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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) 1906-02-01 Volume 16 Issue 5 Pages Page range in volume 129–160 Ngram Date Version of the date in YYYYMMDD format for use by the Ngram plugin 19060201 Ngram Text Version of the text with no HTML formatting for use by the Ngram plugin Che HMutbor. (The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly.) FOUNDED BY SIR WALTER BESANT. Vou. X VI.—No. 5. FEBRUARY I1sT, 1906. [Prick SIXPENCE. TELEPHONE NUMBER : 374 VICTORIA. TELEGRAPHIC ADDRESS : AUTORIDAD, LONDON. —_——-+-~> + NOTICES. + OR 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 opinion of the Committee unless such is especially stated to be the case. THe Editor begs to inform members of the Authors’ Society and other readers of The Author that the cases which are from time to time quoted in The Author are cases that have come before the notice or to the knowledge of the Secretary of the Society, and that those members of the Society who desire to have the names of the publishers concerned can obtain them on application. ——++— List of Members. Tu List of Members of the Society of Authors published October, 1902, at the price of 6d., and the elections from October, 1902, to July, 1903, as a supplemental list, at the price of 2d., can now be obtained at the offices of the Society. They will be sold to members or associates of the Society only. 1 The Pension Fund of the Society. Tux Trustees of the Pension Fund met at the Society’s Offices in April, 1905, and having gone carefully into the accounts of the fund, decided to invest a further sum. They have now pur- chased £200 Egyptian Government Irrigation Trust 4 per cent. Certificates, bringing the invest- ments of the fund to the figures set out below. VoL, XVI. This is a statement of the actual stock; the money value can be easily worked out at the current price of the market :— Consoin 26 Gs STOOD UY Juocal ligans=. 500 0 0 Victorian Government 3 % Consoli- dated Inscribed Stock ............... 291 19 11 Wart Wont 3... es. 201° 9 3 London and North Western 3 % Deben- ture SbOcK 6 ee 250 0 9 Egyptian Government — Irrigation Trnst. 4 °% Certificates ............-.. 200 -0 © otal ee £2,443. 9 2 Subscriptions, 1905. £8. a. July 13, Dunsany, the Right Hon. the Lord : : . : : 20 5 20 Oct. 12, Halford, F. M. ; : / 0 5 oO ., Chorbucn, WM. : 0 100 0 Nov. 9, ‘ Francis Daveen ’’. : 70. 8 6 5s alr, J Osep)) : : .- it 1 0 », 21, Thurston, Mrs. ; ; ei Dec. 18, Browne, F. M. ; : 7 0. 60 Donations, 1905. July 28, Potter, the Rev. J. Hasluck GO 5 0 Oct. 12, Allen, W. Bird : O25 0 Oct. 17, A. C. N. : : : 1 0 30 Oct. 17, Hawtrey, Miss Valentina 0. 52.0 Oct. 31, Williamson, C. N. 1150 Oct. 31, Williamson, Mrs. 1 6 Noy. 6, Reynolds, Mrs. Fred. ea) Nov. 9, Wingfield, H. 0 10 6 Nov..17, Nash, T.A. . le 0 Dec. 1, Gibbs, F. L. A. 010 6 Dec. 6, Finch, Madame 113 6 Dec. 15, Egbert, Henry 0 5 0 Dec. 15, Muir, Ward . : P16 Dec. 15, Sherwood, Mrs. A. . 010 O Dec. 18, Sheppard, A. T. 010 6 Dec. 18, 8. F. G. : 010 0 1906. Jan. 2, Jacobs, W. W. . : 7b 8 0 Jan. 6, Wilkins, W. H. (Legacy) 50 0 0 Jan. 10, Middlemas, Commander A. C. 0 10 0 130 COMMITTEE NOTES. — 1 rYNHE first meeting of the committee for the year 1906 was held at the Society’s offices, 39, Old Queen Street, Storey’s Gate, on Mon- day, January 8th. : The year opened auspiciously with an elect on of twenty-three members and associates. The three members of the committee who, under the Memorandum and Articles of Association, are bound to,retire were Sir Henry Bergne, Mr. A. W. 4 Beckett, and Mr. Austin Dobson, These gentlemen resigned, submitted their names for re-election, and were re-elected in due course. The next question to be considered by the com- mittee was the appointment of a sub-committee to settle the report for the past year, and Sir Henry Bergne and Mr. A. Hope Hawkins kindly con- sented to pass the draft. This, when it has been settled, will as usual be circulated to all the members. There were two or three important cases before the committee for discussion. In one, referring to the insufficiency of a publisher’s accounts, the committee decided to appoint an accountant on behalf of the member to go fully into the matter and check the details. In another the com- mittee decided, subject to the approval of the Society’s solicitors, to print a letter in The Author. No legal remedy existed, but the committee thought it essential to bring the facts to the notice of the members of the Society through the columns of The Author. ‘here was another case, referring to the infringement of artistic copyright, which, owing to the unsatisfactory state of the artistic copyright law, contained many legal difficulties. In consequence, the committee decided to take counsel’s opinion before any further action was sanctioned. On the other cases it is impossible to report, owing to their confidential nature. The Secretary reported that he had received during the past month another letter from the Foreign Office, with reference to Egypt and the Berne Convention. With the consent of the Foreign Office, the correspondence will be printed in one of the coming numbers of Z’e Author. It would appear that under existing arrangements it is possible to protect the copyright property of English authors in the mixed tribunals in Heypt. The Secretary announced to the committee two donations to the pension fund—one from Mr. W. W. Jacobs—an amount recovered through the Society’s agency for infringement of copyright in Norway, and the other a sum of £50 left under the will of the late Mr. W. H. Wilkins. oo THER AUTHOR. Cases, During the past month six cases have passed through the secretary’s hands. One referred to the settlement of a contract. This has not as yet been terminated. One referred to accounts, and in this case the accounts have been delivered and forwarded to the member. One referred to a demand for publication and money due. This has been settled by the editor consenting to pub- lish within the next two months and pay the amount due on publication. The author has agreed to the arrangement. ‘Two of the others were demands for money for articles that had been published. In the one case the cheque has been for- warded to the author, in the other the editor has refrained so far from answering the secretary’s letters. The last case was for the return of a MS. As this has only just been placed in the secretary’s hands the editor has not as yet had time to reply. Of the cases mentioned in the previous issue of The Author there are still four unsettled. Two of these refer to actions abroad, one in America and one in Canada, and will take some time to negotiate. The others are still in the course of negotiation, but one of the demands for money is in an un- satisfactory condition, as the editor repudiates liability and refuses to answer letters, and purports to hold letters from the author, of which the latter has no copies. Members of the society cannot be advised too strongly of the importance of retaining copies of their letters, otherwise, energetic action on the part of the committee is almost impossible, as at any moment they may be met with a letter which, having escaped the recollection of the mem- ber, upsets the legal position of the contract and the member’s demands. 1+ January Elections. Alwyn, Harold Crowther Wentworth House, Folkestone. Berry, William Grinton, 838, Vesta Road, M.A. Bromley. Branson, William P, 8. 59, Gordon Square, WiC, Buckton, Miss Alice M. Sesame House, 434, Acacia Road, St. John’s Wood, N.W. 34, Westbourne Gar- dens, W. Chettle, Blandford, Dorset. 16, Montgomerie Cres- cent, Glasgow, W. 121, Rue de Varenne, Paris. Burdon, The Rev. H. N. Castleman, Henry C. ff. . Clark, Miss Margaret S. Dawson, Francis War- rington  2, St. James’ Square S.W. 4, Grange Road, Gun- nersbury, W. 49, Drayton Gardens, S. Kensington. c/o. Agent-General for Queensland, Victoria Street, Westminster. c/o. Messrs. Grindlay & Co., 54, Parliament Street, S.W. 25, Colville Road, Bays- water. 74, Carlisle Mansions, Victoria Street, S.W. Falmouth, The Viscountess Maxwell, H. B. Middlemass, Commander A. C., R.N. Mills, Miss Ethel Norman, F. J. : : Palmer, J. E. Prichard, Mrs. Hesketh . Rowland-Brown, Miss Othey Grove, Harrow Lilian (Rowland Grey) Weald. Sergeant, P. W. . . The Authors’ Club, 8, Whitehall Court, S.W. Still, Alfred Yette Lodge, Ellesmere Park, Eccles, Lanca- shire. Bank of Scotland House, Callander, Perthshire. 229, West 139th Street, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.A. Charlottenburg, Uh- landstrasse, 194. Royal Societies Club, St. James’, S.W. The Anchorage, Como, Province of Quebec, Canada; Constitu- tional Club, W.C. Thomson, William Harold Vance, Louis Joseph Wentzel, Frau Grace D. Barlow von Whyte, Frederic W. Wintle, Gilbert C. H. ——— BOOKS PUBLISHED BY MEMBERS OF THE SOCIETY. —-—— (In the following list we do not propose to give more than the titles, prices, publishers, etce., of the books enumerated, with, in special cases, such particulars as may serve ‘to explain the scope and purpose of the work. Members are requested to forward information which will enable the Editor to supply particulars, ) ART. SocIAL CARICATURE IN THE 18TH CENTURY. By Gro. Pasvon. 15} x 11}. 144 pp. Methuen. £2 12s. 6d.n. BIOGRAPHY, JosEPH CHAMBERLAIN, IMPERIALIST. By N. MURRELL Marris. 71x 5, 275 pp. Routledge. Is. THE AUTHOR. 131 DRAMA, THE AUTHOR’S APOLOGY FROM FESsION. By BERNARD SHAW. by John Corbin. 7 x 44. 60c. n. Mrs. WARREN’S PRO- With an Introduction 66 pp. New York. Bretano’s. EDUCATIONAL. AN EMBASSY TO THE GREAT MOGUL. A SosgourN AT LHa-ssa. 112 pp. SINTRAM DE LA MOTTE-FOUQUE. 140 pp. THE VOYAGE OF CAPTAIN JAMES. 118 pp. PRESCOTT’S CONQUEST OF PERU (abridged). THE SIEGE OF JERUSALEM. 132 pp. THE ADVENTURE OF MoNTLUC. 117 pp. ENGLISH ScxHoon Texts. Edited by W. H. D. Rouse, 136 pp. 128 pp. Litt. D. 6} x 44. Blackie. 6d. STORIES FROM GRIMM. Edited by A. R. Hope Mon- CRIEFF. (Modern Language Series.) 6} x 4}. 122pp. Blackie. Is. 6d. FICTION. A SICILIAN MARRIAGE. 5. 308 pp. White. 6s. THE EXPIATION OF EUGENE. FOUR. 73x 5. 452 pp. THROUGH THE RAIN. x 302 pp. J. Long. 6s. THE Scar. By Francis W. Dawson. 7% x 5}. 310 pp. Methuen. 6s. Six WomEN. By VICTORIA CROSS. Werner Laurie. © 6s. AT SUNWICH PoRT. Will Owen. 188 pp. x 53. Newnes. 6d. THE Beauty SHop. By DANIEL WOODROFFE. 338 pp. Werner Laurie. 6s. THE ARROW OF THE‘NorTH. By R. H. Forster. 7} x 5. 316 pp. J. Long. 6s. THE House oF RIDDLES. 3y DoROTHEA GERARD. 7% x 5. 320 pp. Hutchinson. 6s. Her HIGHNKSS. By FRED WHISHAW. 7} x 5. J. Long. 6e, STELLA FREGELIUS. -A H. RIDER HAGGARD. Longmans. 3s. 6d. PEARL, or A PASSING By DoUGLAS SLADEN. 7} x By Freperic H. BAL- Greening. 6s. By Mrs. HUGHES-GIBB, 7} X 5}. 7% x 5. 293 pp. 3y W. W. JAcoss. Illustrated by (Newnes’ Sixpenny Novels.) 83 7% x 5. 317 pp. Tale of Three Destinies. By New Edition. 8 x 53. 361 pp. 3RIGHTNESS. By OLIVE KATH- ERINE Parr. 74 x 53. 260 pp. Sands & Co. 3s. 6d. GARDENING. PICTORIAL PRACTICAL FLOWER GARDENING. Edited By W. P. Wricut. 74x 5. 152 pp. Cassell. 1s. n. HISTORY: ByY-PATHS OF NOTTINGHAMSHIRE History, By J. Por- TER Briscon, F.R.S.L. 73x 5. 160 pp. Saxton. Nottingham. 3s, 6d.n. LITERARY. TREASURE OF THE HUMBLE. 3y MAURICE Translated by ALFRED SuTRO. 6} Humphreys. 6s, n. THE MAETERLINCK. 6, - 218 pp. MISCELLANEOUS. CHILDREN'S ANSWERS. Shrewd, witty, nonsensical, and pathetic. Collected by J. H. Burn. New and Enlarged 64 x 49. Edition. 282 pp. Treherne. 2s. n. 132 PAMPHLETS. HAPPINESS AND THRIFT. Being the Substance of an ‘Address to the Members of the Booksellers’ Provident Institution. By THE Rigut Hon. LORD AVEBURY, Macmillan. ls. n. POETRY. INNocENCcIES. By KATHERINE TYNAN. 7] X 5. TOpp. Bullen. 3s. 6d. n. A LADY oF Kricock. With Other Lays and Relays. By J. M. Lowry. 73 x5. 71 pp. Dublin: Hodges. London: Simpkin. 1s. n. POLITICAL. FiscaL RerorM. Speeches delivered by the Right. Hon. A. J. Balfour, from June, 1880 to December, 1905. With a Preface. 8} x 53. 280 pp. Longmans. 2s. 6d. n. REPRINTS. VERSES AND TRANSLATIONS, By CHARLES STUART CALVERLEY. With an Introduction by Owen Seaman. 184 pp. Blackie. Is. 6d. n. THE Last Essays or ELIA. With an Introduction by Augustine Birrell. Blackie. 2s. 6d. n. SELECTED POEMS OF ROBERT BURNS. duction (40 pp.). By ANDREW LANG. Kegan Paul. ls. 6d. n. LYRISTS OF THE RESTORATION. From Sir Edward Sherburne to William Congreve. Selected and Edited by JOHN and CONSTANCE MASEFIELD. 5 X 3}. 282 pp. Grant Richards. 3s. 6d. n. By CHARLES LAMB. 296 pp. With an Intro- 64 x 4. 223 pp. THEOLOGY. THE SACRED TENTH, or ANCIENT AND MODERN. Two Vols. 82 x 53. STUDIES IN TITHE-GIVING, By H. Lanspeun, D.D. 752 pp. S.P.C.K. 16s. TRAVEL. InDIA. By MORTIMER MENPES. Text by FLORA ANNIE STEEL. 9 x 6}. 216 pp. Black. 20s. n. THE WoRLD oF To-Day. A Survey of the Lands and Peoples of the Globe as seen in Travel and Commerce. By A. R. Hope Moncrierr. Vol. IV. 103 x 73. 266 pp. The Gresham Publishing Co. THE AFRICANDER LAND. By A. R. COLQUHOUN. 93 x 6. 438 pp. Murray. 16s. n. ri LITERARY, DRAMATIC, AND MUSICAL NOTES. — 1 E regret that in the magazine contents for January, we missed chronicling an article that appeared in the December number of The Monthly Review, by Mr. Eden Phillpotts, entitled “'To the Lamp-Bearers.” We take this opportunity of repairing the omission by recom- mending this. interesting essay to our members. THE AUTHOR. Mr. Phillpotts uses De Quincy’s “ Life of Goethe ” as the germ for some thoughts on other great writers, such as Ruskin, Rabelais, Aristotle. The Seatonian prize of the University of Cam- bridge, 1905, has been obtained by the Rev. A. C. Deane, for a poem on St. Columba. St. Columba died on June 9th, 597, and the incidents described in the poem are derived from the chronicle of Adamnan, ninth abbot of Iona. “The Sacred Tenth, or Studies in Tithe-giving, Ancient and Modern,” is the title of a work written by the Rev. Henry Lansdell, and pub- lished by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. The author traces the history of the practice of tithe-paying, and argues the need and possibility of reform in charitable giving and of a general resumption of the practice of tithe- paying. Messrs. Harper Bros. have recently published Vol. iv. of Mr. Poultney Bigelow’s “‘ History of the German Struggle for Liberty,” which closes with the popular upheaval of 1848. Mr. Bigelow is at present in Boston, where he is delivering a course of twenty-five lectures before the department of jurisprudence, Boston university. The subject of the lectures is “Colonial History and Adminis- tration.” Mr. Desmond F. T. Coke, author of “Sandford and Merton,” “ The Dog from Clarkson’s,” etc., has written a story which attempts to paint life as it is at one of our great public schools, and to satirise false sentiment and melodrama. The book is called the “Bending of a Twig,” and is pub- lished by Messrs. Chapman and Hall, at 6s, It will be illustrated with many photographs of scenes at Shrewsbury, where the action of the story passes. “The Beauty Shop” is the title of a novel which Mr. Werner Laurie published last month. It is from the pen of Daniel Woodroffe, author of ‘Tangled Trinities.” The story concerns a Bond Street beauty shop, and the art of the beauty doctor is exhibited as a grave social peril. The schemes by which this establishment gathers within its meshes of deception and blackmail both rich and poor, form the purport of the story. Mr. Werner Laurie has also published Victoria Cross’s new book “Six Women,” which in the main is oriental in character. Messrs. Joseph Williams, Limited, have recently published, at the price of 1s. net., a work entitled “Songs for Children,” set to music by L. Budgen. The songs include “ Simple Simon,” ‘Good King Arthur,” “Mr. Do’s the Man for Me,” “ Dame Get Up and Bake Your Pies,” ‘We Willie Winkie,” “Try Again.” “The Rosebud Wall and Other Poems” is the title given to a collection of verses from the pen of  Agnes H. Begbie, published in Edinburgh by Wm. J. Hay, and in London by 8. Bagster & Sons, Limited. Most of the pieces deal with nature and the deity, and all of them are reverent in conception. * Sir Theodore Martin will publish shortly, through Mr. John Murray, a volume of “ Monographs,” containing biographical sketches of Garrick, Mac- ready, Rachel and Baron Stockmar. The volume is based on articles published in the Quarterly Review and elsewhere many years ago. Mrs. Mona Caird is publishing a series of travel sketches under the title of “ Wanderings in Pro- vence.” In this work, which Mr. Joseph Pennell and Mr. Edward Synge will illustrate, consider- able attention is given to the associations of the region with French history and with the troubadours. Miss Alice C. C. Gaussen has written a memoir of Mrs. Elizabeth Carter, the friend of Dr. Johnson and the translator of Epictetus. Mrs. Carter was a prominent member of the Bas Bleu — and enjoyed not a little notoriety in her ay. Messrs. Longmans & Co. announce the publica- tion of “The Elements of Geometry in Theory and Practice,” by A. E. Pierpoint. The work, which is published at the price of 2s., is based on the report of the committee appointed by the Mathematical Association, 1902, and comprises the subject matter of Euclid, with an experi- mental section and additional theorems and problems. The latest additions to Messrs. Geo. Newnes’ series of sixpenny copyright novels are, Mr. Rider Haggard’s “ Nada, the Lily,” and Mr. Douglas Sladen’s story of old Heidelberg, “ Trincolax.” Mr. and Mrs. C. N. Williamson have written a story which they have entitled “ Lady Betty across the Water.” It tells of the experiences and adven- tures of a young English girl who goes to America for the first time. It also compares English and American manners. Messrs. Chatto & Windus will publish shortly a new vovel by Mrs. Campbell Praed, the title of which is “The Lost Earl of Ellan.” he story deals with the wreck of the Quetta, which took place off Thursday Island in 1889. The hero of the book is a lost earl—hence the title. “In the Sixties and Seventies,” by Laura Hain Friswell, which Messrs. Hutchinson & Co. pub- lished recently, has gone into a second edition. The book has been extensively reviewed in England, and an edition for the United States is also in preparation. “A Chaplet from Florence” is the title of a collection of sonnets by M. G. J. Kinloch, author of “A History of Scotland, Chiefly in its Hccle- THE AUTHOR. 