https://historysoa.com/files/original/5/449/1893-04-01-The-Author-3-11.pdf 56691dc2bc5e3cadc98741c41fa4394a PDF Text Text ���������������������������������������� Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Author Subject The topic of the resource <em>The Author</em> Description An account of the resource A digitised run of the Society of Authors' monthly periodical, <em>The Author</em>, 1890<span>–</span>1914, made available together for the first time.<br /><br />Currently users can browse issues and <a href="https://historysoa.com/items/browse?search=&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bjoiner%5D=and&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Index&amp;collection=&amp;type=&amp;tags=&amp;exhibit=&amp;date_search_term=&amp;submit_search=Search+For+Items&amp;sort_field=Dublin+Core%2CTitle">indices</a> (not available for all volumes). Full text search for all issues, and other additional search functionality, will be added in 2022. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1890–1914 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context The-Author-Issues Publication Date The date of an event (in YYYY, YYYY-MM or YYYY-MM-DD format) 1893-04-01 Volume 3 Issue 11 Pages Page range in volume 385–424 Ngram Date Version of the date in YYYYMMDD format for use by the Ngram plugin 18930401 Ngram Text Version of the text with no HTML formatting for use by the Ngram plugin The Mutbor. (The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly.) CONDUCTED BY WALTER BESANT. Vou. I11.—No. 11.] APRIL 1, 1893. CONTENTS. [Prick SIXPENCE. PAGE. | PAGE. | Warnings oe ae . 387 | Notesfrom Paris By Robert H. Sherard oe ere 402 How to Use the Society 388 | Ballade of the Primrose Way. By Robert Richardson .. 404 The Authors’ Syndicate... oe oes =e 388 Notes and News. By the Editor ... oe = wee 405 Notices... ns aes 389 | Correspondence— From the Committee... 390 1.—Prompt Payment = 410 Literary Property— | 2.—Justice from America ... 410 LC echt ard Magazines 3.—For a Union... pe ee par 420 ae ey ce oe Vi ee 4.—Misstatements in Review... ... 410 ee nm Amencan 18 : ae - 5.—The Conceit of Amateurs... we 411 3.—The Rights of Copyright ... ae i 6.—The Paris Typist 411 4.—The United States Publishing Company yok Gepieter a eae Wild hoe 5.—An Old Author on Literary Property ... | Re Tent MSS. a Be 5 io eS 412 The Hardships of Publishin, | 9. An Easy French Lesson . 412 Attack and Defence... Les | From the Fapers— The Book of the Future | 1.—The Hardships of Publishing =: S18 Books and Printing ... eee eee ave es | 2.—Authors at Home ... i eae woe 413 Omnium Gatherum for April. By J. M. Lely 3.—The New Irish Literary Society wo | te B18 t The S.P.C0.K. again ... cB ae ssa “ At the Sign of the Author’s Head"’ ... sa a Se wee 414 i The Authors’ Club The Book Exchange... oe AAT | The New York “ Nation”... New Books and New Editions . 418 ‘i pee s z ip Sa ae ae z : Abts see me u i PUBLICATIONS OF THE SOCIETY. B eee ee aeecenge reer rs 1. The Annual Report. That for January 1892 can be had on application to the Secretary. ‘ 9. The Author. A Monthly Journal devoted especially to the protection and maintenance of Literary i Property. Issued to all Members. f 3. The Grievances of Authors. (The Leadenhall Press.) 1s. The Report of three Meetings on ; the general subject of Literature and its defence, held at Willis’s Rooms, March, 1887. 4. Literature and the Pension List. By W. Morris Couuzs, Barrister-at-Law. (Henry Glaisher, 95, Strand, W.C.) 3s. 5. The History of the Société des Gens de Lettres. , the Society. Is. 6. The Cost of Production. In this ‘work specimens are given of the most important forms of type, size of page, &c., with estimates showing what it costs to produce the more common kinds of books. Henry Glaisher, 95, Strand, W.C. 2s. 6d. 7. The Various Methods of Publication. By S. Seurre Spricer. In this work, compiled from the papers in the Society’s offices, the various forms of agreements proposed by Publishers to ‘Authors are examined, and their meaning carefully explained, with an account of the various kinds of fraud which have been made possible by the different clauses in their agreements. Henry Glaisher, 95, Strand, WC. | 36: | : Copyright Law Reform. An Exposition of Lord Monkswell’s Copyright Bill now before Parlia- ment. With Extracts from the Report of the Commission of 1878, and an Appendix containing the Berne Convention and the American Copyright Bill. By J. M. Lety. Eyre and Spottiswoode. 18. 6d. By S. Squire SPRIGGE, late Secretary to oo  386 ADVERTISEMENTS. The Society of Authors (Bncorporated), L PRESIDENT. GHEORGHE MERMDITEH. COUNCIL. OswaLp CRAWFuRD, C.M.G. THE Ear or Desarr. Austin Doxson. A. W. Dusovura. J. Eric Ericusen, F.R.S. Pror. MicHart Fosrer, F.R.S. HERBERT GARDNER, M.P. RicHaRD GARNETT, LL.D. EpmuND Gossr. H. Riper Hacearp. Tuomas Harpy. Jerome K. Jerome. RupYARD KIPLina. Pror. E. Ray LANKeEstTER, F.R.S. J. M. Lety. Rev. W. J. Lorrir, F.S.A. Pror. J. M. D. MerxieJonn. HERMAN C. MERIVALE. Rev. C. H. Mippneron-WakeE F.L.S. Hon. Counsel—E. M. UnDERDOWN, Q.C. Solicitors—Messrs Freup, Roscor, and Co., Lincoln’s Inn Fields. Sir Epwin Arno;p, K.C.LE., C.S.1. ALFRED AUSTIN. J. M. BARRIE. A. W. A Becxerr. Rosert BATEMAN. Str Henry Berene, K.C.M.G. WALTER BESANT. AUGUSTINE BIRRELL, M.P. R. D. BLACKMORE. Rev. Pror. Bonney, F.R.S. Lord BRABOURNE. James Bryce, M.P. Haut Carne. P. W. CLAYDEN. EDWARD CLopp. W. Morris Couuxs. Hon. JoHn Conuier. W. Martin Conway. F. Marton CRAWFORD. Lewis Morris. Pror. Max Mij.urr. J. C. PARKINSON. Tue Hart or PEMBROKE AND Monv- is GOMERY. : Sir FREDERICK POLLOCK, Bart., LL.D. WaLter Herries Potiocr. A. G. Ross. GroreEr AuGustus SALA. W. BarpristEe Scoonszs. G. R. Sms. S. Squire Spricee. J. J. STEVENSON. Jas. SULLY. Wittiam Moy Tuomas. H. D. Train, D.C.L. Baron Henry bE Worms, M.P., F.R.S. Epmunpb YATEs. Secretary—C. Herpert Turina, B.A. OFFICES. 4, PortuaaL Strext, Lincoun’s Inn Freups, W.C. Now ready, Third Edition, with Additions throughout, in demy 8vo., 700 pages, price 15s. AN ANECDOTAL HISTORY oF THE BRITISH PARLIAMENT, From the Earliest Periods to the Present Time. WITH NOTICES OF EMINENT PARLIAMENTARY MEN, AND EXAMPLES OF THEIR ORATORY. ComMPILED FROM AUTHENTIC SOURCES BY GHORGH HaNRY JHNNIN Ge. CONTENTS. Part J.—Riseand Progress of Parliamentary Institutions. Part IJ.—Personal Anecdotes: Sir Thomas More to John Morley. Parr IJJ.—Miscellaneous. 1. Elections. 2. Privilege; Ex- clusion of Strangers; Publication of Debates. 3. Parliamentary Usages, &c. 4. Varieties. ApprrnpDix.—(A) Lists of the Parliaments of England and of the United Kingdom. (B) Speakers of the House of Commons. (C) Prime Ministers, Lord Chancellors, and Secretaries of State from 1715 to 1892. Opinions of the Press ‘* The work, which has long been held in high repute as a repertory of good things, is more than ever rich in doth instruction and amuse- ment. ”—Scotsman. ‘It is a treasury of useful fact and amusing anecdote, and in its latest form should have increased popularity.”"—Globve, ‘Its advantage to those who are seeking seats in Parliament, or who may have occasion to assist as speakers during the electoral cempaign, is incumparable.”—Sala’s Journal. of the Present Edition. ‘It is a work that possesses both a practical and an historica value, and is altogether unique in character.”—Kentish Observer. ‘We can heartily recommend this work to the politician, whatever may be his party leanings.”—WNorthern Echo. . ‘Here we have the whole company of Parliamentary celebrities, past and present, reduced to puppets, so to speak, and made to repeat their best and most approved rhetorical performances for our leisurely entertainment, which is not less enjoyable from being allied with edification.” —Liverpool Courier. : “a Orders may now be sent to HORACE COX “Law Times” Office, Windsor House, Bream’s-buildings, E.C.  Che HMuthbor. (The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly.) CONDUCTED BY WALTER BESANT. Vout. I1.—No. 11.] For the Opinions expressed in papers that are signed or initialled the Authors alone are responsible. None of the papers or para- graphs must be taken as expressing the collective opinions of the committee unless they are officially sigued by G. Herbert Thring, sec. NHE Secretary of the Society begs to give notice that all remittances are acknow- ledged by return of post, and requests that all members not receiving an answer to important communications within two days will write to him without delay. All remittances should be crossed Union Bank of London, Chancery-lane, or be sent by registered letter only. > eee WARNINGS. EADERS of the Author and members of R the Society are earnestly desired to make the following warnings as widely known as possible. They are based on the experience of eight years’ work by which the dangers to which literary property is especially exposed have been discovered :— 1. Ser1au Rieuts.—In selling Serial Rights stipulate that you are selling the Serial Right for one paper at a certain time, a simultaneous Serial Right only, otherwise you may find your work serialized for years, to the detriment of your volume form. 2. Stamp your AGrEEMENTS.—Readers are most URGENTLY warned not to neglect stamping their agreements immediately after signature. If this precaution is neglected for two weeks, a fine of £10 must be paid before the agreement can be used as a legal document. In almost every case brought to the secretary the agreement, or the letter which VOL. III. serves for one, is forwarded without the stamp. The author may be assured that the other party to the agreement never neglects this simple pre- caution. The stamp duty varies from 6d. up to Ios. or more, according to the form of agreement. The Society, to save trouble, undertakes to get all the agreements of members stamped for them at no expense to themselves except the cost of the stamp. 3. ASCERTAIN WHAT A PROPOSED AGREEMENT GIVES TO BOTH SIDES BEFORE SIGNING IT.- Remember that an arrangement as to a joint venture in any other kind of business whatever would be instantly refused should either party refuse to show the books or to let it be known what share he reserved for himself. 4. Lirerary Acrenrs.—Be very careful. You cannot be too careful as to the person whom you appoint as your agent. Remember that you place your property almost unreservedly in his hands. Your only safety is in consulting the Society, or some friend who has had personal experience of the agent. Do not trust advertisements alone. 5. Cost or Propuction.—Never sign any agreement of which the alleged cost of pro- duction forms an integral part, until you have proved the figures. 6. Cuoice or Pusiisners.—Never enter into any correspondence with publishers, especially with those who advertise for MSS., who are not recommended by experienced friends or by this Society. 7. Fururs Work.—Never, on any account whatever, bind yourself down for future work to anyone. 8. Royaury.—Never accept any proposal of royalty until you have ascertained what the agreement, worked out on both a small and a large sale, will give to the author and what to the publisher. ac 2 Staten  388 g. Personan Risk.—Never accept any pecu- niary risk or responsibility whatever without advice. 10. Resectep MSS.—Never, when a MS. has been refused by respectable houses, pay others, whatever promises they may put forward, for the production of the work. 11. AmERicAN Rieurs.— Never sign away American rights. Keep them by special clause. Refuse to sign any agreement containing a clause which reserves them for the publisher, unless for a substantial consideration. If the publisher insists, take away the MS. and offer it to another. 12, Cesston or Copyrriaut.—Never sign any paper, either agreement or receipt, which gives away copyright, without advice. 13. ADVERTISEMENTS.—Keep control over the advertisements, if they affect your returns, by a clause in the agreement. Reserve a veto. If you are yourself ignorant of the subject, make the Society your adviser. 14. Never forget that publishing is a business, like any other business, totally unconnected with philanthropy, charity, or pure love of literature. You have to do with business men. Be yourself a business man. Society’s Offices :— 4, PortucaL Street, Lincoun’s Inn FIrevps. rr HOW TO USE THE SOCIETY. 1. Every member has a right to advice upon his agreements, his choice of a publisher, or any dispute arising in the conduct of his business. or the administration of his property. If the advice sought is such as can be given best by a solicitor, the member has a right to an o;inion from the Society’s solicitors. If the «as» is such that Counsel’s opinion is desirable, the Committee will obtain for him Counsel’s opinion. All this with- out any cost to the member. 2. Remember that questions connected with copyright and publishers’ agreements do not eenerally fall within the experience of ordinary solicitors, Therefore, do not scruple to use the Society first—our solicitors are continually engaged upon such questions for us. 3. Send to the office copies of past agreements and past accounts with the loan of the books repre- sented, This is in order to ascertain what has THE AUTHOR. been the nature of your agreements and the results to author and publisher respectively so far. The secretary will always be glad to have any agreements, new or old, for inspection and note. The information thus obtained may prove invaluable. 4. If the examination of your previous business transactions by the Secretary proves unfavour- able, you should take advice as to a change of publishers. 5. Before signing any agreement whatever, send the proposed document to the Society for examination. 6. The Society is acquainted with the methods, and—in the case of fraudulent houses—the tricks, of every publishing firm in the country. Remember that there are certain houses which live entirely by trickery. 7. Remember always that in belonging to the Society you are fighting the battles of other writers, even if you are reaping no benefit to yourself, and that you are advancing the best interests of literature in promoting the inde- pendence of the writer. 8. Send to the Editor of the Author notes of everything important to literature that you may hear or meet with. THE AUTHORS’ SYNDICATE. SPECIAL report of the Authors’ Syndi- cate has been prepared, and will be issued to those members of the Society for whom the Syndicate has transacted business. The accounts of the Syndicate for 1891-92 have been audited by Messrs. Oscar Berry and Carr. A transcript of every client’s account as audited and vouched, has been sent to that client. Members are informed: 1. That the Authors’ Syndicate takes charge of the business of members of the Society. With, when necessary, the assistance of the legal advisers of the Society, it concludes agreements, collects royalties, examines and passes accounts, and generally relieves members of the trouble of managing business details. 2. That the expenses of the Authors’ Syndi- cate are defrayed entirely out of the commission charged on rights placed through its intervention. This charge is reduced to the lowest possible amount compatible with efficiency. Meanwhile members will please accept this intimation that  THE AUTHOR. 389 they are not entitled to the services of the Syndi- cate gratis, a misapprehension which appears to widely exist. 3. That the Authors’ Syndicate works for none but those members of the Society whose work possesses a market value. 4. That the business of the Syndicate is not to advise members of the Society, but to manage their affairs for them. 5. That the Syndicate can only undertake arrangements of any character on the distinct understanding that those arrangements are placed exclusively in its hands, and that all negotiations relating thereto are referred to it. 6. That clients can only be seen personally by appointment, and that, when possible, at least four days’ notice should be given. The work of the Syndicate is now so heavy, that only a limited number of interviews can be arranged. 7. That every attempt is made to deal with the correspondence promptly, but that owing to the enormous number of letters received, some delay is inevitable. That stamps should, in all cases, be sent to defray postage. 8. That the Authors’ Syndicate does not invite MSS. without previous c¢ yrrespondence, and does not hold itself responsible for MSS. forwarded without notice. There is an Honorary Advisory Committee, whose services will be called upon in any case of dispute or difficulty. It is perhaps necessary to state that the members of the Advisory Committee have no pecuniary interest whatever in the Syndicate. NOTICES. TYNHE Editor of the Author begs to remind members of the society that, although the paper is sent to them free of charge, the cost of producing it would be a_ very heavy charge on the resources of the society if a great many members did not forward to the secretary the modest 6s. 6d. subscription for the year. The Editor is always glad to receive short papers and communications on all subjects con- nected with literature from members and others. Nothing can do more good to the society than to make the Author complete, attractive, and interesting. Will those who are willing to aid in this work send their names and the special subjects on which they are willing to write ? Communications for the Author should reach the editor not later than the 21st of each month. All persons engaged in literary work of any kind, whether members of the Society or not, are invited to communicate to the Editor any points connected with their work which it would be advisable in the general interest to publish. Members and others who wish their MSS. read are requested not to send them to the Office with- out previously communicating with the Secretary. The utmost practicable despatch is aimed at, and MSS. are read in the order in which they are received. It must also be distinctly understood that the Society does not, under any circum- stances, undertake the publication of MSS. The Authors’ Club is now opened in its new premises, at 3, Whitehall-court, Charing Cross. Address the Secretary for information, rules of admission, &c. Will members take the trouble to ascertain whether they have paid their subscriptions for the year? If they will do this, and remit the amount, if still unpaid, or a banker’s order, it will greatly assist the Secretary, and save him the trouble of sending out a reminder. Members are most earnestly entreated to attend to the warning numbered (3). It is a most foolish and a most disastrous thing to bind yourself to anyone for a term of years. Let them ask them- selves if they would give a solicitor the collection of their rents for five years to come, whatever his conduct, whether he was honest or dishonest ? Of course they would not. Why then hesitate for a moment when they are asked to sign themselves into literary bondage for three or five years ? Those who possess the “Cost of Production ” are requested to note that the cost of binding has advanced 15 per cent. This means, for those who do not like the trouble of “doing sums,” the addition of three shillings in the pound on this head. In other words, if the cost of binding is set down in our book at eight pounds, to this must now be added twenty-four shillings more, so that it now stands at £9 4s. The figures in our book are as near the exact truth as can be procured: but a printer’s, or a binder’s, bill is so elastic a thing that nothing more exact can be arrived at. Some remarks have been made upon the amount charged in the ‘Cost of Production” for advertising. Ofcourse, we have not included any sums which may be charged for inserting adver- tisements in the publisher’s own magazines, or in other magazines by exchange. As agreements too often go, there is nothing to prevent the publisher from sweeping the whole profits of a 39° book into his own pocket, by inserting any number of advertisements in his own magazines, and by exchanging with others. Some there are who call this a form of fraud: it is not known what those who practise this method of swelling their own profits call it. es FROM THE COMMITTEE. T a meeting of the committee held on Thursday, March 9g, the following resolu- tions, proposed by the chairman and seconded by Mr. J. M. Lely, were unanimously passed : “ That in the opinion of the committee— “1, The practice of issuing books and new editions without date is embarrassing to librarians and bibliographers, and may be injurious to authors and misleading to the public, and is there- fore to be deprecated. “2. The practice introduced by Messrs. Mac- millan and Co., of specifying in every issue of a book the date of all former issues, is highly con- venient, and its general adoption is desirable. “That copies of the foregoing resolutions be sent to the leading publishers.” An answer has been received from Messrs. Chapman and Hall showing that they have already adopted this system by printing the date and number of each edition published. Mr. Walter Besant and Mr. S. S. Sprigge have been elected delegates to represent the Society at the conference of authors to be held at Chicago on July 12, 1893. J. Hersert Turing, Secretary. ees LITERARY PROPERTY. L CopyricHt AND Magazines. I. N reply to the criticism of Mr. Charteris in your last number I should like to explain. Mr. Charteris misunderstood me when he says that I cited the case of Layland v. Stewart (4 Ch. Div. 419) in support of my contention that the articles must be written on the terms that the copyright therein shall belong to the proprietor. The case was cited in reference to that portion of the paragraph immediately pre- THE AUTHOR. ceding it (on p. 313), and it was given merely ag an authority for the general rule that an assign. ment of copyright must be in writing. My suggestion was that the proprietor of a magazine does not acquire copyright by any other means than by such assignment, unless the conditions of sect. 18 have been so fulfilled as to bring the case within the operation of the section. The decision in Sweet v. Benning (16 C. B. 459) does not, as I submit, conflict with my view. The case decides that it is not necessary for the terms in question to be the subject of an express contract. In the absence of any express con- tract the court, no doubt, would hold that such terms are primd facie to be implied. Any evidence, however, rebutting such implication would, in my opinion, defeat the operation of the section ; so that the terms, whether arising from an express contract or implied, are nevertheless, I still submit, an essential condition to entitling the proprietor to copyright under sect. 18. Harouip Harpy. II. High Court of Justice.