However, to make a long story short, a month later--that is, at the
end of November--'Lynwood's Heritage' was published in three volumes
with maroon cloth and gilt lettering. Derrick had distributed among
his friends the publishers' announcement of the day of publication;
and when it was out I besieged the libraries for it, always
expressing surprise if I did not find it in their lists. Then began
the time of reviews. As I had expected, they were extremely
favourable, with the exception of the Herald, the Stroller, and the
Hour, which made it rather hot for him, the latter in particular
pitching into his views and assuring its readers that the book was
'dangerous,' and its author a believer in--various thing especially
repugnant to Derrick, at it happened.
I was with him when he read these reviews. Over the cleverness of
the satirical attack in the Weekly Herald he laughed heartily,
though the laugh was against himself; and as to the critic who wrote
in the Stroller it was apparent to all who knew 'Lynwood' that he
had not read much of the book; but over this review in the Hour he
was genuinely angry--it hurt him personally, and, as it afterwards
turned out, played no small part in the story of his life.
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