<table><tr><th>Omeka ID</th><th>Omeka URL</th><th>Title</th><th>Subject</th><th>Description</th><th>Creator</th><th>Source</th><th>Publisher</th><th>Date</th><th>Contributor</th><th>Rights</th><th>Relation</th><th>Format</th><th>Language</th><th>Type</th><th>Identifier</th><th>Coverage</th><th>Publisher(s)</th><th>Original Format</th><th>Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Entry</th><th>Pages</th><th>Participants</th><th>Pen Name</th><th>Physical Dimensions</th><th>Position End Date</th><th>Position Start Date</th><th>Position(s)</th><th>Publication Frequency</th><th>Occupation</th><th>Sex</th><th>Society Membership End Date</th><th>Society Membership Start Date</th><th>Start Date</th><th>Sub-Committee End Date</th><th>Sub-Committee Start Date</th><th>Text</th><th>To</th><th>URL</th><th>Volume</th><th>Death</th><th>Biography</th><th>Birth</th><th>Committee End Date</th><th>Committee of Management End Date</th><th>Committee of Management Start Date</th><th>Committee Start Date</th><th>Committee(s)</th><th>Council End Date</th><th>Council Start Date</th><th>Date</th><th>Bibliography</th><th>End Date</th><th>Event Type</th><th>From</th><th>Image Source</th><th>Interactive Timeline</th><th>Issue</th><th>Location</th><th>Members</th><th>Ngram Date</th><th>Ngram Text</th><th>Files</th><th>Tags</th></tr><tr><td>238</td><td>https://historysoa.com/items/show/238</td><td>Index to The Author, Vol. 01 (1891)</td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Index+to+%3Cem%3EThe+Author%3C%2Fem%3E%2C+Vol.+01+%281891%29&quot;&gt;Index to &lt;em&gt;The Author&lt;/em&gt;, Vol. 01 (1891)&lt;/a&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015031017927&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; rel=&quot;noopener&quot;&gt;https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015031017927&lt;/a&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Publication&quot;&gt;Publication&lt;/a&gt;; &lt;a href=&quot;/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Index&quot;&gt;Index&lt;/a&gt;</td><td>1891-The-Author-1-index</td><td></td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=78&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=The+Society+of+Authors&quot;&gt;The Society of Authors&lt;/a&gt;; &lt;a href=&quot;/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=78&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Alexander+P.+Watt&quot;&gt;Alexander P. Watt&lt;/a&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=89&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1&quot;&gt;1&lt;/a&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=76&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1891&quot;&gt;1891&lt;/a&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=4&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=London&quot;&gt;London&lt;/a&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>https://historysoa.com/files/original/4/238/1891-The-Author-1-index.pdf</td><td>publications, The Author</td></tr><tr><td>239</td><td>https://historysoa.com/items/show/239</td><td>The Author, Vol. 01 Issue 01 (May 1890)</td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=%3Cem%3EThe+Author%3C%2Fem%3E%2C+Vol.+01+Issue+01+%28May+1890%29&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;The Author&lt;/em&gt;, Vol. 01 Issue 01 (May 1890)&lt;/a&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015031017927&amp;amp;view=1up&amp;amp;seq=20&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; rel=&quot;noopener&quot;&gt;https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015031017927&lt;/a&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Publication&quot;&gt;Publication&lt;/a&gt;</td><td>1890-05-19-The-Author-1-1</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>1&ndash;24</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>&lt;button class=&quot;toggle&quot;&gt;The Author, pp. 1&ndash;3&lt;/button&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;content&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The Report of the Society of Authors for the year 1890 spoke of the great importance of keeping members more fully and more regularly supplied with information, not only on the work of the Executive Committee, but also on the various matters which concern the author in the safeguarding of his interests and the preservation of his property. The simplest method of effecting this, it was thought, would be to hold frequent meetings for the purpose of conference and discussion. As, however, a large number of our members live in the country, we could seldom hope to obtain a really representative gathering, and the discussions would have a tendency to drop into the hands of a few, and so be robbed of half their value. It is also to be considered that no discussions can have any real value which are not founded on knowledge of the facts. Now, the ordinary member knows little of the facts. It was, therefore, then thought that occasional leaflets might be issued conveying the facts. To this plan, however, there appeared many obstacles. First, leaflets are tossed aside and lost; then, even if they are read and preserved, there is no place for discussion, for questions, or for suggestions. The private member of the Society would feel that he was taking no real part in its management and government. If he thought the committee was moving too slowly in the right, too quickly in the wrong, direction &ndash; there would be no opportunity for saying so, except by writing a letter to the Secretary, to be by him laid before the Committee.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Considering the question from its many points of view, it has seemed most desirable to have our own organ for our own purposes.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;i&gt;The Author&lt;/i&gt; is therefore founded to be the organ of literary men and women of all kinds &ndash; the one paper which will fully review, discuss, and ventilate all questions connected with the profession of literature in all its branches. It will be the medium by which the Committee of our Society will inform its members generally of their doings, and it will become a public record of transactions conducted in the interests of literature, which have hitherto been secret, lost, and hidden for the want of such an organ.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The chief aim of the Society &ndash; this has been advanced again and again &ndash; is to promote the recognition of the fact, hitherto most imperfectly understood, that literary property is as real a thing as property in every other kind of business: that it should be safeguarded in the same manner, and regarded with the same jealousy.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Hitherto the mere existence of literary property even in the face of such patent facts as the enrichment of publishers, has been carefully concealed and even denied. Risks of publishing, costs of publishing, have been dangled before the eyes of authors, so that they should regard the subject as one of extreme peril and pure speculation. One can never even now read a leading article about publishing without being solemnly assured that the trade is one in which frightful risks are constantly run, and that the success of any book is pure speculation.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Now, as a matter of act, there is very little speculation indeed in publishing, and there are very, very few publishers &ndash; only the leading houses &ndash; who ever run any risks at all, either by buying books or by bringing out books at a risk. Risks are run when a House starts a magazine, or when it embarks on illustrated editions of an expensive kind, or when educational books are published. The ordinary risk run in the production of books is, as a rule, next to nothing. For, first, the author is seldom paid except by results; next, the author, when a house consents to &quot;take the risk,&quot; is, for the most part, one who commands a certain sale. With the smaller houses books about which there is the slightest risk are always paid for by the authors in advance, either wholly or in part. And very, very seldomn indeed, do the ill-advised authors who advance their money ever see it back again.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Again, as to the actual cost of production. By carefully keeping this a profound secret, interested persons have succeeded in establishing a kind of &lt;i&gt;taboo&lt;/i&gt;, as of some holy, sacred thing which must not be so much as touched. We have, however, thoroughly investigated the whole question, and are now in a position to throw complete light upon the cost of producing any kind of book that can be named, in any type and in any form.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;This is a very important step. Its importance cannot be over-estimated. &lt;i&gt;It enables the author, for the very first time in the history of literature, to know what it is he is asked to concede to the publisher, and what it is he reserves for himself.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;We have also done more: we have collected together a vast amount of information as to publishers' agreements: especially as to what, in reality, is the meaning of the clauses contained in them: we have ascertained what it is they ask the author to surrender and for what consideration. And we have acquired a knowledge of various frauds, made possible by the terms of these agreements, in the different methods of publishing.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;This knowledge is so beneficial to the author that its existence ought to be widely spread and made known to every person who is engaged in the production of literature of any kind.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Again, the Society is constantly engaged in answering questions connected with every branch of literature and its practice. Many of these questions are answered by letter over and over again, taking up a great deal of the Secretary's time. They would be answered more effectively in a journal.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;It follows from these clauses that we may have a good deal to say about the seamy side of the publishing trade.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;It must, however, be borne in mind very carefully that the Society has not and never has had, any quarrel with honourable publishers. It has always asked for one thing only &ndash; &lt;i&gt;just and honest treatment, fair and open agreements, and honourable observance of those agreements.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;It has therefore been determined to establish this journal as an organ for the especial use of the Society. At first we shall bring out &lt;i&gt;The Author&lt;/i&gt; on the fifteenth of every month. The journal will contain papers, notes, letters, questions, and information on all subjects connected with literature and its profession.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The members of the Society will be kept informed of all that part of our work which is not confidential. Among other features of novelty and interest will be an account in each number of some one case that has been brought before the Society &ndash; of course without the names. The consideration of these cases will, we are certain, show the world the absolute necessity for some such organisation as our own, though the widespread ignorance which we have unfolded was hardly guessed by our founders at our first institution. Each number will also contain an article or leaflet on some topic belonging to our own interests. There will be notes on the various branches of our work. Our columns will be open to suggestions, letters, and questions.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;We shall send out this journal to all our members as their own organ. We shall continue it for one year at least.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;We shall be very glad to hear from members who may be willing to assist us by original contributions, which should be short, and on some subject belonging to our special field, which is the &lt;i&gt;safeguarding of literary property for the producer of literature.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Members are invited to send in notices of the books which they are about to produce, and copies of their books when they appear. It is intended to give a short notice of the purpose and contents of these works when this is possible. In the case of fiction a very brief account, &lt;i&gt;but not a review&lt;/i&gt;, will be attempted.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=89&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1&quot;&gt;1&lt;/a&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=76&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1890-05-19&quot;&gt;1890-05-19&lt;/a&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>1</td><td></td><td></td><td>18900519</td><td>Vol. I.--No. 1.]&lt;br /&gt;
MAY 15, 1890.&lt;br /&gt;
[Price, Sixpence.&lt;br /&gt;
The Author.&lt;br /&gt;
THE ORGAN OF THE SOCIETY OF AUTHORS&lt;br /&gt;
(INCORPORATED).&lt;br /&gt;
CONDUCTED BY&lt;br /&gt;
WALTER BESANT.&lt;br /&gt;
Published for the Societe by&lt;br /&gt;
ALEXANDER P. WATT, 2, PATERNOSTER SQUARE,&lt;br /&gt;
LONDON, E.C.&lt;br /&gt;