—Chancery Division — Before Mr. Justice North. Strahan v. Wilson. His Lordship this morning (March 22) gave judgment on this copyright motion. The hearing of the motion was reported in our impression of Nov. 14. The motion was treated as the trial. Mr. Justice North said: The plaintiff, who has brought this action to restrain an alleged infringe- ment of his copyright, is the author of a work published in the year 1892, called “ Marriage and Disease: a Study of Heredity and the more Important Family Degenerations.”’ Itis a work of considerable pretensions, extending over 300 pages, and is, moreover, of great interest, rela- ting as it does to the mental and vital well-being of our race in successive generations; and, for the purpose of appreciating the complaint against the defendants I have read it more than once with much attention. The eighth, ninth, and tenth chapters are headed “ Marriage and Insanity.” “Marriage and Drunkenness,” and “ Marriage and Epilepsy,” and the 14th chapter is called “ Harly Marriages, their Effect upon the Children,” and they contain a great deal of wise and useful advice, though more likely, I fear, to be com- mended than followed. The defendants are the proprietor and publisher respectively of a paper called Health: « Weekly Journal of Domestic and Sanitary Science, and in the numbers of that journal published on March 18, April 22, June 18, and July 22 of last year there are four essays of about a page and a half each, with exactly the same headings as the plaintiff's  THE AUTHOR. 391 chapters to which I have referred, except that the last essay is called “ Premature Marriage and its Infants,” and they deal with the same topics as the plaintiff had done in those chapters and other parts of his work, though much more succinctly. The plaintiff's treatise is there referred to three or four times, not without approval, and a few quotations are made from it, the source from which they came being stated. But the plaintiff’s complaint is that far more than these passages are appropriated from his work, the copying from which is, as he contends, much in excess of what can be justified as a fair and reasonable use of what he has published. Having given my careful consideration to the productions of both authors, I have come to the conclusion that I cannot grant the injunction asked. In many respects I find very great resemblance between the essays and the plaintiff's book, so much so that, if the subject were new and the ground untrodden, no one could doubt that the former were to a great extent taken from the latter. But the common subject is far from novel; many authors have written thereon before, and many of the passages in the two publications which were compared with one another, are mere statements of matters which are common pro- perty, with respect to which no writer, whether a medical man or not, has any monopoly. The plaintiff has not any exclusive right to discuss these subjects, and he has no copyright in mere theories and ideas. The topics discussed by him are open to discussion by others also; and there is no reason why the matters which he has treated very ably are to be wholly forbidden ground to other writers. With respect to these matters, of which both parties have made use, I find myself unable to say that the essays published by the defendants are not a fair exercise of a mental operation deserving the character of an original work; and this applies to a large number of the passages in the two productions which were made the subject of special comparison and criticism. There are other portions of the defendants’ essays which are specially complained of by the plaintiff ; for instance, quotations from other authors found in the plaintiff’s treatise which are also found in the defendants’ essays. With respect to these I am asked by the plaintiff to draw the inference that they are all copied by the defendants from the plaintiff without reference to the authorities quoted. I find myself unable to do so; the only evidence before me consists of the affidavits of the plaintiff and that of Mr. Hawkins, the writer of the essay in question, who has not been cross- examined. and I do not feel justified from this evidence in drawing the inference which the plaintiff invites me to do, and saying that the copying is proved. There are some of these with respect to which I cannot say that there are not grounds for suspicion ; but, upon the whole, Iam unable to hold that the plaintiff has given me sufficient proof, the onus of which is upon him, to decide iu his favour. There is also another subject of complaint ; there are certain instances given by the plaintiff by way of illustration which I believe that the writer of the essays has taken from him, though he does not admit it (his Lord- ship mentioned certain passages and continued) ; but I do not consider these and other like passages to be sufficiently substantial or material to furnish ground for my interfererce by in- junction with the publication of the defendauts’ essays, especially when I find that the nature of the two publications is so different; that by the plaintiff being a standard work, while the defen- dant’s productions are merely short essays of ephemeral attraction in weekly newspapers, many months old, which cannot compete practically m any way with the treatise of the plaintiff, and would never, in my opinion, have prevented the sale of a single copy of it. Under these circum- stances, as I find myself unable to say that the defendants have infringed the plaintiffs copy- right, I must dismiss this action ; but, as I feel satisfied that the writer of the defendants’ essays has, in fact, made much greater use of the plain- tiff’s work than he states in his affidavit, I shall dismiss it without costs. Mr. M‘Swinney and Mr. Strahan were counsel for the plaintiff; Mr. Cozens-Hardy, Q.C., and Mr. Morten for the defendants.—From the Times. LE An American VIEW. Probably no one thing has caused more sus- picion and discontent among authors, or created more ill-feeling between authors and publishers, than the matter of returns of books sold when the contract between them is on the royalty plan. Not as many of the author’s books are sold as he expected; he suspects that full returns are not made; in some cases no doubt his suspicions are unfounded; in more, we believe, they are not. The discontent is widespread. In Rome, Signor Rossi, a distinguished Italian author and savant, told us that this was the great grievance of Italian authors, and that they would gladly engage in any movement that promised a remedy. In Paris we were informed that a committee of La Societie des Gens de Lettres is considering a plan for attaining this object. In Great Britain  392 THE your powerful Society of Authors seeks to ac- complish the same end by appointing auditors to examine the publisher’s books in behalf of its members. In the United States one of the first acts of the newly-formed association of American Authors was to appoint a committee to draft a plan for securing this object. If a plan for remedying this universal evil at once simple, practical, and effective, could be de- vised, its benefits must be apparent. Such a plan is believed to have been devised, and the writer has been invited by the Author to call the attention of British men of letters to it in the columns of this paper. But first a word as to the plan of auditing the publisher’s books. In America we find these objections to its adoption. It is expensive, it is not effective; the publisher can write up his books to suit himself, and it subjects the author to the ill-will of the publisher; for on such a request being made the latter assumes an injured air, asks if the author suspects he is being cheated ; and, although he may grant the request, it is at the expense of the entente cordiale that formerly existed between them. Now, it is a truism among American literary men that it is suicidal to quarrel with your publisher; very few even of the greatest and most popular have the nerve to attempt it. How improbable it is, therefore, that the average author will engage in one by demanding an account from his pub- lisher! The plan reported by the committee of the American Authors above referred to was in brief as follows: The author to prepare a stamp bearing his autograph, and to furnish the pub- lisher with as many as there are copies in the edition. The publisher to affix a stamp to each volume sold or given away, and to make up his quarterly or semi-annual returns on the basis of the stamps sold. Presence of an unstamped book on the market to be accounted primd facie evi- dence of default. This plan, on being submitted to several leading American publishers, was con- demned by them. They objected to the extra labour of affixing the stamps. They said further, that the plan would not be effective; that the dishonest publisher would either counterfeit the stamps or fail to affix them; that tue stamps would come off, &c. : To meet these objections the following plan has been proposed : That the present copyright law be so amended as to provide that imstead of the usual printed form—copyright 18 , by Richard Doe, &c.—it shall be the duty of the author of every book seeking copyright to provide a stamp bearing the above words with his autograph. That instead of the printed page the publisher shall affix one AUTHOR. of said stamps to the book under pain of the usual penalties. In his contract the author to stipulate that the stamps should be used as a basis for making returns of books sold, or given away. We confess we can see but one objection to this plan—that it will entail some expense on the author; in that case half the expense of the stamps might be borne by the publisher. The stamps must be placed on the book, or there is no copyright. They could be counterfeited, but that would be a serious crime. The cost of affixing the stamp would be little more than that of setting up, plating, and printing a page; and it would (und r any royalty system) do away with the necessity of keeping any books between publisher and author—the former in making up his returns would simply count his stock- in-trade, adding to it the books sent out on sale, if any ; and by substracting the total from the number of stamps received from the author could get the actual sales for which he would account. As for the author, he would be abso- lutely sure—unless the stamps were counterfeited, in which case the rogue could easily be detected— that he was getting accurate returns of books sold. Were it a part of the copyright law, no publisher could complain that it was sought to cast a stigma upon him, and no author need fear incurring the resentment of his publisher. We think this plan would be accepted by all honest publishers, who admit that the present business relations between authors and publishers are most unsatisfactory—and that by concerted action it might be made a part of the copyright law of all countries included in the present International Copyright Law. CuaRLes Burr Topp, Secretary, Association of American Authors. IT. Tue Rieuts oF CoPpyRicHt. If an author sells the copyright of the manu- script of a proposed book to a publisher, has the publisher a right to publish the book anony- mously ? Such is the question propounded in the March number of the Author, in which the opinion is expressed that the publisher has ‘no such right. The reputation of an author is, it is contended, of so much value to him that the publisher must be taken to have impliedly con- tracted not to smother that reputation by not publishing the author’s name. We cannot accept that as sound law. It seems to us that what the author sells to the publisher, at common law, is the right of reproduction, but with no correspond-  THE ing obligation on the publisher to reproduce. If this be the law (and we cannot say that the ques- tion is free from doubt) all the more necessary is it that authors should part with their copyrights only by full and carefully expressed agreements, and not be content with mere undertakings to pay the purchase money. The law, we may observe, would be different in case a book were published with such alterations as to damage the reputation of an author. In that case the author would seem to have a clear right of action, but in tort only, and not on any implied contract.— Law Times. TV: Tae Unitep Srates PusitisHine Company. The smash of the United States Publishing Company is a disaster which had been foreseen by some. It has been stated that the cause of the failure was the granting of royalties larger than could be safely paid. This is rubbish. The royalties granted were seldom, if ever, more than would be represented by a bond fide half-profit agreement, and in some cases, as in some English houses, were far less. A writerin the Sketch states that 10 per cent.is “a royalty which the best houses accept as safe.” This is simply not the case with writers of standing and houses of repute, as is known to the Society “from information received.” The same writer warns English authors against expecting too much from America. That is a very ‘wise and judicious counsel. A few novelists will largely increase their incomes, but very few. A few writers of educational books will double their incomes by the American copyright, but very few. ‘And a few historical writers will find the value of their work increased. V. An Outp Auruor on Literary PROPERTY. The following is printed from an autograph letter written by G. P. R. James in the year 1846. It illustrates the condition of literature in the Forties. It isnot known whether it was ever sent round among publishers : “The treaty regarding international copyright between England and Russia, and the probability that all the other States of the German Customs Union will adhere to the same, and that France will sooner or later conclude a treaty of a similar kind, afford great opportunities for the extension of the English book trade; but, to render the opportunities available, it is absolutely necessary that English publishers should exert themselves energetically to take advantage of the position in VOL. III, AUTHOR. 303 which they are placed; and, in order to do so effectually, they have to consider and decide upon the best means of meeting the new circumstances which surround them. You will forgive me for saying that the great body of the trade neglected most lamentably the opportunity afforded by the exclusion of the American piracies from our colonies, and this induces me to press the subject upon your attention at the present. T know that several difficulties embarrass the whole question and render the English publishers timid in action; but these difficulties cannot be got over without taking ¢ general view of the position in which they stand. This I shall endeavour to give, although I may omit several particulars, which your greater experience will suggest. The English publisher about four or five years ago was only possessed of the English market, and that not altogether without competition. It usually afforded a safe and profiab e business ; but he as well as the author thought it hard that foreign publishers should be allowed to make use of the produce of an Englishman’s mind without giving him any compensation ; and representa- tions were made to Government which induced Ministers to support a Bill which excluded piracies from our colonies, and to negotiate with foreign powers for a reciprocal recognition of copyright. Thus the colonies, the whole of the Prussian dominions certainly, the whole of the Zoll-Verein probably, and France possibly, are added to the market of the English book trade. It seems to me, under the circumstances, not only to be politic, but to be an absolute duty, to afford to our colonists and foreigners a constant supply of English literature on terms which they can accept. You are well aware that before the changes were effected an enormous number of the American cheap reprints were sold in our colonies and in India, and that very large editions reprinted by Herr Tauchnitz and M. Baudry were disposed of on the Continent ; but the whole condi- tions, on which these large sales were obtained, was cheapness. Neither the Colonies or the foreigner is willing or able to give a high price for English works. They must be very low or he will not read them, Thus, if the colonial and foreign sale is to be preserved, cheap editions of English works must be published for the Colonies and the Continent. Three or four difficulties, however, present themselves to the mind of the English publisher. It is said, if we send out cheap editions, they will be returned on the English market and interfere with the more hand- some and expensive editions, which we are vbliged to print for England, where we have great outs lays to incur in advertising, &c. It is also said HH yaa gona tS!  394 that returns from such editions would be very uncertain from the difficulty of establishing colonial agencies, the want of solidity im the booksellmg houses of the Colonies, and various other {causes ; and, again, it is objected that there are obstructions, regarding transmission which would increase the price. In regard to the first difficulty vou are aware that I have always believed a reduction must be made in the price of books in England, and that I once made a great sacrifice to effect it. But setting that point aside for the present, as I find the great majority of gentlemen engaged in the book trade are opposed to immediate reduction, I think the difficulty can be obviated in regard té lighter literature, such as romances, &c., at least by a delay in the transmission of the cheaper edition to the Colonies and the Continent of two or three months. These will not operate un- favourably on the sale of the cheaper editions, as such a work is more likely to havea rapid and extensive sale in the Colonies, after it has obtained a reputation and has been noticed in reviews, &c. Nor will it admit of return on the English market ; for, supposing that the delay be three months, the time consumed in the passage to and from the colonies and in making arrangements would in addition be sufficient to secure to the English publisher the sales which an ordinary work of light literature usually commands. If the work by accident were to prove extremely popular, it would become requisite for him to publish a cheap second edition for England also ; and he might charge a price considerably higher even for that than for the colonial edition, which would still be as low as the returned books would be sold for, with the addition of freight and other incidental expenses. You will allow me here, however, to remark that it is my belief that a complete reorganisation of the book trade must soon take place : that the trade allowances are enormous, and must be diminished ; and that they have been created by, and have fostered in return, a false and most prejudicial system of doing business. You and I know, that with one deduction or another, the trade allowances and agencies do not amount in general to less than forty per cent.; but what would the public say if they were informed that out of the total proceeds of an edition of 1500 copies of an ordinary romance, supposing all sold, no less than the enormous sum of nine hundred and forty-five pounds goes into the pockets of persons who have had nothing to do with the production of the work, either as author or publisher? The heads of the trade should meet and bind themselves to set their faces against such a system. THE AUTHOR. In regard to the second difficulty, it must be met by some means. No one will persuade me, that in a great commercial country like England. it is impossible in the book-trade to arrive at the same degree of certainty which is obtained in other mercantile transactions. Some risk must always be incurred; but either by offering to supply the colonial booksellers with the number they calculate they may require of the cheap edition, only by the condition of providing them- selves with an agent in England empowered to accept your bills for the amount, by requiring prompt paymene at a discount, or by some of the usual courses adopted by firms having dealings with the colonies in other articles, this end may be arrived at. In regard to our North American colonies, there are many most respectable houses in the United States which would, I doubt not, readily undertake to be your agents for supplying them ; and the edition being published in London would be admitted in the colony. I throw these suggestlons out merely as hints, for this part of the subject is more within your competence than mine; but of one thing be assured, the matter requires immediate decision, for things can no longer go on as they have hitherto done, or you will have a change in the law which will be very detrimeutal. In regard to the difficulties of transmission I am not fully informed in what they consist in, but Mr. Murray once told me that they did exist, and that they lay in a considerable degree with our Government. Freight, however, to all our colonies is not very high, and if the small weight and bulk of a book are considered, it would make but a trifling addition to the price. In the above observations I have principally considered the colonies, but some part of what I have said refers also to the trade with those countries which have entered, or may enter into treaties with ourselves. No difficulties of trans- mission will here arise, and little difficulty in regard to agency and to payment. The question of the speedy return of the cheap editions upon the English market is the great one for us to consider, and how such a return may be obviated unless you find by experiment that the increased sale wil justify you in reducing the price of books in England so far as with the duty and the expenses of freight here may render the return unprofitable. The only means that suggests itself to my mind is the delay I have mentioned printing the cheap edition. However, I must inform you that Herr Tauchnitz, the Leipzig publisher, came to Baden some weeks ago to confer with me on the sub- ject, and, after a careful examination of the treaty, which has also been agreed to by his own country, Saxony (though it has not yet been iii  THe AUTHOR. 