| 302 | https://historysoa.com/items/show/302 | The Author, Vol. 07 Issue 12 (May 1897) | <a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=%3Cem%3EThe+Author%3C%2Fem%3E%2C+Vol.+07+Issue+12+%28May+1897%29"><em>The Author</em>, Vol. 07 Issue 12 (May 1897)</a> | | | <a href="https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015049239455" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015049239455</a> | | | | | | | | <a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Publication">Publication</a> | 1897-05-01-The-Author-7-12 | | | | | 301–336 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | <a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=89&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=7">7</a> | | | | | | | | | | | <a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=76&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1897-05-01">1897-05-01</a> | | | | | | | 12 | | | 18970501 | XI b e Hutbor*<br />
(The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly.)<br />
CONDUCTED BY WALTER BESANT.<br />
Vol. VII.—No. 12.] MAY 1, 1897. [Price Sixpence.<br />
CONTENTS.<br />
PASl<br />
Notices, Ac 301<br />
The Management of The Author 303<br />
Literary Property—<br />
1. Secret Proats 307<br />
S The Meaning of Koyalties 311<br />
3. Copyright in Photographs 311<br />
4. Copyright Legislation in America 312<br />
?». An Example from Aberdeen 313<br />
6. An Author's Protest 314<br />
The Society as Publishers. By Thomas W. D. Lisle 314<br />
New York Letter. By Norman Hapgood 315<br />
Notes from Elsewhere. By R. H. Sherard 317<br />
Notes and News. By the Editor 319<br />
A Wholly Imaginary Dialogue 320<br />
A French View 321<br />
The NoTels of J. H. Pearce. By Sir George Douglas 32 ><br />
New Poetry 324<br />
Book Tit'es: a Proposal. By P. Howard Collins 324<br />
Literature in the Periodicals 325<br />
Correspondence —1. The Subjunctive Mood: its Present Day Use.<br />
2. Episcopal Stylo. 3. Corruptions of the Langmgc. 4. Stories<br />
Wanted. 5. The Casual Contributor. 6. The House where<br />
Byron was Bom. 7. A Biography of Joseph Strott. 8 The<br />
Length of the Short Story. 9. Wanted a Strike. 10. Aa<br />
American Publisher's Account. 11. A Register of Title*. 12.<br />
A Self Examination Paper for Candid Critics. 13. Stories riot<br />
Wanted 14. Who should be Publishers' Beaders? 3->7<br />
Book Talk S3 ><br />
A Belgian Literary Competition 334<br />
Obituary 334<br />
The Books of the Month 335<br />
PUBLICATIONS OP THE SOCIETY.<br />
1. The Annual Report. That for January 1897 can be had on application to the Secretary.<br />
2. The Author. A Monthly Journal devoted especially to the protection and maintenance of Literary<br />
Tropei-ty. Issued to all Members, 6s. 6d. per annum. Back numbers are offered at the<br />
following prices: Vol. I., ios. 6d. (Bound); Vols. II., III., and IV., 8s. 6d. each (Bound);<br />
Vol. V., 6s. 6d. (Unbound).<br />
3. Literature and the Pension List. By W. Mokeis Colles, Barrister-at-Law. (Henry Glaisher,<br />
95, Strand, W.C.) 3*.<br />
4. The History of the Societe des Gens de Lettres. By S. Squire Spriqge, late Secretary tc-<br />
the Society, is.<br />
5. The Cost of Production. In this work specimens are given of the most important forms of type,<br />
size of page, &c, with estimates showing what it costs to produce the more common kinds of<br />
books. Henry Glaisher, 95, Strand, W.C. 2s. 6d.<br />
6. The Various Methods of Publication. By S. Squire Sprigge. In this work, compiled from the<br />
papers in the Society's offices, the various forms of agreements proposed by Publishers to<br />
Authors are examined, and their meaning carefully explained, with an account of the various<br />
kinds of fraud which have been made possible by the different clauses in their agresments.<br />
Henry Glaisher, 95, Strand, W.C. 3*.<br />
7. Copyright Law Reform. An Exposition of Lord Monkswell's Copyright Bill now before Parlia-<br />
ment. With Extracts from the Report of the Commission of 1878, and an Appendix<br />
containing the Berne Convention and the American Copyright Bill. By J. M. Lely. Eyre<br />
and Spottiswoode. is. 6d.<br />
8. The Society of Authors. A Record of its Action from its Foundation. By Walter Besant<br />
(Chairman of Committee, 1888—1892). is.<br />
9. The Contract of Publication in Germany, Austria, Hungary, and Switzerland. By Ernst<br />
Lunge, J.U.D. 2.?. 6<1.<br />
<br />
<br />
## p. 300 (#360) ############################################<br />
<br />
11<br />
AD VER TISEMENTS.<br />
Iflje goriefp of Jluffjors (gncorporafeb).<br />
Sib Edwin Arnold, K.C.I.E., C.S.I.<br />
Alfred Austin.<br />
J. M. Barbie.<br />
A. W. X Beckett.<br />
Robert Bateman.<br />
F. E. Beddard, F.R.S.<br />
Sir Henry Bergne, K.C.M.G.<br />
Sir Walter Besant.<br />
Augustine Birhell, M.P.<br />
Rev. Prof. Bonnet, P.B.S.<br />
Bight Hon. James Brtce, M.P.<br />
Right Hon. Lord Burohclere, P.C<br />
Hall Caine.<br />
Egerton Castle, P.S.A.<br />
P. W. Clatden.<br />
Edward Clodd.<br />
W. Morris Colles.<br />
Hon. John Collier.<br />
Sir W. Martin Convvat.<br />
F. Marion Crawford.<br />
PRESIDENT.<br />
GEOBGE MEBEDITH.<br />
COUNCIL.<br />
The Earl of Desart.<br />
Austin Dobson.<br />
A. Conan Doyle, M.D.<br />
A. W. Duboubg.<br />
Prof. Michael Foster, F.R.S.<br />
D. W. Fheshfield.<br />
Richard Garnett, C.B., LL.D.<br />
Edmund Gosse.<br />
H. Rider Haggard.<br />
Thomas Hardy.<br />
Anthony Hope Hawkins.<br />
Jerome K. Jerome.<br />
Rudtard Kipling.<br />
Prof. E. Ray Lankester, F.R.S.<br />
W. E. H. Lecky.<br />
J. M. Lely.<br />
Mrs. E. Lynn Linton.<br />
Rev. W. J. Loftie, F.S.A.<br />
Sir A. C. Mackenzie, Mas.Doc.<br />
Prof. J. M. D. Meiklejohn.<br />
Hon. Counsel — E. M. Underdown<br />
Herman C. Merivale.<br />
Rev. C. H. Middleton-Wake.<br />
Sir Lewis Morris.<br />
Henry Norman.<br />
Miss E. A. Ormerod.<br />
J. C. Parkinson.<br />
Right Hon. Lord Pirbright, F.R.S.<br />
Sir Frederick Pollock, Bart., LL.D.<br />
Walter Herries Pollock.<br />
W. Baptists Scoones.<br />
Miss Flora L. Shaw.<br />
G. R. Sims.<br />
S. Squire Spriooe.<br />
J. J. Stevenson.<br />
Francis Storr.<br />
Prof. Jas. Sully.<br />
William Moy Thomas.<br />
H. D. Traill, D.C.L.<br />
Mrs. Humphry Ward.<br />
Miss Charlotte M. Yonqe.<br />
Q.C.<br />
COMMITTEE OF MANAGEMENT.<br />
A W. X Beckett.<br />
Sir Walter Besant.<br />
Egerton Castle, F.SA.<br />
W. Morris Colles.<br />
Chairman—H. Rider Haggard.<br />
Sir W. Martin Conway.<br />
D. W. Freshfield.<br />
Anthony Hope Hawkins.<br />
J. M. Lely.<br />
SUB<br />
Sir A. C. Mackenzie, Mua.Poe.<br />
Henry Norman.<br />
Francis Storr,<br />
COMMITTEES.<br />
MUSIC.<br />
C. Villiers Stanford, Mua.D. (Chairman)<br />
Jacques Blumenthal.<br />
J. L. Molloy.<br />
( Field, Roscoe, and Co., Lincoln's Inn Fields.<br />
^ G. Herbert Thring, B.A., 4, Portugal-street. Secretary—G. Herbert Turing, B.A.<br />
OFFICES: 4, Portugal Street, Lincoln's Inn Fields, W.C.<br />
ART.<br />
Hon. John Collier (Chairman)<br />
Sir W. Martin Conway.<br />
M. H. Spielmann.<br />
Solicitors<br />
DRAMA.<br />
Henry Arthur Jones (Chairman).<br />
A. W. X Beckett.<br />
Edward Rose.<br />
IP. "W"^.TT &c SO INT,<br />
LITERARY AGENTS,<br />
Formerly of 2, PATERNOSTER SQUARE,<br />
Have now removed to<br />
HASTINGS HOUSE, NORFOLK STREET, STRAND,<br />
LONDON. AV.C.<br />
WINDSOR HOUSE PRINTING WORKS,<br />
BREAM'S BUILDINGS, E.G.<br />
Offices of ''The Field,'' "The Queen." "The Law Times," &e.<br />
Mr. HORACE COX. Printer to the Authors' Society, takes the opportunity of informing Authors that, having a very large Office, and an<br />
extensive Plant of Type of every description, he is in a position to EXECUTE any PRINTING tht-y may entruat lo his care.<br />
ESTIMATES FORWARDED, AND REASONABLE CHARGES WILL. BE FOUND.<br />
<br />
<br />
## p. 301 (#361) ############################################<br />
<br />
XT b e H u t b o t\<br />
(The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly.)<br />
CONDUCTED BY WALTER BESANT.<br />
Vol. VII.—No. 12.] MAY i, 1897. [Price Sixpence.<br />
For the Opinions expressed in papers that are<br />
signed or initialled the Authors alone are<br />
responsible. None of the papers or para-<br />
graphs must be taken as expressing the<br />
collective opinions of the Committee unless<br />
tliey are officially signed by G. Herbert<br />
Thring, Sec.<br />
THE Secretary of the Society begs to give notice that all<br />
remittances are acknowledged by return of post, and<br />
requests that all members not receiving an answer to<br />
important communications within two days will write to him<br />
without delay. All remittances should be crossed Union<br />
Bank 0/ London, Chancery-lane, or bo sent by registered<br />
letter only.<br />
Communications and letters are invited by the Editor on<br />
all subjects connected with literature, but on no other sub-<br />
jects whatever. Articles which cannot be accepted are<br />
returned if stamps for the purpose accompany the MSS.<br />
GENERAL MEMORANDA.<br />
EOR some years it has been the practice to insert, in<br />
every number of The Author, certain " General Con-<br />
siderations," Warnings, Notices, Ac, for the guidance<br />
of the reader. It has been objected as regards these<br />
warnings that the tricks or frauds against which they are<br />
directed cannot all be guarded against, for obvious reasons.<br />
It is, however, well that thoy should be borne in mind, and<br />
if any publisher refuses a clause of precaution he simply<br />
reveals his true character, and should be left to oarry on<br />
his business in bis own way.<br />
Let us, however, draw up a few of the rules to be<br />
observed in an agreement. There are three methods of<br />
dealing with literary property:—<br />
I. That of Belling it outright.<br />
This is in some respects the most satisfactory, if a proper<br />
price can be obtained. But the transaction should be<br />
managed by a competent agent.<br />
II. A profit-sharing agreement.<br />
In this case the following rules should be attended to:<br />
(1.) Not to sign any agreement in which the cost of pro-<br />
duction forms a part.<br />
(2.) Not to give the publisher the power of putting the<br />
profits into his own pocket by charging for advertisements<br />
VOL. VII.<br />
in his own organs: or by charging exchange advertise-<br />
ments.<br />
(3.) Not to allow a special charge for " office expenses,"<br />
unless the same allowance is made to the author.<br />
(4.) Not to give up American, Colonial, or Continental<br />
rights.<br />
(5.) Not to give up serial or translation rights.<br />
(6.) Not to bind yourself for future work to any publisher.<br />
As well bind yourself for the future to any one solicitor or<br />
doctor!<br />
(7.) To stamp the agreement.<br />
III. The royalty system.<br />
In this system, which has opened the door to a most<br />
amazing amount of overreaching and trading on the<br />
author's ignorance, it is above all things necessary to know<br />
what the proposed royalty means to both sides. It is now<br />
possible for an author to ascertain approximately and very<br />
nearly the truth. From time to time the very important<br />
figures connected with royalties are published in The Author.<br />
Readers can also work out the figures themselves from the<br />
"Costof Production." Let no one, not even the youngest<br />
writer, sign a royalty agreement without finding out what<br />
it gives the publisher as well as himself.<br />
It has been objected that these precautions presuppose a<br />
great success for the book, and that very few books indeed<br />
attain to this great success. That is quite true: but there is<br />
always this uncertainty of literary property that, although<br />
the works of a great many authors carry with them no risk<br />
at all, and although of a great many it is known within a few<br />
copies what will be their minimum circulation, it is not<br />
known what will be their maximum. Therefore every<br />
author, for every book, should arrange on the chance of a<br />
success which will not, probably, come at all; but which<br />
may come.<br />
The four points which the Society has always demanded<br />
from the outset are :—<br />
(1.) That both sides shall know what an agreement<br />
means.<br />
(2.) The inspection of those account books which belong<br />
to the author. We are advised that this is a right, in the<br />
nature of a common law right, which cannot be denied or<br />
withheld.<br />
(3.) That there shall be no secret profits.<br />
(4.) That nothing shall bo charged which has not been<br />
actually paid—for instance, that there shall be no charge for<br />
advertisements in the publisher's own organs and none for<br />
exchanged advertisements; and that all discounts shall be<br />
duly entered.<br />
If these points are carefully looked after, the author may<br />
rest pretty well assured that he is in right hands. At the<br />
same time he will do well to send his agreement to the<br />
secretary before he signs it.<br />
H H 2<br />
<br />
<br />
## p. 302 (#362) ############################################<br />
<br />
3°2 THE AUTHOR.<br />
HOW TO USE THE SOCIETY.<br />
i. li\VERY member has a right to ask for and to receive<br />
t'J advice upon his agreements, his choice of a pub-<br />
lisher, or any dispute arising in the conduct of his<br />
business or the administration of his property. If the advice<br />
sought is such as can be given best by a solicitor, the member<br />
has a right to an opinion from the Society's solicitors. If the<br />
case is such that Counsel's opinion is desirable, the Com-<br />
mittee will obtain for him Counsel's opinion. All this<br />
without any cost to the member.<br />
2. Remember that questions connected with copyright<br />
and publisher's agreements do not generally fall within the<br />
experience of ordinary solicitors. Therefore, do not scruple<br />
to use the Society first—our solicitors are continually<br />
engaged upon such questions for ns.<br />
3. Send to the office copies of past agreements and past<br />
accounts with the loan of the books represented. This is in<br />
order to ascertain what has been the nature of your agree-<br />
ments, and the results to author and publisher respectively<br />
so far. The Secretary will always be glad to have any<br />
agreements, new or old, for inspection and note. The infor-<br />
mation thus obtained may prove invaluable.<br />
4. If the examination of your previous business trans-<br />
actions by the Secretary proves unfavourable, you should<br />
take advice as to a change of publishers.<br />
5. Before signing any agreement whatever, send the pro-<br />
posed document to the Society for examination.<br />
6. The Society is acquainted with the methods, and—in<br />
the case of fraudulent houses—the tricks of every publish-<br />
ing firm in the country.<br />
7. Remember always that in belonging to the Society you<br />
are fighting the battles of other writers, even if you are<br />
reaping no benefit to yourself, and that you are advancing<br />
the best interests of literature in promoting the indepen-<br />
dence of the writer.<br />
8. Send to the Editor of The Author notes of everything<br />
important to literature that yon may hear or meet with.<br />
9. The committee have now arranged for the reception of<br />
members' agreements and their preservation in a fireproof<br />
Bafe. The agreements will, of course, be regarded as con-<br />
fidential documents to be read only by the Secretary, who<br />
will keep the key of the Bafe. The Society now offers:—(1)<br />
To read and advise upon agreements and publishers. (2) To<br />
stamp agreements in readiness for a possible action upon<br />
them. (3) To keep agreements. (4) To enforce payments<br />
due according to agreements.<br />
THE AUTHORS' SYNDICATE.<br />
MEMBERS are informed:<br />
I. That the Authors' Syndicate takes charge of<br />
the business of members of the Society. That it<br />
submits KSS. to publishers and editors, concludes agree-<br />
ments, examines, passes, and collects accounts, and, gene-<br />
rally, relieves members of the trouble of managing business<br />
details.<br />
2. That the terms upon which its services can be secured<br />
will be forwarded upon detailed application.<br />
3. That the Authors' Syndicate works only for those<br />
members of the Society whose work possesses a market<br />
value.<br />
4. That the Syndicate can only undertake any negotiations<br />
whatever on the distinct understanding that those negotia-<br />
tions are placed exclusively in its hands, and that all<br />
communications relating thereto are referred to it.<br />
5. That clients can only be seen by the Director by<br />
appointment, and that, when possible, at least two days'<br />
notice should be given.<br />
6. That every attempt is made to deal with all communi-<br />
cations promptly. That stamps should, in all cases, be sent<br />
to defray postage.<br />
7. That the Authors' Syndicate does not invite MSS.<br />
without previous correspondence; does not hold itself<br />
responsible for MSS. forwarded without notice; and that<br />
in all cases MSS. must be accompanied by stamps to defray<br />
postage.<br />
8. That the Syndicate undertakes arrangements for<br />
lectures by some of the leading members of the Society;<br />
that it has a "Transfer Department" for the sale and<br />
purchase of journals and periodicals; and that a " Register<br />
of Wants and Wanted" is open. Members are invited to<br />
communicate their requirements to the Manager.<br />
There is an Honorary Advisory Committee, whose services<br />
will be called upon in any case of dispute or difficulty. It<br />
is perhaps necessary to state that the members of the<br />
Advisory Committee have no pecuniary interest whatever in<br />
the Syndicate.<br />
NOTICES.<br />
THE Editor of The Author begs to remind members of the<br />
Society that, although the paper is sent to them free<br />
of charge, the cost of producing it would be a very<br />
heavy charge on the resources of the Society if a great<br />
many members did not forward to the Secretary the modest<br />
6s. 6d. subscription for the year.<br />
The Editor is always glad to receive short papers and<br />
communications on all subjects connected with literature<br />
from members and others. Nothing can do more good to<br />
the Society than to make The Author complete, attractive,<br />
and interesting. Will those who are willing to aid in this<br />
work send their names and the special subjects on which<br />
they are willing to write?<br />
Communications for The Author should reach the Editor<br />
not later than the 21st of each month.<br />
All persons engaged in literary work of any kind, whether<br />
members of the Society or not, are invited to communicate<br />
to the Editor any points connected with their work which<br />
it would be advisable in the general interest to publish.<br />
Members and others who wish their MSS. read are<br />
requested not to send them to the Office without previously<br />
communicating with the Secretary. The utmost practicable<br />
despatch is aimed at, and MSS. are read in the order in<br />
which they are received. It must also be distinctly under-<br />
stood that the Society does not, under any circumstances,<br />
undertake the publication of MSS.<br />
The Authors' Club is now open in its new premises, at<br />
3, Whitehall-court, Charing Ctosb. Address the Secretary<br />
for information, rules of admission, Ac.<br />
Will members take the trouble to ascertain whether they<br />
have paid their subscriptions for the year P If they will do<br />
this, and remit the amount, if still unpaid, or a banker's<br />
order, it will greatly assist the Secretary, and save him the<br />
trouble of sending out a reminder.<br />
Members are most earnestly entreated to attend to the<br />
following warning. It is a most foolish and may be a<br />
most disastrous thing to enter into an agreement binding<br />
for a term of years. Let them ask themselves if they<br />
would give a solicitor the collection of their rents for five<br />
years to come, whatever his conduct, whether he was honest<br />
<br />
<br />
## p. 303 (#363) ############################################<br />
<br />
THE AUTHOR.<br />
303<br />
or dishonest? 0£ course they would not. Why then<br />
hesitate for s moment when they are asked to sign them-<br />
selves into literary bondage for three or five years?<br />
Those who possess the "Cost of Production" are<br />
requested to note that the cost of binding has advanced 15<br />
per cent. This means, for those who do not like the trouble<br />
of "doing sums," the addition of three shillings in the<br />
pound on this head. In other words, if the cost of binding<br />
is set down in our book at eight pounds, to this must now be<br />
added twenty-four shillings more, so that it now stands<br />
at J89 4*. The figures in our book are as near the exact<br />
truth as can be procured; but a printer's, or a binder's,<br />
bill is so elastic a thing that nothing more exact can be<br />
arrived at.<br />
Some remarks have been made upon the amount charged<br />
in the " Cost of Production" for advertising. Of oourse, we<br />
have not included any sums whioh may be charged for<br />
inserting advertisements in the publisher's own magazines,<br />
or in other magazines by exchange. As agreements too<br />
often go, there is nothing to prevent the publisher from<br />
sweeping the whole profits o a book into his own pocket,<br />
by inserting any number of advertisements in his own<br />
magazines, and by exchanging with others. Some there are<br />
who call this a form of fraud; it is not known what those<br />
who practise this method of swelling their own profits call it.<br />
THE MANAGEMENT OF "THE AUTHOR."<br />
I.<br />
f~W "^HE following circular, which explains itself,<br />
I was sent to the Committee on April 1:<br />
"Frognal End, Hampstead,<br />
April 1st, 1897.<br />
"It is quite clear to me that without the appro-<br />
val of the Committee, renewed or expressed from<br />
time or time, it must become impossible for me to<br />
continue as editor of this paper. It is their paper;<br />
it is the organ of the Society; the Committee have<br />
therefore, a full right to the control of the journal<br />
on general principles.<br />
"I therefore take the opportunity of the ap-<br />
proaching conclusion of the seventh volume to<br />
invite the opinion of the Committee on the<br />
subject.<br />
"My own view as to the work specially laid down<br />
for such a paper is that it must be the absolutely<br />
fearless advocate of authors' rights in literary<br />
properly. With this object I have kept steadily<br />
before me the three great principles of the Society<br />
—principles which, I am well aware, must be<br />
fought out for a long time before we get them<br />
passed into universal practice.<br />
"The principles are briefly—<br />
(1) The book belongs to the author, and not to<br />
the publisher, unless the author cedes it.<br />
(2) The author has the right of knowing what<br />
any proposed agreement gives to the pub-<br />
lisher compared v ith what it gives the<br />
author.<br />
(3) He has the right to audit any accounts<br />
submitted to him.<br />
"In support of these principles I have endea-<br />
- voured to pour into the pages of The Author all<br />
the light that can be obtained upon everything<br />
connected with the publishing of books, e.g., the<br />
cost of printing; the cost of paper; the meaning<br />
of corrections; the cost of binding; the price to<br />
the trade; the price to the distributing agencies;<br />
the money spent in advertising; the meaning of<br />
royalties, &c. All these things have appeared in<br />
these pages over and over again. They have<br />
drawn me into endless controversies, which I<br />
have been left to fight out quite alone. Pub-<br />
lishers have denied the truth of the figures<br />
even when I had the bills in my hands and<br />
was actually copying them. I have had to offer<br />
publicly to carry on their printing by myself at<br />
the figures given in the paper. Less than a year<br />
ago one publisher wrote to the papers giving<br />
certain figures as regards the trade which his own<br />
firm were actually compelled, in a "secret and<br />
confidential" circular to the trade, to disown the<br />
very next day! This I at once discovered and<br />
denounced.<br />
"At the same time I have published almost<br />
with every number some proposed agreement,<br />
with comments. The publishers concerned have<br />
generally met these facts with silence. Of late<br />
their defence has been that the facts are stated<br />
without names—a suggestion that the facts are<br />
inventions. In this respect, however, The Author<br />
goes as far as can be expected. It publishes the<br />
exact facts, leaving the persons concerned to<br />
announce themselves—but their modesty always<br />
keeps them in the background—and with the<br />
offer that the Secretary is ready to give the<br />
names concerned to any members who wish to<br />
learn them.<br />
"I have made arrangements for a monthly<br />
letter from Paris and from New York, chiefly on<br />
subjects which concern our own affairs. I have<br />
admitted correspondence freely from our own<br />
members, thinking it wise, even when grievances<br />
are imaginary, to let them be ventilated. There<br />
are also columns concerning new books, in which<br />
members have the right, which they exercise freely,<br />
of inserting announcements of their own books.<br />
Criticism I have found necessary to exclude<br />
entirely.<br />
"The columns on "Literary Property" are<br />