1890.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. (#12) #################################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The Society of Authors (Jncorporated).&lt;br /&gt;
PRESIDENT.&lt;br /&gt;
THE RIGHT Hon. THE LORD TENNYSON, D.C.L.&lt;br /&gt;
.&lt;br /&gt;
SIR EDWIN ARNOLN, K.C.S.I.&lt;br /&gt;
ROBERT BATEMAX.&lt;br /&gt;
WALTER BESANT. -&lt;br /&gt;
Rev. Prof. BONNEY, F.R.S.&lt;br /&gt;
T. COMyxS CARK.&lt;br /&gt;
EDWARD CLODD).&lt;br /&gt;
ThĚ EARL OF DESART.&lt;br /&gt;
A. W. DUBOURG.&lt;br /&gt;
PROF. MICHAEL FOSTER, F.R:S.&lt;br /&gt;
HERBERT GARDNER, M.P.&lt;br /&gt;
RICHARD GARNETT, LL.D.&lt;br /&gt;
EDMUND GOSSE.&lt;br /&gt;
II. RIDER HAGGARD.&lt;br /&gt;
THOMAS HARDY.&lt;br /&gt;
PROF. E. RAY LANKESTER, F.R.S.&lt;br /&gt;
COUNCIL.&lt;br /&gt;
Rev. W. J. LOFTIE, F.S.A.&lt;br /&gt;
GEORGE MEREDITH.&lt;br /&gt;
HERMAN C. MERIVALE.&lt;br /&gt;
J. C. PARKINSON,&lt;br /&gt;
The EARL OF PEMBROKE AND MONTGOMERY,&lt;br /&gt;
SIR FREDERICK POLLOCK, Bart., LL.D.&lt;br /&gt;
WALTER HERRIES POLLOCK.&lt;br /&gt;
A. G. Ross.&lt;br /&gt;
GEORGE AUGUSTUS SALA.&lt;br /&gt;
W. BAPTISTE Scoones,&lt;br /&gt;
J. J. STEVENSON.&lt;br /&gt;
JAS. SULLY.&lt;br /&gt;
WILLIAM MOY THOMAS.&lt;br /&gt;
H. D. TRAILL, D.C.L..&lt;br /&gt;
Hon. Counsel-E. M. UNDERDOWN, Q.C. :&lt;br /&gt;
Auditor-Rev. C. H. MIDDLETON-WAKE, F.L.S.&lt;br /&gt;
COMMITTEE OF MANAGEMENT.&lt;br /&gt;
Robert BATEMAN.&lt;br /&gt;
EDMUND Gosse..&lt;br /&gt;
Chairman-WALTER BESANT.&lt;br /&gt;
H. RIDER HAGGARD.&lt;br /&gt;
J. M. Lely.&lt;br /&gt;
SIR FREDERICK POLLOCK.&lt;br /&gt;
A. G. Ross.&lt;br /&gt;
Solicitors.&lt;br /&gt;
Messrs. Field, Roscoe &amp;amp; Co., Lincoln&amp;#039;s Inn Fields.&lt;br /&gt;
Secretary-S. SQUIRE SPRIGGE.&lt;br /&gt;
OFFICES.&lt;br /&gt;
4, Portugal Street, Lincoln&amp;#039;s Inn Fields, W.C.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. (#13) #################################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
(The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. A/onth/v.)&lt;br /&gt;
CONDUCTED BY WALTER BESANT.&lt;br /&gt;
Vol. I.&mdash;No. i.]&lt;br /&gt;
MAY 15, 1890.&lt;br /&gt;
[Price Sixpence.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
CONTENTS.&lt;br /&gt;
The Author&lt;br /&gt;
Something like a Publisher&lt;br /&gt;
The First Principles of Literary Property&lt;br /&gt;
Notes on Copyright&lt;br /&gt;
A Hard C&lt;br /&gt;
The Helpable Author&lt;br /&gt;
On Committee&lt;br /&gt;
Literary Queries, No. 1&lt;br /&gt;
1 Dinner&mdash;To&lt;br /&gt;
p Editions&lt;br /&gt;
: Advice&lt;br /&gt;
PAGE&lt;br /&gt;
... 13&lt;br /&gt;
... 14&lt;br /&gt;
... 15&lt;br /&gt;
... 15&lt;br /&gt;
... 18&lt;br /&gt;
.. 18&lt;br /&gt;
A copy of this paper will be sent free to any member of the&lt;br /&gt;
Society for one twelvemonth. It is hoped, however, that most&lt;br /&gt;
members will subscribe to the paper. The yearly subscription is&lt;br /&gt;
65. 6d. including postage, to be sent to the Society, 4, Portugal&lt;br /&gt;
Street, W.C.&lt;br /&gt;
representative gathering, ana uie uu^u&lt;br /&gt;
have a tendency to drop into the hands of a few,&lt;br /&gt;
and so be robbed of half their value. It is also to&lt;br /&gt;
be considered th?t no discussions can have any real&lt;br /&gt;
value which are not founded on knowledge of&lt;br /&gt;
the facts. Now, the ordinary member knows little&lt;br /&gt;
of the facts. It was, therefore, then thought that&lt;br /&gt;
occasional leaflets might be issued conveying the&lt;br /&gt;
facts. To this plan, however, there appeared many&lt;br /&gt;
obstacles. First, leaflets are tossed aside and lost;&lt;br /&gt;
then, even if they are read and preserved, there&lt;br /&gt;
is no place for discussion, for questions, or for&lt;br /&gt;
suggestions. The private member of the Society&lt;br /&gt;
would feel that he was taking no real part in its&lt;br /&gt;
will intorni&lt;br /&gt;
thought the&lt;br /&gt;
he right, too&lt;br /&gt;
&bull;e would be&lt;br /&gt;
by writing a&lt;br /&gt;
d before the&lt;br /&gt;
many points&lt;br /&gt;
to have our&lt;br /&gt;
De the organ&lt;br /&gt;
ds&mdash;the one&lt;br /&gt;
.nd ventilate&lt;br /&gt;
ofession of&lt;br /&gt;
rill be the&lt;br /&gt;
our Society&lt;br /&gt;
heir doings,&lt;br /&gt;
and it will become a public record 01 transactions&lt;br /&gt;
conducted in the interests of literature, which have&lt;br /&gt;
hitherto been secret, lost, and hidden for the want&lt;br /&gt;
of such an organ.&lt;br /&gt;
The chief aim of the Society&mdash;this has been&lt;br /&gt;
advanced again and again&mdash;is to promote the&lt;br /&gt;
recognition of the fact, hitherto most imperfectly&lt;br /&gt;
understood, that literary property is as real a thing&lt;br /&gt;
as property in every other kind of business: that it&lt;br /&gt;
should be safeguarded in the same manner, and&lt;br /&gt;
regarded with the same jealousy.&lt;br /&gt;
Hitherto the mere existence of literary property&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. (#14) #################################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The Society of Authors (Jncorporated).&lt;br /&gt;
PRESIDENT.&lt;br /&gt;
THE RIGHT HON. THE LORD TENNYSON, D.C.L.&lt;br /&gt;
SIR EDWIN ARNOLD, K.C.S.I.&lt;br /&gt;
ROBERT BATEMAN.&lt;br /&gt;
WALTER BESANT.&lt;br /&gt;
Rev. PROF. Bonnev, F.R.S.&lt;br /&gt;
T. COMyxS CARK.&lt;br /&gt;
EDWARD CLODD.&lt;br /&gt;
THE EARL OF DESART&lt;br /&gt;
COUNCIL.&lt;br /&gt;
Rev. W. J. LOFTIE, F.S.A.&lt;br /&gt;
GEORGE MEREDITH.&lt;br /&gt;
HERMAN C. MERIVALE.&lt;br /&gt;
T. C. PARKINSON,&lt;br /&gt;
THE EARL OF PEMBROKE AND MONTGOMERY.&lt;br /&gt;
SIR FREDERICK POLLOCK, BART., LL.D.&lt;br /&gt;
G. ROSS.&lt;br /&gt;
Solicitors,&lt;br /&gt;
Messrs. FIELD, Roscoe &amp;amp; Co., Lincoln&amp;#039;s Inn Fields.&lt;br /&gt;
Secretary-S. SQUIRE SPRIGGE.&lt;br /&gt;
OFFICES&lt;br /&gt;
4, PORTUGAL STREET, LINCOLN&amp;#039;S INN FIELDS, W.C.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 1 (#15) ###############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The Author.&lt;br /&gt;
(The Orgon of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly.)&lt;br /&gt;
CONDUCTED BY WALTER BESANT.&lt;br /&gt;
VOL. I.&mdash;No. 1.]&lt;br /&gt;
MAY 15; 1890.&lt;br /&gt;
[Price SIXPENCE.&lt;br /&gt;
CONTENTS.&lt;br /&gt;
PAGE&lt;br /&gt;
PAGE&lt;br /&gt;
... 13&lt;br /&gt;
...&lt;br /&gt;
14&lt;br /&gt;
...&lt;br /&gt;
The Author ...&lt;br /&gt;
Something like a Publisher ...&lt;br /&gt;
The First Principles of Literary Property&lt;br /&gt;
Notes on Copyright ...&lt;br /&gt;
A Hard Case, No. I....&lt;br /&gt;
Questions and Answers&lt;br /&gt;
Leaflet No. I.-On Syndicating&lt;br /&gt;
The Press and the Society ...&lt;br /&gt;
...&lt;br /&gt;
6&lt;br /&gt;
The Helpable Author&lt;br /&gt;
On Committee...&lt;br /&gt;
Literary Queries, No. 1&lt;br /&gt;
...&lt;br /&gt;
At Work ... ...&lt;br /&gt;
Notes.-The Annual Dinner-To those who seek Advice&lt;br /&gt;
New Books and New Editions ...&lt;br /&gt;
Advertisements&lt;br /&gt;
...&lt;br /&gt;
8&lt;br /&gt;
...&lt;br /&gt;
10&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
management and government. If he thought the&lt;br /&gt;
Committee was moving too slowly in the right, too&lt;br /&gt;
THE Report of the Society of Authors for the quickly in the wrong, direction&mdash;there would be&lt;br /&gt;
year 1890 spoke of the great importance no opportunity for saying so, except by writing a&lt;br /&gt;
of keeping members more fully and more letter to the Secretary, to be by him laid before the&lt;br /&gt;
regularly supplied with information, not only on the Committee.&lt;br /&gt;
work of the Executive Committee, but also on the Considering the question from its many points&lt;br /&gt;
various matters which concern the author in the of view, it has seemed most desirable to have our&lt;br /&gt;
safeguarding of his interests and the preservation own organ for our own purposes.&lt;br /&gt;
of his property. The simplest method of effecting The Author is therefore founded to be the organ&lt;br /&gt;
this, it was thought, would be to hold frequent meel- of literary men and women of all kinds&mdash;the one&lt;br /&gt;
ings for the purpose of conference and discussion. paper which will fully review, discuss, and ventilate&lt;br /&gt;
As, however, a large number of our members live in all questions connected with the profession of&lt;br /&gt;
the country, we could seldom hope to obtain a really literature in all its branches. It will be the&lt;br /&gt;
representative gathering, and the discussions would medium by which the Committee of our Society&lt;br /&gt;
have a tendency to drop into the hands of a few, will inform its members generally of their doings,&lt;br /&gt;
and so be robbed of half their value. It is also to and it will become a public record of transactions&lt;br /&gt;
be considered that no discussions can have any real conducted in the interests of literature, which have&lt;br /&gt;
value which are not founded on knowledge of hitherto been secret, lost, and hidden for the want&lt;br /&gt;
the facts. Now, the ordinary member knows little of such an organ.&lt;br /&gt;
of the facts. It was, therefore, then thought that The chief aim of the Society&mdash;this has been&lt;br /&gt;
occasional leaflets might be issued conveying the advanced again and again-is to promote the&lt;br /&gt;
facts. To this plan, however, there appeared many recognition of the fact, hitherto most imperfectly&lt;br /&gt;
obstacles. First, leaflets are tossed aside and lost; understood, that literary property is as real a thing&lt;br /&gt;
then, even if they are read and preserved, there as property in every other kind of business : that it&lt;br /&gt;
is no place for discussion, for questions, or for should be safeguarded in the same manner, and&lt;br /&gt;
suggestions. The private member of the Society regarded with the same jealousy.&lt;br /&gt;
would feel that he was taking no real part in its Hitherto the mere existence of literary property&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 2 (#16) ###############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
even in the face of such patent facts as the enrich-&lt;br /&gt;
ment of publishers, has been carefully concealed&lt;br /&gt;
and even denied. Risks of publishing, costs of&lt;br /&gt;
publishing, have been dangled before the eyes of&lt;br /&gt;
authors, so that they should regard the subject as&lt;br /&gt;
one of extreme peril and pure speculation. One&lt;br /&gt;
can never even now read a leading article about&lt;br /&gt;
publishing without being solemnly assured that the&lt;br /&gt;
trade is one in which frightful risks are constantly&lt;br /&gt;
run, and that the success of any book is pure&lt;br /&gt;
speculation.&lt;br /&gt;
Now, as a matter of fact, there is very little&lt;br /&gt;
speculation indeed in publishing, and there are&lt;br /&gt;
very, very few publishers&mdash;only the leading houses&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;who ever run any risks at all, either by buying&lt;br /&gt;
books or by bringing out books at a risk. Risks&lt;br /&gt;
are run when a House starts a magazine, or when&lt;br /&gt;
it embarks on illustrated editions of an expensive&lt;br /&gt;
kind, or when educational books are published.&lt;br /&gt;
The ordinary risk run in the production of books&lt;br /&gt;
is, as a rule, next to nothing. For, first, the&lt;br /&gt;
author is seldom paid except by results; next, the&lt;br /&gt;
author, when a house consents to &amp;quot;take the risk,&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
is, for the most part, one who commands a certain&lt;br /&gt;
sale. With the smaller houses books about which&lt;br /&gt;
there is the slightest risk are always paid for by the&lt;br /&gt;
authors in advance, either wholly or in part. And&lt;br /&gt;
very, very seldom indeed, do the ill-advised authors&lt;br /&gt;
who advance their money ever see it back again.&lt;br /&gt;
Again, as to the actual cost of production. By&lt;br /&gt;
carefully keeping this a profound secret, interested&lt;br /&gt;
persons have succeeded in establishing a kind of&lt;br /&gt;
taboo, as of some holy, sacred thing which must&lt;br /&gt;
not be so much as touched. We have, however,&lt;br /&gt;
thoroughly investigated the whole question, and are&lt;br /&gt;
now in a position to throw complete light upon the&lt;br /&gt;
cost of producing any kind of book that can be&lt;br /&gt;
named, in any type and in any form.&lt;br /&gt;
This is a very important step. Its importance&lt;br /&gt;
cannot be over-estimated. It enables the author,&lt;br /&gt;
for the very first time in the history of literature, to&lt;br /&gt;
know what it is he is asked to concede to the publisher,&lt;br /&gt;
and what it is he reserves for himself.&lt;br /&gt;
We have also done more: we have collected&lt;br /&gt;
together a vast amount of information as to pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lishers&amp;#039; agreements: especially as to what, in reality,&lt;br /&gt;
is the meaning of the clauses contained in them:&lt;br /&gt;
we have ascertained what it is they ask the author&lt;br /&gt;
to surrender and for what consideration. And we&lt;br /&gt;
have acquired a knowledge of various frauds, made&lt;br /&gt;
possible by the terms of these agreements, in the&lt;br /&gt;
different methods of publishing.&lt;br /&gt;
This knowledge is so beneficial to the author&lt;br /&gt;
that its existence ought to be widely spread and&lt;br /&gt;
made known to every person who is engaged in&lt;br /&gt;
the production of literature of any kind.&lt;br /&gt;
