THE STRANGER.

"Therefore as a STRANGER, bid it welcome."

HAMLET.

No. 13.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 4, 1813.

VOL. I.

FOR THE STRANGER.

Messrs. WHITING & WATSON have challenged us in a manner we least expected, and on a subject, prudence should have induced them to pass in silence. They seem fearful of a reply, and wish to intimidate us by an awful parade of words without meaning and without application.* But justice to the public persuades us to an examination, of what they consider a defence, and which otherwise would have been unnoticed. They admit the propriety of some of our censures, and seem to think, this trifling acknowledgment, will hide their remaining errours. The ostrich of the desert, when pursued by the hunter, thrusts his head into a thicket or under the sand as a dernier resort, and imagines all is safe and concealed; his mistake, however, is soon discovered, and when these gentlemen attempt a similar practice, they must not be surprised should it prove unavailing. The manner in which they have taken up our piece, we say has surprised us. The charge of moral delinquency we had no intention of fixing on any individual of the trade; it was the licence which many publishers in this country, arrogate. It is truly un fortunate that we should have touched the sympathies of Messrs. Whiting and Watson, by hitting upon them as examples. They allow other men have taken liberties with the public, immoral in themselves, though sanctioned by custom. They abhor such evasions, forgetting they have confessed themselves guilty. In the 11th number of the Stranger they assert, they were not the

Any attempt at justification would be a repetition of the crime-It would be a want of candour; and both are a violation of truth, &c. &c. see the original, p. 174.

publishers of Clarke's Travels, while on the title page of the book, their names are inserted as such ;* and this circumstance they regret, not on the ground of its being a deception, but for the shameful manner in which the book is printed. If the nominal publishers of a work are not to be reprehended for its errours, on whom are our censures to light? We leave Clarke's Travels, as their observations on that subject are not a particular concern of ours; only noticing that a new edition is printed, and that the Chancellor has granted an injunction to Messrs. Whiting & Watson, to prevent its circulation. The reason for this decree of chancery we have not been able to learn.

Our remarks on the New Edinburgh Encyclopedia have received the greatest share of disapprobation. They commence with a disquisition on the etymology of the word edition, and after tracing the root through all its ramifications, arrive at the conclusion, that when standing alone, it never implies revisal. The term edition, they say, is taken from the Latin verb, “ Edo, which in its primitive sense means, to put forth-to utter." It is by no means a general rule, that derivatives retain the signification of their primitives. For instance; the expression Sycophant is derived from the Greek σvno, a fig, and Paiva, to show. "I know not,(says Dr. Johnson) whether ardour be used for material heat, or whether flagrant in English ever meant the same as burning, yet such are the primitive ideas of these words." These gentlemen, however, regard the opinions of the Doctor but little, for had they examined his dictionary, they would have found, that standing alone, the term edition signifies revisal and correction. This is not the ground we have taken, yet still our position stands firmly upon it. We said, that a new edition of a book, fairly implies republication, with revisal. The first thing that the printer does, when any work is to undergo a new impression, is to correct the errata that have been discovered in the copy to be printed from. And it is for this reason a second edition is always preferred to the first. It cannot, in the present case

"It is pretty generally known to the public that it (Clarke's Travels) was not printed under our direction nor for our account, but for account of the printer himself, Thos. C. Fay." p. 145. The word account, if the reader finds difficulty in understanding, may be omitted,

↑ See paper signed O. page 75. + Edinburgh Rev. vol, 15, p. 23e.

