ionate
Jane Carlyle

XXX. Carlyle to Emerson

Chelsea, London, 15 November, 1835

Dear Emerson,--Hardly above a week ago, I wrote you in immediate
answer to some friendly inquiries produced by negligence of mine:
the Letter is probably tumbling on the salt waves at this hour,
in the belly of the "Great Western"; or perhaps it may be still
on firm land waiting, in which case this will go along with it.
I had written before out of Scotland a Letter of mere
acknowledgment and postponement; you must have received that
before now, I imagine. Our small piece of business is now become
articulate, and I will despatch it in a paragraph. Pity my
stupidity that I did not put the thing on this footing long ago!
It never struck me till the other day that though no copy of our
_Miscellanies_ would turn up for inspection here, and no
Bookseller would bargain for a thing unseen, I myself might
bargain, and leave their hesitations resting on their own
basis. In fine, I have rejected all their schemes of printing
_Miscellaneous Works_ here, printing _Sketches of German
Literature,_ or printing anything whatever on the "half-profits
system," which is like toilsomely scattering seed into the sea:
and I settled yesterday with Fraser to give him the American
sheets, and let them sell _themselves,_ on clear principles, or
remain unsold if they like. I find it infinitely the best plan,
and to all appearance the profitablest as to money that could
have been devised for me.

What you have to do therefore is to get Two Hundred and Fifty
copies (_in sheets_) of the whole Four Volumes, so soon as the
second two are printed, and have them, with the proper title-
page, sent off hither to Fraser's address; the sooner the
better. The American title-page, instead of "Boston," &c. at the
bottom, will require to bear, in three lines "London: / James
Fraser, 215 Regent Street, / 1839." Fraser is anxious that you
should not spell him with a z; your man can look on the Magazine
and beware. I suppose also you should print _labels_ for the
backs of the four volumes, to be used by the _half_-binder; they
do the books in that way here now: but if it occasion any
difficulty, never mind this; it was not spoken of to Fraser, and
is my own conjecture merely; the thing can be managed in various
other ways. Two Hundred and Fifty copies, then, of the entire
book: there is nothing else to be attended to that you do not
unde