https://historysoa.com/files/original/5/514/1906-03-01-The-Author-16-6.pdf 8908f18cab0735f745700a60d3028a2f PDF Text Text ���������������������������� Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Author Subject The topic of the resource <em>The Author</em> Description An account of the resource A digitised run of the Society of Authors' monthly periodical, <em>The Author</em>, 1890<span>–</span>1914, made available together for the first time.<br /><br />Currently users can browse issues and <a href="https://historysoa.com/items/browse?search=&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bjoiner%5D=and&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Index&amp;collection=&amp;type=&amp;tags=&amp;exhibit=&amp;date_search_term=&amp;submit_search=Search+For+Items&amp;sort_field=Dublin+Core%2CTitle">indices</a> (not available for all volumes). Full text search for all issues, and other additional search functionality, will be added in 2022. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1890–1914 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context The-Author-Issues Publication Date The date of an event (in YYYY, YYYY-MM or YYYY-MM-DD format) 1906-03-01 Volume 16 Issue 6 Pages Page range in volume 161–188 Ngram Date Version of the date in YYYYMMDD format for use by the Ngram plugin 19060301 Ngram Text Version of the text with no HTML formatting for use by the Ngram plugin FOUNDED BY SIR Che HMutbor. (The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly.) WALTER BESANT. Vou. XVI.—No. 6. [PRIcE 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 epinion of the Committee unless such is especially stated to be the case. Tur Editor begs to inform members of the Authors’ Society and other readers of 7he 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. oo List of Members. Tur 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. — 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. Vou. XVI. Marc# Ist, 1906. This is a statement of the actual stock; the money value can be easily worked out at the current price of the market :— Console 24 % ee. £1000 0 0 Diocal loans «242.202... es 500 0 0 Victorian Government 3 % Consoli- dated Inscribed Stock ............... 291 19 Il War lo06n 2. 201. 9 8 London and North Western 3 % Deben- ture SLOCK =... 250 0 0 Egyptian Government Irrigation Tirnst 4 % Certificates ............--- 200 0 0 Tid £2,448 9 2 ee Subscriptions, 1905. £ 8. a. July 13, Dunsany, the Right Hon. the Lord : : : : 0 5 0 Oct. 12, Halford, F. M. 0 5 0 Oct. 12, Thorburn, W. M. 010 0 Nov. 9, “ Francis Daveen’’. 0 5 0 Noy. 9, Adair, Joseph Lt 8 Nov. 21, Thurston, Mrs. lo Dec. 18, Browne, F. M. 0 5 0 Donations, 1905. Noy. 6, Reynolds, Mrs. Fred. Nov. 9, Wingfield, H. Nov. 17, Nash, T. A. . Dec. 1, Gibbs, F. L. A. Dec. 6, Finch, Madame Dec. 15, Egbert, Henry Dee. 15, Muir, Ward ; Dec. 15, Sherwood, Mrs. A. . Dec. 18, Sheppard, A. T. Dec. 18, 8. F. G. : 1906. Jan. 2, Jacobs, W. W. ‘ : : Jan. 6, Wilkins, W. H. (Legacy) .5 Jan. 10, Middlemas, Commander A. C. Feb. 5, Roe, Mrs. Harcourt Feb. 5, Yeats, Jack B. : Feb. 12, White, Mrs. Caroline Feb. 13, Bolton, Miss Anna cococrorocorFCOrF on — o eocoooccooeo SCMWOCOTRMRWMOMWS cooooeon on THE AUTHOR. COMMITTEE NOTES. — 1 — HE February meeting of the managing com- mittee of the society was held on Monday, the 5th, at 4 p.m., at the offices of the society. After the minutes had been read and signed, the committee proceeded to elect those who had submitted their names for membership and associateship. Eighteen were elected, making the total for the current year forty-two. So far the number of elections is well maintained. Sir Henry Bergne and Mr. A. W. a Beckett, who respectively resigned from the chairmanship and vice-chairmanship, were re-elected to fill these positions, and accepted their re-election. The secretary reported that there was a sum of over £270 in the Life Membership Account to be invested as capital of the society. After some deliberation the committee decided to purchase West Australian 33 per cent. Inscribed Stock. The committee must congratulate the members on the increase of the invested capital of the society, which now amounts to over £1,000. The approxi- mate date of the general meeting was fixed for the end of March and of the annual dinner for the beginning of May, and the secretary was instructed to make the usual arrangements. When the actual dates have been fixed, the usual notices will be sent round giving information to all the members. ‘Three or four important cases were carefully investigated by the committee. Owing to their confidential nature, it is impossible to place the details before the members, but the com- mittee decided on one question to obtain a legal opinion from their American lawyer. Another case dealing with infringement in the Colonies was adjourned pending further information. The committee regret to say that the case which they carried through the Courts at Munich has terminated unsatisfactorily, owing to the fact that the most important witness disappeared, and the defendants have been unable to pay their creditors, and cannot be found. Acting, therefore, on the advice of the lawyers in Munich, who consider that it would be impossible for the society, even if successful, to recover either the amount they claim or the costs, the committee have decided to withdraw the action. —t—<—+ Cases. Srnce the last issue of Zhe Author ten cases have passed through the secretary’s hands. It is unsatisfactory to report that of these fewer have been settled than in former months. Six were for the return of MSS., and in one of these the MS. has been returned and forwarded to the author. It should be repeated that the question of the deten- tion of MSS. is a very difficult one ; but it is hoped that the other MSS. may be returned in the course of the next month, when the results will be reported. There were two cases for accounts. In one of these the accounts have been settled, and in the other the accounts have been promised shortly. In one case for money a date has been fixed by which the magazine will forward the amount due to the author. One case referred to a dispute on an agreement. It is hoped that the society may be able to negotiate a settlement, as the question is one for amicable arrangement rather than for legal action. There were three cases remaining open from last month, two of them dealing with difficulties arising between publisher and author in America, and the third dealing with a publisher in England who, on former occasions, has ignored the requests of the society until process has been issued against him. No doubt, in this case also, when the matter is placed in the hands of the society’s solicitors a satisfactory arrangement will be made. ———~< + February Elections. Arthur, Julian : . Besant, Miss Celia 18, Clovelly Mansions, Gray’s Inn Road, W.C. 19, Castellain Road, Maida Vale, W. 4, Radnor Road, North Kensington, W. 78, Marine Parade, Brighton. 4, Warwick Mansions, Gray’s Inn, W.C. National Club, 1, Whitehall Gardens, S.W. 1, Alipore Lane, Cal- cutta, India. Stanton, Broadway, Worcestershire. Winforton _—_‘ Rectory, Hereford. Cottingham Rectory, East Yorks. Culham, New Eltham, Kent. 14, Calverley Park, Tunbridge Wells. Pilkington, Col. Henry, Tore, Tyrrells Pass, C.B. Treland. Blanckensee, Mrs. Irma . Caleb, Arthur E. Crichton, Mrs. Delannoy, Burford . Durand, Ralph A. . Eggar, Arthur Harris-Burland, John B. Marshall, Mrs. Frances (Alan St. Aubyn) Minton, Francis. Mitford, Miss Eveline B. Omond, T. 8. ‘ : TAE Hanover ‘Terrace, Regent’s Park, N.W. Cashlauna Shelmiddy, Strete, Dartmouth, Devon. Raphael, Mrs. oes /Yeats, Jack B. Two of those elected in February do not desire either their names or addresses to be printed. —____—__—_e—_______ BOOKS PUBLISHED BY MEMBERS OF THE SOCIETY. + (In the following list we do not propose to give more than the titles, prices, publishers, etc., 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. ) AGRICULTURE, By H. Riper HAGGARD. New Longmans. 3s. 6d. A FarMER’sS YEAR. Impression. 7} x 5}. 489 pp. ART, EARLY ENGRAVINGS AND ENGRAVERS IN ENGLAND (1545—1695). By StpNEY CoLVIN. 203 x 153. 170 pp. British Museum, £5 5s. BIOGRAPHY. PoRFIRIO DIAZ: SEVEN TIMES PRESIDENT OF MEXICO. By Mrs. ALEC TWEEDIE. 9} x 63. 421 pp. Hurst and Blackett. 21s. n. Here AND THERE: MEMoRIES, INDIAN AND OTHER. By H. G. KeEene,C.1.E. 9 x 53. 215 pp. Brown Langham. 10s. 6d. n. DRAMA. Tur Dynasts. A Drama of the Napoleonic Wars, in three parts, nineteen acts, and 130 scenes. Part II. By THomas Harpy. 7} Xx 5}. 302 pp. Macmillan. 4s. 6d. n. EDUCATIONAL. UNDER READER ror BEGINNERS. By Masor F. R. H. CHAPMAN. 10 x 6}. Ill pp. Thacker. 7s. 6d. n. FICTION. Tue ForBIDDEN May. By Coralie STANTON and Hearn Hosken. 7% x5. 310 pp. White. 6s. THe PoRTREEVE. By EDEN PHILLPOTTS. 73 x 5. 364 pp. Methuen. 6s. THE CHAIN OF SEVEN Lives. By HAMILTON DRUM- MOND. 72x 5. 308 pp. White. 6s. Terence O’RouRKE, GuNTLEMAN ADVENTURER. By L. J. VANCE. 7% x 5}. 393 pp. Grant Richards. 6s. TuE BENDING oF A Twic. By Desmonp F, T. CoKn. _ 43x 5. 310 pp. Chapman and Hall. 6s. Mrs. Erricker’s Reputation. By THOMAS COBB. 74x 5. 308 pp. Rivers. 6s. Nature's VAGABOND AND OTHER STORIES. By Cosmo HAMILTON. 74 <5. 384 pp. Chatto and Windus, 6s, AUTHOR. 163 WHITE CARL 327 pp. Hurst and Blackett. 6s. FATE’s INTRUDER. By FRANK SAVILE and Watson. 74x 5. 295 pp. Heinemann. 6s. THE BLUE PETER. By MORLEY ROBERTS. 7? x 5. 348 pp. Nash. 6s. : THE GAMBLER. By KATERINE CECIL THURSTON. 7? x 5. 389 pp. Hutchinson. 6s. THE SCHOLAR’S DAUGHTER. By BEATRICE HARRADEN. 7% x 5. 284 pp. Methuen. 6s. THE GREAT REFUSAL. By MAXWELL GRAY. 381 pp. J. Long. 6s. THE HEALERS. By MAARTEN MAARTENS. 7} x 5. 379 pp. Constable. 6s. THE BisHop’s APRON. By W. SomersET MAUGHAM, 7x x 5. 311 pp. Chapman and Hall. 6s. THE LAPSE OF VIVIEN EApDy. By CHARLES MARRIOTT. 72x 5. 311 pp. Nash. 6s. , THE House oF SHapows. By R. J. FARRER. 335 pp. Arnold. 6s. IN SILENCE. By Mrs. FRED REYNOLDS. 7} x 5}. 336 Hurst and Blackett. 6s. THE HATANEE: A Tale of Burman Superstition. A. Eagar. 7} x 54. 244 pp. Murray. 6s. For LIFE AND AFTER. By Geo. R. SIMs. 344 pp. Chatto and Windus. 6s. THE BuURGLAR'S CLUB: A Romance in Twelve Chronicles. By Henry A. Hertne. 8 x 54. 280 pp. Cassell. 3s. 6d. THe Hanp. By JOUBERT. 72 x 5. A. ET 72 x 5, 7% x 5. 72 x 5. HISTORY. THe History oF ENGLAND FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO THE NORMAN Conqugst. By T. HopGKIn, D.C.L., Litt.D. 9x6. 528 pp. Longmans. 7s. 6d. n. LAW. TeN YEARS’ EXPERIENCE OF SALFORD CouNTY COURTS. PARRY. 9% x 7. THE MANCHESTER AND 3y His Honour JUDGE Sherratt and Hughes. 1s. n. LITERARY. How To READ ENGLISH Mitton. By LAURIE MAGNUS. Routledge. 2s. 6d. ESSAYS IN THE MAKING. By EusTACE MILES. 161 pp. Rivingtons. 3s. 6d. CHAUCER TO 62 x 44. 207 pp. LITERATURE : 7326 51 (=X OG MEDICAL. A HANDBOOK OF CLIMATIC TREATMENT, INCLUDING BALNEOLOGY. By W. R. Hueearp, M.A,, M.D., F.B.C.P. 83x 53. 536 pp. Macmillan. 12s. 6d. n. MISCELLANEOUS. THREEPENCE A DAY FoR Foop. By Eustace MILEs. 64x 4. 94pp. Constable. 1s. n. MUSIC. ORIGINAL RECITATIONS, By MARY SENIOR 11 x 8}. TWENTY-FOUR CHARMING SONGS AND GAMES FOR CHILDREN. CLARK. Set to Music by GAYNOR SIMPSON. Oo. Newmann. THEOLOGY. JOHANNINE GRAMMAR. By E. A. ABBOTT. 9 x 6. 687 pp. SMALL LESSONS OF GREAT TRUTHS. A Book for Children. By A. KATHERINE Parkes. 63 x 44. 92 pp. Methuen. 1s, 6d. ANIMISM : ‘THE SEED OF CLopp. 7 x 4%. 100 pp. RELIGION. By EDWARD Constable & Co, 1s. n.  164 LITERARY, DRAMATIC, AND MUSICAL NOTES. ROFESSOR FLINDERS PETRIE’S new work, “ Researches in Sinai,” published by Mr. Murray, gives an account of the recent expedition with a large working party, which lived in the desert excavating for some months. The oldest Egyptian sculptures known are reproduced, the geology and ancient ruins are described, the conditions of the Exodus are discussed with a new view of the Israelite census, and the life of the Bedouin of Sinai and the Egyptian desert is noticed. “The Gambler,’ Mrs. Thurston’s novel recently published by Messrs. Hutchinson & Co., has for its heroine an impulsive Irish girl who inherits a gambling propensity. ‘The scenes of the story are laid in Ireland, the Continent, and London. Miss Beatrice Harraden’s story, ‘‘ The Scholar’s Daughter,” published by Messrs. Methuen & Co. in the early part of last month, is the tale of an old country house in England, the home of the heroine’s father, who is engaged on the great work of his life, the compiling of a colossal dictionary on new lines. Like most of her former works, the present one is mainly a study of character. In his recently published work on “ Easy Mathematics, chiefly Arithmetic,” Sir Oliver Lodge’s aim has been to interest children and adults in fundamental facts of nature, to exhibit their easy reasonableness, and to remove the stigma of dulness from arithmetical teaching. Although the work is especially adapted to the use of parents and teachers and students who work by themselves, it is hoped that it can be used as a class book also. Mr. John Murray is the publisher. Mrs. Campbell Praed’s new novel, “ The Lost Earl of Ellan,” is running as a serial through the pages of the Canadian Magazine. “The Great Refusal” is the title of a new novel by Maxwell Gray, which Mr. John Long has recently published. The story depicts the conflict of character between two men of diverse tempera- ments: the father, a man of money, and his only son, a man of mind. “For Life—and After,” by Geo. R. Sims, pub- lished by Messrs. Chatto & Windus, is the romance of a woman who suffers penal servitude for life. It strongly illustrates the peril of a conviction founded entirely on circumstantial evidence. The same publishers have also issued a volume of short stories by Mr. Cosmo Hamilton, entitled, “ Nature’s Vagabond.” The first story, from which the book takes its title, deals with the gradual THE AUTHOR. decline into vagabondage of a distinguished Oxford man, and his subsequent return to respectability after experiencing a severe buffeting in the rough- and-tumble of life. “Stories from the Operas” is the title of a volume by Miss Gladys Davidson, which Mr. Werner Laurie is publishing at the price of 3s. 6d. nett. It contains twenty of the more popular tales written simply and in accordance with the operas. Dolf Wyllarde’s novel, ‘The Pathway of the Pioneer,” published by Messrs. Methuen & Co. in the middle of last month, depicts the life of a woman, gently born and educated, who has, through force of circumstances, to earn her own living. Messrs. Chapman & Hall have recently published a work by Mr. G. Ainsley Hight, entitled, “The Unity of Will,” in which the author propounds a new theory of volition and freedom of the human intellect. The published price of the work is 10s. 6d. nett. Mr. Eden Phillpotts’ story, “ The Portreeve,” is one in the chain of narratives he is weaving about Dartmoor, and depicts various aspects of the life and ambitions of its folk. Messrs. Methuen & Co. have published the book, which contains a frontis- piece by Mr. A. B. Collier. The same author is also publishing in Messrs. Newnes’ Sixpenny Series a new story, entitled “The Unlucky Number.” Messrs. Hutchinson & Co. will publish in the spring a new story by the Rev. J. A. Hamilton, author of “The MS. in a Red Box,” entitled “Captain John Lister.” It is a tale of Ax- holme, and the time is the outbreak of the Civil War. Among the earliest publications of Messrs. Brown, Langham & Oo.’s Spring List is a book of reminiscences by Mr. H. G. Keene, C.1.E. Mr. Keene is one of the survivors of the old régime in India, and in this book of memories called ‘* Here and There,” there are many amusing stories of old Haileybury, and of Indian life in days before the Mutiny. The second part of the volume deals with later life spent in London and elsewhere, with gossip about some distinguished persons whom the writer had the fortune to meet on his return from exile. Mr. Keene is the author of “A Servant of John Company,” and ‘Sketches in Indian Ink,” and his reminiscences, which are published at 10s. 6d. nett, with a frontispiece of the author, should appeal with special force to all who have — had experience of Indian life. The same publishers produced early last month — a new and cheaper edition of Mr. Lacon Watson’s “Christopher Deane.” In view of the interest — that has been shown lately in stories of school and college life, ‘ Christopher Deane,” which treats —  of Winchester and Cambridge, should have con- siderable success in its present form. “Mr. Tumpsy,” written by Charles Croft, and published by Mr. Henry J. Drane, is a fairy tale, which, though appealing to children, will not, the author hopes, be found uninteresting to adults. The pieces of music which are scattered throughout the book have been specially arranged to suit the powers of those who play the piano with only one finger. The illustrations to the work are from the pen of Mr. G. E. Kriiger. The scene of Mrs. Philip Champion de Cres- igny’s new novel, which Mr. Eveleigh Nash will publish shortly, is laid in France during the 16th century. The title of the book is “The Grey Domino.” “Pictures from the Balkans,’ which Messrs. Cassell & Co. will publish shortly, is the fruit of an extensive tour of the Near East, which Mr. John Foster Fraser made last autumn. The book will be illustrated from photographs taken by the author. Miss Oliver Katherine Parr (who has, for some time, been a member of the honorary literary staff of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) contributes a special illustrated article on the famous Mount St. Bernard Hospice to the current issue of the Animal World. Under the editorship of Mr. Edward Fairholme, this journal has inaugurated some new features. Con- tributcrs who wish for it are now paid a small remuneration, 10s. per thousand words, and monthly photographic competitions have been opened. The journal is published by Messrs. Partridge & Co. «A Huguenot Heroine,” is the title of a serial by Miss Edith C. Kenyon, which is running through the pages of Our Own Gazette. Messrs. S. W. Partridge & Co., who published Miss Kenyon’s last book, “ Love’s Golden Thread,” have commissioned her to write them a work for this year’s autumn season. «By Law Eternal,” a novel by Geraldine Kemp, has been published by Messrs. Jarrold & Sons at the price of 3s. 6d. The keynotes of the story are heredity and work, and the author deals with one of the gravest ills of life. Pauline, the principal character, inherits from her mother insanity ; from her father strength of character, nobility and intellect, combined with a sound physique. The author’s aim has been to show how, through the influence of power, will, and feeling, properly directed and rationally developed, her sorrowful heritage could be mastered. Messrs. Hurst & Blackett published, in the middle of last month, Mrs. Alec T'weedie’s Life of General Porfirio Diaz, for thirty years President of Mexico. Mrs. Tweedie has compiled this life with TAR AUTHOR. 