39 ratified), we drew up several questions, which I inclose separate, for a legal opinion upon the construction of some of thearticles. Herr Tauch- nitz is a highly respectable man, and I should wish to give him every advantage in republishing my works in Germany, consistent with my own security, and, if that cannot be done, grant him the agency for the sale. On considering all these points, I have sketched out a plan for myself in a very vague manner for supplying our Colonies and foreign countries, in which, together, at a very low price, there were formerly sold not less at Jeast than 20,000 copies, and I now submit it to you for observation and amendment. On looking over one of Herr Tauchnitz’s volumes, I find that the height of his page (I mean the printing without the margin) is precisely the same as that adopted in your edition of “ Heidelburg.” Now what I propose for you to do is this: to ascertain pre- cisely what would be the expense, when printing a new work of mine after the treaty comes into operation, of overrunning the whole so as to have thirty or thirty-one lines in a page (this would be done by merely taking out the leaves), to ascertain precisely what would be the expense of a cheap paper, not better or heavier than that of Herr Tauchnitz’s edition (of which I inclose a page) in the form necessary for the double sheet of thirty-two pages. In Germany this would be done, that is to say, the slight overrunning, the printing of four reams by machine, and the pur- chase of four reams of paper for £3 12s., or even less. If you find that it can be done at the same price in England, by putting thirty-one lines in a page, we might, out of the three volume romance make two volumes of eleven or twelve double sheets, each at the expense of £43 45. per volume in an edition of two thousand—say that the expense of stitching in wrappers made it £50—and we might afford to sell the work in the Colonies and foreign countries at 1s. 6d. the volume, or 3s. the whole work. The profit would be but small, it is true; but it is my belief that at that price, if we did not regain the whole sale which the Americans had in the colonies, and retain the sale on the Continent, we should still ultimately command a sale of five or six thousand at the least, when the profit would be considerable. Will you, then, have the calculation made of the very lowest sum, at which an edition of two thousand copies could be produced, and let me know the result as soon as possible. Will you also ascertain what would be the cost of stereotyping such a page? I have not been able to ascertain what it is here, but in Belgium a large page costs one franc. When the exact expenses are calculated I VOL, II. qn propose to send a circular letter, of which I enclose a copy, to booksellers to Montreal, Quebec, Toronto, Jamaica, Sydney, the Cape, Mauritius, Bombay, Madras, and Calcutta, as well as to write to Mr. Tauchnitz, and, if by the replies we find a sufficient sale ensured, we can print accordingly, stereotyping if justified. You must endeavour to find me the names of the most respectable colonial firms, which I think can be done easily in London. If you like to make the experiment with the “ Castle of Ebrenbreitstein,;” I will resign to you the proceeds of an edition of two thousand. Should a greater sale be obtained we will divide the surplus profits, as I lose in the first instance the sum usually paid me by Mr. Tauchnitz. If you do not like to make the experiment, I will. G. P. R. JameEs. Baden Baden, Aug. 22, 1846. Be ge THE HARDSHIPS OF PUBLISHING. volume his own papers and others which have recently appeared on this subject. So far as we are concerned, little need be said. The bitterness which is shown against the Society finds vent in an attack upon the figures given in the “Cost of Productions.” Our answer to that is complete. A certain publisher, as was stated m<our letter to the Athenzum, received an offer for all his printing on our terms, and declined to take it. We have not stated the name of the publisher, but the fact will not be denied. Mr. Heinemann, fully answered on this point in the Atheneum, resumes his attack in the Bookman. In’ spite, however, of the flourish and parade about the figures, there they are and -there they will remain until the printers themselves show cause for their alteration. This is quite possible. Since the first edition of our book, composition has risen 15 per cent. ; and since the third edition, binding has risen 15 per cent., as readers of the Author have been informed every month for the past six months. Mr. Heinemann complains about the item for adver- tising. This, as Mr. Spriggs carefully explained in the Introduction, is inserted so as to recognise that it is an integral part of cost of production. The sum of £20 was set down because it is an average sum for an average book. If Mr. Heine- mann reads it to mean that he should not, by the agreement, be allowed to spend more than £20 on a novel, he is indeed a simple person. But, of course, it cannot carry that meaning. M- HEINEMANN has collected in a HH 2 Spenco: STS EES OSL I EET  396 Here is a word of explanation especially for those authors who complain that they are not advertised enough. The majority of books have, necessarily, a limited sale. An experienced pub- lisher can make a guess at a maximum as well as a minimum—not perhaps a young publisher, but an experienced publisher. This estimate rules the advertising. The book will not ‘‘ bear” more than a certain amount. For instance, let us take a 6s, book—perhaps a volume of essays of which the sale of a whole edition of 1000 copies is quite as much as may be hoped for. The copies (see ‘Cost of Production,” p. 27) cost for composition, printing, and paper, according to these figures, £47 12s. Add binding (increased by 15 per cent.) since those figures were obtained, £15 16s. 8d.,.in all, say, £64. The sale of 1000, less fifty for presentation copies, brings us at the rate of 3s. 4d. a copy, say, £150. Itis found by experience that to advertise more than a certain sum upon the book is waste. If this sum is £20, the amount of profit is about £65, reckoning profit as it is reckoned in every other business under the sun, as the difference between the amount realised and the amount spent. But there is another way of considering it. Let Mr. Heinemann frankly agree with the author that he is to spend a certain sum; and let the royalties be calculated on that sum. For instance, 1f £50 instead of £20 be spent in adver- tising a book, which the publisher thinks will bear that amount, it means an increased cost of production of about 23d. on each volume of a first edition of 3000. Everything is to be arranged when two honest men lay their heads together. The real question between Mr. Heinemann and his author is this: The expense being actually this or that; the advertising being so much, actually paid out of pocket, not the tariff charge ; how in equity are the returns to be shared? If Mr. Heinemann will help us in arriving at an answer to the question he will be serving both his own cause and ours. At the bottom of all this windy warfare lies the necessity of a common understanding. As for the proposed Union of Publishers, that appears to be as far off as ever. Mr. Murray plainly expresses his opinion that no good pur- pose would be gained by discussion of the rela- tion between author and publisher. This is disheartening. Perhaps we may before long illustrate the exact contrary. Mr. Frederick Macmillan complains of the tone adopted by the Author—but he does not give his grounds of complaint, and, since the tone of the Author has always been highly respectful to honourable houses, his ground of complaint is not apparent— and says that ‘“ they,” whoever “they” may be, THE AUTHOR. would probably call a Publishers’ Union a “Band of Robbers.” On the contrary; it hag been maintained in these columns that such an union would be an excellent thing simply because it would separate and designate the black sheep— honourable men could not unite for any but honourable motives. And secondly,. because, though it is very certain that some publishers are hostile to our society, the society is in no way hostile to publishers. If it were, nothing could more readily show it than the attempt which would certainly be made if that were the case to create our own machinery. The unsigned paper which concludes Mr. Hememann’s volume, taken from the Publisher’s Weekly may be welcomed, and acknowledged as a very fair and reasonable statement of the case from the publisher’s point of view. It is here reproduced in full in order that our readers may see all that can be said on both sides. One thing may be added—one of the writers advances the proposition that “ office expenses ’ form part of cost of production. He gives no reasons. I, for my part, state that the author’s “‘ office expenses’? may equally well be claimed as forming part of cost of production. Mr. Heine- mann states that the former has ‘“ conclusively proved” his case. He has proved nothing. He has only advanced a claim. The point, with many others, may be arguable, but certainly it has not been determined. PUBLISHERS AND AUTHORS. (From the Publisher's Weekly.) Another controversy is afoot in England between pub- lisher and author, started by the recent difference of opinion between Mr. Heinemann and ‘“‘ Ouida,” in which, as usual, everybody seems anxious to take a hand, with the usual result—a large waste of paper and print, and no settlement of the question at issue. In this, as in previous similar controversies, both sides are apt to take extreme positions, forgetting that the truth of the matter generally lies between the two. The author, or rather some authors, take it for granted that the publisher gets hold of the biggest and most advantageous part of the handle of the contract, while some publishers—we have reference now only to the present discussion—assume that the authors ought to accept their statements without question. Clearly both of these positions are equally preposterous. Both parties have rights which must be respected, and both are in a position to have these rights clearly defined and secured. The publisher does not run his establishment as a philan- thropic institution, and therefore will endeavour to secure himself in every way possible from suffering loss. He is at liberty to accept or reject manuscripts from whomever presents them for his consideration. He cannot be coerced or cajoled into accepting a manuscript, and therefore is as much at liberty to act as a free agent as any other mer- chant. In deciding upon publishing a manuscript the pub- lisher considers the quality of the work if by an unknown author, or the value of the reputation of a known author in connection with the new work. It occurs probably as fre-  THE AUTHOR. 307 quently that publishers hesitate to entertain a new manu- script by a well-known author as they feel constrained to refuse the work of a new or less known one. Having accepted it, however, the publisher computes the cost of making the book, including the price of composition, making plates, press-work, paper and binding, and the incidentals connected with distributing the book, including rent, travellers’ expenses, advertising, postage, editor’s copies, interest on capital invested, and such other expenses as legitimately belong to the work under consideration. Besides these he allows for a percentage of profit to himself and the author. He places at the author’s disposal his machinery and experience, and for the use of these demands a compensation. And right here we might add that the publisher more frequently than one would think earns a large slice of his profit by attending to minutiz in pre- paring and working out contracts, in the preparation of the author’s copy, pnd in attending to details that pro- perly belong to the author. An elaboration of the necessity of the author educating himself in all that pertains to the business of negotiating for manuscript, and upon the importance of properly preparing his copy and its relation to the economical production of his book, will be found in Mr. Cody’s communication to the New York Sun of the 8th inst., part of which is reprinted in this issue. The author, on the other hand, is also a free agent, and may accept the publisher’s proposals or seek to obtain better terms elsewhere. No one can force him to entrust his work to this, that, or any other publisher. He has de- yoted months or years of his life to his work, and is justified in obtaining the highest remuneration possible for his labour. If he cannot obtain what he considers his due from a publisher, and has faith enough in his work, and capital enough to make his book, and talent enough to dis- pose of it, there is no law in any land to prevent his taking this course. If he consents of his own free will to the terms proposed by a publisher he has still a right to insist upon the strict fulfilment of them in every particular, and he will, unless he has had the misfortune to deal with a rogue, find no difficulty in obtaining as fair an accounting of the trans- action connected with his work as he would from the architect building his house. He may not obtain in the end a fair remuneration for the labour he has put into his book, but this may then be due to other causes than the dishonesty of his publisher. He may, for instance, have had the misfortune of entrusting his work to the care of an incompetent man, who may yet be honest. So he might entrust his good cloth to the tender mercies of a botch of a tailor. In both cases he would have to pay for an error of judgment. Or, his work, notwithstanding his own and his publisher’s expectations, may not have filled a demand. In that case his publisher, quite as much as himself, would have to pay for his error of judgment. This argument rests upon the supposition that the pub- lisher assumes all risk of publication. Where an author assumes this risk he becomes practically a partner in the business speculation. and so may insist beforehand upon certain privileges in the matter of accounting that would reasonably secure him against fraud on the part of sharpers. However, we do not think we go very wide of the mark in claiming that the publisher is as anxious for the success of a book as the author may be, without regard to the arrangements upon which he produces the book. He is in business to make money fully as much as to distribute literature. Asa good-selling book means a good profit to him, it is his interest to endeavour to make each of his ventures as profitable as lies in his power. In such pro- sperity the author deserves to share, and should any ques- tion arise the publisher must stand ready at all reasonable times to give a full and unequivocal report as to the status of the book that may be in dispute. We believe that such is the practice among publishers of standing and repute in all countries, and that these fear combinations of authors, under whatever name they may associate, as little as the author need have misgivings as to the honesty of the large class of reputable publishing houses all over the world. eS ATTACK AND DEFENCE. HE following letter and reply have been sent to us for publication. They speak for themselves. Which is right—Author or critic ? Mrs. Grunpy aT Home. [To the Editor of the National Observer. | London, March 6, 1893. Sir—In your current issue you are good enough to review my book, Mrs. Grundy at Home. That review contains five distinct mis-statements of fact: 1. The Archdeacon, your reviewer says, gets drunk every night.—The Archdeacon never gets drunk at all. >, All the inhabitants of Drizzlington, according to the same authority, die of consumption.—The book contains no such statement. 3. The Squire, your Reviewer tells the public, gets gout because the postal authorities paint the letter box in his park gates red.—Such a thing is nowhere affirmed in Mrs. Grundy. 4. The Vicar’s wife is, according to your Reviewer, absurdly young for her husband.—The Vicar’s wife is not mentioned at all. 5. Cyril Eade’s wife, says your Reviewer, is a “ ten years Iunatic.”—Cyril Fade’s wife is perfectly sane. Whether this intelligent style of reviewing is thought humorous, or thought smart, or thought brilliantly up-to- date, I do not know; but, in the circumstances, I must ask you to be good enough to give the foregoing brief denial of your Reviewer's statements a prominence equal to that afforded to his mis-statements.—I am, &c., CHARLES T. C. JAMES. | Note.—_1. Drunkenness is, no doubt, relative; as also is insanity (see answer to No. 5). Mr. James unquestionably pictures his character as taking glass after glass of Bur- gundy; thereafter talking gibberish, and gabbling the family prayers. Vide (among many others) pages 67, 97, 137, 138, 140, 171, 215, 216, 217, 249, 250, 252, 253, 254, 255, 277, 278, 300. 2. Vide pages 41, 42. “I’m a being took myself—consumption,” said the melan- choly youth, with resignation. “ All of our family ’asit.” . . . “Most of ’em coughs up their lungs, and ’as it in these parts.” 3. Vide pages 62, 63, 216, 217, &c. “Those horrid Post-office people have been irritating him now. They will insist upon painting the letter box he induced them to put in the lodge wall for his convenience, a bright red.” “ Poor Sir Frederick is suffering from the gout in conse- sierra  398 quence of the irritation they [the postal authorities] are causing him!” 4. Vide page 65: Following after a paragraph about the Vicar, ‘“‘Mrs. Bull was there, too,” Marcia said . . . “looking shamefully young for her age” . . . ‘“* Well, I do call it shameful to look so young when her husband’s seventy-one.”’ It turns out that this unimportant character is not the vicar’s wife, but another’s. This is, however, quite imma- terial to the plot, if any, of the book. 5. Vide page 25: “‘ When his wife confined her drinking to three or four brief intoxications in the course of the day, Cyril Eade bore with her; but when the habit nothing could check, developed (sic) into a mere daily procession of instantaneous ether-intoxication, he pronounced marriage a failure.”’] ee THE BOOK OF THE FUTURE. HIS is the title of a lecture recently de- livered by Mr. Henry Blackburn at the London Institution. It is certain to be published; meanwhile, we have to thank Mr. Blackburn for allowing us to read the lecture as he delivered it. The author presents an entirely new idea to the world ; he laments the monotony of the printed page and the absence of personal distinction in the poets and authors of the day : Clothed in a degrading, characterless costume which takes all appearance of manliness and suppleness from his figure, living in houses and in cities in which nearly everything ornate or beautiful has been stolen, borrowed, or copied from another country or period, he is found engaged in the production of books in which, as far as the mechanical parts are concerned, nearly everything is a sham. These shams are the reproduction by machinery of the old letters, which were the work of* patience, skill, and art; the reproduction by photography of pictures which appear to be engravings and are not; the manufacture by machinery of so-called “hand-made” paper, with rough edges and coarse texture ; the binding in “vellum” which is made of pulp and rags; and the gold illuminations which are no longer gold. How, then, should the author stamp upon his work his own individuality ? Here comes the idea. It is this, that an author should first learn some system of short- hand, for rapid notes, and should then study a style of handwriting worthy of expressing his thoughts; that he should then write his book on a page, chosen for form and size, in this beau- tiful handwriting ; and that the work should be presented to the world as a photographic fac- simile. We shall then have the author himself. We must not proceed to show how this thought is developed. It is a fine thought, worthy of an artist. How far it is practicable is open to dis- THE AUTHOR. cussion. It must not be forgotten that hand- writing of the day is poor and mean, general] because those who write are unable to draw— cannot create for themselves a beautiful hand, and could not, under any circumstances. At the same time, the arts overlap; there is generally some latent ability with pen and pencil in the poet and the novelist. Readers must await the publication of the lecture. It is not quitea case in point, but it may be mentioned that Quilter’s edition (Swan Sonnenschein) of Geo. Meredith’s “Jumping Jane” is all written by the artist who drew the extremely clever pic- tures. This is not the handwriting, however, of the poet. pecs BOOKS AND PRINTING. E have received from the Chiswick Press (Whittingham and Co., Took’s-court, Chancery-lane) a copy of a book called “Some Notes on Books and Printing : a Guide for Authors and Others,” by Charles T. Jacobi, manager of the Chiswick Press, and Examiner in Typography to the City and Guilds of London Institute. Perhaps the Society will before long see its way to publishing its own Handbook for Authors, including, among other things, the more important part of this little book. Mean- time, those who desire to make themselves acquainted with the mechanical part of their work—the various types, the form, the headings, divisions, indexing, &c , are strongly recommended to buy this, and no other. Above all, the reader shouid note what is said on the subject of correc- tions. It is, in fact, a lesson in the art of correct- ing for the press, and a warning to do all the corrections in the MS. The various kinds of type are all shown; the different sizes of books are given; and there is a good deal of interesting talk about binding. In one point, the most important of all, there is complete silence. Not a word is said as to the Cost of Production. This, of course, makes the work incomplete. Now it is certain that a printer’s bill is an elastic thing, and that wages go up and down. But could there not be laid down some kind of average, in order to guide the reader? ‘This applies to everything—printing, paper, corrections, composition, and binding. We may know all that this book tells us and yet be in no way protected or advanced unless we know the cost of production. Therefore the book can only be recommended under protest, and with a warning that it is incomplete. The remarks about publishers are vague, but  THE AUTHOR. 399 they show some recognition of certain points which, a few years ago, would not have. been allowed for a moment. Thus, the writer says, “ It is strongly advised that only well-known pub- lishers be approached.” We should like to see added, ‘The Society of Authors is the only insti- tution which knows the character and standing of all publishers.” And, again, we read, ‘It is of the utmost importance that any agreement entered into should be thoroughly understood.” Quite so. But we should like to see added, “and that the author should know what such agreement gives him, and what he gives to the publisher.” These points will, we doubt not, be added in the next edition. pee OMNIUM : GATHERUM FOR APRIL. Suggestions for Books or Articles.—A_ short life of Dandolo, the ninety-year-old doge ;—an Anglo-Irish Tunnel ;—a Dictionary of Six Lan- guages, after the model of the Universal Dictionary published by Trowitzsch, of Berlin (without a date alas! and anonymously), but having Greek and Latin, as well as English, French, German, and Italian words, and each language printed in a differently coloured type ;— the antipathies of Croker and Macaulay ;—the theological objections (if any) to cremation, with special references to the views of the late Bishop of Lincoln on the subject ;—the folly of profes- sional overwork ;—the wickedness of a marriage between May and December ;—the desirability of making Easter ap immovable feast. Correction of Proofs—-The mode of proof correction is pretty nearly settled ; indeed, there is atable of recognised corrections in Whitaker’s Almanac. But the different kinds of type (which might be symbolised by 1, 2, 3, and so on) have still to be distinguished. Could not a complete table of corrections be settled with the leading printers and printed in the Author ? Addenda.—Is there any use in these? Hardly anybody sees them. Any addition or correc- tion of real importance can be effected by a cancel. Prices and Dates of Books.—It is of importance to the reviewer (who should mention the price in his review) that the price of a book should be stated on the cover, and of the utmost import- ance to everybody that the date should be printed on the title page. It is suggested that the author has a right to insist upon a date on the title page, and that he should always exercise this right. Dates of Editions —It is of importance to future readers that the dates of past editions should be stated, and it is suggested that the best place for stating these dates is on the back of the title page and on the page facing the preface. Author’s Corrections—In most agreements it is stipulated that the author shall pay for corrections (except of printer’s errors) beyond a certain amount, which is quite fair. But in order, if necessary, to check the amount charged for these corrections, it is suggested that either the printers should be requested to keep the proofs till the printing bill is sent in, or that the author should copy the corrections on to the proof duplicates. The mention of one newspaper by another.—Is it not high time that the foolish practice (fol- lowed, I fear, by all newspaper editors except about seventeen) of one newspaper describing another as “our contemporary,” instead of speaking of ‘“ Wednesday’s Standard,’ “last week’s Literary World,’ or as the case may be, should be utterly abandoned? Is it not also ridiculous that any newspaper should ignore a subject of general interest to the public merely on the ground that that subject was first brought into prominence by another newspaper ? J. M. Lety. ee THE S.P.C.K. AGAIN. HE following letter reopens the controversy of 1891: I have never written for the S.P.C.K., nor quarrelled with them, but I have heard much from both sides of the disputed questions from those more nearly concerned. It appears to me that the S.P.C.K. pay the average market price for the work supplied to them. Would the same books be likely to obtain more from other publishers? If they paid young or mediocre authors according to their enormous sales, which are owing to the Society’s reputation, and not to that of the author, they would force the market for the small religious tale, and give it a factitious value quite out of proportion to other kinds of literary work. That would be a very good thing for some of us, but would it be desirable in itself ? It may be said that such high pay would attract superior work, but, with certain almost obvious exceptions, it would hardly attract work much more useful and suitable for the purposes required. There may be other grievances, but it does not appear to me that this one offers a just ground of complaint. MrMBER OF SocrETY OF AUTHORS. The writer advances, first of all, the opinion that the 8.P.C.K. pay the “average market price for the work supplied to them.” Dothey? Then what about that lady who had written for them  400 for years, and went to another religious society, which gave her at once what she had previously received as payment in full from the 8.P.C.K. and a royalty as well? Or, what about that historical work for which they gave £12, with a promise of more if it succeeded, and sold 7000 copies, and then refused to give any more? This opinion, from the prices which I have seen, can- not be accepted. But if it were, is it the way to defend a religious society—a society whose whole aim is to advance religion, which should demand, one would suppose, from others, and should illustrate in itself, the highest possible standard of morals and principles in conduct—by saying that it only does what others do ? Again, the writer does not seem to know that there is any kind of equity in dealing with literary property. It matters nothing, in speak- ing of commercial value and the rights of pro- perty—nothing at all—whether a writer is good or bad; it matters only, from this point of view, whether he is in demand or no. The committee are to blame if they try to run a had writer; the taste of the public is to blame if they buy a bad writer’s works. The standing fact is that a writer, good or bad, for whose work there is a sale, creates a new property with every new MS. which is his until he parts with it. If any publisher buys out that writer, trading on his ignorance or his necessities, for a trifle, he is a sweater. I should, myself, use another word, but that will do. The thing is perfectly simple. I take once more—see ‘The Literary Handmaid of the Church ”’—the Archbishop of Canterbury’s own definition of sweating. He calls it “a rate of wages inadequate to the necessities of the worker, and disproportionate to the work done.” This is a very good definition, and one which enables us to find out what sweating means applied to literary property. A woman who writes popular stories can pro- duce at her best not more than three in two years —say, even two ina year. She is paid £30 apiece, we will say, for them, 7.e, she can make 60a year. This is a most miserable income for a gentlewoman to live upon. But, it may be objected, her books do not fetch enough to give her more. Then nothing more can be said: she is a failure. Should, however, the Society or House for which she writes know very well beforehand that they will sell many thousands, and that they will make a profit out of any one book by her of six times, ten times, what they gave her, then that Society, or that House, is, by the Archbishop of Canterbury’s own definition, a sweater. For, first, their wages are inadequate to the necessities of the worker; and, next, they are THE AUTHOR. disproportionate to the work done! 7.e., to the monetary value of that work. As for the con- tention that the House makes the sale, or creates the demand, that is absurd. Why do not Messrs. Longmans tell their authors that, because they are such a great House with so great, a name, they must beat them down and take all the profits to themselves? They do exactly the reverse. Anyone sees at once the absurdity of such a thing, yet people continue to repeat this absurdity concerning a religious society when they know it to be absurd when said of a House publishing for its partners. Apply the method to another kind of business. Suppose a cabinet-maker were to say to a working man ‘‘ The kind of desk you can make is very much in demand. Partly through the fact of my having shops everywhere I can sell as many as you can make. But because I don’t think it is a very artistic desk, I shall only pay you one-tenth or one-fifth of the money your desks bring in, instead of what is considered a fair price by other shops.” That is exactly the con- tention of our correspondent. The confusion in her mind is that so often noticed in these columns a feeling that inferior work ought not to be popular. But there is not always—alas !—the harmony between literary excellence and popu- larity that there ought to be; the two things are never, and never will be, commeusurable. If, in short, the §.P.C.K. should regard the equity of the case and should fall to considering their president’s definition of sweating, many gentle- women who are now pinched and poverty-stricken would blossom out into anincome. Because they are great writers? Not at all. But because their books would be on the 8.P.C.K. list, and because they would be treated with due regard to their rights and their own property, and because they would be working for a firm where equity was recognised as the true basis of all business dealings. spect THE AUTHORS’ CLUB. HE club has at last removed into its own premises. These contain a suite of eight or ten rooms at No. 3, Whitehall-court. There are reading and writing rooms, dining and luncheon rooms, a billiard room, and everything required for a first-class and most comfortable club. The subscription is very moderate—only four guineas a year. The situation is exactly central; it is impossible to desire a more con- venient situation, and the club is intended to be run as cheaply as is consistent with reasonable  THE | AUTHOR. comfort. Thus it is proposed to have a shilling luncheon, consisting of joint or chop with veget- ables and cheese. A small reference library is forming, and in three quiet writing rooms members may do their work undisturbed. The position, besides being perfectly central, is extremely quiet. There will be a club dinner once a month, and a house dinner oncea week. Ladies will be admitted to tea on Wednesday afternoons. The “‘ Uncut Leaves” will probably be continued every month during the season. This new feature of the club hasso far been entirely and wonderfully successful. At the last meeting unpublished papers were read by Mr. Morley Roberts, Mr. Symon, and Mr. Barry Pain. Mr. Douglas Sladen takes charge of the “Uncut Leaves.” ec THE NEW YORK “NATION.” T is rather late in the day to call attention to a newspaper article of Jan. 2. The excuse is that it is an American article, and that I have only just read it through. The article in question occurred in the New York Nation of that date. It professed to contain an account of, and a criticism on, my Address of Dec. 17. As it had no copy to go by, the remarks must have been made upon the brief report in some London Daily. I now reprint all the paragraphs in succession, leaving out the first, which points out what is, I hope, and am sure is, true, a belief on the part of the New York Nation that my resig- nation of the post of chairman was a gain to the Society. He looks upon literature as a sort of fairyland, in which he, as the good fairy, with a wave of his wand, would make every book published an inexhaustible gold mine. T wonder what this means, and to what it refers. Eyery book an inexhaustible gold mine? Really, this is indeed interesting. Every book! But what foolish utterances of mine can the writer have in his mind There are to-day, he says, 200,000,000 English-speaking people ; in fifty years there will be 400,000,000, all wanting to read, and, moreover, all wanting to read only good literature. What says the Address ? By the passing of the American International Copyright Act a writer of importance now addresses an audience drawn from a hundred million of English-speaking people. : Every day makes it plainer and clearer that we have arrived ata time when the whole of this multitude, which in fifty years time will be two hundred million, will very soon be reading books. What kind of books? All kinds, good and bad, but mostly good; they will prefer good books to bad. Even now the direct road to popularity is by dramatic strength, clear vision, clear dialogue, whether a man write a play, a poem, a history, or a novel. VOL. III. 401 So, you see, I did not say what this writer sets down as regards numbers, nor did I say what he sets down about “ good” literature, except that one is very certain that people will prefer good books to bad, meaning by good what I have laid down—“ dramatic strength,” &c.—as above. The people, he declares, care only for what is good; for an example of the truth of this, look at the unprecedented (in England) success of the Strand Magazine. Now, this is a publication which has sent up its circulation chiefly by publishing portraits at all ages of the notorieties of the day, and articles on the Queen’s dolls or pages from her journal written in her own royal Hindustani—the devices of the cheapest journalism. Whena man seriously points to such a periodical as a proof of the people’s literary instincts, there is absolutely nothing to be said. Now let us see what was said about the Strand. First, it is absolutely false that the vast circula- tion of the Strand was created by portraits of notorieties, and articles on the Queen’s dolls. The circulation of the Strand had gone up to 330,000 before the articles on the Queen’s dolls. Why, then, according to my Address, has the Strand gone up so enormously ? “ By giving dramatic work—stories which hold and interest people—essays which speak clearly—work that somehow seems to have message,” not quite the contemptible thing invented and put into my mouth by this truthful writer. In the meantime, what Mr. Besant hopes may be brought about by the society is (1) its enlargement to ten times its present numbers, as though there were not enough indiffe- rent or worse writers already flooding the world with trash ; (2) an institute or headquarters for authors ; (3) a pension fund from which every one would receive a pension of right, not of charity; and (4) an academy of letters. The writer of the article apparently supposes that the word “author” applies solely to those who write fiction. There have been published in Great Britain and Ireland during the last eight or ten years, an average of about 5000 new books a year—say 50,000 new books in all—of every kind, scientific, educational, theological, poetical, artistic, historical, technical, imaginative, &c. How many authors does this number represent ? Ten thousand? A great many more. The Society would like to include every one, good or bad, who ventures into the field of Letters, just as the Inns of Court include every one who ventures into the field of the Bar: Mr. Besant also had sometbing to say about the Authors’ Conference to be held in Chicago during the Exposition. It is his opinion that by it the future interests of English authors may be largely influenced. I said nothing about the “future interests of English authors.” I said “ the future of our calling’? — the calling of Letters — which is American as well as English : But Americans should realise that Mr. Besant, despite his boundless enthusiasm, can hardly be said to represent tz  402 the most intelligent ideas and opinions of the English lite- rary world ; nor is Mrs. Walford, who seems to be accepted as an authority, a better qualified representative. That is the whole of it. Not a word about the aims of the Society, or the achievements of the Society, or the demands of tbe Society. Here we have, in what is called the leading literary paper of America, an account of this History of the English Society of Authors so garbled as to falsify it from beginning to end; the total suppression of the important part, ¢.c., the facts in the case; and the representation of the Society as a one man business, and of that one man as something worse than a fool. The reference to Mrs. Walford is obscure. As for my representing “ intelligent ideas,” the facts in the address and the History of the Society show how far the “intelligent ideas”’ of the English literary world go with the committee, while my own opinions were submitted, at the end of the Address, as my own, my indi- vidual own, and claiming to be nothing more. The question arises why the Nation, a literary paper, should go out of its way to make this attack upon the Society under the guise of an attack upon myself. es NOTES FROM PARIS. ‘J HAD the pleasure of meeting Maeterlinck I at a déjeuner given to him in Paris last week by the young poets of the Symbolist school, and, in common with all who saw him for the first time, was delighted with the manners and modesty of this wonderful youth. He looked like a nice Oxford lad, neatly dressed in a serge suit, with a bunch of violets at his button-hole. There was not a vestige of side or pose about him. It seemed to surprise him to the point of inconvenience that we all thought him such a great man, and he had little deprecating gestures in answer to our com- pliments that were very pretty to behold. A new play of his is shortly to be produced at the ‘ Theatre d’ Art, and a new volume of poems, entitled “La Quenouille et la Besace” from his pen is shortly to appear. Ihave heard certain of the poems which it contains, and they are not to be described otherwise than as masterpieces, Maeterlinck appears to me to be the man of letters of the last decade of the nineteenth century. An indefatigable worker is M. Camille Flam- marion, the astronomer. He is engaged on a huge astronomical encyclopedia, which won’t be finished for another eight years, but, besides this, he is a constant contributor to the Press, Articles THE AUTHOR. on astronomical subjects from his pen are to be seen in the New York Herald and other American papers almost every month. He is a constant contributor to the New Times of Peters- burg, to which he contributes a_ scientific feulleton. He also writes novels, and has just arranged for the publication of a new tale, entitled “The End of a World,’ in Scribner's. His first success was made at the age of nineteen with his “ Plurality of Inhabited Worlds,” which is now inits thirty-fifth edition The book of his which has sold best is, however, his “ Popular Astronomy,” from which he has already received 100,000 francs, at the rate of 1 franc a copy. Doubtless his publisher, his brother, of the firm of Marpon and Flammarion, has made a good deal more out of the book, but Camille Flammarion does not seem to care for money. His wife, who also writes under the nom de plume of Sylvie Hugo, and who acts as his secretary, says that but for her interference they would never have a penny put by. Yet he gets fair prices for his work. The Herald pays him 100 dollars per letter, the Novoie Vremia 100 roubles, and his books, especially “ Urania,’ which has been an immense success, must bring him in large royal- ties. He is also editor of a review called LI’ Astronomie, which he founded, but which