devoted to all kinds of questions concerning this<br />
great subject. I think we can fairly boast that<br />
nothing has ever before been done for literary<br />
property compared with what has appeared in<br />
The Author. Of ourse I acknowledge most<br />
readily that the valuable opinions of Counsel, such<br />
as those of Mr. H. H. Cozens-Hardy, Q.C.Mr.<br />
<br />
<br />
## p. 304 (#364) ############################################<br />
<br />
3°4<br />
THE AUTHOR.<br />
Blake Odgers, Q.C., Mr. James Rolt; certain<br />
most useful papers by Sir Frederick Pollock, and<br />
other documents, have been presented by the<br />
Committee as contributions to the maintenance<br />
of literary property.<br />
"1 submit to the Committee that it is not enough<br />
to print such things as the meaning of agreements,<br />
royalties, &c, once for all. They are quickly<br />
forgotten; interested persons are always ready to<br />
try it on again; the facts must be reprinted over<br />
and over again. We are dealing with a set of<br />
men brought up in sharp business habits, whose<br />
perpetual aim is to get his work from the writer<br />
on terms favourable to themselves. What some<br />
of us call fraud, and some call trading on ignor-<br />
ance, some of these people call sharp business.<br />
If The Author has done any good in the past,<br />
that good will quickly vanish and be forgotten<br />
unless the paper is continued on the old lines, and<br />
the figures and facts repeated from time to time.<br />
"I submit again, as proof positive that The<br />
Author is doing great good, the fact that many<br />
persons concerned are continually denouncing the<br />
paper, showing that they regard it as a paper of<br />
the greatest importance, and that they read it with<br />
the greatest jealousy; and are either crying out<br />
that its facts are not true, or, if they cannot do<br />
that, are scheming and working underhand for<br />
its suppression or alteration.<br />
"I therefore lay before the Committee this<br />
statement, and invite their consideration of the<br />
whole question. To my own mind, it is clear that<br />
the maintenance of the Society's principles can-<br />
not be even attempted unless we have such an<br />
outspoken organ carried on quite fearlessly. But<br />
I cannot continue any longer to advocate these<br />
principles unless I am assured of the approval<br />
and the support of the Committee. I have<br />
therefore sent round this circular, and I propose<br />
to absent myself from the meeting on Monday<br />
in order that the Committee may either discuss<br />
this question then, or may name another day for<br />
the discussion.<br />
"Lastly, I beg that this letter may be taken<br />
as my resignation of the editorship of The<br />
Author, but that I am willing to be re-elected,<br />
provided the Committee approve of my conduct,<br />
of the paper in the past, and are ready to support<br />
me in its conduct for the future on the same<br />
lines. Walter Besant."<br />
II.<br />
The Committee, at their meeting of Monday,<br />
April 5, passed the following Resolut:on in reply<br />
to this circular:<br />
"The Committee < nauimously desire to retain<br />
you in the position of editor. Speaking generally,<br />
they accept the principle of your three points.<br />
They thank you for your efforts on their behalf,<br />
and they look forward to a continuance of those<br />
efforts in the future.<br />
"Whilst recognising fully the responsibility of<br />
an editor, and the necessity for freedom in the<br />
management of his paper, the Committee, anxious<br />
to meet your views in every way possible, yet feel<br />
sure that you will not wish them to abdicate all<br />
influence over the paper, or to refrain from ex-<br />
pressing to you any considerations that may occur<br />
to them in regard to the views expressed or the<br />
line adopted in what is, and is publicly stated to<br />
be, the official organ of the Society of Authors."<br />
III.<br />
The completion of the seventh volume of The<br />
Author may properly be made an occasion for<br />
examining into some of the services which it has<br />
rendered to the cause which it maintains. This<br />
cause is the definition and defence of Literary<br />
Property in the interests of those who create it,<br />
and those to whom it belongs until they part<br />
with it.<br />
The class of those to whom this kind of pro-<br />
perty is a real and a very important matter has<br />
very largely increased of late. On every side<br />
we see experts creating most valuable property in<br />
their own subjects: writers on education, writers<br />
on medicine, law, science, music, art, putting forth<br />
books for which there is an ever-increasing public;<br />
writers of new travels, new histories, new bio-<br />
graphies, widely in demand; writers of plays<br />
which may be mines of gold; writers of fiction<br />
for which there is an unprecedented demand. To<br />
all these writers The Author is addressed. We<br />
shall show here why it should be regarded as<br />
a paper which it is not only desirable but neces-<br />
sary to keep up.<br />
Apart from what it has done, the hostility with<br />
which it is regarded by certain persons is in itself<br />
a guarantee that it is doing a good work. For<br />
The Author, like the Society to which it belongs,<br />
considers publishers from the one point of view<br />
which is dignified and sensible. It speaks of<br />
them as so many men of business—a manner of<br />
consideration which ought to offend no honest<br />
man—liecause they are, and always will be, men<br />
whose business it is to make money by producing<br />
and selling literature. That is to say, t heir work is<br />
to get books that sell, to acquire the control or<br />
the administration of such works on favourable<br />
terms, whether with the bookseller at one end<br />
or with the author at the other end. The<br />
Author's Society and The Author have examined<br />
into the various agreements by which authors<br />
are induced to part with their rights: they have<br />
<br />
<br />
## p. 305 (#365) ############################################<br />
<br />
THE AUTHOR.<br />
3°5<br />
proved what these agreements mean. Not only<br />
in the pages of this journal, but also in the book<br />
entitled "Methods of Publishing," they have<br />
exposed the true meaning of these agreements,<br />
and pointed out that in many cases they mean<br />
a surrender of almost everything to the pub-<br />
lisher.<br />
This exposure has met with the most violent<br />
animosity; the figures have been denied over<br />
and over again in the most impudent manner;<br />
attacks of the most venomous kind have been made<br />
in the papers; these attacks, however, always<br />
answered, continually renewed and answered again,<br />
have proved of the greatest value to the Society.<br />
Another class which has proved curiously<br />
hostile to the Society and its organ is that nume-<br />
rous body of literary people who hang about<br />
publishers' offices. Some of them are paid for<br />
touting for their employers—a dignified occupa-<br />
tion indeed for a man of letters; some are paid<br />
for doing any kind of work that is wanted; some<br />
are occupied in compiling books, which they sell<br />
for trifling sums; some are employed in editing<br />
and writing introductions for books; some are<br />
poets of small demand who are unpractical<br />
persons easily deceived into the belief that there<br />
is no such thing as literary property; some are<br />
readers; some look for the chance of getting an<br />
article accepted in the firm's magazine; all are<br />
dependents, and in that capacity regard writers<br />
who are not dependent with greeu eyes. This<br />
large class of literary men regards the objects of<br />
the Society with a strange jealousy. One hears,<br />
from time to time, what they say, and how they<br />
feel on the subject of Literary Property, of which<br />
they have themselves obtained so small a share.<br />
It is proposed, therefore, to set forth some of<br />
the contributions made by The Author towards<br />
the maintenance of literary property.<br />
Let us take the first volume only.<br />
Of what may be called "solid matter in this<br />
volume there are papers from Counsel learned in<br />
the law on Copyright in Lectures and Sermons:<br />
on the proposed American Copyright Law: on<br />
the Society's new Copyright Act: on Copyright<br />
in Magazine Articles: a valuable paper by Wilkie<br />
Collins on American Copyright: and on Canadian<br />
Copyright.<br />
There are exposures of agreements and<br />
"cases" by the dozen, with the figures and<br />
the proof of what is meant: other "cases"<br />
between editor and author, also by the dozen:<br />
the exposure of bogus publishers: the corre-<br />
spondence between the Society and the late Mr.<br />
W. H. Smith: papers on the Colonial Book<br />
Markets and American Piracies : the controversy<br />
in full between the Editor and the Society for the<br />
Promotion of Christian Knowledge: a statement<br />
of what is meant by royalties: analyses of lists<br />
of new books: all kinds of proposals for future<br />
development: and, what is more than all, a firm,<br />
clear view maintained in the face of those who,<br />
either for interested motives or from ignorance<br />
or from muddleheadedness, were continually then,<br />
as they are now, trying to obscure the issues, and<br />
to draw a herring across the scent.<br />
Various methods of publishing, especially the<br />
so-called " Half Profit" system: the "Commis-<br />
sion Book ": Literary management of all kinds:<br />
the Agent: the hostility to the Agent: law reports<br />
of literary cases: Collaboration: Literature and<br />
the State: the Civil List: national distinctions<br />
for literary men: Literature in the colonies r<br />
Accounts and communications of other literary<br />
societies in America, France, and Germany.<br />
Also the Literature of the Magazines, with<br />
hundreds of questions and difficulties which have-<br />
sprung up around this important subject, such a£<br />
the length of time which a contributor should allow<br />
to the editor before accepting or refusing: before<br />
printing and publishing: before paying. In<br />
this very important branch the paper has done<br />
good service, not only in securing payment—in<br />
some cases by threats of law—but also in recalling<br />
to certain editors of the lower kind the fact that<br />
even to contributors courtesy is due. An impor-<br />
tant legal decision was obtained under the chair-<br />
manship of Sir Frederick Pollock, in the case of<br />
Macdonald v. The National Review, when it was<br />
held that to send a contributor the proof of his<br />
paper must be considered as acceptance.<br />
The Author has exposed many tricks of unscru-<br />
pulous publishers. Thus, for instance, the " Half<br />
Price " trick. The way is this. A clause in the<br />
agreement assigns the author a certain royalty;<br />
but "if the price of the book is lowered 10 one-<br />
half or under" the royalty shall be half. It seems<br />
plausible, and as it will certainly be tried on<br />
again—all the tricks are—it is well to repeat the<br />
case here. It was a two volume novel published<br />
at 21s. The author was to receive a royalty of<br />
15 per cent., i.e., 3*. i$d. a copy. Now the sole<br />
buyers of the two volume novel were the libraries.<br />
They paid, as a rule, from 9*. to I is. a copy. By<br />
lowering the price to 10s. 6d. the publisher lost<br />
nothing: but he had to pay the author is. 6-?itd.<br />
instead of 3*. i\d. Thus he gained about 1*. 6d.<br />
on every copy.<br />
The paper has shown up the nature of tricks<br />
connected with printer's corrections. It is now<br />
possible for the author by keeping his first proofs<br />
to test the charge under this head. For instance<br />
(vol. 4, p. 234): Corrections are generally charged<br />
either at i«. or is. 2d. an hour. This means an<br />
hour's work of the compositor. Ho can, as a<br />
rule, substitute one word for another in three or<br />
<br />
<br />
## p. 306 (#366) ############################################<br />
<br />
3°6<br />
THE AUTHOR.<br />
four minutes ; or say, about seventeeu words in<br />
an hour. The author has therefore only to count<br />
his corrections in order to arrive at an estimate of<br />
the charge that can be made on this account.<br />
Rut, if he so corrects as to make the line run on<br />
and displace perhaps often a page, a larger allow-<br />
ance must be made. It is common in agreements<br />
to al'ow the author so much for corrections, say,<br />
10*. a sheet. This means 136 words in a sheet.<br />
The paper has been enriched by legal opinions<br />
upon certain subjects of the highest importance.<br />
Thus, Sir Frederick Pollock advanced in his<br />
opinion (vol. 4, p. 5) that there should be no<br />
mystery in the production of books: tint so ret<br />
profits are not admissible: that the author is<br />
1 utitled to full and true accounts, and to be<br />
charged only with actual expenditure. These<br />
points have been claimed by the Society from the<br />
outset: but their advanc ement by a lawyer of the<br />
greatest weight and standing was—and is—a<br />
great support to the Society.<br />
Another most important opinion was that of<br />
Mr. H. H. Cozens-Hardy, Q.C., and Mr. J. Rolt.<br />
A paper had been prepared on the question of<br />
publishers' charges generally. The case was that<br />
of a so-called " half profit" system agreement.<br />
This paper, with the reply, is so important that<br />
it is reproduced here for the benefit of those<br />
members who have not seen it, or have for-<br />
gotten it.<br />
Another point of great importance is that of<br />
risk. It is constantly affirmed by those who<br />
know nothing of the matter that publishers are<br />
always incurring enormous risks in return for<br />
which they are entitled to take three-fourths,<br />
nine-tenths, or anything that they please, of<br />
the profits of a successful book. When this<br />
claim is disputed, they raise a cry that the Society<br />
denies that pubbshers ever take risk. It is<br />
important, therefore, to know what risk means.<br />
I put aside such great enterprises as an Encyclo-<br />
paedia: a Dictionary of National Biography: and<br />
so forth. There are very few of these works: they<br />
are published by no more than two or three<br />
houses. I speak of general literature. Now,<br />
before a work is printed it is sent round among<br />
the London trade. The initial risk, therefore, is<br />
the difference between the fiist subscription by<br />
the London trade and the cost of production.<br />
AY hen the book is produced there is another sub-<br />
scription which again lowers the risk. As the<br />
smaller publishers very, very seldom produce a<br />
book by a perfectly unknown hand, it stands to<br />
reason that the risk thus ensured amounts to<br />
next to nothing, if anything at all.<br />
Another point on which light has been poured<br />
is the cost of advertising. (See The Author,<br />
Nov. 1895, p. 120) :—<br />
"Everything that is unknown is enormous.<br />
That is why the cost of advertisements generally<br />
looms before the imagination as so stupendous.<br />
The following table will explain what advertising<br />
a book really means. It shows, that is, how much<br />
is added to the cost of a book by advertising to<br />
the extent of =£5, .£20, &c, up to =£100 for 1000,<br />
zooo, up to 40,000 copies. The figures mean<br />
pence:<br />
Edition.<br />
£lO<br />
£20<br />
^30<br />
£50<br />
£80<br />
.£100<br />
d.<br />
d.<br />
d.<br />
d.<br />
d.<br />
d.<br />
d.<br />
1000<br />
45<br />
12<br />
i9i<br />
24<br />
2000<br />
1<br />
■A<br />
2'i<br />
35<br />
6<br />
91<br />
12<br />
3000<br />
1<br />
f<br />
i j<br />
4<br />
6|<br />
8<br />
5000<br />
n<br />
is<br />
2 *<br />
2|<br />
3H<br />
4*<br />
TT<br />
10,000<br />
a<br />
■I<br />
-> s<br />
m<br />
'A<br />
iff<br />
2i<br />
IT<br />
a ft<br />
20.000<br />
3<br />
ft<br />
0<br />
ft<br />
n<br />
'1<br />
40,000<br />
lii<br />
ft<br />
t»__<br />
~i<br />
1 ♦<br />
TBB<br />
15<br />
"It will be seen from this table that, while the<br />
cost of advertising is very large per copy for<br />
small editions, for large editions it may be<br />
almost neglected as for single copies. Thus to<br />
spend jL'ioo in advertising a book of which no<br />
more than 1000 copies are printed or can be<br />
sold, adds 2s. to the cost of every volume; so that<br />
(see Cost of Production, p. 31) if a book of<br />
20 sheets of 34 lines and 339 words to a page in<br />
long primer, without moulding or stereotyping, and<br />
allowiug 4sf/. a copy for binding, cost £79, or<br />
with corrections about ,£80, i.e., is. y\d. to each<br />
copy, an additional 2*. on the production makes<br />
such a book published at a loss. Sometimes this<br />
price is raised to ys. 6d., or even more, in order to<br />
allow for advertising. Sometimes, again, pub-<br />
lishers seem perfectly reckless about the money<br />
spent in advertising. Thus, an account was some<br />
time ago sent to the Society showing that about<br />
.£230 had been spent in advertising a book pub-<br />
lished at ys. 6d., of which souie 6000 copies had<br />
been sold. A detailed account was demanded and<br />
furnished. The account appeared to be quite<br />
correct, being examined and tested here and there.<br />
It seemed as if the publisher had been ransacking<br />
the country to find the least eligible of country<br />
papers. This, hewever, was an extreme case.<br />
On the other hand, when a book reaches, say,<br />
10,000 copies, ,£50 can be spent upon it without<br />
adding any more than 1 irf. to the cost of produc-<br />
tion, while, with a very large circulation of<br />
40,000 copies ,£200 can be spent, if necessary—<br />
but it would not be necessary—without adding<br />
more than i^d. to the cost.<br />
"It is neecless to say that these figures do not<br />
include advertisements which cost nothing, i.e.,<br />
those of the publishers' circulars, magazines, Ac.,<br />
nor those which are simple exchanges."<br />
<br />
<br />
## p. 307 (#367) ############################################<br />
<br />
THE AUTHOR.<br />
3°7<br />
As The Author began, so it has gone on. It<br />
is a magazine of papers connected with the<br />
Administration of Literary Property. There is<br />
no other paper which touches the subject, except<br />
with the purpose aforesaid of obscuring issues,<br />
and making the falsa appear to be the true.<br />
The Author is the necessary accompaniment of<br />
the Society: were it not for The A uthor nothing<br />
could be known of what the Society is doing, or<br />
whether it is doing well or ill.<br />
It has been objected that the paper is some-<br />
times dull. If it does its work, what does that<br />
matter? Criticism is excluded l>ecause we cannot<br />
very well be criticising each other: consequently<br />
nothing is said about the literary position of any<br />
new books. Meantime the very angry way in<br />
which certain publishers speak of it is the clearest<br />
possible proof that it it doing i(s work, and that<br />
thoroughly.<br />
LITERARY PROPERTY.<br />
I.—Secret Profits.<br />
(Reprinted from The Author, Vol. IV., p. 394.)<br />
I. CASE FOR COUNSEL.<br />
THE Incorporated Society of Authors desires<br />
to be advised as to the legal position of<br />
authors under a certain well-known form<br />
of pubUshing agreement, known as the share-<br />
profit system, in reference to the charges made<br />
by publishers and otherwise, particularly as<br />
tested by the manner in which the courts would<br />
deal with charges in the publishers' accounts if<br />
they were being taken by the court.<br />
A case which raises the point on which counsel's<br />
opinion is sought is as follows:<br />
An author, A. B., enters into an agreement<br />
with publishers, C. D. and Co., in the following<br />
terms:<br />
Copy of Agreement.<br />
Memorandum of agreement made this day of<br />
between A. B. of the one part and C. D. and Co. of the other<br />
part.<br />
It is agreed that the said C. D. and Co. shall publish, at<br />
their own rule and expense—(title of work); the exclusive<br />
right of printing and publishing which shall be vested in<br />
the said C. D. and Co., subject to the following conditions,<br />
viz., that after deducting from the produce of the sale<br />
thereof all the expenses of printing, paper, binding,<br />
advertising, discounts to the trade, and other incidental<br />
expenses, the profits remaining of every edition that may be<br />
printed of the work during the term of legal copyright are to<br />
be divided into two equal parts, one part to be paid to the<br />
said A. B. and the other to belong to the said C. D. and Co.<br />
The books to be accounted for at the trade sale price, 25<br />
as 24, unless it be thought advisable to dispose of copieB,<br />
or of the remainder, at a lower price, which is left to the<br />
discretion of the said publisher. Acoounts to be made up<br />
annually to Midsummer, delivered on or before Oct. 1st, and<br />
settled by cash in the ensuing January.<br />
VOL. VII.<br />
Some time subsequent to the publication of the<br />
book, au account in the following terms was sent<br />
to the author :—■<br />
Publisher's Account.<br />
As rendered to the Author.<br />
£ s. d.<br />
Composition (17 sheets at £ 1 ios.) 25 10 o<br />
Printing ( „ „ 12s.) 10 4 o<br />
Paper ( „ „ £1 os.) 17 o o<br />
Moulding 4'3 3<br />
Stereotyping 8 8 3<br />
Binding (at £2 $s. per 100 copies) 22 10 o<br />
Advertising 41 10 6<br />
Corrections 4 010<br />
Paper Wrappers 1 13 o<br />
Postage 1 7 o<br />
.£136 16 10<br />
Proceeds of sale of 950 copies at<br />
3». 6d £166 5 o<br />
Incidental expenses (5 per cent.<br />
deducted) 8 6 3<br />
■57 18 9<br />
136 16 10<br />
£21 1 11<br />
Alleged half profits iio 10 11<br />
Which shows that, after the sale of the whole of<br />
an edition of 1000 copies, profits to the extent of<br />
,£10 10s. lid. were credited by the publishers to<br />
the author as his half share. Upon a close<br />
investigntion of the account, it was discovered<br />
that on all the cost of production—i.e., com-<br />
position, printing, paper, moulding, stereotyping,<br />
and binding—the pubbshers had added to the<br />
actual cott 10 per cent, on each item. This<br />
addition had been made secretly, and the author<br />
was not in any way informed of what had taken<br />
place. The following amended account shows the<br />
actual amounts of charges invoiced to the pub-<br />
lishers by their printer, paper-maker, binder, and<br />
advertising agent in respect of the items before<br />
referred to:—<br />
Real Cost of Production.<br />
£ s. d.<br />
Composition (17 sheets at £ 1 7*.) 22 19 o<br />
Printing ( „ „ ion. 6d.) 8186<br />
Paper ( „ „ i8». a sheet) 15 6 o<br />
Moulding ( „ „ 58. a sheet) 4 5 o<br />
Stereotyping ( „ „ 9*. a sheet) 7 13 o<br />
Binding at $d. per volume 20 16 8<br />
Advertising 20 o o<br />
Corrections 308<br />
Paper Wrappers 1 10 o<br />
Postage, &c 016 o<br />
jEios<br />
4<br />
10<br />
Proceeds of sale of 950 copies at an average<br />
of<br />
3s. 6<f. a copy<br />
... 166<br />
5<br />
0<br />
Less the coat<br />
... 105<br />
4<br />
10<br />
Profit<br />
...£61<br />
0<br />
_•<br />
Actual half profits to author on this account<br />
... £30<br />
in<br />
1<br />
I I<br />
<br />
<br />
## p. 308 (#368) ############################################<br />
<br />
3o8<br />
THE AUTHOR.<br />
With regard to the item of advertisements, it<br />
was further found that the publishers, being only<br />
able to show vouchers to the amount of £20, the<br />
rest of the sum charged was made up of charges<br />
for advertisements in the publishers' own maga-<br />
zines, for which, of course, they paid nothing, and<br />
"exchanges" with other magazines, i.e. adver-<br />
tisements in magazines for which the publishers<br />
pay nothing, they in their turn inserting gratis in<br />
their own magazines similar advertisements for the<br />
publishers of the other magazines. It is suggested<br />
that the charge for incidental expenses was inde-<br />
fensible.<br />
The result is that the author was entitled to<br />
.£30 io*. id., but the publishers proposed to give<br />
only £10 io«. ltd.<br />
Nature of relationship between parties to<br />
agreement.—Dealing now with several points that<br />
arise on this case :—<br />
( I.) The above agreement is what is commonly<br />
inown as a share profit agreement, and it is sub-<br />
stantially, though there may be minor points of<br />
difference, what is offered by all publishers, as a<br />
share profit agreement, the share being usually,<br />
as here, one half.<br />
As to the general position of the parties under<br />
such an agreement, it is submitted that although<br />
the author is not able to be sued by any outsider<br />
in case of default of the publisher, the agreement<br />
amounts to a partnership agreement, or joint<br />
adventure in the nature of partnership qua the<br />
book concerned; or if not to an agreement for<br />
partnership or joint adventure, then to an agree-<br />
ment making the publisher trustee for the returns<br />
due to the author, and, therefore, unable to make<br />
any profit out of his trust other than such, if any,<br />
as he has expressly stipulated for, and the half<br />
share of profits.<br />
(II.) Duty of the publisher to account.—The<br />
