| 250 | https://historysoa.com/items/show/250 | The Author, Vol. 01 Issue 12 (April 1891) | <a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=%3Cem%3EThe+Author%3C%2Fem%3E%2C+Vol.+01+Issue+12+%28April+1891%29"><em>The Author</em>, Vol. 01 Issue 12 (April 1891)</a> | | | <a href="https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015031017927&view=1up&seq=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015031017927</a> | | | | | | | | <a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Publication">Publication</a> | 1891-04-15-The-Author-1-12 | | | | | 309–334 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | <a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=89&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1">1</a> | | | | | | | | | | | <a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=76&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1891-04-15">1891-04-15</a> | | | | | | | 12 | | | 18910415 | Vol. I.–No. 12.]<br />
APRIL 15, 1891<br />
.<br />
[Price, Sixpence.<br />
The Author.<br />
THE ORGAN OF THE SOCIETY OF AUTHORS<br />
(INCORPORATED).<br />
CONDUCTED BY<br />
WALTER BESANT.<br />
Published for the Society by<br />
ALEXANDER P. WATT, 2, PATERNOSTER SQUARE,<br />
LONDON, E.C.<br />
1891.<br />
<br />
<br />
## p. 308 (#370) ############################################<br />
<br />
ii. :<br />
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## p. 308 (#371) ############################################<br />
<br />
ADVERTISEMENTS.<br />
The Society of Authors (Jncorporated),<br />
PRESIDENT.<br />
The Right Hon. THE LORD TENNYSON, D.C.L.<br />
Sir EDWIN ARNOLD, K.C.I. E.<br />
ALFRED AUSTIN.<br />
A. W. À BECKETT.<br />
ROBERT BATEMAN.<br />
SIR HENRY BERGNE, K.C.M.G.<br />
WALTER BESANT.<br />
AUGUSTINE BIRRELL, M.P.<br />
R. D. BLACKMORE.<br />
Rev. Prof. BONNEY, F.R.S.<br />
LORD BRABOURNE.<br />
JAMES BRYCE, M.P.<br />
P. W. CLAYDEN.<br />
EDWARD CLODD.<br />
W. MARTIN CONWAY.<br />
MARION CRAWFORD.<br />
OSWALD CRAWFURD, C.M.G.<br />
The Earl OF DESART.<br />
A. W. DUBOURG.<br />
John Eric ERICHSEN, F.R.S.<br />
PROF. MICHAEL FOSTER, F.R.S.<br />
HERBERT GARDNER, M.P.<br />
RICHARD GARNETT, LL.D.<br />
EDMUND GOSSE.<br />
COUNCIL.<br />
II. Rider HAGGARD.<br />
THOMAS HARDY,<br />
PROF. E. RAY LANKESTER, F.R.S.<br />
J. M. LELY.<br />
Rev. W. J. LOFTIE, F.S.A.<br />
F. MAX-MÜLLER, LL.D.<br />
GEORGE MEREDITH.<br />
HERMAN C. MERIVALE.<br />
Rev. C. H. MIDDLETON-WAKE, F.L.S.<br />
T. C. PARKINSON.<br />
THE EARL OF PEMBROKE AND MONTGOMERY.<br />
Sir FREDERICK POLLOCK, BART., LL.D.<br />
WALTER Herries POLLOCK.<br />
A. G. Ross.<br />
GEORGE AUGUSTUS SALA.<br />
W. BAPTISTE SCOONES.<br />
G. R. Sims.<br />
J. J. STEVENSON.<br />
JAS. SULLY.<br />
William Moy THOMAS<br />
H. D. TRAILL, D.C.L.<br />
EDMUND YATES.<br />
Hon. Counsel-E. M. UNDERDOWN, Q.C.<br />
COMMITTEE OF MANAGEMENT.<br />
Chairman-WALTER BESANT.<br />
ROBERT BATEMAN.<br />
A. W. À BECKETT.<br />
W. MARTIN COSWAY.<br />
EDMUND Gosse.<br />
H. RIDER HAGGARD.<br />
! J. M. LELY.<br />
SIR FREDERICK POLLOCK.<br />
A. G. Ross.<br />
|<br />
Solicitors.<br />
Messrs. FiELI', Roscoe & Co., Lincoln's Inn Fields.<br />
Secretary-S. SQUIRE SPRIGGE.<br />
OFFICES.<br />
4, PORTUGAL STREET, LINCOLN'S INN FIELDS, W.C.<br />
VOL. I.<br />
2<br />
D<br />
<br />
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## p. 308 (#372) ############################################<br />
<br />
A D VER Tl SEMEN TS.<br />
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try a pen a few days, and if by chance the writing point does not suit his hand, exchange it for another<br />
without charge, or have his money returned if wanted.<br />
There are various points to select from, broad, medium, and fine, every handwriting can be suited, and<br />
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The Gold Pens in the " Swan " are Mabie, Told & Co.'s famous make; they are 14-carat tempered<br />
gold, very handsome, and positively unaffected by any kind of ink. They are pointed with selected<br />
polished iridium. The " Encyclopedia Britannica" says—"Iridium is a nearly white metal of high<br />
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They will not penetrate the paper, and writer's cramp is unknown among users of Gold Pens; one will<br />
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## p. 309 (#373) ############################################<br />
<br />
{The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly!)<br />
CONDUCTED BY WALTER BESANT.<br />
Vol. I.—No. 12.]<br />
APRIL 15, 1891.<br />
[Price Sixpence.<br />
CONTENTS.<br />
Conditions of Membership<br />
Warnings<br />
Notes and News<br />
The American Copyright Bill—<br />
I. By E. L. Godkin<br />
II. ...<br />
A School for Novelists<br />
Author v. Editor<br />
"1 hey all lived happy ever afterwards<br />
M L'fcnfant Prodigue"<br />
Correspondence—<br />
I. Authors and Reviewers<br />
II. Baron 1 auchnitz<br />
I'AGE<br />
■ 3°9<br />
- 3°9<br />
.. 310<br />
• 3M<br />
. 316<br />
• 3'7<br />
• 3^0<br />
.. 320<br />
■ 323<br />
• 3»4<br />
■ 325<br />
Correspondence—continued—<br />
III. F rom Chastclard ...<br />
IV. Gratuitous Contributions<br />
V. "The Last Dream of Julius Roy"<br />
VI. The Signed Article<br />
VII. Note on a Case<br />
VIII. The Cost of a Stamp<br />
In Grub Street<br />
A Bill to amend title sixty, chapter three, of the Revised Statutes<br />
of the United States, relating to copyrights<br />
New Books<br />
Advertisements<br />
3-5<br />
3-*5<br />
3-'5<br />
326<br />
3-7<br />
3=7<br />
3=9<br />
332<br />
333<br />
CONDITIONS OF MEMBERSHIP.<br />
The Subscription is One Guinea annually, payable on the<br />
1st of January of each year. The sum of Ten Guineas for<br />
life membership entitles the subscriber to full membership of<br />
the S> ciety.<br />
Authors of published works alone are eligible for member-<br />
ship.<br />
Those who desire to assist the Society but are not authors<br />
are admitted as Associates, on the same subscription, but<br />
have no voice in the government of the Society.<br />
Cheques and Postal Oiders should be crossed "The Im-<br />
perial Bank, Limited, Westminster Branch."<br />
Those who wish to be proposed as members may send<br />
their names at any lime to the Secretary at the Society's<br />
Offices, when they will receive a form for the enumeration<br />
of their works. Subscriptions entered alter the 1st of<br />
October will cover the next year.<br />
The Secretary may be personally consulted between the<br />
hours of I p.m. and 5, except on Saturdays. It is preferable<br />
that an appointment should be made by letter.<br />
The Author, the Organ of the Society, can be procured<br />
through all newsagents, or from the publisher, A. P. Watt,<br />
2, Paternoster Square, E.G.<br />
A copy will be sent free to any member of the Society for<br />
one twelvemonth, dating from May, 1889. It is hoped,<br />
however, that most members will subscribe to the paper.<br />
The yearly subscription is 6s. 61/., including postjge, which<br />
may be sent to the Secretary, 4, Portugal Street, W.C.<br />
With regard to the reading of MSS. for young writers,<br />
the fee for this service is one guinea. MSS. will be read<br />
and reported upon for others than members, but members<br />
cannot have their works read for nothing.<br />
In all cases where an opinion is desired upon a manuscript,<br />
the author should send with it a table of contents. A type-<br />
written scenario is also of very great assistance.<br />
It must be understood that such a reader's report, however<br />
favourable, does not assist the author towards publication.<br />
vol.<br />
WARNINGS.<br />
Readers of the Author are earnestly desired to make the<br />
following warnings as widely known as possible. They are<br />
based on the experience of six years' work upon the dangers<br />
to which literary property is exposed :—<br />
(1) Never to sign any agreement of which the alleged cost<br />
of production forms an integral part, unless an<br />
opportunity of proving the correctness of the figures<br />
is given them.<br />
(2) Never to enter into any correspondence with publishers,<br />
especially with advertising publishers, who are not<br />
recommended by experienced friends, or by this<br />
Society.<br />
(3) Never, on any account whatever, to bind themselves<br />
down for future work to any one firm of publishers.<br />
(4) Never to accept any proposal of royalty without con-<br />
sultation with the Society, or, at least, ascertaining<br />
exactly what the agreement gives to the author ami<br />
what to the publisher.<br />
(5) Never to accept any offer of money for MSS., with-<br />
out previously taking advice of the Society.<br />
(6) Never to accept any pecuniary risk or responsibility<br />
without advice.<br />
(7) Never, when a MS. has l>een refused by respectable<br />
houses, to pay others, whatever promises they may<br />
put forward, for the production of the work.<br />
(8) Never to sign away American or foreign rights.<br />
Keep them. Refuse to sign an agreement containing<br />
a clause which reserves them for the publisher. If<br />
the publisher insists, take away the MS. and offer it<br />
to another.<br />
(9) Never forget that publishing is a business, like any-<br />
other business, totally unconnected with philanthropy,<br />
charity, or pure love of literature. You have to do<br />
with business men.<br />
Society's Offices:—<br />
4, Portugal Street, Lincoln's Inn Fields.<br />
2 l> 2<br />
A<br />
<br />
<br />
## p. 310 (#374) ############################################<br />
<br />
3io<br />
THE AUTHOR.<br />
NOTES AND NEWS.<br />
THE President of the United States signed<br />
the International Copyright Bill, the papers<br />
say, with a quill taken from an American<br />
eagle—an eagle of the bald variety, caught for the<br />
occasion, and kindly persuaded to have the feather<br />
pulled out of the wing by the united pleadings of<br />
the British Lion and the Eagles of France, Germany,<br />
Austria and Russia. It was a beautiful quill, though<br />
the noble bird appeared to resent the loss of it and<br />
the pain caused by its extraction. The cutting of<br />
the quill was undertaken by the Secretary of the<br />
International Copyright League, Mr. R. Underwood<br />
Johnson. After the signature, he received the<br />
instrument as a reward for his services. On his<br />
return home Mr. Johnson found, we are happy to<br />
report, his desk ornamented with flowers and small<br />
United States flags—why not the flags of all the<br />
world ?—in honour of his success.<br />
A copy of the new American Copyright Bill has<br />
been sent to every member of the Society, with a<br />
request that he will read it and forward any remarks<br />
or suggestions on the subject. Some replies have<br />
already been sent in, but too late for this number.<br />
It would be well if most of us, who are not lawyers,<br />
would, before writing on the subject, read Sir<br />
Frederick Pollock's article in the current Contem-<br />
porary. His last words are a warning :—<br />
"Learned friends who may do me the honour to<br />
read this paper, will perhaps think that I have in-<br />
sisted too much on elementary legal conclusions.<br />
But there are amateur lawyers as well as learned<br />
and qualified lawyers, and the law of copyright is<br />
called a favourite hunting ground of amateurs.<br />
When an amateur lawyer once goes a" mare's-<br />
nesting among Acts of Parliament, there is no<br />
knowing what falls may ensue to him, or anyone<br />
who follows him ; and my only fear in this respect<br />
is that I may not have been elementary enough."<br />
Our members are therefore solemnly warned<br />
that we do not ask for the opinions of the amateur<br />
lawyer on points of law.<br />
M. Zola is the new President of the Soriite des<br />
Gens de Lcttres. The accumulated funds of this<br />
Society now amount to .£95,000, of which two-<br />
thirds are available for pension purposes. When<br />
shall we be able to boast of our accumulations?<br />
and protection of the material interests of literature,<br />
but will become a kind of Academy, admission to<br />
which will be a distinction only conferred on those<br />
of proved and marked ability. This proposed<br />
change, it is said, explains certain exclusions or<br />
blackballings which have recently taken place in<br />
the Society. One of the rejected candidates was<br />
a lady, and at first it was supposed that the Com-<br />
mittee wished to exclude women altogether—which,<br />
in the words of Euclid, is absurd. Therefore,<br />
that could not be the cause of rejection. But, the<br />
Debats asks, what power has the Society to change<br />
its constitution? It is not a question of titular<br />
membership. The Committee are trustees for a<br />
great Pension Fund, created for the benefit of all<br />
litterateurs. If it becomes an Academy, the<br />
Government would have the right of withdrawing<br />
this Trust and creating another Society. It is, in<br />
fact, as if the Chemical Society should try to<br />
make its membership as great a distinction as the<br />
Fellowship of the Royal Society, and should<br />
refuse to admit any but the most distinguished<br />
chemists; or it is as if the Institute of Civil<br />
Engineers would have none but the best and<br />
most famous engineers. We have ourselves<br />
learned so much from the practical common sense<br />
of the Socic'te that one is sorry to hear of such a<br />
change even in contemplation. As for ourselves,<br />
we are the servants of all writers of every degree.<br />
Membership is open to any who have published a<br />
book. We advance no other object than the pro-<br />
tection of our material interests.<br />
If this Society should happen to want in the course<br />
of the year assistance, unpaid, voluntary, and active,<br />
are thereanymembers—orfriendsof members—who<br />
would be ready to give it? If so, will they kindly<br />
give me their names and tell me what they could do<br />
for us? It is the strength of our Association<br />
that most of the work hitherto done for it has been<br />
done by unpaid members, who have nothing what-<br />
ever to gain out of it for themselves. As things<br />
look at present, I think that there will very soon<br />
be work enough for a good many more volunteers.<br />
The Societc des Gens de Let/res according to the<br />
Debats, is contemplating a new departure. It will<br />
no longer confine its operations to the maintenance<br />
Here is a satisfactory testimony to the good<br />
results of what seemed to some a barren contro-<br />
versy. The writer's name is suppressed for obvious<br />
reasons. For one thing he might incur ecclesias-<br />
tical censure, or even bell, book, and candle, which<br />
would be dreadful. "With regard to the S.P.C.K.,<br />
against whom you took up the cudgels last year<br />
for those who are unable or afraid to do so them-<br />
selves, I have reaped the benefit in increased<br />
payment for work of mine. This has the, perhaps,<br />
<br />
<br />
## p. 311 (#375) ############################################<br />
<br />
THE AUTHOR.<br />
311<br />
intended effect of preventing my voice from being<br />
raised with others." Can the Literary Housemaid<br />
of the Church be cleaning and sweeping—it would<br />
be the spring cleaning—with the aid, one supposes,<br />
of the Literary Cook of the Church, and the Literary<br />
Charwoman of the Church?<br />
Mr. Edmund Gosse very wisely and opportunely<br />
calls attention, in his article in the April Contem-<br />
porary, to the distinction between literary merit and<br />
pecuniary reward. They are, as we have already<br />
insisted more than once in these columns, things<br />
which have no necessary relations to each other.<br />
The most popular of authors may be the most<br />
worthless, so far as regards many essentials of<br />
literary style and form. One or two qualities, and<br />
these certainly the rarest, the successful man must<br />
have. First of all, he must be able to catch and<br />
to rivet the attention. If he is a novelist or a<br />
dramatist, he must have "grip." Now I think it<br />
will be allowed that "grip" is a very valuable<br />
quality indeed. But we must altogether put out<br />
of our minds the idea that the author who makes<br />
a large income is therefore a good writer. I say,<br />
altogether, because there is not only no proportion,<br />
but there is no possible comparison. For instance<br />
—not to touch on living examples—the late<br />
Countess of Blessington made for some years a<br />
very large income indeed by her novels. Let<br />
anyone, now, try to read those terrible works. At<br />
the same time it is not in human nature for the<br />
popular author not to believe that his head also<br />
touches the skies. After all, this only means that<br />
persons of cultivation, education, and taste will<br />
desire the best literature, and the lower sort the<br />
lower literature. Now the lower sort will always<br />
be the larger sort.<br />
Mr. Gosse further says that he considers the<br />
Society of Authors as a firm of solicitors acting<br />
solely for literary clients. That seems to me on<br />
the whole a very fair definition. But there is this<br />
important difference. A firm of solicitors sends in<br />