133 siastical Aspect,” and ‘A Song-Book of the Soul.” The volume, which contains twenty photogravure plates illustrating views in Florence and famous paintings in Florence, is published at the price of 10s. 6d. net. Copies can be obtained at Giennini, Piazza Pitti, 20, Florence, or from Messrs. Sands & Co., 23, Bedford Street, Strand, London, and 13, Bank Street, Edinburgh. At a meeting of the Quatuor Coronati Lodge, No. 2076, held at Freemasons’ Hall, London, early in January, the following resolution was unani- mously passed: “That official recognition and sanction be given by this lodge to, and permission to use the lodge emblems in, the medal about to be issued by Brother Carl C. Wiebe, Past Grand Master of Hamburg, in commemoration of the jubilee anniversary of Brother Robert Freke Gould’s initiation into Masonry.” The first of Mr. St. John Lacy’s series of concerts for 1906 took place on Wednesday, January 17th, at the Clarence Hall, Imperial Hotel, Cork. The next two concerts will be held on February 21st and March 17th, respectively. Among others it is hoped that the following works will be performed during the season :— Bach Concerto in D major (piano and strings) ; Bazzini, quartet in D minor (strings) ;_ Beethoven, the kreutzer sonata (piano and violin); Bossi, sonata in E minor (violin and piano) ; Gade, trio in F (piano, violin, and ’cello). Miss Florence Warden will produce, at the Great Queen Street Theatre, in February, a comedy written by herself, entitled ‘“‘Parlez-vous Frangais ?” Members of the Press and managers of theatres are specially invited, and members of the dramatic profession will be welcome. “The Harlequin King,” adapted from the German of Rudolf Lothar, by Louis N. Parker and Selwyn Brinton, was produced at the Imperial Theatre on January 38rd. The Harlequin (Mr. Lewis Waller) is the living image of the King, and, after quarrelling with the latter, in a fit of fury kills him and assumes his position. The natural results of this impersonation form the main theme of the play. In addition to Mr, Lewis Waller, the caste includes Miss Evelyn Millard, Miss Mary Rorke, Mr. Norman McKinnel, and Miss Brooke. Mr. Henry Arthur Jones’ new comedy, “'The Heroic Stubbs,” was produced at Terry’s Theatre on January 24th. “The Heroic Stubbs” is a bootmaker, whose admiration for one of his fair customers is the spur behind all his endeavour ; although he recognises that the object of his worship belongs to an entirely different social sphere. When, therefore, he hears the details of a scheme which he considers likely to wreck her domestic happiness, he feels morally bound to go to 134 ler assistance. His adventures whilst engaged in this labour of love, and the success which he finally achieves, form the purport of the play. The caste included Mr. James Welch in the title part, Miss Gertrude Kingston and Mr. Dennie Eadie. —_—_—_———_+—>_o—_ PARIS NOTES. — 1 HE book, “ Jean Christophe,” by M. Romain Rolland, which has won the prize of 5,000 francs awarded by the review, La Vie Heureuse, for the best novel of the year, is the story of the life of a musician. The novel is in three volumes, “T’Aube,” “Le Matin,’ and “ L’Adolescent.” Tt commences with the birth of the child in a little Bhenish town, where his father is violinist at the theatre and his grandfather had been conductor of the orchestra for the Grand Duke’s concerts. We follow day by day the progress of the baby-child, and are initiated into all his secret thoughts and feelings. The old grandfather, a sturdy, upright, rugged man, with a kindly heart, is introduced to us; the father a contemptibly weak nature and an inveterate drunkard. Jean Christophe’s mother, a typical German wife of the household drudge order, devoted to her husband, family and home. Of course, it is obvious that the author has been inspired by the life of Beethoven for very much in this novel. The child’s home and surroundings, the reprobate father, through whom the boy’s early days were clouded and his nature warped, the young musician’s first compositions which, in the novel, date from his eighth year, his independent character and hatred of patronage, his keen sensitiveness and difficult character, together with all his family troubles and pecuniary difficulties, are minutely described, and remind one strongly of Beethoven’s biography. As a matter of fact, it is somewhat confusing, for one is inclined to wonder all the time which is history and which fiction. As a psychological study, it would be more interesting without this dual personality. ‘‘ T Etat et la Liberté,” by M. Waldeck-Roussean, is a collection of speeches and articles by the late eminent statesman, several of which are of special interest at the present moment. “ L’Eglise ouverte a la foi et non A la politique” is the subject of a speech made at Montreuil-le-Gust in 1879. In another speech, “Les Congrégations contre la Republique,” pronounced in 1880, he says: ‘Le Gouvernement n’ a aucune animosité contre cette Eglise francaise, qui, il y a deux siecles, par la voix de ses évéques, condamnait si hautement ces doctrines ultramontaines et anti-nationales sous lesquelles on veut aujourd’ hui la courber... . Il THER AUTHOR. y a quelques semaines, nous avons fondé une Société d’agriculture. ... . Nous en avons arrété les statuts, puis nous les avons soumis a M. le Préfet, et comme ils ne contenaient rien que de licite, nous avons immédiatement été autorisés, . : . Eb bien! ce que nous venons de faire, c’est ce que le Gouvernement veut que les congrégations fassent. C’est le dernier mot de sa tyrannie et de sa persécution.” Other interesting chapters are on “Te ‘Travail, levier des Destinées humaines,” “Te Clergé et les Elections,” “De PAutorité,” “Défense de la Politique du ministere ‘ Gam- betta,” “La Loi Municipale,” “ La Loi sur les Récidivistes,” &c. Among the new novels are: “ Le Mauvais Pas,” by Jacques des Gachons; “Cousine Laura,” by M. Marcel Prévost ; ‘‘Sous le Fardeau,” by J. H. Rosny ; “ Les Etourderies de la Chanvinesse,” by Léon de Tinseau. M. Paul Doumer has written a book ‘entitled “Livre de mes fils,” which is attracting a certain amount of attention just now. The volume is divided into four parts : the man, the family, the citizen, country. Another book by a politician is entitled “ Idées contemporaines.” It is by M. Poincaré and treats of widely diverse subjects. Some recent historical and biographical works are the following : “* Le Comte Paul Stroganof,” by the Grand Duke Nicolas Mikhailovitch ; ‘‘ Six Mois en Mandchourie,” by M. Ivan de Schneck. The author started from St. Petersburg, February 24th, 1904, with Veretschaguine, and went to Siberia, Moukden, Port Arthur, Dalny. He describes the catastrophe of Petropavlosk, the death of Verets- chaguine, the siege of Port Arthur, &c. Another book of interest is “ La Carriére d’un navigateur,” by Prince Albert of Monaco ; and “La Fin de notre ére,” by Tolstoi; ‘ Michel Ange,” by M. R, Rolland; “ La Russie, au dix- huitiéme siécle,” by M. Emile Haumant; “ La France ¢t I’Italie,” by M. A. Billot, ex-ambassador ; ‘Histoire des relations du Japon avec i’Europe, aux seizieme et dix-huitiéme siécles,” by M. H. Nagoake, attaché to the Japanese legation of Paris ; “Te Maroc pittoresque,” by M. Jean du Taillis ; “J, Empire du travail” (Life in the United States), by M. Anadoli. Among translations from the English : “ Les Exploits du Colonel Gérard,” by Conan Doyle ; “THistoire des Gadsby,” by Rudyard Kipling ; “Une jeune Anglaise & Paris,” by C. Maud; “Hypocrite sanctifié,” by Max Beerbohm. Money prizes varying in amount from £120 to £5 have been awarded by the Société des Gens de Lettres for literary work, to the following authors : Mmes. Pommerol, Gevin Cassal, Jeanne Leroy Brada, Dalvy, Jean Barancy, and to M. M.  Reibrach, Vergniol, Lepelletier, Labitte, Rosay, du Bled, Saint Maurice, Grison, de Grave, Jho Pale, des Granges, Boyer d’Agen, Guiraud, Pourot, Poulailler, Andre. The death of Paul Meurice, at the age of eighty- seven, has taken away one of the most sincere and devoted admirers of Victor Hugo. He was the poet's executor, and for many years had devoted nearly all his time to the publication of the last and complete edition of Victor Hugo’s works. M. Paul Meurice wrote novels, translated several of Shakespeare’s plays, and adapted many other plays for the French stage. ; A voyage in Greece is being organised for the month of March by the Revue génerale des Sciences pures et appliquées. M. Gaston Deschamps will have the scientific management of the cruise, and will give lectures on board on the art and civiliza- tion of ancient Greece. When visiting the various sites and monuments, he will act as_ historical guide. The Cercle de la Librairie has now opened a fresh bureau for the protection of French literary and artistic rights abroad. In the Revue des Deux Mondes, Maurice Barres continues his “ Voyage 4 Sparte,” M. Goyau writes on “Le Péril primaire,” and M. Bruneticre on “Les époques de la Comédie de Moliére.” In La Revue there is an admirable article by Jean Finot, entitled “ La Volonté, comme moyen de pro- longer la vie” ; and in the second number of the month an article by M. Georges Pellissier on “ Les Femmes écrivains en France,” the conclusion of an anonymous article commenced in the preceding number, entitled “Tues Dessous de la Révolution russe”; and an exquisite poem, “ Solitaire,” by Sully Prudhomme. Maurice Donnay’s play, “ Paraitre,” is soon to be given at the Théatre Francais, and M. Claretie has just received a comedy, in two acts, by Daniel Riche, entitled ‘‘ Prétexte.” The success of “ La Rafale” continues, but it is announced that the next play to be given at the Gymnase is “ Benjamine,” by Jean Aicard. Sardou has recently read a new piece to the actors of the Variétés. “Vers l’Amour,” a comedy in five acts, by M. Léon Gandillot, has had great success at the Théatre Antoine. It is an episode taken from the Mont- martre life of Paris. ‘The characters are all well drawn, and the whole play is convincing. Anys HALLARD. —____+—>—+- —____ THE AUTHOR. 135 COPYRIGHT CASES IN THE UNITED STATES. —_+—@ + [Reprinted from the United States Publishers’ Weekly, of December 23rd, 1905. ] i. NOTICE IN BOOKS PRINTED INVALIDATES COPYRIGHT. HE following is the decision rendered by Judge Kohlsaat in the suit brought by the G. & C. Merriam Company in the Circuit Court of the United States for the Northern District of Illinois (Eastern Division) to restrain the United Dictionary Company, of Chicago, from publishing and offering for sale copies of “ Webster’s High School Dictionary ” and “ Webster’s International Dictionary,” which the Merriam Company published in England jointly with George Bell & Sons, with the omission of the American copyright notice :— “The question in this case is whether one who publishes in this country a copyrighted book, containing due notice of copyright, and who sub- sequently takes the plates which are made from type set within the United States, and were used in printing said copyrighted book, to England, and there in conjunction with another publisher publishes another edition of the book from said plates, intentionally omitting therefrom the notice of the American copyright, can maintain a suit for infringement against another who imports a copy of the English book and proceeds toreproduce the same. “The only limit for the purposes of this hearing placed upon the right of the English publisher is contained in a written contract with him, to the effect that he should not import the book or sell it for the purpose of importation into the United States. No breach of this condition is asserted. Defendant imported a copy of the English publi- cation ‘for use,’ as he states, and ‘not for sale,’ for the purpose of reproducing it in the United States. So far as the record shows, this and another subsequently imported by defendant were the only volumes of the English edition in the country. Defendant thereupon proceeded to photograph the book and make plates therefrom in this country, and to reproduce said imported book. The bill herein was filed to restrain defen- dant from such act. The case is now oefore the Court on final hearing. “The Copyright Act prohibits the importation of a book not made from plates from type set in the United States, during the life of the copyright, but contains no prohibition as to a book made from type set in this country as was the case here, In the latter case there is no restriction placed upon importation, except that imposed by the OMISSION OF ABROAD 1386 Revenue Act, which it is not necessary here to consider. So far as disclosed in the agreed state- ment of facts, the two books in question were rightfully in the possession of defendant—as much so as though complainant had in person delivered the same to it without condition. If such an act constituted a publication within the terms of Section 4962 of the statute, which provides that no person shall maintain an action for the in- fringement of his copyright unless he shall give notice of his copyright by inserting in the several copies of every edition published the words pre- scribed by the section, then complainant falls within the prohibition, and cannot maintain this suit. I can see no distinction in legal effect between the status of the imported book under the above circumstances and that of a book pub- lished in this country from plates made here which omits the requirements of notice prescribed in said Section 4962. “‘ Any person desiring to take advantage of the copyright law must follow its provisions strictly : Wheaton v. Peters, 6 Peters, 593; Thompson v. Hubbard, 131 U.S. 123; Osgood v. Aloe Instru- ment Co., 88 Fed. 470. “Tt was held in Gottsberger v. Aldine Pub. Co., 33 Fed. Rep. 381, that a sale of one volume constituted a publication and came within the prohibition of the copyright statute. In the case of Larrows-Loisette v. O'Loughlin et al., 88 Fed. Rep. 896, the Court decided that one claiming copyright could not free himself from the strict terms of the statute by disposing of or printing books in which copyright is claimed, to be used by others under a contract which bound them not to disclose the contents. “The volumes in question amounted in my opinion to such a publication as will bar the complainant from maintaining this suit. What might have been the effect if the English edition had retained the notice of copyright appearing in the American edition need not be discussed. Such a notice was of no moment in England, and might, conceivably, have been deemed detrimental to the sale of the book. The equities of the situation are with complainant, and it is with regret that I find myself driven to a legal conclusion which ignores them. The remedy rests with Congress and not with the Courts. The bill is dismissed for want of equity.” II. COPYRIGHT IN PAINTING UPHELD. For the second time a decision was handed down on December 18th in the Federal Courts, concerning the copyright of the painting “The Chorus,’ owned by the artist, W. Dendy Sadler, and exhibited in the ].ondon Royal Academy in 1894. Judge Holt, of the U.S. District Court, THE AUTHOR. in New York, reiterating the opinion of Judge Townsend, of the United States Circuit Court of Appeals, rendered in November, 1904 (a substan- tial part of which was given in The Publishers’ Weekly, May 13th, 1905), sustains the contention of the plaintiff, that, under the circumstances of the case, a painting or sculpture need not be marked “‘ copyright” to protect them from piracy, and granted an injunction. Emil Werckmeister brought the action against the American Litho- graph Company and the American Tobacco Com- pany, charging them with having violated his copyright in the painting of which he had obtained the rights from the artist for a photographic repro- duction. eg EGYPT AND THE BERNE CONVENTION. — T the meeting of the Committee of the Society of Authors, held in October, it was decided, owing to the increased sales of authors’ works in Egypt, to make enquiries of the Foreign Office with a view to ascertain whether it were possible for English copyright to be protected in the mixed tribunals, or by Egypt’s adhesion to the Berne Convention. The following letter was accordingly written to Lord Lansdowne, who was then Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs :-— [ Copy. | October 12th, 1905. The Most Noble The MARQUIS OF LANSDOWNE, K.G. My Lorp,—I am desired by the Committee of the Society of Authors for whom, from time to time, your Lordship has obtained information concerning International Copyright relations, to enquire if a report could be obtained from Lord Cromer as to whether it would be desirable or possible for Egypt to join the Berne Convention, and the Additional Act of Paris. Since the occupation of Egypt the circulation of English books has increased enormously in that country, and as Egypt is not a party to the Berne Convention there appears to be no effective means to prevent pirated copies of English works from being sold there to the detriment of English authors. If there is no reason to the contrary, the adhesion of Egypt to the Berne Convention and the Additional Act of Paris would appear to be the best mode of meeting the difficulty, but before definitely proposing such a course, the Society of Authors would be very grateful if Lord Cromer’s opinion upon the subject could be ascertained. I beg to remain, Your Lordship’s obedient humble servant, (Signed) G. HERBERT THRING. And on November 10th, the Foreign Office, after kindly taking the matter in hand and making full enquiries from Egypt, wrote to the Secretary of the Society as follows :— FOREIGN OFFICE, November 10th, 1905. Srtr,—I am directed by the Marquess of Lansdowne to state that he referred to the Earl of Cromer, his Majesty's Agent and Consul General in Cairo, your letter of the THE AUTHOR. 12th of October last, respecting the question whether it would be desirable or possible for Egypt to join the Berne Copyright Convention and the Additional Act of Paris. A despatch has now been received from his Lordship reporting that as long as the Egyptian Government is, owing to the Capitulations, unable to make a copyright law giving them the power to punish criminally any infringe- ments committed by Europeans, the adhesion of the Egyptian Government to the Berne Convention would give to foreigners no advantages over those now conferred on them by the practice of the Mixed Tribunals. The Mixed Tribunals have, however, done what they could to supply the omission by dealing with such matters under the terms of Article 34 of the Statute of Judicial Organisation, and Article 11 of the Civil Code: ‘‘En cas de silence, d’insuffisance ou d’obscurité de la loi le juge se conformera aux principes du droit naturel et aux régles de Véquité,” Tam, Sir, Your most obedient humble servant, E. GoORST. The Secretary to the Society of Authors. This letter was placed before the committee at their meeting on November 27th, and very carefully considered. As it was apparent that under the Berne Convention and under the British Copyright Law, criminal proceedings were not necessary, the committee decided to write again to the Foreign Office and enquire whether it were possible to obtain adequate remedy for infringement of copyright. [ Copy. ] November 30th, 1905. The Most Noble The MARQUIS OF LANSDOWNE, K.G. My Lorp,—The letter from your Lordship’s office, dated November 10th, 1905, was placed before the Committee of the Society of Authors at their meeting on Monday, November 27th. While thanking your Lordship for the trouble you have taken in the matter, the Committee would be glad to be clearly informed whether a British subject can sue for a civil remedy in the mixed tribunals of Egypt in regard to the piracy in Egypt of works which are copyright in the British Dominions. fam to point out that neither under the Berne Conven- tion, nor under the Copyright Law of Great Britain—with the exception of that dealing with musical publications— is there any reference to criminal proceedings. May I, at the same time, enquire whether your Lordship would have any objection to the correspondence in this matter, or a summary thereof, being printed in The Author —the organ of the Society—for the information of members. I beg to remain, Your Lordship’s obedient humble servant, (Signed) G. HERBERT THRING. Again the Foreign Office gave the matter their kind attention, and obtained the further report contained in their letter of January 4th, printed below. FOREIGN OFFICE, January 4th, 1906. Siz,—With reference to your letter of the 30th of November last, respecting copyright in Egypt, I am directed by Secretary Sir E. Grey to state, for your information, that it would appear to be sufliciently es- tablished, by decisions of the Courts of Justice in Egypt, that a British subject can sue for a civil remedy in the 137 Mixed Tribunals of Egypt, in regard to the piracy in Egypt of works which are copyright in the British Dominions. I am to transmit herewith copies of head-notes of cases decided in the Mixed Tribunals as to copyright, I am, Sir, Your most obedient humble servant, E. Gorst. The Secretary to the Society of Authors. We must thank His Majesty’s Government for the trouble it has taken in obtaining for the Society this necessary information, which, with the consent of the Foreign Office we have much pleasure in printing. [| COPIE. | HEAD-NOTES OF CASES DECIDED IN THE MIXED TRIBUNALS AS TO COPYRIGHT, Puthod v. Ricordi, B.J.L. (1889), L. 77, A défaut de toute convention ou loi spéciale, la propriété littéraire et artistique est protégée en Egypte par les régles ordinaires du droit commun. En conséquence le préjudice qui résulte d’une atteinte portée 4 cette propriété donne lieu contre celui qui en est Vauteur 4 une action en réparation du dommage qu’il a causé. ' L’achat de la partition d’un opéra n’en confére que la jouissance personnelle, et non pas le droit de jouer Vopéra sur une scéne publique et dans un but de lucre, Société des gens de lettres vy, Philip, B.L.J. (1899) Z. 110, Le droit de l’auteur sur son oeuvre est un véritable droit de propriété. A défaut de loi spéciale en Egypte, le droit de propricté littéraire est protégé et garanti par l'article 34 du Régle- ment d’Organisation Judiciaire. La réproduction dans un journal, sans autorisation et sans compensation, d'oeuvres littéraires pour lesquelles l’auteur a conseryé, d’aprés la loi de son pays, son droit de propriété, est une atteinte portce 4 droit et constitue un préjudice donnant lieu 4 une action en réparation. oer MACMILLAN v. — DENT.