author in the above agreement cedes to the pub-<br />
lishers the exclusive right of printing and pub-<br />
lishing the book during the legal term of copy-<br />
right, and such is the effect of most share-<br />
profit agreements. The consideration for this is<br />
the publisher paying to the author half profits—<br />
i.e., half of the net proceeds of sale of copies<br />
after expenses of the publishers have been<br />
deducted. It is presumed that whatever be the<br />
precise legal relationship of author and publisher<br />
under such an agreement as above, the pub-<br />
lishers are bound to account fully and exactly<br />
to the author, and this appears to involve, as<br />
of right, without any express provision in the<br />
agreement, (a) production of vouchers for all<br />
expenses charged by the publishers, and (6) pro-<br />
duction of such books as are usually kept by<br />
publishers recording sales; also all records of<br />
books received, and the stock in hand, in order<br />
to enable the author to check the number of<br />
books accounted for as sold. On this point it is<br />
believed some publishers would contend that their<br />
word is to be accepted as absolute as to number<br />
of sales in such cases, but this, it is submitted,<br />
is wrong, and that the author has the above right<br />
of examining the publishers' books.<br />
As regards the vouchers, the production of<br />
these seem to be essential. If they are produced<br />
they would reveal such a transaction as that<br />
disclosed in the before-mentioned accounts with-<br />
out the necessity of instituting independent<br />
inquiries of printers, binders, &c., from whom it<br />
might be difficult for an author to obtain infor-<br />
mation.<br />
(III.) Right of publisher to charge more than<br />
actual expenses.—Several questions arise on the<br />
accounts above set out as to the publisher's dis-<br />
bursements; and first, there is the addition of 10<br />
per cent, to the actual prices charged him for the<br />
several items of work done—printing, binding,<br />
&c. It is submitted that this is equally indefen-<br />
sible, whether (a) the publisher discloses to the<br />
author that he has charged at a higher rate than<br />
he himself is charged, there being nothing in the<br />
agreement providing for his charging what he<br />
likes; or (6) as in the above instance, he conceals<br />
this, and so makes a secret profit. The matter<br />
appears to be analogous to the transactions which<br />
were held to be indefensible in Williamson v.<br />
Barbour (9 Ch. Div. 529).<br />
The defence of the publishers would probably<br />
rest on "custom of trade"; an open and well<br />
recognised usage the publisher could not prove,<br />
and an infrequent or secret practice it is believed<br />
would not constitute a custom.<br />
This matter was discussed in a recent case of<br />
Eideal v. Kegan Paul and Co., but this was only<br />
before the Registrar of the City of London<br />
Court. In that case the agreement, a half-profit<br />
one, proved that in the accounts "the work shall<br />
be debited with all expenses of every kind of or<br />
incidental to the publication of each edition of<br />
the work, including Mr. George Redway's charges<br />
for printing, plates, illustrations, stereotyping,<br />
paper, binding, and advertising." Mr. Redway<br />
charged more for these things than prices invoiced<br />
to him, and the registrar held he could not do so.<br />
(IV.) Whether publisher's conduct fraudulent.<br />
—Would the court regard the conduct of a pub-<br />
lisher who made a secret profit in the manner<br />
before stated as fraudulent, so that, e.g., he would<br />
be ordered to pay the costs of an action for<br />
account if such a fact was brought to light in it?<br />
(V.) Discounts.—There is another question<br />
which is often mixed up with the question under<br />
head No. III., but which is really quite a distinct<br />
matter, and apparently moredifficult of decision—■<br />
<br />
<br />
## p. 309 (#369) ############################################<br />
<br />
THE AUTHOR.<br />
that is the question of discounts which a publisher<br />
gets allowed him from the printers, binders,<br />
paper-makers, &c, he deals with.<br />
It is customary for a publisher to obtain six<br />
months' credit from a printer. If he pays cash<br />
he receives certain discounts. If these discounts<br />
are to go into his own pocket, what is there to<br />
prevent him from arranging with the printer for<br />
a bill off which he is to receive heavy discounts<br />
in order to bring the actual cost to the publisher<br />
down to ordinary prices, but seriously affecting<br />
the state of accounts between author and pub-<br />
lisher? It is submitted that any advantages<br />
obtained for the quasi partnership by cash pay-<br />
ments should be credited to the book. Counsel is<br />
referred to the accompanying print of article,<br />
"Some Considerations of Publishing," by Sir<br />
Frederick Pollock, in which this point is fully<br />
discussed.<br />
(VI.) Right to charge for advertisements not<br />
actually paid for.—A very important point, which<br />
is also dealt with in Sir F. Pollock's paper, and<br />
which is of dally occurrence on publishers'<br />
accounts, is as to the charge for advertisements.<br />
As seen in the before-mentioned instance, pub-<br />
lishers charge what they call scale prices (being<br />
the prices they would charge to outside persons,<br />
such as makers of soaps, pills, Ac), for<br />
(a) Advertisements inserted in their own<br />
magazines, including their own trade lists<br />
of books.<br />
And (6) advertisements inserted by exchange<br />
without payment in other publishers'<br />
magazines.<br />
In neither case does the publisher pay directly<br />
or indirectly anything more than the cost of<br />
printing and paper for the pages of advertise-<br />
ments, and possibly a mere trifle extra for<br />
carriage and binding. It is submitted that<br />
beyond these small payments the publisher ought<br />
not to charge the author anything in respect of<br />
such advertisements.<br />
It will no doubt be contended by the pub-<br />
lishers who do make these charges that if they<br />
did not insert these book advertisements they<br />
would be able to advertise so many more soaps<br />
and pills; but even if this were the fact (which it<br />
probably is not), it is submitted that it forms no<br />
legal justification,<br />
A strong case exemplifying the evils of this<br />
system occurred as follows :—<br />
A clergyman named A. gathered many notes<br />
about his church, intending to write a history<br />
about it. Pressure of other work made it difficult<br />
for him to digest and write out his notes, and<br />
after some delay he handed everything over to B.,<br />
who wrote the book out. B. then having full<br />
powers, he went to C., a publisher. He said to<br />
VOL. VII<br />
C, "We want this handsomely printed and bound<br />
We ask no remuneration. It can never have a<br />
very large sale. We therefore ask you to take it<br />
off our hands completely, only reserving the right<br />
to take as many copies as A requires at cost<br />
price." This proposal was willingly accepted. B.<br />
went away for his health, having told A. all about<br />
the (verbal) agreement into which he had entered,<br />
and explained in particular that under no circum-<br />
stances was A. to be called upon to make any<br />
money payment. As soon as his back was turned<br />
C. sent A. a bill for ,£30 for advertising. It so<br />
happened that among C.'s clerks was a young man<br />
who was connected with A.'s church, where he<br />
had been educated. This clerk seeing A. by<br />
chance in C.'s anteroom waiting for an audience,<br />
conferred with him on the subject, having only<br />
time to say " Do not pay anything without seeing<br />
the vouchers." A. took this advice. C. showed<br />
him vouchers for .£3 4*., which A. paid under<br />
protest. C. promptly cashiered the clerk who<br />
had given A. the advice. When B. came home<br />
and heard the story he went to C. and said,<br />
"You must at once return the =£3 4*. to A. with<br />
an apology, as you know perfectly well he owed<br />
you neither £30 nor .£3." But this C. would not<br />
do.<br />
If the publisher is justified in charging for<br />
either of the above-mentioned kinds of advertise-<br />
ments, the matter must be further considered<br />
from other points of view.<br />
Counsel will observe what a large door is opened<br />
to fraud if the right of charging for advertise-<br />
ments which cost nothing or next to nothing<br />
be conceded to a publisher. There is nothing to<br />
prevent him from putting the whole profits of a<br />
book in his own pocket by largely advertising in<br />
his own magazines or by exchanges.<br />
Further, it has been found by long experience<br />
thai a book will only "stand" a certain amount<br />
of advertising—i.e., there is a point at which<br />
further expenditure does not advance sales, and<br />
is only money wasted: also, in the opinion of<br />
many experts, the advertising of books in maga-<br />
zines is of very little use (because most of the<br />
English magazines have a very limited circulation)<br />
compared with their advertisement in the great<br />
daily papers.<br />
(VII.) Moulding and stereotyping. — The<br />
accounts above set out contain a charge for<br />
moulding, which is rightly charged to the first<br />
edition of a book of more than ephemeral interest,<br />
because the moulds are taken in case a new<br />
edition should be called for. But the stereo-<br />
typing need not be executed, and seldom is,<br />
until the second edition is wanted. If a pub-<br />
lisher charges stereotyping when it is not done,<br />
this no doubt will be indefensible. If it is done<br />
1 1 2<br />
<br />
<br />
## p. 310 (#370) ############################################<br />
<br />
THE AUTHOR.<br />
unnecessarily, can lie be made to bear the amount<br />
himself?<br />
(VIII.) Right to deduct a charge for incidental<br />
erpenses.—It will be seen in the above accounts<br />
that the publishers have charged "paper<br />
wrappers" and "postage," presumably for send-<br />
ing copies of the book for review, and have de-<br />
ducted 5 per cent, from the proceeds of sale for<br />
"incidental expenses"; and publishers justify<br />
such a charge by saying that it is to cover the<br />
book's share of their general office expenses (rent,<br />
wages, Ac). This seems clearly indefensible; the<br />
publisher gets half the profits for (i) his risk of<br />
loss if there is any risk—very few publishers do,<br />
in fact, run risks through the book not paying<br />
expenses—this falls entirely on the publisher ; and<br />
(2) his position in the publishing trade, for which<br />
his offices, his clerks, travellers, &c, are a tine<br />
qui! non.<br />
The questions on which counsel is asked to<br />
advise are as follows:<br />
1. What is the exact relationship between the<br />
parties to a share-profit agreement; is it<br />
one of partnership, or rather joint adven-<br />
ture, or of trusteeship, or what?<br />
2. In any view of the relationship, ought not<br />
the publisher to render full accounts, and to<br />
give full opportunity of checking them by<br />
production of vouchers and books as<br />
mentioned above?<br />
3. Is the publisher entitled, under a share-profit<br />
agreement, to charge expenses at a higher<br />
rate than he himself makes; whether this<br />
is disclosed to the author after the con-<br />
tract, or is a secret profit made by the<br />
publisher?<br />
4. If the answer to the last question is in the<br />
negative, would not the existence of such<br />
charges, when proved to the court, be a<br />
sufficient case for reopening a settled<br />
account which contained charges embody-<br />
ing such profits?<br />
5. Is the publisher under a share-profit agree-<br />
ment entitled to charge the author the<br />
full amounts of invoices to him for<br />
expenses of the book when he himself only<br />
pays such amounts less discounts?<br />
6. Has the publisher the right under a share-<br />
profit agreement to charge for advertise-<br />
ments (a) inserted in his own magazines<br />
or trade lists, and (b) inserted in other<br />
publishers' magazines by exchange with-<br />
out payment?<br />
7. Can the publisher under a share profit agree-<br />
ment charge stereotyping against the first<br />
edition where it is not done?<br />
8. Has the publisher under an ordinary share-<br />
profit agreement, in the absence of ex-<br />
press stipulation, the right to deduct a<br />
percentage on books sold for "incidental<br />
expenses."<br />
11. counsel's opinion.<br />
1. In our opinion, an agreement such as that<br />
set out in the above case creates between the par-<br />
ties to it a joint adventure, involving some (but<br />
not all) of the incidents of partnership, and con-<br />
stitutes a fiduciary relation on the part of the<br />
publisher towards the author.<br />
2. Under such an agreement the publisher is, in<br />
our opinion, bound, in any view of the relation-<br />
ship of the parties, to render proper accounts<br />
and to produce all books and documents neces-<br />
sary for the proper vouching of the items of such<br />
accounts.<br />
3. Under such an agreement the publisher is, in<br />
our opinion, only entitled to deduct from the pro-<br />
ceeds of sale the actual expenses of printing,<br />
paper, &c, and he cannot therefore charge such<br />
expenses at a higher rate than he actually pays.<br />
It would not, in our opinion, make any difference<br />
in this respect whether the publisher, after the<br />
execution of the agreement, informed the author<br />
that he intended to charge, or had in fact charged,<br />
the expenses at such higher rate (unless there<br />
were additional circumstances which might evi-<br />
dence a waiver or abandonment of rights on the<br />
part of the author) or kept the matter secret.<br />
4. If the existence of such charges as those<br />
mentioned in the last question were satisfactorily<br />
proved, it would, in our opinion, be a sufficient<br />
ground for reopening the account in which such<br />
charges were contained, even though such account<br />
had been settled and approved by the author,<br />
assuming, of course, that the account had been<br />
so approved by him in ignorance of its containing<br />
such charges.<br />
5. This question is one of some difficulty, but,<br />
in our opinion, the publisher, under such an<br />
agreement, is only entitled to charge for what he<br />
actually pays, and therefore cannot charge the<br />
full amount of the invoice where he obtains a<br />
discount.<br />
6. The publisher is, in our opinion, only en-<br />
titled under such an agreement to charge the<br />
actual cost of advertisements, whether inserted in<br />
his own magazines or trade lists, or those of other<br />
publishers. He cannot charge against the author<br />
the sum which a stranger would have paid for the<br />
insertion of such an advertisement. The actual<br />
cost in case (6) would in effect appear to be the<br />
actual cost to him of inserting in his own maga-<br />
zine an advertisement in exchange for the adver-<br />
tisement of the work in question in another<br />
publisher's magazine.<br />
7. The publisher is not, in our opinion, entitled<br />
<br />
<br />
## p. 311 (#371) ############################################<br />
<br />
THE AUTHOR.<br />
to charge for work which has not in fact lieen<br />
done.<br />
8. The term "incidental expenses" in the<br />
above-mentioned agreement is extremely vague<br />
and unsatisfac'ory, but, in our opinion, it includes<br />
those expenses which, or a portion of which, are<br />
incidental to the particular book referred to in the<br />
agreement, and does not include a shire of estab-<br />
lishment charges generally. Unless, however, the<br />
charge for incidental expenses could be shown<br />
to be excessive or improper, the publisher would<br />
not, in our opinion, I e called upon to furnish a<br />
detailed account of the items of which it was<br />
made up, and the fact that the amount of such<br />
incidental expanses was arrived at by taking a<br />
percentage on the returns would not, in our opinion,<br />
of itself render the charge improper.<br />
Herbert H. Cozens-Hardy.<br />
J. Kolt.<br />
Lincoln's Inn. Dec. 9, 1893.<br />
II.—The Meaning ok Royalties.<br />
The following tables were published in the first<br />
volume of The Author. They are reproduce; 1<br />
here, because too much publicity c.innot be<br />
given to the meaning of royalties. The ordinary<br />
six shilling book is taken, as usual, with the<br />
number of sheets, &c, as in the "Cost of<br />
Production,"<br />
"I. On the sale of the first 1,000, costing ,£100.<br />
Per cent.<br />
Roytlly of<br />
6<br />
10<br />
15<br />
30<br />
25<br />
30<br />
£<br />
£<br />
£<br />
£<br />
PuM.her.<br />
CO<br />
45<br />
30<br />
15<br />
—<br />
Author ...<br />
15<br />
10<br />
45<br />
60<br />
75<br />
*><br />
II. On the sale of the next 3,000, costing ^150.<br />
Per cent.<br />
5<br />
10<br />
15<br />
20<br />
•a<br />
30<br />
3'<br />
£<br />
£<br />
£<br />
£<br />
£<br />
£<br />
£<br />
Pa' 1 shci<br />
350<br />
285<br />
240<br />
195<br />
150<br />
10.»<br />
60<br />
Author ...<br />
45<br />
90<br />
135<br />
180<br />
225<br />
270<br />
315<br />
III. On the sale of<br />
an edition of 10,000, costing<br />
£400.<br />
Per cent<br />
5<br />
10<br />
15<br />
20<br />
25<br />
30<br />
.r.<br />
£<br />
£<br />
£<br />
£<br />
£<br />
£<br />
£<br />
rutlUher<br />
1200<br />
1050<br />
too<br />
750<br />
603<br />
450<br />
Author...<br />
150<br />
800<br />
450<br />
600<br />
750<br />
900<br />
1050<br />
"Since it is more common to meet with a success<br />
corresponding with the second than with the first<br />
table, let us consider what the figures mean. They<br />
speak for themselves, but for those who cannot<br />
understand figures let us explain.<br />
"' Your publisher, dear Sir or Madam, when he<br />
benevolently offers you a £5 pjr cent, royalty, will<br />
on a second edition of 3000 copies make £330 to<br />
your .£45, i.e., eight times your share. If he<br />
gives you 10 percent.—which is common—he will<br />
make £285 to your £90, that is, three times your<br />
share. If 15 per cent, he will make £240 to<br />
your £135, i.e., twice your share. If 20 per cent.,<br />
£195 to your £180. If 25 per cent. £170 to<br />
your ^"225. If £30 per cent., £105 to your £270.<br />
Consider this, and refuse the .£10 per cent, with<br />
indignation.'"<br />
Since the above figures were printed royalties<br />
have gone up very generally and enormously;<br />
thanks, especially, to the publicity given by The<br />
Author. Printing and paper have gone down, so<br />
that the table ought to be revised. For the<br />
present, howeve •, let it pass.<br />
Still, however, trading on ignorance, certain<br />
publishers pointed out that these figures made no-<br />
allowance for their " office expenses." Never was<br />
a more impudent attempt. They have never<br />
even offered to consider the "office expenses"<br />
of booksellers, on the one hand, whose "office<br />
expenses " are from 16 to 20 per cent, on their<br />
sales: nor of authors, whose office expenses are,<br />
as has been pointed out elsewheiv, just as real.<br />
IIT.—Copyright in Photographs.<br />
(Before Mr. Justice Col ins, without a Jury, on<br />
April 12.)<br />
Melville t\ Hulton.<br />
This was an action brought by Mr. G. C.<br />
Melville, a photographer, carrying on business at<br />
Market-street, Manchester, against Messrs. E.<br />
Hulton and Co., of Mark-lane, Manchester, the<br />
proprietors and printers of a daily pap^r called<br />
the Sporting Chronicle, and of two weekly papers<br />
respectively called the Athletic Neics and the<br />
Sunday Chronicle, for damages for infringement<br />
of copyright. The plaintiff, by his statement of<br />
claim, said that he was the author and proprietor<br />
of a photograph of one Frederick E. Bacon, a<br />
well-known athlete, and that the defendants had,<br />
without the consent of the plaintiff in writing,<br />
colourably imitated or multiplied for sale, and did<br />
sell, a large number of copies of the said photo-<br />
graph. The publications complained of w re:—<br />
(i)In the Sporting Chronicle of Sept. 19 and<br />
Oct. 5, 1896 ; and (2) in the Sunday Chronicle<br />
of Sept. 20 and Oct. 1896. The defendants said<br />
that the plaintiff never was, an.l is not now, the<br />
author or proprietor of th? photograph, and that<br />
<br />
<br />
## p. 312 (#372) ############################################<br />
<br />
THE AUTHOR.<br />
the photograph, if made by the plaintiff, was<br />
made by him for F. E. Bacon for a good and<br />
valuable consideration, and that the copyright<br />
was not expressly reserved to the plaintiff by<br />
agreement in writing signed at or before the time<br />
when the photograph was made.<br />
Mr. Pickford, Q.C. and Mr. G. B. Wilkinson<br />
appeared for the plaintiff; Mr. McCall, Q.C. and<br />
Mr. Bradbury for the defendants.<br />
The action was tried at the Liverpool Assizes<br />
on March 27 last, when judgment was reserved.<br />
Mr. Justice Collins, in giving judgment to-day,<br />
said that upon the evidence he was satisfied that<br />
the photograph was taken for Mr. Bacon and<br />
upon his behalf, and that there was abundant<br />
consideration moving from him to the plaintiff.<br />
Mr. Bacon was a most distinguished athlete.<br />
Each copy of the jmotograph was worth i*. 6d.,<br />
and although Mr. Bacon made no payment there<br />
was abundant consideration given by him. The<br />
1st section of 25 & 26 Vict. c. 68, said that if the<br />
photograph was "made or executed for or on<br />
behalf or any other person for a good or a<br />
valuable consideration, lhe person so . . .<br />
making or executing the tame shall not retain the<br />
copyright thereof, unless it be expressly reserved<br />
to him in writing signed ... by the persons<br />
for or on whose behalf the same shall have been<br />
so made or executed; . . . but the copyright<br />
shall belong to the person for or on whose<br />
behalf the same shall have been so made or<br />
executed." Mr. Bacon had said that there<br />
was no agreement by which he reserved the<br />
copyright to the plaintiff. There must, therefore,<br />
.be judgment for the defendants.<br />
Judgment for defendants.<br />
—The Times, April 13.<br />
IV.—Copyright Legislation in America.<br />
Now that so much interest is taken in the sub-<br />
ject of Copyright in the United States of America,<br />
it is important that British authors should be<br />
made acquainted with any fresh or proposed<br />
legislation by which their rights in that country<br />
may be affected.<br />
On the 3rd March, 1897, sect. 4963 of the<br />
Revised Statutes of the United States was<br />
amended.<br />
The section now stands in th-3 following form,<br />
the amendment appearing from the words in<br />
italics:<br />
"Every person who shall insert or impress snch notice, or<br />
words of the same purport, in or upon any book, map, chart,<br />
dramatic or musical composition, print, cat, engraving, or<br />
photograph, or other article, whether such article be subject<br />
to copyright or otheruise, for which he has not obtained a<br />
copyright, or thall knowingly issue or sell any article bear-<br />
ing a notice of United States copyright which has not been<br />
copyrighted in this country, or shall import any book, photo-<br />
graph, chromo, or lithograph, or other article bearing such<br />
notice of copyright or worls of the same purport, which is<br />
not copyrighted in this country, shall be liable to a penalty<br />
of 100 do'lars, recoverable one-half for the person who shall<br />
sue for such penalty and one-half to the use of the United<br />
States; and the importation into the United States of any<br />
book, chromo, lithograph, or photograph, or other article<br />
bea~ing such notice of copyright, when there is no existing<br />
copyright thereon in the United States, is prohibited; and<br />
the circuit courts of the United States sitting in equity are<br />
hereby authorised to enjoin the issuing, publishing, or<br />
selling of any article marked or imported in violation of<br />
the United States copyright laws, at the suit of any person<br />
complaining of such violation: Provided, that this Act<br />
ahall not apply to any importation of or sale of such<br />
goods or articles brought into the United States prior to the<br />
passage hereof."<br />
The notice mentioned in the section is to this<br />
effect: "Entered according to Act of Congress,<br />
in the year , by A. B., in the office of the<br />
Librarian of Congress at Washington."<br />
It will be seen at a glance that the amended<br />
section is much more stringent than the section<br />
as it. origina'ly stood, and introduces new prohi-<br />
bitions of a far reaching character.<br />
At the present time there is also a Bill before the<br />
Hou -e of Representatives to revise the copyright<br />
law; it was introduced by Mr. Treloar, and has<br />
been referred to the Committee on Patents, and<br />
ordered to be printed.<br />
It is proposed to deal with and point out the<br />
most important amendments and alterations in<br />
the law suggested by the Bill.<br />
The first eight sections deal with the appoint-<br />
ment of a commissioner of copyrights, together<br />
