Thus far all had gone on smoothly. But a little cloud, at first no
bigger than a man's hand, made its appearance, and it grew and grew
until it threw a dark shadow over the friendship of Constable and
Murray, and eventually led to their complete separation. This was the
system of persistent drawing of accommodation bills, renewals of bills,
and promissory notes. Constable began to draw heavily upon Murray in
April 1807, and the promissory notes went on accumulating until they
constituted a mighty mass of paper money. Murray's banker cautioned him
against the practice. But repeated expostulation was of no use against
the impetuous needs of Constable & Co. Only two months after the
transfer of the publication of the _Review_ to Mr. Murray, we find him
writing to "Dear Constable" as follows:

_John Murray to Mr. Archd. Constable_.

_October 1, 1807_.

"I should not have allowed myself time to write to you to-day, were not
the occasion very urgent. Your people have so often of late omitted to
give you timely notice of the day when my acceptances fell due, that I
have suffered an inconvenience too great for me to have expressed to
you, had it not occurred so often that it is impossible for me to
undergo the anxiety which it occasions. A bill of yours for £200 was due
yesterday, and I have been obliged to supply the means for paying it,
without any notice for preparation.... I beg of you to insist upon this
being regulated, as I am sure you must desire it to be, so that I may
receive the cash for your bills two days at least before they are due."

Mr. Murray then gives a list of debts of his own (including some of