* JUDGMENT. R. JUSTICE KEKEWICH: “This isan extremely difficult question, and perhaps a satisfactory solution of it can only be obtained by a decision of the ultimate Court of Appeal, but having pondered over it since the Court rose, and looked at the cases to which Mr. Danckwerts referred me, I see no reason for thinking that my opinion would be any better for being postponed. I, therefore, propose to say what conclusion I have arrived at, in the hope that my remarks may assist the parties in obtaining somewhere a complete solution of the question which is raised. * Transcript from the shorthand notes, Printed by the kind permission of Messrs. Macmillan & Co,, who inform us that the defendants have appealed from the decision.— ED. 138 “The plaintiffs claim the right of publication of certain letters of Charles Lamb which are many years old, and they say that they have purchased that right from a gentleman and lady named Steed, who were in possession of the letters up to some ten years ago. It seems to me that, as there is no suggestion that those persons obtained the letters by theft or otherwise improperly, I must assume at this distance of time from the date of the writing of the letters that they were in rightful possession of the letters. What that implies is really the question to be decided, but I begin with tracing the letters to rightful possession. “There is no doubt that they assigned their rights, whatever those rights were, as regards the publication to the plaintiffs. The plaintiffs have vested in them any right of publication which Mr. and Mrs. Steed could pass. If they are entitled to publication—if they have a right of publication— then, of course, they are entitled to restrain every person who is not entitled to publish, and that raises the question whether the defendants are entitled to publish. The defendants claim also through the Steeds, and in addition through the administrator of Charles Lamb. « Now as regards their title through the Steeds, it, is obviously a defective one, because the Steeds had already assigned everything that they could assign to the plaintiffs, and nothing was left for them to assign to the defendants, and they were perfectly conscious of that ; they only purported to confer on the defendants such rights, if any, as remained in them. “ As regards the defendants’ other title, I confess I do not understand it. I do not understand how the administrator of Charles Lamb at the present day can have any property whatsoever in these letters of any kind .or description, even on the assumption that a right of property did vest in Charles Lamb at the date of his death, and could pass by his will. It is not competent for me to decide on the present occasion what the meaning of Charles Lamb’s will is, or whether such property as he had passed by that will. But whatever property passed, it cannot, it seems to me, Dow be vested, as it could not have vested in the adminis- trator of Charles Lamb when these letters of administration were granted only the other day. But I thought it right to say that, because it may be that a question of that kind will arise. “The defendants decline to prove their title. They say: ‘All we have to do is to show that the plaintiffs have no title, and if we satisfy the Court that the plaintiffs have no title, then, of course, they cannot restrain us. It matters not to us or the Court whether we have a title or not.’ That is a perfectly proper view, if they are so THER AUTHOR. advised to take it, for the defendants to take. It is the view they take, and, therefore, I will not pursue that subject any further. All I have to consider is the bare question, not whether the right of publication is vested in the plaintiffs as between them and the defendants, but whether it is vested in the plaintiffs abstractedly, so that they have a good title. That question depends entirely on the proper construction to be placed on a few lines, indeed of a few words, in the third section of the Copyright Act, 5 & 6 of Queen Victoria, It is not easy to understand, but in order to under- stand it one must, of course, have in one’s mind and present before one’s eye the common law as it stood at the date of the Act of Parliament. “Now, about the common law up to a certain point there is no doubt whatever on that. I have been referred to a large number of cases, beginning with, I believe, the first—it is always quoted as the first—-Pope v. Curle, decided by Lord Hard- wicke. Probably one or two would have sufficed, and, indeed, I venture to say, as the observation which I made to Mr. Scrutton in opening the case indicated, that no reference to any case at all was really necessary. But I certainly should not refer to many of them. “‘T have said that the common law is perfectly clear up to a certain point, and I use that expres- sion advisedly, because I think the point is a limited one, and there is a great deal of doubt about the common law beyond that. Mr. Danck- werts referred me, among other cases, to Caird v. Sime, which is an important case in the House of Lords, arising out of the publication—touching the right of publication—-of lectures on Moral Philosophy delivered by Dr. Caird. The case is very much concerned with the peculiar circum- stances connected with the delivery of lectures, and all the judges who took part in the decision go into those circumstances, and the dissenting judgment of Lord Fitzgerald is extremely instruc- tive as regards lectures delivered as those were, as distinct from letters or books, or other manuscripts. Mr. Danckwerts quoted largely from the judgment of the present Lord Chancellor, but to my mind, without saying what the Lord Chancellor said— really the same thing in other language — the precise position is more accurately stated as regards language by Lord Watson on page 343." He says: ‘The author of a lecture on Moral Philosophy or of any other original composition retains the right of property in his work which entitles him to prevent its publication by others. until it has by consent been communicated to the public.’ -He calls it ‘a right of property in his. work. The Lord Chancellor in his judgment calls it a proprietary right in his unpublished literary productions. In many of the other cases *  THE AUTHOR. 139 the presiding judge has used the expression ‘the right of property.’ I think the phrase ‘pro- prietary right’ is peculiar to the judgment of the Lord Chancellor in Caird v. Sime. But some other judges have used a different expression, and called it a joint property, that is, a right in the author of the letter—I am talking of a letter-— jointly with the sender. Vice-Chancellor Bacon, so late as 1884, in a case of Earle v. Maudelay, said ‘the property in the letters remains in the person to whom they are sent.’ But it is obvious from his judgment that he perfectly understood there wasa right of property in the sender, and he no doubt was speaking there of the property in the letters as the property in the paper with the writing upon it—the actual physical thing and nothing more—and that no doubt is in the person to whom the letter is sent. It has been decided that he can maintain an action of detinue for it by reason of the right of property in the physical thing. To that point it seems to me that the law is perfectly clear. Beyond it I will not say it is obscure, but I think there is very little light. What the right of property is, and how it ought to be defined, none of the judges seem to me to tellus. To read again Lord Watson’s words, it is a right of pro- perty in his work, which entitles him to prevent its publication by others. That is the right of property. What other privileges it gives him, how otherwise you can spell out the right of property, I am unaware. I do not think there is any judgment anywhere which helps at all. Even the numerous judgments—numerous according to the manner of the particular judge—in (ee v. Pritchard, which is extremely instructive, do not, as far as I have studied them, really give us any guide to determine what the right of property is beyond this, that it entitles the author, the com- poser, to prevent its publication by others, I need not go beyond that on the present case. I think it is well deserving of disquisition or dis- cussion on these very interesting questions, but these questions would be purely academic on the present occasion, because it is sufficient for me to say that according to the law the writer of the letter, notwithstanding that he sent it to some- body else, who has a right to the physical thing, retains that peculiar right of property which entitles him to prevent publication by others. Now that being the common law, what does this statute mean? The section is divided into two parts, and the division into two parts is to my mind the origin of the puzzle. The first part of the section deals with a book which is published in the lifetime of its author, and a book includes a letter. I need not go back to the authority on the point, because it is assumed all through this argument, and it is common ground that ‘ book’ does include a letter. It was contested in one case, but held at once without hesitation, that a book must include a letter. ‘The copyright in every book or letter which after the passing of this Act is published in the lifetime of its author shall endure for a certain time, and shall be the property of such author or his assigns.’ ‘Then, having enacted that, the Legislature goes on to deal with the case of a copyright in a book which has been published after the death of its author, and it does not say, what it would have been extremely easy to say, in plain language, that the copyright in that book shall remain in the author or his assigns, or his legal personal repre- sentatives. JI am not professing to frame the words in which it could have been enacted, but no difficulty would have been entertained by a reason- ably experienced draughtsman in saying in plain and unmistakable language that the copyright belongs to those who claim through the author, whether by assignment—which would include, of course, a bequest—or as legal personal representa- tive, if that had been the intention of the Legisla- ture. I think it is fair to conclude that the Legislature did not intend that. But what does it intend ? That it shall be the property of the proprietor of the author’s manuscript ? I will not go further for the moment. I do not think it necessary to consult dictionaries to understand what the meaning of the word ‘manuscript’ is. Manuscript, of course, means that which is written by the hand. That in the case of a letter would be the actual letter written by the writer with his own pen or pencil. Ihave no doubt that in these days the Court would haye no difficulty in extending that to a typewritten letter. It might even, I think, without difficulty extend to a printed letter if the writer would not be the writer’s printer, but used a private printing press. I have no doubt also that if the writer of the letter, instead of using his own hand, used that of an amanuensis to whom he dictated the letter, that would be a manuscript within the meaning of this Act. I go further and say that if the writer wrote out the letter with his own hand, and then had a copy made of it in order to send it away, and made that really the original letter, though in truth it was more a copy than an original, that that might be a manuscript. “ But it seems to me that it must be that which proceeds from the writer as his own work in the first instance, and that must be, I think, the author’s manuscript. It is not the manuscript made by somebody else for the author for the pur- pose of really constructing an original letter. Also ‘manuscript’ must mean, I think, that which filled the place of the manuscript in the ordinary sense; that is to say, the letter written by the author’s own hand, If it was the 140 one original letter which he intended to be the original, then that is the author’s manuscript. Take the case of a man sending a letter, and keeping a copy of it. I do not know that it is necessary to decide it, but I should think the letter sent, and not the copy kept would be the author’s manuscript. So far there seems to be little difficulty in understanding what the Legisla- ture meant. “¢ But then comes the question of who is the pro- prietor of the author’s manuscript. If we can ascertain who the proprietor of the author’s manu- script is, then there is no difficulty in determining what the statute means, because it says it shall be the property of the proprietor, not that the pro- prietor shall have a proprietary right—not qualified in any way ; not that he shall have the property jointly with anyone else—but it shall be the pro- perty, and the Legislature being, of course, cognisant with all the decisions of the common law must be taken to have meant the property being the exclusive property of the proprietor. “Now who is the proprietor of the author’s manuscript ? According to the common law, as I have already said, there are two proprietors of the letter who can bring detinue for it. That is, he who is entitled to the physical thing, and the writer of the letter, who has that peculiar right of property which entitles him to prevent publication by others. Did the Legislature here intend to perpetuate any notion of that kind in the pro- prietor of the author’s manuscript ? It seems to me, having regard to the division into two parts which I have already called attention to, and to the care of the Legislature not to repeat in the second part, as it might have done in slightly different language, the first part, it must be that the pro- prietor of the author’s manuscript means the pro- prietor of the physical thing ; that the manuscript here is the thing written—the actual paper on which the writing is and the writing on it. That seems to me to be the only legitimate construction which I can place upon the words ‘ the proprietor of the manuscript.” I will leave out ‘author's manuscript’ now, because I have said enough about that. «That seems to me to be what the Legislature said, and the result then is that that belongs to the person to whom it is sent, and as I have said already, I have no reason to doubt in this case, and I think I ought to assume, that Mr. Steed and his wife were the proprietors of those letters ; that is, of the manuscript. There can be no question of the fact that it was from the manuscript the book was first published. They were sent to Mr. Mac- millan, or to Messrs. Smith, Elder & Co., in order that they might be published, and the publication was from these original letters, and through the THE AUTHOR. assigns of Mr. and Mrs. Steed. I put to. Mr. Scrutton, when replying, a question about the meaning of ‘assigns’ there, and he endeavoured to convince me that the right interpretation of the section was, that the assigns had the right of publication. I do not think that is the strict construction of the sentence ‘The proprietor of the author’s manuscript from which such book shall be first published,’ which is put paren- thetically, ‘and his assigns’ must, I think, mean the assigns of the author’s manuscript ; but the point is not essential to my decision, Messrs. Smith, Elder & Co. were the assigns of the author’s manuscript and in my view they fill that position. The result is, it seems to me, that I must come to the conclusion that the Legislature intended that the persons in that position, Mr. and Mrs. Steed, having these letters rightfully in their possession, were entitled to publish them themselves, or to hand them over, or otherwise, to Messrs. Smith, Elder & Co., and to give them the right of pub- lication, and that that having been done, nothing remained in Mr. and Mrs. Steed which they could have passed to anyone, except, of course, the right to the letters themselves. Those they retained, and those they can part with. The right of publica- tion, it seems to me, was gone.” Judgment was given for the plaintiff, with the declaration of Mr. Justice Kekewich that the right of publication in these particular letters was vested in the plaintiffs, Messrs. Smith, Elder & Co. Accounts with profits and costs were also given with the judgment, and a stay of execution for fourteen days in case of appeal. ——$—$— <_< ANNUAL RESUME OF THE NUMBER OF BOOKS PUBLISHED IN THE PAST YEAR. 1 (Reprinted by the kind permissiom of the editor of the Publishers’ Circular.) HE total number of books reported during 1905 is almost the same as in 1904— only four score fewer. The number of Theological books, in spite of a fall of thirty in November, shows an increase on the year, due more to Francis of Assisi, Thomas i Kempis, and other devotional authors, than to Torrey and Alexander or Church and Education. The number of Educational works is a hundred down, so is that of Political and Commercial books and of reprinted novels. The issue of new novels 1s almost to a unit the same as last year (1731— 1733). The number of Law books reported is practically unchanged, so is that of books on the Arts and Sciences, and that of Biographical and  THE AUTHOR. 141 | 460 | 626 | 786 | ANALYTICAL TABLE or Books PUBLISHED IN 1905. bo : ; ae | 3 : 5 Subjects. Pp os : 3 2 H 2 Ss = Fast ; < . = 2 = a ea ee ee ete < = 5 5 < R } % | | | a | aS sae: {ji @ 34) 31 69 | 73} 63 7 21 50 62 68 | 81 66 | 665 1. Theology, Sermons, Biblical ... ba 4} 10 1 3 3 2 3/ 1 bis) Be | | et 745 2. Educational, Classical, and (| a 54| 63 62) 62) 44 Ai Sd 68- (09 || 66 6 | 35 | 642 Philological ... se ae 7 4) 11 S110 5 1 9} 15 7 BU 92 | 734 3. Novels, Tales, Juvenile Works, || @ 78 73 | 141 | 144 | 151 | 133 88 | 140 | 235 | 139 | 247 | 164 1733 ce ae (i hos) o2 wey 69 | 84 62) 88) 63) 58 | 74) 74] 398 | 680 | | 2363 : a8 FT| 22) 3 5 3 4 5 5) 6) 4) 5 56 4, Law, Jurisprudence, &c. AB Al oe 6 4 5 2 8 ee ele a | Bl \—— 107 5 s aac 5. Political and Social Economy, )| @ 45 | 33) 22) 58) 44 34} 29) 47 29 70 | 50] 41 | 502 Trade, and Commerce... J| b 3 a) isp od At 6| 10) 13] 30} 12] 17 | 135 | | 687 @ Aris, Science, and Illustrated )| a 40| 29| 45| 51| 42| 45) 11) 49/ 51) 46 | 60) 58 | 522 Works one ie Sto =) 5 4 7 4 3405 4 3 | 3 2} 49 | 57) 7. Voyages, Travels, Geographical )| @ 7| 12] 8 S113 | 1s Fa | 2h le | 30 | 28 |) 30 | 234 Research... os 48 5 EE 7) 10 6 7 6 7 8 Bee 4| 73 | 307 - : : a 40 37 | 35 65 48 38 14 41 32 73 |. 01 63 | 557 8. History, Biography, &c. _— i hoo Gi 5 7 | 7 7 4 8 6 9 8 | 79 | |_— 636 | ‘ ‘ ‘ ro | ae s : (| @ 25 Ve 15 31 34 32 14 16 39 31 |. 49 58 | 361 9. Poetry and the Drama “1b 5 5 | 16 13 5 8 i 2 9} 19| 112 | | 473 “10, Year-Books and Serials in||@63| 20| 24| 31| 30) 37/ 9| 33 39) 56 | 37 | 79 | 458 Volumes... ee je —f— |S Pe | fe ee Bol il 1 01 is} ib] | 2 ere . as ~ {| a@ 17 19 6421 lk 0 ‘ O42) 26 15 | 180 11. Medicine, Surgery, &c. ib 2 2 5 8 2 10 L 6 a1 15 9 Ci | | 251 12. Belles-Lettres, TP . Mono- a moO) 90 1-28) 20) 24) 22) 11) 384) 28) a2) 4 46 | 320 graphs, Xe. a | Ji) 12) 107 261 | —— 381 13. Miscellaneous, including || @ 25] 27) 54) 49) 44 651 4185 | 67 | 8t 45 | 68 | 587 Pamphlets, not Sermons | be Se ee 2 | — —— 589 509 | 694 | 664 | 361 | 700 | 805 | 849 | 954 | 844 | 8252 | | Ce a New Books; b New Editions. The Analytical Table is divided into 13 Classes; also New Books and New Editions. Divisions. 