d his
professional employments been equal to his wishes. Towards the end of
1864 he informs Mr. Smith that he cannot continue to be a regular
contributor to the 'Cornhill Magazine.' He observes, however, that if
Mr. Smith carries out certain plans then in contemplation, he will be
happy to take the opportunity of writing upon matters of a more serious
kind. The reference is to the 'Pall Mall Gazette,' of which the first
number appeared on February 7, 1865, upon the opening day of the
parliamentary session. The 'Pall Mall Gazette' very soon took a place
among daily papers similar to that which had been occupied by the
'Saturday Review' in the weekly press. Many able writers were attached,
and especially the great 'Jacob Omnium' (Matthew James Higgins), who had
a superlative turn for 'occasional notes,' and 'W. R. G.' (William
Rathbone Greg), who was fond of arguing points from a rather
paradoxical point of view. 'I like refuting W. R. G.,' says Fitzjames,
though the 'refutations' were on both sides courteous and even
friendly.[96] Mr. Frederic Harrison was another antagonist, who always
fought in a chivalrous spirit, and on one occasion a controversy between
them upon the theory of strikes actually ends by a mutual acceptance of
each other's conclusions. A sharp encounter with 'Historicus' of the
'Times' shows that old Cambridge encounters had not produced agreement.
Fitzjames was one of the writers to whom Mr. Smith applied at an early
stage of the preparatory arrangements. Fitzjames's previous experience
of Mr. Smith's qualities as a publisher made him a very willing recruit,
and he did his best to enlist others in the same service. He began to
write in the second number of the paper, and before very long he took
the lion's share of the leading articles. The amount of work, indeed,
which he turned out in this capacity, simultaneously with professional
work and with some other literary occupations, was so great that these
years must, I take it, have been the most laborious in a life of
unflagging labour. I give below an account of the number of articles
contributed, which will tell the story more forcibly than any general
statement. A word or two of explanation will be enough.[97] The 'Pall
Mall' of those days consisted of a leading article (rarely of two)
often running to a much greater length than is now common; of
'occasional notes,' which were then a comparative novelty; of reviews,
and of a few miscellaneous article