Early History of Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine

II Genesis

We are told that William Blackwood grew impatient of “humdrum bookselling”, and considering the spirited character of the man, it is easy to believe. That hardly explains the whole truth concerning the origin of “Maga”, however. The history of Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine might almost be considered the history of the struggle between two rival booksellers, Mr. Constable and William Blackwood. The personality of the man William Blackwood is no less interesting than the personality of his magazine, and indeed, his was the spirit which colored the periodical from start to finish. His energy and acumen were of the sort which leave their mark on all they touch. To know William Blackwood means to see his vigorous, unwearying figure through and behind every page. Lockhart knew him as well as any, and it is his able portraiture that follows: “He is a nimble active-looking man of middle-age, and moves about from one corner to another with great alacrity, and apparently under the influence of high animal spirits. His complexion is very sanguineous, but nothing can be more intelligent, keen and sagacious than the expression of the whole physiognomy, above all, the grey eyes and eyebrows as full of locomotion as those of Catalini. The remarks he makes are in general extremely acute.... The shrewdness and decision of the man can, however, stand in need of no testimony beyond what his own conduct has afforded—above all, in the establishment of his Magazine,—(the conception of which I am convinced was entirely his own), and the subsequent energy with which he has supported it through every variety of good and evil fortune.”18 Lockhart was in a position to know the true character of the man, for these words were written two years after his own first connection with William Blackwood and his periodical. Again, he describes the publisher as “a man of strong talents, and though without anything that could be called learning, of very respectable information, ... acute, earnest, eminently zealous in whatever he put his hand to; upright, honest, sincere and courageous”.19 This was William Blackwood, and it is small wonder such a man should grow weary of “humdrum bookselling”.

18 J. G. Lockhart: Peter’s Letters, V. ii, p. 188

19 A. Lang: Life and Letters of John Gibson Lockhart, V. i, p. 121

Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine was the result of more stringent stimuli, however, than the restlessness of its founder. It was necessary that the sentiments of those opposed to Jeffrey and the Edinburgh Review should have a medium of expression. Blackwood considered the Quarterly “too ponderous, too sober, dignified and middle-aged”20 to frustrate the influence of the Edinburgh. It was not stimulating, in other words, and the present day agrees with him. His ideal was a magazine “more nimble, more frequent, more familiar”. But not least among the many stirrings of mind and brain which gave rise to “Maga” was Blackwood’s disappointment over the loss of the Waverley series. The honesty and courage of the man need no other evidence than the fact that he criticised “The Black Dwarf” and even suggested a different ending. Scott, of course, would have none of his meddling, and transferred his future dealings to Constable, publisher of the despised Edinburgh Review, and the Scots Magazine, which was at that moment more or less insignificant. It is evident that Blackwood did not take pains to seek out any specious circumlocution in his criticism, and the idea that any man should criticise the Great Wizard of the North brings a catch to the breath and a tingling down one’s spinal column!

20 Mrs. Oliphant: Annals of a Publishing House, V. i, p. 97

There is no doubt that the politics, the conceit, the unappreciative and at times irreligious tone of the Edinburgh Review were the main reasons for the bitter hatred of the Blackwood writers; but there is less doubt that thus to lose the Waverley series was a last incendiary straw to William Blackwood. He immediately set about putting in action the plans which had been smouldering so long.

In April 1817 appeared the first number of Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine. There seems to be a general understanding among bibliographers that the first numbers were known as the “Edinburgh Monthly Magazine”. According to the old volumes themselves, however, only the second number, the issue for May 1817, went by this title, the initial number and all the rest bearing the heading, Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine.21 Messrs. Pringle and Cleghorn were the first joint editors, it was probably through James Hogg, known to us as the Ettrick Shepherd, that Blackwood first met these two men. If either of them could boast any literary pretensions, it was the younger, Thomas Pringle. He was from Hogg’s country, and Blackwood thought he divined in him the making of just such another “rustic genius” as Hogg. Cleghorn, former editor of the Farmers’ Magazine, was evidently a stick! It is difficult to conceive how William Blackwood, with his gift of insight, could give over the conduct of his pet plans into the hands of such a pair. But if he made a mistake, he soon made amends. Of the business arrangements between Blackwood and the two editors little of definite nature is known, except that the three were to be co-partners. Blackwood sustained the expense of publishing and printing; Pringle and Cleghorn supplied the material;—and the profits were to be divided! The editors expected £50 apiece per month, which seems unusual, considering that the circulation never exceeded 2500. It looks suspiciously probable that the early numbers were maintained at real financial loss to the publisher. There is no mention of paying contributors till later years. Very likely at that time writers were still above remuneration! The Edinburgh Review had done much to remedy this attitude, but a complete cure was not effected for some years to come.