190 New Books. 4. New Editions. | New Books. 1905. New Editions. Theology, Sermons, Biblical, &c. Educational, Classical, and Philological Novels, Tales, Juvenile Works, &c. Law, J ‘urisprudence, &e. Political and Social Economy, Trade and Commerce Arts, Sciences, and Illustrated Works ae Voyages, Travels, Geographical Research History, Biography, &c. Poetry and the Drama . Year-Books and Serials in n Volumes Medicine, Surgery, Xe. . Belles- Lettres, Essays, Monographs, &e. Miscellaneous, including Pamphlets, not Sermons ... : “ | 568 98 665 694 142 | 642 1,731 817 1,733 55 48 | 56 594 181 502 458 74 522 229 60 234 540 113 557 309 98 361 421 = | 458 148 71 180 173 47 | 320 536. | 103 587 6,456 1,878 | 6,817 80 92 630 51 136 49 73 ig 112  142 Historical works. In Belles-Lettres the previous table showed a falling off of nearly a hundred, but this table shows an increase of one hundred and sixty-one. A slight increase is shown in books on Journeyings and Geography, Poetry books and dramatic works, Year Books and Serials, Medical and Surgical works. But for Africa and for the Tariff question Political books would be few indeed. ————__+—~—_+—____—_- COPYRIGHT AT THE CAPE. — 1 Copyrigut Act In CERTAIN WoRKS OF ART ASSENTED TO JUNE 6TH, PROMULGATED OcToBER 81st, 1905. E it enacted by the Governor of the Cape of Good Hope with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and House of Assembly thereof, as follows :— 1. Inthis Act, unless the context shall otherwise indicate or require, the following terms shall have the meanings hereby attached to them :— “Work of Art” and ‘ Work” shall mean a painting or drawing and the design thereof, a photograph and the negative thereof, and any positives or copies made therefrom, an engraving or a piece of sculpture. Copyright ” shall mean the sole and exclusive right of copying, reproducing, repeating, or otherwise multiplying copies of any work of art and of the design thereof, of any size, in the same or any other material, or by the same or any other kind of art. “Author” shall mean the inventor, designer, engraver, sculptor or maker of any work of art: provided that the author of a work of art made by the employé of any person or firm in virtue of his employment shall mean the person or firm under whose orders, or in the course of whose business, the work of art was made by such employe. ‘¢ Assions”’ shall include every person in whom the interest of an author is vested, whether derived from such author before or after publication or registration, and whether acquired by sale, donation, legacy or by operation of law or otherwise. “Court” shall mean the Supreme Court, the Eastern Districts Court, the High Court of Griqualand West, and any Circuit Court. “ Registrar’? shail mean such official, in the Civil Service, as the Governor may appoint to oe the duties of Registrar under this ct. 2. The author of every original work of art pro- duced in the Colony shall have the copyright ‘ THE AUTHOR. therein, provided that when any work of art shall, for the first time after the passing of this Act, be sold or disposed of or shall be made or executed for or on behalf of any other person, for a good or valuable consideration, the person so selling or dis- posing of or making or executing the same shall not retain the copyright thereof, unless it be expressly reserved to him by an Agreement in writing, signed, at or before the time of such sale or dis- position, by the purchaser or assignee, or by the person for, or on whose behalf, the same shall have been so made or executed, but the copyright shall belong to the vendee or assignee, or to the person for or on whose behalf the work of art shall have been made or executed. (1) The copyright hereinbefore given shall, in the case of paintings and sculpture endure for the life of the person to whom the same is given, and thirty years next after his death; and in the case of engravings not published in, or forming part of, a book, and photographs, for the term of thirty years next after the end of the year in which they or any copies may have been first offered for sale, delivered to a purchaser or advertised or exposed as ready for sale to the public or for delivery to a purchaser, or delivered for registration. 3. Nothing in this Act contained shall prejudice the right of any person to copy or represent any - work in which there shall be no copyright, or to represent any scene or object, notwithstanding that there may be copyright in some representation of such scene or object. 4. A Registry Book entitled “The Register of Proprietors of Copyright in Works. of Art” shall be kept at the office of the Registrar, wherein shall be registered the proprietorship of every copyright in works of art and assignments thereof; and there shall be entered in such Register the follow- ing particulars in reference to every copyright entered therein :—the name and abode of the pro- prietor of the copyright, the title, if any, of the work, a short description of the nature and subject thereof, and, if the person registering so desire, a sketch or outline or photograph of such work, and all such further particulars as may be prescribed by the Registrar in that behalf; and for every entry of proprietorship or assignment of copyright in the Register, there shall be paid to the Registrar such sum as the Governor may prescribe : provided that in the case of a photograph the fee shall not exceed one shilling, and in the case of a series of photographs commonly known as living pictures, cinematographs, or bioscopes, the said fee shall only be payable on the first and every succeeding hundredth negative or photograph constituting any one continuous film or series of photographs.  (1) The Register shall at all convenient times be open to the inspection of any person on payment of one shilling sterling for every entry which shall be _ searched for or inspected in the said Register ; and the Registrar shall, whenever thereunto reason- ably required, give a copy of any entry in such Register, certified under his hand, to any person requiring the same, upon pay- ment to him of the sum of five shillings sterling ; and such copy so certified shall be received in evidence in all Courts, and shall be prima facie proof of the proprietorship or assignment of the copyright as therein stated, but subject to be rebutted by other evidence. (2) If any person shall deem himself aggrieved by any entry made in the Register under cover of this Act, it shall be lawful for such person to apply by motion to the Court, or in vacation to a Judge thereof in chambers, for an Order that such entry may be expunged or varied; and tiereupon such Court or Judge shall make such Order for expunging, varying or confirming such entry, either with or without costs, as to such Court or Judge shall seem just ; and the Registrar shall, on the production to him of any such Order for expunging or varying auy such entry, expunge or vary the same accordingly. 5. It shall be lawful for the registered proprietor of copyright to assign his interest or any part thereof in writing, under his hand, duly witnessed by two witnesses ; and on production of such assignment by or on behalf of the assignee, the Registrar shall make an entry in the Register of such assignment, and of the name and place of abode of the assignee thereof ; and such assignment so entered shall be effectual in law to all intents and purposes whatsoever, without being subject to any stamp or duty. 6. If any person, not being the proprietor for the time being of the copyright in any work of art, shall without the consent of such proprietor make or cause to be made any copy, reproduction, repeti- tion or colourable imitation of the work in which such copyright exists, for sale, hire, exhibition or distribution, or shall knowingly sell, let to hire, exhibit or distribute or cause to be sold, let to hire, exhibited or distributed any copy, reproduction, repetition or colourable imitation, made without such consent, or if made abroad, imported without such consent, or shall import, or cause to be im- ported, any copy, reproduction, repetition or colour- able imitation, such person shall be liable to an action for damages for infringement of the copyright, and all such copies shall be forfeited to such proprietor. THER AUTHOR. 143 7. No person shall do or cause to be done any of the following acts, that is to say :— (1) No person shall fraudulently sign or affix, or fraudulently cause to be signed or affixed to or upon any work of art any name, initial or monogram. (2) No person shall fraudulently sell, publish, exhibit or dispose of, or offer for sale, exhibition or distribution any work of art having thereon the name, initials, or mono- gram of a person who did not execute or make such work. (3) No person shall fraudulently utter, dispose of or put off, or cause to be uttered, or disposed of, any copy, colourable imitation, engraving or print of any work of art, whether there shall be subsisting copyright therein or not, as having been made or executed by the author or maker of the original work from which such copy or imitation shall have been taken. (4) Where the author or maker of any work of art, whether made before or after the pass- ing of this Act, shall have sold or otherwise parted with the possession of such work, if any alteration be afterwards made therein by any other person, by addition or other- wise, no person shall be at liberty during the life of the author or maker of such work, without his consent, to make or knowingly to sell or publish or offer for sale such work, or any copies of such work so altered as aforesaid, as or for the unaltered work of such author or maker. Every offender under this section shall on con- viction be liable to a fine not exceeding ten pounds, or in default of payment to imprisonment for a period not exceeding one month; and all such copies, engravings, imitations or altered works shall be forfeited to the person aggrieved, or his assigns : Provided always that the provision of this section shall not apply unless the person whose name, initials or monogram shall be so fraudulently signed or affixed, or to whom such spurious or altered work shall be so fraudulently or falsely ascribed as aforesaid, shall have been living at, or within seven years next before, the time when the act complained of may have been committed. 8. Whenever after the commencement of this Act any portrait or photographic likeness of any person is painted or taken on commission, neither the photographer, nor any other person, whether he owns the copyright therein or not, shall sell, or give, or exhibit in public in any shop window or otherwise, any copy of such likeness, if the person whose portrait or likeness was painted or taken, or for whom such was painted or taken, shall object to such sale, gift, or exhibition ; and any photographer 144 or other person selling, giving or exhibiting any likeness or portrait after being called upon to desist from so doing shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding ten pounds, and every copy of such portrait. or likeness in his possession shall be for- feited and delivered up to the person for whom the work was executed. : 9. All penalties and forfeitures under this Act may be summarily imposed and awarded by the Resident Magistrate provided that any person summarily proceeded against shall be entitled, on lodging security to the satisfaction of the Magis- trate, to stay of execution pending appeal to the Court, and all the provisions of the Resident Magistrate’s Court Act No. 20 of 1856 in regard to appeals in criminal cases shall apply. 10. In any action for the infringement of any copyright vested under this Act it shall be lawful for the Court in which such action is pending, or if the Court be not sitting, then for a Judge, on the application of the plaintiff or defendant respectively, to make such Order for an interdict, inspection or account and to give such directions respecting such interdict, inspection or account, and the proceedings therein, respectively, as to such Court or Judge may seem fit : Provided that the work of art or work shall bear on it a mark or notification showing that it has been copyrighted. 11. No proprietor of copyright in a work of art, first produced in the Colony, shall be entitled to the benefit of this Act until he shall have registered his copyright, nor shall any prosecution or action be competent for anything done before registration. 12. The Governor may make such rules and reculations as may be necessary or expedient in order to detect and prevent infringements of pro- prietors’ rights under this Act, and impose reasonable penalties for the breach thereof. 13. This Act may be cited for all purposes as the “ Copyright in Works of Art Act, 1905.” —_____—__+ 2 —__<_. MAGAZINE CONTENTS, —+-—~<—1+ BLACKWOOD’'S. Cleopatra’s Needle. By St. John Lucas. BOOKMAN. _ Shelley. By H. Buxton Forman, C.B. Samuel Richardson. By ‘“ Ranger.” Liberal Leaders in Literature. By Thomas Seccombe. Art, By Alfred Noyes. “Fiona Macleod.” By Alfred Noyes. Book MONTHLY. Stories on the Stage: The Art of the Novelist Dramatist. 3y Hall Caine. Our Literary Gods and the Going of Them to America, To American Millionaires. By James Milne. Dickens as Artist or Genius and The Cry of “Art for Art’s Sake.” By Brimley Johnson, THE AUTHOR. CHAMBERS’ JOURNAL. Unpublished Letters to Wm. Hunter. Edited by Victor G. Plan. Literary Elbow-Grease. Notes and News from a Diary. CONTEMPORARY REVIEW. An Agnostic’s Progress. By Wm. Scott Palmer. The Bankruptey of Higher Criticism. By Dr, Emil Reich. Chopin. By A. E, Keeton. CORNHILL. Mayfair and Thackeray. By The Right Hon, Sir Algernon West, G.C.B. An Early Victorian Tale. By A. H.S. “ Judge’s Writ.” By Viscount St. Cyres. From a College Window. FORTNIGHTLY REVIEW. Of Our Anxious Morality. By Maurice Maeterlinck. Nero in Modern Drama. By J. Slingsby Roberts. Pepys and Shakespeare. By Sidney Lee. Notes on the History and Character of the Jews. By Laurie Magnus. The Sportsman’s Library : Some Sporting Books of 1905, Fiona Macleod : A Sonnet. By Alfred Noyes, INDEPENDENT REVIEW. Mr. Swinburne and the Sea. By C. C. Michaelides. A Note on Mr. Bernard Shaw. By G. K. Chesterton. The Author of “Ionica.” By Herbert Paul. The Teaching of Reynolds. By Laurence Binyon. Walt Whitman. By F. Melian Stawell. MACMILLAN’S MAGAZINE, An American Rhode’s Scholar at Oxford By Stanley Royal Ashby, Monru. By The Rev. C. Lattey, A Philosophy of Religion. By The Rev. Herbert The Marriage of Mrs. Fitzherbert. Thurston. MONTHLY REVIEW. Relics. By Eveline B. Mitford. Among the Felibres in Provence. Maude. By Constance E. NATIONAL REVIEW. Sparks from the Anvil or Thoughts of a Queen. By H.M. The Queen of Roumania (Carmen Sylva). The Uses of History. By St. Loe Strachey. NINETEENTH CENTURY. The Antagonism of the Prophet and the Priest, By G. Monroe Royce. Stafford as a Letter Writer. By Lady Burghclere. The Tragedy of Kesa Gozen. By Yei Theodora Ozaki, Lafcadio Hearn. By Nina K, Kennard. PALL MALL MAGAZINE. A Painter of French and American Society: An Hour with M. Théobald Chartran. By Frederic Lees. TEMPLE BAR, Vladimir Korolenko. By G.H. Perris. Sea Songs. By John Masefield.  WARNINGS TO THE PRODUCERS OF BOOKS. ———_— + agreement. There are four methods of dealing cy Hx are a few standing rules to be observed in an with literary property :— I. Selling it Outright. This is sometimes satisfactory, if a proper price can be pbiained. But the transaction should be managed by a competent agent, or with the advice of the Secretary of the Society. Il. A Profit-Sharing Agreement (a bad form of agreement), In this case the following rules should be attended to: (1.) Not to sign any agreement in which the cost of pro- duction forms a part without the strictest investigation. (2.) Not to give the publisher the power of putting the profits into his own pocket by charging for advertisements in his own organs, or by charging exchange advertise- ments. Therefore keep control of the advertisements. (3.) Not to allow a special charge for “ office expenses,” unless the same allowance is made to the author. (4.) Not to give up American, Colonial, or Continental rights. (5.) Not to give up serial or translation rights. (6.) Not to bind yourself for future work to any publisher. As well bind yourself for the future to any one solicitor or doctor | III. The Royalty System. This is perhaps, with certain limitations, the best form of agreement. It is above all things necessary to know what the proposed royalty means to both sides. It is now possible for an author to ascertain approximately the truth. From time to time very important figures connected with royalties are published in Zhe Author. IY. A Commission Agreement. The main points are :— (1.) Be careful to obtain a fair cost of production. (2.) Keep control of the advertisements. (3.) Keep control of the sale price of the book. General. All other forms of agreement are combinations of the four above mentioned. Such combinations are generally disastrous to the author, Never sign any agreement without competent advice from the Secretary of the Society. Stamp all agreements with the Inland Revenue stamp. Avoid agreements by letter if possible. The main points which the Society has always demanded from the outset are :— C1.) That both sides shall know what an agreement means. (2.) The inspection of those account books which belong lothe author. We are advised that this is a right, in the nature of a common law right, which cannot be denied or withheld. (3.) Always avoid a transfer of copyright, ——_+——_+—____ WARNINGS TO DRAMATIC AUTHORS. — EVER sign an agreement without submitting it to the c Secretary of the Society of Authors or some com- petent legal authority. 2. {t is well to be extremely careful in negotiating for the production of a play with anyone except an established manager. THE AUTHOR. 145 3. There are three forms of dramatic contract for plays in three or more acts :— (a.) Sale outright of the performing right. This is unsatisfactory, An author who enters into such a contract should stipulate in the contract for production of the piece by a certain date and for proper publication of his name on the play-bills. (b.) Sale of performing right or of a licence to perform on the basis of percentages on gross receipts. Percentages vary between 5 and 15 per cent. An author should obtain a percentage on the sliding scale of gross receipts in preference to the American system. Should obtain a sum inadvance of percentages. A fixed date on or before which the play should be performed. (c.) Sale of performing right or of a licence to perform on the basis of royalties (‘.c., fixed nightly fees). This method should be always avoided except in cases where the fees are likely to be small or difficult to collect. The other safeguards set out under heading (}.) apply also in this case. 4, Plays in one act are often sold outright, but it is better to obtain a small nightly fee if possible, and a sum paid in advance of such fees in any event, It is extremely important that the amateur rights of one-act plays should be reserved. 5. Authors should remember that performing rights can be limited, and are usually limited, by town, country, and time. This is most important. 6. Authors should not assign performing rights, but should grant a licence to perform. The legal distinction is of great importance. 7. Authors should remember that performing rights in a play are distinct from literary copyright. A manager holding the performing right or licence to perform cannot print the book of the words. 8. Never forget that United States rights may be exceed- ingly valuable. ‘They should never be included in English agreements without the author obtaining a substantial consideration. 9. Agreements for collaboration should be carefully drawn and executed before collaboration is commenced, 10. An author should remember that production of a play is highly speculative: that he runs a very great risk of delay and a breakdown in the fulfilment of his contract. He should therefore guard himself all the more carefully in the beginning. 