with assistants and clerks, for the purpose of<br />
performing, under the supervision of the Joint<br />
Committee on the Library, all those duties<br />
which are now imposed upon the Librarian of<br />
Congress.<br />
This would appear to be a very desirable<br />
alteration, as under the existing system, owing,<br />
no doubt, to the onerous duties of the Librarian<br />
of Congress, complaints have been made that the<br />
business of registering and advising copyrights<br />
has been conducted in a loose way.<br />
The term of duration of copyright is to be<br />
extended from twenty-tight to fifty years from<br />
the time of registering the title thereof. This<br />
is clearly a step in the right direction. It will<br />
be remembered that in the Bill prepared by the<br />
Society of Authors, and introduced in the House<br />
of Lords by Lord Moukswell in 1890, the pro-<br />
posed term was for the life of the author and<br />
thirty years after his deith.<br />
The author's right of printing, reprinting, pub-<br />
lishing, completing, copying, exhibiting, using,<br />
leasing, vending, abridging, adapting, dramatising,<br />
translating, and publicly exhibiting his work has<br />
<br />
<br />
## p. 313 (#373) ############################################<br />
<br />
THE AUTHOR.<br />
313<br />
been made more comprehensive and clear than<br />
it is under the existing statutes.<br />
The 12th and 13th sections of the Bill deal with<br />
the manner in which copyright is to be obtained,<br />
but with regard to a dramatic composition or<br />
play the sections are not at all clear, and need<br />
amendment.<br />
Sect. 12 states " that no person shall be entitled<br />
to copyright unless he shall, not later than the<br />
day of first publication thereof, deliver at the<br />
office of commissioner of copyright, or deposit in<br />
the mail within the United States . . . two<br />
complete copies of the dramatic composition<br />
. . . Provided, that in the case of a dramatic<br />
composition or play, the two copies deposited as<br />
above may be typewritten."<br />
Sect. 13 states, " that in the case of a . . .<br />
dramatic composition, the two copies of the<br />
same required to be delivered or deposited shall<br />
be printed from type set within the United<br />
States."<br />
It is, therefore, doubtful whether the two copies<br />
of the dramatic composition are to be type-<br />
written or printed from type set within the<br />
United States, a most important difference<br />
to authors, and one which should be attended<br />
to before the Bill is passed into law. The ifith<br />
section subjects any person who sells or offers<br />
for sale a pirated literary composition to the<br />
same penalties as though he had pirated and<br />
printed it.<br />
Another proposed alteration of the law is to<br />
compel an applicant for copyright to make an<br />
affidavit stating in what capacity, whether as<br />
author, owner, executor, or how otherwise he<br />
claims the right.<br />
This alteration is aimed at those unprincipled<br />
persons who, having got the control of an author's<br />
manuscript, can under the existing law obtain<br />
copyright of it in their own name.<br />
Other parts of the Bill deal with penalties and<br />
damages for infringement, the obtaining of<br />
interim injunctions, and legal procedure.<br />
The Bill seems to be just and proper, and one<br />
which every person who has the welfare of the<br />
author and the protection of his rights at heart<br />
ought to strive to pass into law.<br />
Whether it become law or no, it shows that the<br />
American authors are not losing sight of their<br />
interests, and what are their interests are now<br />
those of the English author.<br />
V.—An Example from Aberdeen.<br />
"Thoughts for Book Lovers." By Harry S.<br />
Lumsden. This little book is worthy of remark<br />
for two reasons. First, because it is a second<br />
edition of a very interesting and valuable com-<br />
pilation. It consists of extracts from the writings<br />
of over two hundred authors, living and dead,<br />
on various subjects connected with literature and<br />
books. Especially, there is a treasury of advice<br />
on the subject of novel reading. It is pleasant<br />
to find novelists themselves dissuading the world<br />
from reading novels—one among them even<br />
declaring that he never read a novel at all, which<br />
is, indeed, a piteous case. The book is, however,<br />
remarkable for another reason: the author keeps<br />
all the remaining copies in his own hands; he is<br />
his own publisher. Now, why should not this<br />
method be more generally adopted? With a<br />
certain class of book—one, that is, that will com-<br />
mand a certain—but not a very great—circula-<br />
tion, the author may make his own arrangements<br />
for production: he is not liable for charges for<br />
expenses not incurred: he controls the advertise-<br />
ments: he can easily send out the books himself:<br />
he can have them bound as he wants them. See<br />
what he saves by such a method. A publisher<br />
would probably send in a bill something like the<br />
following:<br />
Cost of production:—<br />
£ s. d. £ s. d.<br />
In reality, say 50 o o<br />
In the account 70 o o<br />
Advertising:—<br />
In reality 5 o o<br />
In the account, swelled<br />
by charging for his<br />
own magazines 25 o o<br />
By sales, say 600 at 2.1. 6<7. 75 o o<br />
In account (ret down<br />
as 13 as 12) 69 4 o<br />
Less 5 per een\ for<br />
bad debts 390<br />
Less incidental ex-<br />
penses, postage,<br />
&c 2 10 o<br />
Less 15 per cent,<br />
publisher's com-<br />
mission 10 7 6<br />
So that the account in full would appear as<br />
follows:<br />
£ s. d.<br />
Cost of production 70 o o<br />
Advertising 25 o o<br />
Bad debts, 5 percent. ... 3 9 o<br />
Incidental expenses 2 10 o<br />
Publisher's commission... 10 7 6<br />
in 6 6<br />
By sale 600 copies at<br />
2s. 6rf.,at 13 as 12 69 4 o<br />
Loss on book 42 2 6<br />
in 6 6<br />
<br />
<br />
## p. 314 (#374) ############################################<br />
<br />
3»4<br />
THE AUTHOR.<br />
Suppose ho keeps the book in his own hauds.<br />
How does the account stand then?<br />
£ s. d.<br />
Cost of production 50 o o<br />
Circulars for distribution 200<br />
Advertising, say 10 o o<br />
Postage at 4f/ 10 o o<br />
Profit on book 3 o o<br />
75 o o<br />
Sale of 600 copies at 2s. 6d 75 o o<br />
In common gratitude to Mr. Lumsden for<br />
showing the way, I am pleased to assist him by<br />
pointing out that his pretty little book can be<br />
obtained of him direct, by addressing H. A.<br />
Lumsden. 18, Bon Accord-crescent, Aberdeen.<br />
VI.—An Author's Protest.<br />
Some weeks since I observed among notices of<br />
forthcoming books the announcement of a work<br />
to be published by Mr. George Redway, on<br />
"'Travel and Big Game,' by Percy Selous and<br />
H. A. Bryden." I wrote at once to the paper<br />
in which I saw the notice to say that I knew<br />
nothing of Mr. Percy Selous or of any such work.<br />
I see that this book has been sent round to the<br />
Press for review, but that its present publisher<br />
appears to be Mr. G. Bellairs. The work is<br />
now described as "'Travel and Big Game,'<br />
by Percy Se!ous, with two chapters by H. A.<br />
Bryden."<br />
In fairness to myself I ought to explain that<br />
the two chapters for which I am thus held respon-<br />
sible were written for a news syndicate, with no<br />
idea of subsequent publication in book form. I<br />
have never been consulted in the matter of the<br />
book in question; I am not acquainted with<br />
Mr. Percy Selous (his namesake, Mr. F. C.<br />
Selous, of South African fame, I know very<br />
well); and I have objected, as far as I was able,<br />
to the inclusion of the two articles in the present<br />
volume.<br />
I understand that Mr. George Eedway acquired<br />
from the news syndicate I have mentioned the<br />
copyright in these two articles. He (or Mr.<br />
Bellairs, who now appears as publisher) is j>ro-<br />
bably legally within his rights in throwing my<br />
articles — notwithstanding my protests — into<br />
Mr. Percy Selous's book. But it is surely<br />
scarcely fair to an author (by virtue of thus<br />
securing a couple of stray articles) to include<br />
his name, against his will, with an author<br />
of whom he knows nothing, in a work of this<br />
kind.<br />
My experience is probably a rare one, but it<br />
seems to me that here is another instance of the<br />
necessity, now more than ever incumbent upon<br />
authors, of looking more cloiely after their copy-<br />
rights. H. A. Bryden.<br />
Constitutional Club, Northumberland-<br />
avenue, April 26, 1897.<br />
THE SOCIETY AS PUBLISHERS.<br />
ENORMOUS as has been the benefit con-<br />
ferred upon literature and afforded to the<br />
knights of the pen by the Society of<br />
Authors — benefits which I think no one can<br />
dispute—I am yet some distance from believing<br />
that the organisation of the Society is perfect, or<br />
from thinking that an association which in its<br />
mere childhood and youth has accomplished for<br />
literature so much—so very much—cannot in its<br />
growing vigorous manhood accomplish still a little<br />
more. Probably the hardest tug in an author's<br />
life—I mean of the average author's life, for<br />
transcendent genius may assert itself from its<br />
very youth—is the turning of the corner of the<br />
hill which leads from absolute obscurity, an<br />
unknown name, to popularity, pay, and a world-<br />
wide fame; a passage which I have heard described<br />
as—but the simile is not my own—like passing<br />
into heaven out of hell.<br />
The paying for the publication of the first<br />
book is a blunder upon which many generations<br />
of unprincipled publishers must from time<br />
immemorial have thriven and grown fat—it is a<br />
pit into which the tyro with some money in his<br />
pocket and literary ambition in his heart, the<br />
infant offspring of his imagination in manuscript<br />
before him, hungry publishers around him, and<br />
an unsympathetic world hard to wrin without, will<br />
not unnaturally fall. But to the flowery land and<br />
pleasant pastures of fame and popularity—the<br />
very haven to which he paid his money to be<br />
wafted on wings of gold—he is no nearer than he<br />
was before.<br />
'Ihen how is the citizenship of this pleasant<br />
country to be won?<br />
In the February number of The Author the<br />
aspirant is put up to a wrinkle or two, the dreamer<br />
is told how he may get his chance; ha must get<br />
his work economically printed and bound on—<br />
six months credit—easy terms; he must then<br />
print a circular describing his work, and offer<br />
copies on liberal terms to booksellers on sale or<br />
return; he must advertise a little, feeling his way<br />
as he goes; he must issue to the trade from his<br />
own house—if he can find no better place This<br />
is all in theory and in principle excellent advice;<br />
it is right as far as it goes; how far it would be<br />
practicable or successful, or the reverse, I will not<br />
venture to say.<br />
<br />
<br />
## p. 315 (#375) ############################################<br />
<br />
THE AUTItOk.<br />
3i5<br />
We are informed by those who know that out<br />
of every hundred manuscripts submitted to pub-<br />
lishers, no more than about three or five are<br />
acceptable or accepted; then what becomes of the<br />
ninety and five per cent, of intolerable literary<br />
matter thrust—inflicted I would say—upon the<br />
attention of publishers, this long-suffering race?<br />
Book publishing is said to be a good business;<br />
and had it not need, to pay for the consideration<br />
of 95 per cent, of unprofitable work?<br />
Much of it is, and must be—as every editor<br />
knows—hopeless; but surely all this 95 per cent,<br />
of unsuitable product of brain power cannot be<br />
irreclaimable waste: there must still be a certain<br />
proportion of good grain in the heaps of rejected<br />
rubbish and chaff. Besides, as we all know,<br />
much really excellent literary work is " declined<br />
with thanks " for no other reason than because it<br />
is unbacked by the magic talisman of some well<br />
known name.<br />
From the correspondence which appears in the<br />
pages of The Author, there seems to be a con-<br />
sensus of opinion that an additional department<br />
of the society is needed—that the Society of<br />
Authors, in short, should become publishers<br />
themselves; and I cannot help being strongly of<br />
opinion that the establishment of such a new de-<br />
parture would be the best day's work the Com-<br />
mittee of Management ever did.<br />
The magic word "connection" is the great<br />
secret of modern trade, and the trader who opened<br />
his shop and started his business with a connec-<br />
tion or clientele of 1300 customers might, if he<br />
at all understood his work, consider its success<br />
assured; and this, with its 1300 members,<br />
would be very much the position that the Society<br />
of Authors, starting as publishers for themselves,<br />
would be in. I cannot approach, even distantly,<br />
the working of such a department here.but obviously<br />
many works which the ordinary publisher would<br />
reject might be considered on their merits, reported<br />
on by competent readers, advised upon, and<br />
issued, if need be, upon economical lines. Here,<br />
then, would the literary aspirant, without fear of<br />
unfair dealing, get his chance, while the same<br />
chance by many an older bird would be not less<br />
eagerly embraced; it would be a chance, I think,<br />
which would be appreciated by all, and the<br />
venture would not improbably surpass the most<br />
sanguine anticipations of its originators. Of<br />
course such an office would have its own peculiar<br />
system of business, of advertising (which might<br />
be done at trifling cost to each individual<br />
author) of circularising the trade, &c., upon<br />
which I cannot here pretend to enlarge. Like as<br />
the Society itself has grown in usefulness and<br />
importance from a .modest beginning, so, as is<br />
uow the case with some of our most eminent<br />
VOL VII.<br />
publishing houses, the fact of a work being issued<br />
under its auspices would in itself be a recom-<br />
mendation in the eyes of booksellers and the<br />
public, and would be quite sufficient guarantee of<br />
its worth. Thomas W. D. Lisle.<br />
NEW YORK LETTER.<br />
New York, April 15.<br />
EERDLNAND BRUNETIERE and Mme.<br />
Blanc sat at breakfast together one morn-<br />
ing recently, and talked about the French<br />
critic's well-known opinions on literature as far as<br />
they bore on the situation in this country. I<br />
asked him why criticism had not made a better<br />
start among us, and he ventured as one explana-<br />
tion this: "Germany and France are the only<br />
two countries where the important books alone<br />
are reviewed, and where those are criticised<br />
adequately. An Italian was recently making the<br />
same complaint about criticism in his country<br />
which you make about it here, that books of all<br />
sorts, no matter how unimportant, have to be<br />
noticed, so there is no distinction, and no excel-<br />
lence." There was a little talk about the influ-<br />
ence of the business office and the large amount<br />
of publishers' advertisements, but both critics<br />
were unable to see clearly the workings of those<br />
influences, although Mme. Blanc, at least, had<br />
thought about the matter considerably. M.<br />
Brunetiere gradually became more expansive upon<br />
the general subject of literature in a democracy<br />
like ours. "I believe that the effect of democracy<br />
on literature is going to be very good. Mind<br />
you, it is not good yet. I only say it will<br />
be some time. Just now your literature is<br />
very crude—it descends too much to the level<br />
of an unrefined body of readers; but when<br />
your public is educated, the literature will<br />
be the better for being democratic, for it<br />
will escape the side-tracks, the dilettanteism, the<br />
mere rhetorical ornament, that usually encumber<br />
it where it is the product and the expression of a<br />
class. Literature should take subjects of import-<br />
ance to the whole nation; it should express broad<br />
social conditions, and so touch everybody. If I<br />
talk to you about the matters which are of inte-<br />
rest to all classes, and you use better words, make<br />
stronger sentences, and give more searching views<br />
on this common topic, you have already made<br />
literature." Mme. Blanc supplemented this by<br />
pointing out that we now care too much for the<br />
various fads of literature, and spoke especially of<br />
the absurd vogue which J. K. Huysmans is now<br />
having here. She commented also on the too<br />
K K<br />
<br />
<br />
## p. 316 (#376) ############################################<br />
<br />
316<br />
THE AUTHOR.<br />
great leniency of our critics—a stricture which is<br />
certainly deserved.<br />
We are safe, in M. Brunetiere's case, from<br />
another book as full of mistakes as M. Bourget's,<br />
not only because M. Brunetiere sees more clearly<br />
the difficulty of understanding a civilisation in a<br />
few weeks, but also because his interests are in<br />
the really important elements, to which he makes<br />
all details subordinate. In contrast with such a<br />
point of view may be mentioned a book (a good<br />
deal talked about just now) published by the<br />
Scribners—"America and the Americans "—which<br />
pretends to be written by a Frenchman, and reads<br />
as if it were written by a pseudo-cosmopolitan<br />
American. It is full of the kind of observations<br />
which, as Dr. Johnson said of Boswell's ques-<br />
tions, makes a sensible man want to hang<br />
himself. The writer finds a man in some Western<br />
place who goes to an afternoon function in evening<br />
dress; he observes that Americans in their deal-<br />
ings with foreigners do not know how to change<br />
their tone to meet the differences of social station;<br />
he is amused that a woman in Chicago who talked<br />
of Plato did not know anything about the works<br />
now being produced in Chicago, and thinks it<br />
must be pose. In short, the book reminds one of<br />
the observations which some Americans bring<br />
back from a three months' trip in Europe, com-<br />
plaining about the bathing facilities in France,<br />
the inadequacy of Continental breakfasts, the<br />
indigestibility of tables d'hote, fleas, heating<br />
facilities in Italy, the ugliness of the Crystal<br />
Palace, or the absurd manifestations of patriotism<br />
in the Place de la Concorde. Such an irrelevant<br />
series of observations as are found in this book is<br />
more irritating than the mistakes of M. Bourget,<br />
because he at least founded interesting conclu-<br />
sions on his inaccurate premises; but opposed to<br />
them both may be put such a serious study of<br />
American women as Mme. Blanc has given to<br />
her countrymen, teaching them to know that the<br />
travelling class is not the class of American<br />
women which best deserves understanding. But,<br />
after all, far and away the best study of American<br />
affairs which has been made in our generation is the<br />
"American Commonwealth." Other books are<br />
needed to cover much that Mr. Bryce does not<br />
touch, but there could scarcely be a better draw-<br />
ing of the outlines.<br />
Various English papers speak with a sort of<br />
amazement of Mr. Charles Dudley Warner's en-<br />
deavour to put the world's literature into thirty<br />
volumes. The motives which led to the publica-<br />
tion of such a venture show at once the omni-<br />
presence of the business spirit here, and the<br />
desire for culture of many classes of the people,<br />
mixed with conditions which make it impossible<br />
for them to get it. The book is written for the<br />
American business or professional man, who<br />
seldom has time to read anything thoroughly,<br />
but intends when the opportunity offers to read<br />
everything that is really worth while. Letters<br />
have been sent by the publishers to a large<br />
number of sujh men in all the principal cities,<br />
laying out the advantages of the book and in-<br />
closing postal cards on which sample sheets may<br />
be ordered. The man who mails the return<br />
postal card does not get his sample sheets, but<br />
he gets a book agent, who has in advance<br />
learned all he could about the sender of<br />
the postal card, studied his particular case, and<br />
prepared himself to turn at once to that part of<br />
the encyclopaedic work which will be likely to meet<br />
the individual prejudices of his customer. For<br />
instance, a Scotchman in New York is told that<br />
the article on Blackmore was written by one of<br />
our best known literary men, and that the picture<br />
which appears in the work is the only photograph<br />
ever taken of the novelist. The general perspec-<br />
tive of the book is arranged with a very distinct<br />
idea of its market. More space is given to English<br />
writers than to those in other languages, most of<br />
all to Americans, and among them most to those<br />
who are now alive. Baudelaire, for instance, is<br />
given perhaps 1500 words of extract, where Henry<br />
James will have about 20,000. The business skill<br />
of the promoters of an adventure like this does<br />
not end with the study of any one class; they<br />
aim at the scholars as well as the hasty man of<br />
affairs, so the volumes are well sprinkled with<br />
signed articles by experts, by means of which they<br />
prove to the literary man also that the work is<br />
one which he "cannot afford to be without." It<br />
is an admirable illustration of "business" in<br />
literature.<br />
The librarian of the Carnegie Library of Phila-<br />
delphia has set an excellent example in excluding<br />
a lot of books, not on the ground that they were<br />
immoral (the usual reason), but that they were<br />
intellectually worthless. The less intelligent atti-<br />
tude towards literature is well shown by the hard<br />
fight with Mr. Dingley to yield no more in his<br />
duty on books than he is absolutely compelled to<br />
by the protests of everybody in any way interested<br />
in education.<br />
The librarians of this State have been giving<br />
their opinions on the literature of the year.<br />
Keturns from 300 of them have been received,<br />
giving the fifty books published in 1896 which<br />
they deem most valuable to a village library.<br />
"Sentimental Tommy" headed the list with 162,<br />
and the remainder of the first ten are: 2 (Ward),<br />
"Sir George Tressady "; 3 (Parker), " Seats of<br />
the Mighty "; 4 (Morse), " Life and Letters of<br />
Oliver Wendell Holmes"; 5 (Smith), "Tom<br />
Grrogan "; 6 (Skinner), " Myths and Legends of<br />
<br />
<br />
## p. 317 (#377) ############################################<br />
<br />
THE AUTHOR.<br />
317<br />
Our Own Land"; 7 (Barrie), "Margaret<br />
Ogilvy"; 8 (Kipling), "Seven Seas"; 9<br />
(Krehbiel), "How to Listen to Music"; 10<br />
(Wiggin), "Marm Lisa." Barrie and Maclaren<br />
are the only authors with two books each on the<br />
list. The latest manifestation of the taste for the<br />
Scotch here is a young woman who reads their<br />
books in drawing-rooms to fashionable audiences,<br />
and stops to cry at the pathetic places.<br />
The Harpers will publish about the 26th of this<br />
month a volume by an author who ought to be<br />
much better known in England than she is. There<br />
seems to be a large element of accident in the<br />
formation of foreign reputations by our various<br />
writers of fiction—Miss Wilkins, for instance,<br />
being well known in England, while Miss Jewett<br />
is not, and several writers of stories dealing with<br />
the middle West being known to 100 English-<br />
men while no one knows anything about Octave<br />
Thanet, which is the name taken by Miss Alice<br />
French, an Arkansas woman, some of whose stories<br />
have a height of dramatic art which makes them<br />
stand just below those of Bret Harte, and above<br />
any other of those tales of that part of the<br />
country with which they could be compared. They<br />
are not primarily studies; they are not realistic in<br />
the sense of being full of detailed analysis; but<br />
they are true to life in a broad way, taking<br />
from the existence of the middle West its<br />
most dramatic possibilities, and being less docu-<br />
ments than artistic productions, full of charm-<br />
ing skill, proceeding with apparent simplicity,<br />
but always ending successfully in a climax which<br />
leaves the reader usually happy. "Pleasant" is the<br />
word one finds first for them. Delicate humour,<br />
a raciness in the dialogue which is always re-<br />
strained, touches of pathos in moderation, no<br />
heavy gloom, and the spirit of adventure in<br />
greater or less degree, result in a whole that one<br />
may praise with fulness. The dialect, which is<br />
used infrequently enough to be a subordinate<br />
element, is the amusing and easily comprehended<br />
slang of the plain man in these States in which<br />
her stories are laid. The forthcoming volume,<br />
which is called " The Missionary Sheriff," is made<br />
up of half a dozen of her latest tales, showing<br />
her in her full charm. There are few, very few,<br />