165 the President’s sanction from authentic diaries and documents placed in her hands for the purpose. It is the life-history of a man who, born in obscurity, has lived a wildly exciting life as a soldier, has played an important part in the history of Maximilian and Carlota, and has now assumed the position of Perpetual President and brought his country from chaos and revolution to peace and prosperity. The volume is published at the price of 21s. nett. Mr. R. H. Sherard’s volume of reminiscences, “Twenty Years in Paris,” which Messrs. Hutchin- son & Co. published recently, has gone into a second edition. Arrangements are in progress for a French and a German translation. “A Veneered Scamp” is the title of a new novel by Miss Jean Middlemass. The story, which is of a sensational nature, is published by Mr. Jobn Long. Dr. Paget’ Toynbee’s book, “ Dante in English Literature,” will be published in the spring by Messrs. Methuen & Co. The work covers a period of 464 years, from the date of Chaucer’s second visit to Italy in 1380 to the death of Cary in 1844. Nearly 300 English writers, who make mention of Dante or quote his works during this period, are traced by Dr. Toynbee. Rather more than forty of these belong to the sixteenth century, about thirty to the seventeenth, and nearly one hundred to the eighteenth, the greater number of the remainder falling within the first forty years of the nineteenth century. The work contains a brief biography of each of the writers mentioned. Mr. Somerset Maugham’s new novel, “The Bishop’s Apron,’ published by Messrs. Chapman & Hall, presents him as a satirist and humourist. The schemes of the ambitious clerical party and the intrigues of the new nobility form the material for the work. Messrs. A. & C. Black have just published Mr. E. A. Reynolds-Ball’s handbook “ Rome, a Practical Guide to Rome and its Environs,” with illustrations in colour by Albert Pisa. Although the work is mainly intended to meet the require- ments of tourists only able to spend a few weeks in the city, it does not neglect the interests of more leisured visitors. It contains, in addition, full details on matters affecting the comfort of the tourist, such as hotel accommodation. Mr. Robert Machray has completed a new serial story dealing with a remarkable and successful case of personation, the truth regarding which is only brought to light by the merest accident. Messrs. Chatto & Windus will publish the story in book form in early autumn. Mr. Fisher Unwin will publish this month a novel by Mrs. Archibald Little, the title of which is “A Millionaire’s Courtship.” A millionaire’s 166 yachting tour forms the groundwork of the story. The book contains many descriptive passages which, however, are subordinated to the interest of the characters. Sir Edward Durand has written, and Mr. Sidney Appleton will publish, a work entitled “ Cyrus the Great King.” It is in the form of a poem depicting the life of the great Persian who figured in the period of war and conquest that only came to a pause with the siege and fall of Babylon. The second volume of the new edition of the Dictionary of Music contains a sympathetic article on Sir George Grove by Mr. C. L. Graves, while Mr. J. A. Fuller Maitland, who is editing it, writes on Grieg, J.iszt, and other composers. The social committee of the Pioneer Club, assisted by Rowland Grey, has arranged what should prove an interesting commemoration of Mrs. Browning’s centenary upon March 6th. Mrs. Meynell has promised to read a paper upon the poems, her relationship with Mrs. Browning making any word from the author of such sonnets as “Renouncement” of fresh interest. Miss Wynne-Matthison will recite two of the sonnets from the Portuguese, and the songs set to ‘‘ Leaving yet Loving,” ‘‘ How do I Love Thee,” “A Sabbath Evening at Sea,” will also be given in the presence of a portrait of Mrs. Browning, wreathed with the true poet’s laurel. The wreath is to be sent afterwards to Florence and laid upon her grave. The two series of “Chronicles of the Burglar’s Club,” by Henry A. Hering, which have recently appeared in Cassell’s Magazine, have just been published in volume form by Messrs. Cassell & Co., with illustrations by F. H. Townsend. Mr. Hering’s burglars differ from other light-fingered gentry, inasmuch as they are men of position, who, having exhausted all legitimate excitemenis of civilisation, burgle for the sport of the thing, and promptly return the articles purloined. Mr. Pinero’s new play, “ His House in Order,” produced at the St. James’ Theatre on February 1st, deals with the marriage of a widower with a kind-hearted irresponsible girl who, lacking the domestic abilities of her predecessor, loses the regard of her husband, and is snubbed and scolded by most of his relations. ‘The good qualities of the lady whom she has replaced are constantly brought to her notice, in order to indicate her own shortcomings. The discovery of incriminating facts relating to the past life of this “ model of propriety ” forms the pivot of the play. The caste includes Miss Irene Vanbrugh, Mr. Herbert Waring, Miss Beryl Faber and Mr. George Alexander. Miss Netta Syrett’s one act play, “The Younger Generation,’ was produced in front of “The Heroic Stubbs” at Terry’s Theatre on the third of Jast month. It deals with the disappointment of THE AUTHOR. a widow who, expecting a proposal of marriage from one of her former admirers, finds that his affections are centred on her daughter. The piece ends by the widow sacrificing her desire in favour of “The Younger Generation.” The three char- acters in the play were interpreted by Miss Irene Rooke, Miss Estelle Winwood, and Mr. G. F, Tully. Capt. Robert Marshall’s comedy, ‘‘ The Alabaster Staircase,” was produced at the Comedy Theatre on the 21st of last month. The main characters in the piece are a Tory Prime Minister, his daughter, and her lover—a wealthy “Socialist” Member of Parliament. The play indicates the change of political faith of the Premier, caused by a fall down an alabaster staircase. In consequence of this change he takes leave of his cabinet, and expresses admiration for the views of the “Socialist,” which were previously abhorrent to him. The caste includes Mr. John Hare, Mr. Leslie Faber, and Miss Lottie Venne. PARIS NOTES. > IOGRAPHIES, memoirs and letters are all more in favour than ever in France, and some of the recent books of this kind are certainly quite as interesting as fiction. Among such volumes is “ Madame de Prie ” (1698—1727), by H. Thirion. The author has taken the trouble to give us in detail the whole story of the life of this extraordinary woman, who at the age of fifteen was married to the Marquis de Prie, a man twenty- six years older than she was. Later on comes her liaison with the Duc de Bourbon, and then we have all the hardships which follow this. According to M. Thirion’s documents Mme. de Prie has been basely slandered, for the account he gives of her differs widely from the idea of her usually given in histories. “Le Voyage de Sparte,” by M. Maurice Barres, is now published in volume. “Le Journal inédit du duc de Croij” is the title of the book of memoirs published by MM. the Vicomte de Grouchy and Paul Cottin. The Due de Croij (1718—1784) left manuscript memoirs enough to have completed something like forty ordinary-sized volumes, but the authors of the present publication have wisely given in two large volumes details concerned with life at Versailles and in Paris. The book is particularly interesting as a picture of the times. “Le Roman de Sainte-Beuve,” by M. Gustave  Sopher NS we THE AUTHOR. Simon, is another volume on the much-discussed question of Sainte-Beuve’s affection for Mme. Victor Hugo. ‘Les Impressions d’une Francaise en Amérique,” by Mme. Vianzone ; “ A l’autre bout du monde,” by M. Paul Varrego, treats of adventures and habits and customs in Australia. “De Sebastopol 4 Solférino,” by M. de Cham- brier ; ‘“‘Le Coup de Grice,” by the Général de Piépape ; “Les Campagnes de 1799,” by M. Edouard Gachot—three volumes of history which are each well worth reading. A volume, published by M. Louis Loviot, containing the “Lettres de Gabrielle Delzant,” with a preface by Mme. Blanc-Bentzon, gives us two types of the modern woman in the best and highest acceptance of thisterm. The letters them- selves are charming, and M. Brunetiére says of the writer of the admirable preface to the volume :— “Depuis trente ans je doute si quelque femme a fait plus ou autant pour la revendication des droits de son sexe que Mme. Th. Bentzon. On! elle n’a jamais élevé la voix! Ce n’est pas sa ‘maniére’ ni celle des femmes de son monde. . . . Elle a vécu de la vie des unes et, 4 force de sympathie, elle a reconstitué ‘l'état d’ame’ des autres... . Elle a passé des mois en Russie pour y observer la femme russe. lle a fait deux ou trois fois le voyage en Amérique pour étudier la femme américaine. Je ne dis rien de |’Angleterre qu’elle connait aussi bien que la France. .. .” “Science et Libre Pensée” is the title of a volume by M. Berthelot, of the French Academy. This is the fourth volume of articles, essays and speeches published by the eminent scientist, at whose jubilee commemoration in Paris, some four years ago, savants from all parts of the world met. Among the articles contained in the present collec- tion are the following :—‘ Les Causes finales,” “Les relations entre la France et l’Angleterre,” “La Paix par la Justice,” “ Le réle des races scandinaves dans le développement de la civilisa- tion moderne,” “ La méthode scientifiques en politique,’ “ L’evolution des sciences au XIX* siécle.” “La Marine qu’il nous faut,” by M. Charles ' Bos, with a preface by M. Edouard Lockroy, is a book that is now being discussed. A sketch of “Le Président Falliéres,” illustrated by photo- graphs and drawing, has been published by the author, M. Jean de la Hire, at the right moment. “ La Comédie protectioniste,” by M. Yves Guyot. The author goes back to the time of Colbert to show the economic evolution in France, and shows later on the work of Cobden and Napoleon III. destroyed by the establishment of custom duties still in vigour. “Le Mécanisme de la vie moderne,” by the 167 _ Vicomte d’Avenel, a volume in which the author treats of the subject of the Stock Exchange. He shows how from 1815 to 1850 the bank became an Important spring in national life, directed chiefly by men of Swiss Protestant birth. From 1850 to 1870 Pereire and Rothschild came to the front, and under the cover of Turkish affairs the first syndi- cates between French and German financiers were established. “Hssai d’une psychologie de l’Angleterre con- temporaine, les crises belliqueuses,” by Jacques Bardoux. Among recent volumes of fiction are the follow- ing :— Le Coeur disséqué,” by M. Ferri-Pisani, a nephew of George Sand ; “ La Bonne Etoile,” by M. Jean Rameau ; “L’Age de Raison,” by Mme. Claire Albane; “Janua Cceli,” by Mme. Jean d’Ivray ; “ L’Inoubliable Passé,” by Mme. Ré- musat; “Ceux qu’on méprise,” by M. Georges Verdéne, with a preface by M. Anatole France. “Tia Cité des Idoles,” by M. Henri Chateau, is a curious novel based on the problem of an ideal society. The author endeavours to show how this can be evolved from contemporary society, but at the same time he shows the instability of it, when built up on the old errors and oppressions. In the Revue des Deux Mondes M. A. Bellessort writes an interesting article, “ La vie japonaise.” In the Revue de Paris M. Anatole France continues “La Bataille de Patay.” In the two last numbers of Za Revue are articles by Edmond Scherer on “ L’Invasion de Versailles’ (1870); Emile Faguet, “Un Ménage d’Ecrivains” ; Dr. Lowenthal, “Pourquoi la France se dépeuple ” ; Charles Wagner, “ A propos de la Morale sans Dieu”; G. Savitch, “ Les types littéraires de la Crise russe.” At the Frangais “ Les Cceurs timides,” by Paul Adam, is announced, and “Deux Hommes,” by Alfred Capus. Other forthcoming pieces are ‘‘ Le Ruisseau,” by Pierre Wolf, for the Gymnase ; “La Dette,” by Bernstein; “Le Bourgeon,” by Feydeau; and “Paris-New York,” by Francis de Croisset. “La Piste,” by M. Sardou, is running at the Variétés, and “Les Hannetons,” by M. Brieux, and “ Au Petit Bonheur,” by M. Anatole France, at the Renaissance. At the Théaitre Antoine a French version of “Old Heidelberg” is being played, and the Thédtre des Arts has produced a five-act piece by M. Saint Georges de Bouhélier, entitled “ Le Roi sans couronne.” ALYS HALLARD. o—~<>—-e-  SPANISH NOTES. ee HE advance made by women in Spain in 7 literature is seen in Dona Emelia Pardo Bazan appearing as a dramatist. Her four- act drama, “Verdad” (Truth), was given for the first time on 9th January, and the enthusiastic applause with which the performance was received, showed the welcome accorded by Spaniards to the work of a woman. Thestory of the play is based on the hero’s love of truth— Truth, truth at any price!” is his watchword, and in this spirit he confesses the murder of his first wife to her sister whom he has married. The murder had been committed in the rage induced by the confession extorted from the victim. The play shows that Truth cannot be welcome, when it reveals shameful deeds of treachery and cruelty, and the drama is another laurel to the fame of the writer, whose novels and philosophical works have long made her name celebrated. The Spanish stage has just suffered a great loss in the death of the popular actor Riquelme. Thanks to the united generous efforts of the above cited artistes, and Borras, Lucrecia Arana, Consuelo Majendia, Josefina Roca, Ruiz Tatay, Ramirez, Gonzalez, etc., the grand performance at the Apolo Theatre produced a large sum for the widow and orphans of the artist. The political world has also sustained a loss in the death of Sefor Esteve, the well-known liberal leader of Murcia, and the large conclave of 10,000 people at his funeral proved his popularity. The Imparcial is publishing interesting articles on some of the leading emissaries for the conference, and it is interesting to see the appreciative tone of the remarks relating to Sir Arthur Nicolson, whose departure