Page:Notes by the Way.djvu/354

 284 NOTES BY THE WAY.

Nicholas That most successful publisher Nicholas Trubner was in 1858

Triibner. in business in Paternoster Row, moving later to Ludgate Hill. He died suddenly on the 30th of March, 1884, leaving a large fortune, the result of his own indomitable exertions. He was one of the most energetic men in the Row, and in summer, in his suit of white or brown holland, he formed a complete contrast to his brother publishers, clothed in their usual sombre colours. Among frequent visitors to his establishment was Prince Louis Lucien Bonaparte, who sought his aid in obtaining works helpful to his studies in local dialects, and who, although much taller, bore a strong likeness to the great Napoleon. His grandson Prince Roland pursues the same studies, and still purchases books from the firm.

Among many notable figures to be seen in the Row in 1858 was Alexander Herzen, the Russian exile. He was an exceed- ingly handsome man, and was then editing the Kolokol (The Bell), published by Trubner. This journal advocated the emancipation of the serfs, and it was generally supposed that the Tsar favoured its publication. In order to escape the vigilance of the Russian Custom House officers, the numbers sent to Russia would be packed in barrels, wheat being placed both at the top and bottom of each, with the numbers in between.

The firm of Trubner & Co. was started in 1851, Mr. David Nutt being the " Co." They took No. 60, Paternoster Row, the old Sunday School Union House. Under Triibner's energetic management the business soon became a flourishing one. At first he chiefly turned his attention to the American trade, and in 1855 he brought out the first edition of his ' Bibliographical Guide to American Literature,' which in four years he expanded to five times its original size. I still possess the copy he gave to my father. His real love, however, was bestowed on Oriental literature. The languages of the East had a particular fascination for him. He studied Sanskrit and Hebrew, and seized the earliest opportunity of founding a great Oriental publishing trade. He established Trubner's American and Oriental Literary Record, to be followed by his " Oriental Series." A proof of his sympathy with meta- physical speculation was his " Philosophical Library." His industry was marvellous ; he seemed never at rest, and the wonder is that, with his intense nervousness and excitability, he should have lived to the age of sixty -seven. One of the kindest and most sympathetic of men, he was ever ready to rejoice in the successes of his friends. It is strange that no memoir of him has been written, for he was associated with a very large circle of the literary men of his time, notably Sir Edwin Arnold. I am indebted to Mr. Josiah Child for much information respecting Trubner. Mr. Child is now one of the oldest members (possibly the oldest) in the book trade ; he was

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