present writers who might not be better neglected<br />
by those students of our literature who wish to<br />
see what are the most interesting literary possibi-<br />
lities in American life.<br />
Norman Hapoood.<br />
NOTES FROM ELSEWHERE.<br />
HEBE is a series of undesigned coincidences,<br />
or whatever you like to call it, which I<br />
think worth noting. A man has recently<br />
been arrested in Paris for a very cruel murder,<br />
and has confessed his guilt. There can be no<br />
doubt what the result of the trial will be, or what<br />
end is reserved for him. It appears, now, that<br />
twenty-six or twenty-seven years ago this man's<br />
father kept an inn in the north of France, near<br />
the frontier of Flanders. It was a low inn,<br />
frequented by rough people. One day a novel<br />
kind of contest was proposed by one of the<br />
customers. It was to see who amongst the<br />
drinkers could curse and blaspheme the worst.<br />
The idea was acclaimed as excellent, and the same<br />
evening, the landlord offering no objection, the<br />
contest was held in the tap-room. A day or two<br />
later—I have the exact names and particulars,<br />
but they are immaterial—one of the party of<br />
blasphemers was struck with paralysis, and from<br />
that day to the day of his death several years<br />
later could not articulate a word, could utter<br />
nothing but a sound like the grunting of an<br />
animal.<br />
The innkeeper committed suicide ten years ago,<br />
after seeing the following catastrophes in his<br />
family. His eldest son took to drink and hanged<br />
himself; his daughter went to the bad and died<br />
on the streets; a second son was found drowned<br />
in a stream at the back of the inn; whilst two<br />
other sons, to escape from the sinister influences<br />
of their home, ran away, and were not heard of<br />
afterwards. We have just seen what became of<br />
the last or youngest son; he has qualified for the<br />
guillotine.<br />
A similar instance of punishment on earth for<br />
ill-doing was enacted, so to speak, before my eyes.<br />
Some years ago, as I was rambling about in South<br />
Brittany, in the neighbourhood of Nantes, I came<br />
across the ideal country spot—river, spreading<br />
walnut-trees, wooded slopes, thatched cottages,<br />
and so on—that I had been looking for all my<br />
life. I took rooms at the inn there—a most<br />
picturesque hostelry by the side of a weir. It was<br />
beautiful.<br />
This inn was kept by two sisters, Breton<br />
peasants, the wives of two sailors on the French<br />
Transatlantic line. Quaint bodies they looked in<br />
their white Breton caps, their strangely cut<br />
bodices, and their clogs. They were the most<br />
sublimely ignorant people I have ever met. I<br />
envied them the Nirvana of their minds. They<br />
could neither read nor write, they did not know<br />
that France was under a Republic, and they had<br />
never heard of Monsieur Carnot. They had some<br />
pretty children, and were kind to their children,<br />
<br />
<br />
## p. 318 (#378) ############################################<br />
<br />
3i8<br />
THE AUTHOR.<br />
though in the main they were very avaricious. I<br />
remember that I was kept on very short commons,<br />
and had to fill up with walnuts and white wine.<br />
Their old father lived with them, and was at their<br />
charge. They ill-treated him cruelly. "They<br />
grudge me every mouthful I eat," said he to me,<br />
and told me to notice how "my eldest" watched<br />
every spoonful of meatless broth that he ladled<br />
into his palsied jaws. One day he clutched me<br />
by the arm as I was passing through the yard—<br />
for he was usually expected " de se tenir" (to keep<br />
himself) in a kind of lumber-shed—and said he<br />
was very cold in his inside, and that it would<br />
be an act of real goodness on my part to treat<br />
him to a cup of hot coffee. I took him into the<br />
house, and, as he had advised, ordered the coffee<br />
for myself. "Otherwise," said he, "there'll only<br />
be one lump of sugar." The poor old fellow<br />
enjoyed his coffee immensely. It was a real<br />
privation to him to go without it, but his<br />
daughters did not allow him any such luxuries,<br />
and on the nights when the coffee was decocted,<br />
he used to retire to the backyard to be far from<br />
the delicious and tantalising odours of the<br />
brewage, and the aggravation of hearing his<br />
daughter Pauline keep smacking her lips and<br />
saying, ' I'm going to have a cup as soon as it's<br />
finished.'"<br />
He was half starved and miserably clad, and<br />
before I left he implored me to send him an old<br />
coat against the winter. I did not do so, if I<br />
remember; I wanted one badly myself. But this<br />
en passant. He used to cough continuously. "It<br />
may well be his end that's approaching," Pauline<br />
used to say hopefully whenever I remarked on<br />
this. He was wanted, he was expected, to die,<br />
and though neither of his daughters would have<br />
given him a push into the weir to precipitate<br />
matters, I do not think that either would have<br />
hurried her clogs if he had fallen in. It was a<br />
nouvelle by Maupassant which was in action<br />
before my eyes, and I spoke to Maupassant about<br />
it years later.<br />
I felt very sorry for the poor old man, and I<br />
used to regret that there should be two women<br />
with hearts so unkind, and to wonder whether no<br />
retribution would ever befall them. One day,<br />
two or three years later, I read in a Paris paper<br />
that two sisters, who kept an inn at V , near<br />
Nantes—the same women and the same place—<br />
had been murdered in their beds by a tramp, who<br />
had been attracted by the report of their avarice.<br />
As nothing was said of the old father, I presume<br />
that their wishes with regard to him had been<br />
fulfilled.<br />
I have been thinking that a novelist making<br />
use of these two stories, which are true in every<br />
particular, would get himself rapped over the<br />
fingers for making an ill-use of coincidence by<br />
ces Messieurs de la critique.<br />
I am glad to see that M. Berenger, the Senator<br />
—Pere la Pudeur, as they call him in Paris—is<br />
making a stand in the Senate against the licence<br />
and immorality of the French Press and much<br />
of modern French literature, which of late has<br />
really passed all limits. I owe Senator Berenger a<br />
very bad night, for I got run in and spent a night<br />
in the lock-up of the rue des Prouvaires, during<br />
the riots which followed on F affaire Nuger, but I<br />
owe him no grudge. He is protesting—a very<br />
ungrateful task—against the indifference of the<br />
Government, whose attitude towards the Press<br />
seems to be " Leave us alone, and we will leave<br />
you alone." Berenger is by no means the nin-<br />
compoop which certain English journalists have<br />
represented him to be; he is the author of " la loi<br />
Berenger," that humane enactment which preceded<br />
our First Offenders Act in England. When a<br />
French theatrical manager can engage a couple,<br />
who have no other recommendation than being<br />
flagrant offenders against the Seventh Command-<br />
ment, to appear on his stage, and thousands of<br />
pounds are taken at his booking office in conse-<br />
quence, it really seems time that someone, anxious<br />
about the dignity of his country and its capital,<br />
should protest as Berenger has done.<br />
Mrs. Emily Crawford made a very true remark<br />
in Truth the other day, when she said that Paris<br />
is the place for hard work and the home of hard<br />
workers. Ay, of the hardest workers in the<br />
world. As Daudet once said to me, " All the vital<br />
forces of Paris are below the surface. You only<br />
see the idlers, the drones. You must not judge<br />
of the Parisians by these, any more than you<br />
should wonder what makes a big ocean liner go,<br />
after looking only at those who dawdle on the<br />
promenade deck."<br />
Loti has, I see, made good use of his recent<br />
stay on the south-east coast of France; and to<br />
anyone interested in the curious Basque people,<br />
their strange customs and manners and ways of<br />
living, I can heartily recommend his last novel.<br />
He was for some months in command of a gun-<br />
boat, which lay off St. Jean de Luz, on the<br />
frontier of the French Basque country, and was<br />
constantly on shore. I used frequently to meet him<br />
rambling about in the district, and on one occa-<br />
sion when I had landed in a Basque village,<br />
where not a soul spoke French, he was good<br />
enough to interpret for me. In return for his<br />
kindness, I feigned to ignore his identity, for<br />
there is nobody less a persona grata to Vignaud<br />
the naval officer than Loti the Academician.<br />
BOBEBT H. ShEBAED.<br />
•>•<<br />
<br />
<br />
## p. 319 (#379) ############################################<br />
<br />
THE AUTHOR.<br />
319<br />
NOTES AND NEWS.<br />
THE reprinting of the paper called " Secret<br />
Profits" is the beginning of several<br />
reprints of valuable and important papers<br />
which have appeared in the back numbers of The<br />
Author. It is not enough to procure counsel's<br />
opinion on such an important matter as Secret<br />
Profits: it is not enough to publish it in this<br />
paper: the opinion is read and forgotten: by<br />
those who have joined the Society since the<br />
appearance of the paper it has never been seen.<br />
The paper has, therefore, been republished, and<br />
readers are invited to peruse it in order to ascer-<br />
tain what is the opinion of lawyers on practices<br />
which we have never ceased to denounce as dis-<br />
honourable, and not to be defended by any argu-<br />
ments whatever. ni_<br />
Half a dozen correspondents have sent me an<br />
advertisement from the Daily News. The adver-<br />
tiser wants to find a writer who will compile for<br />
him "from the reading-room of the British<br />
Museum" a history of California. The history is<br />
to consist of 400,000 words, and the honorarium<br />
offered is £\o, which, being interpreted, means a<br />
penny for every 165 words. It is useless to wax<br />
wrathful over this. First of all, the advertiser is<br />
clearly a very ignorant person; the right place to<br />
find materials for the history of California is not<br />
the British Museum, but the Archives and Record<br />
Office of the State of California. Then, as to the<br />
length; surely, no one who knows anything at all<br />
about the history of California would lay down a<br />
hard and fast rule about the length to which such<br />
a history would run. As for the offer of .£10, it<br />
was clearly put down as a large and handsome<br />
amount likely to tempt the most prosperous of<br />
litterateurs. In a word, the man knew nothing<br />
about literary work or about literary pay. Either<br />
he thought that a book of 400,000 words could be<br />
written in two days, or he thought that literary<br />
men are poor scrubs and hacks, who take whatever<br />
is offered them. I think that the advertiser<br />
probably wants the history for an advertising<br />
medium. Soap, pills, hair restorers, mustard,<br />
might be well advertised between the leaves of<br />
such a history. im<br />
I cannot believe that this person reads The<br />
Author. Otherwise he might have pleaded that<br />
he only followed the example of the venerable and<br />
pious Society for the Promotion of Christian<br />
Knowledge. I exposed four years ago the prices<br />
paid by this Christian Corporation to the unfor-<br />
tunate persons who wrote for them. My figures<br />
were not denied. Among them was the case<br />
where for a historical book—not a History of<br />
California—the enormous sum of .£12 was paid.<br />
The author said that if the book was a success he<br />
was to have more. The book sold 7000 copies, and<br />
no more was given. This noble generosity com-<br />
pared favourably with that of the advertiser.<br />
A correspondent calls attention to the practice<br />
of speaking of an article: a paper: a contribu-<br />
tion: a story: a novel: as consisting of so many<br />
thousand words: he says it is a mechanical way of<br />
treating literature. Why should it be so? For-<br />
merly a contributor to a magazine was told that<br />
he was to receive so much a page: he was not<br />
informed, however, of the length of the page,<br />
which may have been 500 words and may have<br />
been a thousand. At least we get something that<br />
we can understand. As for its being mechanical,<br />
literature has its commercial side which it is folly<br />
or affectation to ignore. Indeed, the man who<br />
affects most to despise it, is the keenest at<br />
getting all he can. Fortunately, this view is now<br />
recognised by all but a few who consent,<br />
in the interest of some publishers, to call attention<br />
to the commercial side as sordid and unworthy.<br />
Now, I have known a great many literary men<br />
and women. I have known some who affect con-<br />
tempt for the pecuniary value of their works;<br />
these are men—none women, who do not practise<br />
these little tricks. I have never known, however,<br />
any single literary man or woman who was not<br />
anxious to get out of his work all he could—not<br />
one, from th<* highest to the lowest, including<br />
especially the despiser of filthy lucre. This being<br />
so, surely anything which simplifies and helps<br />
the business side should be welcomed, and such a<br />
method is that of counting the words.<br />
As for any difficulty in counting, there should be<br />
none. The rule is very simple: to write always<br />
on paper of the same size. You thus know with-<br />
out counting how many words go to a page, and<br />
how many are wanted for the purpose for which<br />
you are writing. Indeed, one must know the<br />
number of words, otherwise it would be impos-<br />
sible to fulfil an engagement. For instance, in<br />
the old days—fifteen years ago—I used to write<br />
"middles" for the Saturday Review. How could<br />
I tell how many pages my article was to contain<br />
if I did not know the average number of words in<br />
one of those " middles?" Again, I was recently<br />
writing a novel for the Illustrated London News.<br />
It was necessary, above all things, to know how<br />
much space the editor allotted to the novel every<br />
Walter Bksant.<br />
<br />
<br />
## p. 320 (#380) ############################################<br />
<br />
3 20<br />
THE AUTHOR.<br />
A WHOLLY IMAGINAKY DIALOGUE.<br />
Scene.—Private office of A., B., and Co.,<br />
publishers.<br />
Dramatis personm.—Messrs. A. and B. and one<br />
X., an author.<br />
Mb. A. (to his partner).—Ah! this is Mr. X.,<br />
with whom we have had some correspondence re-<br />
specting a book he wishes us to produce<br />
Author (sometchat testily).—No; I did not<br />
say produce—T said publish. Pubtish—that's<br />
what I want you to do.<br />
Mr. B.—Quite so. Publish—exactly so. But<br />
surely, my dear sir, you are aware that a book<br />
must be produced before it can be published.<br />
Now, we<br />
Author.—Yes, I do know it; that is why I<br />
wished to see you. I am going to produce this<br />
book myself. I only want you to put it in<br />
the hands of the trade—in short, to act as my<br />
agents<br />
Both Partners (together).—Agents! (Mutual<br />
glances of outraged dignity.)<br />
Author (mildly).—Yes; why not?<br />
Mr. A. (solemnly).—Surely, sir, you are aware<br />
that a firm of our standing does not act as agents.<br />
We are publishers, sir. We are principals in all<br />
our transactions.<br />
Author.—Oh, indeed! May I ask why?<br />
Mr. A.—Why? (Looks across in an appalled<br />
manner at his partner.)<br />
Author.—Certainly I ask why. If I produce<br />
this book at my own expense, and you merely sell<br />
it—nay, not even sell it, but only warehouse it—<br />
well, really, I don't see why you aspire to be more<br />
than agents.<br />
Mr. B. (diplomatically).—Eeally, my good sir,<br />
you altogether mistake the situation. When we<br />
publish your book, we lend you our Name. You<br />
have forgotten that. You have forgotten that<br />
our name sells your book. You have forgotten<br />
our experience, our influence over the channels of<br />
publicity. Our<br />
Author (rather warmly).— Your name! I had<br />
no idea you were an authority on "Popular<br />
Amusements in the Eocene Age." Now I am—<br />
at least, I am considered so, which comes to the<br />
same thing. However, let us get to business.<br />
Shall I make my proposal, or shall I not?<br />
Mr. A. (with a gasp).—Oh. Pray proceed.<br />
Author.—A short time ago I published a<br />
book, "Some Eccentric Adventures with a<br />
Dinosaur." You may possibly have heard of it.<br />
No? Well, that doesn't matter. It sold well;<br />
but it cost a most surprising amount to produce.<br />
Since then I have become a member of a society<br />
(telegraphic signs of intelligence between the<br />
partners), and I have read certain little books<br />
(more telegraphing), and, do you know, I have<br />
come to the conclusion that an author should<br />
attend to the old maxim, "If you want a thing<br />
well done—do it yourself." I don't allege motives.<br />
Not at all. My commercial friends tell me con-<br />
stantly "business is business," and business in<br />
these days means "get all you can and never<br />
mind the other fellow." Now, I have decided to<br />
have no more " publishers "; I am only going to<br />
have " agents" Excuse me, I am coming to<br />
my offer now. I have here an agreement made<br />
with Presser, Platen, and Co. It has been examined<br />
and approved in a certain quarter, and I can there-<br />
fore trust to it—not to them. In business I am<br />
informed one trusts to documents, not to reputa-<br />
tions overmuch. In two months' time I shall<br />
have in my hands 500 copies ready for the reader.<br />
Now, my question is, on what terms will you<br />
"publish " these—that is, offer them to the trade<br />
through your house?<br />
Mr. A. (violently).—Not at<br />
Mr. B. (interrupting suavely).—One moment,<br />
A. You see, my dear sir, this is a kind<br />
of thing we do not as a rule undertake; still, of<br />
course, there is in the present case very little risk<br />
to u 8 in what<br />
Author.—No risk whatever, to you.<br />
Mr. B.—Very well; let us say no risk at all,<br />
although—hum—you see you do not understand<br />
the publishing business as we do.<br />
Author (sotto voce).—There is some truth in<br />
that; we seem to understand very different things<br />
by that term.<br />
Mr. B. (continuing).—Now, let us examine the<br />
position. You wish us to lend you our name, and<br />
to introduce your work to a no doubt—hum-<br />
eager public. But, on the other hand, we must<br />
have security for our labours. Of course you will<br />
transfer the copyright to us.<br />
Author (looking for his hat).—Ah! I am<br />
afraid we are playing at cross purposes. I will<br />
not take up your time any further.<br />
Mr. B.—But, my dear sir, that is such a very<br />
elementary precaution—surely you can have no<br />
objection<br />
Author (resuming his seat).—I can see we<br />
shan't agree, but I will just argue this matter out<br />
with you, as a matter of interest. I will tell you<br />
a tale. A friend of mine is a great ironfounder.<br />
Amongst other things be makes flat-irons by the<br />
ton. Now, flat-irons are not used in tons; they<br />
are bought, one at a time, by old women, or, for<br />
the matter of that, young women. My friend is<br />
a busy man. He doesn't trouble to organise a<br />
system of canvassing amongst the actual users, or<br />
even amongst the local ironmongers; he just goes<br />
to a wholesale firm of warehousemen, and says:<br />
<br />
<br />
## p. 321 (#381) ############################################<br />
<br />
THE AUTHOk.<br />
"Here's ten tons of flat-irons, my name on them<br />
—how much for the lot?" ".£50." "Can't take it.<br />
Sell them on commission at so much a ton—15 per<br />
cent, for you for your trouble in acting as go-<br />
between." "Done." Now, in disposing of ten<br />
tons of flat-irons to the retailers there is, I am<br />
told, considerable scope for business experience<br />
and influence, and even reputation. But the<br />
middleman does not try to charge my friend the<br />
ironfounder for each of these items as if they were<br />
something exceptional and rare. All that is<br />
understood. These high-sounding phrases are<br />
just another name for " wits." And if a ware-<br />
houseman or a publisher, or any other middle-<br />
man, exercises his wits in selling your manu.<br />
factures, he does it to gain a living, and is to be<br />
rewarded by a 5, 10, or 15 per cent., according to<br />
the case. Now, I offer you the chance of earning<br />
a clear 10 per cent, without risk, and you coolly<br />
ask me to transfer my copyright to you. I should<br />
like to hear my ironfounder friend's remarks if<br />
the warehouseman proposed to take over his flat-<br />
iron trade mark, and keep it for himself on<br />
account of services rendered.<br />
Mr. A (turning topartner).—Well, B., if you<br />
have time to waste listening to this gentleman's<br />
idle tales about ironfounders, and middlemen,<br />
and warehousemen, I haven't. Good morning.<br />
(Goes out.)<br />
Mb. B.—Ah, Mr. X., you must excuse my<br />
partner A.; he belongs to the old school. I am<br />
aware that changes are taking place—in fact, the<br />
trade is not what it was formerly. Things are<br />
cut very close nowadays.<br />
Author.—They will be cut closer. The time<br />
is not very far distant when your profits will be<br />
cut down to those of all other trades—a bare<br />
margin. Now, shall we talk over my proposal<br />
calmly?<br />
Mr. B.—I am afraid it is of no use. A. would<br />
never consent to such an innovation—no copy-<br />
right and a bare 10 per cent. But—(struck with<br />
a bright idea)—your difficulties have only just<br />
begun. What experience have you of adver-<br />
tising f<br />
Author.—In most trades advertising is an<br />
alarming item, running into large figures. By<br />
comparison, the advertising of a book is a paltry<br />
matter. In most trades there are advertising<br />
specialists—men who make a study of the diffe-<br />
rent journals, and advise their clients. Unless<br />
publishers mend their ways, there will be adver-<br />
tising specialists for book producers, and then the<br />
publishers' occupation will be very nearly gone,<br />
for most of their so-called experience is summed<br />
up in that one mysterious, though trivial, item of<br />
expenditure.<br />
Mr. B.—Ah! I see you are prejudiced against<br />
us. Well, well, we shall manage to scrape along<br />
for awhile yet, I daresay. But you haven't told<br />
me how you are going to advertise.<br />
Author.—Don't be afraid. I have eyes.<br />
Where the vultures gather, there also are the<br />
carcases.<br />
Mr. B. (smiling).—Hum. I am afraid that's<br />
a little impertinent. Publishers should not be<br />
likened to birds of prey.<br />
Author.—My dear Mr. B., I have no prejudice<br />
against publishers—personally they are often the<br />
most delightful of men. It's their unholy ways<br />
I object to—ways that, like all other abuses,<br />
have grown up little by little, until those nearest<br />
to them think they are natural and wholesome<br />
growths. But the newcomers can see, and some<br />
of them intend to lance those growths, for they<br />
are unsightly and slightly—infectious.<br />
No body of men in these days can long main-<br />
tain a false position or hope to benefit by a<br />
system that the age sees through and despises.<br />
For my part, I sympathise with such men as<br />
individuals—they are to be pitied; but, all the<br />
same, I cry " Haro " upon them, and will continue<br />
to do so until they have formed into line with<br />
modern work-a-day ideas.<br />
Exeunt. N. C.<br />
A FRENCH VIEW.<br />
THE Figaro, speaking of the everlasting<br />
question of author and critic, propounded<br />
certain questions, to which it furnishes<br />
these replies:<br />
"I.—Le critique a-t-il le droit tFecrire des<br />
v6ritis, ou ce qu'ilcroit tel, sur les homines et sur les<br />
osuvres, mime quand ces viritis sont tris dures, de<br />
fond et de forme?<br />
"R.—A cela, l'eleve repond qu'on reconnait ce<br />
droit au critique dans la theorie, mais qu'on le<br />
lui refuse generalement dans la pratique.<br />
Un ecrivain, un artiste, un ceuvrier en general,<br />
ne redoute qu'une chose, le silence. Comme il<br />
soumet ses ouvrages au jugement de la foule et<br />
de ceux qui sont a tort ou a raison charges de la<br />
representer et de l'informer, il semble vouloir<br />
affirmer par lu qu'il accepte d'avance les eloges,<br />
mais aussi qu'il se soumettra aux critiques, meme<br />
aux blames.<br />
"C'est en vain que certains critiques de ce<br />
temps, et M. Emile Zola tout le premier, avaient<br />
conquis pour le critique le droit de parler ferme<br />
et fort. M. Zola, dans Mes Haines, Une Cam-<br />
pagne, Nos Auteurs dramatiques, avait donne<br />
l'exemple le plus beau et le plus franc; il avait<br />
<br />
<br />
## p. 322 (#382) ############################################<br />
<br />
THE AUTHOR.<br />
monte l'analyse à un diapason dont cornent<br />
encore certaines oreilles. D'un beau coup d'épaule,<br />
il avait défoncé certaines barrières et ouvert cer-<br />