11, An author must remember that the dramatic market is exceedingly limited, and that for a novice the first object is to obtain adequate publication. As these warnings must necessarily be incomplete, on account of the wide range of the subject of dramatic con- tracts, those authors desirous of further information are referred to the Secretary of the Society. ———+—__——_ WARNINGS TO MUSICAL COMPOSERS. —-——9—— assistance of producers of books and dramatic authors. It must, however, be pointed out that, as a rule, the musical publisher demands from the musical composer a transfer of fuller rights and less liberal finan- cial terms than those obtained for literary and dramatic property. The musical composer has very often the two rights to deal with—performing right and copyright. He I ITTLE can be added to the warnings given for the 146 should be especially careful therefore when entering into an agreement, and should take into particular consideration the warnings stated above. —— HOW TO USE THE SOCIETY. — VIEERY member has a right toask for and to receive 4) advice u pon his agreements, his choice of a pub- lisher, or any dispute arising in the conduct of his business or the administration of his property. The Secretary of the Society is a solicitor, but if there is any special reason the Secretary will refer the case to the Solicitors of tlie Society. Further, the Committee, if they deem it desirable, will obtain counsel’s opinion, All this without any cost to the member. 2. Remember that questions connected with copyright and publishers’ agreements do not fall within the experi- ence of ordinary solicitors. ‘Therefore, do not scruple to use the Society. 3. Send to the Office copies of past agreements and past accounts, with a copy of the book represented. 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. Before signing any agreement whatever, send the document to the Society for examination. 5. 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 your calling in promoting the independence of the writer, the dramatist, the composer. 6. The Committee have now arranged for the reception of members’ agreements and their preservation in a fire- proof safe. The agreements will, of course, be regarded as confidential documents to be read only by the Secretary, who will keep the key of the safe. The Society now offers: —(1) To read and advise upon agreements and to give advice concerning publishers, (2) To stamp agreements in readiness for a possible action upon them. (3) To keep agreements. (4) I'o enforce payments due according to agreements. Fuller particulars of the Society’s work can be obtained in the Prospectus. 7. No contract should be entered into with a literary agent without the advice of the Secretary of the Society. Members are strongly advised not to accept without careful consideration the contracts with publishers submitted to them by literary agents, and are recommended to submit them for interpretation and explanation to the Secretary of the Society. This The 8. Many agents neglect to stamp agreements. must be done within fourteen days of first execution. Secretary will undertake it on behalf of members. 9. Some agents endeavour to prevent authors from referring matters to the Secretary of the Society; so do some publishers. Members can make their own deductions and act accordingly. 10. The subscription to the Society is £1 is. per annum, or £10 10s. for life membership. THE AUTHOR. TO MUSICAL COMPOSERS. cn! HE Society undertakes to stamp copies of music on behalf of its members for the fee of 6d. per 100 or part of 100. The members’ stamips are kept in the Society’s safe. The musical publishers communicate direct with the Secretary, and the voucher is then forwarded to the members, who are thus saved much unnecessary trouble, <> THE READING BRANCH. —> EMBERS will greatly assist the Society in this branch of its work by informing young writers of its existence. Their MSS. can be read and treated as a composition is treated by a coach. ‘ihe term MSS. includes not only works of fiction, but poetry and dramatic works, and when it is possible, under special arrangement, technical and scientific works. The Readers are writers of competence and experience. The fee is one guinea, ——— NOTICES. + HE Editor of Zhe Author begs to remind members of I 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 5s. 6d. subscription for the year. Communications for “The Author” should be addressed to the Ottices of the Society, 39, Old Queen Street, Storey’s Gate, S.W., and 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. Communications and letters are invited by the Editor on all subjects connected with literature, but on no other subjects whatever. very effort will be made to return articles which cannot be accepted. 1 The Secretary of the Society begs to give notice that all remittances are acknowledged by return of post, and he requests members who do not receive an answer to important communications within two days to write to him without delay. All remittances should be crossed Union Bank of London, Chancery Lane, or be sent by registered letter only. Ss LEGAL AND GENERAL LIFE ASSURANCE SOCIETY. ——>— + —_ ENSIONS to commence at any selected age, either with or without Life Assurance, can be obtained from this society. Full particulars can be obtained from the City Branch Manager, Legal and General Life Assurance Society, 158, Leadenhall Street, London, E.C.  AUTHORITIES. — In the last number of Zhe Author we printed some comments on the haif-profit agreement. Another disadvantage that may arise from a half-profit agreement occurs in the following cir- cumstancesi:—The publisher goes bankrupt when there is a deficit against the book of, say, £100. All the publisher’s rights in the contract and the remaining stock are purchased by another publisher for a paltry sum of, say, £15. The new publisher proceeds to put the remaining stock on the market, and, perhaps, realises from the sales £50 to £60. On the author demanding a statement of account he is met with the deficit of the £100 against his book, which the new publisher is legally entitled to charge, so that although there is no profit to the author—in fact, the accounts still show a deficit against the book of £50 or £60—yet the new publisher has, in reality, made a profit of £45 or £35, and in consequence a good bargain. Such a position could not possibly occur in the case of a royalty agreement. THERE is another form of agreement equally unsatisfactory, which must be mentioned. Certain letters pass between author and publisher, then the author asks for a formal agreement. The publisher, in the pride of his position, refuses to forward a formal agreement, as he states it is the custom of his house not to do so; their letters make a binding contract. This statement, no doubt, is absolutely true. The letters are excellent examples of caligraphy, but not of legal documents. If the publisher has been exceedingly exact in the form which his letters take, and has set out all the points of which an author is usually ignorant, and if the series of letters is not too long, then, well and good; but these conditions are never fulfilled. In the letters which have come before the secretary —they are not infrequently placed before him— the omission of so many items which should have been inserted in the difficult contract of publica- tion make the letters, although, no doubt, binding, altogether unsatisfactory from the point of view of a definite contract, As we have pointed out again and again, what is wanted in a contract is finality. The author may get the better of the publisher, or the publisher, as sometimes happens, may get the better of the author; but if the con- tract is clear and binding, both parties will be held to abide by the legal position. There may be grumbling, but there will be no necessity for the intervention of the Society of Authors. A CERTAIN publisher who, by his methods of dealing with literary property, and by his form THE AUTHOR. 147 of agreement, has, on many occasions, given trouble to members of the society, is in the habit of placing before those members who enter into negotiations with him, a fixed form of agreement. On the member desiring an alteration in some of the clauses which it contains, he has openly stated in writing that this is the form of agree- ment signed by all his authors. This, however, is not the case, although the statement has, on some occasions, had the result of inducing young authors to sign very unsatisfactory clauses. ‘To this method of dealing he has now added a further statement to the effect that this fixed form of agreement is not only signed by all his authors, and therefore as unalterable as the laws of the Medes and the Persians, but that it is the same agreement as is signed by Mr. He mentions an author of world-wide reputation who, we regret to state, is dead, and therefore unable to answer for himself. From this it is clear either that Mr. was very ill-advised in signing the agreement, or that the publisher has seen fit to deviate from the truth. It cannot be possible, surely, that this latter deduction is correct ? We put the following statement before members of the society, and ask them to consider the position from their own point of view. This author of world-wide reputation is asked to sign an agreement by which he is forbidden to translate or dramatise his work without the con- sent of the publisher; by which serial and Colonial rights are left to the publisher to negotiate, and, under the special agreement we refer to, yield half the returns to the publisher. These two points alone will give those members who care to investigate the circumstances food for consideration. THERE is a similar case which this method of quoting well-known authors as signatories to agreements calls to mind.._A publisher contem- plates the production of a series of books, and in order to start the series, finds a gentleman of great distinction in his special line of thought, but ignorant of the commercial value of literary property. The publisher enters into an agreement with him to open the series, and pays him a ridiculously low figure. ‘The publisher then goes round to others, from whom he desires volumes for the series, and on their specifying to the publisher the terms they are willing to accept, they are met by the dead weight ahead of the publisher's reply, that Mr, So-and-so is going to open the series ; that these are the terms he has accepted; and that it is impossible to give other writers higher terms than these. The unfortunate writer has, accord- ingly, to consider whether he will accept totally inadequate, terms or miss the opportunity of 148 appearing in the series. We do not in any way desire to cast a slur on those specialists who accept inadequate terms, as first, no doubt they are ionorant of the value of their work on the literary inarket, and secondly, their knowledge of the subject makes the work exceedingly easy to them, and they forget for the moment the years of experience and hard work which has given them the power to carry out such a contract without much effort. These two instances are no imaginary instances, but have come not infrequently to the society’s office for explanation. We should like to mention one further point dealing with the question of agreements. In the March (1904) issue of Zhe Author we printed a certain agreement with full comments. The heading of the article was “ Mr. Absolute’s Agree- ment.” It is with considerable regret that we find that “ Mrs. Absolute ” is now placing the same form of agreement before those authors for whom she desires to publish. Mr. W. H. Witkins, whose last book ‘“ Mrs. FitzHerbert and George IV.,”’ published by Messrs. Longmans & Co., is having such a large sale, died at the end of last year. Mr. Wilkins had been a member of the society for many years and had taken active interest in its work. He has been kind enough, by his will, to leave £50 to the pension fund of the Society of Authors. This is the first legacy the pension fund has received, though, no doubt, after the fund shall have endured for some years, such donations will come to increase the amount standing to its credit. ei 9 SOME CANADIAN WRITERS. — Part IJ],—Prosz WRITERS. PYFNUE first novel written in Canada was “ The History of Emily Montague.” It was the work of Mrs, Frances Brooke, the wife of an army chaplain who was stationed at the garrison of Quebec, soon after the great battle of the Plains of Abraham in 1759, when the sovereignty of Canada passed from France to England. Mrs. Brooke appears to have written . her novel in 1766, or thereabout. She was the daughter of a clergyman named Moore, and the title-page informs us that she had written a previous story entitled, “ Lady Julia Mandeville.” ‘ Emily Montague” was written in the style of a flighty girl, a worshipper of wealth and fashion, and is in the form of a great number of letters written THE AUTHOR. by the different characters to one another, Although, after the fashion of the time, the agonies and trials of Emily are spread out over four volumes, it is worth while for the student of Canadian history to wade through them on account of the lively impression they give of contemporary manners, customs, and amusements. Mrs. Brooke’s story was a lonely star in the firmament of Canadian literature, and in the first half of the nineteenth century, with a few bright exceptions, little was done in the way of writing. In 1840 Mrs. Ethelind Sawtell came before the Canadian world of letters with “The Mourner's Tribute: or Effusions of Melancholy Hours,” two hundred and seventy-two pages of them; while evidence of the attention paid to the youthful mind is found in the title of that juvenile work, “Every Boy’s Book: or, a Digest of the British Constitution,” which was published at Ottawa in 1842, “The Adopted Daughter : or, The Trials of Sabra,” published twenty years after- wards, seems to have struck a responsive chord, since it ran into two editions. That the aboriginal inhabitants of the country were not neglected is proved by two books printed in Toronto respec- tively in 1846 and 1850. The first of these was entitled : ‘ Shahguhnahshe ahnuh - meahwene muzzeneegun ojibwag anwawand azheuhnekeno- otahbeegahdag,”’ and it shows that the Toronto printers of that day were not behind their brethren of the same city of to-day in all-round capability, particularly as the volume (it was a prayer book), ran into four hundred and seventy pages. Major John Richardson, of Upper Canada (now Ontario), a soldier and, as he says on the title page of one of his stories, “ Knight of the Military Order of St, Ferdinand,” has been called by some the Fenimore Cooper of Canada. The same people say that his best work was ‘‘ Wacousta.” This was an historical novel of the time of Pontiac, and the scene of it is laid chiefly in Detroit. It was followed by a sequel called “The Canadian Brothers.” Richardson also wrote a poem on Tecumseh, the great Indian ally of the British in the war of 1812. Down in the Maritime Provinces, however, which have the reputation of having always pro- duced more intellectual people in proportion to population than any other part of Canada, a “bright occidental star” had arisen in the person of Judge Haliburton—the subsequent creator of the renowned “Sam Slick’”—whose “ Historical and Statistical Account of Nova Scotia,” in two con- siderable volumes, was published at Halifax in 1829. On the title page of these interesting volumes, which in their day did much to make Nova Scotia and its great resources known to the world, the author is deseribed .as ‘Thomas ©, Haliburton, THE AUTHOR. Esq., Barrister-at-Law, and Member of the House of Assembly of Nova Scotia.” The first series of “The Clockmaker,” in which are recorded the adventures and opinions of Samuel Slick, of Slickville, appeared in The Nova Scotian in 1835 and 1836. It was published in book form in Halifax and Londonin 1837. Afterwards followed —with the same theme—“ The Attache,” “ Wise Saws,” and “ Nature and Human Nature.” There are two other works, “The Letter-Bag of the Great Western,” and ‘‘The Bubbles of Canada,” which purport to be written by the redoubtable Sam. Haliburton’s last historical work was “ Rule and Misrule of the English in America,” which was published in 1851. In 1858 and 1859 he contri- buted a series of acute articles, entitled “The Season Ticket,” to the Dublin University Magazine. They are, ostensibly, a collection of remarks and narrations by a Mr. Shegog, who has a season ticket on an English railway. No writer has at present arisen in Canada who for calibre, breadth of view, keen insight, observation, and humour can begin to supplant Haliburton in his premier position among native writers. in his day he did more to make eastern Canada known— and intimately known—than any score of his con- temporaries. He was one of the first of our imperialists, and British readers were naturally attracted not only by his genius and humour as a writer, but by his unmistakable attachment to England. Mrs. Catherine Parr Trail, a writer of much merit and a relative of Agnes Strickland’s, author of “The Queen’s of England,” made the best of her experiences as a settler in Canada. She was an ardent naturalist, and possessed abundant kindliness and common sense. Her ‘ Female Emigrant’s Guide,” which was published in 1854, was very popular, and her “Canadian Settlers Guide,” ran into half-a-dozen editions. Her last book was published in 1894, and was entitled “Pearls and Pebbles: or, Notes of an old Natura- list.” Professor James De Mille, who was born in New Brunswick in 1836, and died in Halifax in 1880, besides being a writer of occasional verse, was a prose author in several kinds. He wrote a religious novel called ‘ Helena’s Household: a Tale of the First Century,” which was very popular in “the sixties” both in the United States and in England. It is a very good example of that kind of work, and abounds in glowing ideas and thoughtful passages. It is possible that in his next book, ‘‘ The Dodge Club Papers,” he was influenced both by Dickens and by Haliburton, but he cannot therein be regarded as an imitator. In a succeeding book, “Cord and Crease,” he describes a typical Yankee journeying x 149 abroad, and in it he evidently grows the flower for which Haliburton had provided the seed. Mr. De Mille took high rank in his day as a writer of essays, and produced, in all, about forty books. At about the same time Miss Louisa Murray, of Ontario, wrote a capital serial story entitled “The Settlers of Long Arrow,” which appeared in 1861, in Once a Week, and on which the British press bestowed high praise. She also contributed stories both to United States and Canadian periodicals. William Kirby, the author of the most cele- brated of Canadian novels, “ Le Chien D’Or,” was born in England in 1817. He is consequently a veteran verging towards ninety, but by the last accounts he is still able to take an interest in life at his quiet home in Niagara where he has resided for many years, and where for thirty-four years he was Collector of Customs, retiring from that post in 1895. He appeared before the public in the first instance as a poet, with an epic poem, entitled “The U.E.” (United Empire) consisting chiefly of a series of historical tableaux, studded with portraits of loyalist personages. His master- piece, “ The Golden Dog,” was first published in 1877, at Montreal. But although the reviews of the work were exceedingly flattering, the sales So inadequate were they were far from being so. indeed that the author reaped next to nothing in the way of financial return from the book which is: destined to live as one of the most noteworthy in Canadian literature. A second edition was published in Boston in 1896, and there has been something like a renaissance of this admirable work. It has been complained by some critics that Kirby’s style, in some parts of this great novel, is diffuse, and lacking in movement. But it will be confessed by