he says does not pay its way. He lives ina fifth- floor apartment in the Rue Cassini, near the Obser- vatory, from which he overlooks all Paris. He is very proud of the fact that he is the only Parisian who has never changed his address, having remained in the Rue Cassini since the war. I think, however, that Jules Simon has even a longerrecord, and has never changed his address from the Place de la Madeleine for over thirty years. Gaston Tissandier, editor of La Nature, is another most interesting man of letters in con- temporary Paris. He has the biggest record for balloon ascensions, many of the most exciting kind, of any man in Europe—a most charming gentleman, whom it is a pleasure to meet. He lives on a fifth-floor in the Rue Chateaudun, and his apartment is stored with curiosities referring to ballooning. Amongst his papers is a proclama- tion made by the Government, at the time of Montgolfier’s first ascensions, to explain to the population that there is no reason for them to act on the offensive, with pitchforks or otherwise, against balloons and balloonists, and giving a rough description of the apparatus. He also possesses a letter written by Franklin to Sir Joseph Banks, describing at great length the first balloon ascension ever made in Paris, which the writer visited from the little house in Passy,  1 } j } THE AUTHOR. where he was then residing. Camille Flammarion, by the way, was also a great ascensionist in former days, and it was.in a balloon which travelled from Paris to Spa that he and his wife spent the ninth day of their honeymoon. Most Londoners have no doubt heard of a poet called the Marquis de Leuville. I believe that his poetry is not held in very high esteem, and that things are said about the poet. It cannot, however, be contested that a recent poem of his, entitled “The Scapegoat,” about poor old de Lesseps has been very successful. Madame de Tesseps showed it to me the other day when I was down at La Chesnaye, and the whole family seemed very pleased with it. Madame de Lesseps told me that she had received copies of it from all parts of Europe. But the chief reason for which the poet should be pleased with his work is tbat it gave very sincere pleasure to a charming family, most cruelly persecuted, and most bitterly suffering. I never suffered such emotion, I think, in the course of a somewhat checkered life, as when I recently saw de Lesseps again at La Chesnaye. He was sitting, a crushed old man, idly turning over the leaves of his ‘“ Souvenirs of Forty Years,” written in happier years, and dedicated to his children. He did not recognise me. In fact, he recognises nobody. His eyelids droop, and there is no light in his eyes save when he raises them to his wife’s face. And the last time before then that I saw him he was the personification of energy, vitality, intelligence, and strength. His eyes literally flared with light, and now the night has come and a death in life. It is very sad. Young Léon Daudet may be considered with young Barres, the two hopes of French literature in the future. Daudet has already published a remarkable book, and has another just ready. He lives in good style with his wife, née Hugo, in the Avenue de Alma, and has some of the best claret in Paris. It will be interesting here- after to compare his career to that of his father, Alphonse Daudet. It will show whether it is better, as some say, for a man of letters to have to fight his way, like the elder Daudet, or like Zola, for instance, or to launch out on the sea with the ballast of a couple of millions of francs. Daudet has told me that he spent three years of utter penury in Paris, with tattered boots, and often no socks, and many days where there was nothing to eat. But what made him suffer 403 most, he says, was that, being a handsome lad and much run after by the fair, he was often forced to keep away from sweet trysts because his linen was in such a dreadful state that Cupid would have been seared. Zola for months lived on dry bread. The days when he could a penn orth of pork to the bread were feast-days with the present millionaire. Those who are interested in modern French literature, and who want to be au courant with what the young poets of France are doing and saying, should read La Plume, a magazine con- tributed to by all the poets of modern France. It is edited by M. Léon Deschamps, and is not a commercial speculation. If it were, I should not speak about it here. I see that Mr. George Moore has been cari- caturing the interviewer in a recent play. Why do people represent the interviewer as a shabby- looking individual with a note-book in his hand ? He is nothing of the sort. He is a person who goes to another person and has a conversation with him, rendering service to the person and the public alike—to the person by giving him an easy way of communicating his ideas to the public, and to the public in informing it what so-and-so thinks about such-and-such a question. He performs the function of a telephone between the wide wide world and Mr. A., B., or C. But he is more than a telephone wire because he does not only transmit the sounds ejaculated by A. B. G., but arranges them so that they shall be pleasant to the ear at the receiver, while strictly representing the ideas of the person consulted. And as no gentleman would care to use such a piece of trade properties as a note-book, he has to depend on his memory when reproducing what has been said. The psychology of interviewing has yet to be written, and would make a capital study. But of more practical utility would be “ The Interviewer’s Complete Handbook” for beginners. Perhaps some day I will write one. A chapter would be devoted to the skirmishing in the antechamber, with practical hints how to get round the foot- men. Some have to be bluffed, some to be wheedled, some are even open to corruption. I have always considered the battle won once I have crossed the doormat. Another chapter would be devoted to the arts by which a man who has made up his “ mind to say nothing” can be got to talk in spite of himself, of which there are many, and to the methods of conveying a leading question so as to extract an answer from an unwilling subject. The interviewer, to be a useful one, has  404 to be as good a cross-examiner as any Q.C. in London, minus his authority and wig, and to get by wheedling and guile what the other gets by bluster and menace. He is a curious modern type, and wants studying, and should not be written about by those who know nothing about him nor his work. In any case he deserves immense sympathy, be he ever so little a nervous man. For such to present himself before an utter stranger is a great trial, and I know certain who will spend an hour dawdling about in the street of the subject trying to work up courage enough to ring at the door-bell. Some take brandy, others take runs, like jumpers. I myself always go at it with my head down like a hen facing a fox. Jules Verne is, I am glad to say, much better again. His son, Michel Jules Verne, has resumed his pen, after a period of commercial activity in the manufacture of patent stoves and improved bicycles, and will contribute a number of scientific articles to the American magazines. He is a smart young man, and should make his way. Madame Taine has writted to protest most strongly against the recent publication in the Figaro of a series of sonnets written by her hus- band, declaring that in his will he expressly en- joimed upon his family to keep from the public any of his writings which were in any way con- nected with his private life. Taine was always very particular on the point of his privacy, and it was doubtless with this feeling that he so rarély allowed himself to be photographed. I say “rarely,” for, although it has been said since his death that he never was photographed, I know of two negatives in existence in Paris. I once went to see him,-accompanied by a leading Parisian artist, who was to take a sketch of him in his workroom, and he nearly fired us downstairs. He would only allow the artist to be present at our conversation on his passing his word not to make any use what- ever of his visit. I heard some young poets, all very well known in Paris, discussing profits the other day. A certain publisher’s name was being mentioned, and it transpired that in the opinion of the brotherhood he was the most liberal man in Paris. It also transpired that he had paid a certain young master as much as 200 frances for a volume of poems which I believe sold fairly well, When a man is thinking of starting a paper either in London or New York you hear him figuring up the cost of paper, composition, and THE AUTHOR. machining. In Paris his first thought is about the cost of his literary staff, the other incidental expenses being looked upon as minor considera- tions. This gives in brief a very fair idea of the relative position of letters in the three countries, Again, the London newspaper proprietor and his American confrére when they have to boast of their enterprises do so about their machines, their speed, their ink, and the amount of white paper consumed in their offices in a week. The French editor boasts about the men who write for him, and the sums he pays them. oo I hear that the so-called décadents have decided to revolt against the appellation, and that each of the school will in future consider it an insult to be styled by this name. As a matter of fact a finer set of young men than Stuart Merrill, Maurice Maeterlinck, Vielé-Griffin, Jean Carrére, Adolphe Retté, the athletic Christian could not wish to see. The word décadent sug- gests a dismal, greenish, pimply youth, with shabby clothes and frowsy hair. All the déca- dents that I have seen are just the reverse. They would be a credit to Hyde Park on a Sun- day afternoon. Paris, March 19. Rosert H. SHerarp. ees BALLADE OF THE PRIMROSE WAY. —— Our life is but an empty show, A passing shadow frail and fleet ; Earth’s joys are dross, and end in woe, For stumbling men they are not meet: Pleasure, the siren’s voice, is sweet, But death is in her kiss and glance ; Then follow not with foolish feet The Primrose path of Dalliance. Thus the sad preacher, grave and slow, In balanced phrase precise and neat; Alack! and is it really so ? Well, from the toil, the dust, the heat Of life’s rough highway, some retreat I fain would find—I’d take my chance, And follow, e’en with foolish feet, The Primrose path of Dalliance. T know the ways where wild thorns grow, I’ve reaped well-nigh more tares than wheat ; I know life’s ruts, some bourne I’d know With violet and rose replete, Where all fair sights and sounds compete The charméd fancy to entrance ; I'd follow with whatever feet The Primrose path of Dalliance. Envot. Change places, Florizel, heigho ! You're sick of “ three-pile,” song, and dance ; Let me play Prince awhile, and go The Primrose path of Dalliance. RoBerRT RICHARDSON.  THE AUTHOR. 405 NOTES AND NEWS. HIS is personal. In Punch for April 1 a4 there is a statement quoted from some- where—it is not said where. This is the statement: “In the pages of the Author Mr. Besant suggests that the Society of Authors should undertake the examination of journalists.” Some verses follow, naturally in ridicule of the proposal. It is needless to say here that the state- ment is absolutely baseless. Perhaps, however, my brother journalists will kindly help me to give publicity to this protest. I have never suggested, or thought of suggesting, any such thing. The only possible foundation for the fabrication appears in the March number, where, at p. 367, after quoting Prof. Matthews’ examination paper on “The History and Art of Fiction,’ I went on, venturing on a Flight into the Impossible, to say, ‘“ What a fine field would be open to the Society if we could institute examinations for critics!” Then followed certain words meant in my little, feeble way to be playful. The time appears to have now arrived when an attempt, at least, may be made towards an understanding with the leading publishing houses as to the creation of some recognised and accepted principles, which should guide and govern the relations of author and publisher. Sir Frederick Pollock, chairman of the committee of management, in his opening remarks at the general meeting of Dec. 17th, clearly fore- shadowed such an attempt. He said ( Times, Dec. 18): ‘‘ That the society of Authors had been described asthe enemy of publishers at large. In point of fact, they were the enemy of nothing but unbusinesslike habits, slovenly dealing, and fraudulent practices. They were on the side of any publisher who would help them to put such things down. As for the suggested union among the publishers, he thought that it would materi- ally improve the chances of a better understanding between them and authors.” He said, further, that he could not understand that there was no way of arriving at a cordial understanding between honourable men of both sides. This is clearly a most desirable thing to attempt, and, if possible, to achieve, But the first thing necessary is to have a clear understanding of the points which will be discussed With this object, and in order to help myself in the papers which I have to take over to Chicago, I have drawn up a paper which I invite all our members to read and to give their own opinions. They need not consider it as imposing any opinions upon them. The facts, however, are those which have been ascertained by the Society, and cannot be dis- puted. But it may be very helpful if every one will consider the problem by the light of the facts, and if possible come to some conclusion. Se On p. 417 will be found the first beginning of what it is hoped may develop into a great thing —the exchange and sale of books carried on by the intermediary, without profit, of the Author. All those who want to buy books; all those who have books to exchange; all those who have books to sell; may send their lists directed to the “Book Exchange Column.” Their address must be sent, of course. The journal will not pay postage expenses, and when the thing has developed it may be necessary to make a small charge for printing the list at so much a line. The list will be sent to a selection of second-hand London and country booksellers. We shall be very pleased if we can in this way assist a body of men so useful to us as the second-hand book- sellers. I beg correspondents, of whom one rejoices to observe an increasing number, to notice the short articles that are published in the Author. Many of the letters sent up would produce a much better effect if they were short articles instead of letters. For the publication of a grievance or a trick, a letter is perhaps better; but, for the advocacy of a measure of reform, or for the advancement of a principle, a short article is much the best form of stating the subject. The death of Professor Minto, a member of our council, was totally unexpected. He was apparently a strong and healthy man, who might have lived to a great age. He caught a cold ; influenza followed; and he died at the age of forty-seven. As an editor, a writer, and a professor of philosophy, he worked well and did well. There were few men more wide-minded than Professor Minto. Lanes I hope everybody will read and ponder over the remarks made in our corresnondence columns by “Onward” (p.410). They area plea for unionof authors. We area society, but are we yet a union ? We must not think of an ordinary trades union, a company banded together for the raising of wages. The union that our correspondent contemplates, and our Society can perhaps achieve, 1s one which will raise the status of literature by removing it from mendicancy and dependence. The material side of literature must no longer depend on the seen  406 whim and “ generosity ”—they still go on talking about “generosity ”»—but onr ecognised principles and methods of agreement. There must be an esta- blished etiquette between editor and contributor, by which the latter can be in some measure pro- tected from the scurvy treatment he too often receives at the hands of scurvy editors and scurvy journals, There are difficulties in the way, but surely those who lead the world, teach the world, preach to the world, amuse the world, should be the first to see that association is the only way to remove the evils under which they now labour. It is reported that attempts are again being made in certain quarters to persuade the credulous author into committing the stupendous folly of binding himself down for all future work to one publisher! It is difficult to find words with which to stigmatize this madness. Whatever mismanagement—whatever quarrels—might arise —the luckless author would always remain the slave of the publisher to whom he had bound and chained himself. Consider, if you can, what would be thought of a man who should go to a firm of solicitors and should promise them the management of all his estates for the future, whatever their management might turn out ! A correspondent very sensibly suggests that, as much of the ill-feeling that sometimes follows a publishing transaction is caused by the author’s complete ignorance upon all points connected with printing, &c., it would be a very good plan if publishers would send out with the first proofs a plain statement on the subject of corrections. Thus, it is ridiculous to state, as is done in many agreements, that all corrections above so many “shillings” will have to be paid for by the author. How is the author to know the connec- tion between shillings and corrections? What he wants is to be told what corrections he can make without cost, and what he will. have to pay for extra corrections. He sometimes wants, besides, a hint as to the best way of making his corrections. My correspondent adds: ‘“ With some proofs that I received last October from Messrs. G. Putnam’s Sons, of New York, there came a printed paper of full instructions for ‘correcting, and also a full explanation of the cost of adding additional material.” This is an example that deserves imitation. Here is a case of conscience. The editor of a certain scientific journal sends to the publisher of a certain work on some parts of our social system a request for a copy of the book for review. THE AUTHOR. Observe that it is not the practice of this paper to review books on such subjects at all. The publishers accede to the request and send the book. The notice which appears is contained in twenty-two lines, of which two are occupied by a quotation in verse. - It is not a review; that is to say, the readers of the journal in question could not gather from the paragraph the contents or the scope of the book, except in very general terms; and the tone of the notice is contemp- tuous and flippant. The author very fairly asks why, if this sort of thing was intended, did the editor send for a copy? It is a case of con- science. The editor was not asked to give a review ; he offered one. He received a copy of the book in return for the tacit understanding that there would follow a serious review ; he does not give a review at all, but an irresponsible and slighting “notice.” Is this justifiable ? The following passages appeared in T'ruth. One or the other is a very remarkable specimen of the Reviewer’s Art. On Thursday, March 14, a certain new book was reviewed in two leading journals, with the following result :— It is not interesting, it is not amusing, it is, in fact, one of the most negligible works we have recently en- countered. The compulsory reading of these volumes will afford as humiliating a discipline as the Penitential Psalms. These are most interest- ing, valuable, and attractive volumes, and their perusal is as delightful as it is in- structive. . From whichever point of view this book be considered, it is deserving of the highest praise. The lamented death of Taine has brought forth many tributes to his genius and his personal character. The best and noblest seems to me that which appeared in the Atheneum of March 18. It is signed “ M. D.”—initials which it is not difficult to connect with the remaining letters of the writer’s name. The following is an extract on Taine’s attitude towards the new religious ideas of the time, for those who have not seen this admirable paper : Never was a freethinker more respectful of religion or more appreciative of the vast and necessary moral force embodied in all religions. In abstaining from affirming he did not deny; and now that the pendulum of time has — swung back to the hope beyond reason, the love of mystery, the renewal of faith, which marked the third decade of our century, none watched the modern movement with a kinder — spirit than M. Taine. I remember how astonished I was to find him so warmly, so unaffectedly interested in the pro- ceedings of the Society for Psychical Research, in the hypnotic studies of a recent school of medicine, and other manifestations little calculated, I had thought, to appeal to a philosopher of pure reason. But his large spirit saw a greatness in these attempts to verify suprasensible things by a scientific method. He felt no rancour, but a curious inte- ; | THE AUTHOR. 