from the British Embassy at Madrid is so much regretted. ‘‘ Whatever disagreements or conflicts may ensue at Algeciras,” says Luis Bello, “We can count upon the beneficial effect of Sir Arthur Nicolson’s wide and generous mind, which exceeds the force of mere words and forms, and which is characteristic of his race.” An interesting meeting was held on January 7th, at the Academy of Moral and Political Science, under the presidency of H.M. King Alfonzo XIIL., who made a short speech congratulating the society on the encouragement it affords the country in the study of the sciences. Presentation of the medal was made to Sefior Guisasola, the new member, who delivered his maiden speech on “The Prin- ciple of Authority, its Origin, Character, and Relations.” After drawing masterly distinctions between undue extensions, and undue limitations of authority, the speaker said, “ The base of authority ig a force which is in fact divine, and it is communicated in various forms to the person or THER AUTHOR. institution that exercises it. The force to com- mand is from God, but the form of exercising this force is determined by man.” The speech by the Marquis del Vadillo on the connection between natural and moral forces was also full of metaphysical truths. The Academy of Political and Moral Science has recently elected as a member the ex-minister Don Pio Gullen, whom Sefior Azcarate welcomed as ‘¢a well-informed and discreet politician, an honest and intelligent functionary, a clever writer, and a fluent and accurate parliamentary speaker.” This distinction has been afforded to Pio Gullen in consideration of his studies of the bases and the systems of the parliamentary methods prevailing in Europe and America. “Bl Idolo” (The Idol) by the well-known dramatist, Don Manuel Linares, is a striking picture of the corruption of the Spanish parlia- mentary system, to which the hero, Don Cesar Pedroso, succumbs. For his original ideal is not proof against feminine persuasion to use his influence to her profit. As the Spanish critics of the play remark : ‘‘ The stage reflects our customs.” And it is these customs which Spanish patriots trust will be gradually reformed. The Atheneum of Madrid has just been opened to women as members, and the first to enrol them- selves are la Marquesa de Mont-Roig, la Marquesa de Ayerbe, Sefiora Carmen Figuerola de Ferretti, Sefiora Pardo Bazan, and Sefiora Blanca de los Rios. The Woman's Agricultural Times offers to publish articles from notable Spanish ladies in their own language if Colonel Figuerola Ferretti edits the contributions. This first Anglo-Spanish magazine will promote the en/ente cordiale between the women of the two countries and voice the cordial welcome awaiting Princess Ena of Battenberg as the future Queen of Spain. The Spanish agricultural magazine ( Ganaderva y industriales rurales) has moreover invited contri- butions from English women encouraging Princess Ena, when Queen, to patronize efforts to forward the lighter branches of agriculture as occupations for women. The distinguished Spanish journalist Sefior Ramiro de Maeztu has won the gratitude of his countrymen by the able way he has reported from London the methods he has marked in the recent English elections ; and he has also surprised his countrywomen by the accounts he has given of the able way many wives aided their husbands in the contest. A Spanish magazine suggests publishing Mrs. Alec Tweedie’s Life of Porfirio Diaz, the Spanish minister of Mexico, as a serial, if it be translated. by Don Manuel de Figuerola in the Foreign Office  THK AUTHOR. at Madrid, whose success in a diplomatic mission in Paris was rewarded with the Légion d’Honneur. The great banquet recently given to the political reformer Soriano, in Madrid, was an occasion for the orator to give noble tributes to the authors Galdos and Rusifiol, who were present. He declared that he himself only aimed at being “the ambas- sador of the national conscience,’ and in this he was aided by Galdos, “ the splendid pioneer of cul- ture and morality,” and by Rusifiol, the Catalonian, “who,” to quote the speaker, “represents the intelligence which is the bond of union between all parts of the country.” The Spanish press publishes two charming poems in honour of the Infanta Dofia Paz on her departure from Madrid after the marriage of the Infanta Maria Teresa with her son Prince Ferdinand of Bavaria. The Doita Infanta de la Paz, sister of the late King Alfonzo XII, is well- known for the works of her pen. Her article comparing Cervantes to Schiller was circulated in the Royal Academy at the Don Quixote fétes. The King and Queen patronised this literary function, when the article was read which was written for the occasion by the veteran blind author, Juan Valera, who died a short time before the day of his triumph. A fine edition of the works of this great writer is now in preparation, and the first volume now out contains the ‘“ Eulogy of Saint Teresa,” “Liberty in Art,” and “The Study of Don Quixote and the Various Forms of Judging it.” The Geographical Society of Spain held an interesting meeting the other evening, under the presidency of the minister of the navy to hear the account of Colonel Delmé Radcliffe’s travels in Uganda and many parts of the Victoria Nyanza Lake district in Central Africa. The traveller gave his experiences in good Spanish, and his reports on the progress of the railway scheme of the country, the manners and customs of the natives, and the fauna and flora of the land, were listened to with great interest. RACHEL CHALLIOE. a PUBLICATION AND COPYRIGHT. ——_+—<—+—__ Part I. O discuss in detail the various aspects of “‘ publication” considered with reference to the law of copyright, would be to supply The Author with a great deal of matter conveying very little definite information to its readers. The text books of Mr. Copinger, Mr. MacGillivray, and of Mr. Scrutton contain many scores of pages devoted to the subject, and if the judgments upon which they found their summaries of the law, and to which they refer in footnotes, were set out at length, considerably more space would be occupied, 169 only to show more clearly, what alone appears to be plain, that various points which may arise at any time are undecided, and that the statutes which should provide the definitions dealing with rights that arise out of statute alone, leave a great deal to be settled by the courts at the expense of suitors. As Mr. Scrutton, K.C., observes, in an early page of his work, ‘‘ These Statutes are, with- out exception, of most involved and _ inartistic draftsmanship, and present to the Legislature a suitable, even an urgent, case for codification.” Is it too much to hope that a new government, having among its members an unusual number of well-known authors, may be able to find time to introduce and to pass a new Copyright Act, dealing exhaustively with books, and with literary and journalistic matter generally, and also with plays, lectures, engravings (a very wide-spreading branch of the subject under modern conditions), sculp- ture, paintings, drawings, photographs and music. To leave the law relating to all these to be dug out from many Acts of Parliament and the deci- sions relating to them, and to be amended by privately introduced measures drafted by bodies interested in, and acquainted with, only what concerns themselves, is to suffer the continuance of an “ungodly jumble” to the loss and incon- venience of a deserving and law-abiding section of the public, who are neglected only because they give little trouble to anybody. When we consider the important part which “publication” plays in the law of copyright, it would not be too much to suggest that it is a word that should oceupy the attention of the codifying draftsman almost as scon as he has finished his “preamble.” At present it is the dividing line which marks the passage in most cases from the common law right in the originator (to prevent others from appropriating the product of his brain), to the statutory right (copyright, strictly so called), which takes the place of the common law right directly ‘ publication” has occurred. It is also for this reason the starting point from which, in many instances, the time “begins to run,” during which copyright is to be enjoyed. Publication may therefore be said to demand a statutory definition which has never hitherto been accorded to it, or such varying definitions as will suit the various subjects of copyright. Mr. Scrutton quotes a suggested definition of publication from a case argued in the Chancery Division (Blank v. Footman, 39 Ch. D. 678), whereby it is described as “ making a thing pablic in any manner in which it is capable of being communicated to the public,” and he adds that, though not necessarily so, the subject of publica- tion is generally for sale, or, at any rate, so as to ~ 170 be accessible to all who desire to obtain it, son conditions imposed not by the author, but by the law. Publication for private circulation only, and under conditions imposed by the author, does not divest the common law right. This, it will be seen, is a very general definition, and one of which, as of some others, it may be observed that the bearings of it lie in its application. It is not difficult to deduce from it that “ the publication of a work for private purposes and private circula- tion is not a publication sufficient to defeat the common law right of the author,” but more is needed when some of the subjects of copyright are considered. Anyone would be ready to say offhand that a book or an etching of which copies printed at the author’s expense have been given or even sold to a few (or to a large number) of his ersonal friends has not been “ published.” It would be less easy for the same person not acquainted with the various judgments, to con- jecture or to reason, whether a picture which has been exhibited at the Royal Academy, or at a print-seller’s for the purpose of securing sub- scribers to an engraving, or of which process reproductions have been circulated in Academy guides, and in illustrated newspapers, has been “published ” or not. If he were to go into the matter he would find that these points and many others concerning literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic publication have been decided, as has been said, not by the Legislature in the various copy- right Acts, but by the courts of law after expensive litigation at the expense of suitors anxious to defend their rights imperilled by no fault of theirs. There has usually been someone, that is to say, anxious to make a profit out of the rights in a book, a play, a musical composition, or a work of art, and someone else endeavouring in his own interest to prevent him, and these, instead of finding the law ready made for them, have had to pay for obtaining an interpretation from a judge, which has had to be discussed on appeal. The decision thus obtained may be useful to others by laying down general principles which will govern their cases on some future occasion, but it neces- sarily will leave many points in doubt. To take at random one of the instances referred to above, the seeker after the law might satisfy himself that according to an old decision of the Irish Chancery Court, the exhibition of a picture, say at the Royal Academy, does not constitute such a publication of it as to divest the painter of his common law right. He might also be gratified to find that a recent decision in the United States had endorsed this view in a case in which it was essential to show that the picture had not been already “published ” before steps were taken to protect ib in America. He might, however, be tempted to apply the THE AUTHOR. knowledge thus acquired to the case of a piece of sculpture, and find that in the Irish case already referred to (Turner v. Robinson, 1860, 10 Tr. Ch, 516), Lord Chancellor Brady said: “In the Statutes bestowing protection upon works of sculp- ture the terminus @ guo from which the protection commences is the publication of the work, that is, from the moment the eye of the public is allowed to rest upon it. Many large works in this branch of art, which decorate public squares and other places, are of course so published, but there are others not designed for such purposes which could never be published in any other way than in exhibitions ; therefore I apprehend that these works of sculpture must be considered as published by exhibition at such places as the Royal Academy and Manchester, so as to entitle them to the pro- tection of the Statutes from the date of publica- tion.” Leaving out of the question the advantages which a work of sculpture may be entitled to through “publication” of such a nature, it is evident that these rights rest at present upon the obiter dictum of a Chancellor who founded them upon somewhat insufficient grounds. The publi- cation of a statue, great or small, may date from its exhibition at the Royal Academy, but it is absurd to say that this is because it “could never be published in any other way.” A piece of sculpture can be reproduced and multiplied by castings or otherwise, just as a painting can be multiplied by engraving, or an engraving, by the taking of more impressions from the same plate; and it can be, and often is, pub- lished by sale in a limited or unlimited edition, just as easily as a mezzotint; or, if there is any inherent difference between the two classes of artistic work, it requires considerable mental subtlety to discern it. Books are published as a rule in amanner which leaves little or no doubt as to the fact of publica- tion, and as to the date on which it takes place. Under the Copyright Act, 1842, a book includes “every volume, part, or division of a volume, pamphlet, sheet of letter-press, sheet of music, map, chart, or plan separately published.” Publi- cation means distribution to the general public either gratuitously or by sale, and the doubt whether a book has been published or not at a certain time generally arises when some kind of circulation has taken place, and it is a question whether this was “ private” or not. Notes issued — to students at classes, and republished by one of them, and manuscripts circulated by a clergyman — among his parishioners, have been the subject of — legal decisions in this class of case, and have been held not to have been published.” The distri- bution of lithographed copies of music for private  use has, on the other hand, been held to be publi- cation. Naturally, when in the ordinary way a “publisher ” announces a forthcoming book, and on a pre-arranged day sends out the copies ordered to the trade, in order that booksellers may retail them, there can be no doubt as to publication taking place. It has to take place on British soil in all cases, but this does not affect the question what is, or is not, publication. This, in the case of books, is sometimes quite clear ; sometimes not easy to decide, and the decision is not made clear by any effort of the legislature. A dramatic piece includes every “ tragedy, comedy, play, opera, farce, or other scenic, musical, or dramatic entertainment.” Formerly, acting a play, as distinct from publishing it like a book, was not a publication of it, so that, as one result of this, a man might produce another’s play without infringing his statutory copyright. Since the Act of 1842 (sect. 20), the first public representation or performance of any dramatic piece or musical performance is “deemed equivalent” to the first publication of a book. The representation or per- formance has to be public, but how far many dramatic performances held with the intention of thereby securing copyright are “public” within the meaning of the Act need not be discussed here. In the United States the law seems to be in the same condition that it was in England before 1842. Ina case decided in the Superior Court of New York in 1870, the plaintiff had bought from the author, Mr. Tom Robertson, the right to produce in the United States a certain play which had been acted in London. The defendant had taken the play down in writing when it was acted at the Prince of Wales’s Theatre, or bought the text of it from ingenious, if dishonest, persons who had done so. If the play had been published in England it would have been free for all Americans to annex, or whatever may be the appropriate term. It was argued, however, successfully that the acting in England was not a publication in the eyes of American law, so that the author had not lost his common law right, and could protect himself under it. The result, at all events, was consistent with justice. Apparently, however, if the play had been published and sold as a literary work, as well as produced on the stage, the decision would have been the other way. In England a dramatic composition is looked on from two points of view, that of a book to be read, and that of a performance to be held publicly. The copyright, strictly so called (i.e., the right to multiply copies) dates from publication as a book, and the performing right from the first public representation, so that dispute as to what is or is not “ public”’ may arise in either case. It has been suggested above that definitions of THE AUTHOR. 