its little bill. The Society of Authors does not.<br />
The solicitors interpret, explain, and employ the<br />
law for their clients only. The Society of Authors<br />
publishes information about law and the breaking<br />
of the law for all the world to read.<br />
On Friday, April 3rd, a letter appeared in the<br />
Times, signed "Ouida," on the justice and necessity<br />
of safe-guarding dramatic rights in fiction by Act<br />
of Parliament. This letter, a very able, lucid and<br />
eloquent exposition of the case, is the thousand<br />
and first protest of novelists against the cruel<br />
injustice with which their rights are treated. Pro-<br />
tests indignant, sarcastic, comic, wrathful, have<br />
been uttered by Dickens, by Wilkie Collins, by<br />
John Hollingshead, by Charles Reade and I know<br />
not by what others. Ouida's is only one more<br />
added to the list. They are all read to-day and for-<br />
gotten to-morrow. To protest, in fact, does no good<br />
at all. There is not, unhappily, in human nature<br />
such a passion for justice as regards other people's<br />
property as makes them long to be up and acting<br />
when a protest against injustice is uttered. As<br />
regards their own property, of course, the passion for<br />
justice does exist in its most intense form. Every<br />
time a slave shrieked under the lash he protested<br />
against the injustice of his lot; but his protests<br />
did him little good. Nay, they did him harm,<br />
because there arises, in time, a contempt for those<br />
who can only shriek, but cannot help themselves.<br />
Ouida's protest, therefore, considered as a cry of<br />
the helpless, is much more likely to do harm than<br />
to do good. Meantime—a fact of which she is<br />
apparently quite ignorant—the Society, without<br />
making any protest at all, has been quietly engaged<br />
in taking the first steps towards removing this in-<br />
justice. It has drafted a Bill consolidating and<br />
amending the Copyright Law in which the dra-<br />
matic rights are reserved, defined and protected.<br />
This Bill, as our readers know, is in Lord Monks-<br />
well's hands, and has already been read once in<br />
the House of Lords.<br />
Now this is a very apt illustration of what may<br />
be done when authors combine. We have a<br />
Copyright Committee composed entirely of lawyers.<br />
They have done for us what we certainly could<br />
never do for ourselves, working separately and by<br />
means of protests and letters in the Times. The<br />
passing of this Bill, which is in no sense political<br />
and attacks no interests, we may regard as merely<br />
a matter of time. Another illustration of what<br />
may be done when people combine is to be found<br />
in the two books of the Society—the "Cost of<br />
Production" and the "Methods of Publishing."<br />
Hitherto, authors have been kept designedly in<br />
the dark as to the actual cost of printing and pro-<br />
ducing a book. They have been kept equally in<br />
the dark as to the retail prices and the actual pro-<br />
ceeds of their books. Therefore they cor.ld not<br />
possibly tell what any agreement submitted to<br />
them meant. By united action, that is to say, by<br />
supporting an office and a staff, whose duty it was to<br />
work and to collect information, this has now been<br />
done. Henceforth, no author need sign any<br />
agreement without understanding exactly what the<br />
publisher offers to give him and what he designs<br />
to keep for himself. No honourable man can<br />
possibly object to this understanding. It is there-<br />
<br />
<br />
## p. 312 (#376) ############################################<br />
<br />
312<br />
THE AUTHOR.<br />
fore a step in which all honourable publishers as<br />
well as all authors must rejoice over. And it is<br />
the first fruit of combined action.<br />
A lady sends me, as a protest against the book-<br />
sellers' opinion that women buy few books except<br />
novels, a list of books purchased by herself and<br />
her sisters during a few years of residence in the<br />
country. The letter is not for publication, but<br />
I hope I do not violate confidence if I say that<br />
these ladies seem to have read—and bought—all<br />
the principal books of the last two or three years,<br />
together with a great number of standard books by<br />
authors now deceased. There are books of science,<br />
books of religion, histories, biographies, belles<br />
lettres, poetry, and fiction, the books of the last-<br />
named being in a very small minority. The large<br />
amount of poetry in the list seems to confirm my<br />
belief that we are going to have a return of the<br />
popularity of poetry, not of course among the baser<br />
sort who have never loved poetry, but among those<br />
of cultivation and education. But perhaps these<br />
ladies are exceptions even among the higher class.<br />
The list gives one a glimpse into a very pleasant<br />
and refined interior. Such ladies want no vindi-<br />
cation, and such statements as that against which<br />
my correspondent enters her protest do not apply<br />
to them.<br />
We have spoken in the Author of recent<br />
American verse, and it was suggested that since<br />
there are so many living poets in the States it would<br />
be well if some of their work was introduced to<br />
English readers who are thirsting for new poets.<br />
I am happy to say that something has been already-<br />
done in this direction. A dainty volume in brown<br />
paper (" Garde Joyeuse," Frank Murray, Derby and<br />
Nottingham) has been presented to me. It is a<br />
collection of Society verses. They suggest Praed<br />
and Austin Dobson, with a reminiscence here and<br />
there of Andrew Lang. Many of them are very<br />
pretty and dexterous. Perhaps some of our<br />
readers would like to make acquaintance with the<br />
volume. I am not able to state the price. Here<br />
is one little thing, as light as froth, but pretty. It<br />
is called " Private Theatricals."<br />
You were a haughty beaut)', Polly<br />
( That was in the play),<br />
I was the lover melancholy<br />
(That was in the play);<br />
And when your fan and you receded,<br />
And all my passion lay unheeded,<br />
If still with tenderer words I pleaded,<br />
They were in the play.<br />
I met my rival in the gateway<br />
(That was in the play),<br />
And so we fought a duel straightway<br />
(That was in the play);<br />
But when Jack hurt my arm unduly,<br />
And you rushed over, softened newly,<br />
And kissed me, Polly! truly, truly,<br />
Was that in the play?<br />
The author of this little poem is Miss Louise<br />
Imogene Guiney. I should like also to quote Miss<br />
Eva L. Ogden's "The Sea," but I think it has<br />
already appeared in some English magazine. At<br />
least the lines seem familiar to me.<br />
I have had a good many communications from<br />
novelists on the subject of reviewing quite apart from<br />
the subject of the School of Novelists, considered<br />
later. It is natural that authors should feel strongly<br />
upon the subject. There never was a time when<br />
they liked the reviewer, either the one who wields the<br />
bludgeon, or the one who carries the rapier, or the<br />
man who employs the dissecting scalpel. There-<br />
fore one accepts the ordinary grumble as a grumble,<br />
and nothing more. Yet there seems a real grievance<br />
in the lumping of a dozen or twenty novels into a<br />
set to be reviewed in a single coluinn or two<br />
columns. This makes it not only impossible to<br />
give anything like a review—what may be called a<br />
serious review—to a work of art, but it degrades a<br />
most important branch of literature thus to treat it<br />
as if all the books of this branch are to be thrown<br />
together into a heap. Moreover, it is absolutely<br />
absurd to expect a man who works for pay to read<br />
books of which he has to furnish a dozen reviews<br />
every week. The thing is too ridiculous. There<br />
are, for instance, papers in which books receive a<br />
line and a half or two lines of notice. How much<br />
of these books can be read? Now, we cannot<br />
possibly make good reviewers out of bad, but we<br />
can reconsider the rights and uses of reviews.<br />
Certainly the contemptuous "batch" method of<br />
reviewing can do no good at all to either authors or<br />
publishers or the interests of literature. Perhaps<br />
editors only want to have their attention turned to<br />
the absurdity.<br />
The reviewing of novels in the batch was started<br />
at a time when novels were about at their lowest<br />
pointof commonplace and conventionality. Fiction<br />
is now the most vigorous branch of letters, the most<br />
useful, the most instructive, the most influential, in<br />
every civilized country throughout the world. It1S<br />
monstrous that novels should be still treated as if<br />
the best novel was a thing of less importance than<br />
the most trifling addition to the many series of<br />
<br />
<br />
## p. 313 (#377) ############################################<br />
<br />
THE AUTHOR.<br />
1 o<br />
o 1 T 1<br />
biographies, each of which gets its two columns<br />
of notice all to itself. We must not allow this<br />
question to rest.<br />
The following is a somewhat remarkable question:<br />
the Society, so far, has not been able, such is the<br />
ignorance of its staff, to furnish an answer.<br />
"Mr. A. B. presents his compliments to the<br />
Society of Authors, and would feel exceedingly<br />
obliged if they would kindly inform him what the<br />
cost of an international copyright would be, and<br />
also the price of one for Great Britain and the<br />
colonies; also how Mr. A. B. could succeed in<br />
procuring a copyright when required."<br />
It has been brought to the noticeof the Society that<br />
under theexistingconditionsof Registration of Copy-<br />
right, the following extraordinary position can be<br />
arrived at. The instructions for Registration under<br />
the Act are, among others, as follows:—No proprietor<br />
of copyright can take any proceedings in respect<br />
to infringement unless he has previously registered<br />
his book, and, secondly, under the head of Foreign<br />
Reprints, proprietors of books first composed, or<br />
written, or printed, in the United Kingdom, de-<br />
siring to prevent the importation of foreign reprints<br />
must give notice in writing to the Commissioners<br />
of Customs. If, in fact, an author has iiot regis-<br />
tered his book, a foreign reprint can be made of it,<br />
and introduced into England subject to the pay-<br />
ment of the ordinary duty, because the Custom<br />
House officials cannot take cognizance of any<br />
book that has not been registered. If the book<br />
has been registered, reprints are not admitted at<br />
all. They may be seized, but such seizure can<br />
only be made after registration has been notified<br />
at the Custom House. If, in short, the publisher<br />
forgets to enter the book at Stationers' Hall, it is<br />
possible to be undersold by the legal admission<br />
of foreign reprints. In other words, there is often<br />
nothing to prevent the ten cent. American edition<br />
actually being sold in this country beside the six<br />
shilling edition. For instance, a pirated edition of<br />
"King Solomon's Mines" would be received as<br />
such, but a kindly welcome was accorded to<br />
"Jess" at the Cape of Good Hope on account of<br />
this little formality being neglected.<br />
A certain man—one of letters Three—has been<br />
getting money out of kindly people in the city of<br />
Philadelphia, U.S.A., by representing himself to be<br />
a brother—down on his luck—of a certain man—of<br />
letters Many—a resident in the older country. He<br />
also said that he was himself a Novelist, a Poet,<br />
and an Actor. The first and the last he un-<br />
doubtedly is, and he seems to make his gifts of<br />
fiction and personation pay better than some of us<br />
here at home. The man of letters Many suffered<br />
himself to feel a certain annoyance at this incident,<br />
because he has no brother in America, nor any<br />
brother who is either Novelist, Poet, or Actor. He<br />
even went so far as to cable a message calling that<br />
man a Fraud, so that his little game is probably<br />
quite ruined so far as Philadelphia is concerned.<br />
When this was done, he reflected. Perhaps he had<br />
been hasty. He considered. The art of Persona-<br />
tion has become in the States almost a Fine Art.<br />
As in Mark Twain's well-known case of Faded<br />
Greatness, the American Fraud has always hitherto<br />
been a noble Lord. That he should now become a<br />
common Novelist speaks volumes for the increased<br />
respect paid to the craft. Professionally speaking,<br />
the thing is a compliment. It is, in fact, most grati-<br />
fying. Every one who lent a dollar to the Brother,<br />
Novelist, Poet, Actor, has taken off his hat and<br />
saluted the craft.<br />
A curious instance of resemblance so close is to<br />
suggest how plagiarism is found in the corres-<br />
pondence of last month and this of E. Fairfax<br />
Byrrne and Ernest Rhys. There can be no doubt<br />
as to the similarity of the two plots. There can<br />
be no doubt of the entire independence of their<br />
invention. These resemblances are very strange.<br />
For myself, I prefer, when I can get them, plots<br />
depending on events that really happened. But<br />
these are hard to find. Here is another anec-<br />
dote of resemblance. A few weeks ago a certain<br />
story went the round of some of the papers. It<br />
came straight from a far off country. Then the<br />
following discoveries were made:—(i) that the<br />
leading incident had been invented and used by a<br />
novelist quite recently; (2) that the leading in-<br />
cident was used in an American magazine ten<br />
years ago; (3) that the leading incident was used<br />
by Charles Reade fifteen years ago. Now I have<br />
not the least doubt that in each one of these cases<br />
the invention was entirely original.<br />
It is stated by a New York paper, an American<br />
correspondent informs us, that ceitain English<br />
authors have entered into arrangements for pub-<br />
lishing English books in America, and intend<br />
"either to lay down plant or to acquire control<br />
of an already established business." This is news<br />
to all the English authors with whom I have<br />
spoken on the matter. No such intention, so far<br />
as has yet been learned, exists among English<br />
authors.<br />
<br />
<br />
## p. 314 (#378) ############################################<br />
<br />
314<br />
THE AUTHOR.<br />
The following suggestion is one which should be<br />
noted. I think we might very easily form such a<br />
branch and that we might carry it on usefully.<br />
"There are, as I have reason to know, many<br />
persons now engaged upon archaeological or<br />
historical work who are quite willing to pay for<br />
efficient help in such matters as translations, precis,<br />
verification of references, and correction of proofs.<br />
On the other hand, there are a great number of<br />
literaly men to whom such work would be a<br />
godsend.<br />
Do you not think that a register—through which<br />
the would-be employer could state his wants, and<br />
the would-be employed his qualifications—would<br />
help to bring the two classes together?"<br />
If such a register were to be kept at the<br />
Society's office, or published in the columns of the<br />
Author, a small charge for each advertisement (or,<br />
possibly, for those of employers only) ought to<br />
make it self-supporting.<br />
The expenses would be only the share of a clerk<br />
and the necessity of advertising. We ought not<br />
to take money from those who seek employment,<br />
but only from those who have employment to give,<br />
and from those who through our agency receive<br />
employment. And the money so obtained could<br />
be a very modest fee.<br />
Walter Besant.<br />
*<br />
THE AMERICAN COPYRIGHT BILL.<br />
I.<br />
By E. L. Godkin.<br />
{Editor of the New York "Nation.")<br />
YOUR request that I should express an opinion<br />
in your columns on the possibilities of in-<br />
fluence on English and American literature,<br />
jointly and severally, of the recently passed American<br />
Copyright Bill, reminds me forcibly of the warning<br />
"not to prophecy unless you know." I think even<br />
those whoknow most about past relations of the pub-<br />
lishers on each side of the water with the authors<br />
on the other, generally feel most diffident about<br />
prescribing with any particularity the effects of the<br />
Bill. My own notion, which I offer with due<br />
modesty, is, that the necessities of the agitation in<br />
support of the Bill have led its advocates to over-<br />
estimate considerably what it will do in the near<br />
future, either for American or British authors as a<br />
class desiring pay for their work. It was only by<br />
putting the grievous wrongs of American authors<br />
prominently in the foreground, that the attention<br />
of a considerable portion both of the public and of<br />
Members of Congress could be secured. The<br />