Again, the Society is constantly engaged in&lt;br /&gt;
answering questions connected with every branch&lt;br /&gt;
of literature and its practice. Many of these ques-&lt;br /&gt;
tions are answered by letter over and over again,&lt;br /&gt;
taking up a great deal of the Secretary&amp;#039;s time.&lt;br /&gt;
They would be answered much more effectively in&lt;br /&gt;
a journal.&lt;br /&gt;
It follows from these clauses that we may have a&lt;br /&gt;
good deal to say about the seamy side of the pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lishing trade.&lt;br /&gt;
It must, however, be borne in mind very carefully&lt;br /&gt;
that the Society has not and never has had, any&lt;br /&gt;
quarrel with honourable publishers. It has always&lt;br /&gt;
asked for one thing only&mdash;&amp;#039;&amp;#039;ustand honest treatment,&lt;br /&gt;
fair and of en agreements, and honourable observance&lt;br /&gt;
of those agreements.&lt;br /&gt;
It has therefore been determined to establish&lt;br /&gt;
this journal as an organ for the especial use of the&lt;br /&gt;
Society. At first we shall bring out The Author&lt;br /&gt;
on the fifteenth of every month. The journal will&lt;br /&gt;
contain papers, notes, letters, questions, and in-&lt;br /&gt;
formation on all subjects connected with literature&lt;br /&gt;
and its profession.&lt;br /&gt;
The members of the Society will be kept informed&lt;br /&gt;
of all that part of our work which is not confidential.&lt;br /&gt;
Among other features of novelty and interest will&lt;br /&gt;
be an account in each number of some one case that&lt;br /&gt;
has been brought before the Society&mdash;of course&lt;br /&gt;
without the names. The consideration of these&lt;br /&gt;
cases will, we are certain, show the world the&lt;br /&gt;
absolute necessity for some such organisation as&lt;br /&gt;
our own, though the widespread ignorance which&lt;br /&gt;
we have unfolded was hardly guessed by our&lt;br /&gt;
founders at our first institution. Each number will&lt;br /&gt;
also contain an article or leaflet on some topic be-&lt;br /&gt;
longing to our own interests. There will be notes&lt;br /&gt;
on the various branches of our work. Our columns&lt;br /&gt;
will be open to suggestions, letters, and questions.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 3 (#17) ###############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
6&lt;br /&gt;
We shall send out this journal to all our members&lt;br /&gt;
as their own organ. We shall continue it for one&lt;br /&gt;
year at least.&lt;br /&gt;
We shall be very glad to hear from members&lt;br /&gt;
who may be willing to assist us by original contri-&lt;br /&gt;
butions, which should be short, and on some&lt;br /&gt;
subject belonging to our special field, which is the&lt;br /&gt;
safeguarding of literary property for the producer of&lt;br /&gt;
literature.&lt;br /&gt;
Members are invited to send in notices of the&lt;br /&gt;
books which they are about to produce, and copies&lt;br /&gt;
of their books when they appear. It is intended&lt;br /&gt;
to give a short notice of the purpose and contents&lt;br /&gt;
of these works when this is possible. In the case&lt;br /&gt;
of fiction a very brief account, but not a review,&lt;br /&gt;
will be attempted.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
SOMETHING LIKE A PUBLISHER.&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;&bull;&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
I.&lt;br /&gt;
HE was a young man, and he was from the&lt;br /&gt;
country. He stood in the bar of a&lt;br /&gt;
Camden Town public-house, and he&lt;br /&gt;
turned abouta glass ofstout in his hand with anxious&lt;br /&gt;
countenance. Many young men of anxious coun-&lt;br /&gt;
tenance may be seen in London bars all day long.&lt;br /&gt;
He had the customary cigarette of vile paper and&lt;br /&gt;
bad tobacco between his lips.&lt;br /&gt;
Beside him, also with a glass of stout in his hand,&lt;br /&gt;
stoodanolder man,upon whom fifty springs, at least,&lt;br /&gt;
had smiled in sunshine and in shower. His face&lt;br /&gt;
showed the soft influences of the former, but in&lt;br /&gt;
patches, as one on the right cheek, one on the end&lt;br /&gt;
of the nose, and one on the forehead. Thus will&lt;br /&gt;
flowers grow in my lady&amp;#039;s garden, here a few and&lt;br /&gt;
there more, for Nature loves not regularity. His&lt;br /&gt;
coat also showed by its appearance that many springs&lt;br /&gt;
had distilled upon it many showers. The habits of&lt;br /&gt;
the man could be easily inferred from his appear-&lt;br /&gt;
ance : he was one of those who look upon wine when&lt;br /&gt;
they can get it, but not for long, because they&lt;br /&gt;
make haste to swallow it; when there is no wine,&lt;br /&gt;
such a man looks upon, and swallows, any other&lt;br /&gt;
kind of drink that is ardent and intoxicating; such&lt;br /&gt;
anonealso loves tobacco, the society of men, and the&lt;br /&gt;
flare of gas lamps. As for his profession, that was&lt;br /&gt;
more difficult to discuss. Not exactly a sporting&lt;br /&gt;
man, though probably ready to get a &amp;quot;bit upon a&lt;br /&gt;
cert.&amp;quot;&mdash;hiseyes lacked the shrewdness of thesporting&lt;br /&gt;
man, and he was too shabby: not a journalist&mdash;he&lt;br /&gt;
was too slow in his movements, and his speech;&lt;br /&gt;
journalists, even if they loaf about the bar, always&lt;br /&gt;
possess a certain smartness: not a clerk, that is, not&lt;br /&gt;
a clerk in a berth: not a tradesman, or a working&lt;br /&gt;
man, or an artist of any kind. A certain cunning,&lt;br /&gt;
of the kind harshly called low, lurked in his eyes&lt;br /&gt;
and on his lips. He might certainly be set down&lt;br /&gt;
as one who lived by his wits, and that in spite of&lt;br /&gt;
his character and reputation. Now when you have&lt;br /&gt;
lost your character it is a good thing to have some&lt;br /&gt;
wits to fall back upon.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Seems to me,&amp;quot; said the young man, &amp;quot;that there&lt;br /&gt;
is not a single berth left in the whole of London.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Not without a hundred fighting for it,&amp;quot; said the&lt;br /&gt;
elder.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I&amp;#039;ve stumped round every place of business in&lt;br /&gt;
London and I can find nothing.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;What might be your line, young man?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Why, when I came up to town I thought that&lt;br /&gt;
something in the publishing line&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Publishing?&amp;quot; echoed the other. &amp;quot;Ah! that is&lt;br /&gt;
a line and no mistake&mdash;if you&amp;#039;re fly to the dodges.&lt;br /&gt;
Publishing? Ah !&amp;quot; he heaved a deep sigh. &amp;quot;If I&lt;br /&gt;
only had the capital&mdash;ever so little capital&mdash;I say&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;ever so little capital,&amp;quot; he repeated meaningly,&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;there is a fortune in it&mdash;for self and partner&mdash;a&lt;br /&gt;
fortune, I say. Easy living after the first fortnit,&lt;br /&gt;
and a fortune afterwards.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Why? Are you a publisher, then?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Do I look like it in this get up? No. But I&lt;br /&gt;
wish I was. Young man, there isn&amp;#039;t a trick on the&lt;br /&gt;
cards but I know it. There isn&amp;#039;t a dodge in the&lt;br /&gt;
trade that I ain&amp;#039;t up to.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Where did you learn it?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Never mind that. Perhaps I had a berth in a&lt;br /&gt;
publisher&amp;#039;s house. Perhaps I hadn&amp;#039;t. That&amp;#039;s my&lt;br /&gt;
business. Young man, have you got any capital?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Mighty little.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Let&amp;#039;s go partners. I&amp;#039;ll find the business and&lt;br /&gt;
you shall find the money. How much have you&lt;br /&gt;
got?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
The young man emptied his waistcoat pocket,&lt;br /&gt;
There was a small heap of silver. &amp;quot;Thai&amp;#039;s all I&amp;#039;ve&lt;br /&gt;
got,&amp;quot; he said. He counted it. &amp;quot;Comes to thirty-&lt;br /&gt;
four shillings and thruppence.&amp;quot; He put back the&lt;br /&gt;
money in his pocket. &amp;quot;Capital? I wish I had&lt;br /&gt;
any.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
The eyes of the other man twinkled with greed.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Thirty-four shillings?&amp;quot; he cried. &amp;quot;Why there&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
enough and more than enough. Keep the four&lt;br /&gt;
and thruppence for yourself. Miss, two fours of&lt;br /&gt;
Scotch&mdash;I&amp;#039;ll stand. Good Lord! man, your for-&lt;br /&gt;
tune&amp;#039;s made. Hands upon it, partner.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Why&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Hands upon it, I say. I&amp;#039;ll land the first&lt;br /&gt;
Juggins in a week. Then the way they&amp;#039;ll come in&lt;br /&gt;
will astonish you. It will indeed. Here&amp;#039;s success&lt;br /&gt;
to the firm.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 4 (#18) ###############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
4&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
In this way, and on a capital of thirty shillings,&lt;br /&gt;
was founded the Imperial and Colonial Publishing&lt;br /&gt;
Company, Limited. You may, however, look in&lt;br /&gt;
vain for the registration of the Company, because&lt;br /&gt;
it never was registered.&lt;br /&gt;
II.&lt;br /&gt;
The advertised offices of the Company were in&lt;br /&gt;
a small street leading out of a main thoroughfare.&lt;br /&gt;
Those who called upon the manager, if they worked&lt;br /&gt;
their way up the stairs, found that the offices con-&lt;br /&gt;
sisted of one room at the back of the second floor;&lt;br /&gt;
there was no brass plate; publicity was not courted&lt;br /&gt;
in any way; and the manager was out.&lt;br /&gt;
Two girls rang the bell. A woman came up&lt;br /&gt;
from the depths below.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;He&amp;#039;s out, Miss,&amp;quot; she said to their enquiry.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;We have called every day at different times&lt;br /&gt;
and he is always out.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;He is generally out, Miss. Business takes him&lt;br /&gt;
out. But he comes for his letters. There&amp;#039;s lots of&lt;br /&gt;
letters and parcels &amp;quot;At that moment a red&lt;br /&gt;
cart stopped at the door and delivered three bulky&lt;br /&gt;
parcels. &amp;quot;They&amp;#039;re always coming. You write to&lt;br /&gt;
him and you&amp;#039;ll get an answer. Better write than call.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
The girls turned away. They were gentlewomen,&lt;br /&gt;
but not rich. One glance at their gloves showed&lt;br /&gt;
so much. Another at their jackets confirmed the&lt;br /&gt;
first impressions. They were, however, gentle-&lt;br /&gt;
women, and they were sisters.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Nell,&amp;quot; said one, &amp;quot;the man is a rogue, I am sure&lt;br /&gt;
of it. No one but a rogue would hide himself away.&lt;br /&gt;
He is a rogue.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
The other one sighed heavily. &amp;quot;Oh!&amp;quot; she&lt;br /&gt;
said, &amp;quot;who is to keep ignorant girls like us from&lt;br /&gt;
the hands of rogues? What shall I do? What&lt;br /&gt;
shall I do?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Have you sent him all he wanted, dear?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;All. He asked first for ^45. He said if I&lt;br /&gt;
would give him ^45 that would be the whole of&lt;br /&gt;
my risk, and he would take the rest. He said that I&lt;br /&gt;
should have three-fourths of all the money that the&lt;br /&gt;
book produced. He said that his reader reported&lt;br /&gt;
so favourably that its success was certain. You&lt;br /&gt;
know how I got the money, dear.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;You sold everything, your watch and chain,&lt;br /&gt;
your two rings, your bracelet, and the silver spoons&lt;br /&gt;
that had been grandmother&amp;#039;s. Oh! I know.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Then he wrote again and said that he had&lt;br /&gt;
made a mistake, and must have ten pounds more,&lt;br /&gt;
and I found that and sent it him, and since then I&lt;br /&gt;
can get nothing&mdash;no answer to my letters&mdash;no&lt;br /&gt;
proofs&mdash;nothing!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Nell, he is a rogue. And oh! to think of the&lt;br /&gt;
months and months of work you have given to the&lt;br /&gt;
story. Nell, it was a beautiful story. Oh 1 we&lt;br /&gt;
will, we must, do something to the man.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Yes, dear. But who is to pay the lawyer?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Can you write it all over again?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;What&amp;#039;s the use when the man has got the right&lt;br /&gt;
