January 20, 1810.

“I have no particular anxiety about promulgating the folly (to say the least of it) of certain correspondents of yours in this quarter; but if you will ask our friend Mr. Miller if he had a letter from a shop nearly opposite the Royal Exchange the other day, he will, I dare say, tell you of the contents.  I am mistaken if their game is not well up!  Indeed I doubt much if they will survive the ‘Lady of the Lake.’  She will probably help to drown them!”

An arrangement had been made with the Ballantynes that, in consideration of their being the sole agents for Mr. Murray in Scotland, they should give him the opportunity of taking shares in any of their publications.  Instead, however, of offering a share of the “Lady of the Lake” to Mr. Murray, according to the understanding between the firms, the Ballantynes had already parted with one fourth share of the work to Mr. Miller, of Albemarle Street, London, whose business was afterwards purchased by Mr. Murray.  Mr. Murray’s letter to Ballantyne & Co. thus describes the arrangement: 

John Murray to Messrs. Ballantyne & Co.

March 26, 1810.

“Respecting my Review, you appear to forget that your engagement was that I should be your sole agent here, and that you were to publish nothing but what I was to have the offer of a share in.  Your deviation from this must have led me to conclude that you did not desire or expect to continue my agent any longer.  You cannot suppose that my estimation of Mr. Scott’s genius can have rendered me indifferent to my exclusion from a share in the ‘Lady of the Lake.’  I mention this as well to testify that I am not indifferent to this conduct in you as to point it out to you, that if you mean to withhold from me that portion which you command of the advantages of our connexion, you must surely mean to resign any that might arise from me.  The sole agency for my publications in Edinburgh is worth to any man who understands his business L300 a year; but this requires zealous activity and deference on one side, and great confidence on both, otherwise the connexion cannot be advantageous or satisfactory to either party.  For this number of the Review I have continued your name solely in it, and propose to make you as before sole publisher in Scotland; but as you have yourself adopted the plan of drawing upon me for the amount of each transaction, you will do me the favour to consider what quantity you will need, and upon your remitting to me a note at six months for the amount, I shall immediately ship the quantity for you.”

Mr. James Ballantyne to John Murray.

“Your agency hitherto has been productive of little or no advantage to us, and the fault has not lain with us.  We have persisted in offering you shares of everything begun by us, till we found the hopelessness of waiting any return; and in dividing Mr. Scott’s poem, we found it our duty to give what share we had to part with to those by whom we were chiefly benefited both as booksellers and printers.”