amour propre, too, of a large body of American<br />
authors was flattered by the plea that they were<br />
kept out of wide sales and large profits in their own<br />
country by the cheap pirated editions of British<br />
books. I have myself thought much of this argu-<br />
ment, because I have never believed in the exis-<br />
tence of a purely mercantile competition between<br />
British and American authors, except perhaps in<br />
railway trains, or on steamboats. I have never<br />
believed that people took an English book of the<br />
same class, in preference to an American one, because<br />
it cost a little less. Other differences than differ-<br />
ence in price have been much more powerful as a<br />
general rule in determining the reader's choice.<br />
Even novel writers, who are now the largest class of<br />
writers in this country, do not compete with each<br />
other, as butchers or grocers do, by offering the<br />
same goods for less money. Consequently the<br />
Copyright Bill, by making British books dearer, will<br />
not have the effect on the domestic product which<br />
a good many enthusiastic authors think it will have,<br />
and this, mutatis mutandis, is true of American<br />
books in England.<br />
Moreover, if you go over the publishers' lists<br />
you will find that the actual injustice inflicted by<br />
piracy fell on a very small class in both countries.<br />
The number of authors whom it paid to pirate was<br />
after all limited, but the number of those who<br />
liked to think that the pirates were eager to get at<br />
them, or that they were themselves actually suffer-<br />
ing in purse or reputation from English or Ameri-<br />
can marauding, was large. There is a great deal<br />
of human nature in authors.<br />
I do not mean by this to underrate the wrong<br />
and injustice done by the absence of international<br />
copyright. I think the unpunished robbery of<br />
ten authors a year is just as great a national dis-<br />
grace as the unpunished robbery of one hundred,<br />
and the more distinguished and popular an author<br />
is, the greater shame it is to rob him. I am<br />
simply pointing out that the friends of the Copy-<br />
right Bill, naturally and quite justifiably, got all<br />
the help they could from every quarter, that is,<br />
from people's illusions and vanities, as well as<br />
from their sense of justice and right. They had<br />
to do so in order to succeed, and are not to be<br />
blamed. But the effect was to magnify the pe-<br />
cuniary importance of the Bill, that is, to use a<br />
slang phrase here, to produce the impression that<br />
there was "more money in it" than there really<br />
was. I submit these observations as applicable<br />
both to England and America.<br />
The great value of the Bill, in my own mind,<br />
certainly on this side of the water, lies in the aid it<br />
will render in elevating literature and authorship<br />
as a profession in the eyes of the mass of the<br />
J<br />
<br />
<br />
## p. 315 (#379) ############################################<br />
<br />
THE AUTHOR.<br />
3i5<br />
people. Away from the Atlantic Sea Coast the<br />
great bulk of the population have never seen an<br />
author, or anybody except1 newspaper editors, who<br />
makes money by the sale of any species of litera-<br />
ture, and, as a rule, they are disposed to estimate<br />
a man's intellectual and social value by his capacity<br />
for making money. There prevails, therefore, in a<br />
large measure, also pity and contempt for the<br />
thinking class, the writers, professors, and so forth,<br />
who are unable or do not care to share in the great<br />
industrial successes of the day. This prejudice<br />
was undoubtedly strengthened and deepened by<br />
the spectacle of books made cheap by theft, and<br />
by finding that very good and prominent men in<br />
and out of Congress thought it no harm to steal<br />
them. Wares, which the law did not think wonh<br />
protection, could not, it seemed, be of very great<br />
account. International Copyright will undoubtedly<br />
help to elevate the popular mind into a higher ap-<br />
preciation of literature as a calling, by recognizing<br />
its value as property.<br />
The Copyright Bill, too, will probably stimulate<br />
authors on each side into seeking a market on the<br />
other, and they will thus make themselves better<br />
known. That is, they will expose their wares<br />
more, and you will in this way become acquainted<br />
with more American authors in the region of light<br />
literature than you are now, and some of those<br />
who are coming forward on this side are very<br />
promising. Whether there will ever be anything<br />
in either country in the nature of real competition<br />
between English and American novelists seems to<br />
me doubtful. Readers in every country most<br />
enjoy reading about social conditions differing<br />
widely from their own. Pictures of English and<br />
continental life will always have the charm of<br />
variety for Americans. Whether in the long run<br />
pictures of American life will held their own in<br />
Europe may be questioned. I have always thought<br />
society here either too homogeneous, or one might<br />
say monotonous, to make America a good place<br />
for a novelist to learn or follow his trade in, in com-<br />
petition with Europeans. There does not seem to<br />
be enough variety of motive, type, and manners<br />
here for his purpose, but I may be greatly mistaken<br />
in this. But in any case I do not think the Copy-<br />
right Bill will affect the result in any way, except,<br />
as I have said, by stimulating authors to greater<br />
activity in seeking a foreign publisher. The<br />
prospect seems to me much more encouraging for<br />
American authors in the fields of philosophy,<br />
science, law, and political economy. I do not think<br />
you know in England what excellent and vigorous<br />
work is being done by the younger generation in<br />
these fields in this country, and the prospect of a<br />
safe English market is certain to increase their<br />
industry.<br />
The hardship supposed to lie in the clause of<br />
the Bill which calls for simultaneous publication in<br />
both countries is, I think, greatly overrated. Of<br />
course it would be for the English and American<br />
author's advantage to be able to wait before taking<br />
out his copyright in the foreign country, until his<br />
book had made a success in his own. He could<br />
then make a better bargain with a foreign pub-<br />
lisher. But this is largely one of the hardships of<br />
the imagination. An obscure author who prints<br />
simultaneously in both countries will have in each<br />
the advantage of any subsequent success of his<br />
book in the other. If his book is taken up eagerly<br />
in England, the effect will at once be felt in his<br />
American edition, and vice versa. Moreover, the<br />
search for the foreign publisher will, for him, be no<br />
more serious than the search for the home pub-<br />
lisher. If an obscure Englishman has no friends<br />
here to offer his work to the publishers, he will<br />
find competent persons to do it, as a matter of<br />
business, for a small commission. Organizations<br />
for this special business are, I am told, already<br />
springing up, and I feel sure that a thirty days'<br />
search, conducted simultaneously in both countries,<br />
will be just as likely to succeed here as in<br />
England. The publisher who has no wish to take<br />
advantage of the foreigner's necessities can never<br />
hold the field against the publisher who is eager<br />
to get into the market with a good thing, when he<br />
thinks he has got hold of it, now when the law<br />
protects him in the possession of foreign goods.<br />
These views are a somewhat promiscuous assort<br />
ment. The best thing I can say for them is, that<br />
they are probably as good as anybody else's can be<br />
as yet, on this topic. I repeat that I think the<br />
Copyright Bill is mainly valuable as putting a stop<br />
to the demoralizing spectacle of unrestrained,<br />
shameless cheating of foreign authors and pub-<br />
lishers, practiced even by doctors of divinity and<br />
connived at, even encouraged, by the Government,<br />
and defended by all sorts of hypocrisy and sophistry.<br />
The demurrer in a recent suit over the piracy 01<br />
the " Encyclopedia Britannica," that the plaintiffs<br />
were not entitled to protection by Courts of Equity,<br />
because they had cunningly and fraudulently inter-<br />
polated small quantities of American matter in the<br />
book, so as to make it difficult for Americans to<br />
exercise their ancient and undoubted right to steal<br />
foreign books, showed to what depths of degrada<br />
tion and absurdity we were hastening.<br />
New York, March $ist, 1891.<br />
<br />
<br />
## p. 316 (#380) ############################################<br />
<br />
3i6<br />
THE AUTHOR.<br />
II.<br />
The enclosed letter unfortunately nrrived too late<br />
for last month's Author. It is addressed to Mr.<br />
Edmund Gosse by Mr. R. U. Johnson, Secretary<br />
of the American Copyright League, to whom it<br />
will be found that English authors in the future<br />
will owe an immense debt.<br />
"March j/n, 1891.<br />
"I have only time, in addition to sending the<br />
enclosed text of the Copyright Bill as printed in<br />
the Tribune, to say that I hope you will use<br />
your influence to allay the silly talk of some of the<br />
English papers in regard to the Copyright Bill<br />
being a 'fraud.' How can a Bill be a fraud which<br />
gives unconditional copyright to artistic property,<br />
and which gives copyright to literary property on<br />
conditions, after all, not onerous?<br />
"The abolition of the requirement of the<br />
consent of the author in the importation of two<br />
copies of the English edition of copyright works in<br />
each package, is a decided improvement. I<br />
myself voted against that clause when the Bill was<br />
framed, believing that the friction it would produce<br />
would react against the law.<br />
"I am compelled to close this letter abruptly<br />
to catch the mail, but I want to say that I believe<br />
that you and Mr. Bryce and our most intelligent<br />
English friends will not be misled by the clamour<br />
of your publishers and distributors of literary<br />
property, into forgetting the enormous moral<br />
progress, and the great material benefit to your<br />
countrymen, which this Bill effects."<br />
Mr. Johnson's own opinion upon the Bill is thus<br />
stated by a reporter to the New York Tribune:—<br />
"Those who think that anything is to be<br />
regretted in the changes that have been made in<br />
the Copyright Bill since its passage by the House,<br />
have probably not s| oken by the book, for in my<br />
opinion the friends of copyright have not only<br />
succeeded in defeating dangerous amendments<br />
which would have taken the heart out of the Bill,<br />
but the concessions that have been made have<br />
been of such a nature as to be a source of strength<br />
to the law in its practical working hereafter. It<br />
must first be understood that the non-importation<br />
clause was a necessary corollary of the typesetting<br />
clause. It was, indeed, the mandatory part of the<br />
Bill, and it would have been of no use to assert<br />
the 'condition precedent' of manufacture in this<br />
country for the purpose of giving the market to<br />
American workmen, if the market had been<br />
immediately taken away by permitting its invasion<br />
by books of English manufacture. Therefore,<br />
those who voted for the Sherman amendment<br />
and assumed to be in favour of the typesetting<br />
clause were in the position of the man who was in<br />
favour of the law, but 'agin ' its enforcement.<br />
"The chief point of objection on which it was<br />
necessary to make confession was in the clause<br />
which permitted the importation of only two copies<br />
of a foreign book, and required the consent of the<br />
owner of the American copyright to this importa-<br />
tion. It is likely that had this remained in the Bill<br />
there would have been a reaction against the copy-<br />
right movement, by reason of the annoyances to<br />
which the public might have considered that they<br />
were subject by having to obtain written permission<br />
to import. The substitute for this clause abolishes<br />
the requirement of the owner's permission, and<br />
the proposal of this substitute in the Conference<br />
Committee was due to a concession on the part of<br />
the typographical unions, and was done by them,<br />
although somewhat reluctantly, for the purpose of<br />
saving the Bill, a service which should not be for-<br />
gotten by the friends of the cause.<br />
"The Ingalls amendment, which permitted free<br />
importation of new.'papers and periodicals, would<br />
have simply transferred the piratical establishments<br />
from the American to the Canadian side of the<br />
border, and all sorts of American books, as well as<br />
foreign books, might thus have been freely im-<br />
ported in periodical form, either in the form adopted<br />
by the so-called 'cheap libraries,' or in magazine<br />
form, whole books being included in a magazine.<br />
This form of publication in copyright material is<br />
seen in Lippincott's Magazine, and there is no<br />
reason why under the Ingalls amendment as<br />
originally proposed it could not have been easily<br />
adopted for piratical works. The Ingalls amend-<br />
ment as modified in the present Bill, however,<br />
secures the American owner of copyright against<br />
such importations of works not authorized by the<br />
author.<br />
"The conditions of trade will, of course, have<br />
hereafter to adjust themselves, but one of the first<br />
things in connection with the Bill that seems never<br />
to have entered the minds of people, is that now<br />
the publishers under the workings of this law can<br />
afford to advertise English books more than they<br />
have ever clone before, because they can feel sure<br />
of the returns to them of the wider market."<br />
Among other opinions is that of Mr. Gilder :—<br />
"The general effect of the new law will be to<br />
impiove the conditions of authorship throughout<br />
the world. Its tendency will be to increase all<br />
literary values—that is, authors will have a wider<br />
market for their wares, and by the removal of the<br />
illegitimate side of publishing, the publishing busi-<br />
ness will be strengthened and improved, and this<br />
<br />
<br />
## p. 317 (#381) ############################################<br />
<br />
THE AUTHOR.<br />
3'7<br />
will also be a good thing for the producers of<br />
literature. I confess, however, that the thing which<br />
gives me greatest pleasure is the removal of the<br />
stain of literary piracy from the American flag.<br />
It is, moreover, without exaggeration, a long step<br />
forward in the march of civilization. Would to<br />
God that it had come in time to help Scott and<br />
Dickens and all the great foreign authors of our<br />
century. But the present and the future are ours,<br />
and I sincerely believe that no other single device<br />
could be so sure of giving an impulse to the literary<br />
art. Foreign artists and musical composers, as<br />
well as American artists and composers, will also<br />
greatly profit from this great victory."<br />
The Post of New York last evening published<br />
a telegram from Washington, in which the cor-<br />
respondent gives an account of an interview<br />
with Mr. Spofford, Librarian of Congress, who<br />
has charge of the Copyright Department, as<br />
to the effect of the new copyright law upon<br />
periodical publications. Mr. Spofford said: "An<br />
American periodical will not be privileged to copy<br />
a story or essay from an English magazine if the<br />
magazine has been copyrighted in the United<br />
States. An English magazine will be compelled<br />
to be reprinted in the United States in order to be<br />
copyrighted, and the same rule will be applied to<br />
a magazine as a book—in fact, for copyright pur-<br />
poses a magazine is a book." Asked whether it<br />
would be necessary to copyright English magazines<br />
number by number, or whether a whole year's<br />
numbers would be included in one entry, Mr.<br />
Spofford replied: "Oh, number by number.<br />
Section 11 provides that each number of a<br />
periodical shall be considered as an independent<br />
publication. That suggests at once the question<br />
whether, since the term periodical is used in the<br />
section concerning independent publications, but<br />
omitted in that relating to reprints, the point may<br />
not be raised by some English periodical publisher<br />
against an application to reprint a clause of his<br />
work. It is not improbable that such a fight will<br />
be made, though I have my own opinion as to the<br />
result."<br />
The Americans have done their part of the work<br />
as well as they could. Have we done ours? The<br />
Society most certainly has, because our Bill, as<br />
soon as it has passed, will place Americans on<br />
exactly the same footing as Englishmen. But if<br />
