Page:The Story of the House of Cassell (book).djvu/115

 to the partners, and they abandoned the scheme. Sir John Robinson, of the Daily News, was called in as arbitrator between author and publisher, and awarded McCarthy a considerable sum in compensation.

It was a bad mistake, as the subsequent history of McCarthy's immensely successful book demonstrated only too clearly. There is this to be said for Jeffery, that his time was much less tolerant of unfashionable views than ours. Charles Reade once agreed under contract to write a story for Cassell's Magazine. He sent in a tale entitled "A Terrible Temptation," at which some delicate noses in Scotland sniffed, with the result that for a considerable time the House lost an important account with a certain firm. Thus the censorship worked in those days. Though Jeffery made one or two mistakes of this sort, he did much valuable work, and ended his connexion with the firm as one of the partners. After the formation of the company in 1883 he became auditor. As head of the counting-house he was succeeded by his lieutenant, the late W. J. Woods, who carried through the conversion of the business into a limited liability company, and was afterwards appointed secretary.

Another notable figure in the earlier history of the House was John Hamer, a Yorkshireman, who at one time owned a bookselling business in Leeds, but joined the staff of Cassell's in the 'sixties. He was publishing manager from 1867 till 1900. An alert and vivacious man, abounding in ideas, he did a great deal to promote the success of the firm's enterprise. He particularly interested himself in Cassell's National Library, and he was responsible for the nomination of Sir (then Mr.) Malcolm Morris as general medical editor. He had heard Sir Malcolm address a medical meeting and immediately saw that the speaker had the sound judgment combined with fertility of ideas that a medical editor needed, and took the steps which resulted in the appointment. Mr. Meredith, who was for some years Mr. Hamer's assistant, gives us an attractive picture of him in the prime of life. "Short in