of publishing it?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Nell, sit down and write another.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;No,&amp;quot; she answered, &amp;quot; I have no heart to write&lt;br /&gt;
another. Let us go home, dear. I will take that&lt;br /&gt;
place of cashier in the draper&amp;#039;s shop&mdash;fifteen&lt;br /&gt;
hours a day and eight shillings a week; that will be&lt;br /&gt;
better&mdash;anythingwill be better than meeting another&lt;br /&gt;
McAndrew. Oh! I have no heart,&amp;quot; her voice&lt;br /&gt;
choked, &amp;quot; I have no heart to try again.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
III.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;My name is Trencher, and if you&amp;#039;ll give me&lt;br /&gt;
only five minutes, I should take it kindly.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I will give you those five minutes,&amp;quot; said the&lt;br /&gt;
Secretary, with affability. &amp;quot;Now, Mr. Trencher,&lt;br /&gt;
what is your business?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Trencher was a young man of fashionable&lt;br /&gt;
get up, yet, as nasty particular persons would say,&lt;br /&gt;
not quite. In fact, certainly nowhere near. His&lt;br /&gt;
manner, however, at this moment betrayed anxiety.&lt;br /&gt;
He was jumpy: in certain circles, it would be&lt;br /&gt;
whispered that it looked like &amp;quot;having &amp;#039;em again.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
He produced, with trembling fingers, a card on&lt;br /&gt;
which was written this legend &amp;quot;Imperial and&lt;br /&gt;
Colonial Publishing Company, Limited. Manager,&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. A. McAndrew.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;A., Christian name. Stands for Ananias?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
asked the Secretary.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I don&amp;#039;t know. It&amp;#039;s about him&amp;quot; he said&lt;br /&gt;
mysteriously. &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s about A. McAndrew. If you&lt;br /&gt;
can run him in I don&amp;#039;t care what happens.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I know a good deal about this gentleman&lt;br /&gt;
already,&amp;quot; said the Secretary.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I&amp;#039;ll tell you all about him. He got my money&lt;br /&gt;
first&mdash;thirty shillings he had off o&amp;#039; me. That&amp;#039;s how&lt;br /&gt;
we began. We were to go partners and he was to&lt;br /&gt;
manage. First he put an advertisement in the&lt;br /&gt;
papers.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;It is here,&amp;quot; said the Secretary, laying his hand&lt;br /&gt;
on a book.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Country papers at first&mdash;saying that all MSS.&lt;br /&gt;
would be carefully considered, and that the Com-&lt;br /&gt;
pany were prepared to offer most liberal terms.&lt;br /&gt;
We had a dozen replies to that first batch of&lt;br /&gt;
advertisements. Lucky we had, because there was&lt;br /&gt;
no more money for a second batch. Out of the&lt;br /&gt;
dozen we got ten MSS. sent up. Out of the ten&lt;br /&gt;
three stood in with our terms. In a week we divided&lt;br /&gt;
a hundred and five pounds between us.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Your terms,&amp;quot; said the Secretary, &amp;quot;were con-&lt;br /&gt;
tained in this letter. He opened the book and&lt;br /&gt;
read. &amp;#039;Our reader has reported so favourably on&lt;br /&gt;
your MSS. that we are prepared to offer you the&lt;br /&gt;
following liberal terms. You will send us the sum&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 5 (#19) ###############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
5&lt;br /&gt;
of &pound;$0 or &amp;#039;&mdash;or whatever it was&mdash;&amp;#039; and we will&lt;br /&gt;
publish your book at no risk or expense to your-&lt;br /&gt;
self, and we agree to meet all demands up to 10,000&lt;br /&gt;
copies. All proceeds to be divided into two por-&lt;br /&gt;
tions: one of two-thirds for yourself, the other of&lt;br /&gt;
one-third for the Company. You will kindly reply&lt;br /&gt;
at your earliest convenience, because in the present&lt;br /&gt;
enormous press of work the Company cannot keep&lt;br /&gt;
such an offer open.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;#039;Your obedient servant,&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;#039;A. (meaning Ananias) McAndrew,&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;#039;Manager.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;#039;P.S.&mdash;The present is the best time of year for&lt;br /&gt;
publishing.&amp;#039;&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;That&amp;#039;s the letter,&amp;quot; said Mr. Trencher ; &amp;quot;always&lt;br /&gt;
the same letter. No occasion ever to alter that&lt;br /&gt;
letter, except the figures, sometimes.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;And with that single letter you bagged your&lt;br /&gt;
prey?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Yes. Oh! He knew what he was about. No&lt;br /&gt;
Juggins like a liter&amp;#039;y Juggins, he used to say, and&lt;br /&gt;
I&amp;#039;m sure he was right. Believe all you tell &amp;#039;em,&lt;br /&gt;
they will&mdash;anything you tell &amp;#039;em. You can&amp;#039;t pile&lt;br /&gt;
it up too high. Well, sir, three year ago that&lt;br /&gt;
game begun.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I see. And how many works did you actually&lt;br /&gt;
have sent you?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;First and last there was more than a hundred.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;And how many did you publish?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
The fellow grinned.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Well, what with putting off and telling lies,&lt;br /&gt;
and not answering letters, he didn&amp;#039;t actually print&lt;br /&gt;
more than three. Sometimes a first sheet would be&lt;br /&gt;
struck off just to keep &amp;#039;em amused, but not if he&lt;br /&gt;
could help it, because it runs into money. The&lt;br /&gt;
printers wouldn&amp;#039;t set it up without being paid&lt;br /&gt;
beforehand.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Shameful want of confidence.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Mostly they gave up writing, when they found&lt;br /&gt;
they got no reply.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;And those you did print?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Well; we printed a hundred copies and gave&lt;br /&gt;
the author a dozen, and there was an end of that.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Where are the MSS.?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;He&amp;#039;s got&amp;#039;em. They&amp;#039;re no use, though. He won&amp;#039;t&lt;br /&gt;
make anything out of them. There&amp;#039;s a hundred&lt;br /&gt;
and more lying there. All paid fcr.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I judge, therefore, from your coming here to&lt;br /&gt;
make a clean breast of it, that you and your partner&lt;br /&gt;
have quarrelled?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s like this, mister. He says to me, three&lt;br /&gt;
months ago, he says, &amp;#039;Pardner,&amp;#039; he says, &amp;#039;the&lt;br /&gt;
game&amp;#039;s getting much too hot for us. Time for us to&lt;br /&gt;
separate. Time for us to go divers ways, as wide&lt;br /&gt;
apart as we can. Now we&amp;#039;ll value the business and&lt;br /&gt;
I&amp;#039;ll buy. you out.&amp;#039; That&amp;#039;s what he says. Well, I,&lt;br /&gt;
thinking that sooner or later there must be a shindy,&lt;br /&gt;
and that he&amp;#039;d get run in&mdash;not me&mdash;because, you&lt;br /&gt;
know, this kind of business after all, is&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;It certainly is,&amp;quot; said the Secretary.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;And some time or other somebody who&amp;#039;d been&lt;br /&gt;
kidded on to stump up would go before a magis-&lt;br /&gt;
trate&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Which would be awkward,&amp;quot; said the Secretary.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Jes&amp;#039; so. I says, then, &amp;#039;Give me my share,&amp;#039; I&lt;br /&gt;
says, &amp;#039;and lemme go.&amp;#039; So we valued the business&lt;br /&gt;
and agreed. I was to have four hundred quid for&lt;br /&gt;
my share&mdash;that was agreed&mdash;and I took it in a&lt;br /&gt;
three months bill, and went away and started on&lt;br /&gt;
my own account. The Royal Britannic Federated&lt;br /&gt;
Publishing Company, mine was. J. Trencher,&lt;br /&gt;
Manager.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;J. standing for Judas, probably,&amp;quot; said the Secre-&lt;br /&gt;
tary. &amp;quot;Excuse me. You have done pretty well?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;No, I haven&amp;#039;t done at all well yet. And I don&amp;#039;t&lt;br /&gt;
know what you mean about Judas, neither.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Never mind. Pray go on,&amp;quot; said the Secretary.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;We are coming apparently to the most interesting&lt;br /&gt;
part.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I hadn&amp;#039;t been started a week before the letters&lt;br /&gt;
began to come in.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;What letters? More MSS.?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;No. Letters from the people he&amp;#039;d done out of&lt;br /&gt;
their money. What does he do? Oh! the villain!&lt;br /&gt;
Directly after I was out of the office, he tells every-&lt;br /&gt;
body who threatened or complained that his case&lt;br /&gt;
belonged to me, and he must write to me and that&lt;br /&gt;
I was no longer his partner. There are fifty of &amp;#039;em&lt;br /&gt;
at this moment wanting their money and their MSS.&lt;br /&gt;
back. Well, I could have stood that, because you&lt;br /&gt;
can&amp;#039;t give people what you haven&amp;#039;t got. But yester-&lt;br /&gt;
day&mdash;yesterday&mdash;&amp;quot; Here his emotion got almost&lt;br /&gt;
too much for him&mdash;&amp;quot; the bill fell due. You&amp;#039;d hardly&lt;br /&gt;
believe it, but it&amp;#039;s true. His bill fell due&mdash;the bill for&lt;br /&gt;
that four hundred, my share of the business, it fell&lt;br /&gt;
due, and I presented it and&mdash;and&mdash;no one would&lt;br /&gt;
believe that such a villain could be living&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;It was not met, I suppose ?&amp;quot; said the Secretary.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;No&mdash;it wasn&amp;#039;t met. He&amp;#039;s done me out of my&lt;br /&gt;
share and he&amp;#039;s got the business still, and he&amp;#039;s turning&lt;br /&gt;
over all the people that are going to bring actions on&lt;br /&gt;
to me. And now I&amp;#039;m ruined, and I come to you to&lt;br /&gt;
make a clean breast of it, if you can run him in.&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Ananias McAndrewis, however, still at large,&lt;br /&gt;
and when last we heard he was beginning the&lt;br /&gt;
game again under another name and with a new&lt;br /&gt;
company.&lt;br /&gt;
Note by the Editor.&mdash;This story is literally&lt;br /&gt;
and exactly true. The man, we have just learned,&lt;br /&gt;
is really beginning the game over again. Moral.&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
Never answer an advertisement of a so-called pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lisher without first writing to the Society for advice.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 6 (#20) ###############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
6&lt;br /&gt;
7 HE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
THE FIRST PRINCIPLES OF&lt;br /&gt;
LITERARY PROPERTY.&lt;br /&gt;
THE following considerations and maxims may&lt;br /&gt;
appear to some readers elementary. The&lt;br /&gt;
cases which constantly arise before the&lt;br /&gt;
Society prove, however, that like the Ten Com-&lt;br /&gt;
mandments, it is wise to have them exposed to&lt;br /&gt;
view, and to be frequently reminded of them.&lt;br /&gt;
1. Literary property is a very real thing. It is as&lt;br /&gt;
real as property in land, houses, mines, or any&lt;br /&gt;
other kind of property. Hundreds of people live&lt;br /&gt;
upon its proceeds in great luxury, plenty, and&lt;br /&gt;
comfort. Thousands of people live upon it by&lt;br /&gt;
thrift and carefulness.&lt;br /&gt;
2. When a man has made a book lie has increased&lt;br /&gt;
the wealth of the country, provided it be a book&lt;br /&gt;
serviceable to the community and saleable.&lt;br /&gt;
3. He has created this wealth; it is his own; he&lt;br /&gt;
must be as careful not to part with it, except for a&lt;br /&gt;
just consideration, as if it were a mine or a quarry,&lt;br /&gt;
or an estate.&lt;br /&gt;
4. Literary property is subject to the laws which&lt;br /&gt;
protect all other property; the simplest and the&lt;br /&gt;
mostcomprehensive of these laws is the Eighth Com-&lt;br /&gt;
mandment, &amp;quot;Thou shalt not steal.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Applied to literature and to the persons whose&lt;br /&gt;