21 See Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, V. i

The Prospectus of the infant journal is interesting. It was to be “A Repository of whatever may be supposed to be most interesting to general readers”.22 One strong point was to be an antiquarian repository; too, it was to criticise articles in other periodicals; it was to contain a “Register” of domestic and foreign events. Among other aims, one was entertainment. It was to be a miscellany of the original works of authors and poets; and what endears it to modern hearts above all things else, it was to be an open door for struggling young writers. By virtue of the anonymous nature of its contributions, this was made possible with no lessening of authority. The signatures in the early numbers were intended to be perplexing, and perplexing they remain to this day. But probably struggling young writers met with less encouragement at the hands of Pringle and Cleghorn than was William Blackwood’s original intention. Those two never went out of the way to drum up new material, while William Blackwood was a man alert and ever on the watch for another Walter Scott.

22 Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, V. i, p. 2

Several numbers passed along peacefully enough. As Mr. Lang puts it, “Nothing could be more blameless”. That was the trouble—it was too blameless! Blackwood might have forgiven a flagrant crime, but this negative and inoffensive monthly fell with a dull thud in comparison with his mounting expectations! He knew, none better, that a periodical of any appreciable merit must necessarily bring upon itself as much genuine censure as applause. Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine for April 1817 brought neither. The great day came for the first issue, evening followed, and Edinburgh went to bed unmoved. With his overwhelming desire and ambition to rival the Edinburgh Review and electrify Edinburgh city with a stimulating diet, it is not likely that he would observe with much composure the advent of this cherished scheme of his into the world, containing for its first long article23 six pages of “Memoirs of the Late Francis Horner, Esq., M. P.”, one of Jeffrey’s own right hand men!—or in finding in the department of “Periodical Works”,24 a statistical and more or less pleasant rehashment of the contents of the last Reviews. Francis Horner had ever been one of the mainstays of the Edinburgh; and though it was altogether fitting and proper that the death of an illustrious statesman should be commemorated, it is not likely that William Blackwood welcomed as the first article in the first number of his new magazine, a wholly unmitigated extolling of one whose past influence he hoped to erase. Though the publisher’s generous mind would be the last to begrudge him the due honor of such phrases as “highly gifted individual”, “eminent statesman”, and the like, it cannot be imagined that he rejoiced over the words “original and enlightened views”, “correct and elegant taste”, when it was his ardent purpose to prove the Edinburgh and its builders the opposite of enlightened, and the embodiment of poor taste and incompetent judgment!

23 Ibid., V. i, p. 3

24 Ibid., V. i, p. 81

This same first number contains seven pages of discourse on “The Sculpture of the Greeks”25, and the relation of Greek art to the environment in which it grew up,—all very learned and interesting, to be sure. There is a brief article on the “Present State of the City of Venice”26, condensed and unromantic enough to grace a Travellers’ Guide. If Messrs. Pringle and Cleghorn had been anyone else but Messrs. Pringle and Cleghorn, they might have indulged the public with a thrill or two on such a subject as the city of Venice; but never a thrill do we get from cover to cover! The article which follows is “on the Constitution and Moral Effects of Banks for the Savings of Industry”27; and there are others of similar tone: “Observations on the Culture of the Sugar Cane in the United States”28, “The Craniological Controversy”29, “The Proposed Establishment of a Foundling Hospital in Edinburgh”30, and the like. One short article, “An Account of the American Steam Frigate”31, is still of genuine interest, attributing the conception of the invention to a “most ingenious and enterprising citizen”, Robert Fulton, Esq. It describes with naive emphasis the successful trip “to the ocean, eastward of Sandy Hook, and back again, a distance of fifty-three miles, in eight hours and twenty minutes. A part of this time she had the tide against her, and had no assistance whatever from the sails.”32 It is known that the signature Zeta was used in the early numbers, by more than one person; but “Remarks on Greek Tragedy”33, a criticism of Aeschylus’ Prometheus, signed Zeta, Mr. Lang attributes without hesitation to Lockhart. “Tales and Anecdotes of Pastoral Life”34 and “Notices Concerning the Scottish Gypsies”35 were also among the “Original Communications”, as the first division of the magazine was called. The former is perhaps the one attempt in the whole number at that sprightly nimble manner which was Blackwood’s aim. The second is a long article of some sixteen pages, delving back into the early history of the Egyptian pilgrims, quoting copiously from “Guy Mannering”, and referring familiarly to Walter Scott, and Mr. Fairburn and James Hogg. Both of these articles were continued in several subsequent numbers.

