Yours very gratefully and truly,

MARIA GRAHAM.

P.S.—­If Graham has a ship given him at the time, and at the station promised, I shall be obliged to visit London towards the end of March or the beginning of April.

Mr. Murray accepted and published the book.

Lord Byron’s works continued to be in great demand at home, and were soon pounced upon by the pirates in America and France.  The Americans were beyond Murray’s reach, but the French were, to a certain extent, in his power.  Galignani, the Paris publisher, wrote to Lord Byron, requesting the assignment to him of the right of publishing his poetry in France.  Byron replied that his poems belonged to Mr. Murray, and were his “property by purchase, right, and justice,” and referred Galignani to him, “washing his hands of the business altogether.”  M. Galignani then applied to Mr. Murray, who sent him the following answer: 

John Murray to M. Galignani.

January 16, 1821.

SIR,

I have received your letter requesting me to assign to you exclusively the right of printing Lord Byron’s works in France.  In answer I shall state what you do not seem to be aware of, that for the copyright of these works you are printing for nothing, I have given the author upwards of L10,000.  Lord Byron has sent me the assignment, regularly made, and dated April 20, 1818; and if you will send me L250 I will make it over to you.  I have just received a Tragedy by Lord Byron, for the copyright of which I have paid L1,050, and also three new cantos of “Don Juan,” for which I have paid L2,100.  What can you afford to give me for the exclusive right of printing them in France upon condition that you receive them before any other bookseller?  Your early reply will oblige.

Your obedient Servant,

J. MURRAY.

M. Galignani then informed Mr. Murray that a pirated edition of Lord Byron’s works had been issued by another publisher, and was being sold for 10 francs; and that, if he would assign him the new Tragedy and the new cantos of “Don Juan,” he would pay him L100, and be at the expense of the prosecution of the surreptitious publisher.  But nothing was said about the payment of L250 for the issue of Lord Byron’s previous work.

Towards the end of 1821 Mr. Murray received a letter from Messrs. Longman & Co., intimating, in a friendly way, “you will see in a day or two, in the newspapers, an advertisement of Mrs. Rundell’s improved edition of her ‘Cookery Book,’ which she has placed in our hands for publication.”  Now, the “Domestic Cookery,” as enlarged and improved by Mr. Murray, was practically a new work, and one of his best properties.  When he heard of Mrs. Rundell’s intention to bring out her Cookery Book through the Longmans, he consulted his legal adviser, Mr. Sharon Turner, who recommended that an injunction should at once be taken out to restrain the publication, and retained Mr. Littledale and Mr. Serjeant Copley for Mr. Murray.  The injunction was duly granted.