of the remarks 

 that have been wrung from us from time to time in this 

 Journal. "VVe never act on the offensive, but have a 

 right to defend ourselves from injury. The collection 

 of k< autographs " with which you are furnishing us, 

 afford lamentable evidence of your ignorance and evil 

 dispositions ; and we should indeed be sorry to reply 

 in the same strain. 



A. "W. Parry. — Next week. 



G. C. G.— Your request shall be complied with. Having 

 sent us no address, you must wait patiently. It is 

 your own fault. 



R. T — -m.-~ Read our Journal of to-day carefully ; you 

 will therein find what you require. 



E. T.— Our space is so circumscribed, that "Fugitive 

 Poetry " can only be admissible under very peculiar 

 circumstances. We are already overwhelmed with 

 similar "kind offerings." This "reply" will suffice 

 for all the writers. Their favors have merit, and 

 would be readily available in a Monthly Magazine. 



New Subscribers, and Casual Readers, are referred to 

 the Leading Article in our First Number for the 

 detailed objects of this Journal : to these Ave shall 

 rigidly adhere. 



Private Letters.— Of these we daily receive such 

 immense quantities, that we must really beg the 

 writers to excuse our not replying to them. Our time 

 is more profitably occupied. All vacancies, as they are 

 called, are filled up. Let this general answer suffice. 



Correspondents sendingin any " facts" connected with 

 Science or Natural History, are requested in every 

 case to append their names and places of abode. In no 

 instance, however, will their names be published with- 

 out their express sanction. 



Notice to Subscribers and Others.— It having been 

 deemed expedient, to meet the views of the Trade, that 

 this Journal should always be published by anticipa- 

 tion, Contributors and others will be so kind as to 

 bear in mind that they must give us an extra " week's 

 grace," and ivait patiently till their favors appear. 



All persons who may send in MSS., but which may not 

 be " accepted," are requested to preserve copies of 

 them, as the Editor cannot hold himself responsible 

 for their return. 



To obtain this Paper without any difficulty, our readers 

 need only order it to be sent to them by any of their 

 local Booksellers or Newsvendors. It is published 

 simultaneously with all the other weekly periodicals. 



KIDD'S OWN JOURNAL. 

 Saturday, April 3, 1852. 



We essayed a short time since, a brief 

 article on an " Editor's Letter Box ; " and 

 recorded some few of the miseries attendant 

 upon the first appearance of a New Perio- 

 dical. Every offspring of the brain that 

 presents itself to an aspirant after fame, 

 is sure to be dropped into this said " Lion's 

 Mouth ; " and many, doubtless, are the hopes 

 and fears consequent upon the expectancy of 

 the Editor's fiat. 



We have passed through the ordeal of 



this heavy infliction ; and we imagine our 

 eye must have wandered over the contents 

 of many reams of Paper, now made light of 

 for the benefit of our study fire. It is a 

 matter for rejoicing, that we have extin- 

 guished this ardor juventutis, — this youthful 

 frenzy. It was becoming a nuisance. 



The contents of our Letter Box are now 

 highly prized. We have three distinct places 

 for the reception of Letters ; and at each we 

 find, daily, very many Communications that 

 gladden our heart. No longer beset by the 

 buzzing, giddy insects that fluttered around 

 our candle, all tending by their wild flight 

 to obscure our steady vision — we now find 

 ourselves addressed by the good, the great, 

 the noble,' — all zealous in promoting our best 

 interests, all anxious to congratulate us on 

 our progress, and all desirous of cultivating 

 our better acquaintance. Our efforts to please 

 have been appreciated ; our thoughts are in 

 unison with those of our kind patrons ; and 

 the cause we advocate gives universal 

 satisfaction. This, we repeat, is truly grati- 

 fying to our feelings. Our readers are our 

 friends. 



We have stated in a former Number that 

 our presence is sacred ; and that by the aid of 

 our " mysterious cloak " (see page 104), we 

 are as invisible to sight as we are impalpable 

 to the touch. This is strictly true as regards 

 our person when " on duty." But our invi- 

 tations to all parts of the country are so 

 numerous, that we feel it right to say we 

 shall not always be "on duty." Gratitude 

 alone would forbid this, seeing that our 

 Company is so anxiously courted " from Dan 

 to Beersheba." Our pen can travel with us ; 

 and the wings of the post can speedily 

 convey our thoughts homeward to the man 

 of types. 



All these remarks however are prospec- 

 tive. Much remains to be clone before we 

 can feel " free." The seed we have sown 

 is not yet harrowed in. Much of it has been 

 rendered of non-effect by individuals of whom 

 we are sick of speaking ; and much of the 

 same ground has to be gone over again. The 

 existence of our Journal must be made yet 

 more extensively known, before it can be 

 reckoned healthy. This will require time, 

 indomitable energy, and, what is harder to 

 find — money. The latter however, simple 

 as the assertion may appear, might at once 

 be rendered quite needless, if every one of 

 our present weekly subscribers would pro- 

 cure us only TWO other weekly subscribers 

 in addition ! When we assure our readers 

 of this fact, it is tantamount to asking their 

 aid in this difficulty. We do not deny it. 



We have done wonders thus far, and shall 

 do many more ; for we shall never rest till 

 we are found in every corner of the civilised 

 world. So far as regards our pen — we shall 