the Bill does not pass, we shall probably have to<br />
wait—see the last section of the Bill (page 332)—<br />
for our Copyright until it does. This is very<br />
serious. We shall meantime do all we can to<br />
promote the passage of the Bill.<br />
A SCHOOL FOR NOVELISTS.<br />
IS Fiction one of the Fine Arts? In the current<br />
number of the New Review I have argued,<br />
on that assumption, that it has certain laws<br />
and rules and a technique, all of which might be<br />
reduced to writing in exactly the same manner<br />
as those for the Art of Painting. I then go<br />
on to show that these things may be taught,<br />
and I try to show that if they were taught our<br />
young writers would certainly be spared a good<br />
deal of trouble, disappointment, and vexation.<br />
Also, I point out that one must have the natural<br />
aptitude, or one cannot become a novelist. Such<br />
instruction would have to be very general and on<br />
broad lines only, or there would be the danger of<br />
turning out a tribe of soulless imitators. But the<br />
main point on which one insists is that Fiction is<br />
an Art. Now I see in a certain paper a letter,<br />
from one who says that he is a schoolmaster. He<br />
says, also, that boys learn the elements of English<br />
composition at school, and asks, "What more have<br />
they to learn?" Oh! Foolish and Ignorant per-<br />
son! They have to learn an Art—an Art—an<br />
Art! As well say that the drawing master's lesson<br />
once a week can make a Royal Academician!<br />
The writer, however, illustrates the general belief<br />
on the subject. Everything else, it is acknow-<br />
ledged, has to be learned and studied. The Art<br />
of Fiction alone is supposed to come by nature.<br />
An Art? They cannot understand how it can be<br />
called an Art. This little paper of mine, however,<br />
has called forth two papers, one in the Saturday<br />
Review and one in the Spectator, which deserve<br />
consideration.<br />
In support of these contentions of mine, I<br />
advanced certain facts—they are facts not to be<br />
denied, viz., that young novelists do not learn any-<br />
thing from their critics; that the ordinary critic<br />
knows nothing about the Art of Fiction ; that a great<br />
deal of so-called novel reviewing is scandalous and<br />
inadequate; and that there is no reason at all why<br />
writers should allow their books to be sent to<br />
papers which continue to review them in this<br />
scandalous and inadequate fashion.<br />
These facts I repeat, and am prepared to main-<br />
tain, if necessary, by quotation from the journals<br />
which review novels. The Saturday Revieic, which<br />
takes up the subject and becomes somewhat heated<br />
over it, as if it were itself attacked, treats it<br />
personally—which is not fair fighting—and plainly<br />
intimates that I am the last person to harbour<br />
animosity towards reviewers. First, I harbour<br />
none, as I have explained, any more than one<br />
harbours animosity towards a blind man in saying<br />
that he is blind. The ordinary reviewer of novels,<br />
I say, knows nothing of the Art of Fiction. Well,<br />
<br />
<br />
## p. 318 (#382) ############################################<br />
<br />
3i8<br />
THE AUTHOR.<br />
it is not an answer to say, "A pretty fellow you<br />
are, to attack reviewers!" The thing is to con-<br />
sider whether the charge is true. And it is not<br />
enough to sny that you know this paper and that<br />
paper wheie it is not true. We must take all the<br />
journals together and consider whether it is true<br />
generally. Or the writer may mean that I, who have<br />
been'treated more kindly than my deserts perhaps—<br />
God knoweth—should feel myself bribed not to re-<br />
view reviewers. If not, what does the 3<7/«rrfiry mean?<br />
The writer goes on to say, "The really curious<br />
thing is that the author of this paper should first<br />
think that it is the critic's duty to teach their art to<br />
authors whose works he criticizes; and secondly,<br />
that he should fail to perceive that even the briefest<br />
judgment of a competent critic is based upon, and<br />
necessarily implies, the study and knowledge of the<br />
art which he denies to reviewers."<br />
These lines have no justification whatever. They<br />
are a distortion of my words. I nowhere said that<br />
such is the critic's duty. I nowhere implied any<br />
failure to perceive this simple truth.<br />
It is not, in fact, the duty of the critic to teach<br />
his authors. It is, however, his duty, before he<br />
undertakes to review novels, to learn what are the<br />
points of a good novel, and what goes to make a<br />
good novel.<br />
Further, it is impossible for a competent critic to<br />
write a review without teaching his author some-<br />
thing. It is equally impossible for an incompetent<br />
critic to teach his author anything.<br />
Now, then, is it, or is it not, true, that the<br />
ordinary review of a novel teaches the author<br />
nothing? I will quote presently a few words bear-<br />
ing on this subject from a writer who speaks with<br />
authority.<br />
Again, a competent critic may certainly dismiss<br />
a book in a few scornful words—such as those<br />
quoted by the Saturday Reviewer. And these, as<br />
the writer says, and I nowhere deny, may be just,<br />
true, well deserved, and based on sound criticism.<br />
The few words are the judgment of the critic.<br />
Without explanation they mean no more than what<br />
I said; that is, either they mean "I like the work,"<br />
or, "I do not like the work."<br />
A judgment, however, is not a criticism or a<br />
review ; it is only a part of a criticism. It is the<br />
summary of the matter. Is the reviewer always,<br />
then, to give his reasons? That is a matter for<br />
him to consider. It may be that his name alone<br />
gives weight to his judgment. It may be that he<br />
thinks the paper in which it appears gives weight<br />
to his judgment. In any case, can he wonder if<br />
the author should say, "This man dismisses me<br />
with half a dozen scornful words: he gives no<br />
reason, argument, or example. This judgment<br />
does not advance me in my endeavour after<br />
better work: it does my publisher no good; it<br />
does literature no good. I will not ask him for<br />
another. Why should I ask an opinion of a man<br />
who only tells me that my work is worthless and<br />
refuses any reasons?" Can the Saturday Review<br />
object to the author taking that line?<br />
I will now recommend the Saturday Reviewer to<br />
read a page or two in Mr. George Salisbury's<br />
"Essays in English Literature" (page xxiii). He<br />
there says (the italics are ours) :—<br />
"That a very large amount of reviewing is<br />
determined by doubtless well-meaning incompe-<br />
tence, there is no doubt whatever. It is, on the<br />
whole, the most difficult kind of newspaper<br />
writing, and it is, on the whole, the most lightly<br />
assigned and the most irresponsibly performed. I<br />
have heard of newspapers where the reviews<br />
depended almost wholly on the accident of some<br />
of the staff taking a holiday, or being laid for a<br />
time on the shelf, or being considered not up to<br />
other work; of others, though this, I own, is<br />
scarcely credible, where the whole reviewing was<br />
farmed out to a manager, to be allotted to devils as<br />
good to him seemed; of many where the reviews<br />
ivere a sort of exercising ground on which novices<br />
were trained, broken down hacks turned out to<br />
grass, and invalids allowed a little gentle exercise."<br />
He goes on to say that he knows of not a few<br />
papers and not a fewreviewers in which and by whom<br />
the best work possible is given to one of the most<br />
important kinds of work.<br />
I do not remember that the Saturday Review<br />
expressed, at the time when these words appeared,<br />
any objection to this sweeping condemnation of<br />
the prevalent modes of reviewing. Yet my charge<br />
is a mere trifle compared with it. All I say is,<br />
that the ordinary reviewer of fiction—only one<br />
branch of literature—does not recognize that he<br />
has to do with a Fine Art, does not know that there<br />
is an Art of Fiction, and never by any remarks,<br />
criticisms, or judgments of his assists the writer.<br />
Would the Saturday Review blame the novelist<br />
who refused to give his books for review to Mr.<br />
Saintsbury's broken down hacks, novices, and<br />
invalids? Or to papers where the reviewing is put<br />
out to farm? Or to those whose reviewers are<br />
considered not fit for any other work?<br />
I say that, not only out of self-respect, but out of<br />
respect for literature, an author ought to refuse his<br />
books to such papers. This the Saturday Review<br />
very needlessly calls "boycotting" those papers.<br />
It is not a fair use of the word. You do not boy-<br />
cott a workman because he works badly. You<br />
leave him: you ask someone else to do the work.<br />
The Saturday sneers at the proposed School of<br />
Fiction. It will, however, come. Of that there is<br />
doubt. Let us turn again from the Saturday to<br />
<br />
<br />
## p. 319 (#383) ############################################<br />
<br />
THE AUTHOR.<br />
Mr. Saintsbury. He says (p. xxiii of the same<br />
work), "I think that if I were dictator, one of the<br />
first non-political things that I should do, would<br />
be to make the order of reviewers as close a one,<br />
at least, as the Bench of Judges, or the staff of the<br />
Mint, or of any public establishment of a similar<br />
character." He, you see, would have a College of<br />
Reviewers. One of the things they must learn to<br />
qualify for the fellowship in that College would be<br />
the technique and the laws of the Art of Fiction.<br />
Will Mr. Saintsbury allow them, in order to<br />
facilitate their studies, to attend my School of<br />
Fiction?<br />
There is, however, an article in the Spectator<br />
which is much more useful for our purposes, be-<br />
cause it artlessly and ingenuously illustrates the<br />
common attitude of mind towards this Art of Fiction.<br />
It is written by a person, apparently a Lady—it<br />
might have been written in the Thirties—who<br />
believes that there is no Art of Fiction at all—" no<br />
such thing, my dear, I do assure you." Indeed, if<br />
you come to think of it, "What is there to teach?<br />
The most would be to tell a pupil whether he<br />
wrote good English, or whether he had a natural<br />
aptitude for conveying his ideas to other people.<br />
What Mr. Besant is pleased to call technique is<br />
not technical or teachable; it is the nice tact, the<br />
delicate faculty . . ." and so on—and so on;<br />
we know the prattling flow of the brook. "We<br />
should say that in writing a novel there was no<br />
more technical knowledge involved than that in the<br />
power of writing intelligibly "!!! The notes of ad-<br />
miration are not in the original. But what a noble<br />
sixpennyworth is that which contains such a sen-<br />
tence as this! This article ought to glorify and<br />
light up the Spectator for a twelvemonth at least.<br />
It ought to enlarge its circulation enormously. Not<br />
a tea-table in all Islington should be without it.<br />
This, you see, is the actual opinion, put more baldly<br />
and more plainly than one could have conceived<br />
possible, of smug, suburban, Philistinism, wholly<br />
ignorant of Art and all its methods. It is the<br />
opinion of the class who look at a picture for the<br />
story, and think it grew of itself.<br />
Construction, grouping, selection, dramatic effects,<br />
development of character, the weaving of a plot<br />
from a central idea, colour, atmosphere, and all the<br />
rest of the technique (not the "nice tact, delicate<br />
faculty," and um—um—urn) come by nature and<br />
instinct!<br />
Remember that what I claimed was that this<br />
technique can be taught—not that a novelist can<br />
be created. He is born, but I would clear his<br />
way for him, so far as teaching and direction can<br />
clear a way. This technique consists, according to<br />
my Lady Solomon, "in the power of reading and<br />
writing." Oh! most wise and learned Judge!<br />
Of course these things are acquired, even by the<br />
greatest genius, by study, observation, comparison,<br />
and practice. At this Society, I am happy to say,<br />
we have been enabled, without fuss or parade, to<br />
clear the way for a good many young writers who<br />
have come to us for help. We have not created<br />
novelists, we have not tried to do so, we have only<br />
taught them what it is to be a novelist, and we<br />
have given them a few elementary lessons.<br />
The Spectator asks plaintively what help or in-<br />
struction the reviewer can give? Why, since the<br />
reviewer denies that there is any Art in Fiction,<br />
none—none whatever, Madame. If that is also<br />
the belief of those who actually do the reviews for<br />
that paper, the sooner we stop sending it novels the<br />
better. But I have good reasons for believing that<br />
the writer does not represent the views of all the<br />
staff.<br />
Then it asks what I mean by the "base and<br />
ignominious" terms by which many writers are<br />
persuaded to publish their works. Oh! This<br />
good lady knows nothing—nothing at all!<br />
I call it base and ignominious when a writer<br />
has been refused by all the honourable Houses,<br />
because the work is worthless, to accept the offer<br />
of some wretched swindler who persuades him<br />
that there are going to be vast profits, makes him<br />
pay a lump more than enough to cover the<br />
whole cost of production on the pretence that it<br />
is a half, or a third; cheats him in advertisements,<br />
corrections, and everything, and gives him back<br />
nothing but a book ill-printed, on vile paper, ill-<br />
bound, sent out to be cut to pieces by the<br />
reviewers. These tricks are exposed month after<br />
month in the Author; but this writer has never<br />
heard of the Author. Is it, or is it not, ignominious<br />
to publish under such conditions?<br />
One more gem from this wonderful article.<br />
"Until now," the writer says, "we have happily<br />
believed that the tale of the story-teller and the<br />
song of the poet were the results of unpremeditated<br />
Art, even as the strains of the skylark." Have<br />
you really thought so, Madame? They used to<br />
think so sixty years ago in the sweet days of<br />
Felicia Hemans and L. E. L., and the bulbul and<br />
the gazelle. All spontaneous—all by the light of<br />
genius—all by instinct. The poet has no workshop.<br />
To him, rhythm, rhyme, metre, form, the rules of<br />
verse, the history of verse, the modern conditions<br />
of verse, come by nature—all—all—born with<br />
him, as the song with the skylark and the quack<br />
with the duck. Yes, indeed—indeed. How<br />
lovely—how beautiful—how tender—and how<br />
TRUE!<br />
W. B.<br />
*<br />
<br />
<br />
## p. 320 (#384) ############################################<br />
<br />
320<br />
THE AUTHOR.<br />
AUTHOR V. EDITOR.<br />
MR. F. HARRISON'S article in the current<br />
number of the Fortnightly Rrciav on<br />
"Editorial Horseplay" is particularly<br />
entertaining reading. An attack on an editor by<br />
one who is at once a serious Radical and a brilliant<br />
litterateur will not fail to delight the somewhat<br />
bored world of review readers. Mr. Harrison is<br />
heated, moreover, and strikes hard, and a display<br />
of temper in a languid age is, some will think,<br />
exhilarating. We cannot greatly wonder that in<br />
most of the comments on the article which we<br />
have happened to see, Mr. Harrison should be<br />
treated a little jocosely. His proposal to restore<br />
the Elgin marbles to Greece looks a wee bit<br />
Quixotic, and his wily editor, Mr. James Knowles,<br />
has the indisputable advantage of representing<br />
British Philistinism shaken with side-splitting<br />
laughter at the idea of a preposterous bit of<br />
unpatriotism. Yet amusing as is the spectacle, it<br />
has a larger and more serious interest too. It<br />
raises questions of real moment to all men of<br />
letters. For the editor is a publisher, and the<br />
proper definition of the relation of the contributor<br />
to the editor is now-a-days, when most writers have<br />
to win their spurs in the pages of reviews, no less<br />
needed for the safeguarding of authors' rights<br />
than the settlement of the relation of the writer<br />
to the other kind of publisher.<br />
The facts seem to be simple enough. Mr. Har-<br />
rison, an old member of the Nineteenth Century<br />
staff, sent an article to Mr. Knowles advocating the<br />
restitution of the Elgin marbles to Greece. This<br />
article was duly published. Three months later<br />
there appeared in the same journal a reply to Mr.<br />
Harrison, having as signature, "The Editor."<br />
The article treats Mr. Harrison's project with<br />
boisterous ridicule. According to Mr. Harrison<br />
it as good as calls him a "platform Pharisee " and<br />
other pleasant names of the same kind, and des-<br />
cribes his article as "flat misstatement." Mr.<br />