407 rest, in the eager spirits who would fain explore the track he had defined as unexplorable. Among the younger gene- ration he had few closer friends than the Vicomte de Vogiié, the Chateaubriand of modern.France. Mystics, reformers, apostles, men of action, they were none of them beyond the sympathies of our sage ; for none so well as he was aware of the necessity of a moral order in the world, and of the need of a continua] renewing and reforming of that moral order. And none more than he was conscious of the impenetrable mystery which lies thick and dark behind all our systems and all our philosophies, which, if it answers to no religion, likewise refutes none either. Only a month ago he spoke with us of the Eleusinian Mysteries, and of that shadowy underworld where men see the roots and not the flowers of things. And he sighed, and said: “In all there is still an Eleusinian Mystery.” Here is a difficulty. A. sends a MS. poem to B. for publication in his journal. B. says he will take the poem, but that he cannot pay for it. A. accepts the proposition. Time passes. A. waits. At last he writes. B. replies by post-card—‘ Your poem was returned to you in August last.” He has never received it. Has it been lost in the post? Did the editor send it back? Answer.—Probably the editor gave orders for its return, and the order has not been carried out. Here is a case of coincidence. In the Author of last month appeared a story of a daughter bringing by her own efforts and genius success to the father who could not command it. It was a literary success. In June of last year there appeared in the Eastern and Western Gazette, a story by Mrs. Edmonds called “The Painter's Daughter,” in which the daughter gives secretly to her father’s picture the touches and the colour which transform it from a failure to a success. The treatment of the two stories is different; there is nothing similar except the motif, and that -is the same in both. The author of the “ Painter’s Daughter” is anxious to say that she does not for one moment insinuate or suspect any plagiarism. It is a coincidence, and, as such, it deserves to be recorded. Miss Florence Nevill, a member of our Society and the founder of the Braille Book Society, wishes me to mention the latter. Perhaps readers do not know what a Braille book is. It is a book in raised type for the blind. Writers give permission for an edition in Braille type, which is then given to institutes and schools for the blind. Miss Nevill sends me a letter from the “grateful blind children of St. Raphael’s, Montenotte, Cork,” in which they say, “ We are sure it will please you better than anything we could say, when we tell you that your books are a source of the greatest pleasure to us. We wish you could see even the little ones of all, how eager they are to read every one of them.” Those who wish to assist the blind in this way may place themselves in communication with Miss Nevill (editor of the Braille Book Society), 3, Victoria- mansions, Grand Avenue, Brighton. The Editor has received a very indignant letter from a member of the association called the “Society of Science, Letters, and Art,” whose existence and valuable work we have made known to an admiring world. He asks if the remarks made in this journal on that Society were based on personal knowledge or on hearsay ? On neither ; but on the reports and official papers of the Society. He asks what right we have to com- plain of people who choose to join a Society in order to write F.S.Sc. after their name? Well, but the little article in these columns did not complain of them. Not at all. No one has a right to complain of persons who are presumably harmless, do not obstruct the traffic, create a nuisance, or frighten the horses. Meantime if our correspondent, who concludes with a demand to have his letter printed in the Author, will kindly send us a pbalance-sheet of the Society, showing what becomes of all the money—are there not 2000 members?—that balance-sheet shall be printed here. Surely that is a reasonable offer. Mrs. W. K Clifford writes to say that, with the exception of Messrs.- Warne, publishers have always treated her with the greatest kindness and consideration. For instance, Messrs. Cassell having bought the copyright of a story that appeared in the Quiver when she was a girl, paid her, in 1881, more than the original sum before they reprinted it with lengthy additions as a book. Of course she was wholly in their hands, and the copyright was theirs, and she was quite an unknown writer at the time of her husband’s death. The other story is this: Messrs. Wells Gardner and Darton bought, for what was a very fair payment to her in those days, the stories published in a little book called “ Children Busy.” They proved an enormous success, and were translated into many languages. The publishers sent her, of their own accord, a most pleasant letter, thanking her for her stories, and asking her to accept a handsome cheque in token of their appreciation of them. We learn from the Green Bag that (among other schools of Western law) a school of English  408 law flourishes in Japan. For the use of the students who can read English text-books “a number of books were cheaply reprinted and sold at a price within the means of the students.” The list includes the works of two living English authors, as to one of whom we are certain, and as to the other, we believe, that he was not con- sulted in any way or even informed of this pro- ceeding. Japan, we believe, is not a party to the Convention of Bern. It would seem that if our Japanese brethren learn some law from England, they have preferred to take their literary morality from America—as it was before the Copyright Act of 1891. There is a magazine which frankly throws open its pages to all those writers who will subscribe for so many copies. The number asked for, in the form presented to us, is unfortunately left blank. The author is informed that the copies can be sent to his bookseller, who will sell them for his benefit. Will he, indeed? How very accommodating! And who will buy them? The firm, whose name appears in the circular con- taining this offer, is one which habitually offers ‘exceptional terms” in naming the amount, paid down, for which they will print an author’s—any author’s—work—any work. One wonders how many copies of the magazine the writer of —_say— a serial has to subscribe for insertion. Would it be 500 copies—1o0o0 copies—10,000 copies? And how satisfactory to be at once the author and the readers ! The following, for instance, is the reply of the editor of that journal to an author forwarding a MS.: Dear Sir,—I have your paper. It would do very well indeed, but I am very crowded indeed. Do you feel disposed to aid us in promoting the circula- tion by subscribing for some copies of the number contain- ing your essay if we makeroom forit? Please read over the enclosed circulars, and inform us whether you can co- operate in the way therein indicated ? In future correspondence please send me stamped and addressed envelope as my time is very much engrossed.” The author failing to be caught by the tempt- ing bait of having to subscribe for copies, the MS. was returned. Mr. Hubert Haes sends a suggestion which may be found practical; but, I think, not yet, for certain reasons. He points out that every publisher has now his readers: or literary advisers, by whose report upon a MS. he is guided in his decision; that an author may be condemned by one“and approved by another. In any case, the fate of a young writer is decided by literary men working for publishers. THE AUTHOR. He further points out that a young writer frequently goes from house to house seeking acceptance ; that the same work is consequently read by many persons; and that this involves much waste of time and money. He would have, therefore, a permanent com- mittee of readers attached to the Society, to whom all new works might be submitted, and whose judgment would be accepted by publishers. Such is the scheme suggested by Mr. Hubert Haes. Publishers would certainly save a great deal of money by such an arrangement. But who is to support this committee? Reading MSS. is a laborious—-a very laborious—kind of work. As it is, our readers are paid—and very poorly paid— by the author’s guinea fee. We cannot, however, ask authors for a larger fee. Will every author be obliged to pay that guinea on Mr. Haes’ plan? Moreover, our readers are asked to give an opinion which shall be instructive, and this is not quite what the publisher wants. And, again, while 60 per cent. of the MSS. submitted can be rejected in a few minutes, there remains a certain percentage on the border line, which a reader is afraid to recommend, as being risky, and yet afraid to condemn as presenting points of interest and merit. Such MSS., and those which the reader is disposed to recommend, should be read by more than one member of that committee. The idea, however, of a central committee of critics and readers to consider MSS. and to report upon their contents, their literary value, and their com- mercial prospects (the last not always depending on the second) seems one worth noting and remembering. It may be taken up in the good time coming, when the honourable houses leave off assuming as meant for themselves remarks, warn- ings, and exposures designed for the baser sort. Let us have patience. That time is coming. But even when that good time comes, we might have, as I suggested last month, a publisher receiving the opinion of the Society’s committee with con- sideration, and then putting on his own reader. One of my correspondents complains of the prize composition system now so much in vogue. He points out that the favourite prize is a guinea, and that the prize composition commonly covers from four to five columns ; thus, he says, depriv- ing regular contributors of so much a page, which is filled at a very low rate. To this I have replied that, (1) an editor, in his own interests, must fill his paper with what will prove most attractive ; that (2) perhaps he thinks that the winners of prize compositions are certain to be fresh and bright; and that (3) the prize toa young writer is very much more than a guinea,  THE AUTHOR. 409 it is the first step, the first proof of capacity, the first publicity of his name; and (4) that even if it does fill up his columns at a low rate, since the prize winner is delighted and the interest of his paper is served, no one has any right of inter- ference. I hope that [ am the last person in the world to underrate or minimise the rights of authors, but this is how the question seems to me. Perhaps readers who cannot agree with this view would like to state their opinions. ————— = There is one paper called Hearth and Home, where there is a literary competition every week. The prizes are offered to outsiders only-—not to those who make money regularly by writing. The editor of this department adds short criticisms on the MSS. sent in to him. These little notes seem both instructive and useful. Perhaps they are too encouraging. The real question seems to me, not whether the prize is great or small, but whether this plan is or is not calculated to encourage mediocrity into the field of letters. It ought to produce just the opposite result. The competi- tion is so enormous even in this, the first begin- nings, as to discourage most. Other discourage- ments sometimes come too late, when the candi- date has already burned his boats and cannot turn back. A correspondent calls attention on the endless review—not criticism—question ; and to the fact that he is himself alternately praised and blamed by the same paper, and this not in one paper only but in many; so that it is quite impossible to know beforehand whether the qualities which pleased in one work will not be found the subject of derision and contempt in the next. All this is part of the system adopted in some journals. It 1s abso- lutely impossible, when the rapid reviewing (?) of books in short paragraphs is a source of income, to read adequately—or at all—the books that one has to review. Nobody can afford it. I have already mentioned the case in which the reviewer (?) was expected to review eight, ten, er a dozen novels, in a single column, for a guinea. That is, to read all these three volume novels, and to write an opinion upon them at the rate of rs.gd. anovel!! And this is not an isolated case. Now I have always thought that a book should deserve a review, 2.e., a certain proportion of the books which come out are either trivial books or bad books, which will perish immediately, and no more deserve notice than the performance of a man who plays a cornet before a public-house. It should be a distinct honour for a book to have a review; there are not more books which deserve review than would fill the literary columns of a journal. Why not go back to this rule? And as for the other books, a current list might be kept of them, explaining the meaning, scope, and intention of the author in every case. This would be an unpaid advertisement of every book, quite enough for most, and better than a “slating” among the reviews, while it would leave the way clear for long and serious reviews, such as make the reputation of an author and advance the demand of a good book. The short notices of current books in the Westminster Gazette are examples of the method which I should like to see followed everywhere. That is, a serious review where the work is serious, and just a brief statement of its contents and aims where it is not thought worthy of a review. eee Se Professor Brander Mathews writes, with regard to his examination in the History and Art of Fiction, that thirty men took the paper and only one failed. I think this speaks volumes for the Professor as well as the students, and I hope his. example will be followed in this country. The University Extension lecturers are already beginning to leave the beaten tracks. At one of their branches the subject has been the History of London, and Ihave the honour of examining that branch in this new subject of study. For my own part 1 have learned so much concerning the history of England from the study of London, that I cannot but hope that it will be taken up extensively. But books alone will not do. One must master the map; one must know where places stood; one must fill the streets with history and associations. I have to acknowledge a very generous response to my appeal on behalf of a distressed author. The lady herself wishes to convey her best thanks to everyone who has kindly helped her. The following is a list of the donors. Their names are suppressed, in accordance with the wishes of most, and the list is closed. eB e, a. 2 sg. a. 1 o 0O| Rev. Canon B. a3) L020 i i.0 iL 0;.0 Jt. 0 I Loo I L3G Go 18 22°20 O° 5-0 r 1 0 . Oo 5 Oo Napoleon) ...... O16. 0) re Bek bet Tieut.-Col, Ce 065 6.0 “Old. dn oW ss Ee as CO SO Wiliams... 2 2.0\R ME .....y 1.6. 6 Mrs. 8. a LO} —_———— ANON vipers 019 6| Total .......-... 22°19 6 The above sums have been transmitted by me to the lady for whom they were designed. THE CORRESPONDENCE. L Promrr PayMeEnt. LETTER signed “H.” calls attention to the fact that a certain Church paper sends out cheques with the proofs; and that certain daily papers do not keep their people waiting. Of course not; but it is rather super- fluous to assure the world that the great papers are ready with their payments.—Ep. AY, JUSTICE FROM AMERICA. Be it placed on record that an American firm of publishers have behaved with justice to an English author. The matter being rare may be worth recounting. About ten years ago I published, in two vols. “The Life and Adventures of Peg Woffington;” later, a cheap edition in one vol. was issued. The book was unprotected in the United States. Towards the end of last year Messrs. Dodd, Mead, and Co. brought out an edition of the book in two handsome vols., illustrated. Seeing it reviewed in the American papers, I put forth my claims for compensation. In answer I received an account of sales with a cheque for royalties, FirzGeratp Moutoy. TL. fe For a Union. The ripe tradition that writers should wait in every cold passage is well supported by the nation. First, by a niggardly Pension List, and, secondly, by what, with some self-exultation, is called a Bounty Fund. Private enterprise at times throws ina marble monument or two. But present honour and present flesh-pots are what most men barter their health and strength for. These things literary men will never get with dull acquiescence —with a thankful acceptance of small mercies. If a union is required in any profession, it is required in literature. No profession is so pro- vocative of gibes, for chaos reigns completely. An editor, however low, can pick and choose from a literary army. He can take what he likes, refuse what he likes, and pay what he likes. To which may be added, he can pay when he likes. No wonder the editorial We is pitched in a bene- ficent key. No union could make an editor take what he didn’t want. But this no union would wish. Ordinary unions neither force on the employer ~ experience with the Atheneum. AUTHOR, unsuitable labour or excess of labour. The merely compel that labour to be carried on undae . fair conditions. Employers of ordinary labour, and editors and publishers come under the same head, with this advantage to the literary labourer. If circumstances permit, he can transmit hig wares direct to the public. He always has at his tail co-operative publishing. To him editors and publishers are middle-men. He can do without them ; they can’t possibly do without him. Surely this is argument enough. Surely there is no need to write down the stale, commonplace truth, that organised labour is, without any exception, better treated than that which is disorganised. If there are any readers of the Author who see any vital objections to a union, I should like to hear what they are. Onwarp. IV. MissTaATEMENTS IN REVIEW. I see a statement in the last issue of the Author by Mr. Frank E. Beddard relative to a misstate- ment made in the Atheneum in areview of a work of his, and the editor’s refusal to insert a correction. This is such a common occurrence in papers and periodicals that itis (one would think) time that it was made obligatory upon editors to give space for the correction of a misstatement of fact. It happens that I had recently the same In a review of my “Life of John Linnell,” I was accused of error in two important particulars. In a letter to the editor I pomted out where his reviewer had fallen into error, and adduced proof, but he declined to insert the correction. I do not wonder ; space would probably not permit of the insertion of the correction of all such misstate- ments. There is only one way to set these matters right—a legal obligation on editors to allow of a correction of proved misstatements. But we need to have the principle of signed reviewers extended ; without it reviewing may he, and often is, worse than piracy. Aurrep T. Srory. 13, Bramerton-street, Chelsea. [But how does our correspondent propose to make it obligatory? By Act of Parliament? Nothing .short of an Act would do. Would it not be a better way of procedure, without troubling our legislators, if editors demanded exact veracity from their reviewers as the very first and necessary feature in their work ?—Ep. |  THE AUTHOR. All N. Tue Concert or AMATEURS. If this subject has not been dropped, may I add my word ? A few days ago an acquaintance—a man well known throughout England as the one authority on his own subject—told me he was going to publish a shilling book (on his own subject of course). Naturally I made the remark to be expected under the circumstances concerning my hopes for a big success. “Oh, that’s all right!” he answered cheerily ; ‘‘ my name on the cover will sell the book.” A statement which I knew to be true. I happened to know also that this was his first production in book form, and so I ventured to express a hope that, “ under those circum- stances, he was getting good terms from the publisher.” “‘ Pretty well,” he returned sweetly ; “T pay eighty pounds, and they give me half profits.” Then I get mad, and he looks mildly surprised, until I explain, and he sees there is a righteous foundation for my anger. The next day I saw him again. He had inter- viewed the publisher in the meantime, and that gentleman had lowered his demands by one half. Further than this I could not move him. “ But think of the trouble,” he remarked plain- tively, when I suggested another publisher. “« And, afterall, I don’t want to make money, you know—I want to see my name on the book.” Then I get mad again, whereupon «What does it matter to you?” cries this aspirant for literary honours; “I don’t write your sort of books.’ He could not grasp the fact that I was fighting for a principle rather than from motives of personal interest. Now, publishers cannot undertake more than a certain amount of work; and—apart from the works of really popular authors —they would almost certainly accept a work at the author’s risk before one at their own. It follows, therefore, that every book published in this way, for the eratification of a rich man’s vanity, crowds out another written, probably, with a far more serious purpose—to clothe the naked and feed the hungry. If the two classes of writers met one another on equal terms, and stood or fell by their merits alone, we should have no right to grumble. Let the best man win, whoever or whatever he may be. _It is this new practice of buying out the publishers which seems to me to form one real ground of complaint. It is a species of underselling, and underselling is a practice no fair-minded man countenances, no matter what his calling or station. Ciara LEMORE. VE. THe Paris Typist. The type-writing trouble in Paris is somewhat on a par with the servant girl trouble in our Australian colonies. The typist “ anxious to get work,” is about as eager to accept that work when it offers as the fine lady servant of the South, who inquires after a “place” im a satin gown and ostrich feathers. She is willing to accommodate her would-be employer, provided he or she be willing to pay according to her notions of what she ought to receive; but ask her to lower her charge, and it “don’t suit.” The following is my experience, and probably the experience of other struggling authors and correspondents desirous of securing the services of a typist without the inconvenience of for- warding MSS. to London: Not long since I made inquiries 10 several directions about typists in Paris. After some trouble, I obtained the address of a lady who was “on the look-out for work.” I wrote, inquiring her terms, and inclosing stamp for reply. The reply came—to the effect that she would put my work through on payment of 2 frs. 50 cent. per thousand words. The charge did not suit me. Further inquiries brought to light a second typist “out of practice ;” whilst a third was “waiting for work.” The terms of typist No. 3 were also 2 frs. 50 cent. per thousand. But in this case, as I had heard the typist was really anxious to obtain employment, I wrote again and told her frankly that I believed the Paris typist could obtain regular employment by reducing her charges to the advertised London ones. Further, I made an offer to pay a little above the London rates, besides mentioning that, in a short time, I should have ready a much longer work. No notice was taken of this offer. T would not undertake to advise any girl to come abroad on the chance of making a living by type-writing. But I believe that there ¢s a good opening for some earnest worker with what a Dutch friend of mine was wont to designate a little “puss” in her. Two sisters anxious to cling together whilst one of them was pursuing her art studies here, might increase their income in this way, and obtain, through the Author, the names of authors and correspondents, who would promise to employ the typist whenever they had work to do, provided she did the work satisfac- torily. Mapame Asa L’ORME. Paris, March 13, 1893.  412 VII. A Register or Booxs WANTED. I have read with interest the letter of E. F. Wolferstan, and your note on the same, in the current number of the Author. In July, 1891, I sent a letter. dealing with the same subject, to most of the London morning papers. It was published in the Daily Chronicle and Morning Advertiser of the 15th and 17th inst. respectively, and I send you herewith a copy of the same. As you will see, my proposal was a central office or exchange to be maintained by subscrip- tions from the second-hand booksellers. They were to write to this exchange for any book that had been inquired for, and which they had not and did not know where to get, and from this central exchange was to be sent out every day, or any other period fixed upon, to every subscribing bookseller a list of the books wanted. Any one of them who had it or could get it would then write to the one wanting it, or he might reply to the exchange, and the latter be informed from there about it. Such an organisation would be very easy to establish and inexpensive to maintain, and, if properly arranged, would cover the entire ground. Tam very reluctant to discourage any scheme which shall tend to simplify matters, but I do not think that the one that you intend to start is the best that can be proposed, nor do I think that it will be of any general benefit. Unless it be universally recognised as the medium for obtaining second-hand books it must fail in its object, and the first thing a person who wants a book would do wculd not be to advertise for it inthe Author. One is justified in assuming this, for not every one knows of the paper, and besides there are older established papers with a larger circulation having a similar column, and yet they fail to cover the ground. The first thing that any person who wants a second-hand book would do would be to inquire for it at a second-hand bookseller’s, and the only means by which this want can be made known over the whole country is some organisation belonging to the second-hand booksellers them- selves, such ag this exchange, so that no matter in which shop in the United Kingdom a book were asked for, it should be equivalent to asking for it in every one of them. Husert Hass. 28, Bassett-road, North Kensington, London, W. THE AUTHOR. VIII. Lost MSS. Apropos of your paragraph under the above heading in last month’s Author, may T state a rather curious experience? More than seven years ago I sent to the editor of a popular maga- zine two short articles. One of these (a) was promptly returned, as an article on the same sub- ject had just appeared in that magazine. Six months later I wrote to ask if I might consider the other article (8) :ccepted ; and was informed in reply that it had been returned to me at the same time as the article a. I quoted extracts from correspondence proving the contrary, but no further notice was taken of my letters. Last autumn I received, to my great astonishment, the proof of article B, which, believing the original MS. to be irretrievably lost, I had re-written in much better form, and was about to submit to another editor. Thus, not only was I kept wait- ing seven years for my fee, but I had actually written two articles for it. Another editor, who more than three months ago promised to give ‘his earliest possible atten- tion” to an article submitted to him, has not yet vouchsafed his decision. Should he now decline it, or delay its publication, I should be compelled to defer the publication of a book on the same subject which I have now almost ready for press. X.Y. @. IX. An Easy Frencu Lesson. The late Félix Pyat agreed to write a 25,000- line sensational story for a Paris paper, the Radical. When the tale, which he called “ The Ragman” (Le Chiffonier), had reached 17,000 lines, he asked to be allowed to make a wind-up of it, and, being permitted so to do, disposed of his despairing hero by sending him off at nightfall to the parapet of one of the Seine bridges, thus sug- gesting to every practical novel-reader the usual “hole in the water,” and adding the fateful “Finis.” Nothing of the sort had happened, however, and some time afterwards Pyat ran the rest of his ragman’s adventures, under the title of “Epilogue of the Chiffonier,” in another popular journal, Le Cri du Peuple. Unfortunately, the author had stated in a pre- face to his first part that it would be the whole life of the hero, and that his biographer was above making two brews out of the same malt. Upon the strength of this, the first journal laid its action against the second and the executors of Pyat, and claimed £1000 damages. The courts have just decided that “the interruption of the  THE AUTHOR. novel in the course of its serial publication in one paper, followed by its transfer to another having an analogous class of readers,’ was a matter for damages, and condemned the heirs of Pyat to pay £120 to the Radical. Whence — quite apart from the “ honour bright” view of the case—romancers may see how very chary indeed they should be of their prefaces—and their fin ises. 21 FROM THE PAPERS. L THs Harpsuirs oF PUBLISHING. a” | EVER has the hapless lot of the publisher been set forth more pathetically than by Mr. Heinemann in the last number of the Atheneun. He is at present suffering trom a most extraordinary combination of hardships andadverse circumstances. First, there is the “ manufacture clause” in the American Copyright Act, of which the best that can be said is that it has not harmed the English publisher so much as was feared. Then there are the printers’ unions, which have caused wages to be “ increased steadily for years past,” and in addition the fact that “‘ the public are more fastidious now with regard to print,” and are protesting against “the horrible stuff that they used to buy under the good-natured genera- lization of ‘ books.’”? On topof all has come the Authors’ Union in the shape of the English Authors’ Society, further to oppress and outrage the publisher. Shocking demands for increased royalties, sometimes reaching as high as 25 per cent., are now frequently made in the Society’s name, and all this, combined with the rapacity of booksellers, who insist upon 50 per cent. reduction on list prices, has brought the publishing business to a point where it must “ grapple with the danger before it is too late.” Mr. Heinemann’s remedy is a publishers’ union, to resist the aggressions of the powerful author. He calls it, to be sure, “a brotherly band,” but beneath this velvet name appears the cold iron of a real union, with hard- and-fast rules, secret passwords, walking dele- gates, and all. Such an organization could doubtless compel the overbearing author to dis- gorge a part of his swollen gains, and aid the distressed publisher to resume the custom of three mealsa day.—The New York Nation, Dee. 15. ————— > 413 EL, Avuruors aT Home. The attention of the Society of Authors may be directed to a statement now made public—a statement to the effect that the editor of a literary monthly is about to publish a handbook, one feature of which will be a list of English authors, with their private addresses. There are to be similar lists, it seems, of publishers and booksellers, but to these there ca1 be no objec- tion Publishers and booksellers appeal directly to the public, and like everybody to know where they can be found. They sell over the counter, and it is well, therefore, to know where the counter is situated. Not so with the unhappy author. If we gauge his feelings accurately, he has no desire whatever to be tracked to his lair. He has no counter to sell over. He sells his produce to publishers and editors only, and they know where to find him. Moreover, they are the only people that he wants to hear from. A vain poet here and there may like to receive incense from his worshippers, if he has any; but the author by profession wishes for no such palling and appalling sweets. He desires to he left alone to do his work. But what will happen if his private address is divulged to all and sundry ? One sees it all at a glance. First of all will come the requests for autographs, and then the demands for pecuniary assistance. Admiring readers will ask for an explanation of this or that passage ; some will ask for a copy «f the book most admired. The youthful student will write for advice about ‘‘a course of reading,’ and the embryo author will solicit patronage and recom- mendation. Probably in extreme cases the miserable author will literally be bearded in his den, and will hear every knock or ring at the door with apprehension. It is a fearful prospect. Tf that Directory ever comes out, the British author will have to emigrate en masse.— Globe. LTT, Tue New Inisa Lirerary Socrery. At the first meeting of the Irish Literary Society, the Rey. A. Stopford Brooke delivered an address, in the course of which he said : “ The main work of the society was to get Irish literature well and statelily afloat, like a noble ship, on the world- wide ocean of the English language, so that it may be known and loved and admired wherever the English language goes. That part of our litera- ture written in the Irish tongue it will be our business to put into English. The ground is prepared for new work. There should be cheap  414 THE editions of translations of the great stories. We have a vague hope that some of the rich Irish landlords may give a new value to their land, a value no Land League can diminish, and lay up treasures in which neither mist nor rust can cor- rupt, by subscribing to the publishing fund of this society. What an opulent literature that of Ireland is! A few societies like the Royal Irish Academy, and a few scholars know its astonishing extent, but the general public only began to understand this when the Catholic University, under the direction of John Henry Newman, placed O’Curry in the Chair of Irish Literature. Then we heard that there was buried in piles of manu- script, both in Irelandand England, and elsewhere, a new world of imaginative work, of myths, tales, legends, faerie romance, lyric and epic poems, Pagan and Christian thought, first uninfluenced by Latin literature, and then inffuenced by it—a two-fold position, which makes this part of it unique in Europe. The new society will not touch that part of this vast mass which is not lite- rature. The Norse tales will soon be drained dry for a time, and, though they have a powerful humanity, they have no love of nature. We have been even forced of late to go to India for our subjects. We have rummaged through all the great cycles of romantic listory. But the Irish stories are, as yet, untouched. Irishmen in Ireland who can talk Irish should collect the folk-tales of Ireland from the lips of the old peasants, who still hold them in their native tongue, and who have received them by oral tradition. The whole of Ireland is alive with beings who are as interesting as the Nymphs and Oreads, as Pan and all his crew. The young have fled from Ireland; the old who remember their language and have kept their folk-stories are dying out rapidly. In twenty years it will be too late to do this. By this means,’ conclnded Mr. Brooke, “by all the work on which I have dwelt, and by the cataloguing and collection of all that has been already done for Irish literature, whether in prose or poerry, into libraries con- nected with branches of this society, we ought to be able to impress on the whole of Treland the sense of a full and noble literary past which all Irishmen should honour, and which they should all work together to expand into a literature of the future. A new national literature, such as we hope hereafter to create, needs, if it can have it, a long-continued traditionary literature as a part of its foundation. Iveland need not fall back on England. She has her own past, her own poetry and prose, and she can create a future literature, full of her own traditions, instinct with her own life, using her own elements, and representing her own nationality, in the English AUTHOR. tongue. It is the only thing she need borrow, [va and she could not borrow a better vehicle.—From the Westminster Gazette. eee “AT THE SIGN OF THE AUTHOR'S HEAD.” A new serial story, entitled “The Die of Destiny,” by Mr. Fitzgerald Molloy, begins its course through Cassell’s Saturday Journal this first week of April. Another story by Mr. Molloy will, about the | same time, run through Messrs. Tillotson’s syndi- |). cate. The original title of this novel, “A Pauper |; eve MAS Peer,” has been abandoned, in deference to the a wishes of several of Messrs. Tillotson’s “clients of | - Conservative tendencies,” and will be now called i “On Wheels of Fire.” Early this month (April) Messrs. Hutchinson ‘ and Co. will publish a novel in 3 vols., by Mr. Fitzgerald Molloy, entitled “ His Wife’s Soul.” Whispers (A Magazine for Surrey Folk) is announced for immediate publication. It will fe deal with Surrey archeology, Surrey history, and movements of importance to the county will be ole discussed under the heading “ County Gossip.” Literature, Art, and the Drama will be reviewed, and “ Notes and Queries ” of especial interest to Surrey folk will be solicited from correspondents throughout the county. Stories will be given as space permits. The new magazine, which will be published monthly, is conducted by Mr. Henry Libby and Mr. William Thomas Horton. The publishing offices are at 67, Station-road, Red- hill. “Countess Pharamond,” “ Rita’s’’ new novel, is published this month by F. V. White and Co. It is a sequel to her popular novel “ Sheba,” and, as stated in the preface, has been written owing to numerous requests from all parts of the world for an ending to the heroine’s fate in the former book. Mr. Carlton Dawe, author of “ Mount Desola- tion,” has two new novels in the press, entitled “The Emu’s Head,” 2 vols., and “The Confes- sions of a Currency Girl,” 3 vols. The former will be issued immediately. Messrs. Ward and Downey are the publishers. Dr. Karl Lentzner, well known in this country by his writings, has been appointed by the University of Oxford a University extension lecturer. His lectures will chiefly treat of modern foreign literature, especially German and Spanish. Dr. Lentzner has recently delivered, at Somerville  4 Sepet we te , ‘ ea 24 THE AUTHOR. 415 Hall, Oxford, before the delegates of the Oxford University Extension, a lecture, on the Evolution of the German Novel. Mrs. Florence Henderson’s book, entitled “Was She Right,’ has been published by Messrs. Masters and Co., price 3s. 6d. The Rev. Frederick Langbridge’s story of Trish life, ‘“Miss Honoria,’’ will be published immediately by Messrs. F. Warne and Co. Mr. Langbridge has nearly completed a tale of adven- ture for Messrs. Methuen. He is also contributing a series of legendary and other poems to Great Thoughts, and a short series of popular ballads to the Church Monthly. Mr. W. H. Besant, Sc.D., F.R.S., has just published (Bell and Son) ‘‘ Solutions of Examples in Elementary Hydrostatics.” These examples are in accordance with the latest edition, the fifteenth, of the author’s treatise on Elementary Hydrostatics. The same author is engaged upon a new edition of his treatise on Dynamics, which will be com- pleted very shortly. Mr Lewis Carroll has finished the second part of “ Sylvie and Bruno.” Mr. Henry Wheatley’s new book on ‘ Literary Blunders,” contains the ‘“ Blunders of Authors.” Yet they say that it is a little book! Sir Morell Mackenzie’s Essays have been collected by his brother and are to be published by Sampson Low and Co. Mr. Richard le Gallienne is writing a book called “The Religion of a Literary Man.” A good many literary men have written on their religious beliefs—Addison, Johnson, Coulting, Coleridge, Carlyle, Froude, Francis Newman, Jefferies. How religion appears toa layman who is endowed with intellectual activity, scholarship, and the poetic insight, is always a most interesting subject. Mrs. Clifford is bringing out a new story, “A Wild Proxy,” through Messrs. Hutchinson. Mr. Clark Russell’s new story has also gone to these publishers. A new and revised edition of “ Ball’s Alpine Guide” is preparing, and is reported to be almost ready. Prof. Masson has been appointed Historio- grapher of Scotland, an office of great antiquity. _ Mr. Wheatley’s new edition of “ Pepys’ Diary” is so far ready that the first volume will be pub- lished immediately. It is to be far more com- plete than any previous edition. o Tolstoi’s “Archbishop and the Three Old Men,” a translation of which, by Rosamund Venning, first appeared in the Daily Chronicle, is now published in separate form ; it is, indeed, well worth the trouble which the translator took over it, and, though short, is full of matter for thought. During the last year Messrs. Chatto and Windus received 663 MSS. and accepted 44. Let candidates for literary honours consider this fact. Out of the 44 how many will succeed ? Perhaps all will attain a measure of success—but enough to encourage the author to goon? The number accepted is nearly 7 per cent. Mr. B. L. Farjeon has a new story called “ Something Occurred” quite ready. Mr. J. Passmore Edwards has sent a gift of 2000 books to the Southwark Borough Poly- technic. How many thousand volumes has this creat giver of books bestowed upon the London libraries and polytechnics ? Mr. George Meredith is going to sit to Mr. G. F. Watts. The Atheneum informs us that the Dean of Westminster has appointed Mr. R. E. Prothero as his collaborateur in writing the “ Life of Dean Stanley. The Rev. H. R. Haweis has written a “ Life of Sir Morell Mackenzie,” which is to be published by Allen and Co. The English Illustrated has been transferred ftom Messrs. Macmillan’s t» Mr. Edward Arnold. We may venture to prophesy a change in the price. At one shilling it might have some chance of rivalling the American illustrated monthlies. At sixpence it cannot even attempt it, and it has in the field’ the sixpenny weeklies — the Tllustrated London News, the Graphic, the Queen, Black and White, the Sketch, all good magazines, as well as good journals. Sir Mountstuart Grant Duff is engaged ona life of Renan. Mr. William Hazlitt, son of William Hazlitt (without the Mr.), is dead. He was a literary man of considerable activity. Rider Haggard’s new novel, “ Montezuma’s Daughter,” will be issued by Messrs. Longmans. It is reported that Dr. Conan Doyle has written a piece for Mr. Henry Irving, which is accepted. Those who watch American publishing houses may note that the firms of Effingkam, Maynard, and Co. and Charles C. Merrell and Co. have amalgamated.  