business it is to buy and sell various forms of&lt;br /&gt;
literature, the Commandment is thus to be inter-&lt;br /&gt;
preted, &amp;quot;Thou shalt not cheat the author in buying&lt;br /&gt;
his work from him; thou shalt not write or speak&lt;br /&gt;
lies concerning the cost of preparing his work for the&lt;br /&gt;
press; thou shalt not agree with him on terms such&lt;br /&gt;
as will give to thyself the profits on his labour. The&lt;br /&gt;
work is his, not thine at all; his the design of it,&lt;br /&gt;
the invention,the fancy, the imagination,the learning,&lt;br /&gt;
the brain and the hand of it&mdash;all is his. If it be-&lt;br /&gt;
comes thine, it must be by an equitable agreement,&lt;br /&gt;
which shall give thee a fair reward for labour done,&lt;br /&gt;
and leave to him all the rest.&amp;quot; In no other way&lt;br /&gt;
can the Eighth Commandment be interpreted by&lt;br /&gt;
those who deal with authors.&lt;br /&gt;
5. What is the commercial value of a book?&lt;br /&gt;
Clearly it depends upon the number of copies&lt;br /&gt;
which the public will take. So the value of a&lt;br /&gt;
field depends upon its fertility; of a ship upon her&lt;br /&gt;
carrying power and seaworthy qualities; of a horse&lt;br /&gt;
upon his strength and youth. Some fields are&lt;br /&gt;
sterile&mdash;they are sold for a small sum&mdash;some are&lt;br /&gt;
worthless. So with books. An author&amp;#039;s income&lt;br /&gt;
from a book must depend upon the copies bought&lt;br /&gt;
by the public.&lt;br /&gt;
6. Most books published have no commercial&lt;br /&gt;
value at all&mdash;a very large number have no literary&lt;br /&gt;
value at all. How, then, do they get published?&lt;br /&gt;
They are published at the expense of tlie author.&lt;br /&gt;
7. The book which does succeed may have a&lt;br /&gt;
nominal success, or it may have an enormous sue&lt;br /&gt;
cess. If a MS. has any literary value, a thing&lt;br /&gt;
which may be easily ascertained by having it&lt;br /&gt;
examined at the Society of Authors, its success is&lt;br /&gt;
always possible. And so often of late years has a&lt;br /&gt;
book unexpectedly taken the world by storm that&lt;br /&gt;
the author must always consider his MS. as a pos-&lt;br /&gt;
sible great success.&lt;br /&gt;
8. It must be remembered that publishers live&lt;br /&gt;
by publishing. They therefore look to make&lt;br /&gt;
money by every book which they issue. It is a&lt;br /&gt;
great mistake to suppose, as some authors do, that&lt;br /&gt;
the publisher does not first consider the commer-&lt;br /&gt;
cial prospects of a book. In many cases it is the&lt;br /&gt;
only thing he does consider.&lt;br /&gt;
9. Therefore the publisher must be paid. He&lt;br /&gt;
must be paid for the time and trouble he, through&lt;br /&gt;
his servants, gives to the preparation of the work&lt;br /&gt;
for the press; for the publicity which he gives to&lt;br /&gt;
it; and, in a very few cases, for the prestige of his&lt;br /&gt;
name.&lt;br /&gt;
10. It is self-evident that every book must stand&lt;br /&gt;
or fall by its own merits. That is to say, that it is&lt;br /&gt;
idle to talk of the failure of one book being a&lt;br /&gt;
reason for giving the author of another book less&lt;br /&gt;
than his due.&lt;br /&gt;
With these considerations, which are indisput-&lt;br /&gt;
able and elementary, before him, let every author&lt;br /&gt;
read carefully over any agreement offered to him,&lt;br /&gt;
and before signing it, ascertain what it gives the&lt;br /&gt;
author, and what it gives or reserves for the pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lisher, (1) for the first edition, (2) for the second and&lt;br /&gt;
following editions.&lt;br /&gt;
Next let the same author take any of his&lt;br /&gt;
agreements in the past, and with the light of the&lt;br /&gt;
accounts which were afterwards rendered to him,&lt;br /&gt;
and the information which we now give him, let&lt;br /&gt;
him draw his own conclusions.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
NOTES ON COPYRIGHT.&lt;br /&gt;
I. Copyright in Lectures.&lt;br /&gt;
DOES anybody ever take the trouble to secure&lt;br /&gt;
his copyright in a public lecture? It is a&lt;br /&gt;
curious and amusing process which the&lt;br /&gt;
law in its wisdom requires him to go through.&lt;br /&gt;
There is, perhaps, nothing objectionable in his&lt;br /&gt;
having to give two days&amp;#039; notice of his intentions to&lt;br /&gt;
two justices of the peace, both of whom must live&lt;br /&gt;
within five miles of the locus in quo. But, beyond&lt;br /&gt;
the presumption that the aforesaid justices might,&lt;br /&gt;
if the notice were civilly worded, take tickets for, if&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 7 (#21) ###############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
7&lt;br /&gt;
not attend, the lecture, it is not easy to understand&lt;br /&gt;
the object of the interesting proviso. There is cer-&lt;br /&gt;
tainly no necessity to make it public that on this&lt;br /&gt;
occasion only &amp;quot;all rights are reserved.&amp;quot; It is no&lt;br /&gt;
business either of the author&amp;#039;s or of the magistrates to&lt;br /&gt;
warn reporters off the premises. Nevertheless, the&lt;br /&gt;
former would, on giving the statutory notice, be&lt;br /&gt;
entitled to confiscate any printed and published&lt;br /&gt;
reports (or, for that matter, the whole edition of&lt;br /&gt;
every newspaper in the Kingdom which published&lt;br /&gt;
the lecture without leave), and, moreover, to re-&lt;br /&gt;
cover a penny for every sheet in their custody.&lt;br /&gt;
What a fortune Mark Twain would realise if he&lt;br /&gt;
went on tour in the silly season! But, to further&lt;br /&gt;
illustrate the beautiful simplicity of the law, a&lt;br /&gt;
lecturer is powerless to protect himself against&lt;br /&gt;
unauthorised re-delivery. It is only publication&lt;br /&gt;
that is prohibited by statute. Anybody who likes&lt;br /&gt;
is entitled to take down a lecture verbatim and can&lt;br /&gt;
re-deliver it with perfect impunity, or, in other&lt;br /&gt;
words, while there is copyright there is no such&lt;br /&gt;
thing as performing right in a species of literary&lt;br /&gt;
production in which this may be really valuable.&lt;br /&gt;
Sermons, on the other hand, seem to be clearly&lt;br /&gt;
public property, that is, if delivered &amp;quot;by any&lt;br /&gt;
person in virtue of or according to any gift, endow-&lt;br /&gt;
ment, or foundation.&amp;quot; In other words, Noncon-&lt;br /&gt;
formist ministers, unless they, too, come within the&lt;br /&gt;
category, enjoy an advantage denied to the Clergy&lt;br /&gt;
of the Established Church. For it would, we&lt;br /&gt;
imagine, be open to them to give the statutory&lt;br /&gt;
notice of the intended delivery and so secure the&lt;br /&gt;
copyright, if not the performing right (if we may use&lt;br /&gt;
the expression), in the production in question. The&lt;br /&gt;
Clergy of the Church of England cannot, however,&lt;br /&gt;
under any circumstances reserve their rights. The&lt;br /&gt;
only remedy open to them if their pulpit eloquence&lt;br /&gt;
is reproduced is, like the Bishop of Peterborough,&lt;br /&gt;
to take a leaf out of the book of the &amp;quot;old Parlia-&lt;br /&gt;
mentary hand,&amp;quot; and deny that they have been&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;correctly reported.&amp;quot; In the same way, too, no&lt;br /&gt;
lecture delivered in any university, public school,&lt;br /&gt;
or college, or on any public foundation can under&lt;br /&gt;
any conditions be protected. But there is seldom&lt;br /&gt;
any very great demand for sermons, university or&lt;br /&gt;
college lectures, so that their authors enjoy rather&lt;br /&gt;
more protection, independent of statute, than most&lt;br /&gt;
of them desire.&lt;br /&gt;
II. Copyright in Recitations.&lt;br /&gt;
Should the recitation ot popular pieces be pro-&lt;br /&gt;
hibited by law? The relative advantage or disadvan-&lt;br /&gt;
tage accruing to an author is, of course, wholly&lt;br /&gt;
beside the question. It is quite possible that in&lt;br /&gt;
many cases an author might regard himself as quite&lt;br /&gt;
sufficiently recompensed by probable sales. It is&lt;br /&gt;
notorious that more than one well-known firm of&lt;br /&gt;
musical publishers not only do not reserve their&lt;br /&gt;
rights in their songs, but announce to all whom it&lt;br /&gt;
may concern that they can be sung anywhere. But&lt;br /&gt;
now that recitations are once more becoming popular,&lt;br /&gt;
there is no doubt whatever that the right of delivery&lt;br /&gt;
of favourite verse will become valuable, and the&lt;br /&gt;
question of its protection acquires an added import-&lt;br /&gt;
ance. There is no more reason why an author&lt;br /&gt;
should have no control over and derive no profit&lt;br /&gt;
from the recitation of his work than that a novelist&lt;br /&gt;
should have to submit to be dramatized whether&lt;br /&gt;
he likes it or not. The results of protection would,&lt;br /&gt;
of course, be that royalties would have to be paid if&lt;br /&gt;
the author chose to reserve and enforce his rights.&lt;br /&gt;
It would perhaps be necessary that some analogous&lt;br /&gt;
conditions to those required by the Copyright&lt;br /&gt;
(Musical Compositions) Act, 1882, should be&lt;br /&gt;
devised to prevent people being &amp;quot; Walled.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
III. Anglo-American Copyright.&lt;br /&gt;
It is always risky to prophesy, and Anglo-&lt;br /&gt;
American Copyright is a subject on which even&lt;br /&gt;
a sporting prophet would hesitate to hazard a&lt;br /&gt;
forecast. It is, however, not impossible that the&lt;br /&gt;
Bill before Congress should, in the words of its&lt;br /&gt;
sixth section, &amp;quot;go into effect&amp;quot; on the 1st July,&lt;br /&gt;
1890. Committees of both Houses have reported&lt;br /&gt;
in favour of the measure: not that that counts for&lt;br /&gt;
much! We are not likely to forget that in 1889&lt;br /&gt;
it was thrown out at the last moment by a single&lt;br /&gt;
member who had no views on the subject, and&lt;br /&gt;
was really opposing another measure. But, still,&lt;br /&gt;
it is satisfactory to know that .the tariff men,&lt;br /&gt;
the petty pirates, and the moneyed ignoramuses&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
the three classes of which the opposition con-&lt;br /&gt;
sists&mdash;have so far made a very poor show.&lt;br /&gt;
During the sittings of the House Committee on&lt;br /&gt;
Judiciary Mr. Roger Sherman, formerly a Phila-&lt;br /&gt;
delphia publisher, declared that &amp;quot;the outcry for&lt;br /&gt;
the passage of the Bill was simply the clamour of&lt;br /&gt;
200 authors against the interests of 50,000,000&lt;br /&gt;
people.&amp;quot; There is a truly delicious naivete about&lt;br /&gt;
this confession of a preference for stealing litera-&lt;br /&gt;
ture instead of buying it. As for the Bill itself&lt;br /&gt;
it will undoubtedly confer valuable rights upon&lt;br /&gt;
those English writers who can conform to its&lt;br /&gt;
conditions. These require the books to be&lt;br /&gt;
printed from type set up in the States, and two&lt;br /&gt;
copies to be delivered to the Librarian of Con-&lt;br /&gt;
gress &amp;quot;on or before the day of publication.&amp;quot; If the&lt;br /&gt;
Bill becomes law in this form considerable diffi-&lt;br /&gt;
culty, it may be remarked, will arise in securing&lt;br /&gt;
copyright in serial stories, for, as it now stands,&lt;br /&gt;
each number would have to be delivered as an&lt;br /&gt;
independent publication, a matter obviously of&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 8 (#22) ###############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
8&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
great practical difficulty. But in view of the&lt;br /&gt;
multifarious exigencies which have compelled&lt;br /&gt;
modifications innumerable, and hampered the&lt;br /&gt;
efforts of the American (Authors) Copyright&lt;br /&gt;
League, it is idle to criticise the measure as a&lt;br /&gt;
final settlement of the difficulty. It is enough,&lt;br /&gt;
for the present, if it makes Anglo-American Copy-&lt;br /&gt;
right ultimately possible.&lt;br /&gt;
IV. The securing of American Rights.&lt;br /&gt;
Since the above was written, the International&lt;br /&gt;
Copyright Bill has been brought before the House&lt;br /&gt;
of Representatives and has been defeated by 126&lt;br /&gt;
votes to 98. The conscience of the great Re-&lt;br /&gt;
public therefore remains unawakened, that is to&lt;br /&gt;
say, five-ninths of the American conscience is un-&lt;br /&gt;
moved. The other four-ninths may be trusted to&lt;br /&gt;
keep moving. Perhaps our grandchildren may&lt;br /&gt;
reap the fruits of their agitation. What is now to&lt;br /&gt;
be done?&lt;br /&gt;
There seems to be but one way for an English&lt;br /&gt;
author to hold at bay the piratical publishers of the&lt;br /&gt;
United States: it is to enter into collaboration&lt;br /&gt;
with an American writer. By this arrangement a&lt;br /&gt;
perfect copyright is obtainable; one which will defy&lt;br /&gt;
the devil&mdash;the printer&amp;#039;s devil&mdash;and all his works.&lt;br /&gt;
One American member of the Incorporated&lt;br /&gt;
Society of Authors has already written to offer an&lt;br /&gt;
honourable partnership of this kind with British&lt;br /&gt;