Knowles appears to justify this guffaw-like ex-<br />
plosion of editorial dignity by saying that Mr.<br />
Harrison had consented to having his literary<br />
bantling tossed about in this merry fashion, a<br />
statement which Mr. Harrison stoutly denies, and<br />
which those who know this gentleman's predilec-<br />
tions and customary literary manner will probably<br />
find it hard to understand. With a charming appear-<br />
ance of fair-play Mr. Knowles invites his adversary<br />
in the sportive combat to rejoin. At the same<br />
time he shrewdly bethinks him of his editorship,<br />
and lays it down as a proviso that the rejoinder<br />
must meet with his own approval. Mr. Harrison<br />
refuses to dance to this editorial piping, and pre-<br />
fers to send his reply to the Fortnightly Review.<br />
Here he lays on his former editor some pretty hard<br />
blows, going so far as to hint pretty distinctly that<br />
he does not believe that Mr. Knowles himself<br />
penned the facetious periods to which he has sub-<br />
scribed his name. We should suppose that even<br />
Mr. Knowles will view this insinuation as passing<br />
a joke; but there is no knowing.<br />
It certainly strikes us, as it strikes Mr. Harrison,<br />
that Mr. Knowles is taking a new view of the<br />
editorial function. We cheerfully allow the auto<br />
cracy of the editor. It is his to accept and to<br />
reject as he will. He is at perfect liberty to con-<br />
tribute articles to his own journal. But then,<br />
"noblesse oblige," and the editor retains his<br />
autocracy on the condition that he does not jump<br />
down from his judicial bench and join in the fray of<br />
his literary litigants. To desiderate the excitement<br />
of the contest, and the power of the umpire at the<br />
same moment, is soaring too high for mortals. In<br />
the contest of the law court, of the political arena, of<br />
the field, this is well understood. How is it, one<br />
cannot help asking, that a code well recognized by<br />
gentlemen in other professions seems still ignored<br />
in the literary domain? We are not prepared to<br />
go with Mr. Harrison, when, as we understand him,<br />
he says that by publishing his article his editor<br />
made himself responsible for its general soundness.<br />
As we all know, Mr. Knowles has delighted in<br />
making his journal a forum for the presentation<br />
side by side of the most opposite views. Yet good<br />
feeling might well have hindered an editor, even<br />
when seized with the mighty impulse of laughter,<br />
from holding up his own contributor to the con-<br />
tempt of gods and men. Our editors are often<br />
men of high culture and courteous feeling, and the<br />
present writer owes them much. We must pray<br />
that the Society of Authors may succeed in educa-<br />
ting the rest up to the same level of excellence.<br />
J.S.<br />
*<br />
"THEY ALL LIVED HAPPY EVER<br />
AFTERWARDS."<br />
(Kairy Books, passim.)<br />
T AM glad to have had this little adven-<br />
I ture.<br />
It has grieved me much to think that while<br />
our literature has been growing so wise and so<br />
purpose-full, the fairy story has remained the same<br />
pleasant irresponsible thing that it has ever been.<br />
Physiology and psychology unroll their cheerful<br />
page for the adult, and we learn how a man's liver<br />
can be made answerable for the crimes in the first<br />
two volumes, and his grandmother's tendencies for<br />
<br />
<br />
## p. 321 (#385) ############################################<br />
<br />
THE AUTHOR.<br />
321<br />
the retribution which comes in the third. But in<br />
children's books this marked improvement has<br />
not yet taken place. The teachings of science<br />
here are still defied, and the results of heredity<br />
neglected. Now this should not be, and I see<br />
an opportunity to alter it all. My eyes have been<br />
opened. These impossible and immoral stories<br />
must be re-written from a rational point of view,<br />
and endued with something of the enlightened<br />
spirit of the age.<br />
But to my adventure.<br />
* * * *<br />
We were walking down the main thoroughfare<br />
of the stately city where the heroes of fairy-land<br />
go when they are out of print. I do not know<br />
how we got there.<br />
"Here," said my conductor, indicating a hand-<br />
some building, "is the club. Come in and have<br />
some coffee. It is rather exclusive, for we only<br />
admit genuine figments, as poor old Selkirk will<br />
tell you. Though between you and me he was<br />
pilled as much for his habit of saying he was<br />
monarch of all lie surveyed as for any truth in his<br />
career."<br />
These remarks made me look at the speaker<br />
closely, and I recognized him immediately. The<br />
■high shapeless peaked cap, the short jacket, and<br />
open-kneed breeches and buskins, all of goat-skin,<br />
betrayed the hero to me.<br />
"Robinson !" I exclaimed, "this is indeed a<br />
proud moment for me."<br />
"It is very good of you to say so," he replied,<br />
handing to the porter two pouches of ammunition,<br />
a goat-skin umbrella, a fowling-piece, and a<br />
parrot—"very good and kind indeed, for I<br />
understand that I am not of much account in the<br />
world now. I hear, indeed, although I can<br />
hardly credit it, that I am not even in the best<br />
hundred books."<br />
We went upstairs into the smoking room, a<br />
magnificently furnished apartment, whose ceilings<br />
were covered with carpet, and whose floor was<br />
painted like a ceiling. Little brick-coloured<br />
engravings stood about the room on tables, and<br />
large purple-tinted plates were fastened to the<br />
walls, between panels of Lincrusta-Walton work.<br />
Also there was gilt about in places where one badly<br />
brought up would hardly have expected it.<br />
"Copied from your Junior International, I<br />
believe," said Crusoe, sniffing perceptibly, "and<br />
considered to be the acme of comfort. There<br />
are points, you know, about living insulated, with-<br />
out upholstery."<br />
We had not been seated long, when there<br />
entered two superlatively handsome young men,<br />
dressed in the extreme of fashion, who appeared<br />
to accept as their bare due the homage which was<br />
spontaneously tendered to them by all present.<br />
Crusoe, among others, rose from his seat and bowed<br />
as they came in.<br />
"Who are they?" I enquired.<br />
"The short one is Prince "(here he whis-<br />
pered the name into my ear, cautioning me not to<br />
repeat it, as the Prince's name had so far escaped<br />
print), "who married Cinderella; his companion<br />
is Prince Charming, the husband of the young<br />
lady so well-known, and so widely celebrated as<br />
the Sleeping Beauty. Shall I introduce you?"<br />
"Thank you," said I, "I shall be profoundly<br />
obliged for an opportunity of obtaining a personal<br />
knowledge of gentlemen whose lot I have envied so<br />
often."<br />
The demeanour of my new acquaintances, to<br />
whom I was immediately made known, surprised<br />
me greatly, for the face of each wore a look of<br />
permanent dissatisfaction. Yet I had the authority<br />
of much uncontradicted tradition for believing that<br />
all the future was to have been for them a sojourn<br />
in eternal happiness. Was it that as Princes they<br />
disdained to manifest any outward appearance of<br />
happiness? For I knew that in some circles a<br />
settled and serene sulk did duty for "the repose<br />
which stamps the caste." Was I face to face with<br />
a genuine or a spurious melancholy?<br />
I resolved to ask them, and I did.<br />
"Really," said Cinderella's husband, "my un-<br />
fortunate position is so well known that it were<br />
the veriest of affectations to disguise it. I have<br />
married in the scullery, and am repenting at<br />
leisure. Cinderella," he added, pityingly, "is a<br />
good little girl, but entirely without manner. You<br />
remember, of course, her bringing up—it is very<br />
hard on us, but everybody knows it—and you can<br />
scarcely, therefore, wonder at her lack of distinction.<br />
Ah! I ought to have married one of her sisters—<br />
fine girls, sir, with a style too! Either would have<br />
jumped at me."<br />
"But," said I, "your wife has the sweetest<br />
disposition, and surely that, combined with beauty,<br />
should bring happiness to a husband's home."<br />
"Maybe," said the Prince, "but she doesn't<br />
make me happy. You see, she has no adaptability<br />
and no malleability. She has never made any<br />
attempt to fill the position in which I have placed<br />
her. I grant you that her housekeeping is excellent,<br />
but then house-wif'ery is a talent which a princess<br />
would do well to go out and bury. It never would<br />
be missed."<br />
"I think," broke in Prince Charming, "that you<br />
are making the worst of your case. At least your<br />
wife is an intelligent girl, and you get your meals<br />
regularly. How would you like to be tied to such<br />
a wife as mine?"<br />
<br />
<br />
## p. 322 (#386) ############################################<br />
<br />
322<br />
THE AUTHOR.<br />
"Yours, Prince?" I exclaimed, "why, the Sleep-<br />
ing Beauty is the loveliest and purest maid in the<br />
annals of fiction."<br />
"I only wish I had left her as I found her,"<br />
returned Prince Charming, viciously. "Entre<br />
t/ous, my wife is next door to an idiot. She spends<br />
the day arranging herself on sofas. A photo-<br />
grapher attends to reproduce the results, and I am<br />
expected to pass judgment upon each picture, and<br />
say if she appears lovelier in this or in that pose,<br />
than when she lay asleep among the briars. She<br />
has no ideas, no powers of estimation or com-<br />
parison, no knowledge whatever of life. What,<br />
indeed, can be expected from a girl who has<br />
passed all her maiden life asleep? But if I had<br />
only thought for a moment, I should have foreseen<br />
all this ere I woke her—and I should have<br />
retreated on tip-toe."<br />
Just then a very pleasing young man came<br />
into the room, and looked ingratiatingly about<br />
him. He was apparently well-known and popular,<br />
for he was greeted with nods and smiles by most<br />
of those present. His clothes were magnificent,<br />
but his bearing was not aristocratic, and he was<br />
treated with none of the external deference which<br />
had been offered to the two Princes.<br />
"Oh !" said Prince Charming, " I'm off. I can-<br />
not stand that fellow." So saying, he rose, as did<br />
his companion, and they lounged with linked arms<br />
past the new-comer, ostentatiously taking no<br />
notice of him.<br />
"Who is he, Robinson?" I asked.<br />
"It's Aladdin," he replied, "the man who<br />
married the Princess Badroulbadour. She's the<br />
handsomest and cleverest woman in the place—<br />
quite the leader in our best set, and very fond of<br />
circus-girls, artists' models, and religious explorers.<br />
Would you care to know him?"<br />
I nodded, and Crusoe signed to Aladdin to<br />
come over and occupy Prince Charming's chair.<br />
"Pleased to meet you, sir," said Aladdin, with<br />
what may be described as lower middle-class<br />
affability. "Was not that Prince Charming who<br />
just left you? Horrid supercilious beast! I hope<br />
he's not a particular friend of yours."<br />
Aladdin's manner of speeding the parting guest<br />
was so very familiar to me from club experience in<br />
my world, that I was moved to smile, as I answered<br />
that I had only made the acquaintance of the two<br />
Princes some few minutes before, and that I<br />
thought them nice young men.<br />
"Well, I don't," he said. "I often wonder why<br />
Cinderella puts up with her husband's airs. She's<br />
a jolly little thing, and as beautiful as she is good;<br />
but he's ashamed to be seen about with her, and<br />
Prince Charming openly laments that he didn't<br />
leave his wife where he found her, and is always<br />
egging the poor girl on to take morphine. Is that<br />
your idea of being nice?"<br />
"Are you not a little hard upon him?" said I.<br />
"You have been so happy yourself in your choice<br />
of a consort that perhaps you hardly make due<br />
allowance for less fortunate men."<br />
"You must be a particular sort of an ass," he<br />
replied, bluntly. "Badroulbadour is handsome<br />
enough and as clever as paint, but she's not a<br />
pleasant wife; everybody knows that. She's a<br />
leader of society. That's what she is. We have<br />
not dined fete d-tUte for two years. She has political<br />
views and social views, and artistic views. She has<br />
all sorts of explorers and nigger-drivers about the<br />
place. (No offence to you, Crusoe.) She writes<br />
for the monthly magazines. Sometimes her<br />
grammar gets guyed, but her sentiments are all<br />
right, for she lifts them from Confucius. She<br />
speaks in public, and will blurt out to a collected<br />
crowd things which a man would get kicked for<br />
whispering; but she doesn't speak to me except<br />
before company and to keep up appearances."<br />
I murmured my sympathies as he rose to go.<br />
"Concerning marriages," said Crusoe, as he<br />
showed me downstairs. "What the wise ends of<br />
God's providence are in such a disposition of<br />
things I cannot say. There are those who rashly<br />
presume to judge by the experience of others.<br />
There are those who still more rashly arrive at<br />
general conclusions from the consideration of their<br />
own private affairs. I am pleased to have met<br />
you. If you ever write story books you might<br />
omit that tag. It annoys us here terribly."<br />
I was glad to leave for I remember that my<br />
companion was sometimes a tedious old gentleman.<br />
* # * * *<br />
Now after this I see before me a future for some-<br />
body. It is clear that the fairy story—-as she is<br />
wrote—is inconsequent and immoral. It has no<br />
message. It is untruthful. The characters them-<br />
selves feel it. Will this not be very generally found<br />
out? Do you think a fin de siecle Board School<br />
child will tolerate such void and formless attempts<br />
towards its amusement much longer?<br />
And this is the future for somebody :—Let him<br />
take these old stories and write them up to date.<br />
Let us know the psychological reasons for the<br />
failure of the elder two brothers and the unvarying<br />
success of the third. This is no accident: it<br />
happens too often. It is a mental problem worthy<br />
of Maudsley's consideration. Let him paint for us<br />
the animal qualities of the Beast cropping up in his<br />
descendants, in happy blend with the personal<br />
traits of Beauty their mother, and the unamiable<br />
characteristics of their aunts. In this way it seems<br />
that we might attain to a Literature of searching<br />
<br />
<br />
## p. 323 (#387) ############################################<br />
<br />
THE AUTHOR.<br />
3*3<br />
character-insight, and the coldest scientific ac-<br />
curacy, with the extraordinary and pleasing addition<br />
of a readable story.<br />
Some "damned" English poet might be en-<br />
trusted to re-write snatches of nursery rhyme to be<br />
used as chapter headings.<br />
There is money in this idea. The Society has<br />
therefore patented it, and will be happy to entrust<br />
the commission to the author who passes first in a<br />
competitive examination for the post. Names will<br />
now be received by the secretary. The com-<br />
pulsory subjects will be :—<br />
The works of Zola, Kipling, Tolstoi, Wilde, and<br />
Paul Verlaine—in English.<br />
Carpenter's " Mental Physiology."<br />
Bartlett's "Familiar Quotations."<br />
Brewer's " Dictionaries of, &c."<br />
In addition the candidates will have to satisfy<br />
the examiners in one of the following books :—<br />
Hans Andersen's Stories.<br />
Grimm's Stories.<br />
The Arabian Nights Entertainments, un-<br />
bowdlerized.<br />
Cobbett's English Grammar.<br />
Any Standard French Dictionary.<br />
The books will be published by the Society on<br />
the half-profit system, and the author will be paid,<br />
upon repeated application, whatever sum the Com-<br />
mittee think will make him shut his mouth. This<br />
sum will be taken to represent his due share, and<br />
no further question can be allowed to arise about<br />
the matter, as the Committee are not as a body or<br />
individually in the habit of having their bare words<br />
doubted.<br />
*<br />
"L'ENFANT PRODIGUE."<br />
THERE could not have been a better way of<br />
keeping the Feast of Fools than by a visit<br />
to "Monsieur Pierrot," at home, at the<br />
Prince of Wales' Theatre. The most exquisite<br />
gourmet of folly could find no fault with a<br />
banquet so rich in rare and delicate food for<br />
laughter and unexpected flavouring of grateful<br />
bitter herbs. I was not alone in the audience; we<br />
went to laugh and criticise, and came away<br />
conquered and in tears. We have made the ac-<br />
quaintance of a great author. Monsieur Michel<br />
Carre" fils has written a most pathetic comedy<br />
without words. He has overcome not only a<br />
dramatic, but a literary difficulty. The phraseology<br />
of lives somewhat sordid, placed midway between<br />
