442 Letters of Dr. Johnson.
and I would stop at a sufficient number of Subscribers. What is added being, in my opinion, rather deficient in dignity.
The success of your subscription I do not doubt, and wish you were closely engaged at the press. Two sheets of Saxon letters will not be sufficient, there ought always to be one sheet printing, another in your hands for correction, and a third composing. There ought to be more, but this is the least, and if at Oxford they will not do this, you must not print at Oxford ; for your Edition will be retarded beyond measure. They must get four sheets of letter at least, which will cost very little, there being few peculiar characters.
Stipulate with the printer to give you a certain number of sheets weekly, you ought not to have less than three, and you will not easily have more.
Miss Williams sends her best compliments to you and to Mrs. Calvert, and begs that you will return her thanks to Mrs. Percy for her letter, in the contents of which she takes great interest.
The Hare will come safe if it be directed to,
Sir, Your most humble Servant,
Johnson's Court, Fleet-street, SAM: JOHNSON.
Sept. 26, 1765. To the Reverend Mr. Lye,
at Yardley, near Castle Ashby, Northamptonshire.
~ To [WILLIAM STRAHAN P 1 ].
I will tell you in a few words, what is, in my opinion, the most desirable state of Copyright or literary Property 2 .
1 From the original in the posses- son gave his correspondent his
sion of Mr. R. B. Adam of Buffalo. opinion on copyright Strahan con-
I have two reasons for the belief suited Hume and Robertson on the
that this letter was written to W. same question. Their answers, with
Strahan. In the first place, at the letters of other authors, were used
time when it was sold by auction by counsel before the House of
(July, 1886) a large collection of Lords on May 13. Letters of Hume
letters written to Strahan was getting to Strahan, pp. 274, 278, 284. dispersed. In the second place, in 2 Hume wrote to Strahan : ' I
the spring of the year in which John- have writ you an ostensible Letter
The
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