authors who desire to protect their literary&lt;br /&gt;
property. Enquiries relating to the subject should&lt;br /&gt;
be addressed to the Secretary of the Society of&lt;br /&gt;
Authors, 4, Portugal-street, Lincoln&amp;#039;s-inn-fields,&lt;br /&gt;
W.C.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
A HARD CASE.&lt;br /&gt;
No. 1.&lt;br /&gt;
IT is now some five years ago since a young lady&lt;br /&gt;
wrote a volume of poems and sent them to a&lt;br /&gt;
certain advertising society for publication.&lt;br /&gt;
The so-called managing director told her in reply&lt;br /&gt;
that, although her work was of indubitable merit,&lt;br /&gt;
it required to be revised by some one who&lt;br /&gt;
understood the &amp;quot;rules of Poetical Composition.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Such an article he had on hand, and he begged&lt;br /&gt;
to recommend that she should apply to a per-&lt;br /&gt;
son in Fleet Street, posing as the editor of a&lt;br /&gt;
non-existent journal, for advice. This gentleman&lt;br /&gt;
expressed himself willing to teach her poetry for&lt;br /&gt;
the comparatively moderate fee of jQt, 14J. 6d. As&lt;br /&gt;
his grammar was not, however, without blemish he&lt;br /&gt;
would seem to have been only duly modest. For&lt;br /&gt;
three months the young lady received instruction in&lt;br /&gt;
poetry from him, and then again applied to the&lt;br /&gt;
advertising society to have her verses published.&lt;br /&gt;
Apparently her tutor had proved of service, for the&lt;br /&gt;
managing director now agreed to issue her book for&lt;br /&gt;
her, on her advancing the sum of ,&pound;50. For this&lt;br /&gt;
sum he was prepared to produce the MS. in volume&lt;br /&gt;
form and &amp;quot; to meet all demands for sales up to&lt;br /&gt;
3,000 copies.&amp;quot; The volume was to be published&lt;br /&gt;
at 6*., Cr. 8vo., good toned paper, and to be bound&lt;br /&gt;
in cloth boards, and gilt lettered. The payment&lt;br /&gt;
was to be made in the following manner: &pound;20 at&lt;br /&gt;
once; &pound;20 on seeing the last proofs; and the&lt;br /&gt;
balance within three months.&lt;br /&gt;
The only agreement made between author and&lt;br /&gt;
publisher was the interchange of letters ratifying&lt;br /&gt;
the above proposition. The lady&amp;#039;s friends lent her&lt;br /&gt;
the money, evidently having no idea of the true&lt;br /&gt;
commercial value of poetry, and the book went to&lt;br /&gt;
press.&lt;br /&gt;
The phrase, &amp;quot;to meet all demands,&amp;quot; will receive&lt;br /&gt;
full consideration in our next number.&lt;br /&gt;
Now it would seem that the publisher&amp;#039;s first&lt;br /&gt;
opinion as to the value of the author&amp;#039;s work was&lt;br /&gt;
nearly a correct one, when he recommended that&lt;br /&gt;
she should learn verse, but that he rather over-rated&lt;br /&gt;
the improvement that had been effected by his&lt;br /&gt;
friend, the instructor in poesy. For there was no&lt;br /&gt;
sale. But, on the other hand, there were, in&lt;br /&gt;
addition to the ^50, several small items to pay&lt;br /&gt;
for.&lt;br /&gt;
There was advertisement in the publisher&amp;#039;s own&lt;br /&gt;
lists, &pound;2 2S. There was the &amp;quot;time of the traveller&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
in offering the work to the trade, &pound;1 1js. There&lt;br /&gt;
was &pound;2 for warehousing, &pound;2 2s. for the privilege&lt;br /&gt;
of membership of the Literary Association, of which&lt;br /&gt;
the publisher was managing director. These sums,&lt;br /&gt;
with others for postage, &amp;amp;c, brought the author&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
account on the whole transaction into the following&lt;br /&gt;
position.&lt;br /&gt;
(1) She had paid for three months&amp;#039; poetical&lt;br /&gt;
instruction. (Exactly what she paid is not quite&lt;br /&gt;
clear&mdash;over ,&pound;10, however.)&lt;br /&gt;
(2) She had paid &pound;50 for the production of her&lt;br /&gt;
work.&lt;br /&gt;
(3) She still owed j&pound;g odd to the publisher.&lt;br /&gt;
(4) There were no sales at all: so that she had&lt;br /&gt;
received nothing.&lt;br /&gt;
Then the publisher began to write in a threatening&lt;br /&gt;
way for this &pound;9.&lt;br /&gt;
He expressed himself as not surprised at the ill-&lt;br /&gt;
success of her book (though on previous occasions&lt;br /&gt;
he had spoken well of her work), and attributed&lt;br /&gt;
this to the lack of advertisements. He badgered&lt;br /&gt;
her to advertise through himself to the extent of j&pound;$&lt;br /&gt;
or jQio, assuring her that she would then get good&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 9 (#23) ###############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE A UTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
9&lt;br /&gt;
reviews. But her means would nol allow her to&lt;br /&gt;
take his advice. Then he suggested that she&lt;br /&gt;
should contribute at the rate of is. a line to a&lt;br /&gt;
column of advertisement that he proposed to insert&lt;br /&gt;
in the Standard of a good many other books he was&lt;br /&gt;
bringing out. Here, again, she was obdurate.&lt;br /&gt;
Then he sent her a lawyer&amp;#039;s letter.&lt;br /&gt;
She applied to the Society of Authors, and&lt;br /&gt;
escaped further payment; but it would have been&lt;br /&gt;
useless to attempt to extract from the publisher the&lt;br /&gt;
money he had already received on grossly false re-&lt;br /&gt;
presentation, for about this period he became a&lt;br /&gt;
bankrupt.&lt;br /&gt;
Of the numerous letters two are appended.&lt;br /&gt;
1. The first received by the author from the&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Secretary.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
2. The second received by the author from the&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Editor.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
I.&lt;br /&gt;
Date.&mdash;March 6th, 1884.&lt;br /&gt;
Name.&mdash;Miss C. D.&lt;br /&gt;
Address.&mdash;16, High St. .&lt;br /&gt;
Title and No.&mdash;Poems.&lt;br /&gt;
Length.&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
Opinion.&mdash;&amp;quot; Requires revision by an expert, who&lt;br /&gt;
understands the rules of poetical composition.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Author should write Mr. L., Street,&lt;br /&gt;
London, forhis instructions topoetical students.&lt;br /&gt;
Writer has ability, and if she only studied the&lt;br /&gt;
rules of poetical composition she would do&lt;br /&gt;
well.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;One poem could be set to music. Charge,&lt;br /&gt;
including composition of music, would be&lt;br /&gt;
Ss. for 250 copies.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
A. B. C, Secretary.&lt;br /&gt;
II.&lt;br /&gt;
Re MSS.from the Metropolitan Publishing and&lt;br /&gt;
Literary Society.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;We have received your MSS. and beg to say&lt;br /&gt;
we cannot accept same, as they are unprepared for&lt;br /&gt;
press. You write them as though poetry, but they&lt;br /&gt;
are prose. If you write out the Penalty as though&lt;br /&gt;
prose, no capital letters, &amp;amp;c, you will find it reads&lt;br /&gt;
better. If you do this and send again we can&lt;br /&gt;
finish revising for half a guinea, and print.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Yours faithfully,&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The Editor.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
It seems almost incredible that even an inex-&lt;br /&gt;
perienced girl should not have guessed that these&lt;br /&gt;
people were common sharpers. But she did not.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The Managing Director &amp;quot; advertised largely and&lt;br /&gt;
the number of his victims is proportionally large.&lt;br /&gt;
Yet he has never got into prison. His victims&lt;br /&gt;
were generally helpless, and generally sensitive to&lt;br /&gt;
ridicule, while it always seems an unsatisfactory&lt;br /&gt;
thing to spend ^50 in bringing a criminal action&lt;br /&gt;
against a person who has robbed you of .&pound;50.&lt;br /&gt;
It should be observed that this case has nothing&lt;br /&gt;
to do with the story on pp. 3-5.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS.&lt;br /&gt;
1. Is it right for editors to keep a book sent&lt;br /&gt;
to them for review when they give no notice of the&lt;br /&gt;
book ?&mdash;It is right because it is impossible for&lt;br /&gt;
every book that is published to receive a review,&lt;br /&gt;
and every book is sent for review on the chance of&lt;br /&gt;
getting it.&lt;br /&gt;
2. How long should an editor be free to keep&lt;br /&gt;
a MS. without reply?&mdash;If the article is one of&lt;br /&gt;
immediate interest he should return it at once if&lt;br /&gt;
he cannot find time to consider it. A contributor&lt;br /&gt;
in such a case should state the urgency of the sub-&lt;br /&gt;
ject. Under ordinary circumstances no one who&lt;br /&gt;
knows the labours of an editor or the piles of&lt;br /&gt;
MSS. into which he must look should grumble at&lt;br /&gt;
waiting for three or four months.&lt;br /&gt;
3. How long should a contributor be expected&lt;br /&gt;
to wait before payment?&mdash;All the honourably&lt;br /&gt;
conducted magazines pay on publication, or a few&lt;br /&gt;
days afterwards. It has, however, been proved to&lt;br /&gt;
the Society that there are certain journals&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
happily only a few&mdash;who make a point of never&lt;br /&gt;
paying unless they are compelled by threats of law.&lt;br /&gt;
It seems incredible that a magazine proprietor or&lt;br /&gt;
editor should thus make as many enemies as he has&lt;br /&gt;
contributors. It is unhappily, quite true.&lt;br /&gt;
4. What payment should be made for a magazine&lt;br /&gt;
article?&mdash;This question is often asked. There is&lt;br /&gt;
no answer possible, because the practice necessarily&lt;br /&gt;
differs. A magazine of limited circulation obviously&lt;br /&gt;
cannot afford to pay its contributors much. Then&lt;br /&gt;
if payment is made by the page, that too varies;&lt;br /&gt;
some magazines, such as Blackwood&amp;#039;s or Mac-&lt;br /&gt;
millan&amp;#039;s, have a page double that of Longmans&amp;#039;.&lt;br /&gt;
The best advice to be given is this. In the high-&lt;br /&gt;
class magazines contributors are paid by a regular&lt;br /&gt;
scale, unless special terms are made. Therefore,&lt;br /&gt;
the contributor may rely on the usual treatment&lt;br /&gt;
according to the scale of that journal. In maga-&lt;br /&gt;
zines of inferior kind the contributor would do&lt;br /&gt;
well to ask beforehand what payment will be made&lt;br /&gt;
if the paper be accepted. Suppose the Editor&lt;br /&gt;
refuses to name his scale and sends back the MS.,&lt;br /&gt;
that will be better than to have it taken and pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lished, and then not paid for.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 10 (#24) ##############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
IO&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
LEAFLET No. I.&lt;br /&gt;
On Syndicating.&lt;br /&gt;
IT was in the Report issued at the beginning&lt;br /&gt;
of last year that we first made an announce-&lt;br /&gt;
ment concerning our attempt at forming for&lt;br /&gt;
ourselves a syndicate of our own members. We&lt;br /&gt;
guarded ourselves at that time by a warning which&lt;br /&gt;
we hoped would be sufficient to prevent the raising&lt;br /&gt;
of hopes doomed to disappointment. We were&lt;br /&gt;
wrong. There has been a good deal of dis-&lt;br /&gt;
appointment among some of our members who&lt;br /&gt;
thought that in this way their own work might be&lt;br /&gt;
disposed of.&lt;br /&gt;
It was found at the outset, first, that the news-&lt;br /&gt;
papers among which we at first proposed to place&lt;br /&gt;
the works of our members were engaged to the&lt;br /&gt;
various syndicates in existence for a year, a year&lt;br /&gt;
and a half, or even longer. It was next found, what&lt;br /&gt;
had been expected, that no writers have any chance&lt;br /&gt;
at all of getting their work taken in country and&lt;br /&gt;
colonial newspapers except those who have already&lt;br /&gt;
achieved a certain reputation. So that both the&lt;br /&gt;
time of commencing operations was postponed, and&lt;br /&gt;
the writers for whom the syndicate was to work were&lt;br /&gt;
limited in number.&lt;br /&gt;
After a great deal of consideration and experi-&lt;br /&gt;
menting, it has been found that the best and&lt;br /&gt;
fairest way of working is, as regards short tales, to&lt;br /&gt;
arrange for one batch at a time covering a whole&lt;br /&gt;
quarter. Each writer of this batch takes, first of&lt;br /&gt;
all, his market value; that is to say, the price he&lt;br /&gt;
can command in magazines, or that which other&lt;br /&gt;
syndicates&mdash;trade syndicates&mdash;are willing to pay&lt;br /&gt;
him: he sells to our syndicate, not, as in all other&lt;br /&gt;
syndicates, the story outright, but the right to its&lt;br /&gt;
appearance once, and only once, in a certain&lt;br /&gt;
quarter. This done, the work becomes again his&lt;br /&gt;
own property. Next, when all the writers have&lt;br /&gt;
been paid, the balance, if any, is equally divided&lt;br /&gt;
among the writers in proportion to the length&lt;br /&gt;
