Letter from Wilkie Collins to Sampson Low Esq
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line 1: 12 Harley Street
line 2: November 10th 1860
line 3:
line 4: My dear Sir,
line 5: After carefully considering
line 6: your proposal, I have come
line 7: to the conclusion that I shall do
line 8: best if I abstain from availing
line 9: myself of it. In the first place,
line 10: I am unwilling to part Hide And
line 11: Seek, and The Queen of Hearts from
line 12: the other books. In the second
line 13: place, although £300 may be
line 14: enough for five years' interest
line 15: in The Woman in White, and
line 16: The Dead Secret, if
line 17: I die tomorrow, or fail with
line 18: my next book – it is not more
line 19: than half enough, if I live for
line 20: the next five years and write
line 21: (in that time) two, or
line 22: three, more successful stories.
line 23: I do not presume to say that
line 24: it is your interest to speculate
line 25: on the future – but I feel Page 2
line 1: sure that it is mine. I am not
line 2: more than seven and thirty
line 3: next birthday – I don't want money
line 4: - I have got the public ear,
line 5: plenty of time, and the stimulant
line 6: of a real success to give me
line 7: confidence in my work to come
line 8: - barring accidents, there is no
line 9: earthly reason why I should
line 10: not be worth double what
line 11: I am worth now, between this
line 12: and 1865 – and I will run
line 13: the risk. We will wait
line 14: as "Mr Micawber" says – and
line 15: "see what turns up."
line 16: Very truly yours
line 17: Wilkie Collins
line 18: Sampson Low EsqPage 3
line 1: P.S. I enclose the proof of The Preface
line 2: corrected, and Ward & Lock's title page
line 3: and preface, also corrected – in case
line 4: you reprint them