25 Ibid., V. i, p. 9

26 Ibid., V. i, p. 16

27 Ibid., V. i, p. 17

28 Ibid., V. i, p. 25

29 Ibid., V. i, p. 35

30 Ibid., V. i, p. 38

31 Ibid., V. i, p. 30

32 Ibid., V. i, p. 32

33 Ibid., V. i, p. 39

34 Ibid., V. i, p. 22

35 Ibid., V. i, p. 43

In another department of the contents, entitled “Select Extracts”, there are two articles: an “Account of Colonel Beaufoy’s Journey to the Summit of Mount Blanc”36 and the “Account of the Remarkable Case of Margaret Lyall, Who continued in a State of Sleep nearly Six Weeks”37, both very readable, which is a good deal when all is said. The Antiquarian Reportory contained six articles as antiquated as one could wish, all the way from a “Grant of the Lands of Kyrkenes by Macbeth, son of Finlach”38 to a “Mock Poem upon the Expedition of the Highland Host”39. The Original Poetry department contained three poems, none of them startling. The third one, the shortest, is by far the best, bearing the title “Verses”40. They were written in honor of the entry of the Allies into Paris, 1814; and bear the unmistakable brand and seal of James Hogg, with his ardent song for “Auld Scotland!—land o’ hearts the wale!” ...

“Land hae I bragged o’ thine an’ thee,
Even when thy back was at the wa’;
An’ thou my proudest sang sall be,
As lang as I hae breath to draw.”

36 Ibid., V. i, p. 59

37 Ibid., V. i, p. 61

38 Ibid., V. i, p. 65

39 Ibid., V. i, p. 69

40 Ibid., V. i, p. 72

Next comes the “Review of New Publications”, devoting three pages to Dr. Thomas Chalmers’ “Discourses on the Christian Revelation”41, concluding with the words: “If a few great and original minds, like that of Dr. Chalmers, should arise to advocate the cause of Christianity, it would no longer be the fashion to exalt the triumphs of reason and of science.”42 The other reviews were of “Harold, the Dauntless; a Poem. By the Author of ‘The Bridal of Triermain’”43, of “Armota, a Fragment”44, and “Stories for Children, selected from the History of England”45. Of what came under the heading, Periodical Works, we have already spoken. Then followed “Literary and Scientific Intelligence”46, notices of works preparing for publication in Edinburgh and London, and the monthly list of new publications in the same two cities. There is a page of French books, published since January 1817. After that the Monthly Register of foreign intelligence, proceedings of Parliament, the British Chronicle, commercial and agricultural reports for the month, a meteorological table, and two pages of births, marriages and deaths, complete the number for April 1817.

41 Ibid., V. i, p. 73

42 Ibid., V. i, p. 75

43 Ibid., V. i, p. 76

44 Ibid., V. i, p. 78

45 Ibid., V. i, p. 79

46 Ibid., V. i, P. 85

Mr. Lang was right when he called it “blameless”; and it is not surprising that Blackwood made some suggestions in regard to the second number. We know that his suggestions were not cordially received by Messrs. Pringle and Cleghorn, and it appears equally probable that they were not acted upon. The second issue, May 1817, is no more resilient and has gained no more momentum than its predecessor. The contents are cast in the same mould: an “Account of Mr. Ruthven’s Printing Press”47, another on the “Method of Engraving on Stone”48, and “Anecdotes of Antiquaries”49, and the like.