of their work. That is to say, for a tale running&lt;br /&gt;
over three weeks, a writer would receive three&lt;br /&gt;
times that accorded to one of a single week. About&lt;br /&gt;
twenty-five per cent, of the whole is required&lt;br /&gt;
for agency printing and postage. This may seem a&lt;br /&gt;
large amount, but the trouble involved is very great,&lt;br /&gt;
and there is no way of avoiding such charges&lt;br /&gt;
except by keeping a special clerk for the purpose&lt;br /&gt;
in the offices of the Society. The services of such&lt;br /&gt;
a clerk, properly qualified and experienced, would&lt;br /&gt;
amount to quite as much as the commission&lt;br /&gt;
of an agent. After a little there must be a further&lt;br /&gt;
charge for the work of editing, which hitherto&lt;br /&gt;
has been done for nothing.&lt;br /&gt;
Then comes, next, the question&mdash;Where to place&lt;br /&gt;
these stories? At first it was thought that the&lt;br /&gt;
provincial press would be the best medium. It&lt;br /&gt;
has, however, been found that, though the pro-&lt;br /&gt;
vincial press may sometimes be useful, it cannot&lt;br /&gt;
always be depended upon, and that it may in some&lt;br /&gt;
cases be best to sell the work to some one pro-&lt;br /&gt;
prietor or editor. This has, in fact, been done in&lt;br /&gt;
the case of the first quarter&amp;#039;s collection. One pro-&lt;br /&gt;
prietor has bought the right for Great Britain and&lt;br /&gt;
Ireland. They have also been sold in America&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
also to one man; in Australia and New Zealand&lt;br /&gt;
to another; and in India to another. The amount&lt;br /&gt;
to be divided among the writers of this batch will&lt;br /&gt;
rule far higher than anything they could obtain&lt;br /&gt;
from ordinary syndicates.&lt;br /&gt;
The next quarter&amp;#039;s batch is now in course of&lt;br /&gt;
preparation.&lt;br /&gt;
If members think they already possess the kind&lt;br /&gt;
of name that popular journals desire to place in&lt;br /&gt;
their columns, they may communicate with the&lt;br /&gt;
Editor at the Society&amp;#039;s office. The Editor&amp;#039;s busi-&lt;br /&gt;
ness is very simple: it is merely to provide such&lt;br /&gt;
a collection of stories as will be vouched for by&lt;br /&gt;
the names of their writers. He is not, in fact, the&lt;br /&gt;
judge: he has only to record the judgment of&lt;br /&gt;
purchasers, and to cater for them. It is not so&lt;br /&gt;
much the quality of his wares that he has to con-&lt;br /&gt;
sider, as their fashion and popularity. Therefore,&lt;br /&gt;
the Editor must not be blamed if he has to tell&lt;br /&gt;
a member that he cannot offer to syndicate his&lt;br /&gt;
work.&lt;br /&gt;
There is, however, another branch of syndicating&lt;br /&gt;
work&mdash;that of longer stories. Here, again, though&lt;br /&gt;
names come first, there may be special reasons&lt;br /&gt;
why a work by a less known hand might be syndi-&lt;br /&gt;
cated with a certain measure of success.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 11 (#25) ##############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
If any member, therefore, would like to try this&lt;br /&gt;
method, he should send, first of all, his name, his&lt;br /&gt;
list of previous work, and a complete scenario of&lt;br /&gt;
the work, showing its length, number of chapters,&lt;br /&gt;
the story, the place and time, and anything that may&lt;br /&gt;
recommend it. This scenario should be type-written,&lt;br /&gt;
which would not cost more than two or three&lt;br /&gt;
shillings. He can then learn whether he may&lt;br /&gt;
hope for any success in this way. But, again, let&lt;br /&gt;
him not blame the Editor should failure follmv.&lt;br /&gt;
He would like to oblige all the members of the&lt;br /&gt;
Society if he could.&lt;br /&gt;
This syndicating is intended, of course, as a first&lt;br /&gt;
step in the action of authors for themselves and by&lt;br /&gt;
themselves. When we consider all the difficulties&lt;br /&gt;
in the way: first, the profound distrust of anything&lt;br /&gt;
to do with publishing that is spread over a des-&lt;br /&gt;
pondent world; next, the suspicion and jealousy&lt;br /&gt;
with which authors too often regard each other;&lt;br /&gt;
thirdly, their colossal ignorance of all matters con-&lt;br /&gt;
nected with their own business; and, fourthly, the&lt;br /&gt;
danger of awakening extravagant hopes of a millen-&lt;br /&gt;
nium to come the day after to-morrow&mdash;we might be&lt;br /&gt;
excused if we desisted from the attempt. But when&lt;br /&gt;
we consider how much the Society has done already,&lt;br /&gt;
and is now doing, when we remember that we&lt;br /&gt;
are the pioneers, and when we remember that&lt;br /&gt;
in such a cause progress must be slow, we are&lt;br /&gt;
resolved to persevere. All the steps that we have&lt;br /&gt;
taken, all that we are going to take, are based upon&lt;br /&gt;
one proposition: that literature belongs to the&lt;br /&gt;
Poet&mdash;the Maker&mdash;not to the Trader&mdash;not to him&lt;br /&gt;
who only sells.&lt;br /&gt;
Editor.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
THE PRESS AND THE SOCIETY.&lt;br /&gt;
ONE reason, and that not the least, for the&lt;br /&gt;
existence of such a journal as this is the&lt;br /&gt;
necessity for keeping the Society and its&lt;br /&gt;
objects from misrepresentation&mdash;wilful or through&lt;br /&gt;
ignorance&mdash;in the newspaper press and in the&lt;br /&gt;
magazines. We have read from time to time articles,&lt;br /&gt;
both generous and appreciative, presenting our&lt;br /&gt;
aims truthfully. We have also been misrepresented&lt;br /&gt;
by numerous paragraphs, written either by persons&lt;br /&gt;
totally unacquainted with this Society, or wholly&lt;br /&gt;
ignorant of the subject, or maliciously inspired&lt;br /&gt;
by our enemies. For instance, it has been the&lt;br /&gt;
constant habit of these gentlemen to represent the&lt;br /&gt;
Society as inspired by a blind hatred of all pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lishers, thus attempting to identify themselves and&lt;br /&gt;
their own frauds with the honourable houses. Or&lt;br /&gt;
they find occasion to gird at the Society as talking&lt;br /&gt;
against &amp;quot;the wicked publisher,&amp;quot; implying that we&lt;br /&gt;
are not defending ourselves against dishonest&lt;br /&gt;
people, but attacking the whole trade.&lt;br /&gt;
It has, however, been reserved for the Con-&lt;br /&gt;
temporary Review, of all magazines in the world, to&lt;br /&gt;
produce an article on the Society, and its work&lt;br /&gt;
which is indeed amazing.&lt;br /&gt;
One would not take notice of this production but&lt;br /&gt;
for the fact that it suggests certain questions which&lt;br /&gt;
should not only be administered to the author, but&lt;br /&gt;
to all those persons who are contemplating such&lt;br /&gt;
articles on this subject. If before sitting down to&lt;br /&gt;
write, they will kindly read and consider these&lt;br /&gt;
questions, they may possibly save themselves the&lt;br /&gt;
subsequent affliction of discovering that they have&lt;br /&gt;
been writing on a subject of which they know&lt;br /&gt;
nothing.&lt;br /&gt;
It is not necessary that we should reply in detail&lt;br /&gt;
to the article; and, indeed, very much of it is&lt;br /&gt;
exactly what we have always ourselves advocated.&lt;br /&gt;
As for the rest&mdash;but the questions will themselves&lt;br /&gt;
indicate the nature of the reply which might be&lt;br /&gt;
made.&lt;br /&gt;
They are these :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Have you ever studied the different methods&lt;br /&gt;
of publishing? If so, when and where? Under&lt;br /&gt;
whose guidance, and with what advantages?&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;What steps have you taken to ascertain the&lt;br /&gt;
cost of producing books, the money spent on&lt;br /&gt;
advertising, the trade price of selling, the demand&lt;br /&gt;
for different kinds of books, the risk in producing&lt;br /&gt;
books, what and of what kind? In fact, what&lt;br /&gt;
special knowledge do you possess of the publishing&lt;br /&gt;
trade?&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Whit have you learned, before writing this&lt;br /&gt;
precious article, concerning the various kinds of&lt;br /&gt;
agreement presented to authors by publishers?&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Do you know, by personal examination and ex-&lt;br /&gt;
perience, what these agreements represent, namely,&lt;br /&gt;
can you tell, by reading an agreement, what the&lt;br /&gt;
publisher offers to the author, and what he reserves&lt;br /&gt;
for himself?&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Do you know, by experience of your own, the&lt;br /&gt;
treatment of authors by their publishers? In the&lt;br /&gt;
case you quote, where you received twelve guineas,&lt;br /&gt;
have you ascertained what amount was made by&lt;br /&gt;
the publisher?&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Are you aware that the body of men, whom&lt;br /&gt;
you take upon yourself to assail, have been engaged&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 12 (#26) ##############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
12&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
for five years in a most careful and painstaking&lt;br /&gt;
examination of the whole of the publishing business&lt;br /&gt;
in every branch?&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Are you aware that this body of men, the&lt;br /&gt;
Committee of the Society of Authors, in all their&lt;br /&gt;
publications have made, and are making, but one&lt;br /&gt;
demand, namely, for just and honourable deal-&lt;br /&gt;
ing?&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Are you also aware that they have demanded,&lt;br /&gt;
and are still demanding, not only equitable agree-&lt;br /&gt;
ments, but the keeping of those agreements to the&lt;br /&gt;
letter?&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Have you read their reports and their circu-&lt;br /&gt;
lars?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
If you cannot answer these questions, we would&lt;br /&gt;
submit another. &amp;quot;What right have you to be&lt;br /&gt;
heard on the questions at all?&amp;quot; We would also ask&lt;br /&gt;
you to select those adjectives in the English lan-&lt;br /&gt;
guage which apply to one who ventures to talk in&lt;br /&gt;
public on a subject concerning which he is pro-&lt;br /&gt;
foundly ignorant.&lt;br /&gt;
If you can answer these questions; if you have&lt;br /&gt;
really made a study of a very difficult and obscure&lt;br /&gt;
subject, kept purposely in obscurity by interested&lt;br /&gt;
persons; if you have really read the reports and&lt;br /&gt;
papers of the Society, and have duly considered&lt;br /&gt;
and meditated on them, you have, perhaps, a right&lt;br /&gt;
to speak.&lt;br /&gt;
Supposing this to be the case, let us ask the&lt;br /&gt;
writer what he means by the following :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The bargain between author and publisher is&lt;br /&gt;
one perfectly well understood.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Is it? Then, we will ask him another question.&lt;br /&gt;
It is this.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Will you, who so perfectly well understand the&lt;br /&gt;
bargain between author and publisher, kindly ex-&lt;br /&gt;
plain the following agreement?&amp;quot; A. B. publishes&lt;br /&gt;
covenants with C. D. the author, as follows :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
He is to have the sole copyright of a MS. on the&lt;br /&gt;
following conditions. He is to publish it at his&lt;br /&gt;
sole risk and expense: he is to sell it at 6s.&lt;br /&gt;
each copy: after 500 copies are sold he is to give&lt;br /&gt;
the author a royalty of 15 per cent, on the trade&lt;br /&gt;
price, not the published price. He is to decide&lt;br /&gt;
if any cheaper editions are to be issued: he is to&lt;br /&gt;
have the power of selling off remainder of stock:&lt;br /&gt;
he is, in fact, to have the complete control of the&lt;br /&gt;
book.&lt;br /&gt;
The book is printed in small pica, crown 8vo,&lt;br /&gt;
and contains 21^ sheets. The question for you&lt;br /&gt;
who understand so clearly the bargain between&lt;br /&gt;
author and publisher is this. When 3,000 copies&lt;br /&gt;
of the book have been sold, allowing ^30 for&lt;br /&gt;
advertising, what profit the author has made and&lt;br /&gt;
what the publisher? We will answer this question&lt;br /&gt;
for you in our next number.&lt;br /&gt;
Again, the author of this paper says, &amp;quot;The&lt;br /&gt;
royalty system is so obviously fair that there is no&lt;br /&gt;
need to say much about it.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Quite so. Then we will put to him the follow-&lt;br /&gt;
ing questions. &amp;quot;Will you kindly explain what&lt;br /&gt;
you mean by the royalty system? What, if you&lt;br /&gt;
please, is the royalty system? What percentage&lt;br /&gt;
should be given on an equitable royalty? And&lt;br /&gt;
why? What does that leave the publisher?&lt;br /&gt;
You had, probably, something in your mind when&lt;br /&gt;
you wrote the passage. What, we repeat, is the&lt;br /&gt;
royalty system? Is it ten, twenty, thirty, forty&lt;br /&gt;
per cent.? And, in any case, why do you fix upon&lt;br /&gt;