171 publication are desirable ; it would perhaps be better if its importance were diminished by making the conditions of protection cease to be dependent upon it, and by making publication, where it has to be considered, a matter of compliance with specified formalities, which could easily be done in more if not all of the matters subject to copyright. ESSA ea Iara A HINT TO WRITERS UPON TECHNICAL SUBJECTS. —+—~<—+- —__ T has been stated at times, by not well-informed persons, that the Society of Authors exists only to assist writers of fiction. Though, no doubt, a large number of the members of the Society are writers of fiction, there are many hundreds, dramatists, writers on technical subjects, history, theology, and so on, composers of music and illustrators of books, whose property the Society undertakes to protect. There are two chief reasons why it is advanced against the Society that its main business lies with writers of fiction. One is the fact that many of the articles in The Author refer to writers of fiction— —especially those articles which deal with the work of the agent ; and the other the fact that in examples of the cost of production, the 6s. book is generally taken as a fitting standard. This is not because the 6s. book is necessarily the work of a writer of fiction, but because, taking the market as a whole, the majority of books are published at this price, and it is, therefore, a con- venient price from which to start any calculation. Because of the prevalent impression it may, there- fore, be as well to explain how technical writers can be benefited by the work and funds of the Society. In the past year one or two examples have occurred which demonstrate clearly that writers other than writers of fiction need advice from the Society, and to quote them will be the simplest way of showing the larger scope of our work. Many years ago a member of the Society, a medical man now famous in his special branch, wrote a work dealing with his particular subject. Being then comparatively unknown to the public, he found some difficulty in placing his book, and finally published it by selling his copyright to one of the medical publishers. Hight or nine years afterwards he had advanced not only in reputa- tion before the public, but also in the skill and knowledge of his subject. He therefore came to the conclusion that his book ought to be reissued and brought up to date with the examples gathered 172 from his own experience and added knowledge. But on his approaching the publisher he was unable to obtain anything like satisfactory terms, and the publisher was unwilling to make the alterations required. He found himself in the following difficult position : Hither he must abandon his publication and see an imperfect work of his own placed before the public, or he must repurchase the copyright from the publisher at the publisher’s price before he could bring out the new book, as it was absolutely essential for him to use the old as the basis of the new. At this point he came to the Society of Authors, when, the position being explained to him, he decided to buy back his work and republish it himself. He was, of course, at the mercy of the publisher, who could ask practically any figure he liked for the copyright. This position is not unique ; it has occurred-on two or three other occasions. On one of these the author was not in a position to pur- chase the copyright of his original work from the publisher, and was bound, therefore, to transfer the copyright of the new edition to the same pub- lisher or not to publish at all. Whether we take the first example or the second, in either case the author is at the mercy of the publisher. To all readers of The Author it must be quite clear that this position could have been avoided if the authors had taken the advice which is put forward from time to time in these columns when criticising the agreements drafted on behalf of technical writers. As it was, the authors could only obtain the assistance of the Society to draft their new agreements and to make the best bargain on their behalf in order to get their works out of the hands of their old publishers. It has been pointed out in many places and on many occasions that publishers are essentially men of business, and if they find they can obtain a large price for any property they will naturally make the best bargain for themselves. It is usual for publishers to try to enforce more stringent terms upon authors who write on technical subjects than upon authors who write on more general sub- jects. There are two reasons for this. (1) Authors writing on technical subjects, as a general rule, have not the best knowledge of the business value of their works ; and (2) in some technical works a good part of the cost of production has sometimes to be undertaken by the author, even though his treatise may be by the greatest authority on the Sie as the subject may only appeal to the very ew. In both these cases the Society can be of assist- ance. In the first case, by showing the technical writer what is the real market value of his work under certain conditions ; and in the second, by testing for him the cost of production, and any THE AUTHOR. other details that may come into the agreement, if it has been made essential for him, by the pub- lisher, to pay asum towards the cost of production. Finally, it should be added that some technical works, if adopted by any of the educational centres, become very valuable property, and an author should always remember that such a chance may occur in the case of his own work. G. HE (8 MUSICAL COPYRIGHT. E have watched with considerable interest the energetic measures that the music publishers have been taking against the pirates. It is their natural desire to protect the property which they have, in nearly all cases, pur- chased outright from the musical composers. Their last success was to obtain a conviction in a criminal prosecution for conspiracy. The trial lasted for eight days, but the time was certainly not wasted, as it brought again to the notice of the public the urgent need to remedy the difficulties under which the musical composers labour. Refer- ence has been made from time to time in The Author to the steps the music publishers have taken in order to protect their property and to bring in a Bill which would deal with the question in an adequate way. Their efforts have, to a limited extent, been successful ; but the first Bill which was passed was in many particulars insufficient ; and the second Bill, which they attempted to push through the House last summer to fill up the deficiencies, met with strong opposition from a few who appear to be entirely ignorant either of the ethics of the rights of property, or of the history and evolution of copyright property in particular. While, however, we are exceedingly glad of the result of the prosecution, we should like to add a few remarks regarding musical composers. The publishers who have during the past years taken these active steps in order to protect musical property, put themselves before the public as acting for the composer of music, and for the musical composer only. They pose as the generous guardians of the author of music, just as, in the old days, the publisher of literary wares did on behalf of the author of books. The public, how- ever, must not be deceived by this attitude, for the fact is, that although the musical composer is the author of the work, and is the man in whom the copyright rested originally, yet owing either to his ignorance of the value of his property or, as is more probable, to his lack of gregarious instinct, he continues to sell that most valuable asset—his  ‘4 copyright and performing right—to the publisher, sometimes for a sum down and sometimes on a royalty basis. So the publishers are fighting rather for their own acquired rights than for the musical composers, and should openly state that this is their point of view, instead of coming forward under false colours. The efforts of the society to show to musical composers the value of their property, that is, the value of sound agreements, and to stir up some kind of opposition to the wholly illiberal and unfair contracts which are offered to them, have so far been unsuccessful. It is true that the society has a certain number of composers on its books, but a small body can bring but little pressure to bear upon the powerful publishing houses who have so long usurped the rights to which they are not entitled. Once again, it should be impressed upon the composers’ minds that not only are they getting inadequate returns for the works of their brains, but they are transferring their property without any guid pro quo. —______—~<—_e—_<_ COPYRIGHT LAW IN THE UNITED STATES. —+-—— + — Tur Statutory NOTICE. HE importance of the decision in the recent case of the G. & C. Meriam Company v. United Dictionary, which was fully set out in the last number of 7he Author, can hardly be exaggerated. The effect of it is staggering to publishers and authors, and particularly to the latter in cases where by an assignment or agree- ment they have no control over the form of printing or publishing in this country. The American Courts have laid it down in effect that if a single copy of a book, duly copy- righted in the United States, is published with the consent of the proprietor of the copyright in any part of the world, without the American copyright notice inserted in it, the proprietor cannot sue for infringement in the American Courts, and the copyright in the United States is practically lost. An important feature of the case is the way in which the defendant avoided committing a breach of the law against importation. The book was originally printed in America from plates manu- factured from type set in the United States, and the plates were sent over to England for the purpose of printing an English edition, and as the prohibi- tion against the importation into the United States of American copyright books does not apply to books printed from plates manufactured in that THE AUTHOR. 173 country,* the defendant did not offend against the law in that respect ; moreover, this prohibition is excepted,t where not more than two copies are purchased and imported “ for use and not for sale,” and this was another plea put forward by the defendant. It is the latter exception which makes the decision so fatal to the English publisher. No doubt many American copyright books are printed in England from plates manufactured in the United States, but this is not always the case. On the other hand there is nothing to prevent any person from buying two copies from an English publisher, which may perhaps contain no American copyright notice, and importing them “ for use and not for sale,” and so the prohibition against unlawful importation may be evaded. The harshness of the law was realised by the learned judge who tried the case, because the American copyright notice, as he pointed out, is of no importance in England and might conceiv- ably be detrimental to the sale of the book. Asa matter of common practice it is frequently dispensed with in books and periodicals which are published for sale in England. The merits of the case, the judge admitted, were entirely in the plaintiff's favour, and he regretted being driven to a legal conclusion which ignored them. ‘ The remedy,” he added, “rests with Congress and not with the courts.” The requirement of the copyright notice by the law of the United States is more than a century old, and it may be worth considering whether it is adapted to the reciprocal conditions of the present day. It first appears in the American Act of 1802, which, amending the original Copyright Act of 1790, provided that no author or proprietor of copyright should be entitled to the benefit of that Act unless he inserted the copyright notice. This was slightly altered in the Act of 1831, and revised to its present form in 1870, except that the alterna- tive form of the notice was added by the Act of 1874. The copyright law in the United States is at the present time undergoing revision, and it is to be hoped that Mr. Thorvald Solberg may devise a scheme which will lighten the burden of those who are at pains to secure copyright protection in the United States. The principal countries in the copyright world give protection to the American author with com- paratively little trouble. A book published in the United States can, by simultaneous publication of some copies in England—which may be printed in the United States—and registration at Stationers’ * Revised Statutes, sect, 4956. + Lbid. 174 Hall, acquire copyright protection without further formality, throughout the British Dominions and +n the other fourteen countries within the Copyright Union.* On the other hand, the difficulty of a foreign author in obtaining copyright protection in the United States is even greater, and the formalities more onerous, than in the Netherlands or Siam. In the first place, the author must belong to a proclaimed or treaty country before he is competent to acquire any copyright at all.t Secondly, the book must be printed from type set up in the United States and two cupies delivered to the Librarian of Congress, in addition to a printed copy of the title of the book, on or before the day of publication.{ And, further, the statutory copy- right notice must be inserted in the several copies of every edition, whether published in the United States or, according to this recent decision, in any other part of the universe.§ The wording, even, of the notice must be precise, as is shown by the cases in the American courts. Tt has been held, for instance, that where the notice was « Entered according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1878, by H. A. Jackson e an action could not be maintained by the proprietor of the copyright because the notice was insufficient. || And in another case, “Copyright, 1891. All rights reserved,” was held to be a bad notice, because the proprietors were not specified, although the name of the publishers appeared upon the title page and they were the proprietors of the copyright.4] It may be pointed out that the Canadian Act of 1875 and the Newfoundland Act of 1890, which are based upon the law of the United States, contain similar requirements as to the statutory copyright notice. ‘There is an important distine- tion, however, because the Canadian and New- foundland Acts are local, and do not operate outside the limits of the respective colonies. (See International Copyright Act 1886, sec. 8, (1-) and (4.) ). A country, it is suggested, should only impose obligations within its jurisdiction, and there seems to be something anomalous in the United States legislation which compels an English publisher to observe a formality in England which is not required according to English law. Haroitp Harpy. * Berne Convention, art. 3, as amended by the Additional Act of Paris. + Chace Act, 1891, s. 13. + Revised Statutes, sect. 4956. § Ibid., sect. 4962. | | Jackson v. Walkie, 29 Fed. Rep. 15. { Osgood y. Aloe Co., 83 Fed. Rep. 470. THB AUTHOR. MAGAZINE CONTENTS. —— 1+ BLACKWOOD’S. By the Warden of Wadham. BOOKMAN. By Elizabeth Lee. Book MONTHLY. Welsh Wales: A Literary Republic unknown to Eng- land. By 8. R. John. Our Sea Poetry. By J. E. Patterson. Scott in Ireland. An Oxford Trimmer. Heinrich Heine. CONTEMPORARY REVIEW. An Agnostic’s Progress.