416 Mr. F. J. Snell (Clarendon Press) is about to publish a “ Primer of Italian Literature.” Lady Burdett Coutts is editing a volume, which will be published by Sampson Low and Co., dealing with the philanthropic work of English women. The Duke of Argyle, who has recently issued his “Unseen Foundations of Society,” has another work ready, called ‘Irish Nationalism: An Appeal to History.” His publisher will be Mr. John Murray. Dr. Flugel is producing, through the Clarendon Press, the “Life and Letters of Sir Philip Sidney.” Those who are ambitious of writing a success- ful work may consider the topograhical kind of book. For instance, Mr. John Lloyd Warden Page has in the press the third edition of his ‘“‘ Exmoor,” the third edition of his ‘‘ Dartmoor,” and is producing the first edition of the “ Rivers of Devon from Source to Sea” (Seeley and Co.). Let the young man of ambition go and do like- wise. To be sure he must first qualify, by acquiring an accurate knowledge of every foot of ground with all the historical associations, architecture, monuments, ancient ruins, traditions, dialect, legends, and topography of the district. This is a very large collections of requisites. Therefore, the true topographical writer will ever remain a rare creature. Mr. Warden Page is also the author of ‘‘ Okehampton, the Castle, and the Surrounding Country. By way of an antidote to the shilling Shocker Mr. I. Zangwill has written a shilling Soother, entitled “Merely Mary Ann,” which Messrs. Raphael Tuck and Sons have published as the first volume of a new series of shilling novels entitled “The Breezy Library.” ‘“ Merely Mary Ann” is reported by those who have read it,in advance to be a remarkable story, and likely to cause a sensation, whether a soothing sensation or not remains to be seen. “Work and Play in India and Kashmir” is a book whose title explains its character. It is a collection of chapters on life in India by Mr. J. D. Gordon, who has been for many years a barrister practising there. The book is put together in somewhat amateurish fashion, which ought to have been attended to by publisher or printer. There are queer headings ; for instance, in the middle of chapters. The writing is rough, and of style there is none. Yet it is an interesting book. We have received “Not on Calvary Alone,” called also a “‘ Layman’s Plea for Vindication in the Temptation in the Wilderness.” One hesi- THE AUTHOR. tates in these columns to speak of a theological work at all. Let us only note that it is a thoughtful little book, and written, apparently, by an American. It is published by Eden, Remington, and Co. “Broad Norfolk” is a collection of papers originally published in the Eastern Daily Press (Norfolk News Co., Norwich). There is no part of England which possesses so many provincial- isms as Norfolk, though they are fast disap- pearing. If a stranger listens to two rustics talking their own language he thinks it is a foreign tongue. This little book preserves a great many specimens of Broad Norfolk. It is a pity that there are no songs or literature in this language. Mr. Campbell Rae-Brown has produced a humorous story, which is called “That Awful Baby.” It is published by Eden, Remington, and Co. A new sixpenny magazine, entitled The Strat- fordian, is about to be published by King Edward VI. School, Stratford-on-Avon, the school at which Shakespeare was educated. The head master’s wife, Mrs. R. 8S. De Courcy Laffan (known to the reading public as Mrs. Leith-Adams) will con- tribute a serial story for boys entitled “ St. Kilda’s ; or the Gift of God,” a fact that will lift the magazine out of the common run of school periodicals, and give it a general interest. The editor of the new venture is Mr. A. J. Williams, The School House, Stratford-on-Avon. Messrs. Jarrold and Jarrold have in the press cheap editions of “Louis Draycott,” and of “ Bonnie Kate,’ by Mrs. Leith-Adams, hoth books which were very highly noticed by the press in their first (3 vol.) editions. Those who pine for the freedom of the French novelist may order Mr. Hubert Crackanthorpe’s “ Wreckage,’ where he will find as much freedom as he can desire in some studies of women. The book is published by Heinemann. A new tale by Eleanor Stredder, “ Alutch, a story of the Chinese Hills,” is in the press. drawn from life, and gives a faithful picture of the miseries arising from the opium traffic from © the Chinese point of view. Mr. Ruskin has at last sanctioned the compila- tion of “Selections” from his writings, which Mr. George Allen will issue in two volumes, with two portraits of the author at different ages. The _ first volume—to be ready for publication in May —will deal with the following subjects :—Scenes of Travel, Characteristics of Nature, Pa eo and Sculpture, Ethical and Didactic. second volume will most probably be ready m Itis —  THE AUTHOR. June. Besides the ordinary edition, there will be a limited one on Arnold’s unbleached hand-made paper. Mr. Arthur Severn’s “ Recollections of Ruskin” are proceeding apace, and will contain, amongst other interesting illustrations, several of incidents in Mr. Ruskin’s home life and coaching experiences, besides an important portrait never previously used. With regard to Mr. Augustus Hare’s ‘ Life of Lady Waterford,” Mr. Allen announces that the discovery of MSS. of peculiar interest will further delay the publication of the work, Mr. Hare having decided to incorporate with it the reminiscences of Lady Waterford’s no less gifted sister, Lady Canning, as well as a memoir of their mother, Lady Stewart, whose position at the court of Charles X. and intimate friendship with the Duchesse d’Augouleme gave her unique opportunities for throwing light upon an eventful period of French history. Lady Canning’s con- nection with the English court at the time of the Indian Mutiny is another element which will be contributory of matter interesting to the general public. The book will contain eight engravings from the various portraits of the personages mentioned, besides numerous other illustrations. Mr. Philip H. Bagenal, author of “The American Trish and their Influence on Irish Politics,” has written a book, which will be produced with the shortest possible delay, on the “ Priest in Politics.” It is to be published by Hutchinson and Co. spect THE AUTHOR'S BOOK EXCHANGE. (Names of books wanted, books for sale, and books for exchange, to be sent to the ‘‘ Book Eachange,” Society of Authors, 4, Portugal-street. All correspondence on this subject to be addressed in the same way.) Books Wanted. (The price, post free, and the condition of the book to be named in reply.) Meredith, George : Rhoda Fleming ; Henry Richmond. Arundell’s Historical Reminiscences of the City of London. Rowlandson’s Adventures of Johnny Newcome in the Navy, 1818 ; Military Adventures of Johnny Newcome, 1818. Shadwell’s Dramatic Works, 4 vols., 1720. Alexander’s History of Women. Freeman, E. A.’s Life of William Rufus. Hazlitt’s Liber Amoris, 1823. Spencer, Herbert’s First Principles. The World: any vols., 1753, et seq. Appeal to the Men of Great Britain in behalf of Women, 1798. @apper’s Port and Trade of London, 1862. 417 Bissett, Andrew’s Notes on the Anti-Corn Law Struggle, 1884. Barnes’s New Discovery of Pigmies. Bligh’s Voyage to the South Sea in H.M.S. Bounty, 1792. Beloe’s Sexagenarian, Ist edition, 1817. Miss Berry’s Correspondence, 1783-1852, 1865. Hackluyt’s Voyages. Kit Kat Club, Memoirs of, with the portraits, 1821. Strutt’s Sports and Pastimes, Hone’s edition, 1845. Tavern Anecdotes, 1825. Davis’s Memorials of Knightsbridge, 1859. Murray’s Chronicles of St. Dunstan’s in the East, 1859. Memorials of Fleet-street. By a Barrister. Meiner’s History of the Female Sex, 1808. Reader’s Handbook of Illusions, &c. By Dr. Brewer. Windsor’s Ethica, 1840. Newgate Calendar, 1783-1815, 6 vols. Urquhart’s Tracts. Mitchell’s Christian Mythology. Cunningham’s Story of Nell Gwynne. Dunton’s Young Student’s Library. Howell’s Epistole, 1688. Sharpe’s Coventry Pageants. Stirling’s Old Drury-lane. Grosley’s Tour to London, 2 vols., 1772. Hogarth’s Frolic (any edition). Painter’s Palace of Pleasure. Rabelais: W. F. Smith’s New Translation. —Office of the Author. Beckford’s Vathek. Somerville’s The Chase. Tusher’s Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry. _J. E. Tayuer, Leavesden, Herts. Larwood’s History of Signboards. Andrew’s Old Times Punishments. Any Works of Cobbett. _B. Wo.rFerstan, Arts Club, Hanover-square. History of Paddington. Dr. Syntax: Life of Napoleon. __J. Batcoms, 14, Paddington-green. Captain Conyngham’s Services of the Irish Brigade in the Great American War. j —_Hrnry Brown, 4, Lorn-road, Brixton. { Books Offered. Sinclair: a novel. By Mrs. Pilkington, 4 vols., published 1809. The Family Estate; or Lost and Won. 8 vols., 1815. Ellesmere. By Mrs. Meeke, 4 vols., 1799. Leadenhall-street. Fitzroy. By Maria Hunter, 2, vols., 1792. Minerva Press, { Leadenhall-street. Lord Walford. By L. L., Esq., 2 vols., 1789. Chesterfield Letters. 2 vols., calf, 1777. mall. Oakwood Hall. 3 vols. A novel by Catherine Hutton, i including description of the Lakes. Hugh Trevor. By Thomas Holeroft, 2 vols., 1794. By Mrs. Ross, Minerva Press, Dodsley, Pall-  418 NEW BOOKS AND NEW EDITIONS. Theology. Farrparrn, A. M., D.D. The Place of Christ in Modern Theology. Hodder and Stoughton. 12s. Farrar, ARCHDEACON. The First Book of Kings. Vol. of the Expositors’ Bible. Hodder and Stoughton. 7s. 6d, Hermon, Rey. G. E. Son, Remember! Plain warnings and counsels in eleven sermons. Skeffington. Hunter-Dunn, Rieut Rev. A.—Holy Thoughts for Quiet Moments. Brief meditations arranged for every day foramonth. Second edition. Sutton and Co., Ludgate- hill. 1s. Lerroy, Wituiam, D.D. Agoniw Christi, sermons on the sufferings of Christ, with others on His nature and work. ‘Preachers of the Age” series. Sampson Low. Macmintan, Hueu, D.D. The Mystery of Grace and other sermons. Hodder and Stoughton. 6s. Pierson, A. T.,D.D. The Key Words of the Bible. edition. Hodder and Stoughton. 2s. 6d. ScHLEIERMACHER, F. On Religion. Speeches to its cul- tured despisers. Translated with introduction by John Oman, B.D. Kegan Paul. 7s. 6d. SmrrH, GkEorcE Apam. The Preaching of the Old Testa- ment to the Age. Hodder and Stoughton. 1s. Spuraxon, C.H. The Gospel of the Kingdom, a popular exposition of the Gospel according to Matthew. With introductory note by Mrs. C. H. Spurgeon. Passmore and Alabaster, Paternoster-buildings. 6s. Watkinson, Rev. W. L. The Transfigured Sackcloth and other sermons. “ Preachers of the Age” series. Sampson Low. 3s. 6d. New History and Biography. Appis, W. E., M.A. Christianity and the Roman Empire. Manuals of Early Christian History series. B. C. Hare, Essex-street, Strand. 3s. 6d. Brown, Horatio F. Venice: an Historical Sketch of the Republic. With maps and plan. Percival and Co. 16s. Buper, E. A. Wauuis, F.S.A. Some account of the Col- lection of Egyptian Antiquities in the possession of Lady Meux, of Theobald’s Park, Waltham Cross. Harrison and Sons, St. Martin’s-lane. 200 copies only. Cannine, Hon. A. S. G. Words on Existing Religions : an historical sketch. W. H. Allen. CasseLu’s History or ENGLAND, the Jubilee edition, vol. VI., from the death of Sir Robert Peel to the illness of the Prince of Wales. CHENNELLS, Enuen. Recollections of an Egyptian Princess. By her English Governess. A record of five years’ residence at the Court of Ismail Pasha, Khedive. 2vols. Blackwood. ConneLL, ArTHUR K. The Irish Union, before and after, a popular treatise on the political history of Ireland during the last two centuries. Cassell. Paper covers, Is. Denison, G. ANTHONY. Supplement to “Notes of my Life,” 1879, and “Mr. Gladstone,” 1886. James Parker and Co., Oxford and London. Drayton, Micuarn. The Battle of Agincourt. With introduction and notes by Richard Garnett. C. Whit- tingham and Co., the Chiswick Press. 7s. 6d. net (450 copies only), 50 copies on Japanese vellum, 15s. net. THE AUTHOR. HMINENT PERSONS. Biographies reprinted from the Times. Vol. III., 1882-1886. Macmillan and the Times Office. 3s. 6d. ; Forses-Ropinson, Epwarp. The Early History of Coffee-houses in England, with some account of the first use of coffee and a bibliography of the subject. With illustrations. Kegan Paul. 6s. : Fowter, Tuomas, D.D. The History of Corpus Christi College, with lists of its members. Printed for the Oxford Historical Society at the Clarendon Press. Gasquet, F. Arpan, D.D. Henry VII. and the English Monasteries. New edition. Part XI. John Hodges, Agar-street. Paper covers, 1s. Hunter, Sir W. W. The Indian Empire: its Peoples, History, and Products. New and revised edition (the third). W.H. Allen. JouNstTon’s ILLUSTRATED HisToRIes OF THE ScorTrtisH Reaiments. By Lieutenant-Colonel Percy Groves. Illustrated by Harry Payne. 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Howe), Admiralty Minute. 1d.; Pauperism (England and Wales), Return for December, 1892, 2d.; Law Officers of the Crown (Remuneration and Staff), Treasury Minute, }d.; Weaver Navigation Bill, Report of the Board of Trade, 1d.; Barracks Act, 1890, Account 1891-91, 1d.; Post Office Telegraphs, Accounts for the year ended March 31, 1892, 3d.; Treasury Chest, Accounts 1891-92, 1}d.; Army (Courts Martial), Return (in continuation of Parliamentary Paper No. 37 of Session 1892), 2d.; Great Britain and Roumania, Com- mercial Convention signed at Bucharest, August 13, 1892, 3d. ; Royal Commission on Labour, minutes of evidence, group C (Textile, Clothing, Chemical, Building, and Mis- cellaneous Trades), 3s. 10d.; Bank of England, applica- tions made for advances to Government, }d.; Education (Scotland), minutes in regard to the grant for secondary education, }d.; Greenwich Hospital, accounts, 1891- 1892, 23d.; Imperial Defence Act 1892 (Naval section), Australasian Agreement, account, 1891-92, 1d. Royal Commission on Labour, Foreign Reports—Vol. I. The United States, 6d.; Correspondence on the Mauritius Hurricane Loan, 1892, 2d.; Statutes under the Univer- sities of Oxford and Cambridge Act, 1877, 4d. each; Report on Explosion of Gunpowder on board the Auch- mountain on the River Clyde, 2s. 3d.; Army Estimates of Effective and Non-effective Services for 1893-94; Memorandum of the Secretary of State relating to the Army Estimates for 1893-94, }d.; Trish Land Commis- sion: Return of Judicial Rents fixed during May and June, 1892, 9}d.; Annual Report of the Inspector- General of Recruiting for 1892, 3d.; Communication directing Mr. John Burnett and Mr. David Schioss to Inquire into and Report upon matters connected with the Immigration of Foreigners into the United States, 3d. ; First Report of the Congested Districts Board for Ireland, 6d.; Further Correspondence Respecting British Immigrants in Brazil, 3d.; Reports from Her Majesty’s Representatives on the Products of Peat in European Countries, 23d.  ADVERTISEMENTS. NEW NOVEL BY JAMES PAYN. Now Ready, at all the Libraries, Booksellers’, and Bookstalls, in 2 vols , crown 8vo., cloth extra, price 21s. A STUMBLE ON By HE THRESHOLD. TATE SsS PA YD. OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. THE TIMES: “Mr. James Payn’s pleasant story contains a startling novelty. . . . The leading actors are a group of undergraduates of Cambridge University. Mr. Payn’s picture of University society is frankly exceptional. Exceptional, if not unique, is the ‘nice little college’ of St. Neot’s. Cambridge men will have little difficulty in recognising this snug refuge of the ‘ ploughed.’ ee An ingenious plot, clever characters, and, above all, a plentiful seasoning of genial wit. The uxorious master of St. Nept’s is charmingly conceived. If only for his reminiscences of his deceased wives, *A Stumble on the Threshold’ deserves to be treasured. . . . We turn over Mr. Payn’s delightful pages, so full of surprises and whimsical dialogue. . . .” DarLy NEWS: “The dramatic story is told with an excellent wit. It abounds in lively presentation of character and in shrewd sayings concerning life and manners. That study of mankind which is ‘man’ has furnished a liberal educa- tion to this genial humorist. The men and women he pourtrays move before us, as do our friends and acquaintances, distinct individualities, yet each possessed of that reserve of mystery a touch of which in the | | original, and worthy of the ingenuity of the loser of Sir delineation of human nature, is more convincing than pages of analysis. . Neot’s, Cambridge—simple, loyal, gently independent—is a beautiful study. between Bournemouth, Cambridge, and some charming spots near the Thames. Needham, Fellow of St. | The story alternates in its setting | The description of life in the} Alma Mater on the banks of the Cam gives Mr. Payn | opportunities for humorous ketches of professors and students, and he shows himself in the light of an excellent raconteur. This part of the narrative furnishes some delightful reading; we seem to be listening to the best talk, incisive, racy, and to the point. Space will not allow us to quote some of the wise and witty sayings, tinged it may be with cynicism, which are the outcome of Mr. Payn’s philosophy of life, and which are not the least entertaining part of this attractive novel.” DAILY CHRONICLE: ‘Mr. James Payn is here quite at his usual level all through, and that level is quite high enough to please most people. The character drawing is good. The story of the master sounds strangely like truth. : A book to read distinctly.” DAILY GRAPHIC: “ . | | The dramatic unity of time, place, and cir- cumstance has never had a more novel setting. . - a SATURDAY REVIEW: ‘A very interesting story, and one that excels in clever contrast of character and close study of individualism. Sts The characters make the impression of reality on the reader. Extremely pleasant are the sketches of University life.” THe WORLD: “The most sensational story which the author has written since his capital novel, ‘By Proxy.’ 3 Never flags for a moment.” BLACK AND WHITE: “ : Ingenious and original. Mr. Payn knows how to invent and lead up to a mystery.” LEEDS MERCURY: “Three more distinctive characters have, perhaps, never been drawn by Mr. James Payn than in Walter Blythe, Robert Grey, and George Needham, Cambridge undergraduates, who figure prominently in ‘A Stumble on the Threshold.’” Guasgow HERALD: “| |. Mr. Payn’s latest invention in sensational episode; but wild horses will not drag from us a statement of the mystery. It is new and thoroughly Massingberd.” BATLEY REPORTER: Is most attractive reading.” HAMPSHIRE TELEGRAPH AND CHRONICLE: “Mr. James Payn’s latest story, ‘A Stumble on the Threshold,’ which has been the chief attraction in the ‘ Queen’ during the last few months—where, by the way, it was most admirably illustrated—has just been issued in two handsome vols. by Mr. Horace Cox. The story is written in Mr. Payn’s happiest vein: it sparkles with wit, the characters are most unconventional. and the old, old theme is worked out on quite novel lines.” HEREFORD TIMES ‘< With all their sparkle and gaiety, Mr. Payn’s novels would not be complete without the dread Nemesis, mysterious in operation, and casting suspicion for a time on every side but the right one. The novel is thoroughly attractive, and a credit to the practised hand which penned it.” THE OBSERVER: « . . , Is a characteristic story, remarkably quietly told, always pleasing and satisfying, and pro- viding a startling incident at a moment when everything seems serene.” London: HORACE COX, Windsor House, Bream’s Buildings, E.C. “CHEAP JACK ZITA” WEW SERIAL STORY — 2 BARING -GOoOvULD., ENTITLED ‘““CHEAP JACK ZITA.” With Illustrations by a Prominent Artist, commenced in the ‘‘Queen” on Jan. 7.  424 ADVERTISEMENTS. MESDAMES BRETT & BOWSER, MRS. GiInik, TYPISTS g LU! E-WRITING OFFICE, SELBORNE CHAMBERS, BELL YARD, TEMPLE BAR 35, LUDGATE HILL, EC. (ESTABLISHED 1883.) : ays : “ ee Authors’ MSS. carefully and expeditiously copied, from Authors’ MSS. carefully copied from 1s. per 1000 words. Plays, 1s. per 1000 words. Extra carbon copies half price. Refer- | &c., 1s. 3d. per 1000 words. Extra copies (carbon) supplied at the rate of 4d. and 3d. per 1000 words. Type-writing from dictation ences kindly permitted to Augustine Birrell, Esq., M.P. 2s. 6d. per hour. Reference kindly permitted to Walter Besant, Esq. ’S HAIRLESS PAPER-PAD THE AUTHOR'S HAI ‘| MIss PaTTEN, (Tue LeapEenHALL Press Lrp., H.C.) 7YPIST — 44, Oakley Street Flats, Chelsea S.W. Contains hairless paper, over which the pen Authors’ MSS. carefully transcribed. References kindly permitted slips with perfect freedom. to George Augustus Sala, Esq., Justin Huntly McCarthy, Esq., and many other well-known Authors. Siapence each: 58. per dozen, ruled or plain. Wire. Proot Safe for sine: LITERARY PRODUCTIONS Particulars on Application. OF EVERY DESCRIPTION Ce REVISED and CORRECTED on Mode- rate Terms by the Author of “The Queen’s English “T always stick in my } TICKPHAST- up to Date” (see Press Opinions), price 2s. scraps.and papers with ) PASTE. Ellen Terry.” Address ‘“ Anglophil,” Literary Revision Office, 342, Strand, W.C. Published every Friday morning; price. without Reports, 9d.; with eo. Reports, Is. Price One Shilling ; by Post, Is. 3d. HE LAW TIMES, the Journal of the Law and the | 7 HE QUEEN ALMANACK, and Lady’s Calendar _ Lawyers, which has now just completed its fiftieth year, - 1898. Contains a Chromo-Lithograph Plate of an Album Cover supplies to the Profession a complete Record of the Progress of Legal in Titatian Boule Work, Winter Comforts in Knitting and Crochet, , ; . Reforms, and of all matters affecting the Legal Profession. The creas : : - Reports of the Law Times are now recognised as the most complete ee , Hand-painted, or Inlaid Work, and Bang and efficient series published. Offices: Windsor House, Bream’s-buildings, E.C. The ‘‘ Queen ” Office, Windsor House, Bream’s-buildings, E.C. TWENTY-FOURTH ISSUE. Now ready, super-royal 8vo., price 15s., post free. CROCKFORD'S CLERICAL DIRECTORY POR 18692 Being a Statistical Book of Reference for Facts relating to the Clergy in England, } Wales, Scotland, Ireland, and the Colonies, WITH A FULLER INDEX RELATING TO PARISHES AND BENEFICES THAN ANY EVER YET GIVEN TO THE PUBLIC. LONDON: HORACE COX, WINDSOR HOUSE, BREAM’S BUILDINGS, E.C. COx Ss ARTS OF READING, WRITING, AND SPEAKING. ” LETTERS TO A LAW STUDENT. By Tem Late MR. SHRJBANT COZ. RE-ISSUE (SIXTH THOUSAND). PRICE 7s. 6d. LONDON: HORACE COX, ‘‘\ LAW TIMES” OFFICE, WINDSOR HOUSE, BREAM'S BUILDINGS, E.C Printed and Published by Horace Cox, Windsor House, Bream’s-buildings, London, E.C. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Author, Vol. 03 Issue 11 (April 1893) Subject The topic of the resource <em>The Author</em>, Vol. 03 Issue 11 (April 1893) Type The nature or genre of the resource Publication Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 1893-04-01-The-Author-3-11 publications The Author