Fairfield always contended that Bulwer stole from him the plot of his "Last Days of Pompeii." The story as told by Mrs. Fairfield is as follows: "His great poem, 'The Last Night of Pompeii,' was finished in 1830, and soon after its publication my husband sent copies to England, to Bulwer. He also wrote him a very long letter, but never received either an acknowledgment of the poem or the letter. Bulwer's novel of a similar title appeared about two years afterward, and, it is only _justice to the poet_ to say, was in _every_ respect an entire and most flagrant plagiarism. The Argument, the Introduction of the Two Lovers, Converted Christians, Forebodings of the Destruction, The Picture of Pompeii in Ruins, The Forum of Pompeii, The Manners and Morals of Campania Portrayed, Diomede, the Praetor, The Night Storm, Vesuvius Threatening, Dialogue of the Christians--the scenes of the _whole plot_, even the names of characters, _were all taken from this most grand and sublime poem_" (Autobiography of Jane Fairfield, p. 90).
The _North American Quarterly Magazine_ ceased in 1838.
_Waldie's Select Circulating Library_, furnishing the best popular literature, price five dollars for fifty-two numbers, containing matter equal to fifty London duodecimo volumes; printed and published weekly by Adam Waldie, No. 6 North Eighth Street, Philadelphia. It was begun January 15, 1833, and was edited by John Jay Smith (1798-1881). Smith had been the editor of the _Saturday Bulletin_, 1830-32, _Littell's Museum_, _Walsh's National Gazette_ and the _Daily Express_. The magazine reprinted standard works and published original reviews and literary notes.
The _American Lancet_, edited by F. S. Beattie, began February 23, 1833, and was published fortnightly by Turner and Son.
The _Spy in Philadelphia and Spirit of the Age_, a weekly journal advocating purity in politics, censured the vices of the time for a few weeks after July 6, 1833.
The _Advocate of Science and Annals of Natural History_ was conducted by W. P. Gibbons, 1834-5.
The _Gentleman's Vade-Mecum, or the Sporting and Dramatic Companion_, January 1, 1835-June 25, 1836, contained original dramas and musical compositions, fast heats and pictures of celebrated racers. Charles Alexander, its publisher, sold it to Louis A. Godey, Joseph C. Neal and Morton McMichael, who made out of it the _Saturday News and Literary Gazette_, which began its course July 2, 1836, and ultimately became a part of the _Saturday Evening Post_. The editor of both publications was Joseph Clay Neal (1807-1847), who also edited the _Pennsylvanian_, a Democratic daily newspaper, from 1831 to 1844, succeeding James Gordon Bennett in the editorial chair. At the time of his death he owned the _Saturday Gazette_, which he and Morton McMichael had established. His "Charcoal Sketches" (Philadelphia, 1837), which Charles Dickens republished in London, were originally contributed to the _Pennsylvanian_ under the title, "City Worthies." His wife, Alice Bradley Haven (1828-1863), contributed, while a school-girl, several sketches under the name of Alice G. Lee to the _Saturday Gazette_. She was generally known as "Cousin Alice," and under this name assumed editorial charge of the _Gazette_ after her husband's death.