taines voies. Tous les critiques, même ceux qui<br />
l'attaquent, doivent lui en être nettement recon-<br />
naissants, mais il ne peut s'étonner de voir em-<br />
ployer, même par ceux qui l'attaquent, les rudes<br />
outils dont il leur enseigna le maniement.<br />
'* Mais c'est là le moindre danger à craindre.<br />
La bêche et la pioche sont peu à peu redevenues<br />
d'un usage beaucoup moins général que le gou-<br />
pillon. L'indifférence du public, les progrès de<br />
la camaraderie entre œuvriers et critiques, la<br />
critique convoitée de plus en plus comme un<br />
moyeu de se faire des relations ou des profits, ont<br />
ramené un ton d'universelle douceur.<br />
"De telle sorte que lorsque paraît un article<br />
bien libre et bien franc, ne ménageant point un<br />
livre, ou une partition, ou une toile, ou un homme,<br />
le lendemain tout le monde se le signale en ces<br />
termes: 'Avez-vous lu Véreintement d'un tel?'<br />
et l'on ajoute en se chuchotant: 'Savez-vous ce<br />
qu'il y a là-dessous?'<br />
"II.—Le critique sert-il à quelque chose?<br />
"R.—L'élève répond que c'est une question<br />
que les critiques se posent euxmêmes parfois,<br />
avec plus d'anxiété que les œuvriers. Ils se<br />
demandent cela surtout quand ils voient avec<br />
quelle difficulté une belle idée triomphe, ou seule-<br />
ment une idée juste, avec quelles peines un vrai<br />
artiste s'impose, et en revanche combien il est<br />
malaisé d'empêcher la foule d'acclamer des<br />
sottises.<br />
"Toutefois, considérer ce seul point de vue<br />
serait éluder la question; et il faut, puisqu'elle<br />
est posée, mettre tous les points sur tous les ».<br />
"Le critique peut donc être: inutile, dangereux,<br />
—ou même utile. Il est évident qu'il est dangereux<br />
lorsqu'il profite de sa situation pour encenser<br />
exclusivement les gens puissants et pour fustiger<br />
ceux qui sont encore faibles ou inconnus. Il est<br />
non moins évident qu'il est inutile lorsqu'il se<br />
borne à enregistrer les résultats acquis, et à ne<br />
parler qu'après la foule pour dire la même chose<br />
qu'elle.<br />
"Il est encore certain que jamais une critique<br />
mal fondée n'a empêché une belle œuvre d'être<br />
belle, et n'a jamais pu bien longtemps prolonger<br />
l'illusion de beauté qu'elle peut parfois prêter à<br />
une platitude. En outre, le critique qui n'est<br />
que critique, j'entends celui qui n'est pas capable<br />
de faire autre chose (il suffit d'ailleurs qu'il ait<br />
l'aptitude et l'intention de faire cette autre chose,<br />
si le permet sa destinée), ce critique-là serait un<br />
monstrueux parasite, un bernard-Fermite de la<br />
littérature, un logeur en garni à perpétuité, un<br />
gardien du sérail, qui surveille les femmes des<br />
autres, mais ne saurait que faire d'une femme<br />
à lui.<br />
"Toutefois ce monstre n'existe presque pas,<br />
n'a presque jamais existé. Cherchez bien et vous<br />
verrez toujours qu'il a accompli à côté ou qu'il<br />
aurait pu accomplir une autre tâche, mais que son<br />
goût, ou le dévouement à une idée, ou les circon-<br />
stances de la vie, l'ont plus visiblement spécialisé<br />
dans celle-là.<br />
"En revanche, presque tout grand effort litté-<br />
raire ou artistique a trouvé à un moment donné<br />
un ou plusieurs critiques qui pour sa réussite<br />
étaient non seulement utiles, mais encore néces-<br />
saires.<br />
"III.— Quels rapports devraient exister entre<br />
les œuvriers et les critiques?<br />
"R.—Aucun.<br />
"Aucun, et d'aucune sorte. Us ne devraient<br />
pas se connaître. Ils ne devraient jamais être<br />
présentés l'un à l'autre. Ils devraient fuir toute<br />
présentation avec épouvante.<br />
"Ce sont deux métiers séparés, que chacun<br />
devrait exercer dans son coin, sans savoir ce<br />
qu'en pensera l'autre.<br />
"Lorsqu'un homme a fait une œuvre et l'a<br />
soumise au public, et qu'un autre a porté sur<br />
cette œuvre un jugement motivé, ils doivent se<br />
tourner le dos, s'ignorer, et recommencer le<br />
lendemain.<br />
"Lorsqu'au contraire celui qui a publié une<br />
œuvre se fâche contre le critique qui le blâme, il<br />
l'outrage; lorsqu'il le remercie, il l'insulte."<br />
THE NOVELS OF J. H. PEARCE.<br />
IN a recent one of those letters which go<br />
entirely counter to mv principles, and which<br />
I never fail to read, Mr. È. H. Sherard,<br />
writing from St. Ives, remarks that our literature<br />
is sadly deficient in pictures of English provincial<br />
life, and cites the case of Cornwall in particular.<br />
Now, I venture wholly to disagree both with his<br />
general remark and its special application. With<br />
Mr. Hardy in Wessex, Mr. Walter Raymond in<br />
Somerset, Mr. Baring-Gould in Devon, and " Q."<br />
in Cornwall (to take only the West of England,<br />
and only a few of its writers) all at work with<br />
exemplary industry, I fail to see what more Mr.<br />
Sherard can want. But since apparently he is<br />
not content, I gladly embrace the opportunity of<br />
drawing his attention to the Cornish novels of<br />
Mr. J. H. Pearce; for I cannot think that if he<br />
were acquainted with these, his complaint would<br />
have been made.<br />
Mr. Pearce is, I take it, a young man—a<br />
<br />
<br />
## p. 323 (#383) ############################################<br />
<br />
THE AUTHOR.<br />
323<br />
beginner one might almost say, for I know of<br />
only one book of his dated earlier than 1891,<br />
and he has this good point also to favour<br />
the idea: that his book of 1893 shows a vast<br />
improvement in technique on his earlier works.<br />
Why, then, has he written nothing since 1894;<br />
or is it possible that some later work of his has<br />
eluded my vigilance? Next, it may naturally be<br />
asked, what is it that at once arrests attention<br />
in his work. I should reply, its unmistakable<br />
originality. Nobody, I should suppose, could read<br />
half-a-dozen pages of one of his books without<br />
feeling—like him or like him not—that here is<br />
a man writing of what he knows, from observation,<br />
and out of the fullness of his heart. One might<br />
label him the Barrie of Cornwall, but I prefer to<br />
speak of him as the Cornish Hardy. These labels,<br />
convenient in an age which demands condensa-<br />
tion, are, however, somewhat apt to mislead. Let<br />
me say at once, therefore, that Mr. Pearce is as<br />
yet a Hardy only of the period of the " Pair of<br />
Blue Eyes." Nay, more, the term must be under-<br />
stood to be applied to him only in the restricted<br />
sense of implying an intimate and authentic<br />
knowledge of a peasantry, and a convincing power<br />
of representing its members. In the whole of Mr.<br />
Pearce's three novels which are known to me<br />
there is only one character (the curate in "Jaco<br />
Treloar") who belongs to any but the peasant,<br />
fishing, or mining class. Thus his subject is<br />
not country-life generally—with its squires and<br />
farmers and their wotnenkind, whatever these<br />
may be worth — but the country "people"<br />
simply and exclusively. And yet, in spite of<br />
this vast abstinence—for from the point of view<br />
of modern life and culture that is what it amounts<br />
to—his books fix and hold one from the beginning.<br />
The first of these books which I have been able<br />
to procure, dated 1891 (though I see there is an<br />
earlier work, "Bernice," mentioned in the title-<br />
page), is "Esther Pentreath, the Miller's<br />
Daughter." Let me say at once that this is one<br />
of the saddest books I have ever read—as sad as<br />
the " Malavoglia" of that great writer Giovanni<br />
Verga, so sympathetically praised by Mr. Howells<br />
in his preface to the English translation. And,<br />
indeed, with Verga's peasant-stories Mr. Pearce's<br />
work has much in common. In "Esther<br />
Pentreath" we feel that much of the sadness is<br />
due to the deliberate paganism of the book.<br />
(At this point I imagine a reader to exclaim,<br />
"But I don't like your pagan heartrending<br />
books!" Peace, good reader, and pass on.<br />
Tour point of view is a perfectly intelligible one,<br />
but I reply that these remarks art! not intended<br />
for you, but for others (of whom there are some<br />
in the present day) who have learnt to read, as I<br />
may put it, with detachment; to love, or at least to<br />
give a patient hearing to good literature, even at<br />
the expense of their own private and personal<br />
predilections. It is possible that I am no more<br />
of a pagan or a pessimist than you, but I do say<br />
that the pagan and pessimistic novels of Mr.<br />
Pearee are well worth reading.)<br />
Besides the above, I am ready enough to allow<br />
the existence of imperfections in the book—of some<br />
lack of picturesqueness, of distinction of style, in<br />
particular. Aichel's madness, too—brute madness<br />
as it is—is scarcely a sufficiently strong or inte-<br />
resting motive to form the basis of a tragedy;<br />
and, again, the author, in his curious care for<br />
style, has entirely mistaken the nature of the<br />
rhythm proper to prose, and has given us whole<br />
screeds of anapaestic or dactylic sing-song. But<br />
I am not claiming that the book is a master-<br />
piece; I merely hold that it is a strikingly original<br />
and promising piece of early work. The next and<br />
slighter story of "Inconsequent Lives" (surely<br />
an unhappy title), I like less. It is a tale of<br />
fisher-life, and, though it contains some admir-<br />
ably true and lifelike scenes, the author's laud-<br />
able desire to get rid of the conventions of the<br />
story-teller has carried him too far, though in a<br />
right direction. Observe that, to a student of<br />
literature, even his errors—his prose-metres and<br />
his hatred of convention—are interesting and<br />
instructive.<br />
Mr. Pearce's masterpiece, so far (but he<br />
has it in him to beat this, or I am strangely<br />
mistaken), is "Jaco Treloar." Now, even<br />
"Jaco Treloar" is not a well-constructed tale.<br />
But a tile full of beautiful writing it it, with<br />
poetic qualities of fancy and contemplative<br />
passion which entitle it to a very exalted rank.<br />
In particular, the love-making of the rustic lovers<br />
on a night in spring is among the truest and<br />
most beautiful things I know. Possibly I might<br />
be thought to reinforce what I have said by<br />
adding (which is true) that I have myself lived<br />
much with "rustics" and fisher-people, and<br />
known and loved and admired their characters<br />
perhaps more than most educated men have had<br />
opportunity to do. But I feel that such an<br />
observation would be beside the mark, for the<br />
question is almost entirely a literary one. I may<br />
quite well have lived with a person all my life,<br />
and yet not know whether a portrait of that<br />
person is a mere vulgar likeness or a fine work of<br />
art. Besides the above books Mr. Pearce has<br />
written two little volumes of apologues in the<br />
Hans Andersen style, which show plenty of<br />
quaint fancy. But it is to his novels that I pin<br />
my faith in his future achievements.<br />
And now, in an age reputed to be one of log-<br />
rolling, as a safeguard to the reader let me state<br />
exactly the extent of my knowledge of Mr. Pearce.<br />
<br />
<br />
## p. 324 (#384) ############################################<br />
<br />
324<br />
THE AUTHOR.<br />
After reading " Jaco Treloar," in the impulsive way<br />
which is pardonable perhaps half a dozen times<br />
in a life, I wrote to the author expressing my<br />
enthusiastic admiration of his work. In due<br />
•course I received back a brief, civil, chilling<br />
acknowledgment. Evidently Mr. Pearce was not<br />
the man to fall into the arms of the first admirer;<br />
and, frankly, one thinks more of him for this.<br />
Afterwards I tried, through another and much<br />
better known Cornish novelist, to ascertain some<br />
facts about a writer who has so fascinated my fancy.<br />
I completely failed; I could learn nothing, and a<br />
mystery, so far as his personality is concerned,<br />
Mr. Pearce remains to me to this day. Thus,<br />
though my motive in writing about his books<br />
may possibly be mistaken, it is assuredly a pure<br />
one. George Douglas.<br />
<br />
NEW POETRY.<br />
TWO or three new volumes of verse lie on the<br />
table. It has always been the custom in<br />
this paper—which is not a Review,nor does<br />
it give its readers criticism on new books—to<br />
allow new poets ihe opportunity of showing their<br />
quality. In other words, they are invited to speak<br />
—once—in these pages. From " Jennifred," by<br />
Septimus G. Green, we extract the following<br />
sonnet:—<br />
Lady, since first within jour garden fair<br />
For yon long Bince these silver lilies grew,<br />
Methinks by right should still belong to you<br />
Whate'er of lesson meet to lighten care<br />
My muse, by happy chance directed there,<br />
From ont their chaliced chambers erstwhile drew,<br />
Who but as little bees are wont to do,<br />
Seeks still from every flower some nectar rare;<br />
That so with honeyed memories' golden store<br />
My flowerless age betimes being furnished.<br />
May from the bounteous past be hourly led<br />
As with celestial manna more and more;<br />
Such memories, Lady, in your heart's rich hive<br />
Keep long with their Bweet food sweet thoughts alive.<br />
The "Huia's Homeland" comes from New<br />
Zealand. Here is a bi'. peculiarly Maori:—<br />
Acres on acres of low, billy, poor land<br />
Is the Manuka's peculiar domain:<br />
Acres on acres like heath on the moorland,<br />
White with its blossom, like snow on the plaiD.<br />
Acres on acres to battle a path through,<br />
Growing o'erhead like the tall pampas-grass,<br />
Wirily branched with prickly foliage;<br />
Woe worth the day when the stranger shall pass!<br />
Acres on acres, and acres on acres.<br />
Fire hath swept clean through the length of the land:<br />
But the Manuka will ne'er be demolished<br />
Until old Neptune comes over the strand.<br />
Acres on acres like heeth o' the moorland,<br />
White with its blossom, like snow on the plain<br />
For the fair Bunlighted land of the Maori<br />
Is the Manuka's peculiar domain.<br />
"Hugo of Avendon" is a drama in four acts,<br />
by E. L. M. It is in blank verse. Here is a<br />
lovers' scene:—<br />
Stella. What lovers' world is this you lead me through?<br />
What golden fingers tipped with fairy spells<br />
Have touched my lips and trembled on my eyes'?<br />
All things were seen, but never seen as now.<br />
I dreamed such dreams; but as I bold thy hand,<br />
Earth's beauty and the joy of lovingnets<br />
Seem all so clear to me.<br />
Hugo. Dream on, dear love, there is a lovers' world<br />
That you and I upon some silver stream<br />
Might float to-vard, and pluck the golden flowers<br />
From sunlit waters, while above our heads<br />
The bent trees trembling in the breath of eve<br />
Ware farewells to their shadows in the brook.<br />
Then farewell shadows. Yon and I alone<br />
Would clasp our hands, and only think of love.<br />
Stella. How strange it seems! and yet you never seemed<br />
To me a stranger. All I found in you<br />
Was mine by right of some acquaintanceship,<br />
Not quite forgotten, and not quite recalled.<br />
Oh, Hugo, Hngo, long before our Btars<br />
Had joined our hearts, they must have whispered low<br />
Some thought of each to each. How Bweet it sounds 1<br />
Before you even knew me jou were mine.<br />
Hugo. Ay, love, it must have been, when voices dim<br />
Swept through the night to breathe the word alone,<br />
They brought some thought of thee; perchance they<br />
touched<br />
Thy lips when sleeping, (re they came to me,<br />
And mingled with their message tender dreams<br />
For thy fulfilment, and for thine alone.<br />
Lastly, there is the "Water Bailey," a Tale of<br />
the Coquet. The Nymph of Coquet says :—<br />
Water sprites, that anglers hear<br />
When the dusk of night is near,<br />
Under Coquet's falls that lie,<br />
Calling, ever calling,<br />
Wailing sounds of misery<br />
To the waters falling,<br />
Sing your saddest conga of pain,<br />
For all my salmon now are slain.<br />
Little elves that lightly sing<br />
To the waters murmuring,<br />
Where the minnows leap and swim<br />
Gaily, ever gnily,<br />
Sing no more } our merry hymn<br />
Nightly nor daily.<br />
Join with me in sounds of woe<br />
For all my s-ons are stricken low.<br />
BOOK TITLES: A PROPOSAL.<br />
IN "Notes and News" on page 248 of The<br />
Author, the Editor suggests "that our<br />
members should themselves consider and<br />
suggest how" best to deal with the question of<br />
titles lor new books, so that when an author has<br />
once decided upou a title he may not subsequently<br />
find that it has bt en previously adopted, and hence<br />
be compelled to change it; a very expensive pro-<br />
ceeding if the book be printed with the title as a<br />
<br />
<br />
## p. 325 (#385) ############################################<br />
<br />
THE AUTHOR.<br />
325<br />
headline upon each page. In the past few years<br />
this question has been so frequently brought before<br />
the readers of The Author, that I write to suggest<br />
the advisability of the Society taking up the whole<br />
matter on a properly systematic basis, and one<br />
which would seem to me to be the only possible<br />
way of thoroughly combating, and treading under<br />
foot, one of the most serious drawbacks to the<br />
profession of, more especially, novel writers.<br />
The first thing to do is to get a list, as far as<br />
possible complete, of all the titles now used. As<br />
of more immediate use to the members of the<br />
Society let it be first limited to those books which<br />
have been published in Great Britain, Ireland,<br />
and America, to practically all books in the<br />
English language. Now what have we as a<br />
foundation for such a list? To name only a<br />
few :—" The English Catalogue of Books," 4 vols.,<br />
1835-90; 5 vols., 1890-95. The Publisher's<br />
Circular, 1838-97 ; the Bookseller, 1858-97; the<br />
Bibliographer, 1881-97; the Athenseum, 1832-97;<br />
the "Annual American Catalogue," "Shirley's<br />
Catalogue" (for Irish books); all secondhand<br />
book catalogues (for privately and provincially<br />
printed books).<br />
To make these books of service for the object<br />
in view, each title wants separating, and then the<br />
whole to be massed together in alphabetical order,<br />
with such cross references as may be necessary,<br />
e.g., sub-titles, and so forth. To do this would<br />
require two copies of each catalogue being bought<br />
—periodicals like the Athenseum might have the<br />
titles which were not in these copied by hand<br />
—and one volume being taken and cut up so<br />
that all the titles on the face of the pages were<br />
separated, but complete in themselves. The other<br />
volume should then be taken, but cut up so that<br />
all the titles on the back of the pages were<br />
similarly treated. The next process would be to<br />
paste each of these little cuttings on a separate<br />
small thin card, such as is now so much used in<br />
America for all indexes which are frequently<br />
being altered by additions and deductions. Then,<br />
after arranging the cards upon which the slips<br />
are pasted in alphabetical order, to put them<br />
away iu their respective drawers for future refer-<br />
ence.<br />
To prevent the cards being lost, or dis-<br />
arranged, a hole is punched at the foot of each,<br />
and through this a stiff wire, which is screwed,<br />
or for greater security locked, into the end of each<br />
drawer, is passed. The advantage of the cards<br />
over pasting the slips in a book is that all<br />
additions, no matter how many, are put in exactly<br />
their proper place, which is quite impossible where<br />
such limited areas as pages are used.<br />
The next point to consider is the matter of<br />
cost. After purchasing the volumes for cutting<br />
up, and the cards and cabinet for keeping the<br />
completed work in, the only expenses are the<br />
wages of the female clerks employed in the work;<br />
and, as this is extremely elementary, young girls<br />
direct from school are sufficient, at about js. a<br />
week, and two or three of these, in a year or two,<br />
would soon get together a very considerable part<br />
of the title catalogue. They should commence<br />
preferably with the titles of the books last pub-<br />
lished, as these would probably be more likely to<br />
be copied from there being a certain fashion in<br />
the naming of books.<br />
If this matter be taken up by the Society—and<br />
I certainly think it is a work so invaluable that<br />
it ought to be taken up by them—I would suggest<br />
that all the published catalogues be purchased<br />
first, and kept in the Society's rooms, so that,<br />
though the work were not itself complete, search<br />
could be made through those, not cut up, for any<br />
title which a member might inquire about. There<br />
should, in fact, be instituted a " Title Verification<br />
Department," at the service of any member wish-<br />
ing to know, for instance, if there were any such<br />
title used as " Martin Twist" or " Oliver Chuzzle-<br />
wit." P. Howard Collins.<br />
LITERATURE IN THE PERIODICALS.<br />
Thi Prospects of Literature. Temple Bar for April.<br />
The Decline op Classical Verse-Writinq. J. B.<br />
Bury. Saturday Review for April 10.<br />
A German Poet of Revolt. Laurie Magnus. Fort-<br />
nightly Review for April.<br />
Artists and Authors. X. Y. Z.'s letter in the Daily<br />
Chronicle for April 17.<br />
The Output of Authors. Pearson's Magazine for<br />
April.<br />
A Visit to the Novelist op the Creoles. W. K. N.<br />
Woman at Home for April.<br />
Unwritten Books. Macmillan's Magazine for April.<br />
The Stort op Scott's Ruin. Leslie Stephen. Cornhill<br />
for April.<br />
The Need of Copyright Reform. W. Morris Colles.<br />
North American Review.<br />
Notable Review.<br />
W. B. Yeats's "The Secret Rose," reviewed by George<br />
Moore in Daily Chronicle for April 24.<br />
Literature has been hit hard by primary educa-<br />
tion, will it stand the shock of secondary educa-<br />
tion ¥ The writer who puts this question believes<br />
that literature to-day runs great risk of being<br />
drowned in a rising flood of newspapers, maga-<br />
zines, and ephemeral novels. People read too<br />
much: injuring their originality by learning<br />
almost entirely by the eye, and little by the ear.<br />
Newspapers—that is to say, the country Press, for<br />
the London Press is too formidable to be criticised<br />
—are pure enough, the greater part of their space<br />
being absorbed in accounts of teas in dissenting<br />
<br />
<br />
## p. 326 (#386) ############################################<br />
<br />
326<br />
THE AUTHOR.<br />
chapels. But, as a whole, the writer countenances<br />
the view which hits off our newspaper-reading<br />
thus: "A clever German writer, describing an<br />
English Sunday, says that as you pass in the<br />
quiet street in the evening, in house after house<br />
you se i the family seated round a table in silence,<br />
while the father in the light of the lamp reads<br />
aloud. No picture so charming. What is he<br />
reading—the Bible? Oh, no; the details of the<br />
last murder!" Magazines, again, which have<br />
increased enormously in the last thirty years or<br />
so, have the effect of giving many people a smat-<br />
tering of subjects about which they had better<br />
know nothing. But it is the general tone of the<br />
novels of our day that the writer deplores most of<br />
all. There is no motive with the heroes in these<br />
works nowadays except a selfish one. Soul is<br />
lacking.<br />
In the " Master of liallantrac," in "David Balfour." or<br />
in " Catriona," yon just hear the distant stir of the Jacobite<br />
risings, but the only Bide yon seem to see is the seamy one.<br />
And in such excellent books as "Treasure Island," " King<br />
Solomon's Mines," and the " Wreckers," what man can do<br />
the heroes dare for love, gain, emulation, or sheer longing<br />
for enterprise, bnt as for a cause in the old sense, Dugald<br />
Dalgetty himself was an unselfish knight compared with our<br />
modern types. I read Buch writers as Stevenson with admi-<br />
ration, bnt with a feeliDg of something wanting. Good<br />
English, fine writing, splendid form, bnt oh! for some<br />
soul!<br />
It is with a certain school of French writers that<br />
the fundamental responsibility for the remark-<br />
able moral degradation in English novels is<br />
placed—the school in whose world no woman ever<br />
loves her husband, and every wife is the possession<br />
of at least two men. The writer's point of view on<br />
this matter may be seen from the following<br />
passage:<br />
The action of men and women is often caused or influenced<br />
by certain passions, and I see no reason for not mentioning<br />
them where necessary, or for sacrificing probability to save<br />
a blush to the cheek of the young person. Bnt where<br />
Bensual sins are committed in cold blood, and more it would<br />
seem as if from mere curiosity, or from a feeling of unrest,<br />
than from lust, I feel revolted in a way I never do at a tale<br />
of real passion. ... I prefer the coarseness of Smollett<br />
and of Fielding to that. Further, in some of the tales the<br />
immorality seems brought in from the tendency of a weak<br />