—II. By William Scott Palmer, Scotch Education : How Ought it to be Organised. By James Donaldson. The Celtic Spirit in Literature. By Havelock Ellis. CoRNHILL. Society in the Time of Voltaire. George Eliot’s Coventry Friends. Draper. Grandeur et Décadence De Bernard Shaw. By A Young Playgoer. Freeman versus Froude. By 8. G. Tallentyre. By Warwick H. By Andrew Lang. FoRTNIGHTLY REVIEW. Critical Notes on “ As You Like it.” By H. M. Paull. Ebenezer Elliott: The Poet of Free Trade. By H. G. Shelley. INDEPENDENT REVIEW. Quo Vadis. By G. Lowes Dickinson. Sir Thomas Browne. By G. L. Strachey. Macterlinck as Moralist. By Algar Thorold. Flowers and The Greek Gods. By Alice Lindsell. Leonidas Andreieff. By Simon Linden. MACMILLAN’S MAGAZINE, The Stuarts in Rome. By Herbert M. Vaughan. Lay Canons in France. By Egerton Beck. MONTH. Religion versus Religions. By C. C. Martindale. Edmund Campion’s History of Ireland. MontTHLy REVIEW. Lord Byron and Lord Lovelace. By John Murray. ‘Ancient and Modern Classics as Instruments of Educa- tion. By J. Herbert Warren. Froude and Freeman. By Ronald McNeill. A Forgotten Princess. By Reginald Lucas. NATIONAL REVIEW. Shaw and Super-Shaw. By Edith Balfour. ; The Northern University Movement. By Talbot Baines. NINETEENTH CENTURY. - An Official Registration of Private Art Collections. By Eugénie Strong. The Reading of the Modern Girl. By Florence B. Low. The Reviewing of Fiction. By Richard Bagot. TEMPLE BaR. Richard Jefferies. By Edward Thomas. (There are no articles dealing with Literary, Dramatic, or Musical subjects in Chambers's Journal or Pail Mail Magazine.)  WARNINGS TO THE PRODUCERS OF BOOKS. —— + — ERE are a few standing rules to be observed in an agreement. There are four methods of dealing with literary property :— I. Selling it Outright. This is sometimes satisfactory, if a proper price can be obtained. 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 The Author. IV. 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. Allother 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 :-— (1.) That both sides shall know what an agreement means. (2.) The inspection of those account books which belong tothe 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 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. 175 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 in advance 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 (i.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 (0.) 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. e«—~<>° WARNINGS TO MUSICAL COMPOSERS. —_ ITTLE can be added to the warnings given for the 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 176 should be especially careful therefore when entering into an agreement, and should take into particular consideration the warnings stated above. —_—_——_e—<>—_-—__ HOW TO USE THE SOCIETY. —-—>+ VERY member has a right toask for and to receive 4 advice upon 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 the 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) To 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 8. Many agents neglect to stamp agreements. The 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 41s. per annum, or £10 10s. for life membership. THE AUTHOR. TO MUSICAL COMPOSERS. +4 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’ stamps 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. NE THE READING BRANCH. ee 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. The 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 The 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 Offices 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. lHvery effort will be made to return articles which cannot be accepted. —— + 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. ee 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, H.C.  AUTHORITIES. — In last month’s issue we gave a short statement that the decision in Werckmeister v. Amerwan Litho- graphic Company had been upheld by Judge Holt of the United States Circuit Court for the Southern District of New York. In his judgment he made some very trenchant remarks on the question whether or not the Act demands a copyright notice on the original painting. The words of the section making it necessary that the notice of the copy- right shall be inscribed run as follows :—‘‘ Upon some visible portion thereof, or of the substance on which the same shall be mounted.” Judge Holt points out that the word “ thereof,” and the words “the same,” do not refer to maps, charts, &c., but refer back to “the several copies.” He continues to show that the copyright notice is not written on the original MS., or on the original map, but on the copies that are made public, and though he draws the distinction that the original painting is more often made public than the map and the MS., yet he thinks the reason for the construction which makes the Copyright Act provide that the notice demanded by it shall be put on the copies of the copyrighted thing instead of upon the thing itself, is so weighty that such a construction should be given to the statute. He ends his judgment by saying :-—“It would seem almost a deliberate vulgarization of art if the finest specimens of painting and sculpture exhibited in the Paris Salon, the London Royal Academy, or the leading art societies in this or other countries were all ticketed with copyright notices. I cannot see why the law should require it, or that it does require 1G. This judgment and this decision are very satis- factory and seem to give a sound common sense interpretation to the United States Act on this point. In addition to the Werckmeister case, another case was printed in The Author from the Pub- lishers’ Weekly of New York. We must thank Mr. A. P. Watt for calling our attention to this important decision. It deals with some legal aspects which touch nearly all authors who publish in the United States of America and Great Britain, and an article from the pen of Mr. Harold Hardy, printed this month, will, we hope, explain the position more clearly to our members. We have received from the Copyright Office of the Library of Congress the statement of its work during 1905. THE AUTHOR. gg A comparison of the figures for that year with the figures of 1904 indicates sufficiently clearly the increasing work of this office. Whereas, in 1904, the sum received from every branch of the copyright business amounted to 75,520 dollars, in 1905 it totalled 78,518 dollars, or an increase of 2,998 dollars. Moreover this increase has not been obtained by an excess in one particular branch of its work, but has been manifested in all depart- ments. The number of titles registered, the certificates granted, the copies of records supplied, the assignments and the searches made, each shows an increase on the preceding year. The entries have risen from 106,577 in 1904 to 116,789 in 1905. The largest number of entries refers to musical compositions, 25,567 coming under this category. Periodicals, with 21,925 entries, come second ; while photographs, with 16,061, come third on the list. The entries referring to books (which include pamphlets) number 15,393. In addition, there are 3,872 entries referring to booklets, leaflets, circulars, and cards, and 10,204 entries of news- papers and magazine articles. The fact that on January 4th, 1906, all appli- cations, with the exception of 273 non-certificated entries, had been acted upon, indexed, and cata- logued, is sufficient testimony to the prompt and businesslike methods of the Copyright Office, and reflects the greatest credit on Mr. Thorvald Solberg, the Registrar of Copyrights. Sm Francis Burnanp who has been for over forty years connected with Punch has now resigned the editorship. There is no need, after the many tributes from other sources, to reiterate the fact that Sir Francis Burnand has always maintained the high principles of the paper, both in his selection of artists and in his selection of authors. We must congratulate the retiring editor on his long and successful connection with the paper. We are especially pleased to do so, as he has been a prominent member of the society for some years. His successor, Mr. Owen Seaman, whose work in Punch and in other papers is so well known, will, we are sure, fill the chair worthily. The society has also been honoured by Mr. Seaman’s membership, and he is, in addition, a member of the managing committee. He has always shown great interest in the arduous duties which he and the other members so generously undertake on behalf of those who belong to the society. ——_—_—_+——-_ THE AUTHOR. OBITUARY. —-— + — E have, with regret, to chronicle the death of Mr. C. J. Cornish, which occurred at the end of January. The late Mr. Cornish, who was in his forty-sixth year at the date of his death, had been a member of the Society for some fifteen years, and showed during that period his practical appreciation of the Society’s work by frequently consulting it for advice relative to the marketing of his property. Most of his books dealt with natural history, sport, and outdoor life, and although his life was but a short one, he found time to write about a dozen of these works, in addition to contributing to numerous magazines articles dealing with those subjects on which he was an authority. «Life at the Zoo,” “ Wild England of To-day,” “Nights with an Old Gunner,” are a few of the works which came from his pen. —_—_—_——__+—_—_+-___—_- THE LAW OF INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT. 1 HE work on this subject, by William Briggs, which has just been published by Stevens and Haynes, is divided into five parts: (1) The Evolution of International Copyright ; (2) The Theory of International Copyright ; (3) The Berne Convention, with a chapter on the Montevideo Convention ; (4) International Copy- right in the British Dominions and Colonial Copyright ; (5) Protection of Authors in the United States. Mr. Briggs starts from the very commencement. He shows how, gradually, property rose from something physical to something metaphysical, and that property, strictly speaking, is a right not a thing; how it became subject to certain laws in each state ; and how, with the evolution of society, different kinds of property were recognised, each in its turn coming under the legislature. He draws attention to manual labour as a title to property, then to intellectual labour as a title, and, finally, to copyright based on labour. Judge Thomson, an eminent American judge, stated: “The great principle on which the author’s right rests is that it is the fruit or production of his labour, and that labour by the faculties of the mind may establish aright of property as well as by the faculties of the body. Every principle of justice, equity, morality, fitness, and sound policy concurs in pro- tecting the literary labours of men to the same extent as the property acquired by manual labour is protected.” This is the view of the great French writers om the subject, but France has always been more liberal, and has always taken a broader view than any other nation in the evolution of this kind of property. Quoting another authority, he says: “‘ Distinct properties were not settled at the same time nor by one single Act, but by successive degrees,” and he goes on to show that although copyright property only became valuable at a late date, with the introduction of printing, it is not, therefore, a whit the less a real property on this account. It has been argued that copyright pro- perty is merely the granting of a monopoly. Mr. Briggs shows the fallacy of the argument. It is argued that although for many years it was not the subject of legislative enactments, it is not the less the property of the author. It is, in truth, as he points out, “‘an antecedent right of property deriving only its legal protection from the State.” England has the distinction of passing the first copyright law in which the author’s interests were considered. This is the Act of Anne, 1709, but though England may boast of this, it is France which can boast of treating most liberally the real ideal of copyright—that is, the right of foreign authors to protection. Her example has in recent years been followed by Belgium and Luxembourg. The writer having shown conclusively that copy- right is the property of the author, then discusses the ethical side. His remarks on this point are of great interest. His chapter on this question begins as follows :—%“Though piracy at sea was at one time considered an honourable profession, general morality has so far advanced that at the present day it is a barbaric practice, is regarded as criminal, but intellectual property has not yet been acknowledged as worthy to rank with material goods in respect of international protection,” but he points out, in a subsequent chapter—the history of international copyright—how, by slow degrees, the immorality of this piracy grew on the international conscience, and sometimes for ethical reasons, and sometimes for practical reasons, nations began to enter into treaties for the pro- tection of foreigners. It is curious to note how the ethical reasons have sometimes preceded the practical development. The nation that has given the greatest freedom to foreigners does not find it more difficult to enter into treaties, but finds it less difficult to do so, and we are glad to think that the English Copyright Commission gave as its opinion that reprisals in the matter of literary — plunder were illegitimate. Piracy, in many cases, does not lead to the production of the best books of other countries in the country that upholds the piracy, and is ever disastrous to its own literature. — The whole question of international copyright, — and the arguments brought forward in its favour, —  prove a strong indictment against the present position of the United States in the civilised world. Darras, the great- French authority, speak- ing of Russian law, says: “It seems to protect foreigners to a certain extent, but if the reality of the facts alone is taken into consideration, its place is marked side by side with the United States and Turkey.” We are pleased to think, however, as from time to time we have pointed out, and Mr. Briggs confirms this fact, that the cultured and intellectual minority in America have always been in favour of the higher evolution of international copyright and repudiated trade restriction. Having dealt exhaustively with the evolution of property generally, and copyright property in particular, Mr. Briggs then proceeds to consider the theory of International Copyright. He shows by careful argument the result of piracy on the ’ literature of nations, and on this question he is in entire agreement with the views that have been expressed from time to time in 7he Author. He next treats, in some detail, the evolution of Inter- national Copyright. He shows how the movement was inaugurated by treaties between the countries. He examines the advantages and disadvantages of treaties as a means of international agreement. Treaties between individual states are, no doubt, advantageous for the protection of their writers, but when there are many countries, and the treaties dealing with the same subject are multiplied in- definitely, then confusion is likely to reign, unless some international system such as is provided by the Berne Convention is adopted. Mr. Briggs points out very strongly that the question of copy- right should not be dealt with in commercial treaties between different countries, as copyright property, owing to its peculiar nature, cannot be dealt with on the same basis as bales of cotton and other similar commodities. He goes further and deals with the question of treaties made by countries that are members of the Berne Conven- tion with countries outside the Convention, or with countries within the Convention, and discusses the advantages to be derived from these separate treaties. He is inclined to think that treaties with countries outside the Convention will tend finally to bring those countries into the Convention, and that treaties between countries in the Conven- tion will broaden and will not narrow the advan- tages which those countries derive from the Con- vention, and therefore would assist the widening of the Convention should such widening at a later date be feasible. Finally, he arrives at the Berne Convention and takes it clause by clause, and views it from the point of view of its general application. Under this chapter he also deals with the Convention of Montevideo. THE AUTHOR. 