" [2]
Lamb's puns, as far as I recollect, were not frequent; and, except in the
case of a pun, it is difficult to divest a good saying of the facts
surrounding it without impoverishing the saying itself. Lamb's humor is
generally imbedded in the surrounding sense, and cannot often be
disentangled without injury.
I have said that the proprietorship of the "London Magazine," in the year
1821, became vested in Messrs. Taylor and Hessey, under whom it became a
social centre for the meeting of many literary men. The publication,
however, seems to have interfered with the ordinary calling of the
booksellers; and the sale was not therefore (I suppose) sufficiently
important to remunerate them for the disturbance of their general trade.
At all events, it was sold to Mr. Henry Southern, the editor of "The
Retrospective Review," at the expiration of 1825, after having been in
existence during five entire years. In Mr. Southern's hands, under a
different system of management, it speedily ceased.
In 1826 (January) Charles Lamb suffered great grief from the loss of a
very old friend, Mr. Norris. It may be remembered that he was one of the
two persons who went to comfort Lamb when his mother so suddenly died.
Pages:
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184