generation to dwell on passions they hardly feel, just as the<br />
schoolboy delights to talk of the dirt he cannot yet meddle<br />
with.<br />
The Bible was not originally written in English,<br />
but, says this writer in concluding, about the only<br />
bright spot in our literary prospect, menaced as we<br />
are by an invasion of half-educated barbarians, is<br />
that the Englishman is seldom aware of that fact,<br />
and so each generation possesses a standard for our<br />
language of inestimable value.<br />
Professor Bury puts the claim of classical<br />
verse-writing in an urgent form. Classical<br />
scholarship i3 getting too scientific: threatens to<br />
become a branch of mathematics. The decline<br />
of classical verse-writing is due also to the fact<br />
that the ideal of workmanship has not been<br />
uniformly high. "Take up any book of trans-<br />
lations, and you find that in most of the versions<br />
the writers are content with a few felicitous turn-<br />
ings, and that the rest is inferior, commonplace<br />
work." Either there is deliberate neglect, or the<br />
word is clung to and the spirit forsaken. There<br />
is room, says Professor Bury, for a new school of<br />
classical verse-translation, aiming at a more con-<br />
sistently high standard ; and it may be maintained<br />
that by submitting himself to a training in this<br />
craft the scholar will best win his way to the<br />
aesthetic apprehension of the poets whom he is<br />
interpreting to the world.<br />
"X. Y. Z." complains that artists who illustrate<br />
novels are very careless in the matter of making<br />
the details of their pictures agree with the letter-<br />
press. He arrays many gross errors of this kind<br />
in a new edition of "Tom Brown's Schooldays."<br />
The boys' ties, for example, are those of to-day<br />
and not of the early thirties; a soda-water<br />
syphon appears in one picture, and in another one<br />
of the boys who are teasing " Stumps" is shoot-<br />
ing with a catapult, while in point of fact neither<br />
syphon nor catapult were in use sixty years<br />
ago. Again, in a picture illustrating Tom's<br />
breakfast at the end of his first ride to Bugby<br />
nearly every detail given in the text is ignored.<br />
This sort of thing, remarks "X. T. Z.," is not<br />
only a discredit to the artist, but militates<br />
against the reputation of both author and pub-<br />
lisher.<br />
The lover of statistics, if his hobby does not stop<br />
short at the literary profession, will doubtless<br />
welcome the "interesting confessions of popular<br />
writers " in regard to their rate of output, which<br />
are given in Pearson s. It appears that Mr. W. L.<br />
Alden and Mr. Frankfort Moore each write 4000<br />
words a day; "John Strange Winter" and Mr.<br />
Robert Barr from 3000 to 4000; Dr. Conan<br />
Doyle from 1500 to 2000; Mr. Max Pemberton and<br />
Mr W. LeQueux 1500; Sir Walter Besant 1000;<br />
"John Oliver Hobbes" 150. Mr. Hall Caine is<br />
content with 6000 words in three or four days; Mr.<br />
Crockett writes any number between 800 and<br />
5000; and Mr. H. G. Wells wrote two of his<br />
books at the rate of 7000 words a day, but has<br />
since given up the practice. Mr. Rider Haggard<br />
finds it impossible to give an average, and Mr.<br />
Cutcliffe Hine also remarks that his output varies<br />
prodigiously. As will be readily imagined, the<br />
bent of these "confessions," one and all, is that,<br />
although a fairly accurate average may be<br />
struck, it is wholly irrelevant to consider writ-<br />
ing as a matter of a regulation number of words<br />
per day.<br />
<br />
<br />
## p. 327 (#387) ############################################<br />
<br />
THE AUTHOR.<br />
327<br />
In going over the story of Scott's ruin, Mr.<br />
Leslie Stephen, who will write on tin; s-ubjeet in<br />
the "Dictionary of National Biography," has<br />
been led to think that in his recent biography of<br />
Lockhart Mr. Lang has been a little too lenient<br />
in regard to Lockhavt's explanation of the causes<br />
of Scott's financial difficulties. After the publish-<br />
ing part of the Ballanty lies' business had been<br />
concluded, the printing only remained. Scott<br />
made an arrangement in 1822 that he would be<br />
personally responsible for the bills due at that<br />
time by the firm, which meant ,£30,000. How did<br />
this debt of Scott's originate? Lockhart said it<br />
was the result of the original debt incurred by the<br />
publishing concern, and had been taken over by<br />
the printing concern and allowed to accumu-<br />
late under Ballantyne's ineffectual management.<br />
Ballantyne's trustees, on the other hand, said that<br />
that had been completely extinguished, and that<br />
the accumulation of the debt of £30,000 was due to<br />
Scott's expenditure upon Abbotsford. Mr. Leslie<br />
Stephen thinks it is almost clearly probable that<br />
Scott, in want of money for purchases of land,<br />
might raise it upon the credit of the printing office<br />
—a concern which for six years was practically in<br />
his own hands.<br />
Again, it is hard to imagine how the debt<br />
could have been incurred without Scott's know-<br />
ledge of it, because he had accepted responsi-<br />
bility for it, and he was a keen business man who<br />
would not in such matters accept responsibility<br />
unduly. Mr. Stephen thinks that the explanation<br />
rests upon Scott's belief in the financial stability<br />
of Constable. The latter was constantly pressing<br />
for more work from Scott's pen, and Scott<br />
would naturally think that the publisher was<br />
rapidly making a fortune, at the same time as<br />
Scott was apparently making his own. He re-<br />
garded the Ballantyne unpaid liabilities, therefore,<br />
as mere reminiscences of botheration, which<br />
would wind up all right in time; and, heedless<br />
of them, he went on perfecting his establishment<br />
at Abbotsford, and keeping up a social and benevo-<br />
lent style of living. Then the crash to Constable<br />
came, and Scott v as undeceived. But his subse-<br />
quent brilliant achievement of honour, observes<br />
Mr. Stephen in conclusion, makes investigation<br />
of these matters at this distance of time almost<br />
indecent.<br />
In the very brief article on the novelist of the<br />
Creoles, Mr. George Cable is described as a land-<br />
owner, a devout Christian, and from the first an<br />
earnest philanthropist, deeply interested in the<br />
welfare of his kind. Amongst his recent under-<br />
takings has been the encouragement of homeculture<br />
clubs. He is not immensely popular with the<br />
Creoles, and it is hinted that from their point of<br />
view he speaks too plainly of their faults. There<br />
is every hope that he will visit England in the<br />
autumn, and give readings from his works, as<br />
he has done for long in the States.<br />
CORRESPONDENCE.<br />
I.—Subjunctive Mood: Its Present Day Use.<br />
1.<br />
YOU will, I am sure, be pleased to print the<br />
following "notes," which have been sent<br />
me by a distinguished University corre-<br />
spondent, who desires to remain anonymous.—<br />
Yours, &c,<br />
F. Howard Collins.<br />
Notes.<br />
The student must not forget that the English<br />
language has, for the last eight centuries, been<br />
gradually dropping inflections; that it preserves<br />
those only that are indispensable; and that the<br />
genius of the English people is an avoidance of<br />
all self-conscious rules of grammar. It is for<br />
this latter reason that the use of the subjunctive<br />
mood has been dying out.<br />
Another consideration: The student must dis-<br />
tinguish between the past and the present use of<br />
the subjunctive, and also between the construing<br />
(or parsing) of it in Shakspeare, Milton, Jane<br />
Austen, &c, and the necessity of employing it at<br />
the present day. Jane Austen uses it with till,<br />
when, except, &c. I remember an odd instance.<br />
Mr. Collins, the proteg6 of Lady Elizabeth de<br />
Bourgh, is ready to " perform" weddings, funerals,<br />
&c, " whenever it were required." Wordsworth<br />
'is almost as much given to its use: "Creative<br />
art, whether the instrument of words she use or<br />
pencil." "And, if she trust the stars above, they<br />
can be treacherous too." And Tennyson also:<br />
"Till Ellen Adair cotne back to me," "Till<br />
over thy dark dioulder glow thy silver sister<br />
world."<br />
In all of the above cases, the indicative might<br />
be used, and no loss of meaning or of force result.<br />
But in such instances as:<br />
"If it tcere done, when 'tis done, it were well it<br />
were done quickly," "If I were you I should<br />
refuse," or "If these things were true, society<br />
could not hold together," only the subjunctive<br />
can be used.<br />
Again, Tennyson has "See that there be no<br />
traitors in your camp." Scott has " Look thou<br />
tell me true."<br />
From these and other examples I should<br />
deduce the rule: When the verb expresses a<br />
supposition that is the opposite of fact, the past<br />
subjunctive must be used. If it expresses a<br />
supposition that may or may not be the fact, then<br />
<br />
<br />
## p. 328 (#388) ############################################<br />
<br />
328<br />
THE AUTHOR.<br />
the present subjunctive had better be used,<br />
though the indicative is not wrong. "If he is in<br />
the garden, I will fetch him " is just as good as<br />
"If he be." "If thou spare to fling Exealibur, I<br />
will arise and slay thee "—so says Tennyson with<br />
his fine literary feeling for mood; but no one<br />
would now find fault with him if he had said, " If<br />
thou spar'st."<br />
ii.<br />
A collation of the various letters oil the sub-<br />
junctive in The Author for April I shows at once<br />
the rarity of the occasions where it is necessary,<br />
and the difficulty of laying down a positive rule<br />
for its use.<br />
Mr. Howard Swan's first sentence is an<br />
instance that the subjunctive is—if not abso-<br />
lutely necessary—at least highly appropriate in a<br />
case which involves neither contingency nor<br />
futurity.<br />
Is it not, to a very great degree, a matter of—so<br />
to speak—literary demeanour? When one is<br />
hurried, or colloquial, one says : " If I am rightly<br />
informed" (Spectator), "If men are neither the<br />
one nor the other" (Coleridge), where an ellipse<br />
may be understood of "If (it be the case that),<br />
&c." But in poetry and in bigh full-dress<br />
work iu general, we ought to say—and as a<br />
rule do say — " Were it true" or "Should it<br />
prove so."<br />
The abuse of the subjunctive—which is a<br />
different affair—by lady novelists and others is<br />
seen in the clause quoted in my letter: "He<br />
stipulated that I pay him interest."<br />
In paragraph 6 of that letter a phrase is<br />
printed as used by Mark Twain, which should<br />
come in that which follows: "nothing shall<br />
swerve me " is the expression intended.<br />
______ H. G. Keene.<br />
II.—Episcopal Style.<br />
It is announced in the Gazette that the Arch-<br />
bishop of Canterbury is instructed to prepare a<br />
Form of Prayer to be used in churches on the<br />
occasion of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee; let us<br />
hope that the Form to which we shall be expected<br />
to say "Amen" will not sin so grievously against<br />
the laws of grammar, rhythm, and good sense-<br />
as is usually the case with episcopal com-<br />
positions.<br />
For some months past we in the Diocese of<br />
Winchester have suffered from the following<br />
collect interpolated in every service:—" In the<br />
present time of anxiety (i), O most merciful Lord,<br />
from Whom all good counsels and all just works<br />
do proceed (2), we pray Thee to provide (3)<br />
justice and mercy for the suffering people who<br />
are called by Thy Name (4), and to guide in<br />
wisdom the councils of the nations (5)."<br />
Notes.—1. Why not at all times? 2. An<br />
excerpt from the evening collect for peace.<br />
3. "To provide " makes one think of something<br />
to eat. 4. What people are called by the Name<br />
of God? Presumably the Armenians are meant;<br />
but they are called Christians, and the prayer<br />
is not addressed to Christ, since it concludes<br />
"Through" His Name. 5. Which nations?<br />
Swedes and Portuguese? All nations?<br />
The ancient collects, which are models of<br />
dignified diction, begin usually with an appeal<br />
to that particular attribute of the Almighty which<br />
we specially desire to invoke, or with a brief<br />
specification of our present need; then we ask<br />
for some definite gift, and then we name the<br />
result which we hope will ensue. Nineteenth<br />
century bishops can hardly expect to equal the<br />
old examples, but they might call in the assist-<br />
ance of literary experts, and so avoid putting<br />
forth the jejune and inaccura'e compositions<br />
which make the very name of a Form of Prayer<br />
less likely to excite devotion than derision.<br />
F. Baypord Harrison.<br />
III.—Corruptions of the Language.<br />
May I be allowed a word of protest against the<br />
vulgarism '■ Did you have,'' which is becoming<br />
more and more familar to our suffering ears<br />
every day ?" To have " is an auxiliary verb, and<br />
surely does not require any assistance from "To<br />
do," yet most modern speakers and many modern<br />
writers seem to be unaware of this grammatical<br />
fact. This unhappy combination of two irrecon-<br />
cilable verbs is lugged through many tenses; and<br />
it reaches its worst phase in " You had it, didn't<br />
you," which needs only being transformed into<br />
"Didn't you had it," to reveal its hair-raising<br />
qualities. It The Author could brand this<br />
"Kitchen-English " as it deserves, all true lovers<br />
of our sonorous tongue would be thankful.<br />
April 13. Vera Campbell.<br />
IV.—Stories Wanted.<br />
In reference to an article in the April number<br />
of The Author bearing the above title, I should<br />
be very much obliged if "M." could say where<br />
the " most handy" little typewriting machine at<br />
Ml 3*. can be obtained, and whether it can be<br />
worked by an amateur. D. V.<br />
April 20. ___<br />
V.—The Casual Contributor.<br />
Your editorial note in the March number of The<br />
Author, to the effect that editors are increasingly<br />
<br />
<br />
## p. 329 (#389) ############################################<br />
<br />
THE AUTHOR.<br />
329<br />
in the habit of doing without the casual contri-<br />
butor, is suggestive. My theory still is that<br />
literary men of reputation, who now have an<br />
assured market, had to qualify originally as casual<br />
contributors. Some of them now, trading on<br />
their signatures, occasionally foist indifferent work<br />
upon the public. It is the competition of the<br />
person without a signature mainly, who admit-<br />
tedly has sometimes the capacity for writing,<br />
which prevents them from doing worse and more.<br />
Eliminate him, and you have a number of<br />
literary "rings," where real merit, dead merit,<br />
and no merit at all, would practice together.<br />
Why, 'tis a conspiracy of the body's members<br />
against the belly! Balbtjs.<br />
VI.—The House Where Byhon was Born.<br />
Since I last wrote on this subject in the columns<br />
of The Author, some unlooked-for developments<br />
have taken place. Notably, it has been stated<br />
that No. 24, Holies-street was not, after all, the<br />
birthplace of Byron, the distinction being claimed<br />
for No. 6, which is immediately opposite. If this<br />
assertion can be substantiated, it must be of<br />
great value, as that would be the original house,<br />
whereas No. 24 has been twice razed within the<br />
past fifty years. It is a pity the actual spot<br />
cannot be indicated beyond dispute. As an alter-<br />
native, and with a view to some more artistic<br />
record than any mural tablet can afford, it has<br />
been suggested that a statue should be erected in<br />
the adjacent Cavendish-square. Admirers of the<br />
illustrious poet would surely welcome such a step.<br />
The chief difficulty to be encountered is that a<br />
statue already exists in the metropolis. But it is<br />
by no means well placed in its greenery behind<br />
Apsley House.<br />
I venture to propose that these figures—Lord<br />
Byron's faithful hound is also depicted—might<br />
he removed to the more appropriate locality<br />
indicated. Cecil Clarke.<br />
Authors' Club, S.W.<br />
April 15.<br />
VII.—A Biography op Joseph Strutt.<br />
Will you allow me to state through your<br />
columns that I am engaged upon a "Life of<br />
Joseph Strutt" (1749-1820), author of "Sports<br />
and Pastimes " and other well-known antiquarian<br />
works, and to ask whether any of your readers<br />
possess, or know of the existence of, any of<br />
Strutt's letters, or any documents connected<br />
with him, and, if so, whether they would<br />
allow me to borrow same for purposes of my<br />
work?<br />
Any letters or documents sent here would be<br />
very acceptable, and would be returned as soon<br />
as they have been copied.<br />
Pryors, Broomfield, Miller Christy.<br />
Near Chelmsford.<br />
VIII.—The Length of the Short Story.<br />
1.<br />
There seems to be a growing tendency, not<br />
only in the " popular journals " mentioned by the<br />
author of " Stories Wanted," but in the monthly<br />
magazines, to limit the length of the short story<br />
to 4000, or at most, 5000 words. I would suggest<br />
that this tendency, should it become a system—no<br />
admittance for more than 5000 words—would<br />
seriously injure the art of short story writing,<br />
both by preventing many good short stories from<br />
being written, and by encouraging superficial and<br />
machine-made fiction. I heartily agree with the<br />
author of "Stories Wanted" that "it is the<br />
hardest thing possible to write a genuine short<br />
story in less than 5000 words," though I differ<br />
from him in doubting if the beginner will do well<br />
to begin at "the hardest thing possible." Con-<br />
sider the immense difficulty of compressing into<br />
such narrow limits a story the interest of which<br />
depends principally on character drawing, or a<br />
short story of incident, the characters of which<br />
would be something more than mere names.<br />
Rudyard Kipling has done both; but where<br />
the short story is concerned, what is there<br />
that he cannot do P Nevertheless, with the ex-<br />
ception of "Beyond the Pale," few of the<br />
short stories in which his genius has reached<br />
its high-water mark fall within the 5000 words<br />
limit.<br />
I reckon that "The Man who would be<br />
King" runs to at least 13,000 words, "The<br />
Drums of the Fore and Aft" to 12,000,<br />
"Without Benefit of Clergy" to 8000, "The<br />
Courting of Dinah Shadd" to 7500. Two of<br />
the best short stories of Richard Harding Davis<br />
— "Gallegher" and "Her First Appearance"<br />
—run to about 9000 and 11,000 words respec-<br />
tively. All these are strictly short stories, not<br />
condensed novels.<br />
Concentration is a great art, but it may be too<br />
dearly bought. Arbitrary compression would be<br />
even more injurious to the English short story<br />
than the arbitrary extension, consequent on the<br />
three-volume system, was to the English novel.<br />
Sidney Pickering.<br />
11.<br />
I quite agree with the writer of the above<br />
letter that to draw a hard and fast rule as<br />
to the length of a short story would be<br />
fatal. All that is wanted as to length in the<br />
<br />
<br />
## p. 330 (#390) ############################################<br />
<br />
33°<br />
THE AUTHOR.<br />
short story is that tho writer shall not " sprawl."<br />
He must be clear in motif and in language; his<br />
dialogue must be kept down; he must be dra-<br />
matic ; but, as to tying the writer down to length,<br />
I think we must protest, if necessary, and con-<br />
tinue to protest. It used to be objected against<br />
the three-volume novel by the smart young gentle-<br />
man who kuew nothing about it, and wanted an<br />
illustration, however well known, that the length<br />
was Procrustean. The length of the three-volume<br />
novel! Why, it varied from 80,000 words to<br />
300,000 words. Just so the short story. I do<br />
not know where the short story becomes a long<br />
story; certainly there are, as our correspondent<br />
rightly says, short stories of 10,000 or 11,000<br />
words which are still short stories. W. B.<br />
IX.—Wanted, a Strike.<br />
Judging from the Editor's note to my letter of<br />
January anent payment by publishers of maga-<br />
zines, &c, I fear I must have ill-expressed myself.<br />
My contention is, that if everyone determined to<br />
write for ready money only, magazine articles<br />
would be paid for when accepted. The stores<br />
and many tradesmen demand payment on<br />
delivery for their goods; why should not writers<br />
do the same? Naturally all must join the strike;<br />
but if editors are boycotted by the heads of the<br />
profession, they must soon give way, and we<br />
should not have to give three, four, or five years'<br />
credit. Payment upon acceptance should be the<br />
rule; but, of course, a fixed pay day per month<br />
might be conceded, for obviously wo could not<br />
expect cheques to bo sent the moment the MS. is<br />
passed. As at present, even pav days vary—end<br />
of month, beginning of following month, quarter,<br />
and so on. How in the world is one to know<br />
until one has written for the particular magazine?<br />
X.—An American Publisher's Account.<br />
The following account has bei n sent to an<br />
English author from an American publishing<br />
firm. The author was to receive a fixed percent-<br />
age on every copy sold, and nothing was stated in<br />
the agreement that copies sold below cost price<br />
(whatever this may mean in the American pub-<br />
lisher's mind) should have no loyalty paid on<br />
them. It is impossible for the author to cheek<br />
this account without expending a considerable<br />
sum of money, and this would not be worth<br />
while. The total liumln?)- of books sold below<br />
cost price and given away appears 10 be 228, in<br />
addition to 313 given to editors. This makes a<br />
total of 541 on which no royalty has been<br />
paid. This seems to be an extraordinarily large<br />
number.<br />
(" ")<br />
Cloth edition, price 1 dollar. Published March 20,<br />
1895.<br />
Received from binder, 984 copies.<br />
Stock, Dec. 31, 1896 307<br />
Sent to editors 160<br />
Sold below cost (no royalty) 12<br />
Sales bearing royalty 505<br />
dols. cents.<br />
505 copies at 10 cents... 50 50<br />
Paper edition, published price 50 cents. Published<br />
fall of 1895; royalty 5 per cent.<br />
Received from binder, 1504 copies.<br />
Stock, Dec. 31, 1896 362<br />
Sent to editors 153<br />
Sold below cost and given away ... 216<br />
Sales bearing royalty 773<br />
dols. cents.<br />
773 copies at 2A cents... 19 33<br />
50 50<br />
Accrued royalty 69 83<br />
XI.—A Begister op Titles.<br />
Another example of the trouble caused by<br />
having no Register of Titles. Some verses by me,<br />
eutitled " Love's Awakening," were published in<br />
the July number of the Pall Mall Magazine.<br />
In Home Chat of the current week a lady has<br />
also used this title for a poem.<br />
Now, by special arrangement with the editor of<br />
the Pall Mall Magazine, I have the right to use<br />
my verses for a song, if I desire to do so. Should<br />
this lady publish her verses as a song, my agree-<br />
ment is prejudiced, and I have no redress—a<br />
new title for musical purposes being excessively<br />
hard to find.<br />
It is possible that someone may have used this<br />
title previously to myself. In that case I can only<br />
say that the grtater the number of inadvertent<br />
users of a title, the greater the nuisance, and the<br />
stronger the argument in favour of registration.<br />
Arthur Pilkington Shaw.<br />
17, Sussex-gardens, Hyde Park, W.,<br />
March 31, 1897.<br />
XII.—A Self-Examination Paper for<br />
Candid Critics.<br />
1. Have you ever read " Robinson Crusoe" all<br />
through! Upon what degree of acquaintance do<br />
you base your frequent and affectionate remarks<br />
about it?<br />
2. Quote any other passage from Burns but<br />
"Wad ye tak' a thocht an' men" and "Could<br />
<br />
<br />
## p. 331 (#391) ############################################<br />
<br />
THE AUTHOR.<br />
331<br />
some power the giftie gie us." Explain the phrase<br />
that puzzled Mr. Micawber. Can you honestly<br />
say you have any admiration at all for "Tarn<br />
o' Shanter "?<br />
3. Do you ever take up the "Vicar of Wake-<br />
field" for your own amusement? If not, why<br />
not? State on oath if you have ever secretly<br />
considered it an over-rated volume.<br />
4. («) Mention by name three characters in<br />
any one of Miss Austen's novels.<br />
(b) Have you any right to draw comparisons<br />
between the modern female novelist and Miss<br />
Austen?<br />
[Note.—Either (a) or (6) must be taken. If<br />
unable to answer the first, the candidate is<br />
required to attempt the second.]<br />
5. If requested to give a personal introduction<br />
to Mataulay's New Zealander, in which essay<br />
would you look for him? And how would you<br />
expect to find him occupied?<br />
