[Manchester—Saturday, 9 September 1865]
Sep 9. Jamie had occasion to go to Prof. Ticknor’s house today and while there the Professor told him he should be happy to allow him to have his portrait of Sir Walter Scott by Leslie, photographed if we desired it—of course it is a great privilege and it will be done immediately. Sir Walter was pleased with Mr Ticknor when he visited him, a young man and consented to his desire for a portrait. Therefore in 1815 Leslie painted this for him and Mrs Lockhart preferred it to all the other likenesses of her father, when finished and greatly desired that it should not leave the country. Leslie at length concluded to make a copy of it, in miniature and this copy is still in England in one of the fine collections there.
Mr Fields has had a singular experience lately with Dr Hedge whose book on Reason and Religion appeared this summer, and John Weiss who wrote a Review of the volume for the “Atlantic.” When the book was nearly ready J. said to Dr Hedge—“I wish to have your book well reviewed in our magazine and just as I was about asking Whipple to do it Weiss came in to ask if he might be allowed to send a notice he was writing of it, so I accepted his offer as it came first and I thought it doubtful if Whipple would find time.” “I am rather sorry” Hedge answered, I should prefer a little to have had Whipple’s, however I don’t doubt that Weiss’s will be very good.” “Well” said J. “you can drop in here and see the proof after it comes in and if there is anything very offensive it can be omitted.”
The affair rested here for two months when the magazine appeared. In the meantime Dr Hedge did not come to see the article but J. read it and found it rather long and by no means very essential or remarkable consequently when in making up the matter something must be left out. J. gave his proof-reader (Dr Nichols) leave to cut Mr Weiss’s article if he could without injury and he met W. in the street and told him he was sorry to have been obliged to cut his article but time and space were lacking to do otherwise. The result is that Mr Weiss has been truly angered, out of himself with rage, not when J. met him for then he took the announcement curtly, but when the paper appeared.
This would have been easy to bear but Dr Hedge wrote a note to Mr Weiss telling him that J. offered to let him cut the article as he might wish, in this manner repeating a private conversation in the most unjustifiable way. It was not only untrue as he repeated it, but it is unmanly to do such things and as the three men are each of noble instincts and endeavor I am sure it will end well.
This is only one instance given to show it is no easy matter to edit a magazine. Weiss says “Fields is a coward.” Hedge says “better have let it stand as it was, or throw it aside” talking as the English did about the South advising us to “Let her alone” when let alone was impossible, and “returning as tedious as go o’er.” However all is sure to right itself in the end with such grand sturdy ships.
Jamie amused us yesterday by telling us of a young law student who brought some verses to be criticised by R. H. Dana Jr. by which he hoped to obtain the hand of a young lady—they ended
“Time writes no wrinkles on thy silver brow
Such as creation’s dawn beheld thou shinest now”!!
and when Mr D. asked him if those lines did not suggest something else to his mind he said “to be sure Byron had written something that sounded like them but the sense was entirely different.”