179 The next division of the work, Part 4, refers to the particular application of International Copy- right to Great Britain under the Imperial Laws, and alternately, with the rights of Englishmen in foreign countries. Part 5, the last, deals with the United States and their relations with foreign countries. Thus he covers the whole range of International Copyright from end to end, showing the gradual advance of civilisation ; the gradual development of the rights of property, and, finally, of copy- right property ; how nations dealt with the newly developed property, and how the more civilised they became the more liberal became the protection which they afforded it. From beginning to end, his arguments lead to the conclusion that the United States have not yet risen to the level of the great nations of Hurope. It is hoped, however, that the consolidation of the United States Law may produce a satisfactory result. To deal with such a wide subject and in so detailed a manner necessitated the production of a large book and an enormous amount of labour. Mr. Briggs’ book covers more than 800 pages. It could not, in order to be of value to the student : — as the specialist, be very greatly reduced in ulk. The author cannot be too highly commended for his careful and laborious work, dealing as it does with the laws and technicalities in all the countries of the world, from many of which it is not always easy to obtain satisfactory and reliable informa- tion. With the exception of one or two minor slips, we have been unable to find any mistake in the facts quoted. In conclusion, we must express our gratitude to Mr. Briggs, not merely for producing a book of over 800 pages with great labour and care, but because by this production he has filled a gap which has existed in treatises on copyright property. a ———$ SOME FRENCH-CANADIAN WRITERS. ee HE “Voyages” of Champlain, the “ Relations” of the Jesuit missionaries, and the epistles of Marie de l’Incarnation, will always be interesting to those who endeavour to trace back to its source the stream of French-Canadian litera- ture. In these early writings we discover the influence of those conditions under which French- Canadian litlérateurs have usually worked. With few exceptions they have been chiefly controlled by religion and patriotism. Living in a stimulating atmosphere of sunlit purity, in the midst of the most picturesque scenic surroundings, they have- 180 always possessed the consciousness of a not less picturesque past. In addition to this, a large pro- portion of them have enjoyed the advantage of well-bred ancestors. ‘There was something of the spirit of the Crusaders in those who went out two or three centuries ago—some of the best blood of France—to found a New France in the western hemisphere. It is true that they had the Indian fur trade in mind, together with schemes of colonization of a more or less business-like descrip- tion; but many of them had also romantic dreams of glory, while every expedition was bathed in the spirit of faith and of religious proselytism. The Church has continued to hold the position it took at the outset in the Province of Quebec, when, indeed, it was not the Province of Quebec, but New France. It had seventy thousand inhabitants at the cession to the British in 1760; these have increased to one million six hundred and fifty thousand now. But they are all Roman Catholic, and in the main their customs and their civil law have been preserved as they were under French domination. Itis one of the triumphs of the British genius for managing colonies that the French- Canadians are loyal to the Crown, contented, happy and well-to-do, and that they have not the slightest wish to change their allegiance. Less than might have been supposed have they been influenced by France. They present a unique example of a branch severed from a parent stem and starting an independent existence. Their literary separation from France has been almost as complete as their political separation. The Church has attended to their education—they have not sent their sons and daughters “ home” for their teaching. They have not felt the impact of literary transformations any more than the rebound of political revolutions. Hon. Hector Fabre has well said : “ Our society is neither French nor English, nor Ameri- can, it is Canadian. One finds in its manners, its ideas, its customs, its tendencies something of each of the peoples in the neighbourhood of which it has lived; French petulance corrected by English common-sense, British stolidity brightened by French sprightliness. The con- tinuous practice of constitutional liberty, an incessant con- tact with institutions and forms foreign to our old mother country, the almost total cessation of intimate communica- tion with her... while they permit the ineffaceable mark of origin, they have destroyed any striking re- semblance. The Canadian feels himself as much a stranger in Paris as in London, for if our language is French, our customs and tastes are so no longer. ... Itis this society, miraculously preserved in certain respects, singularly dis- figured in others, that we must paint if we seriously wish to have a Canadian literature.” It is impossible.within the compass of a short article to mention in detail every author hailing from the Province of Quebec who has produced an historical monograph, blossomed into a fewtlleton, or penned a chanson. Suffice it to say that there TAR AUTHOR. have been many amateurs of a high type of excel- lence, and that out of a total list of a hundred and seventy or a hundred and eighty respectable writers, no fewer than seventy have indulged in verse as well as prose. The poetic form in which the literary genius of a people first breaks out has not been wanting, and if it has been born to blush unseen, it has at any rate served to keep alive a certain interest in things literary, for it is cer- tainly one use of the minor poet that he helps to clear a space in which the undoubted song-birds of the first order may sing. Between the production of the early works of which mention was made at the outset, and the date which marks the beginning of the French- Canadian literature of our modern day, there lies a somewhat arid period. If the stream of literature was in existence, it was surely flowing through subterranean passages ; buried beneath the laborious details of the lives of the pioneers. Such names as Joseph Quesnel, Michel Bibaud, Réal Angers, Bartle, Turcotte, Derome and others, though they were early in the French-Canadian field, were a long way behind their somewhat archaic fore- runners. But in them, as in those forerunners, we discover that naiveté and freshness of senti- ment which is one of the marks of French- Canadian writing. It is at the very antipodes of anything like Voltairean cynicism, Gallic frivolity, or Zolaesque realism. Among the early writers in whom these charac- teristics are strongly marked, a definite place is taken by Octave Crémazie, whose “Le Vieux Soldat Canadian” has been deservedly admired, and who has by some been considered, in his poem “Les Morts,”’ the superior of Lamartine. Among other poems of his are “Castelfidardo,” and ‘ Le Drapeau de Carillon.’ Crémazie was inspired by a keen pride of race, and he was a man of more than common reading. The attractions of com- merce seem, however, to have been stronger in his case than those of poetry. Though one or two of his poems have lived, he produced but little. The name of Léon Pamphile Lemay is familiar as the translator into French, for the benefit of his compatriots in Quebec, of Longfellow’s ‘ Evan- geline,” a work which was performed by him with an ease and sympathetic insight which are worthy of remark. M. Lemay also published a volume entitled ‘‘ Essais Poétiques.” His verse is of a tender, melancholy and dreamy cast ; a dim veil of sadness and pain seems to enshroud its beauty ; yet there is in it a simplicity, a pathos, and a transfiguring of familiar objects which commend it to the appreciative reader. But these names of literary pioneers are taken somewhat at random, and it may be that to some extent accident gave them a prominence over their THE AUTHOR. compeers that was not borne out by their essential attributes. That they were admired and appreciated shows, however, that a literary taste was being developed. This was further assisted from time to time by the establishment of literary magazines. The first of these was “La Bibliotheque Cana- dienne,” which was published in Montreal, in 1825, by the poet Bibaud, already named, and edited by him. It is interesting to turn to this carefully edited periodical, the contents of which were ambitious enough to comprise not only literary, but scientific and historical, matters. It appeared up to 1830. In 1830-81 the same editor brought out a magazine called “ L’Observateur,” and in 1832, he produced two volumes entitled “ Magasin du Bas Canada.” ‘Le Repertoire National,” in four volumes, published in 1848, was compiled by J. Huston. It contains a somewhat miscellaneous collection of all the writings of the French Canadians in prose and verse from 1777 to 1850. A fine edition of this work was produced in Mon- treal in 1895. ‘La Ruche Littéraire” (1853-59) was read with great interest by French Canadians of taste and culture. For by that time literature in French Canada had set for itself more definite aims, and there had arisen a little galaxy of stars upon the Quebec firmament. Among these the most distinguished are Pierre J. O. Chauveau, a novelist of ability; Etienne Parent, journalist, philosopher, and thinker—disposed, sometimes, to kick over the traces of the Church; Abbé J. B. A. Ferland, a careful and interesting historian ; J. C. Tache, a journalist of great force of character ; Hector Fabre, from whom a quotation has already been made—a man of fine taste, a great faculty of expression, and a considerable gift in delicate satire ; Benjamin Sulte, now the President of the Canadian Royal Society, and a very capable historian ; Abbé Provencher, a master of natural history, with especial accomplishments in ornitho- logy—-a man who found plenty to occupy his clever and industrious pen in the Canadian fields, forests, and waters ; James M. Lemoine, the historian of the old families of Quebec; Professor Paul Stevens, a writer of exquisite parables and gems of polished prose that were reproduced again and again by the newspapers ; Hector Langevin, an able lawyer who, at the age of twenty-one, became the editor of an ecclesiastical journal, and never afterwards lost his taste for literature. Here were ten men who may be said to have formed a sort of epoch, and to have brought together into a focus the wandering rays of French-Canadian literary ability. ‘They repre- sented the love of literature for its own sake, and with that disregard of pecuniary reward which has always been characteristic of the French- Canadian author, they helped to create a unique atmosphere of culture. It is impossible to read 181 their productions without being conscious that they contain a sincere and genuine enthusiasm that is as far removed as possible from the dollar hunting proclivities of many of the authors of their continent. To these names may be added those of Abbé Faillon, a preserver of the early folk-lore of the colony, and Emile Chevallier, a writer of charming romances. No name is more deservedly celebrated in Cana- dian letters than that of Francis Xavier Garneau, author of the great work “ Histoire du Canada,” which was published in three volumes in 1848. Like many of his compatriots, Garneau had in his youth written graceful and elegant verse. He takes a front rank, not only in the hearts of his country- men, but in their critical and literary estimate of him. He was a man of initiative courage, heroic perseverance, indomitable will, disinterestedness, and self-sacrifice. His ‘ Histoire” at once took a dignified place among the distinguished chronicles of other nations, and it remains, up to the present, the chief historical work among a people who have shown that they are by no means destitute of historic genius. Garneau has not been surpassed for his discern- meni of the causes that were at the back of the facts revealed in the papers referring to the early history of the colony. He is less passionate and partial than the writers who had dealt with the subject before him; for instance, he never hides the good deeds of the British. Taking his views from an elevated standpoint, he did much to raise the tone of French-Canadian history to a high, philosophical, and fruitful level. Antoine Gerin-Lajoie had the singular good fortune to acquire a wide local fame in the pro- vince before leaving college. A tragedy and a sone—especially the song—made him famous in 1842. The tragedy was based on the adventures of La Tour and his son in Nova Scotia, during the early part of the seventeenth century. The song was merely the expression of home-sickness, placed in the mouth of a Canadian exiled to a foreign land. So popular did the words of this song become among the French-speaking population, that they are now heard wherever French-Canadians have wandered on the continent of North America. The historical novel has an excellent model in “ Les Anciens Canadiens,” by M. de Gaspé, which was published at Montreal about forty years ago. It is a book that has a good place allotted to it in French-Canadian libraries. Its pages are animated by the flame of the past and the spirit of other days, for their author, who produced this work at seventy years of age, had with his own eyes seen much of what he narrates. Besides “ Les Anciens Canadiens,” two romances have had a considerable vogue. Of “ Jean Rivard’’—the work of Gerin- 182 Lajoie—we have already spoken as having brought an immediate fame to its clever young author. The other—* Charles Guérin ”—is the work of Pierre G. O. Chauveau. If the two heroes of these writers had met in the world they would have been friends. Both stories are true to life, inter- esting and well-planned. The people are natural and the local colour is good. “Jean Rivard” is, perhaps, the better of the two as an exact study of French-Canadian manners. Louis Honore Frechette, C.M.G., D.C.L., is greeted throughout Canada and the United States as the poet laureate of Canada. His poetry is of a high order ; it shows variety of conception and great delicacy of touch. His lines to various persons, whether distinguished in public life, or endeared to the author by private ties, are par- ticularly happy. He is a truly national poet, and his inspiration is found, not only in the past, but in the present. The grand dim old Canada, region of the savage huntsman and the pioneer, the voyageur, the trapper, and the missionary, with their all but fabulous doings, of these Frechette sometimes sings. But he sings also of a Quebec as it now stands ; of Montreal, as it now is ; the glories of Niagara ; the Sagueuay, the Thousand Isles, Cape Eternity, Beloeil Lake, Lake Beauport, Cape Tour- mente, and so on—the beautiful natural scenery which retains still its picturesque wildness. It is to people of to-day, or of yesterday, that his strophes are addressed. He sings rather of what French- Canada still has, as well as of what has passed away from her forever. He is the poet of the present, as Crémazie of the past ; the poet of joy and joyous nature, as Lemay is the poet of sadness and the autumn tints of earth. There is a whole- some warmth and freshness, a human life and joy about his poems which are truly refreshing. Among his more serious works are his drama of “ Papineau,” based on Canadian historical incidents ; his “ Dis- covery of the Mississipi,” his “ Canadian Year,” and his “ Légende d’un Peuple.” His poems fall natur- ally into two classes ; one treating of national, #.