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This piece begins 'Hard by the village of P—-, on the fertile banks of the meandering river N—-, in a country but recently known, there lived a worthy little man, who had industriously applied himself to his business.' In the course of the story the devil visits 'the worthy proprietor as a subject to be equalized with Job of old ... [and] extorted the rents accruing, which he constantly carried away in a canvass bag.' Eventually the 'devil became tired of persecuting the excellent little man ...[and] absented himself, carrying with him one thousand pounds which the proprietor had accumulated.' The worthy ... [proprietor] ...rejoiced even at this infernal robbery. The devil had gone! ... [The devil] had found that the second Job was one of God's own children, and that his persecutions were vain.'
The character of the devil is described as: 'He always held a large box in his hand, which he occasionally opened and applied to his nose, catching the grains that escaped on his huge protuberant lip, and then re-beat the pavement, shaking his grey tail. He wore a little fur, hellish-looking, dark brown cap, which he sometimes removed, and wiped his forehead with a fire-red kerchief.'
The story ends with the sentence: 'The above, forwarded to Tommy Toast, by Miss Stenbow, for the Australian Magazine [signed] Tommy Toast. Castlereagh 10th February, 1838.'
This story resulted in a libel action taken by Jacob Josephson, who thought himself described as the devil. The action came to trial in Sydney in March 1839.
Notes
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Epigraph: "And Satan answered the Lord and said, "skin for skin; yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life.";
'And the Lord said unto Satan, "behold he is in thine hands now, but save his life.'"
Job, 2nd chapter, 4th and 6th verses
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Editor's note: [Let the usurer peruse the above, and behold how degraded he is in the estimation of mankind.]-Editor. The note appears at the end of the piece.
The story includes two footnotes:
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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Mr Josephson
1838
single work
column
— Appears in: Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser , 29 September vol. 36 no. 4077 1838; (p. 2)The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser apologies to Jacob (Joseph) Josephson for inserting correspondence defamatory to Josephson in the Sydney Gazette of the 6 March 1838. The defamatory correspondence referred to a short story 'The Devil and the Man of Worth' published in the March 1838 issue of the Australian Magazine.
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Libel Cases
1838
single work
column
— Appears in: Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser , 8 May vol. 36 no. 4015 1838; (p. 2)A report on libel actions listed in the Supreme Court, civil side, for July 1838. The actions involve Sydney newspapers and their editors and mainly stem from an article 'The Devil and the Man of Worth' published in the Australian Magazine, 1(3) March 1838. The list includes E. D. O'Reilly v. Edward Smith Hall of the Monitor; Edward Smith Hall v. James McEachern, the editor of the Colonist; Abraham Cohen of the Australian v. Jacob Josephson 'as the writer of a letter bearing defendant's signature, inserted in the [Sydney] Gazette' ; Jacob Josephson v. 'Messrs. Fulton and Purcell, as the writer of an article, inserted in the 3rd number of The Australian Magazine, headed "The Devil and the Man of Worth"'; Jacob Josephson v. George Cavenagh, the editor of the Sydney Gazette, 'for the publication of a letter, signed "A Subscriber" referring to the article "The Devil and the Man of Worth"'. The report also mentions 'McAlister at the suit of the Attorney-General' and Edward O'Shaughnessy v. James McEarchern. See also [Untitled], correspondence by A Subscriber (fl. 1838), published in the Sydney Gazette, 6 March 1838. The publication of 'The Devil and the Man of Worth' lead to a trial of libel, Josephson v. Fulton, in the Supreme Court of New South Wales in March 1839.
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More Libels
1838
single work
column
— Appears in: Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser , 13 March vol. 36 no. 3091 1838; (p. 2) -
Untitled
1838
single work
correspondence
— Appears in: Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser , 6 March vol. 36 no. 3088 1838; (p. 2-3)In this letter to the editor of the Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser, the author criticises 'The Devil and the Man of Worth' a story published in the March issue of the Australian Magazine.
The publication of 'The Devil and the Man of Worth' lead to a trial of libel, Josephson v. Fulton, in the Supreme Court of New South Wales in March 1839.
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Mr Josephson
1838
single work
column
— Appears in: Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser , 29 September vol. 36 no. 4077 1838; (p. 2)The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser apologies to Jacob (Joseph) Josephson for inserting correspondence defamatory to Josephson in the Sydney Gazette of the 6 March 1838. The defamatory correspondence referred to a short story 'The Devil and the Man of Worth' published in the March 1838 issue of the Australian Magazine.
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More Libels
1838
single work
column
— Appears in: Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser , 13 March vol. 36 no. 3091 1838; (p. 2) -
Libel Cases
1838
single work
column
— Appears in: Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser , 8 May vol. 36 no. 4015 1838; (p. 2)A report on libel actions listed in the Supreme Court, civil side, for July 1838. The actions involve Sydney newspapers and their editors and mainly stem from an article 'The Devil and the Man of Worth' published in the Australian Magazine, 1(3) March 1838. The list includes E. D. O'Reilly v. Edward Smith Hall of the Monitor; Edward Smith Hall v. James McEachern, the editor of the Colonist; Abraham Cohen of the Australian v. Jacob Josephson 'as the writer of a letter bearing defendant's signature, inserted in the [Sydney] Gazette' ; Jacob Josephson v. 'Messrs. Fulton and Purcell, as the writer of an article, inserted in the 3rd number of The Australian Magazine, headed "The Devil and the Man of Worth"'; Jacob Josephson v. George Cavenagh, the editor of the Sydney Gazette, 'for the publication of a letter, signed "A Subscriber" referring to the article "The Devil and the Man of Worth"'. The report also mentions 'McAlister at the suit of the Attorney-General' and Edward O'Shaughnessy v. James McEarchern. See also [Untitled], correspondence by A Subscriber (fl. 1838), published in the Sydney Gazette, 6 March 1838. The publication of 'The Devil and the Man of Worth' lead to a trial of libel, Josephson v. Fulton, in the Supreme Court of New South Wales in March 1839.
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Untitled
1838
single work
correspondence
— Appears in: Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser , 6 March vol. 36 no. 3088 1838; (p. 2-3)In this letter to the editor of the Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser, the author criticises 'The Devil and the Man of Worth' a story published in the March issue of the Australian Magazine.
The publication of 'The Devil and the Man of Worth' lead to a trial of libel, Josephson v. Fulton, in the Supreme Court of New South Wales in March 1839.
- Penrith, Penrith area, Sydney Outer West, Sydney, New South Wales,
