ing a
little time; but, at the end of the business, as it is generally with
every speculator, who attempts to enrich himself with the tears of his
neighbor, he will, at last, find himself grasping at the wind. It is a
rule of nature: where one does not sustain the other, the whole must give
way. Murray in making a fortune to Byron made still a greater fortune for
himself. When Voltaire saw that the blind direct interest of publishers,
and booksellers created discord, and misunderstanding, he kept printers in
his own house for his own books; and these were sold under his own
direction. Would it not be more agreeable, and more profitable to a
publisher who, after having paid the just remuneration for the manuscript
to its author, who lucubrated with a moral work, in order to sustain his
family, would it not be more profitable, I say, to the publisher, were he
printing such a work with leisure, which would do honor to his profession?
Would it not be more satisfactory to him in thinking that he may go to
sleep quietly, without fearing any republication of his own work? Besides,
we have rather too many new works: and the printing goes so fast now, that
we cannot read all, which comes out daily. It is better to read a few
pages with discrimination, and attention, than a whole library in a
steamboat. And the less we will read, if we judge by ourselves, the more
profitable it will be to us.

There is another kind of soft reasoners, who, finding that the british
living writers are, by far, superior in number to the americans, they wish
to appropriate the mind's property of that nation on the other side of the
Atlantic. Thus, like pirates, as far as we can steal through like sea, we
must spare neither force, nor cunning, in order to appropriate what does
not belong to us!--Not only with like sentiments we will never prosper; I
am afraid we are bringing down the glorious work of this country's
fathers, unless we give to Peter, what does belong to Peter: and the
morals I am here preaching, it is not a matter of tariff. You may pay the
duty of imported printed books as much as you please. The morals which I
am speaking of, it is to prevent the printer, or the bookseller, from
stealing the manuscript's right of the author, be this british, or
american. I am here preaching from preventing the mischief of placing the
american writers in the some jeopardy as the british writers are,
respecting the american publishers. Do you not know tha