poverty and affluence, between ignorance and high<br />
cultivation, is so antipathetic to either extreme as<br />
to deprive the class using it of their sympathy. In<br />
VOL. I.<br />
"L'Enfant Prodigue" we see before us mediocrity<br />
relieved of all its pettiness, in its dumb human<br />
agony. It is the story of the great sorrow of petty<br />
comedians, the little tragedy of a family of fools.<br />
Until we knew Monsieur Michel Carre, we should<br />
have said no one could have done it so well, not<br />
even Charles I amb, Gerard de Nerval, Hans An-<br />
dersen— only Balzac himself. Again, the play could<br />
scarcely be better represented. Monsieur Courtes<br />
as Pierrot pcre exhausts my praise. Madame<br />
Schmidt as Madame Pierrot is very nearly as<br />
powerful. Consider how perfectly they co-operate<br />
with the author. In the first act, we have the<br />
comely, smiling, indulgent French mother, slightly<br />
indifferent to a husband many years older, but<br />
utterly devoted to her son. The father is the<br />
typical middle-class Frenchman, getting old, narrow-<br />
minded, irascible, respectable, and a niggard.<br />
The family is prosperous in an unpretending<br />
middle-class way; the old man stints his son, and<br />
stints his wife and himself in order to save for him.<br />
The gay and indulgent mother keeps as a matter<br />
of course a cheap commonplace statue of the<br />
Virgin as an ornament in the corner of the room.<br />
A lamp hangs before it. The family is prosperous;<br />
she has let the lamp go out. Notice when the boy<br />
has been sent off to bed, how comfortably they<br />
settle themselves, how Monsieur Pierrot reads his<br />
newspaper; we can follow him through all the<br />
items of news. At last he finds a story "un peu<br />
piquant." His delight, her propriety and her<br />
smile, furtive without the least touch of prudery—<br />
how delicately this is acted! At length they fall<br />
asleep, gradually, peacefully, the sleep of body and<br />
conscience both untroubled by digestion.<br />
They wake to find,—what we know (for the<br />
moment Monsieur Courtes and Madame Schmidt<br />
are on an exact equality with speaking actors), for<br />
words here would be impossible. Nothing could<br />
be more masterly than the contrast between their<br />
simulated, agonizing sleep, and their natural, quiet<br />
dozing. Monsieur Courtes is particularly fine.<br />
The effect of their awakening we see in the<br />
fourth act. The sorrow has inspired their dull<br />
mediocrity, the bitter herbs have given a delicate<br />
flavour to the common meat, the woman's tears<br />
have served as oil to her holy lamp. The com-<br />
monplace ornament has become the Mother of<br />
Mercy. Both the parents are aged, the mother<br />
saddened, the father softened; but he is old<br />
Pierrot still. If he were not still a little irascible<br />
we should not be afraid to laugh at him without the<br />
least sarcasm, and this is the highest, rarest proof<br />
of good-will. There is the old hackneyed scene,<br />
the unused platter, and the vacant chair; but these<br />
respectable "bourgeois," retired clowns, make it<br />
heart-rending. The mother, of course, shows plainly<br />
2 E<br />
<br />
<br />
## p. 324 (#388) ############################################<br />
<br />
324<br />
THE AUTHOR.<br />
that she cannot restrain her tears, the old man<br />
affects indifference,—and fills the empty glass. By<br />
some strange prophetic instinct he leaves it to<br />
restore an unexpected guest. Every movement of<br />
Monsieur Courtes's face is a study as Pierrot scolds<br />
and comforts his wife. There is no tobacco in his<br />
jar; this is a good excuse. The hot atmosphere must<br />
be raising the lump in his throat. He feigns anger;<br />
he must himself go out in the snow to buy tobacco.<br />
When Madame Pierrot is left alone she breaks<br />
down utterly, but she has still hope ; she confides in<br />
the plaster image, which has attained to the highest<br />
eminence of the best art by becoming to her the<br />
greatest of realities. While her husband is away<br />
she can take out an ordinary cabinet-sized photo-<br />
graph and hug it to her breast and dandle it in<br />
her arms. All heroines of melodramas do this,<br />
but here it is terribly pathetic. We could swear it<br />
is blotched and stained with real tears. Then in<br />
comes the old man again, still the old Pierrot; he<br />
picks up a piece of bread which has fallen on the<br />
floor and looks angrily at his wife as he blows the<br />
dust off. He won't have waste in his house; then<br />
we remember, after all, he is not so well off now.<br />
Presently, when old Pierrot is out of the room, the<br />
prodigal returns, faint and weary. His mother, of<br />
course, has no thought of reproach. She holds him<br />
to her breast again, that is enough. She refreshes<br />
him with the wine his father could not taste. The<br />
father comes back; she nods to the Virgin, alive<br />
to her, standing there in the room, to remind her<br />
that she must help now, she must make the father<br />
forgive. The mother has no thought of any moral<br />
law concerning punishment and the fruit of faults.<br />
But old Pierrot is a fool, by profession only. He<br />
won't take back his son, to rob him and ruin<br />
himself a second time. He must make atonement.<br />
To the Frenchman whose neighbours have died on<br />
their own doorsteps, killed by a foreign invader, ser-<br />
vice in the army has a sacred character unintelligible<br />
to races only accustomed to aggressive wars. And<br />
sowe leave the family, wondering at the fool's wisdom.<br />
By dwelling so long on Monsieur and Madame<br />
Pierrot, I do not wish to imply dissatisfaction with<br />
the acting of the other parts. All are very good.<br />
In one gesture of the negro servant, Monsieur Jean<br />
Arcueil, as he pauses an instant before he leaves<br />
the room, is expressed the whole conversation of<br />
the servants' hall in a "bijou residence," whose<br />
mistress still retains the characteristics of a pretty<br />
washerwoman when she is dressed in silks and<br />
satins. Mdlle. Zanfretta makes a lively and clever<br />
"Phrynette"; the little touches showing she has<br />
after all some sort of fondness for her generous and<br />
devoted boy, are very pretty. Monsieur Louis<br />
Gouget also makes an excellent baron, once he is<br />
le baron Hulot of " La Cousine Bette," to the life.<br />
1 have purposely avoided any special notice of<br />
the acting of Miss Jane May. She is so well<br />
known and her reputation is so well assured that<br />
it is unnecessary to do so. One point, however,<br />
she emphasises with peculiar skill, the remorse of<br />
little Pierrot even while he is robbing his parents,<br />
and his love for his mother. He cannot make up<br />
his mind to search his mother for the keys. Again<br />
she uses with effect a splendid opportunity. There<br />
is a corner of " Phrynette's" boudoir corresponding<br />
to the corner in the old home where hung the image<br />
and the lamp. Little "Pierrot" is in an agony,<br />
instinctively he turns to the image, to find a por-<br />
trait of himself. No woman could act the part<br />
better than Miss Jane May; most men would not<br />
act it half so well; but it is utterly impossible for<br />
a woman's figure in man's clothes to look other-<br />
wise than anomalous. Nature and the caprice of<br />
present custom, and not the fine artistic powers and<br />
personal feminine appearance of Miss Jane May,<br />
are responsible for the anomaly. Pierrot is not a<br />
"joli jeune garcon," but a "gamin maladie." This<br />
one fault in the "casting" of the piece is the<br />
"poisson d'avril " of the feast. W. W.<br />
*<br />
CORRESPONDENCE.<br />
I. Authors and Reviewers.<br />
THE remedy for the state of things com-<br />
plained of by "An Obscure Novelist" can<br />
only be found in the reform of the review-<br />
ing system. At the same time it may be pointed<br />
out that the exercise of a little discrimination by<br />
the "Obscure Novelist" would have saved him<br />
the troubled mind which a very common experience<br />
has occasioned. The opinion of the Little Ped-<br />
dlington Star is surely not so important to him as<br />
the criticism of the Saturday Review. Then he<br />
appears to suffer from the delusion that all re-<br />
viewers are critics. Let him distinguish. It were<br />
unreasonable to look for criticism in a journal<br />
where six, or eight, or more novels—good and bad,<br />
foreign and English—are "noticed," week after<br />
week, in a single brief article that occupies space<br />
which would be inadequate to the criticism of a<br />
single notable novel. Such a system may commend<br />
itself to publishers, and may be very suitable to a<br />
trade journal, but it is nothing less than scandalous<br />
in a newspaper that professes to review and to<br />
represent current English literature. As to those<br />
other papers of which "An Obscure Novelist"<br />
writes, whose reviews are determined by their<br />
advertisements, they can be, and should be, surely<br />
left bookless by all authors and publishers.<br />
<br />
<br />
## p. 325 (#389) ############################################<br />
<br />
THE A UTHOR.<br />
325<br />
The needed reform can be best effected by<br />
editors. Unfortunately it appears that it would<br />
first be necessary to convince a large number of<br />
editors that reviewing is a subject of any im-<br />
portance at all. It is notorious that reviewing is<br />
regarded in many quarters as a field of experiment<br />
for testing the competency of the young hand, or<br />
for proving—for the 12th time—the inveterate dis-<br />
abilities of the ancient hack. In short, what is, as<br />
Mr. Saintsbury forcibly puts it, "on the whole the<br />
most difficult kind of newspaper writing" is also<br />
"on the whole the most lightly assigned and the<br />
most irresponsibly performed." Now if all editors<br />
would but devote a fair proportion of their time<br />
and energy to these matters, the evils discussed by<br />
"An Obscure Novelist" would be greatly<br />
diminished.<br />
B.<br />
II. Baron Tauchnitz.<br />
"Can you tell me by what right Tauchnitz pub-<br />
lishes cheap editions of English books for con-<br />
tinental circulation, and in what respect this differs<br />
from piracy?<br />
"I have heard or read that Tauchnitz always<br />
pays authors pretty liberally, but is he obliged to<br />
do so? And why is it that Tauchnitz alone seems<br />
to have the privilege of printing cheap editions?"<br />
The writer is under a misapprehension. Baron<br />
Tauchnitz has no such rights as he supposes. To<br />
reprint an English author without his permission<br />
would be an act of piracy. Baron Tauchnitz<br />
always purchases the right. The reason why he is<br />
alone as a publisher of English books for continental<br />
cities is simply that, though others have tried to set<br />
up in rivalry with him, they have not hitherto suc-<br />
ceeded. Messrs. Heinemann, Balestier and Co. are<br />
now making another attempt. They are said to<br />
have secured a good many leading English authors.<br />
It remains to be seen whether their venture will<br />
be crowned with success or not.<br />
III. From "Chastelard."<br />
I have been much puzzled by two allusions in<br />
Mr. Swinburne's dramas, and hope that some of<br />
the readers of the Author may be able and willing<br />
to lighten my darkness. One of these is to be<br />
found in Chastelard, Act iii, sc. 1; the hero<br />
speaks—<br />
"Have you read never in French books the song<br />
Called the 'Duke's Song,' some boy made ages<br />
back,<br />
A song of drag-nets hauled across thwart seas<br />
VOL. I.<br />
And plucked up with rent sides, and caught<br />
therein,<br />
A strange-haired woman with sad singing lips,<br />
Cold in the cheek like any stray of sea,<br />
And sweet to touch? So that men, seeing her<br />
face,<br />
And how she sighed out little Ahs of pain,<br />
And soft cries sobbing sideways from her mouth,<br />
Fell in hot love, and having lain with her,<br />
Died soon?"<br />
Is there any foundation for this? Does such a<br />
song as the "Duke's Song" exist?<br />
The other allusion is in Rosamond, sc. 3. King<br />
Henry says—<br />
"I am as he that saith<br />
In the great song sick words and sorrowful<br />
Of love's hard sweet and hunger of harsh hours."<br />
To what "great song" could our Second Henry<br />
thus refer?<br />
Ramsay Colles.<br />
IV. Gratuitous Contributions.<br />
Can the gratuitous contributions, complained of<br />
in the March number of the Author, explain the<br />
proceedings of the publisher with whom the writer<br />
of the paragraph, headed "Accepted," has had to<br />
do? The remuneration offered was certainly ex-<br />
tremely liberal, compared with what "No pay, no<br />
pen" speaks of as being "considered in such<br />
quarters something magnificent." Has the pub-'<br />
lisher in question discovered he can secure contri-<br />
butions gratuitously, or at least at half, or quarter,<br />
the rate agreed on, and so have broken his<br />
contract?<br />
Neither Pay nor Fen.<br />
IV. "The Last Dream of Julius Roy."<br />
Mr. Byrrne shows such a pretty faculty of<br />
paraphrase in his version, in last month's Author,<br />
of my story, "The Last Dream of Julius Roy,"<br />
that I am sorry to have to discourage him in the<br />
ingenious art of manufacturing resemblances<br />
betwixt his own and other people's stories. Until<br />
his letter, I had supposed the "Newbery House<br />
Magazine " to be a theological review—a very good<br />
reason for not going to its pages for fiction.<br />
Indeed, I had never seen either the magazine or<br />
his story. But the suspicion of plagiarism, like<br />
that of heresy, is not easily upset; and, supposing<br />
my story to have been written after his had<br />
appeared, he would still probably make the most<br />
of that contingency. So I hasten to add that<br />
2 K 2<br />
<br />
<br />
## p. 326 (#390) ############################################<br />
<br />
326<br />
THE AUTHOR.<br />
"The Last Dream of Julius Roy" was written first,<br />
early in 1889, had some considerable circulation in<br />
MS. during that year, and was eventually sent to<br />
the Editor of Macmillan's Magazine before July,<br />
1890, the date when, we are told, the story re-<br />
sembling it appeared. I hesitate to turn the<br />
tables upon Mr. Byrrne, as an avowed writer of<br />
fiction, by suggesting that he may have been<br />
among those who read my story in MS.<br />
Ernest Rhys.<br />
Llantysilio, April 6th, 1891.<br />
VI. The Signed Article.<br />
Sir,—In response to your invitation appended<br />
to the article of " F.," in your last issue, allow me,<br />
as an old journalist, who has been engaged in<br />
editorial work on daily papers for many years, to<br />
say a few words on the above subject. From the<br />
point of view taken by the Society of Authors<br />
with regard to all such matters there can be no<br />
doubt that the signature of newspaper articles<br />
would be greatly to the material advantage of the<br />
journalist, for it would enhance both his social<br />
status and his pecuniary value. Many an able<br />
leader writer now unknown would, if he signed his<br />
articles, become famous and obtain higher terms<br />
for his services. As it is, some few journalists,<br />
are well-known by name to the public independ-<br />
ently of their avowed literary work, and although<br />
their newspaper articles arc not identified as theirs<br />
it is a matter of notoriety that they write for<br />
certain papers. All these gentlemen are pre-<br />
sumably very highly paid, but they have many<br />
colleagues of great ability whose names are much<br />
less familiar to the public, but who, if they were<br />
equally celebrated, could command similar re-<br />
muneration. Now it is the special function of the<br />
Society to improve the author's position, and so<br />
far as the journalist is concerned nothing could be<br />
better calculated to effect that end than the<br />
removal of the veil which hides not his talent, but<br />
his personality from the public. I have in my<br />
mind many men, it would be invidious to mention<br />
names, who have been labouring for the public for<br />
years, turning out day after day brilliant or solid<br />
articles, representing an aggregate of brain work,<br />
which, if embodied in a book or books, must have<br />
rendered them famous and perhaps prosperous.<br />
Yet the public never heard of them, and they have<br />
remained content in their modest obscurity, sub-<br />
sisting on their moderate salaries, and their<br />
obituary one of these days will probably be con-<br />
tained in a six-line paragraph.<br />
Yet all journalists, obviously as a change in the<br />
present practice would be for their benefit, are by<br />
no means in favour of abolishing the anonymous<br />
system. In fact, I rather think that the majority<br />
are opposed to such an alteration. They are led<br />
to this conclusion by several different consider-<br />
ations, but there is one of a practical character,<br />
which they generally recognise as presenting an<br />