47 Ibid., V. i, p. 125

48 Ibid., V. i, p. 128

49 Ibid., V. i, p. 136

If Blackwood was disappointed over the first number, he was irritated at the second; but when a third of no more vital aspect appeared, his patience gave way, and Pringle and Cleghorn had to go! It is easy to imagine that the man who did not hesitate to criticise the “Black Dwarf” would not be overawed by the two mild gentlemen in charge of his pet scheme. William Blackwood’s ideal had indeed been to startle the world with a periodical which in modern terms we would call a “live wire”. And now with the magazine actually under way, it is not likely that a man of his stamp would sit by unperturbed, and watch one insignificant number after another greet an unresponsive public. After the appearance of the third number, he gave three months’ notice to Messrs. Pringle and Cleghorn, which somewhat excited those gentlemen, but was none the less final. They had done all they could to evade Blackwood’s “interest in the literary part of his business”, and intended to keep the publisher “in his place”. William Blackwood was not made that way, however.

He himself illuminates the situation in a letter to his London agents, Baldwin, Craddock and Company, dated July 23, 181750.

50 Mrs. Oliphant: Annals of a Publishing House, V. i, p. 104

“I am sorry to inform you that I have been obliged to resolve upon stopping the Magazine with No. 6. I have been much disappointed in my editors, who have done little in the way of writing or procuring contributions. Ever since the work began I have had myself almost the whole burden of procuring contributions, which by great exertions I got from my own friends, while at the same time I had it not in my power to pay for them, as by our agreement the editors were to furnish me with the whole of the material, for which and their editorial labors they were to receive half of the profits of the work. I found this would never do, and that the work would soon sink, as I could not permit my friends (who have in fact made the work what it is) to go on in this way for any length of time.... I gave a notice, according to our agreement, that the work would close at the period specified in it—three months. Instead, however, of Pringle acting in the friendly way he professed, he joined Cleghorn, and without giving any explanation, they concluded a bargain with Constable and Company, by which I understand they take charge of their (Constable’s) ‘Scot’s Magazine’ as soon as mine stops.”

“It is not of the least consequence to me losing them, as they were quite unfit for what they undertook.... I have, however, made an arrangement with a gentleman of first-rate talents by which I will begin a new work of very superior kind. I mention this to you, however, in the strictest confidence, as I am not at liberty yet to say anything more particularly about it.... My editors have very dishonestly made it known to a number of people that we stop at the sixth number. This will interfere a little with our sale here, but I hope not with you.”

The editors wrangled at great length, but Blackwood’s mind was made up, and as we see by the foregoing letter, already launching new plans and busy with them. A letter to Pringle and Cleghorn, gives us the first hint of John Wilson’s connection with the magazine (other than mere contributor), and shows the tone of finality with which Blackwood could treat what was to him a settled subject:

“As you have now an interest directly opposite to mine, I hope you will not think it unreasonable that I should be made acquainted with the materials which you intend for this number. It occurs to me it would save all unpleasant discussion if you were inclined to send the different articles to Mr. John Wilson, who has all along taken so deep an interest in the magazine. I do not wish to offer my opinion with regard to the fitness or unfitness of any article, but I should expect that you would be inclined to listen to anything which Mr. Wilson might suggest. He had promised me the following articles: Account of Marlowe’s Edward II, Argument in the Case of the Dumb Woman lately before the Court, Vindication of Wordsworth, Reviews of Lament of Tasso, Poetical Epistles and Spencer’s Tour. His furnishing these or even other articles will, however, depend upon the articles you have got and intend to insert.”

“I beg to assure you that it is my most anxious wish to have the whole business settled speedily and as amicably as possible.”51

51 Ibid., V. i, p. 106

Here exit the prologue; and the real show begins with Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine for October 1817. To attract attention was Blackwood’s first aim; interest once aroused, he did not worry over maintaining it. Of that he felt assured. Respectability, mediocrity were taboo! By respectability is inferred that prudent, cautious, dead-alive respectability whose backbone (such as it has) is fear of public censure!

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