all, that there is in it a dignity, a marvellous drawing of character, and a mastery of all the strings of its artistic plot that give it a high place among important works of fiction. It has already proved its inherent vitality by the failure of time permanently to bury it; by a resurrection in new and eagerly called-for editions after twenty years of comparative neglect; and by its new and successful appeal to a second generation of judges. As a rule, at the present time, Canadian authors who desire a more extended market, have to make arrangements with United States or British publishing houses. Canadian publishers then borrow the electrotype plates, on a royalty basis, and print from these a “Oanadian copyright edition,” or they import the work in ready-printed sheets, bind them up, and put them into circula- tion. Among the earlier Canadians who took advantage of the more recent mode, was Miss Lily A. Dougall, of Montreal, who in her novel, ‘‘ What- 150 Necessity Knows,” and in others of equal note, has shown conspicuous literary ability and grasp of character. Her literary training was Canadian, and it is from her native soil that she derives her original literary impulse. Tn his fine novel, “The False Chevalier,” and in other stories, Mr. W. B. Lighthull has shown an intimate acquaintance with French-Canadian _his- tory, and has vividly delineated the period of which he writes. He has also rendered good service to the cause of natural literature. In his self-reliance, his great industry, and his determination to make the best of the mental outfit with which Providence has provided him, and in a certain adventurous courage, Sir Gilbert Parker is very typical of the Canadian young man, and Canadians are proud of the position which his special genius, added to the qualities which his country breeds, has enabled him to attain. He was one of the first to take advantage of the condi- tions of the field occupied by the modern novel, and nothing better illustrates the contrast between those conditions and the previously existing ones than a comparison between the reception accorded to the 1877 Montreal edition of Kirby’s “ Golden Dog” and that which was received, for instance, by “ When Valmond came to Pontiac,” or “The Seats of the Mighty,” eighteen or twenty years afterwards, when they were started on their career by London and New York publishing houses. Sir Gilbert’s work is so well known in England that I shall not carry coals to Newcastle by attempting any extended review of it here. His most success- ful books have, in my opinion, been those with Canadian themes, and he has done much to awaken interest in the history of what was so well called New France, while his portrayal of French-Canadian character is firm and accurate. Among the story-writers who have so success- fully exploited the field of what may be called psychologic zoology there are few who will not acknowledge that the first who ever burst into that well-explored region of jungle, forest and prairie was a Canadian. ‘The first of these stories, with animals instead of human beings for heroes and heroines, so numerous now, appeared in a New York magazine. It was written by Ernest Thompson-Seton, a Canadian from his childhood, and a man in every way fitted to write the interest- ing series of books that have appeared from his pen. In “ Wild Animals I Have Known,” and in his other stories, Thompson-Seton had only to accentuate with an inventive touch his experiences as field naturalist for the Government of Manitoba, and his adventures in the wilds of North-western Canada. It was asa painter that he first displayed his abilities, and his vigorous illustrations add much to the charm of his popular books, . In the THE AUTHOR. stories of the animal kind that C. G. D. Roberts has given us, and to which allusion has already been made, there is perhaps a superior literary flavour, and scarcely less of poignant interest. W. A. Fraser is another well-known and successful Canadian writer who has turned aside from hig chosen path of stirring stories of action and breathless adventure to humanize the buffalo and to make us weep at the intellect and sentiment of the dog ; while Miss Marshall Saunders, although the writer of many bright and clever books, is best known by her “ Beautiful Joe,” a humane work which has been translated into a number of foreign languages, and has been in itself a whole Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. If our Canadian poets have celebrated our flora, our writers of fiction have lifted our fauna to a position of eminence such as has never been occupied by members of the brute creation since their ancestors left Noah’s Ark. There have been other Canadian writers besides Kirby, Gilbert Parker and W. H. Drummond who have turned to the French-speaking province of the Dominion for their material. William McLennan obtained a perfect knowledge both of French- Canadian dialect and character. H.W. Thompson, in his “ Old Man Savarin and Other Stories,” dis- plays much skill in depicting character and much synipathetic insight ; Henry Cecil Walsh, in a volume of stories entitled “ Bonhomme,” is not 80 pronounced in dialect, but is equally true in character-sketching. Mrs. 8. Frances Harrison, both in her book of poems entitled “‘ Rose and Fleurs de Lis” and in her “ Forest of Bourg- Marie,” has given evidences of very accurate observation of the people of Quebec and the scenery that surrounds them, and also of the possession of great literary skill and story-telling capacity. We have already seen how, sixty years ago, the British Constitution was supposed to be suitable literary pabulum for every boy. Many readers of these lines will have a grateful memory of a voluminous writer for boys who thought differently —J. Macdonald Oxley. He belongs by birth to our maritime provinces, and in his time was dux of the Halifax Grammar School. He has done much good literary work besides that in the juvenile department, his pen having borne prolific fruit in all the principal magazines ; but it is as a provider of sound, manly, wholesome fiction for boys, most of it with Canadian themes, that I introduce him here. : Sara Jeanette Duncan (Mrs. Cotes), author of — “A Social Departure,” “An American Girl in ~ London,” ‘The Path of a Star,’ and other — stories, is Canadian born, and is well remembered as a- brilliant member of the staff of a: Toronto  newspaper. Her freshness of conception, her buoyant humour, and her excellent literary craftsmanship, have been very widely appreciated. Agnes C. Laut is another Canadian woman-journalist who has achieved fame in the particular section of the book world of which I am writing. Her ‘‘ Lords of the North” gives a vivid picture of the region of Canada which was the field of the operations of the Hudson’s Bay Company and its great rival, the North-West Company, while her “ Pathfinders of the North-West” attacks existing allotments of fame with a vigorous and unflinching hand. Among those who have commemorated the far west of Canada in books are Clive Phillips-Wolley, Lily A. Lefevre, Julia Henshaw, D. W. Higgins (late Speaker of the British Columbia Legislature), and “ Ralph Connor ” (Rev. C. W. Gordon). The last-mentioned of these is well known through very large editions of “ Black Rock,” “ The Sky Pilot,” “The Man from Glengarry,” and others, both throughout this Continent and on the other side of the Atlantic. His powerful descriptions of the lumber-camp, the mine, and the prairie, and his great moral force, appeal to larger audiences than it has been the lot of any other Canadian author to address. I have come to the end of the space at my dis- posal. I have endeavoured to give some idea of the work of Canadian authors in poetry and fiction, but I have no intention of attempting to construct a Canadian Academy-Pantheon out of the forty names I have mentioned. I would rather imitate the Japanese commander and say that if this army be demolished I can bring up another forty to take its place immediately. For I am conscious that there are many valiant and skilful writers that J have not been able to parade. Heavy guns of history we have, too, and a theological phalanx, besides a small but very admirable corps of skir- mishing essayists, not to mention our more than a corporal’s guard of able and veracious biographers. Bernarp McEvoy. ——___+—>_+—___—_ ANTHONY TROLLOPE. — ++ IJ. Toe Novetistz. HAT action there is in the trilogy, “The V Warden,” “ Barchester Towers,” and “The Last Chronicle of Barset ’—and it is but little—takes place in the quiet ancient close of Barchester Cathedral. But, as compensation, there is a great gallery of portraits. The gentle Bishop Grantly is reverently portrayed, and is admirably contrasted with his son, the Archdeacon, energetic and overbearing. In “Ihe Warden ”’ the THE AUTHOR. 151 latter is unsympathetic; but further acquaintance in the next book renders him more acceptable, and when he is opposed to the crafty Slope his faults become virtues: eyen at his worst, the Archdeacon is a gentleman. The hen-pecked Bishop Proudie is a poor creature, under the thumb of his wife, who recalls inevitably the Mrs. Caudle of the “ Curtain Lectures.” Trollope loved to introduce the charac- ters of one book into the others, and the reader may meet in many a volume with the Duke of Omnium, the De Courcys, Doctor Thorne, Miss Dunstable, and the Proudies among others. The author only killed Mrs. Proudie after overhearing a conversation between two clergyman at the Atheneum Club, who, discussing the books, and especially this character, remarked that they would not write novels at all unless they could invent new figures. ‘Then Trollope went home and killed the bishop’s wife; but he regretted her to the end of his days. Trollope rarely indulged in the luxury of any but the very slightest plot. ‘The Warden” and “ Barchester Towers” have but the merest thread of story, and digressions are frequent. In the former is dragged in a somewhat ill-natured parody of Carlyle, who is re-christened Anticant ; and a reference to Dickens, who figures as Mr. Popular Sentiment ; while many pages are devoted to a disquisition upon the influence of the press, which would be more in place in an essay. In the latter the description of the sports at Ullathorne, and the desires of the Lookalofts to take precedence of the Grenacres are amusing enough, but they irritate because they needlessly stop the action of the tale. In ‘Doctor Thorne” he overcame this fault. He had a more concise tale to unfold— it was suggested by his brother Adolphus—and with the exception of the Duke of Omnium’s dinner- party there is no ground for such a complaint; which may account for the fact that, in his lifetime at least, this was the most popular of his stories. With ‘Doctor Thorne” Trollope also took a broader canvas, and added to the scenes of clerical life the humours of county society. But if he rarely had a plot, he often had a purpose, “I have ever thought of myself as a preacher of sermons, and my pulpit as one which I could make both salutary and agreeable to my audience.” He realised that it was the first duty of the novelist to be readable, and he never allowed his sermon to interfere with the story. The strongest theme he ever introduced is in “The Vicar of Bullington,” where he introduced a girl to whom he refers—to save ears polite—as a castaway. How is the woman to return to decency to whom no decent door is opened, is the problem he put before his readers? He held that what was sauce for the gander should be sauce for the goose, 152 in so far at least, that while the fatted calf is killed for the prodigal son, pardon should not be withheld for the erring daughter. In ‘‘ The Way We Live” he tilted against commercial profligacy ; and having taken: in hand the satirist’s whip, he turned it against girls who sunk their self-respect in their eagerness to secure husbands, young men who were too selfish to abate a single luxury for the sake of matrimony, and against the puffing pro- pensities of authors. Elsewhere he had a word to say of mothers who would not nurse their children, and he indulged in quiet raillery when he raised the question of doctors’ etiquette. But he was no satirist. His method lacked delicacy; he used the bludgeon instead of the scalpel. He was at his best when exposing the shams of society, and castigating arrogance, undue pride of race, and snobbishness generally, which he did as fervently, though not so humourously, as Thackeray. He endeavoured to make vice repellent and virtue attractive, and to secure the reader’s affection for the good, the beautiful, and the true. Trollope never troubled about novel situations or dramatic effects. As often as not there is no denouement ; and he was quite indifferent to the advantage that might accrue from the preservation of some ignorance as to the ending of the tale. If a book was not good enough to be independent of mystery, which could always be solved by a glance at the last chapter, why then, in his opinion, it was worthless. The result of this feeling caused him often to interrupt the narrative to assure the reader that all would be well in the end, and that the heroine would not marry A., the fortune-hunter, or B., the unworthy, but C., who was her affinity. This naturally weakened the interest that otherwise might be felt for the lady. But Trollope was perhaps never entirely at his ease with his lovers. In “The Warden,’ where the love interest is between Bold the reformer and Eleanor Harding, the figures are not very real ; and in “ Barchester Towers,” where Eleanor reappears as a widow, it is not easy to be very anxious about her admirers. The affairs of sweet Lucy Mary Thorne and Frank Gresham, and Lord Lufton and Lucy Robarts, are, however, a marked improvement. Trollope did not take for his province the matters of life and death. He was pre-eminently a chronicler of small-beer ; and he was at his best when dealing with such trifles as the appointment to a deanery or a wardenship and the consequent intrigues. His humour found its most pleasing field when describing such scenes as those which constitute the duel between Mrs. Proudie and the crafty Slope for the control of the bishop. His favourite devices were the pursuit of an heiress by impecunious admirers, and the courtship of a maid of comparatively low degree by the squire or the THE AUTHOR. lord of the manor. These he introduced. into more than one story. For the most part his characters are of flesh and_ blood. He presented neither devils nor saints; and, if he had a weakness for heroines, his heroes were rather poor creatures. His bad men were Slope, Henry Thorne, Sir Roger Scatcherd and his son, Louis Philippe. It cannot be said that he was as successful with his good young men. They were as unstable as water; and their hearts were so little under control that they flitted from girl to girl, even after they had to all intents and purposes plighted their troth. His girls were better drawn: Lucy Robarts, Kate Woodward, and Mary Thorne, charming: creatures all; and excellent, too, is Griselda Grantly, who when she hears from her mother that, at the eleventh hour, her marriage may be broken off, remarks placidly, ‘Then, mamma, I had better give them orders not to go on with the marking.” He was happier still with his elder men. Archdeacon Grantly has already been mentioned ; and Harding, whom Trollope pre- sented confidently to the reader, “not as a hero, not as a man to be admired and talked of, not as a man who should be toasted at public dinners and spoken of with conventional absurdity as a perfect divine, but as a good man without guile, believing humbly in the religion which he had striven to teach, and guided by the precepts which he had striven to learn.” A fine fellow, Harding, and a credit to his cloth. Admirable, too, was Doctor Thorne, with his loving, trusty heart, and almost womanly tenderness ; but somehow it seems wrong to have married him to Miss Dunstable. But then Trollope wanted everybody to be happy at the end of the last chapter of the last volume. The author’s favourite was Plantagenet Palliser : “Tf he be not a perfect gentleman, then am I unable to describe a gentleman.” Plantagenet is all that is claimed for him; but the greatest character in all the books is the Rev. Mr. Crawley, who ranks with the best creations of modern fiction. This unhappy gentleman, whose pride prevents him, owing to his poverty, from associat- ing with his equals, and who is anxious only to hide from the world the barrenness of his house- hold. At last, when his wife falls ill, he is com- pelled to allow the aid of his friends ; and at the end, when his pride is conquered, he thanks Lucy Robarts for all she has done, he seems to reach the level of some great patriarchal figure of old. “May God Almighty bless you, Miss Robarts. You have brought sunshine into this house, even in the time of sickness, when there was no sun- shine ; and He will bless you. You have been the Good Samaritan, binding up the wounds of the afflicted, pouring in oil and balm. To the mother of my children you have given life, and to me you  have brought light, and comfort, and good words —making my spirit glad within me as it has not peen gladdened before. All this hath come of charity, which vaunteth not itself, and is not puffed up. Faith and hope are beautiful, but charity exceedeth them all.” And, having so spoken, instead of leading her to the carriage, he went away and hid himself. There is nothing finer in Trollope, and perhaps nothing better in English fiction. ‘Also he excelled in the presentation of what, in theatrical parlance, are styled “ character parts,” such as the Countess de Fourcy, Lady Arabella Gresham, Lady Lufton, Miss Thorne of Ullathorne, Martha Dunstable, the Oil of Lebanon heiress, and Lady Glencora. The latter ranked among the author’s favourites. “She is by no means a per- fect lady ; but if she be not all over a woman, then am I not able to describe a woman.” In this category comes Mrs. Proudie and Mademoiselle Neroni ; but the portrait of the latter, an unscru- pulous coquette, was by no means a success. What ‘Trollope said of “Barchester Towers a may be said of most of his books. “ The story was thoroughly English. There was a little fox- hunting and a little tuft-hunting, some Christian virtue and some cant. There was no heroism and no villainy. There was much Church, but more love-making. And it was honest, downright love.” To this need only be added that some- times there was a little electioneering. Trollope had some pathos and a quiet humour that vented itself not so much in the dialogue as in the delineation of the characters. Nor did he lack tenderness, as all are aware who have read of Arabin’s courting of Eleanor Bold : “ And now it remained to them each to enjoy the assurance of each other’s love. And how great that luxury is! How far it surpasses any other pleasure which God has allowed to His creatures! And to a woman’s heart how doubly delightful! When the ivy has found its tower, when the delicate creeper has found its strong wall, we know how the parasite plants grow and prosper. They were not created to stretch forth their branches alone and endure without protection the summer’s sun and the winter’s storm. Alone they but spread themselves on the ground, and cower unseen in the dingy shade. But when they have found their firm sup- porters, how wonderful is their beauty ; how all- pervading and victorious! What is the turret without its ivy, or the high garden-wall without its jasmine, which gives it beauty and fragrance ? The hedge without the honeysuckle is but a hedge. There is a feeling still half existing, but now half conquered by the force of human nature, that a woman should be ashamed of her love till the husband’s right to her compels her to acknowledge THE AUTHOR. 