be said that the errours of the first impression were corrected in what is called the second; but how the gentlemen, with their love for correctness could overlook the very point of contention, we cannot determine. The adjective new, is entirely disregarded, and the whole attack, is on the substantive, edition. Some parts of their defence appear rather inconsistent, and in fact seem to admit what they are labouring to deny. "Our edition, (they say) is in all respects a second edition, for it is wholly independent of the first." "It will be published, beginning with the third volume, in all respects uniformly, as to paper, price and time of delivery, with the first edition, and will be struck off from the very same types, without addition or diminution." This sentence, it is said, may be found in the prospectus of the work. They will not permit us to say we have not seen it, although this is actually the case. After making diligent inquiry not only at the office of their agent, but at many other places, in town, we were unable to get a sight of it, and presumed that nothing of the kind had been printed. Neither is it a fact, as they assert, that every work of importance is accompanied by one; especially if the book is to be a copy, and not an original production. They state that the prospectus of a work constitutes the engagements of the publisher to the publick. Gentlemen, we are surprised at the freedom with which you touch upon this subject. Did you not, in your prospectus to Newton's works, engage to furnish the subscribers with all the writings of that author, in six volumes, at a certain price? And did you not, when the six volumes were published, issue a seventh, for which those who were pleased to take it, were obliged to pay an additional sum?* But to return to the Encyclopedia. Would it not have been more consistent with the character you profess, to have candidly acknowledged that the demand for the book, before the third volume appeared, exceeded the number printed, that the two first were to be republished, and that the quantity of the remaining volumes to be printed, would equal the number in both editions of the preceding? What advantage did you expect to derive from the appellation of a second edition, if the publick did not believe you offered them a revisal of the first? Your motives might have been hon

* The authority on which we have this fact cannot be doubted.

est, in point of truth, they were certainly unfortunate. "But, (in the language of the Edinburgh Reviewers, on a similar occasion) enough on a subject in itself disagreeable, and on which nothing but the necessity of repelling your violent attack could have induced us to enter. Knowing, as you did, how vulnerable you were, not only at the points to which our enquiry happened to be directed, but in all human probability, at many more, we cannot commend the prudence that ventured to provoke the present investigation; but must certainly admire the boldness, that in such circumstances, could request us." "If we had any proper sense of justice, and meant to respect its claims, we must be conscious that we owe you a full reparation for our injustice." With this request we have in, in some measure, complied, and willingly take leave of a subject which no consideration shall induce us to

resume.

O.

[The correspondent who noticed the editions of Clarke's Travels, in No. 3, of the Stranger, has handed us the following note for publication.] Editor.

The observations of Messrs. Whiting and Watson, on their editions of Clarke's Travels, call for the attention of every friend of literature. If "universal custom" sanctions such conduct in the business of bookselling, it must be confessed that the American press has early arrived at a most degraded state. But such may very possibly be the fact, for we have long since ascertained that the press and the superintendants of it, in this country, are unlicensed, and print, publish, interpolate, or withhold, whatever they think fit: nor is this confined to one individual or one place. A bookseller promises in his title page the publication of the maps accompanying the Travels of Humboldt; two years have elapsed, and the numerous purchasers of the work are yet to look for the Atlas. Another wishes to print a standard work, and in order to obtain the copy right, engages an editor to add notes sufficient to occupy a page of letter press; and a third issues an edition of" Kett's Elements of general Knowledge," and with unparalleled impudence substitutes a sentence approbating the works of Godwin, in place of one condemning them. When such acts are perpetrated, it is treachery to literature to be silent.

The reasons that induced a notice of Clarke's Travels have already been stated. They were intended as the commencement of strictures on the mutilation of republished works. With the clue of "universal custom," there may probably be no difficulty in finding excuses for every thing that has been mentioned. The liberty must, however be allowed, of making it on our part, an "universal custom," to expose such misconduct to the publick. ›

SPAFFORD's GAZETTEER,

OF THE STATE OF NEW-YORK.

After considerable delay, this long expected work has at last made its appearance, and we must congratulate the citizens of this state on a circumstance alike honourable to them and to the author. We rejoice at its publication, not only because the extent, population and respectability of this commonwealth required it, but also because we hope it will be the commencement of a series of similar productions. The individual merits of Mr. Spafford are evidenced in no equivocal manner. A mass of new information on manufactures and physical geography, is presented in a lucid manner, and every page of his work proves the anxiety which he has felt to render it correct. We certainly do not recollect any similar work, the first edition of which appeared in as perfect and unexceptionable a form as the one before us. Mr. Spafford comes before the pub lick in a manner that deserves its most liberal patronage. He has employed three years of his time, and expended seven thousand dollars, in preparing the Gazetteer. The industry displayed in its compilation; the general accuracy of its contents; and the increased intelligence afforded respecting the resources of the state, must be evident to all who are in the least acquainted with the subject matter. An author, with such claims on the community, will not, we trust, pass unrewarded.

With these commendations, which we feel are justly due, we must be permitted to observe, that there are some defects, which although they do not detract from the statistical merits of the work, yet are peculiarly offensive to the reader. We allude particularly to the style and language which Mr. Spafford uses