insuperable obstacle to the proposed "reform."<br />
All newspaper work must be edited, and it is<br />
edited habitually to an extent of which the public<br />
are hardly aware. In every well-regulated news-<br />
paper office a despotic discipline is exercised,<br />
almost as strict as that on board a man-of-war,<br />
and no contribution is sacred to the editor. He,<br />
or his assistant, alters, corrects, deletes, amplifies,<br />
and re-writes as he pleases, and his authority in<br />
this respect is never questioned. The contributor<br />
knows that his article is anonymous; the editor<br />
is responsible for it, not he. Now this editorial<br />
supervision would be rendered practically impos-<br />
sible if articles were signed. They would not be<br />
the work of the writer whose signature was attached<br />
to them, and no self-respecting journalist would<br />
allow writings to go forth to the world under his<br />
name which were not all his own.<br />
I have reason to know that there is a very strong<br />
feeling among both newspaper proprietors and<br />
newspaper writers against the abolition of the<br />
anonymous system, and I doubt very much<br />
whether, in our time at least, the directors of any<br />
great journal will be induced to make the proposed<br />
change. It is possible, however, that one of them<br />
may be bold enough to try the experiment at any<br />
rate to a limited extent, publishing, say, one signed<br />
article in the nature of a leader every day, instead<br />
of putting it into the form of a "letter to the<br />
editor," a practice frequently adopted.<br />
I think, in short, that it would be very desirable<br />
to effect some modification in the present anony-<br />
mous system. Certainly it would be to the advan-<br />
tage of the journalist in every way. But that<br />
which is desirable is not always practicable, and<br />
anything like a general signature of all articles in<br />
English journals is, I fear, quite out of the ques-<br />
tion. I am, yours, &c,<br />
Fleet Street, March 29th. E. J. G.<br />
VII. Note on a Case.<br />
At County Court recently a singular pub-<br />
lishing case came up for hearing. The plaintiffs,<br />
Messrs. A. B. and Co., sued Mr. C. D. for nonfulfil-<br />
ment of the terms of a contract entered into in<br />
February, 1890. It appears that the defendant<br />
signed an agreement with the plaintiffs, by which<br />
he bound himself to superintend the translation,<br />
editing, and general preparation for the press, of a<br />
certain well-known series of volumes. The first<br />
<br />
<br />
## p. 327 (#391) ############################################<br />
<br />
THE A UTHOR.<br />
327<br />
volume of the series was to have been published, if<br />
possible, in September last year. Various reasons<br />
were brought forward by the defendant's counsel,<br />
accounting for the delay in the preparation of the<br />
volumes, notably the difficulty of adapting the work<br />
to suit English readers and the question of inter-<br />
national copyright.<br />
The terms of the agreement as stated in court<br />
are so peculiar that they are worthy of being<br />
recorded in these pages. For translating, editing,<br />
and preparing for the press, the defendant was to<br />
receive the sum of ^25, each volume to be pub-<br />
lished monthly, payable one month after publica-<br />
tion. Payment for the first volume, however, it<br />
appears, was made in advance. Out of this sum<br />
it was suggested by the plaintiffs that the defendant<br />
should pay £12 each for the rough translation of<br />
the volumes, and about ^5 or £6 for illustrations<br />
in each volume. All expenses for corrections<br />
(exclusive of printer's errors), exceeding \os. for<br />
every 32 pp., were to be borne by the defendant.<br />
None of the volumes have less than 250 pp. of<br />
over 270 words each.<br />
The claim of the plaintiffs was for the return of<br />
the volumes lent for the purpose of translation,<br />
the ^25 allowed in advance, and £,10 damages,<br />
also costs. Judgment for ^25 was given for the<br />
plaintiffs, his Honour at the same time expressing<br />
sympathy towards the defendant when considering<br />
the terms of the agreement.<br />
[Editor's Note.—This is a case in which the<br />
defendant signed an agreement without considering<br />
whether he could carry out the contract. For ^25<br />
he was to arrange the purchase of copyright, pay a<br />
translator—say .£12 for sixteen sheets, or 155. a<br />
sheet of 4,320 words, that is, id. for every 24<br />
words It is the wage of a road-sweeper. He<br />
was alno to spend £6 in illustrations, and to pay<br />
corrections. Naturally, hi could not carry out the<br />
contract. No doubt he ought to have thought of<br />
this before signing it. It seems to us, however,<br />
that equity ought to relieve persons from the<br />
burden of such contracts as these. It is well<br />
for us to know that such contracts as these are<br />
still submitted to literary men.]<br />
VIII. The Cost of a Stamp.<br />
An author accustomed to signing the agreements<br />
submitted to him by his publishers in the form<br />
which may be called "the ordinary royalty agree-<br />
ment," endeavours to embody similar terms in a<br />
letter to his publisher, and on sending it to Somerset<br />
House to be stamped, is surprised to receive it<br />
back with a 10s. stamp impressed on it instead of<br />
the 6d. stamp which he has been familiar with<br />
upon his usual agreement. His letter runs thus :—<br />
"Gentlemen,<br />
"In consideration of the prepayment of -——<br />
pounds on account of royalties and of the further<br />
royalties hereinafter mentioned, I hereby transfer<br />
to you the international copyright and all other<br />
rights, if any, in a story written by me entitled<br />
',' without any restrictions whatever as to<br />
methods, times, or places of publication or drama-<br />
tisation." Then follow the details of royalties to<br />
be paid, an undertaking to correct proofs, and the<br />
author's signature. There can hardly be any doubt<br />
that the reason why the document set out was not<br />
stamped with a sixpenny stamp, but at a higher<br />
rate, is that it was considered at Somerset House<br />
to be, as indeed it apparently is, a conveyance on<br />
sale, which is defined in Section 70 of the Stamp Act<br />
of 1870 (33 and 34 Vic, cap. 97), to include ' every<br />
instrument whereby any property upon the sale<br />
thereof is legally or equitably transferred to or vested<br />
in the purchaser.' It has therefore been charged<br />
with an 'ad valorem duty,' which appears to have<br />
been arrived at by a calculation which fixed the<br />
value of the property sold at between ^75 und^ioo.<br />
It must be recollected, by those who would im-<br />
mediately conclude that a document in the form<br />
of an agreement would be the better one for<br />
authors to use in dealing with their copyright,<br />
that it by no means follows that because a piece<br />
of paper is only headed, 'Memorandum of agree-<br />
ment between A. B. and C. D.,' that it is not an<br />
instrument whereby property is legally, or at all<br />
events, equitably transferred. That would depend<br />
on the construction of the words which treat par-<br />
ticularly of the contemplated assignment, and on<br />
the contents of the document as a whole. It can<br />
safely be presumed that if such a document were<br />
handed in at Somerset House with a request that<br />
a 6d. stamp might be affixed to it, it would be<br />
affixed without demur, while the question whether<br />
it was a transfer or not, and if so, whether it was<br />
sufficiently stamped, might arise at some future<br />
time to perplex and annoy a person claiming<br />
under it.<br />
"If any person wishes to ascertain beyond doubt<br />
the amount of duty with which any executed<br />
instrument is chargeable, he may (by Sections 18<br />
and 19 of the above-mentioned Act) require the<br />
Commissioners of Inland Revenue to express an<br />
opinion as to whether it is chargeable with duty,<br />
and to what extent. If they consider that the<br />
instrument is chargeable they are bound to assess<br />
the duty, and any person who is dissatisfied with<br />
the assessment as made, may within twenty-one days<br />
after the date of it, and on payment of duty in<br />
conformity with it, appeal against it to the Queen's<br />
Bench Division of the High Court of Justice, and<br />
may for that purpose require the Commissioners to<br />
<br />
<br />
## p. 328 (#392) ############################################<br />
<br />
328<br />
THE AUTHOR.<br />
state and sign a case, setting forth the question<br />
upon which their opinion was required and the<br />
assessment made by them.<br />
"The Commissioners arethen obliged to state and<br />
sign acase accordingly, which in due course is agreed<br />
before the proper Court, and the person whose<br />
instrument was to be stamped may end by taking<br />
the matter up to the House of Lords, and obtain-<br />
ing their decision upon it. If he succeeds he will<br />
get back the amount he has overpaid, and his costs;<br />
if he loses, he will have to pay the costs of the<br />
Commissioners as well as his own. It must be<br />
pointed out that it wou'.d be found impossible to<br />
recover money overpaid for duty unless the steps<br />
indicated above had been taken, and the Com-<br />
missioners formally asked to assess the duty; and it<br />
should be borne in mind that although the royalty<br />
agreements signed by authors and publishers may<br />
be habitually stamped with a sixpenny stamp, it by<br />
no means follows that they ought not to be charged<br />
with an ad valorem duty instead. An Act of Par-<br />
liament passed in 1889 (52, 53 Vic, cap. 42, sec.<br />
15), enncts that 'Any contract or agreement made<br />
in England or Ireland under seal or under hand<br />
only or made in Scotland ... for the sale of<br />
any estate or interest in any property except lands,<br />
tenements (and certain other specified species of<br />
property which do not include copyrights), shall be<br />
charged with the same ad valorem duties to be<br />
paid by the purchaser as if it were an actual con-<br />
veyance on sale of the estate interest or property<br />
agreed or contracted to be sold.' It should be<br />
remembered that (under 5 and 6 Vic, cap. 45,<br />
sec. 43) the copyright of a book duly entered in the<br />
Book of Registry of Stationers' Hall may be<br />
assigned by its registered proprietor, by entry in<br />
that Book cf Registry, without being subjected to<br />
any stamp or duty. An agreement to assign the<br />
copyright in a book so entered, or which is intended<br />
to be so entered, would presumably require a six-<br />
penny stamp only, and one would think that this<br />
form of transfer would consequently in many cases<br />
be found the cheapest to adopt.<br />
E. A. A.<br />
*<br />
IN GRUB STREET.<br />
ALADY'S experience. "I wrote a little book<br />
for which I received the sum of £5. It<br />
ran up to 10,000 copies at least. It was<br />
sold for a few pence only. The publishers refused<br />
any further payment on account of its success."<br />
Technically, of course, they were quite right.<br />
The author had accepted the agreement, and there<br />
was nothing more to say. But—mark this—the<br />
publishers knew pretty well, beforehand, what the<br />
sale would be, because they had previously issued<br />
many other books of the same kind. Therefore<br />
they knew very nearly what the proceeds would be.<br />
I have calculated that the publishers made a profit<br />
of about ^70. Now, I repeat, when they gave the<br />
author this wretched ^5, they knew that they were<br />
going to make this profit. Are we right, in any<br />
definition of Sweating, to accord to this Firm the<br />
rank and title of Sweaters? And I wonder if<br />
anyone can guess the name of this Firm of<br />
Sweaters.<br />
The Authors' Syndicate is under the voluntary<br />
and unpaid management of Mr. W. Morris Colles.<br />
The Honorary Treasurer is Mr. Walter Besant.<br />
The principle of the Syndicate is quite simple.<br />
The author gets all that is received for his work,<br />
except a very small percentage to pay for clerking,<br />
printing, and postage. Mr. Colles begs all authors<br />
to understand that in arranging with the papers<br />
the name is the first thing; that until a writer<br />
has made himself a name, this form of publication<br />
is impossible for him: and that nothing can be<br />
done in a hurry, papers being generally engaged a<br />
year and more in advance.<br />
John Strange Winter is engaged upon a new<br />
serial story for Lloyd's Weekly Newspaper. The<br />
appearance of her new venture, "Golden Gates,"<br />
must be recorded as one of the literary events of<br />
the month. It is said that 100,000 copies of the<br />
first number went off.<br />
Mr. Henry Cresswell has in the press a new<br />
novel, in three volumes, entitled "The Hermits of<br />
Crizebeck," which will be published by Messrs.<br />
Hurst and Blackett early in May.<br />
At recent book sales, the first edition of Bunyan's<br />
Holy War (1682) sold for ^32; the original<br />
monthly parts of Vanity Fairfax £21 e,s. ; Walton's<br />
Compleat Angler in the original binding (1653)<br />
and Cotton's Compleat Angler (1676), first editions,<br />
fetched ^310; Goldsmith's Vicar of Wakefield,<br />
first edition (1766), ^35 iar.; Charles Carib's<br />
Rosamund Gray and Old Blind Margaret, £,20 \os.;<br />
the Poems by Two Brothers went for ;£i7- At<br />
Boston the MS. of Poe's Eulalie fetched $225 the<br />
other day. At the Women's Press Club at Boston<br />
Miss Louise Imogene Guiney showed a ring con-<br />
taining fourteen hairs from the head of Keats—the<br />
history of that Rape of the Lock is not tendered<br />
with the statement.<br />
<br />
<br />
## p. 329 (#393) ############################################<br />
<br />
THE AUTHOR.<br />
329<br />
The Critic of New York tells a tragic story of a<br />
lady who grew discontented at the prices she<br />
received for her work. It was all signed, but she<br />
thought that she ought to be paid more than<br />
she got, and she fancied that she was underpaid<br />
simply because she was a woman. She therefore<br />
tried the dodge of signing with a masculine name,<br />
and sent off her next MS. with a nam de plume.<br />
She received no answer. Presently, however, she<br />
found that her work had been used, and had<br />
appeared in the magazine to which she sent it.<br />
She wrote at once to the editor, reminding him<br />
that she did not work for nothing. He sent her,<br />
promptly, a cheque for $2! She had been accus-<br />
tomed to receive for her work in own name,<br />
and for papers of the same length, at least $35!<br />
This experience has made her resolve to remain a<br />
woman.<br />
An article on Professor Lockyer's "Meteoritic<br />
Hypothesis," by Mr. J. E. Gore, F.R.A.S., appears<br />
in the Gentleman's Magazine, for April.<br />
Some time last year a lady came to this Society<br />
with "a case." It was a pretty bad case. She<br />
was resident in a colony. She had written a book<br />
which she was anxious to publish. She made the<br />
acquaintance, in the colony, of a wandering pub-<br />
lisher, who undertook her work on conditions. She<br />
was to advance him ^100 down with the MS. The<br />
copyright was to be his. She was to receive some<br />
share—the author says, "as much as he might<br />
choose to give me "—of the profits. And—which<br />
shows a truly bold spirit—she was to bind herself<br />
down to publish whatever other books she might<br />
■write, all her life, on the same terms. The hundred<br />
pounds was "towards the expense of publishing."<br />
and, of course, it would cover the whole expense.<br />
A solicitor pointed out to the lady how disastrous<br />
the agreement was, and she came to England and<br />
placed the matter in the hands of a London<br />
solicitor. .The Society, therefore, could not offer<br />
to do anything for her until her own solicitor had<br />
acted. It is pleasing to report that he succeeded<br />
in getting the agreement cancelled.<br />
She then, without consulting the Society, sent<br />
her MS. to another publisher, who undertook it<br />
on the beautifully simple condition that she should<br />
guarantee the sale of 500 copies to begin with. It is<br />
not stated what price he charged her. It is possible<br />
it was 4s. id. a copy, in which case she would have<br />
to pay over a hundred pounds. In other words,<br />
she was as badly off with her second publisher as<br />
with her first. After these copies she was to receive<br />
a royalty of tod. a copy on the remaining 500<br />
copies. There was also an agreement about a<br />
cheap edition which does not concern us here.<br />
The second part of the case illustrates our reiterated<br />
statement about risk. Here we have the publisher<br />
guarding himself against risk or possible loss by<br />
making the author take as many copies as would<br />
pay the whole expense of production to begin with.<br />
If he sells the rest of the edition of 1,000 copies,<br />
he will realise about ^85, out of which he will<br />
