practical man, as they called him.
Since his fortune was rapidly melting away, he had to look to his works
as an ultimate resource: they eventually became his only means of
livelihood. One might suppose that he would be anxious to put his
publishing business on the most secure and satisfactory footing; to
facilitate sale, and to ensure profit. But he had views. He objected to
advertising; though he thought that in his St. George's Scheme he would
have a yearly Book Gazette drawn up by responsible authorities,
indicating the best works. He distrusted the system of _unacknowledged_
profits and percentages, though he fully agreed that the retailer should
be paid for his work, and wished, in an ideal state, to see the
shopkeeper a salaried official. He disliked the bad print and paper of
the cheap literature of that day, and knew that people valued more
highly what they did not get so easily. He had changed his mind with
regard to one or two things--religion and glaciers chiefly--about which
he had written at length in earlier works.

So he withdrew his most popular books--"Modern Painters" and the
rest--from circulation, though he was persuaded by the publisher to
reprint "Modern Painters" and "Stones of Venice" once more--"positively
for the last time," as they said the plates would give no more good
impressions. He had his later writings printed in a rather expensive
style; at first through Smith & Elder, after two years by Messrs. Watson
& Hazell (later Hazell, Watson & Viney, Ltd.), and the method of
publication is illustrated in the history of "Sesame and Lilies," the
first volume of these "collected works." It was issued by Smith &
Elder, May, 1871, at 7s., to the trade only, leaving the retailer to fix
the price to the public. In September, 1872, the work was also supplied
by Mr. George Allen, and the price raised to 9s.6d., (carriage paid)
to trade and public alike, with the idea that an extra shilling, or
nearly ten per cent., might be added by the bookseller for his trouble
in ordering the work. If he did not add the commission, that was his own
affair; though with postage of order and payment, when only one or two
copies at a time were asked for, this did not leave much margin. So it
was doubled, by the simple expedient of doubling the price!--or, to be
accurate, raising it to 18s. (carriage paid) for 20s. over the counter.
It was freely prophesied by business men that this would not do:
however, at the end of f