Page:A history of booksellers, the old and the new.djvu/112

82 82 THE LONGMAN FAM1L Y, Ephraim Chambers, which was not only the parent of all our English encyclopaedias, but also the direct cause of the famous Encyclopedic of the French philo- sophers. Longman's share in this work, first pub- lished in 1/28, cost but fifty pounds, and consisted, probably, only of one sixty-fourth portion ; as, how^ ever, the proprietors died off, Longman steadily pur- chased all the shares that were thrown on the book* market, until, in the year 1740, the Stationers' book assigns him eleven out of the sixty-four a larger number than was ever held by any other proprietor, One of the few direct allusions to Longman's per- sonal character relates to his kindness to Ephraim Chambers. A contemporary writes in the Gentle* inaiis Magazine : "Mr. Longman used him with the liberality of a prince, and the kindness of a father ; even his natural absence of mind was consulted, and during his illness jellies and other proper refreshments were industriously left for him at those places where it was least likely that he should avoid seeing them." Chambers had received ^"500 over and above the stipulated price for this great work, and towards the latter end of his life was never absolutely in want of money ; yet from forgetfulness, perhaps from custom, he was parsimonious in the extreme. A friend called one day at his chambers in Gray's Inn, and was pressed to stay dinner. "And what will you give me, Ephraim?" asked the guest; "I dare engage you have nothing for dinner !" To which Mr. Chambers calmly replied, " Yes, I have a fritter, and if you'll stay with me I'll have two." After the death of his partner and father-in-law, who bequeathed him all his books and property, Thomas Longman seems to have prospered amazingly.