6. Detect and explain the allusions in a Daily<br />
News article.<br />
[Half marks obtained on question 6 should be<br />
considered a pass in honours.] M. C. V.<br />
XIII.—Stories not Wanted.<br />
The article by "M." in your last number must<br />
prove invaluable to literary tyros 011 account of its<br />
invaluable hints and suggestions.<br />
However, I must join issues with " M." as to<br />
the pecuniary remuneration of accented stories,<br />
and the chances of any solid income accruing<br />
from them. He coolly mentions ".£400 a year,<br />
twenty tales, only four months' work to the<br />
slowest." Is this to be taken as a jest or au<br />
serieux?<br />
I maintain that, with the exception of well-<br />
known writer.', who can command their own<br />
prices, not even a practised story-writer can hope<br />
to realise half, nay even a quarter, of this income;<br />
and I challenge the readers of The Author for<br />
proofs to contradict my assertion.<br />
The literary market is absolutely glutted<br />
with short stories in MSS.; there are literary<br />
agents who are readv to supply editors with<br />
them at so much a lot; and thousands of<br />
stories whicli are offered are returned without<br />
being read.<br />
In my experience the prices for short stories<br />
average from ias. to 20*. a thousand words.<br />
Magazines pay much higher rates, but un-<br />
known writers have to wait one or two years<br />
before an accepted story is published and paid<br />
for.<br />
The fact of an author having had several stori- s<br />
accepted in any periodical is no guarantee for the<br />
continuance of his work. Let me give a personal<br />
instauce of this. I had three stories accepted by<br />
the editor of a well-known paper; my fourth one,<br />
over which I took the same pains and trouble,<br />
was returned with these words: "The editor of<br />
the regrets his inability to use 's<br />
interesting story, , and herewith returns<br />
the same." Au editor of a weekly informed me<br />
lately that the stories he uses are contributed by<br />
well-known writers, to whom he pays 10s. a thou-<br />
sacd words, and that all other MSS. are returned<br />
without being read.<br />
If the editor of The Author will pardon me for<br />
being personal, I must add that, although I have<br />
had scores of stories publ:shed in some of our best<br />
periodicals, I am not more advanced than the<br />
merest tyro longing to see himself in print, as<br />
regards being able to secure a small regular income<br />
out of my work. I am sure I am most singular or<br />
unlucky in this respect. Unless we are particu-<br />
larly fortunate, or a heaven-born genius, the pur-<br />
suit of literature for a living to me seems an<br />
illusion. . i; Lunette.<br />
XIV. — Who Should be Publishers'<br />
Headers?<br />
Considerable dissatisfaction exists in the minds<br />
of many persons that authors should be nearly<br />
always chosen as publishers' readers. It may be<br />
suggested that authors are often cold and<br />
prejudiced in their opinion of the works<br />
of others, and, moreover, it is clear that<br />
rivals can never be looked upon as invari-<br />
ably unbiassed judges. They may also favour<br />
their personal friends, or reject the works of those<br />
whom they dislike, or whose art, taste, and views<br />
are opposed to their own ethics ar.d literary<br />
standar J.<br />
But again, on the other hand, is not a reader's<br />
office strictly a commercial one, in which neither<br />
sentiment nor prejudice have a voice? He has<br />
to decide if certain MSS. have any commercial<br />
value. Ouce suspected of private malice or per-<br />
sonal jealousy he would be instantly dismissed.<br />
Being hard business men, publishers wish to turn<br />
their books lo the best account. In all financial<br />
matters publishers cannot afford to depend on<br />
the jealousies or the caprices of authors whom<br />
they invite to rea 1 for them, and who are their<br />
trusted literary advisers; they simply seek to<br />
make money—it is their sole aim.<br />
Then, again, how are publishers to find com-<br />
petent readers who ure not themselves literary<br />
people? Among one's own circle of friends, do<br />
we know any who, not being gensde lettres, would<br />
be qualified to decide on t he stories most likely to<br />
hit the popular taste? Even academically-trained<br />
persons devoted to literature, high-class critics<br />
and professors, might be too erudite, scholarly,<br />
<br />
<br />
## p. 332 (#392) ############################################<br />
<br />
332<br />
THE AUTHOR.<br />
and philosophical to be quite in touch with the<br />
best and most attractive points of current light<br />
fiction. Annabel Gr.vy.<br />
BOOK TALK.<br />
MESSES. BLISS, SANDS, and CO. will<br />
produce during May a novel entitled<br />
"Mallerton," by A. B. Louis.<br />
Two volumes of " Johnsonian Miscellanies " by<br />
Dr. G. Birkbeck Hill, will be published shortly<br />
by the Clarendon Press. They will be uniform<br />
with the Boswell issued by the same editor and<br />
publishers.<br />
Mr. Lang is engaged upon a work on " Modern<br />
Mythology," which will be a reply to the ideas<br />
advanced by Professor Max Miiller.<br />
Mr. Meredith has made arrangements for the<br />
publication of a selection of his poems. The<br />
volume will be issued shortly by Messrs. Con-<br />
stable.<br />
Mr. W. E. Norris's novel "Marietta's Mar-<br />
riage," will be published by Mr. Heinemann in<br />
midsummer.<br />
Mr. Clement Shorter is writing a popular<br />
review of the books of the present reign, to be<br />
called " Sixty Tears of Victorian Literature." Mr.<br />
James Bowden is the publisher, and the price has<br />
been named at 2.?. The book will be out before the<br />
great celebrations next month.<br />
Mr. P. G. Stephens is writing a memoir of Mr.<br />
Coventry Patmore.<br />
Mr. Francis Thompson's volume of "New<br />
Poems," shortly to appear, is dedicated to the<br />
memory of the late Mr. Coventry Patmore, in the<br />
following lines :—<br />
Lo, my book thinks to look Time's leaguer down<br />
Under the banner of your spread renown -,<br />
Or, if these levies of impnissant rhyme<br />
Fall to the overthrow of assaulting Time,<br />
Yet this one page shall fend oblivious shame,<br />
Armed with your crested and prevailing name.<br />
The catalogue of the New Gallery this year<br />
will contain a poem by Mr. Rudyard Kipiing,<br />
written to Mr. Phil Burne-Jones's "picture "The<br />
Vampire."<br />
The Queen has been pleased to allow the<br />
publication of a memorial of the Royal mausoleums<br />
at Frogmore, and permission has l>een granted<br />
to Mr. J. S. Murray Fisher to complete and<br />
publish the work. The title will be "The Monu-<br />
ments and Statuary in St. George's Chapel,<br />
Windsor, the Royal Mausoleums, Frogmore, the<br />
Albert Chapel, Windsor, and the Battenberg<br />
Memorial Chapel, Whippingham." There will<br />
be between seventy and eighty full-page re-<br />
productions in photogravure, and a number<br />
of other full-page illustrations in colours. The<br />
work will be issued by the Albion Publishing<br />
Company in a limited edition dc Ituce, in two<br />
volumes.<br />
Mr. George W. Bird has written a work of a<br />
comprehensive character on Burma—its history,<br />
administration, geography, climate, and other<br />
heads, entitled '• Wanderings in Burma." The<br />
book will be brought out by Messrs. Simpkin,<br />
Marshall, and Co. The author is connected with<br />
the Education Department of Burma.<br />
A Dew edition of Mr. Austin Dobson's "A<br />
Handbook to English Literature," but revised<br />
and extended to the present time by Professor<br />
W. Hall Griffin, will be published shortly by<br />
Messrs. Crosby Lockwood and Son.<br />
"Pot-pourri from a Surrey Garden" is the<br />
title of a volume by Mrs. 0. W. Earle, which<br />
Messrs. Smith, Elder, and Co. are about to<br />
publish. It consists mainly of notes on garden-<br />
ing, but refers also to household management<br />
and education. Lady Constance Lytton has con-<br />
tributed an appendix.<br />
Miss Edith H. Fowler has written a story<br />
entitled "The Professor's Children," which<br />
Messrs. Longmans will publish.<br />
The first number is announced for May of a<br />
new magazine devoted to Genealogy and kindred<br />
subjects, to be published by Mr. E. Stock,<br />
entitled " The Genealogical Magaz ne: a Journal<br />
of Family History, Heraldry, and Pedigrees."<br />
Among the articles in the inaugural issue is "A<br />
New Pedigree of Shakespeare," carried farther<br />
back than any hitherto published.<br />
The Bronti? Mus um at Haworth was re-opened<br />
on the 10th ult. by Mr. Clement K. Shorter, who,<br />
in the course of his address, expressed a wish<br />
that some one, preferably a Yorkshire man, would<br />
write a really artistic biography of the Brontes.<br />
The membership of the Bronte Society is now<br />
260.<br />
Sir William Martin Conway's book, "The First<br />
Crossing of Spitsbergen," ("s," not "z," is the<br />
correct spelling, says the author) will be published<br />
early this month by Messrs. Dent. Dr. Gregory,<br />
Mr. Trevor-Battye, and Mr. Garwood, who accom-<br />
panied Sir Martin Conway on the Spitsbergen<br />
Expedition, will all contribute to the record of<br />
its results. Mr. H. E. Conway, a cousin of the<br />
author, and the artist (f the party, will supply<br />
the illustrations, eight of whicU wi 1 be coloured<br />
plates.<br />
<br />
<br />
## p. 333 (#393) ############################################<br />
<br />
THE AUTHOR.<br />
333<br />
Mr. Miller Christy, Pryors, Bromfield, near<br />
Chelmsford, is writing a biography of Joseph<br />
Strutt, author of "Sports and Pastimes," and<br />
other antiquarian works. He asks any who may<br />
possess letters or documents relating to Strutt to<br />
be good enough to lend them to him in order<br />
that he may take copies for the purpose of his<br />
work.<br />
A series of popular volumes on historic towns<br />
of the medieval period has been projected by<br />
Messrs. Dent. The first to appear will be<br />
"Perugia," by Miss Symonds (daughter of the<br />
late John Addington Symonds), and Miss Duff<br />
Gordon. Mrs. Oliphant will contribute the<br />
volume on "Siena," and has gone thither to get<br />
material for the work. Each book in the series<br />
will contain illustrations by an artist living in the<br />
locality treated of.<br />
Mr. R. H. Sherard has just finished a new<br />
novel called " Uncle Christopher's Treasure," on<br />
which he has been working for some time past,<br />
and is now engaged upon a story dealing with<br />
literary life in Loudon and Paris, to which the<br />
provisional title of " Lord Zennor's Experiment"<br />
has been given.<br />
A new romance by John Bloundelle-Burton<br />
will shortly be commenced in the columns of the<br />
People. The scene is laid in the Palatinate<br />
during its second devastation—under Turenne—<br />
the principal portion of the action taking place in<br />
the heart of the Vosges. Mr. Bloundelle-Burton's<br />
other serial romance," Across the Salt Seas," now<br />
running in the Navy and Army Illustrated, will<br />
not be concluded until lati in the year, when it<br />
will be published simultaneously by Methuen and<br />
Co., of London, and Stone and Co., of Chicago,<br />
in volume form.<br />
"Shildrickthe Drummer; or, Loyal and True,"<br />
by Julia Agnes Fraser, is now being issued by<br />
Mr. Macqueen, in three volumes. The book is a<br />
romance of the Irish Rebellion of 1798, and has<br />
received some very favourable reviews.<br />
Mr. A. Stauff, of Berlin, is translating Mr.<br />
R. H. Sherard's novel " Jacob Niemand" into<br />
German, and Mr. Hughes Rebell, of Paris, the<br />
writer of the appreciative notice of the author in<br />
La Revue de Paris is translating it into French.<br />
The rights of serialisation of this story were<br />
bought some time after its publication in book<br />
form by the Northern Newspaper Syndicate.<br />
Mrs. Alec Tweedie's new book, "Through<br />
Finland in Carts," will be published by A. and<br />
C. Black early in May. It is on much the same<br />
lines as a "Winter Jaunt to Norway" by the<br />
same writer, but in this case describes a land<br />
quite unfamiliar to the British tourist, where<br />
adventure is still possible and railway trains are a.<br />
novelty. The illustrations represent scenesas far<br />
east as Russia, and as far north as the borders of<br />
Lapland, some of which are from the author's<br />
own brush.<br />
Miss Clementina Black proposes to give a<br />
course of six lectures at the National Portrait<br />
Gallery by permission of the directors. The<br />
lectures will be given on Thursdays, to begin on<br />
May 6. Tickets for the course, price 30*., may be<br />
obtained of Miss Black, 19, South End, Croydon.<br />
Antiquaries will be interested to hear of a book<br />
on the "Dolmens in Ireland,'' which Messrs.<br />
Chapman and Hall are about to publish. The<br />
writer is Mr. Copeland Borlase, a son of the<br />
Cornwall antiquary, and the book will be large<br />
and illustrated.<br />
Sir George DougLis is writing a volume on<br />
"The Blackwood Group " for Messrs. Oliphant's<br />
"Famous Scots" series.<br />
Mrs. Bishop has almost completed an account<br />
of her recent journeyings in the Far East. The<br />
volume, to be published by Mr. Murray, will be<br />
entitled " Korea and Her Neighbours."<br />
A novel, entitled "Jabez Nutyard -Workman<br />
and Dreamer," by Mrs. Edmonds, will be pub-<br />
lished during the season by Messrs. Jarrold and<br />
Sons.<br />
Miss Elizabeth Hodges has contributed a paper<br />
for the May number of T/ie Ludyate on " Castle<br />
Coch and its Vineyards." By permission of the<br />
Marquis of Bute, Miss Hodges has been enabled<br />
to see the whole process of making the wine. The<br />
paper will be illustrate d by drawings and photo-<br />
graphs made for Miss Hodges.<br />
The Gentleman s Magazine for May will also<br />
contain an article on St. Mary Redcliife, Bristol,<br />
bringing out several points not generally known<br />
in connection with Chatterton.<br />
A third edition of Brigadier-General Hart's<br />
"Sanitation and Health" (Clowes) has just<br />
appeared. A second edition of his " Reflections<br />
on the Art of War" will be produced in about<br />
two months.<br />
Messrs. Macmillan are adding Mr. James<br />
Baker's "The Gleaming Dawn" to their Colonial<br />
Library.<br />
A new work by Mr. Frank R. Stockton,<br />
entitled "A Storyteller's Pack," will be published<br />
immediately by Messrs. Cassell and Co.<br />
Professor Hugh Bell of St. David's College,<br />
Lampeter, will write a volume on "The Age of<br />
Tennyson " for Messrs. Bell's series of handbook*<br />
to English literature.<br />
<br />
<br />
## p. 334 (#394) ############################################<br />
<br />
334<br />
THE AUTHOR.<br />
Mr. E. W. Hornung's new work, " My Lord<br />
Duke," will be published soon by Messrs. Cassell.<br />
Mr. Cedric Chivers has been explaining to an<br />
Academy writer the raison d'etre of his literary<br />
sample-room at io, Bloomsbury-street, London.<br />
It was started in the interests of public libraries<br />
as a central source of information for librarians.<br />
The publishers, however, who were readily induced<br />
to hire shelf-room to exhibit their newest books,<br />
insisted on the public being made free of the<br />
exhibition, and Mr. Chivers is now entirely in<br />
agreement with them on this point. Books are<br />
not sold at the Bureau, but people may come !o<br />
look at them in perfect freedom, and without<br />
incurring the smallest obligation. The bureau is<br />
no essential part of Mr. Chivers's business, and it<br />
would hurt him in no way to give it up to-morrow.<br />
He takes special interest in the theory, however,<br />
and wants No. io, Bloomsbury-street to become<br />
more and more a house of call for the book-<br />
lover.<br />
Mr. W. G. Tarbet, a young Scotch writer, has<br />
written a story of the Covenanting period, called<br />
"Ill-gotten Gold," which Messrs. Cassell are<br />
about to issue.<br />
Mrs. Deland bas finished a group of five short<br />
stories, which will be published under the title<br />
"The Wisdom of Fools."<br />
Mr. Julien Corbett has nearly finished his Life<br />
of Drake, upon which he has been engaged for the<br />
last six years. He bas unearthed many new docu-<br />
ments in English, Italian, and Spanish, includii.g<br />
an important and hitherto unnoticed account of<br />
the Armada, compiled by a Florentine writer<br />
(Ubaldino), from information supplied by Drake<br />
himself.<br />
The fourth and last volume of the Life of<br />
Pusey will be published in the autumn.<br />
Mrs. Edith E. Cuthell, who a few years back,<br />
under the pseudonym of " An Idle Exile," pub-<br />
lished "In Tent and Bungalow" and "By a<br />
Himalayan Lake," has another volume of Indian<br />
and soldiering stories ready, to be called "In<br />
Camp and Cantonment," and to be published<br />
shortly by Messrs. Hurst and Blackett.<br />
The " Gleaming Dawn," by Mr. James Baker,<br />
has gone into a second edition. It is, as manv<br />
readers have learned, an historical novel,<br />
especially commended for accuracy in its history;<br />
a merit not always found in novels of that kind.<br />
A BELGIAN LITERARY COMPETITION.<br />
THE Belgian Minister asks us to publish the<br />
following notice:<br />
"By Royal decree of Dec. 14, 1874, his<br />
Majesty the King of the Belgians instituted a prize<br />
of 25,ooof. for the encouragement of intellectual<br />
studies. The prize of this international competi-<br />
tion for the year 1901 will be awarded to the<br />
writer submitting the best essay upon the military<br />
history of the Belgians from the Koman invasion<br />
to our own days. The author must briefly<br />
describe the wars of which Belgium was the<br />
theatre, and indicate the influence of these wars<br />
on the destinies of the country. He must relate<br />
the military exploits accomplished out of the<br />
country by Belgian troops on foreign service, and<br />
describe the methods of recruitiug, the organisa-<br />
tion, the rights and duties of the communal<br />
militia, as well as the state of the armament and<br />
fortifications at various periods. The work must<br />
then be completed by a study on the development<br />
of the army and the defensive system of Belgium<br />
since 1830.<br />
"Both manuscripts and printed books may be<br />
sent in. A new edition of a printed book can<br />
only take part in the competition if it contains<br />
alterations and considerable additions made<br />
during the period of the competition, viz., in one<br />
of the years 1897, 1898, 1899, or 1900. The<br />
works may be written in any of the following<br />
languages: French, English, German, Italian, or<br />
Spanish.<br />
"Foreigners who wish to take part in this com-<br />
petition should send their works, printed or in<br />
manuscript, before Jan. 1, 1901, to the Minister<br />
of the Interior and Public Instruction at Brussels.<br />
The manuscript obtaining the prize will be pub-<br />
lished in the course of the year following the one<br />
in which the prize is awarded. The essays will<br />
be judged by a jury appointed by the Kiug of the<br />
Belgians, and composed of seven members, three<br />
Belgians and four of other nationalities."—The<br />
Times, April 7.<br />
OBITUARY.<br />
PROFESSOR THOMAS DICKSON died<br />
suddenly at Athens on March 27th, after<br />
a forty years' residence there. During<br />
that time he held the English chair in the Uni-<br />
versity for a long period, besides being the<br />
instructor in English of the whole of the Royal<br />
Family in succession, by whom he was loved as<br />
much as he was respected. An urbane man of<br />
exceeding gentleness and calmness, a Liberal and<br />
<br />
<br />
## p. 335 (#395) ############################################<br />
<br />
THE AUTHOR.<br />
335<br />
a Philhellene, he was always a great favourite with<br />
the Greeks. For the last few years he had been<br />
Vice-Consul in addition to his other work. His<br />
donations to literature are comprised in a most<br />
useful handbook of Modern Greek, the first that<br />
appeared in this country. He translated several<br />
works into Greek, the chief of which was the<br />
popular volume of "Roughing it in Crete" by<br />
Hilary Skinner, the correspondent of the Daily<br />
News who accompanied a Greek vessel running<br />
the blockade during the Cretan rising of 1866.<br />
This book can still be read with advantage by all<br />
who wish to realize what Cretan insurrections<br />
have been in the past, and how identical they all<br />
are. Mr. Dickson, who was of Scotch parentage,<br />
was born in Corfu, and graduated in America. He<br />
was seventy years old at the time of his decease.<br />
Mr. G. W. Godfrey, who died in London on the<br />
10th ult., began to writ*1 for the stage nearly a<br />
quarter of a century ago, and gained a place among<br />
playwrights for the power of mordant satire upon<br />
society which his work contained. "Queen Mab"<br />
(in which Mr. and Mrs. Kendal appeared at the<br />
Haymarket), "Vanity Fair," "The Parvenu,"<br />
"My Milliner's Bill," and (adapted from the<br />
French) " Queen's Shilling " were among the plays<br />
written by Mr. Godfrey, who, until three years ago,<br />
was a clerk in the Admiralty.<br />
Kev. Dr. Sparrow Simpson, librarian of St.<br />
Paul's, died on March 28. He was an enthusiastic<br />
antiquary, and wrote "Gleanings from Old St.<br />
Paul's," and a number of other works on the history<br />
of St. Paul's and St. Vedast's.<br />
Herr Johannes Brahms, the illustrious com-<br />
poser, died at Vienna on the 3rd ult. At home, the<br />
musical interest lost Dr. George Mursell Garrett,<br />
organist at Cambridge University, and composer of<br />
the oratorio "The Shunamite," who died on the<br />
9th ult., aged 63; and Mr. Henry Erskine Allon, a<br />
young musician who had composed over thirty<br />
pieces, including six cantatas, chief among which<br />
were "Annie of Lochroyan" and "The Oak of<br />
Geismar."<br />
Mrs. Julia Davies, probably the last survivor of<br />
the intimate friends of Charles Lamb, died at Clif-<br />
ton last month at the great age of 94. Her<br />
father was Joseph Hume, of Montpellier House,<br />
Notting Hill, where Limb, Godwin, and Hazlitt<br />
were constant guests.<br />
THE BOOKS OF THE MONTH.<br />
[March 24 to April 23—218 Books.]<br />
Abbott, E.t and Campbell, L. The L:fe and LettcrB of B-rijimin<br />
Jowett. 32/- Murray.<br />
Akeiman. P. B., and Hurst, N. Trlscomte Stone. 6/- BIibs.<br />
Alden, W. L. His Daughter. 2 - Beeman.<br />
Alexander, Rupert. Ballyronan. 6/- Digby.<br />
Allbu't, T. C. (editor). A System of Medirino-II. 25/-net. Macmillan.<br />
Anderacn-Muishead, A. E. M. The History of the Universities<br />
Mission to Central Africa. 1S59-189G. U.M.C.A.<br />
Anonymous. The House of Dreams. 8/6. Bowden.<br />
Anonymom. The Love of an Obsolete Wjman. 2 'i. Con fit able.<br />
Asblmrner, W. A Concite Treatise on Mortgages, Pledges, an^<br />
Liens. 25/- Clowes<br />
Baden-Powell B. S. S. The M&t.lnld Campaign 1896. 15/-<br />
Methuen.<br />
Bah am F. P. S Marks Indeb''die^ lo S Matthew. 3/6. Unwin.<br />
Bailey, L. H. The Voicing Book. Macmillan.<br />
Bannow, W. The Colony of Victoria. 2,6. Simpkin.<br />
BatBon, Mrs. S. The Earth Children. x> Hutchinson.<br />
Bax, E. Belfort. Outspoken Essays on Social Subjects. 2 6. Beeves,<br />
Beerbohm, Max. The Happy Hypocrite. 1;- net. Lane.<br />
Bell, G. C. Religious Teiching in Secondary School*. 3 fi. Macmillan.<br />
Benedictines of Stinbrook. Gregorian Music. 7/- net.<br />
Art and Book Compiny.<br />
Benson, E. W. Cyprian: HiB Life, His Times, His Work. 21 - net.<br />
Macmillan.<br />
Blckerdyke, J. Daughters of Thespts. 6/- 8impkin.<br />
Binyon. L. John Crome and John Sill Cotman. 3,6 n?t. Sieley.<br />
Black, John. Nanaen and the Frozen North. 1/- Routledge.<br />
Bodkin. M. Mc D. White Magic. 6/- Chapman.<br />
Borne, Kaehler, and Davis. Cavalry Studiea from Two (treat wan.<br />
W. H. Allen.<br />
Booth, Charles. Life and Labour of the People in London—IX. 7 <>.<br />
Macmillan.<br />
Bouldlng, J. W. Fibles and Fancies. 3/6. Jarrold.<br />
Bourne, J. P. Contingent Reversions. 3- Liverpool; Lee and<br />
Nightingale.<br />
Braddon, M. E. Under Love's Rule 6/- Simpkin.<br />
Brete, J. de la. Fate's Fetters <tr. by F. Hoper- Dixon). 6/- Digby.<br />
Bryce, A H. The Poems of Horace. 3/6. Bell.<br />
Burgess, J. Archieological Survey of Western India. Tbaeker.<br />
Burgin, O. B. "Old Man's" Marriage 6/- Richards.<br />
Cahan, A. YekL 2 6 net. Heinemann.<br />
Cafllard, E. M. On the Use of Science to Christians. 1 fi. Nisbet.<br />
Carr. Mrs. Comyns. Cottage Folk, fi/- Heinemann.<br />
Christian. Susan. A Pot of Honey. 3/6 Unwin.<br />
Clarke. M. StorieB of Australia in the Early Days. 3/6. Hutchinson.<br />
Clifford, H. In Court and K am pong. 7/6 net. Richards.<br />
Colmore, G. Love for a Key. 2/6 net. Heinemann.<br />
Compton, A. J. Malays, Game Fowls, and Bantam* in Australia.<br />
2 6. Simpkin.<br />
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Six Months in a Syrian Monastery.<br />
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of Professor Robertson Smith for translation at the time of his<br />
death.' —PubtUheri Cirevlar.<br />
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