have to pay the author £26 16s. 8d., so that on<br />
the first edition, unless she gets rid of her 500<br />
copies, she loses about £&o, and he wins £66.<br />
Not bad business. But suppose the lady had<br />
known, when she signed it, what the agreement<br />
meant? And now we may understand one of the<br />
reasons why certain publishers so vehemently de-<br />
nounce and decry the action of the Society. It<br />
is because we do not allow our clients to sign any<br />
agreements, if we can prevent them, which they<br />
do not understand.<br />
*<br />
A BILL<br />
to amend title sixty, chapter three, of the<br />
Revised Statutes of the United States,<br />
relating to copyrights.<br />
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Repre-<br />
sentatives of the United States of America in Congress<br />
assembled, That section forty-nine hundred and<br />
fifty-two of the Revised Statutes be, and the same<br />
is hereby, amended so as to read as follows:<br />
"Sec. 4952. xThe author, inventor, designer,<br />
or proprietor of any book, map, chart, dramatic or<br />
musical composition, engraving, cut, print, or<br />
photograph or negative thereof, or of a painting,<br />
drawing, chromo, statue, statuary, and of models<br />
or designs intended to be perfected as works of<br />
the fine arts, and the executors, administrators,<br />
or assigns of any such person shall, upon com-<br />
plying with the provisions of this chapter, have<br />
the sole liberty of printing, reprinting, publishing,<br />
completing, copying, executing, finishing, and<br />
vending the same; and in the case of dramatic<br />
composition, of publicly performing or repre-<br />
senting it or causing it to be performed or repre-<br />
sented by others; and authors or their assigns<br />
shall have exclusive right to dramatize and tran-<br />
slate any of their works for which copyright<br />
shall have been obtained under the laws of the United<br />
States."<br />
Sec. 2. That section forty-nine hundred and<br />
1 Omits: "Any citizen of the United States or resident<br />
therein, who shall be."<br />
<br />
<br />
## p. 330 (#394) ############################################<br />
<br />
33°<br />
THE AUTHOR.<br />
fifty-four of the Revised Statutes be, and the<br />
same is hereby, amended so as to read as fol-<br />
lows:<br />
"Sec. 4954. The author, inventor, or designer,<br />
if he be still living,1 or his widow or children, if<br />
he be dead, shall have the same exclusive right<br />
continued for the further term of fourteen years,<br />
upon recording the title of the work or description<br />
of the article so secured a second time, and com-<br />
plying with all other regulations in regard to<br />
original copyrights, within six months before the<br />
expiration of the first term; and such persons<br />
shall, within two months from the date of said<br />
renewal, cause a copy of the record thereof to<br />
be published in one or more newspapers printed<br />
in the United States for the space of four<br />
weeks."<br />
Sec. 3. That section forty-nine hundred and<br />
fifty-six of the Revised Statutes of the United States<br />
be, and the same is hereby, amended so that it<br />
shall read as follows:<br />
"Sec. 4956. No person shall be entitled to a<br />
copyright unless he shall, on or before the day<br />
of publication in this or any foreign country, deliver<br />
at the office of the Librarian of Congress, or deposit<br />
in the mail within the United States, addressed to<br />
the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, District<br />
of Columbia, a printed copy of the title of the<br />
book, map, chart, dramatic or musical composi-<br />
tion, engraving, cut, print, photograph, or chromo,<br />
or a description of the painting, drawing, statue,<br />
statuary, or a model or design for a work of the<br />
fine arts for which he desires a copyright, nor<br />
unless he shall also, not later than the day of the<br />
publication thereof in this or any foreign country,<br />
deliver at the office of the Librarian of Congress,<br />
at Washington, District of Columbia, or deposit<br />
in the mail within the United States, addressed to<br />
the Librarian of Congress, at Washington Dis-<br />
trict of Columbia, two copies of such copy-<br />
right book,~ maps, chart, dramatic or musical<br />
composition, engraving, chromo, cut, print or photo-<br />
graph* or in case of a painting, drawing, statue,<br />
statuary, model, or design for a work of the<br />
fine arts, a photograph of the same: Provided,<br />
That in the case of a book, photograph, chromo, or<br />
lithograph, the two copies of the same required to be<br />
delivered or deposited as above shall be printed from<br />
type set within the limits of the United States, or<br />
from plates made therefrom, or from negatives, or<br />
drawings on stone made within the limits of the<br />
United States, or from transfers made therefrom.<br />
During the existence of such copyright the impor-<br />
1 Omits: "And a citizen of the United States or resident<br />
therein."<br />
5 These words replace the words "or other article."<br />
tation into the United States, of any book, chromo,<br />
lithograph, or photograph, so copyrighted, or any<br />
edition or editions thereof, or any plates of the same<br />
not made from type set, negatives or drawings on<br />
stone, made within the limits of the United States,<br />
shall be, and it is hereby, prohibited, except in the<br />
cases specified in paragraphs 512 to 560 inclusive,<br />
in sec/ion 2 of the act entitled "An act to reduce the<br />
revenue and equalize the duties on imports and fur<br />
other purposes," approved Oct. 1, 1890; and except<br />
in the case of persons purchasing for use and not<br />
for sale, who import, subject to the duty thereon, not<br />
more than two copies of such booh at any one time,<br />
and except in the case of newspapers and magazines<br />
not containing, in whole or in part, matter copy-<br />
righted under the provisions of this act, unautho-<br />
rized by the author, which are hereby exempted<br />
from prohibition of importation: Provided, never-<br />
theless, That in the case of foreign languages, of<br />
which only translations in English are copyrighted,<br />
the prohibition of importation shall apply only to<br />
the translations of the sarin; and the importation<br />
of the books in the original language shall be per-<br />
mitted."<br />
Sec. 4. That section forty-nine hundred and<br />
fifty-eight of the Revised Statutes be, and the<br />
same is hereby, amended so that it will read as<br />
follows:<br />
"Sec. 4958. The Librarian of Congress shall<br />
receive from the persons to whom the services<br />
designated are rendered the following fees:<br />
"First. For recording the title or description<br />
of any copyright book or other article, fifty cents.<br />
"Second. For every copy under seal of such<br />
record actually given to the person claiming the<br />
copyright, or his assigns, fifty cents.<br />
"Third. For recording and certifying any in-<br />
strument of writing for the assignment of a copy-<br />
right, one dollar.<br />
"Fourth. For every copy of an assignment, one<br />
dollar.<br />
'' All fees so received shall be paid into the<br />
Treasury of the United States: Provided, That the<br />
charge for recording the title or description of any<br />
article entered for copyright, the production of a<br />
person not a citizen or resident of the United States,<br />
shall be one dollar, to be paid as above into the<br />
Treasury of the United States, to defray the expenses<br />
of lists of copyrighted articles as hereinafter provided<br />
for.<br />
"And if is hereby made the duty of the Librarian<br />
of Congress to furnish to the Secretary of the<br />
Treasury copies of the entries of titles of all looks<br />
and other articles wherein the copyright has been<br />
completed by the deposit of two copies of such book<br />
printed from type set within the limits of the United<br />
States, in accordance with the provisions of this act<br />
<br />
<br />
## p. 331 (#395) ############################################<br />
<br />
THE AUTHOR.<br />
J J 1<br />
and by the deposit of two copies of such other article<br />
made or produced in the United States: and the<br />
Secretary of the Treasury is hereby directed to pre-<br />
pare and print, at intervals of not more than a<br />
week, catalogues of such title-entries for distribution<br />
to the collectors of customs of the United States and<br />
to the postmasters of all post-offices receiving foreign<br />
mails, and such weekly lists, as they are issued,<br />
shall be furnished to all parties desiring them, at a<br />
sum not exceeding five dollars per annum; and the<br />
Secretary and the Poshnaster- General are hereby<br />
empowered and required to make and enforce such<br />
rules and regulations as shall prevent the importation<br />
into the United States, except upon the conditions<br />
above specified, of all articles prohibited by this act."<br />
Sec. 5. That section forty-nine hundred and<br />
fifty-nine of the Revised Statutes be, and the same<br />
is hereby, amended so as to read as follows:<br />
Sec. 4959. The proprietor of every copy-<br />
right book or other article shall deliver at the<br />
office of the Librarian of Congress, or deposit in<br />
the mail, addressed to the Librarian of Congress,<br />
at Washington, District of Columbia,1 a copy of<br />
every subsequent edition wherein any substantial<br />
changes shall be made: Provided, however, That<br />
the alterations, revisions, and additions made to<br />
books by foreign authors, heretofore published, of<br />
which new editions shall appear subsequently to the<br />
taking effect of this act, shall be held and deemed<br />
capable of being copyrighted as above provided for in<br />
this act, unless they form a part of the series in<br />
course of publication at the time this act shall fake<br />
effect."<br />
Sec. 6. That section forty-nine hundred and<br />
sixty-three of the Revised Statutes be, and the same<br />
is hereby, amended so as to read as follows:<br />
"Sec 4963. Every person who shall insert or<br />
impress such notice, or words of the same purport,<br />
in or upon any book, map, chart, dramatic or<br />
musical composition, print, cut, engraving, or<br />
photograph, or other article, for which he has not<br />
obtained a copyright, shall be liable to a penalty<br />
of one hundred dollars, recoverable one-half for the<br />
person who shall sue for such penalty, and one-half<br />
to the use of the United States."<br />
Sec 7. That section forty-nine hundred and<br />
sixty-four of the Revised Statutes be, and the same<br />
is hereby, amended so as to read as follows:<br />
"Sec 4964. Every person who, after the re-<br />
cording of the title of any book and the depositing<br />
of two copies of such book, as provided by this Act,<br />
shall, contrary to the provisions of this Act, within<br />
the term limited, and without the consent of the<br />
'Omils: "within ten days after its publication, two com-<br />
plete printed copies thereof, ot the best edition issued, or<br />
description or photograph of such article as hereinbefore<br />
required, and."<br />
proprietor of the copyright first obtained in writing,<br />
signed in presence of two or more witnesses, print,<br />
publish, dramatize, translate, or import, or knowing<br />
the same to be so printed, published, dramatized,<br />
translated, or imported, sell or expose to sale any<br />
copy of such book shall forfeit every copy thereof<br />
to such proprietor, and shall also forfeit and pay<br />
such damages as may be recovered in a civil action<br />
by such proprietor in any court of competent juris-<br />
diction."<br />
Sec. 8. That section forty-nine hundred and<br />
sixty-five of the Revised Statutes be, and the same<br />
is hereby, so amended as to read as follows:<br />
"Sec 4965. If any person, after the recording<br />
of the title of any map, chart, dramatic or musical<br />
composition, print, cut, engraving, or photograph,<br />
or chromo, or of the description of any painting,<br />
drawing, statue, statuary, or model or design in-<br />
tended to be perfected and executed as a work<br />
of the fine arts, as provided by this act, shall within<br />
the term limited, contrary to the provisions of this<br />
act, and without the consent of the proprietor of<br />
the copyright first obtained in writing, signed in<br />
presence of two or more witnesses, engrave, etch,<br />
work, copy, print, publish, dramatize, translate, or<br />
import, either in whole, or in part, or by varying<br />
the main design with intent to evade the law, or,<br />
knowing the same to be so printed, published,<br />
dramatized, translated, or imported, should sell<br />
or expose to sale any copy of such map or other<br />
article as aforesaid, he shall forfeit to the pro-<br />
prietor all the plates on which the same shall be<br />
copied and every sheet thereof, either copied<br />
or printed, and shall further forfeit, one dollar<br />
for every sheet of the same found in his posses-<br />
sion, either printing, printed, copied, published,<br />
imported, or exposed for sale, and in case of<br />
a painting, statue, or statuary, he shall forfeit<br />
ten dollars for every copy of the same in his pos-<br />
session, or by him sold or exposed for sale; one-<br />
half thereof to the proprietor and the other half to<br />
the use of the United States."<br />
Sec 9. That section forty-nine hundred and<br />
sixty-seven of the Revised Statutes be, and the<br />
same is hereby, amended so as to read as follows:<br />
"Sec 4967. Every person who shall print or<br />
publish any manuscript whatever without the con<br />
sent of the author or proprietor first obtained,1 shall<br />
be liable to the author or proprietor for all damages<br />
occasioned by such injury."<br />
Sec 10. That section forty-nine hundred and<br />
seventy-one of the Revised Statutes be, and the<br />
same is hereby, repealed.2<br />
1 Omits: "if such author or proprietor is a citizen of the<br />
United States, or resident therein."<br />
a SEC. 4971 is as follows: "Nothing in this chapter shall<br />
be construed to prohibit the printing, publishing, importation,<br />
<br />
<br />
## p. 332 (#396) ############################################<br />
<br />
332<br />
THE AUTHOR.<br />
Sec. ii. That for the purpose of this act each<br />
volume of a book in two or more volumes, when such<br />
volumes are published separately and the first one<br />
shall not have been issued before this act shall<br />
take effect, and each number of a periodical, shall be<br />
considered an independent publication, subject to the<br />
form of copyrighting as above.<br />
Sec. 12. That this act shall go into effect on the<br />
first day of July, anno Domini eighteen hundred and<br />
ninety-one.<br />
Sec. 13. That this act shall only apply to a citizen<br />
or subject of a foreign state or nation when such<br />
foreign state or nation permits to citizens of the<br />
United States of America the benefit of copyright on<br />
substantially the same basis as its own citizens, or<br />
when such foreign state or nation is a party to an<br />
international agreement which provides for reciprocity<br />
in the granting of copyright, by the terms of which<br />
agreement the United States of America may, at its<br />
pleasure, become a party to such agreement. The<br />
existence of either of the conditions aforesaid shall be<br />
determined by the President of the United States by<br />
proclamation made from time to time as the purposes<br />
of this act may require.<br />
or sale of any book, map, chart, dramatic or musical com-<br />
position, print, cut, engraving, or photograph, written, com-<br />
posed, or made by any person not a resident of the United<br />
States nor resident therein."<br />
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Lux Mundi. A Series of Studies in the Religion of the<br />
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Parker, Joseph. People's Bible. Vol. XIV. Ec-<br />
clesiastes, The Song of Solomon, Isaiah xxvi. Hazell.<br />
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Welldon, Rev. J. E. C. The Fire upon the Altar.<br />
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Anderson, J. H. History of George the Third's Reign.<br />
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Bancroft, Mr. and Mrs. On and Off the Stage. New<br />
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Claydrn, P. W. England under Lord Beaconsfield.<br />
3rd and Popular Edition. Fisher Unwin. 6s.<br />
Freeman, E. A. The History »f Sicily, from the Earliest<br />
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Ken von, Edith C. Centenary Life of John Wesley. W.<br />
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## p. 333 (#397) ############################################<br />
<br />
THE AUTHOR.<br />
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## p. 334 (#398) ############################################<br />
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334<br />
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AD VER TISEMENTS.<br />
iii.<br />
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