_November 9th_.--There is a good deal of truth in what you say about not publishing a third edition if the second is sold off. People would probably attribute it to the wrong motive, and say I had been stopped in some way, or was afraid; and nobody gets any credit for disinterestedness. Fortunately the first edition was a very small one, for you could have sold 5,000 as easily as 2,500, and this has given a check to the sale, which I do not regret. If necessary, I suppose these editions must go on as long as there is a demand for the book. But the desire to get hold of new books is a short-lived passion, and is soon turned aside by some other novelty. I shall not wish to publish the book at all in a cheaper form, and I think it will require very little outlay in advertising. Reeve would, however, have been more than human if the continued success of the book had not greatly modified his views, and reconciled him to the steady sale; and some months later he wrote again:-- _January 25th_, 1875.--The general impression seems to be that Hayward's article is a fiasco. It has done me no harm, and his clients have no reason to thank him. The fourth edition of Greville will contain a good many improvements and corrections, and will be the best edition to keep. I believe they are printing 1,000. I wish they had made it 1,500, for this multiplication of editions is troublesome, and I have no doubt that 1,500 will ultimately be sold. The book has struck root below the stratum of the circulating libraries. _April 15th_, 1875.--Nothing seems to be wanting to the indirect advertisement of Greville's Journals, though the usual advertisements were by my desire restricted. I do not recollect another instance of a book being made the subject of a hostile motion in the House of Commons. CHAPTER XIX FOXHOLES