¢., French-Canadian subjects ; the other consisting of verses which might have been written in any country, with due regard to local colours. The former perpetuate the nobler days of French-Canada, when patriotism had not degenerated into mere provincial sentiment and race-hatred ; when the antagonism between English and French was as legitimate a feeling in Canada as on the battle- fields of Blenheim and Ramilies. But they do more than this. Beginning with the solitudes of the primeval forest, broken only by the red man in pursuit of his game, they retrace, in a long series of pictures the history of a colony, brilliant even under a cloud of obscurity. As it comes down through the excessive ages, this epic in short. poems shows, THE AUTHOR. in three epochal divisions, the development of the country from wilderness into settlement ; from settlement to the strife of the occupants ; and from the victory of the English race to events still pain- fully fresh in the memory of Canadians. “O notre histoire, écrin de perles ignorées,” says the poet ; and with the most finished art he arranges the jewels of his casket, disposing each so as to bring out its best and purest glitter. Cartier, La Salle, Jolliet, Daulac, the missionary martyrs, and others, usually left ‘unnamed among the chronicles of Kings,” stand first with him; and though generals and statesmen get a share of praise, it is with humbler men that this chiefest of French-Canadian poets loves chiefly to linger. ope THE POET v. THE STONEMASON;; or, WHY NOT A NEW MARKET FOR POETRY ? + 4 RADE again!” I fancy I can hear you mutter as you read my title... . Wait! You are not altogether wrong ; but I will try to show that there is much to be said in favour of a “market” even for such goods of the gods as poems, and this from a higher standpoint than merely the mercenary. To-day, poetry is, to use a term applied to grosser things, a “drug” on the literary market. No writer will doubt this; for his or her own experience will have taught them that this is an indubitable and dreary fact ; but supposing any- one to think the statement inaccurate, let them remember a remark made by one of the most prolific publishers we have of belles lettres, that he has been forced to refuse poems which half a century earlier would have brought their authors into prominence, and they will realise how appro- priate is the word “drug” when applied to the demand for poetry. Now, but a very cursory glance into the result of this lack of demand will show how the want of a “market” is proving actually destructive to our highest form of literature. Men—men with the real thing in them—dare not give to the use of their talent the time and application that is necessary to bring out all of that which is in them; for if they did so they would of a certainty go hungry. ‘This, if single, they might endure until finally the old story would have to be again re-told :— ® A sepulchre was built—a dead man’s throne ; A dozen thousand pounds were spent on stone And those who in his need denied him bread Now poured their riches o’er the hapless dead  But, if married, their hearts would speedily cry “Nay!” when the bairns began to voice their urgent needs. Or if not, then would the voice of the wife and mother prove just as effectual ; for she would grow mightily “dispatient” to see the man and father writing poems, however beautiful, whilst the ‘‘leetle ones ” clamoured. And go, because of a lack of market for their wares, poets dare not or must nol waste (forgive the word) time upon the exercising of that which is their right and proper function. And because of this I have little doubt but that the world is losing much fine work, and losing it in a peculiar manner. For it must not be supposed that you can silence a poet, worthy of the name, even by starving his bairns. No! instead of silencing him, in too many cases the combined terror of dumbness and the sheer need of food, force him into a compromise . . . . in fact, turn the rivers of his mind into another channel—too often to him an unnatural channel. For the poet, finding that his natural form of expression—the greatest ever gifted to man—is monetarily valueless, ai least until after he is dead, turns to upon the produc- tion of that more saleable article—the novel. Now, a man may be a great poet and but a poor novelist, so that, as a result, the world gets often badly-constructed novels in place of fine poems. Have I said enough to justify from the highest standpoint my plea for the need of a market—a mart pure and simple where poems may be sold, and the poets with the proceeds of their sales enabled to buy bread whereby they may live to work undisturbed at their art, and so give to the world other, and, perhaps better poems ? Now to my idea. I have entitled this small article “The Poet y. The Stonemason.” I find now that I had done better to have put Sculptor in place of Stone- mason; for it is chiefly with the wealthy people of the world that I look to find my market—with those who can afford the artist in place of the tradesman,” and who could afford the produce of the poet instead of the graven commonplace in- scriptions which are hideous in their frozen inability to express anything of the heart sorrow that prompts the nearest and dearest to show some mark of their love by means of a fit resting place. In short, I propose that the poet should have equal chance with the sculptor in making beautiful the Last Abode. I will go even further, and sug- gest that in many cases the poet might well take the place of the sculptor, especially where the relatives of the dead are not of the wealthiest. This, then, is the market that I propose should be opened to the poet. Let the artist take the place of the inscription-monger. Only a poet can hope to express even a tithe of the things that THE AUTHOR. 183 suffocate man in sorrow. Then, obviously, the poet is the one to whom the work should be entrusted. Wherefore a fine monument and a wretched, inadequate inscription? Better a poor monument and a great inscription. Think you, if ‘“Gray’s Elegy ” had been in truth written upon a tombstone, that anything less than a pyramid could have equalled it as a /asting memorial ? And the pyramids are dumb, save to the imaginative ; but the Elegy speaks even to those who lack the seventh sense. One more plea in the poet’s favour. Even people of but medium worldly means could fee the poet ; for the requiem in shape will be ever costlier than the requiem in words. In closing my little paper, I would suggest, with some humbleness of spirit, that poets need not write personal eulogies of the dead, but express rather the universal emotions of grief and despair and hope . . . and give voice to the human sense of lonesomeness and loss. For, it seems to me, that monuments and inscriptions are to comfort the living ; and nothing gives such ease as expres- sion. Such poems could be universal ; for such feelings and emotions as they would express are shared by all. In such wise might be written poems to the little child or the grown man which would prove universal treasures, appealing to the whole world with that true touch which makes us all akin. Sorrowful man bids the sculptor shape his sorrow in stone; let him call in also the poet who alone may speak heartfully of one who has passed Beyond the bellowing of Time’s aeon-surge. I feel a certain grave yet whimsical laughter as I ask my final question : Will any one open the market ? Wiiu1am Horr Hopeson. ———— ESSAYS ON MEDIZVAL LITERATURE.* — + LL lovers of literature, and still more all serious literary students, will be grateful to Professor Ker for having collected into a single volume his “ Essays on Mediaeval Litera- ture.” The fact that all have previously appeared, either as parts of other works, or in reviews of high standing, in no way diminishes their value as a whole. Though the publications which contain them are easy of access, it is by no means always the case that the reader interested in matters of this kind finds it convenient to be culling information 7 ea * W. P. Ker: “Essays on Medieval Literature.” London: Macmillan & Co. 1905. 184 from a number of different volumes; whilst— and this is of superlative importance—the various essays gain much in interest and significance by the light which they throw upon one another. The range is somewhat wide, from a brief treatise on Early English prose, to a notice of the late M. Gaston Paris. But the author is always keeping close to his subject, and invariably handling the topic immediately under his con- sideration with the suggestive facility of a man whose lucid and penetrating knowledge enables him to give freely out of the abundance of his information. There is nothing that Prof. Ker cannot make interesting. That means simply that he knows thoroughly what he is writing about. In a general way Harly English prose is for every reader, whose interests are not exclusively philological, a very dreary waste in which to be doomed to wander. Prof. Ker nowhere veils the peculiar kind of aridity that is a painfully leading feature in mediaeval litera- ture. On more than one occasion he makes pointed mention of this vice of most writers of the middle ages, and has interesting things to say about it. But even in the normal dulness of Early English prose his acumen discovers important merits. Where the interest of the subject is all to seek, and the art of treating it conspicuously absent, he shows the evidences of well-directed striving to reach methods of expression, that in time bore fruit of style and lucid exposition. Opinions will probably differ respecting the comparative interest of the several treatises. For our own part we must confess to a strong pre- ference for the three essays entitled “ Historical Notes on the Similes of Dante,” “ Boccaccio,” and * Chaucer.” In the first of these the author works out admirably his theme that “Dante is the first modern poet to make a consistent use, in narrative poetry, of the epic simile as derived from Homer through Virgil and the Latin poets.” The in- fluence of Dante is traced through Boccaccio to Chaucer (Prof. Ker is ever coming back to Chaucer)—and again from Chaucer onwards. One result is a revelation of how all modern poetry has its source in Dante, just as all occidental poetry has its source in Homer. Another result is the proof of ‘the vitality of classical poetry in its influence upon the moderns.” ‘Ihe essence of the Homeric simile is happily elucidated as the illus- tration that is not merely mentioned as containing a resemblance, but is further elaborated, beyond its mere parallelism, in such a manner that the picture evoked has a substantiality and value of its own. Of the immortal Boccaccio, Mr. Ker has, of course, things to say that never present themselves THE AUTHOR. to the imagination of the ordinary scribbler who blunders into writing about “John of the Tran- quillities,” under the delusion that he knows all that is to be said concerning him. The great man of letters, the great student, the great stylist, the great novelist, the great poet, the inventor of the otlava rima, the great literary discoverer, stands out in these pages in all his magnificent eminence, Most interesting is the insistence upon Boccaccio’s infallible instinct. ‘ The talents of Boccaccio for finding new kinds of literature, and making the most of them, is like the instinct of a man of business for profitable operations,” writes Prof. Ker, Nor less engaging is the elucidation of the contrast between Boccaccio and his master Petrarcha; the latter always melancholy, and the former always facing life in good spirits; Petrarcha always master, and Boccaccio always a deferential pupil ; but a pupil who saw some things with clearer, and all things with happier eyes than had been vouch- safed to his master. What Boccaccio was to Chaucer we have never seen elsewhere so clearly and fully put into words. There are always new things to be said about Chaucer—notwithstanding all that has been said about him; and some of these new things are admirably expressed in Prof. Ker’s essay. “‘ Chaucer is always at his best when he is put on his mettle by Boccaccio. . . . He learns from the Italian the lesson of sure and definite exposition.” Not that Chaucer copies or imitates Boccaccio. Prof. Ker shows that he does neither. But he learns from Boccaccio what Boccaccio had discovered for himself (for the Greek novelists where he might have found the same methods were unknown to him), the laws of construction and the art of con- ducting a story. ‘There were occasions when Chaucer took his own way, disregarded everything that he had learned from his master, and “let himself go” in the manner of the other medisevalists of his day: and then he did all the things that his master had shown him that he ought not to do, conformed with his age and its manners, and could relate in the dreariest and stalest of medizeval fashions. He gives himself a positive debauch of this kind in “The House of Fame,” and is tedious and monotonous with the dreariest. Very possibly he enjoyed it, and here and there his natural wit comes to light, and lifts him for the moment above the medizeval conventions. We have left ourselves but little space for allusion to a careful study of Gower, and an essay on Froissart (the longest in the book) in which both the course and the character of the original and of the English translation of Lord Berners are fully analysed. But we must not omit to mention the short notice of M. Gaston Paris with which the volume concludes ; an appreciation so warm and so THE sympathetic that we should commiserate the reader who could lay it down without feeling tempted to plunge into that literature of Old France to which M. Gaston Paris devoted his life. —_—___—_——_+—__+—______ AN AUTHOR’S LETTER BOX. —+-—~+— (Reprinted from New York Bookman, by kind permission of the Editor). YOUNG married American woman living in London was presented to Queen Victoria, who paid her a pretty personal compliment. A couple of hours later, at a tea at the American Embassy, a daughter of the Queen conveyed an intimation to the same American lady that she would soon be invited to Windsor Castle. This unusual incident was, naturally, much the talk of society in Tondon, and I heard every particular, for I was at the time visiting the home of the young American woman and her husband. Some years later I worked the incident into a story, and it was pretty generally sneered at by reviewers as a silly example of a writer venturing into social places about which, of course, he could know nothing. I’m case-hardened against that sort of criticism, but I took notice of a polite personal letter from a college lecturer on literature, who wrote to me condemning the use of such a highly improbable invention. To him I explained. He was all right ; he wrote and delivered a lecture on the inexpediency of the use of fact in fiction! T’ve had lots of fun out of an assumption in certain places that I am Bowery-derived—an assumption which has aided some of my critics in knowing that I know nothing about polite people. I once made use, ina short story, of some adyen- tures I shared with a couple of Harvard men while travelling in the Hawaiian Islands. This made one Harvard undergraduate so angry that he could not resist the call to rebuke me. That I should presume to speak of men and measures not of the Bowery made him sad, he said ; but that I should attempt to tell what a Harvard man would do under any circumstance was a piece of imperti- nence he could not encounter without protest. His further remarks and advice conveyed the impression that Harvard, as a social institution, depended much upon his sprightly resentment of such offending as mine. Not long after that I was a guest of Harvard Union, and inquired as to my correspondent, but no one could inform me. One took the trouble, however, to pursue his search as far as the records, and reported that there was, indeed, such a person there, but that he “was a mucker no one knew.” In my youth I reported for a newspaper a trial AUTHOR. 185 at law, famous throughout the mining States and Territories, which revealed that a mine swindle had been perpetrated through the “salting” of a bag of ore samples by an injection of a solution of gold. The cautious expert, who had personally broken down the samples of ore, had placed the bag containing them under his pillow at night, but the needle of the syringe had got there ¢owt de méme. Well, I used that incident in a magazine story not long ago, and promptly received a letter from a man whose letter-head acclaimed him to be a metallurgist and assayer, firmly informing me that such a trick was a chemical impossibility, and adding that I should shun such technicalities in fiction. One more story of this kind and then I'll tell what I’m driving at. In Lees and Leaven there is a deed to be recorded under circumstances related to the plot, and I told how it was done. From out of the West, where that part of the story lay, I received a number of letters protesting against my highly illegal procedure. T don’t know about that, either, for I had asked a lawyer who attends to such matters for a number of important industrial corporations, and I had recorded the deed strictly in accordance with his advice. Here, then, is the point: am I alone among writers in this matter of receiving letters con- demning me for errors I have not committed ? I set down these few cases, but [ recall scores. I think that many such fault-finding letters have been rejected by some newspaper, and the writers send them to authors after failing to get them into print. They sound like “letters to the editor.’ The man who approves is usually in a state of mind milder than that which moves him who disapproves, and the latter is the one who more often feels that the world will be better if he weeps forth his feelings from a fountain pen. Harper’s Weekly once turned over to me a letter from a Cincinnati lawyer scolding that excellent repository of Mr. Harvey’s thoughts for printing a “Chimmie Fadden” sketch wherein, asserted the indignant letter writer, I had been guilty of absolute indecency in “Chimmie’s” account of a night at the opera. In dismay I turned to the rinted page and found that “ Chimmie” had related, with some such reservations as one would make in telling the story to a child, the plot of Faust! hat letter I answered, pointing out that the Faust story in some form had been able to maintain a respectable place in literature so long that my Bowdlerised edition did not deserve the scorn of even the righteous. But the letter writer was not satisfied ; he saw a low purpose on my part in thrusting such a story before the pure eyes of Harper’s readers, who, he told me, were a different sort, morally, from the godless patrons of the opera. : 186 I have had many, perhaps more than a just share, of letters of commendation ; but, I repeat, those who dispraise have been very busy with my hide. The answer is obvious, of course, if one were asked to give a reason—lI’ve got only what I deserve—yet I wonder if I am alone among authors in this respect. A correspondence which came from every part of the country arose from ‘my use, in the person of “Major Max,” of the lines : Is it true, O Christ in heaven! that the wisest suffer most, That the strongest wander farthest and most hopelessly are ] x That ihe mark of rank in nature is capacity for pain, That the anguish of the singer lends its sweetness to the strain ? I would not dare to give an estimate of the number of letters I received asking the name of the author, what more verses, if any, there were, in what book the whole poem could be had, and similar questions. The Sun, in which that ‘‘ Max” story first appeared, found it expedient more than once, so many similar letters it received asking such information, to print replies in its answers to correspondents department. What seems to me to be the most whimsical letter I ever received was from a New York mer- chant, asking if the copyright in my books pre- vented the use of a menu one of them contained. Being assured that my menus were free to all, he explained that he wanted to give a certain chef an order to duplicate a dinner I described in Days Like These, but that a painful experience he had had with the law prompted him to ask my consent before proceeding with his dinner @ Ja Garnett. Epwarp W. TOowNSsEND. a THE TRANSFORMATION OF A GREAT NOVELIST. ere (Republished by kind permission of the Editor from the Westminster Gazette, December 30th, 1905.) 7 ¥ often speak of Laurence Wilders at the Scribblers’, and always with bated breath ; for, famous as the great novelist was to the public, he seemed still greater to us fellow literary men, who could gauge his work more truly and regard it more sympathetically than could the general reader. Even Blossop lowers his voice when he refers to the dead master. Only one man among us, and he is not usually silent, has been in the habit of listening without remark ; and yet Gorham and Wilders were intimate friends. But the other evening, after we had been speak- ing of Wilders’s last book, of the many personal qualities which had endeared him to us, of his fierce outbursts of passion, his impulsive generosity, THE AUTHOR. his almost womanly tenderness of heart, Gorham, gazing at as much of the fire as Blossop permitted to be seen, said slowly and gravely, rather as if he were communing with himself than addressing us : “Poor Wilders has been dead nearly twelve months ; I wonder whether the time has come for ts me to unseal my lips ? ” | We said with ill-concealed emphasis and eager- ness that it certainly had; and Gorham went on, still more gravely: “As you all know, I was Wilders’s most intimate friend. You were speaking just now, Millan, of the extraordinary change which F took place in him some years ago, of the cessation | ¥ \ of those outbursts of passion which used to trans- — = form the gentlest of men into . ‘CA frenzied lunatic,” said Millan. “ Why, yes ; ¢ don’t you remember how he used to rush in here § @> waving a magazine containing one of his stories, es and, striking the thing furiously with his clenched cals? fist, inveigh against the artist ? I recollect on one ha occasion he actually tore the illustrations from a peu! | book of his, and, flinging them on the floor, me danced upon them, yelling, ‘ Look at this! I have (gy described this man as a gentleman ; observe the at bounder this “artist ’ has made of him! my heroine — heroine ! beautiful.” I have taken pages to describe the girl. Look at: this—this hideous housemaid with her nose out of drawing, and her figure like a sack tied round the middle! ‘This, if you please, is the illustration of a scene at a lunch-party ; of course, the “artist” has put the men in evening dress ! And this is a boat. A boat! The wretch has made the man rowing it stern first. The animal kw in this picture is intended for a horse. I know it ~ is, because the line underneath says ‘ He bent Pd from his horse.” ’”’ bad Gorham nodded. ‘‘ Yes, poor Wilders suffered tal a great deal from the artist in his early and strug- oe gling days. Ofcourse they did not give him the best men. But when the drawing was good, how delighted, how grateful he was! And now we bot come to speak of the change in him. Later on, at or a certain period of his life, you will remember that, Flag however bad the block may have been, he never raged, never uttered even a word of complaint. fF... The change was an enigma to all of us. Itshall — be an enigma no ionger; I can explain it. The night before he died I was sitting beside his bed. He knew that death was near, but he was quite placid, and even cheerful, and his face wore a look of absolute content. It was a moonlight night ; he lay on his side looking through the window—he had asked me to pull up the blind—on the pretty FF — little garden at the back of that quaint, old- fF ! fashioned house of his at Leatherhead. 5 “Vou are all right—there is nothing I can do for you, old man ?’ I asked. This is Hl “Tall, slim, graceful, itn  THE AUTHOR. “éNo’ he said, ‘nothing. I am going out quietly and comfortably with, thank Heaven, a mind and a heart at rest. For some time past I have known that my innings were drawing to a close.’ “© Yes,’ I said; we have all noticed at the Seribblers’ how—how much calmer and more peaceful you have been of late.’ « ¢ He turned his eyes to me and smiled. ‘ Ah, yes,’ he said, in that soft pleasant voice of his. ‘I imow what you mean. But the knowledge of my coming death was not the reason of the change. I have often thought I would tell you. I will tell you now. You are referring to the fuss I used to make over the illustrations? Yes, yes ; of course.’ “* You grew resigned?’ I suggested. « «No it was not resignation ; it was action. It began this way: One night after I had been storming at the Club at one of the blocks to a story of mine in the Park Lane Magazine, | came home here, still fuming, and found the artist waiting for me. He had come to ask me some- thing about the illustration for the next number, of which he had brought a sketch. It was a horrible thing, worse even than the one which had driven me almost mad ; but the wretched man was quite complacent ; and I suppose his complacency upset me, for as he gazed at the sketch admiringly, with his head on one side and a conceited smile across his stupid face, I caught up the poker and struck him on the back of the head. He fell without a word or a groan, and, after tearing up the sketch and carefully burning it, I knelt down and examined him. He was quite dead ; oh quite. It was a great nuisance, of course, and I was very much annoyed, for I assure you, my dear fellow, that I did not intend to kill him. But the thing was done ; and as I hate any thing like a fuss—I fear that some men you and I know would have used this affair as an advertisement !—I said nothing about it; but later on, when my house- keeper and the servants had gone to bed, I dug a grave in the garden and buried him.’ ” “ Wilders was silent for amoment or two, and then he continued reflectively, with that pensive smile which made his face almost womanly in its ‘softness : “<T am quite convinced, my dear boy, that we literary men don’t take enough exercise. Jor instance, up to that time I used to be a bad sleeper ; it was not exactly insomnia, you know, but I was just a bad sleeper. That night after digging the grave I slept like a top. Of course it was the healthy exercise, the good smell of the newly turned earth, the work in the fresh air, the pleasant excitement accompanying the wholesome physical exercise. Oh, of course J am not forget- ting the soothing influence of an approving con- science. We are all so selfish ; we so loathe to do 187 good if the doing of it should entail a little trouble. But this affair was a lesson to me, a kind of inspiration. I think scarcely a week passed without my disposing of an artist. No; I did not again use the poker. You know how I detest physical violence. A blow is crude, brutal ; and, my dear Gorham, we must consider the feelings of even the lowest types of humanity. Think of the shock of a sudden blow! No; I used to invite them up to chat over their drawings and give them a glass of wine. There is very little taste in cyanide, you know, and it works with charming celerity. I am glad to think that they never, or scarcely ever, endured a pang. And I always buried them myself. You have no idea how soon I learned to dig even a full-sized grave quickly and neatly. I have often thought that if literature failed me I shoald apply for a sexton’s place. It is a peaceful, wholesome occupation. It is the contemplative man’s vocation.’ “ He was silent for a minute or two, then he said : “Do you think you could drag the bed a little nearer the window ? Thanks, thanks! Yes, lam sorry to leave my garden. It hasn’t many flowers— for obvious reasons ; but I have grown toloveit. I have “ got ” most of my books there, strolling round or sitting in that rustic seat under the plane-tree in the corner. I worked out “ Anabel-Snow ” there.’ «<< The sweetest, the most pathetic, and the most tender of idylls,’ I said. «You are good to say so, dear fellow,’ he mur- mured shyly, his eyes growing moist: you know how he used to melt at a word of praise from one one of us. ‘I don’t think it could have been written anywhere. : . . [am glad [have mentioned that little matter. I—ah, well! I don’t want to talk of example and the rest of it; but, my dear lad, if at any time you should be tempted to turn aside from the performance of an obvious duty just remember the comfort and consolation, the deep and lasting peace, which the discharge of this duty of mine has brought to me.... How exquisitely the moonlight falls on the grass-plot ! Tt is a little uneven; I never could succeed in relaying the sods quite level, quite as they were before. But the next man should grow some good flowers there—the soil must be rich. Will you give me a drink? Thanks, dear Gorham ! T think I can go to sleep now; our talk has soothed me.’ « Tt was his last sleep, as you know,” concluded Gorham, almost inaudibly. Blossop turned his face to the fire and blew his nose loudly. “He was a good man,” he said in a smothered voice ; and we nodded assent. None of us could speak, and there were tears in all our eyes. CHARLES GARVICE. THE AUTHOR. CORRESPONDENCE. —+—<—+ —_ Tue UNIT or An EDITION. Srr,—Much has been gained by the distinction between an edition and an impression. The question of the unit of either is not so easily settled. Much may be said for the unit of 1,000 and the designation of “half edition” or “ quarter edition” where 500 or 250 copies are printed. But there can be no difficulty in stating the actual number of the copies printed, and such a statement would, I submit, be more satisfactory to all persons interested. Perhaps the best solution is to leave the matter to be settled by the discretion of individual producers, and not to overdo the number of general rules which cannot bind anybody. A more important point, and a point so important that compulsory legislation might be brought to bear upon it, is the statement of the date of publication upon the title page. Yours obediently, J. M. Luty. 1+ Sir,—In The Author for January Mr. Lewis Melville writes of Trollope that he “is not dis- appearing, he has disappeared,” and that it is impossible to obtain a set of his best works, If the first of these assertions has ever been true, which I am rather inclined to doubt, it has certainly not been applicable to the United States during the past year or two. There has, indeed, been a regular “boom” in Trollope. I have found it difficult to get his best novels from the public libraries of New York and Cambridge, and the librarians informed me that they were in great demand. Paragraphs or articles about Trollope are constantly appearing in daily, weekly, or monthly periodicals, and his name turns up at social gatherings with almost as much frequency as those of present-day favourites like Mrs. Whar- ton or Miss May Sinclair. Messrs. Dodd, Mead & Co. are publishing an excellent edition of his novels. I imagine if Baron Tauchnitz were asked, he would be able to tell of a pretty steady sale of Trollope’s works. At any rate, during my present visit to the United States I have seen more Tauchnitz copies of Trollope than of any other single author ; and Tauchnitz reprints are pretty common over here. I would therefore humbly submit that Mr. Melviile’s attitude towards Trollope is rather belated, or, at any rate, insular. Yours very truly, James F, MuIRHEAD. 6, Riedesel Avenue, Cambridge, Mass. A Missine Vouume. Srr,—Since my communications to The Author of November and December last, certain develop- ments, which may prove of interest to members, have occurred in connection with the old novel “ Rebecca, or the Victim of Duplicity,” whose third volume is still eagerly sought. In the first place we succeeded in tracing, through the kind offices of a gentleman in Paris, a catalogue for 1815 of the publishers of the book, Messrs, Lackington, Allen & Co., London, with a brief extract from a notice thereon, culled from The European Magazine, but without any date. This, however, was soon supplied, and the loan obtained from another friend of the volume of the magazine, January to June, 1808, in the March number of which appears an exhaustive review of “ Rebecca,” signed J. M., the initials, it is assumed, of Joseph Moser, a well-known contributor to The European und like periodicals of his time. Happily, the doubt which prevails in some minds as to any existence after all of a third volume is now quite set at rest, although we have not been so fortunate in establishing the identity of the writer. The fact, however, that ‘* Rebecca” was printed at Uttoxeter, whence was also issued, in the year 1821, a work entitled ‘“* Tales Serious and Instruc- tive,” by Ann Catherine Holbrook, distinctly lends colour to the inference that this lady was the authoress. J. M. was apparently ignorant of the name of the writer, as, although he attributes the authorship to a male—we find the words “he,” “him,” “his” often employed—no other indica- tion is ever given, so he was probably unable to pierce the mask of anonymity. ; The motive of the book was to lash unmercifully the evils of some “new philosophy ” which obtained at that period, and a discourse anent which occupies much space at the commencement of a very able criticism highly appreciative of the novelist’s efforts and the power of his, or her, denunciations. The book must have created some stir in its day, and have contained scenes of a most pathetic, harrowing description, calculated forcibly to im- press upon its readers the lessons of tolerance and Christianity it was the object of the author, or authoress, to convey. It has been suggested how it would be appro- priate to reprint the novel at Uttoxeter on the occasion of its centenary. But we must first trace that missing third volume. CEcIL CLARKE. Authors’ Club, 8.W. to 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 06 (March 1906) Subject The topic of the resource <em>The Author</em>, Vol. 16 Issue 06 (March 1906) Type The nature or genre of the resource Publication Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 1906-03-01-The-Author-16-6 publications The Author