153 it. We would fain preach a different doctrine. A woman should glory in her love; but on that account let her take the more care that it be such as to justify her glory.” As the preceding passage shows clearly enough, Trollope wrote easily and without strain. But his style generally was undistinguished. There are no purple patches, no fine passages of description, nor are there many scenes which the reader feels impelled to re-read again and again. He was no phrase-maker, and epigrams are few and far between ; but occasionally a page is lit up with a flash of Disraelian wit. We read of the Duke of Omnium, who “was very willing that the Queen should be Queen so long as he was allowed to be the Duke of Omnium” ; and of the Hon. George De Courcy, who “ for his part liked to see the people go quiet on Sundays. The parsons had only one one day in seven, and he thought they were fully entitled to that.” Trollope’s best books are veritable human docu- ments, and his scenes are as true to life as his characters ; while his peers, his county families, squires, political folk, clergymen, doctors, attor- neys, civil servants, are so many accurate portraits of the men and women of the time. Within his limits he did excellent work ; and the fact that he was for many years prior to his death the most popular of English writers of fiction is a tribute alike to his powers and to the public which had the discernment to recognise them. He must for ever rank high among the exponents of English county life in mid-Victorian times; and the day cannot be far distant when he will take his place, not perhaps with the greatest English novelists, but certainly not far below them. Lewis MELVILLE. ——————_1 > _____ COMMERCIALISATION OF LITERATURE. es R. HENRY HOLT, of the firm of Messrs. Henry Holt & Co., of New York, has written a very interesting article in the Atlantic Monthly on “The Commercialisation of Literature.” The article is prompted by “The Confessions of a Publisher,” a book which was reviewed some months ago by Mr. Bernard Shaw in these columns, but though it deals incidentally with the book and the review referred to, this is not the main object of the paper. Its title is its own explanation. At first it appeared desirable, with the permission of the Editor, to republish the paper in Zhe Author, but, as it extends to twenty-three pages of the review, it would be much too long for the pages of this magazine. In these circumstances a few remarks on the contents will serve the purpose. 154 The article is divided into three parts. Part 1, “ Author and Publisher.” Part 2, ‘‘ Publisher and Publisher.” Part 3, “ Publisher and the Public,” The first part is interesting as containing the opinions of an American publisher; but its subject, frequently dealt with in 7'he Author, presents little that is really fresh, but it may be mentioned that Mr. Holt takes a very pronounced attitude against the position of the agent. He says in one place, “The agent can be very useful in arranging the business of a few authors popular enough to be published in both serial and book form in England, the United States, Canada, and Australia, and sometimes—occasionally through translations—in other places, although such business could be as well, and perhaps better, arranged by a competent publisher.” ‘This is the publisher’s opinion. The real facts of the case, as far as English authors are concerned, have frequently been set forth in these columns. The publisher is the worst person to whom to entrust these rights. When he is entrusted to obtain the United States copyright he makes an effort—a small effort—through his United States agent and drops the matter, as it is very often a better financial business for him to sell sheets or stereos to the United States market than to secure the copyright for the author. Over and over again this position has been laid before the Secretary of the Society, with the same result and the same dissatisfaction on the part of the author. Where, as in some cases, the publisher has given the author sufficient notice of his inability to obtain the United States copyright, the author has with business promptitude carried the matter through himself. The result has generally been satisfactory. Again, publishers often delay the publication of a book quite unwarrantably in order to obtain a serial market for the work, and their whole method of procedure proves that the machinery at their offices is unsatisfactory to obtain this end ; and lastly, publishers charge from 25 per cent. to 50 per cent. for doing this small agency business, and unblushingly take the sums which result while they are crying out about the extravagant charges of agents. The writer continues : “ Among the first things the literary agent set himself to do, in London at least, was to break down the old relations between authors and publishers, and to make their connection mainly a question of which publisher would bid highest.”” We do not know what this “old rela- tion” may have been—an “old relation” may sometimes be a nuisance—but here again the publisher, looking at the matter from his own point of view, has overlooked the patent fact that if “the old relations” between publisher and author had been satisfactory the agent would never have existed, but the publishers so frequently and on THE AUTHOR. so many occasions took advantage of the author's ignorance that it became necessary to have some business head intervening who could put the literary wares on the market satisfactorily. The publishers alone are to blame for the creation of the agent, and although they may not find hig methods entirely satisfactory, they must remember that the position of this middleman is due to their own fault. The agent may—as in this imperfect world nothing is perfect—bring his disadvantages with him—and the publisher may perhaps suffer more than ghe author; but, as in all cases of natural evolution, if a part is unneces- sary it atrophies, if an agent is unnecessary between the creation of the book and the public demand for it, he will gradually decay and die out ; but his continued existence tends to show that he is a necessity. “A literary agent told me that among authors the feeling is quite frequent that the publisher ig to be squeezed to the last possible cent. The agents have not been slow to please their clients by falling in with this feeling. Between them, the publisher has lately been treated merely as a corpus vilum to be exploited for money.” Though we can but guess at the meaning of corpus vilum, it is pleasing to see that at any rate the publisher has fathomed the lack of gender of the corpus, although his classical education does not seem to have carried him further, but if the agents have experimented on the publisher’s body again it must appear that the publishers are respon- sible for the situation. He goes on to talk about the publisher as “ golden goose,” and ‘‘ who are to look after the agents?” It is impossible to think that the old fallacy that the publisher is the “ golden goose” can still exist, though, of course, here again, it is not the goose but the egg that is golden—in this distinction lies the very point of the story. The ovum of the publisher’s fortune—golden or not—must come from the author, who is, if the evidence of many hundreds of contracts goes for anything, very often the goose, as far as the busi- ness incidents are concerned. As to the question of who will protect the author from the agent, in Great Britain, at any rate, the author has some kind of safeguard owing to the position of the Society of Authors, though we regret to say in the United States no such substantial body exists, able, to act promptly as legal defenders of the author and guardian of his property. It is whispered that this position arises owing to the fact that a great many of the best-known authors in the United — States are “in the pockets of the publishers.” Finally, the feelings of the publisher are poured — forth in the following quotation, in which he seems — to have burst through all restraint and to have laid bare his heart : me  “J unhesitatingly say that in carrying his functions farther”—(this refers to the agent’s capacity as a lawyer to look over contracts and an auditor to check the accounts)—“ the agent has been the parent of most serious abuse, has become a very serious detriment to literature and a leech on the author, sucking blood entirely out of pro- portion to his later services, and has already begun to defeat himself. These are hard truths, and [ shall probably find it expensive to tell them, but they need telling, and I am trying to do justice to the better side of the agent’s activities as well.” Generous publisher ! So far the first portion of the article has come under consideration. : The second portion, “ Publisher and Publisher,” does not carry with it very much of interest, but the third part, ‘Publisher and the Public,” is fall of fresh statements on the advertising of hooks. Referring to the author of “ Confessions,” Mr. Holt observes: “He states about the adver- tising of books nobody knows anything,” bat proceeds to point out that the writer appears to know a great deal, and that finally he shows how there are three kinds of books from the advertiser's point of view. ‘‘ The first class do not need adver- tising, the second class cannot be helped by it, and the third class can. Much money spent on Class 1 is wasted. All money spent on Class 2 is wasted. Money can be profitably spent, then, only on Class 3.” Mr. Holt then proceeds to make the following statement : “The sales of books that do not need much advertising constitute the bulk of the mis- cellaneous publishing business, and nearly all of the business done at a profit, while books, which will not return dollar for dollar spent in advertising, make up the bulk of the remainder. If this is trae, my class three, that will return a profit on advertising, cannot be a very large class.’ He goes on to quote an instance where a book was put on the market by a publisher and hardly went at all. One of the firm happened to read it ; considered it would be likely to respond to advertising, and began to advertise. The book responded ; he continued to advertise ; and the book still responded, but as soon as he abandoned the advertising the book ceased to sell, and it was found that the amount of money spent in advertising had taken away all the profits on the book from its increased sales. According to Mr. Holt’s judgment, therefore, a book of this kind ought to have died at birth because it does not pay the publisher to push it. ‘This trade point of view is exceedingly interesting and important, and demonstrates the fact which must often be brought to the minds of authors and is constantly in evidence in the work of the Society, namely, that publishing is a business ; that THE AUTHOR. 155 the author’s reputation is, in the majority of cases, of little account to the publisher ; and that the old worn-out statement of the ‘old relations” between author and publisher, as a general rule, cannot be substantiated. To quote another instance which often comes before us. A publisher will take a book of an author; will print about 1,500 copies ; will sell in the first three or four months about 800 or 900 on the English market and 400 or 500 to the United States or the Colonies; will thus turn over his money with little advertising and little effort, and secure to himself a sound per- centage on it. He will then refuse, having broken up the type, to publish another edition, finding that the further circulation is not worth the trouble that may have to be expended upon it either in money or application. The author, therefore, finds that in three or four months his book is dead, and the publishers complain of the short life of the modern novel, while, in a great many cases, their own business methods are responsible for this result. The next point which Mr. Holt makes is the rage for advertising which has seized some of the pub- lishers in the United States, and his deduction is that many publishers have been badly bitten ; have found that the excess of advertising does not pay and that a reaction is now setting in. He is inclined to think, and, no doubt, his deduction is correct, that good reviews, with a small amount of advertising, are the best things for a book. A liberal advertiser in the United States market men- tions 800 dollars for the advertisement of a book he desires to boom, but this Mr. Holt considers excessive, and thinks that very few books would stand 800 dollars. He continues:: “Let us be bold and enterprising: for that’s the present fashion, and risk 300 dollars on each book. Where do we come out? ‘Take as an example a house that advertises thirty new booksa year. As we have figured 9,000 dollars would be a very liberal amount to spend in initial advertising before books show to which class they belong.” He thinks the statement about spending 30,000 or 50,000 dollars a year must either be incorrect or a great waste of money. While stating that all figuring on the question must be based on assumption and guess-work and the results be conjectural, he figures out as follows :— «A house advertising thirty books a year may, with fair success, reach a year’s sale of about 200,000 copies, of which 80,000 would be fairly apt to come in class three. Half of these, say 40,000, could reasonably be expected to pay for their advertising. A net profit on them, exclusive of advertising, would reasonably be about 15,000 dollars ; then the small publishing house would, according to the 156 author of ‘A Publisher’s Confession,’ have to pay out of this 15,000, from 20,000 to 40,000 dollars in advertising. Now I have proved too much, or our author has asserted an error, or our publishing house has failed. Each is probably the case.” These figures are of great importance, and Mr. Holt goes on to state that of the dozen publishers who meet at monthly lunches in New York, who are leaders of the trade, one of them never spent over 25,000 dollars in any one year, a second never spent so much, and a third, he has reason to believe, never spent half of it. It is probable, therefore, if Mr. Holt’s figures are correct, that the reaction in United States advertising must set in pretty severely or all the United States publishing houses will be ruined. He is afraid that some of the English publishing houses have been bitten by the One or two, perhaps, but same advertising mania. not more. In dealing with this subject, he quotes an amus- ing remark by Prof. Cooley, who says that com- petition varies inversely as the intelligence and character of the customers appealed to, and that competition in advertising is the same as any other competition. ‘Is it too much to say that the vulgarest things are the most widely advertised, and that wide advertising, while it has its justifica- tions, inevitably has, unless it conveys knowledge that people actually want, a note of vulgarity ?” If, therefore, his reasoning is correct, wide advertis- ing, successful as regards other utilities, is false as regards books ; and that it is so, is proved, not only by previous experience, but by the fact that reckless advertising is on the decline, but surely it is not the case, as he seems to think that this state of affairs is prompted by the passage of the International Copyright Law. From a full consideration of the arguments put forward, the following deductions may be drawn : That publishing is a business ; that if advertise- ments do not pay the publisher, books will not be advertised, although such advertising might help the author; that, as in other businesses, so in publishing, there is no sentiment ; that the “old relations” between author and publisher, except in a few cases, never really had any existence unless the author was blind to his own interests ; that good reviews are the best means of selling books ; that these are no good or very little good unless coupled with judicious advertising ; that judicious advertising does not necessarily mean a large expenditure. : There is another point which Mr. Holt has not touched upon and which may not, perhaps, be a feature in United States publishing, and that is, the advantage of a good traveller. There are some houses in England obtaining very large sales for their books owing to the fact that they have THE AUTHOR. travellers whose knowledge of the booksellers in various cities and of the clientéle of these book- sellers is “ peculiar and extensive,” and who have a correct knowledge of the contents of the book or books which they are travelling. Such a person is of more value to a publisher than many advertise- ments, for gradually the booksellers begin to trust his knowledge, and in their turn, if they are good business men, begin to push his wares among their book-buyers. It is, however, to be regretted that many of the travellers employed fail conspicuously in the knowledge of the wares in which they are dealing. Here again it is clear that the marketing of books is entirely different from the marketing of other wares. A sample in the case of merchandise is sufficient, and the retailer has his remedy if the merchandise does not come up to the sample ; but in the case of books each book has an identity of its own, and cannot, therefore, be travelled in the same way. This point of view may not occur in the United States, where distances are so large and travelling so expensive, but there is no doubt that careful attention should be paid to it in the English market—much more attention than is at present customary. Thanks must be rendered to Mr. Holt for his enlightened and elucidating article, and, no doubt those—publishers and booksellers—whose business is the sale of books, will profit by his remarks. G. H. T. —-——+—— WRITERS’ YEAR BOOK.