CHAPTER VII.
CONSTABLE AND BALLANTYNE During the year in which the _Quarterly_ was first given to the world, the alliance between Murray and the Ballantynes was close and intimate: their correspondence was not confined to business matters, but bears witness to warm personal friendship.
Murray was able to place much printing work in their hands, and amongst other books, "Mrs.Rundell's Cookery," a valuable property, which had now reached a very large circulation, was printed at the Canongate Press.
They exerted themselves to promote the sale of one another's publications and engaged in various joint works, such, for example, as Grahame's "British Georgics" and Scott's "English Minstrelsy." In the midst of all these transactions, however, there were not wanting symptoms of financial difficulties, which, as in a previous instance, were destined in time to cause a severance between Murray and his Edinburgh agents.

It was the old story--drawing bills for value _not_ received.

Murray seriously warned the Ballantynes of the risks they were running in trading beyond their capital.

James Ballantyne replied on March 30, 1809: _Mr.James Ballantyne to John Murray_.
"Suffer me to notice one part of your letter respecting which you will be happy to be put right.

We are by no means trading beyond our capital.
It requires no professional knowledge to enable us to avoid so fatal an error as that.