nts had also to
be selected with care; a printing office had to be taken; all the
necessary plant and apparatus had to be provided, and a staff of men
brought together preliminary to the opening day.

The most important point in connection with the proposed journal was to
find the editor. Mr. Murray had been so ably assisted by Sir Walter
Scott in the projection of the _Quarterly Review_, that he resolved to
consult him on the subject; and this mission was undertaken by Benjamin
Disraeli, part proprietor of the intended daily journal, though he was
then only twenty years old. It was hoped that Mr. Lockhart, Sir Walter
Scott's son-in-law, might be induced to undertake the editorship. The
following are Mr. Disraeli's letters to Mr. Murray, giving an account of
the progress of his negotiations. It will be observed that he surrounds
the subject with a degree of mystery, through the names which he gives
to the gentlemen whom he interviewed. Thus the Chevalier is Sir Walter
Scott; M. is Mr. Lockhart; X. is Mr. Canning; O. is the political Puck
(could this be himself?); and Chronometer is Mr. Barrow.

On reaching Edinburgh, Mr. Disraeli wrote to Mr. Murray the following
account of his first journey across the Border:

_Mr. B. Disraeli to John Murray_.

ROYAL HOTEL, EDINBURGH. _September_ 21, 1825.

MY DEAR SIR,

I arrived in Edinburgh yesterday night at 11 o'clock. I slept at
Stamford, York, and Newcastle, and by so doing felt quite fresh at the
end of my journey. I never preconceived a place better than Edinburgh.
It is exactly what I fancied it, and certainly is the most beautiful
town in the world. You can scarcely call it a city; at least, it has
little of the roar of millions, and at this time is of course very
empty. I could not enter Scotland by the route you pointed out, and
therefore was unable to ascertain the fact of the Chevalier being at his
Castellum. I should in that case have gone by Carlisle. I called on the
gentleman to whom Wright [Footnote: A solicitor in London, and friend of
both parties, who had been consulted in the negotiations.] gave me a
letter this morning. He is at his country house; he will get a letter
from me this morning. You see, therefore, that I have lost little time.

I called at Oliver & Boyd's this morning, thinking that you might have
written. You had not, however. When you write to me, enclose to them, as
they will forward, wherever I may be, and my stay at an hotel is always
un