* —1—— + —_ HE credit for the inception of this little book was due to Miss Irene Bastow, who, we believe, drifted into journalism from typing, instead of, as is more often the case, taking up typing after seeking in vain a market wherein to sell, and not throw away, carefully penned MSS. Miss Bastow’s scheme was a practical one. She set about obtaining information from every English periodical of standing, first, regarding the style and length of copy accepted from outside con- tributors, and secondly, the rates of payment made, when such promises would be fulfilled, and whether the contributor should send in an account. Such knowledge she compressed into a small com- pass by means of abbreviations from the letters A to Q. Not only did she economise her time and energy in a way that experienced free-lances had done before her, but she desired to let her fellow- strugglers in journalism benefit by her discoveries. This intention she carried out in a way as * « The Writers’ and Artists’ Year Book, 1906, a Directory for Writers, Artists and Photographers.” Adam & Charles Black. Is. net. THE AUTHOR. altruistic as it was commercial, by offering the information within two green covers at the price of a shilling. Yet the book was often difficult to procure. Its date of issue was irregular. Doubtless it involved too much work for one busy person to attend to, or the then publishers had not the necessary machinery to exploit it properly. Thus, owing to the difficulty of getting the useful little green manual, in its flimsy paper wrapper, the impression had of late gone abroad that the « W. Y. B.” was dead. It is therefore pleasant to chronicle that, on the 15th ult., this scribblers’ erutch rose like a phcenix from the ashes. Although it is now clad in blazing Scarlet, as befits a fiery phoenix, it bears the imprint of Messrs. Black. Albeit its blushes are vivid, they are substantial ; for its cover is of cloth, without an advance being made on the original charge of 1s. Despite the fact that various press guides have appeared annually for many years with the object of obtaining advertisements for the periodi- cals noted, Miss Bastow was the first to bring out a press guide, the prime motive of which was to impart practical information to contributors, un- obtainable elsewhere. It should be gratifying to her, therefore, that this little book is likely to become a hardy annual, since it has been taken over by the old-established firm which published three editions of the Encyclopedia Britannica and bought the copyright of the Waverley Novels. THE PREFACE. Previous issues of the W. Y. B. have appealed _ to free-lances partly because the standpoint of the editor was a purely business one and there was no flummery in the introduction. We regret, therefore, on opening this reissue of the book, to read “of all pleasant forms of work few are more delightful than that (sic) which falls to the lot of the free-lance, who is fairly confident of finding a market for his work.” Apart from slipshod grammar, the sentiment conveyed savours of cheap-jack auctioneering. Made solemnly in cold print, it is calculated to augment the already too numerous army of unemployed scribblers. After its flaming red cover has fired the imagina- tion of many half-baked young men and women, the misleading words in the preface are not un- likely to cause them to relinquish some regularly paid employment in order to reduce still further the paltry remuneration too often offered to out- siders by editors. But this year the familiar W. Y. B., to be quite in the fashion, has been given a double- barrelled name. It is now called _ the “W.A. Y.B.,” or the “ Writers’ and Artists’ Year Book.” Prominence is imparted, in heavy type, 157 to those periodicals which accept illustrations, because this is a pictorial age. The fact that the ever-increasing host of illustrators ‘‘ bids fair to rival in numbers even the mighty army of con- tributors ” should, of itself, have sufficed to show what an ample market there is for the new Red Book, without. the need of hampering the domgs of the aforesaid mighty army by an unwieldy gang of camp followers. Good wine needs no bush. It is surely inexpedient to “puff” the wine in the W. Y. B. by making any statement calculated to do a disservice to and alienate former purchasers, or still further embarrass editors whose budgets of unsolicited communications already exceed their powers of fair examination. If a well educated quart cannot be contained within a pint measure, is it seemly to invite the semi-educated gallon to seek a bubble reputation by toppling over into the mouth of the self-same pewter, which, as every school-board prodigy knows, is only capable of admitting an eighth part of a gallon ? The copyright section of last year has been ex- cluded from the present issue. This is as well. The attempt of the compiler to give a digest of the Copyright Acts so that writers might have a hazy idea of how legally to protect their interests, was no doubt laudable. But such matters are more ably dealt with in Chap. V. of Besant’s ‘* Pen and the Book.” ALPHABETICAL List OF PERIODICALS. Out of 75 pages 50 are devoted to a list of journals and magazines issued mostly in London. This, therefore, forms the bulk of the book, the reputation of which stands, or falls, by the accuracy and utility of this section. On the whole, the periodicals noted seem to have been selected with careful discrimination. A favourable point is that the alphabetical list is not loaded unnecessarily by the enumeration of provincial papers in which local amateurs make their gratuitous débuts, and con- cerning which conditions of acceptance are easily ascertainable on the spot. Omission, however, of the former abbreviations already alluded to— regarding times of publication and various informa- tion about payment—to our mind, militates against quick identification of the precise enlightenment a writer may seek, especially if he has become accus- tomed to the letters in former issues. By their elimination, it would appear that the publishers now take the side of the editor who may advertise in the W.A.Y.B., rather than that of the free-lance who buys the book. Be that as it may, the para- graphs do not now reveal at a glance, as was formerly the case, those periodicals whose editors responded fully to the circulars and thereby showed that they welcomed the outsider. Beginning with 158 the letter A, it appears that the editor of the W.A.Y.B. is not an anti-vivisectionist ; for, while the “ Animals’ Friend” is given, the “ Animals’ Guardian” is ostracised. ‘The weekly “ Army and Navy Gazette” is duly noted, but the monthly « Army and Navy Chronicle” is omitted. While the “Art Journal,” price 1s. 6d. appears, the shilling ‘Art Decorator” is conspicuous by its absence. Although the “ Baptist Times and Freeman”’ is notified, the older publication of the same denomination, ‘‘ The Baptist,” is over- looked. Moreover, in a manual inaugurated by a lady, it is passing strange that the twopenny monthly “Beauty and Health”? should be unrecorded. Surely, for facile and nimble pens, there is much good copy suggested by such a pretty subject. ‘To free-lances, the practice of printing the names of editors is sometimes useful. It is always interesting. It is scarcely fair, there- fore, that while the name of the editor of “ Baby, the Mother’s Magazine” should be given, that of the “ Author” is omitted. PUBLISHERS. There are numerous omissions in this list. We can well understand an old-established firm looking askance at many mushroom houses that grow up around it. But if the W.A.Y.B., as its preface implies, is intended for the free-lance, it is often the small outside publisher who gives the non- established author his first opportunity of bringing out a book. Another year, therefore, it would be well to make this section more complete. It excludes, for instance, the Art & Book Co., Ltd., Thomas Baker, Brown, Langham & Co., Catholic Truth Society, Caxton Publishing Co., W. H. and L, Collingridge, the De la More Press, and Bertram Dobell. Space precludes further detailed investiga- tion. The fact that the business of Mr. Grant Richards continues, under the name of E. Grant Richards, is not noted. LITERARY AGENTS. Here we have only seven names instead of five times that number, no mention being made of the Cambridge Literary Agency, Central News Agency, London News Agency, National Press Agency, and so forth. In conclusion, whilst welcoming the reappear- ance of this useful manual, we venture to suggest that the excellent list of “ Pseudonyms and Pen Names” given in the ‘“ Who’s Who Year Book,” published by the same firm, might be transferred to the W.A.Y.B., as well as particulars of literary societies and clubs, in the next edition. A. R, THE AUTHOR. A NOTE ON THE WORD “ AUTHOR.” —t : E may suppose that the spelling and pronunciation of author commend them- selves to learned men. Nevertheless, both are abnormal, if not extraordinary, as may be seen by consulting the New English Dictionary. The name means “originator,” or “one who makes a work to grow”; from the Latin ace, auctorem, one who makes to grow, from augere, to wax. The old Norman form was, at first, autur, then autour; but some scribes, who were accus- tomed to the Greek th in Thomas and thyme, chose to vary the form to authour, without intending any difference in the sound ; and this misleading custom became popular. Soon people began to suppose, naturally enough, that the th was the English fh, of native origin, and pronounced the word accord- ingly; sometimes varying the form to author, with but one vw. And this is how the sound of th gob into a word of Latin origin. But Thomas and thyme have preserved their Norman ¢f to the present day, with the Norman sound of ¢; whilst the Middle English zeaére, teme, and trone have been turned into theatre, theme, and throne. All these five words are pronounced as with ¢in French; and so is the French auteur, | Water W. SKEAT. a 8 CORRESPONDENCE. —-—~< > A PRovest. Srr,—No one can detest the attitude of the public-complainer more than I, but there are occasions when one has no option but to adopt it. May I have a little space in which to do so now, and to call attention to a piece of literary imitation too close to pass unnoticed. I refer to a new book called “The Footpath Way: An Anthology for Those who Travel by the Country-Side,” compiled by Alfred H. Hyatt, and published by Mr. Foulis of Edinburgh. In every way except the cover (which had already been borrowed by another firm for a book called “The Voice of the Mountains), in its title, sub-title, format, its editorial note and acknowledgment, its arrangement of headlines, its use of mottoes, and, to the extent of many pages, — in its contents, this volume copies my anthology — “The Open Road,” although neither that work nor myself is (perhaps not unnaturally) ever men- tioned ; and to add to the flattery, at the end of “The Footpath Way” an annoancement that the same editor and publisher have in preparation — “The City’s Heart: A Little Anthology of the Town ;” which also is to be divided into sections [  approximating to those in my recent volume “ The Friendly Town: A Little Book for the Urbane. There is no doubt plenty of room for new antho- logies both of country and town life, and I should be one of the last to complain of ordinary competition. But “The Footpath Way” bears so many traces (yet not quite enough, I am advised, for the law to interfere to protect Messrs. Methuen and myself) of a kind of competition which happily is extra- ordinary, that 1 feel compelled to draw this attention to the matter. When one man has devised a special form of book, and brought to its arrangement sufficient thought and taste to give it several original characteristics and a personal quality, it Is a menace to conscientious authors if another is encouraged in the production of imitations as close (and apparently safe) as “The Footpath Way.” I am, yours faithfully, E. V. Lucas. st Tue Literary YEAR Book, 1906. Srr,—To review a reviewer is seldom desirable and sometimes disagreeable, especially if, as in the present instance, a grateful acknowledgment of criticism in the past is resented as “very pretty blandishments.” Accordingly, whatever gratitude I may feel for your notice (in eight columns) of the current issue of my “ Year Book,” I shall, as before, endeavour to express it by improvements in the next edition. At the same time, I should like to point out that your deprecation of “ pre- judice” and “uncharitable” feeling in the final paragraph of your long review is, perhaps, a little belated. You state there, very kindly, that you “have no desire to detract from the unquestioned value of the major part of the material,” and that it is not your “intention to overlook the usefulness of much solid stuff by unduly magnifying the flaws we have come across.” Now, in regard to the ethics of reviewing, I think this principle is accepted as according with the common laws of fairness, that praise and blame should be proportionate to the good and bad elements in the book. If “ the major part of the material’ is of “ unquestioned value,’ the major part of the reviewer's task should be to point out its merits. If the good and the bad are related as “inuch solid stuff” to “ flaws,’’ the preponderance of criticism should be in the scale of praise. If, as you further state, “there is much advantage to be derived ” from the book by precisely that class for whom it is intended (‘those who live dependent on the pen”), they may reasonably expect not to find its merits tucked away at the foot of the eighth column. ‘his is merely a THE AUTHOR. 159 question of proportion, and I venture to think that your really helpful review is, in effect, not fair to the book, inasmuch as the general impression which you create does not accord with your favourable opinion of its “ major part,” and is not removed by the gui s’excuse s’accuse phrases at the close of the review. With regard to one or two details, 7e Rhymer’s Lexicon was not selected for review because it is published by the same firm which publishes “The Literary Year Book,” and a notice might have looked like an advertisement. In your section headed “ Publishers,’”’ you write, “The list of pub- lishers, we are informed, has been thoroughly revised at first hand. . . . But it comes as a shock to find that the section devoted to ‘ Foreign Pub- lishers’ has not been altered in any way.” The words “in any way” are incorrect, but I am more concerned to note that your reviewer overlooks the statement prefatory to the list of “ Colonial, American, and Foreign Publishers” (p. 403), which runs: “ Every effort has been made to bring these lists up to date, but, owing to the delays of correspondence and to the difficulty of eliciting information at first-hand, it has not been possible toattain to completeness.” Short of making a per- sonal tour through the Colonies, the United States, and the Continent, I fear that these lists will always fall short of absolute accuracy ; but your reviewer's indifference to the genuine hard work devoted to the British section (32 pp.), in order to haye a fling at the Foreign section (12 pp.), without regard to the editorial note, does seem to me a little—it is your own word—* uncharitable.” { do not quite follow the fine words employed at the beginning of your review about “a ‘ Literary Year Book’ worthy of the land of Shakespeare,” and about the “saying of Sir Joshua Reynolds that ‘excellence is never granted to a man but as a reward of labour.’” ‘This sounds a trifle senten- tious in reference to a literary annual, but I remem- ber that Shakespeare also says, “I have had my labour for my travail,” and that Reynolds writes in another place, ‘“ Among men united in the same body and engaged in the same pursuit, occasional differences will arise.” I am cheerfully anxious to bridge those “differences” with fresh “ labour” on my part ; is there nothing wanting on yours ? I am, very truly yours, Tue Eniror, ‘THE LITERARY YeEaR Book.” Broadway House, E.C. 16th January. A REPLY TO THE ABOVE. A propos of the ethics of reviewing, two interesting points are advanced by the Editor of the “ Literary Year Book.” 160 (1) Praise, he maintains, should be proportionate to the good and bad elements in a book. ‘Thus, if the major part is of value, the major part of the reviewer's task should be to praise. May we be permitted to reply by parable? In any review of disciplined troops, the inspecting officer, at the conclusion of a parade when making his report, emphasises, as is his duty, the shortcomings he may have observed, in order that they may be corrected on a future occasion. If his criticisms, conscientiously given, are then cavilled at,a double exhibition of weakness is displayed. (2) As regards the objection to favourable comments coming at the end instead of at the beginning, the question raised is one of peculiar concern. When a reviewer, after examining a book, draws attention to a number of dis- crepancies, but is anxious to show the great service which the volume might render another year after revision, it may be wiser to bestow praise at the end rather than the beginning. In days when congregations enjoyed the “Fourteenthly ” in a sermon, magazine readers thought it a duty to peruse a long article from beginning to end. But now, when everyone thinks he is in a hurry, it is the fashion to turn rather to the last paragraph, and take the cue from it, before beginning to read the whole. The fear that mention of the “Rhymer’s Lexicon” on p. 857 “might have looked like an advertisement” is naive, considering that the publisher’s own firm is fittingly advertised in the body of the book on p. 397. As the Editor considers that we have been indifferent to the “genuine hard work devoted to the British section” of publishers, we take this opportunity of noting that the register in question has been padded out in the present issue by the inclusion of several publishers of music. The first insertion of a music house appeared in the 1901 edition of the “ Literary Year Book,’’ and that entry has since been reprinted annually. We now find, in the 1906 edition, that representatives of the music trade— extraneous to that of bona fide book selling—have been considerably augmented. These “British” music pub- lishers include a German firm under the letter A, and a well-known Italian house under R. Nevertheless, the old- established British houses of Novello & Co (genuine book publishers as well as music sellers), Curwen (publishers of many books on tonic sol-fa as well as sheet music), Ash- down, Metzler, Williams, Weekes, and so on, are not mentioned. Surely, if music publishers are inserted, musical instrument makers should also be added, because a few of these have published books, e.g., Hill & Sons, Hart, and Chanot (on the violin), Rudall Carte (on the flute, besides the ‘ Musical Directory ”), and Brinsmead (on the piano). By the way, the firm that brings out more books on music than any other in London to-day, is William Reeves, Charing Cross Road, whose name is omitted. Music pub- lishers, however, are primarily concerned with the business of music selling. It is a trade distinct from that of book printing or book publishing. To get into touch with recognised sellers of literature, Messrs. Simpkin Marshall, or other distributors, are usually employed by the music firms. There is no need unduly to increase the bulk of the “Literary Year Book.” Such entries are no more valued by the music trade than they are by purchasers of the book itself. Asa proof of this, we refer to the memo- randum at the beginning of the section. It says that those publishers “whose names are marked with an asterisk have not corrected their entries for the present issue.” Only two music publishers appear without an asterisk. Auk. THE AUTHOR. Torems ror AUTHORS. Dear Str,—May I beg for a trifle of space in which to amplify slighily my little paper on totems, which appeared in last month’s Author. It is to the necessity of simplicity in design that I wish to draw attention. The totem, to fulfil perfectly its work of identification, must have two qualities—simplicity and recognisability. Now, though, correctly speaking, a totem is a “natural object . . . one of a class,” it would be absurd for authors to be totemically pedantic when their end would be served equally well by designs representing any well-known manufactured article; therefore by the term “totem” it is understood that I mean any object, natural or manufactured, used as a means to assist identification of an author with his work. Referring back now to my opening remark on the need for simplicity, it seems to me that the ignoring of this by the inexperienced totemist will lead him into one of two difficulties. Supposing him to make use of a natural object for his totem, he will possibly allow his artist to design him quite a pretty little picture—which as a picture may be very admirable ; but as an aid to identification of his name with his work just useless. I can imagine some member of the public asking a friend if he has read Brown’s new book. And the friend asking which Brown. And after that the ineffectual struggles of the first man to describe the pretty little picture which Brown has printed always alongside his name ! Again, in the case of an author making use of a manufactured article for his totem, his artist may feel it in his bones that a teapot or a pair of tongs look “‘ mighty mean”’ without a little softening of the lines, and something of a background. Result —the man in the street is never quite satisfied whether the teapot is a coffee pot, watering can, oil can, antique vase or a shaving pot. While as for the tongs, probably he goes all his days thinking they’re a pair of nutcrackers. No! if you're going to call in the assistance of the totem, let your motto be, “Simplicity and Recognisability.” Clumsy but useful. Something anyone can name at aglance. ‘Tongs ” Smith—‘ Kettle” Hyne— *Camuel” Kipling—“ Whale” Bullen! Who would forget °em? ‘They’re too readily recog- nised and too easily described to be confused or forgotten. Now, in the words of the immoral Drinquobier : “ Who is going to begin an’ make a start?” Yours faithfully, Wiut1am Hore Hopaeson. 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. 16 Issue 05 (February 1906) Subject The topic of the resource <em>The Author</em>, Vol. 16 Issue 05 (February 1906) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 1906-02-01-The-Author-16-5 Type The nature or genre of the resource Publication publications The Author