that proportion, and what does it leave for the&lt;br /&gt;
publisher?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Again, seeing that if our Society is strong on any&lt;br /&gt;
point at all, it is upon the point of equitable agree-&lt;br /&gt;
ments, seeing that from the outset it has never&lt;br /&gt;
ceased to argue in favour of such agreements, and&lt;br /&gt;
seeing that it has always insisted on such agree-&lt;br /&gt;
ments being carried out honestly and to the letter,&lt;br /&gt;
what does the writer of the paper mean by the&lt;br /&gt;
following solemn peroration?&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Are our contracts to be binding upon us only&lt;br /&gt;
so long as we find it profitable to ourselves to keep&lt;br /&gt;
them?&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Are our moral instincts getting feebler? Are&lt;br /&gt;
we losing our sense of honour?&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Is our respect for the sacredness of plighted&lt;br /&gt;
troth on the wane?&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;If they who ought to be the trainers of the&lt;br /&gt;
national constitution are helping to improve it, and&lt;br /&gt;
helping others to believe that literary workers are&lt;br /&gt;
only workers for hire and determined on getting it,&lt;br /&gt;
even at the price of broken faith and broken pledges,&lt;br /&gt;
then there can be but a gloomy outlook for us all&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
the days of shame are at hand!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Really! This is indeed terrible. But this critic&lt;br /&gt;
now has our questions before him and will perhaps&lt;br /&gt;
answer them.&lt;br /&gt;
Let us remind him, lastly, of certain lines, written&lt;br /&gt;
a hundred and fifty years ago, and still, unhappily,&lt;br /&gt;
applicable.&lt;br /&gt;
Look thro&amp;#039; the world, in every other trade,&lt;br /&gt;
The same employment&amp;#039;s cause of kindness made;&lt;br /&gt;
At least, appearance of goodwill creates,&lt;br /&gt;
And every fool puffs off the fool he hates.&lt;br /&gt;
Cobblers with cobblers smoke away the night,&lt;br /&gt;
And in the common cause ev&amp;#039;n players unite.&lt;br /&gt;
Authors alone, with more than savage rage,&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural war with brother authors wage.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 13 (#27) ##############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
the author.&lt;br /&gt;
THE HELPABLE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
From an Address by Edmund Gosse.*&lt;br /&gt;
GRUB STREET is with us to-day. It is&lt;br /&gt;
mitigated to some degree, no doubt&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
greatly mitigated&mdash;by the blessed institu-&lt;br /&gt;
tion of journalism, which has opened the sluice&lt;br /&gt;
and, to a great extent, let out the waters. With&lt;br /&gt;
journalism in particular we have nothing to do&lt;br /&gt;
here. But when we put aside the relief now&lt;br /&gt;
afforded by journalism we find things much in the&lt;br /&gt;
same condition as they were in the last century, or&lt;br /&gt;
even in many cases worse, since, if journalism now&lt;br /&gt;
exists, the patron does not exist. You have&lt;br /&gt;
perhaps some idea, but I think it very possible&lt;br /&gt;
that you have but little idea, of how much suffer-&lt;br /&gt;
ing and miserj&amp;#039; is going on among what are called&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;people of letters&amp;quot; in the present day; how many&lt;br /&gt;
men there are&amp;#039;that are struggling, loafing about&lt;br /&gt;
the British Museum, and walking idly up and&lt;br /&gt;
down Fleet Street&mdash;men who might perhaps be&lt;br /&gt;
the Otways and Chattertons of the age if they had&lt;br /&gt;
a little more encouragement given to them. But&lt;br /&gt;
these people-&mdash;for again we must face the matter&lt;br /&gt;
not with sentimentality but with common-sense&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
these men are divided into two great classes, the&lt;br /&gt;
helpable and the unhelpable. Permit me for a&lt;br /&gt;
moment to deal with the unhelpable.&lt;br /&gt;
In the last century the unhelpable was typically&lt;br /&gt;
exemplified by a certain Samuel Boyse, the author&lt;br /&gt;
of a poem on the Deity. Samuel Boyse seems to&lt;br /&gt;
have started in life with as many advantages as&lt;br /&gt;
ever befel a man of letters. The number of Earls&lt;br /&gt;
and Countesses that filed through bis career is&lt;br /&gt;
enough to make the modern unpatroned author&lt;br /&gt;
envious; but it was impossible for them to help&lt;br /&gt;
Boyse. His whole life was a long continuation of&lt;br /&gt;
his being picked up out of the gutter by some&lt;br /&gt;
noble patron, put on his legs, and seen to fall&lt;br /&gt;
again the moment he was left. He is the person&lt;br /&gt;
who spent six weeks in his bed with his arm thrust&lt;br /&gt;
through a blanket, because he had pawned every-&lt;br /&gt;
thing which he possessed in the world, and who,&lt;br /&gt;
when a subscription was made for him, spent the&lt;br /&gt;
first money that came in, still in bed, with his&lt;br /&gt;
hand still through the blanket, in a feast of truffles.&lt;br /&gt;
The same Samuel Boyse opened a subscription for&lt;br /&gt;
his poems, and, marvellous as it may seem, that&lt;br /&gt;
was responded to. As the contributions came in&lt;br /&gt;
they were, with slow regularity, expended upon a&lt;br /&gt;
delightful potation called &amp;quot;Twopenny&amp;quot; &mdash; hot&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Twopenny.&amp;quot; Samuel Boyse had a commission&lt;br /&gt;
given to him by a publisher, to translate Fenelon&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;On the Existence of the Deity,&amp;quot; and he celebrated&lt;br /&gt;
that event by immediately marrying. There was&lt;br /&gt;
no help whatever for Samuel Boyse, and at last,&lt;br /&gt;
* &amp;quot;Grievances of Authors.&amp;quot; Field and Tuer. 2s. (xl.&lt;br /&gt;
when he had gone through every possible phase of&lt;br /&gt;
beggary and misery, he died.&lt;br /&gt;
Do you suppose that there are no Samuel&lt;br /&gt;
Boyses nowadays? Pardon me for insisting that&lt;br /&gt;
there are. I will mention one instance which it is&lt;br /&gt;
impossible can wound anyone now, an instance of&lt;br /&gt;
a man who has been for some years past dead&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
and who I believe was known, or known of, by&lt;br /&gt;
some of my friends on this platform. He was a&lt;br /&gt;
man who came up from one of the Universities&lt;br /&gt;
with some amount of knowledge, for he said he had&lt;br /&gt;
taken a First, although it must be confessed that&lt;br /&gt;
his name never could be found in the lists. This&lt;br /&gt;
man had the highest ambition to excel in literature,&lt;br /&gt;
yet all that he managed to make was 35*. a week&lt;br /&gt;
from the editor of a weekly paper, to keep himself&lt;br /&gt;
in board and lodging. Well, if this man had had&lt;br /&gt;
the slightest power of helping himself, there is no&lt;br /&gt;
doubt that he might have risen to better things;&lt;br /&gt;
but he was in a much worse position than Boyse,&lt;br /&gt;
for there was no interest taken in him by the&lt;br /&gt;
aristocracy, and no curiosity felt about his poems.&lt;br /&gt;
He was left to his unaided efforts. His unaided&lt;br /&gt;
efforts plunged him lower and lower in the&lt;br /&gt;
tide of things, till at last, at the office where he got&lt;br /&gt;
his only salary, a meerschaum pipe was missed&lt;br /&gt;
by the editor. There was some mystery about it&lt;br /&gt;
for a little while, when there came a letter from the&lt;br /&gt;
contributor, saying that the Rubicon was now&lt;br /&gt;
crossed, and that he wished to resign his position&lt;br /&gt;
on the paper; he enclosed a ticket from a pawn-&lt;br /&gt;
broker. After this unfortunate incident, he sank&lt;br /&gt;
lower and lower, till he hung all day about the&lt;br /&gt;
British Musuem. At last he became a super at a&lt;br /&gt;
theatre, and then he faded out altogether. Now,&lt;br /&gt;
those two persons, whom I take as types, belong to&lt;br /&gt;
the unhelpable class, with which we can do nothing.&lt;br /&gt;
What, then, of the helpable author? The&lt;br /&gt;
helpable author is not the fashionable novelist,&lt;br /&gt;
the fashionable essayist, the successful man who&lt;br /&gt;
has many other strings to his bow, who has a&lt;br /&gt;
salary here, who has private means there. No!&lt;br /&gt;
The person whom we wish, if possible, to do some-&lt;br /&gt;
thing to help is the half-successful writer, the&lt;br /&gt;
person who has a right to exist, and who yet&lt;br /&gt;
cannot force himself, or herself, strongly upon the&lt;br /&gt;
public. And there are two classes of the helpable&lt;br /&gt;
to whom I would specially draw attention. One&lt;br /&gt;
of those consists of women.&lt;br /&gt;
Here again I speak of the smaller, yet legitimately&lt;br /&gt;
successful, lady-writers. My own impression is&lt;br /&gt;
that most ladies of this class claim rather less than&lt;br /&gt;
more of what they have a right to; they have their&lt;br /&gt;
small circle of readers, a circle for whom they&lt;br /&gt;
prepare innocent and delightful recreation. They&lt;br /&gt;
have a right to be protected for the sake of these&lt;br /&gt;
readers, as well as for their own sake. They have&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 14 (#28) ##############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
a right to demand that there should be some body,&lt;br /&gt;
some society, ready to see that they do not fall into&lt;br /&gt;
traps, that they.do not become the prey of sharpers,&lt;br /&gt;
and, in short, to protect their legitimate interests.&lt;br /&gt;
And there is, again, another class of the helpable;&lt;br /&gt;
that is the beginner, the new man of genius. I&lt;br /&gt;
know nothing that strikes one more in observing&lt;br /&gt;
literary life than the fact that the new man, the&lt;br /&gt;
man who comes forward with a book for the first&lt;br /&gt;
time, unless he is exceedingly lucky, makes a&lt;br /&gt;
mistake. He forms a disadvantageous bargain, he&lt;br /&gt;
does something or other which cripples him at the&lt;br /&gt;
outset, and this he has to wipe out and forget&lt;br /&gt;
before he can make a proper start. The beginner,&lt;br /&gt;
therefore, forms another class whom we desire, by&lt;br /&gt;
this Society, to have the privilege of protecting and&lt;br /&gt;
helping.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
ON COMMITTEE.&lt;br /&gt;
DURING the present year, up to May the first,&lt;br /&gt;
forty-eight new members have joined the&lt;br /&gt;
Society. This is a very gratifying increase.&lt;br /&gt;
At the same time it cannot be denied that there are&lt;br /&gt;
a large number of persons engaged in the profession&lt;br /&gt;
of literature who look coldly on without joining the&lt;br /&gt;
Society, while we are working in their interests.&lt;br /&gt;
That our efforts have not been fruitless is shown by&lt;br /&gt;
many facts. For instance, before we began, every&lt;br /&gt;
publisher would have felt himself insulted at the&lt;br /&gt;
mere proposal to audit his accounts. No publisher&lt;br /&gt;
would now refuse. Again, while four or five years&lt;br /&gt;
ago authors were meekly accepting a ten per cent,&lt;br /&gt;
royalty, they are getting almost everywhere two-&lt;br /&gt;
pence in the shilling, which is a sixteen per cent,&lt;br /&gt;
royalty, and in some cases twenty and twenty-five&lt;br /&gt;
per cent, royalty. The influence of the Society is&lt;br /&gt;
also shown by the eagerness of certain houses to offer&lt;br /&gt;
guarantees of good faith. The policy of the&lt;br /&gt;
Committee has always been the same: to ascertain&lt;br /&gt;
carefully and to set forth the truth as to cost of pro-&lt;br /&gt;
duction, trade returns and profits, methods of pub&lt;br /&gt;
lication and what they mean&mdash;agreements and what&lt;br /&gt;
they mean&mdash;in short, to supply their members with&lt;br /&gt;
the means of ascertaining what it is that a prof-&lt;br /&gt;
fered agreement gives the author and what it&lt;br /&gt;
reserves to the publisher. To learn these things&lt;br /&gt;
has taken the Committee five years of unremitting&lt;br /&gt;
labour. Nor are they quite certain, yet, that they&lt;br /&gt;
have learned the whole truth. Those who looked&lt;br /&gt;
for a sudden revolution in the business relations of&lt;br /&gt;
literature, as well as those who looked for no prac-&lt;br /&gt;
tical results at all, are equally disappointed. The&lt;br /&gt;
Society, however, has pursued and is pursuing the&lt;br /&gt;
even tenor of its way.&lt;br /&gt;
The &amp;quot;Cost of Production&amp;quot; is out of print&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
another edition, after correcting a few errors of no&lt;br /&gt;
great importance, will be issued as soon as it can&lt;br /&gt;
be got ready.&lt;br /&gt;
The Committeehave carefully considered theques-&lt;br /&gt;
tion of the proposed &amp;quot;leaflets,&amp;quot; the result of these&lt;br /&gt;
deliberations being the appearance of &amp;quot;The Author.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
The Chairman was fortunate enough to secure at&lt;br /&gt;
a second-hand book shop, Wilkie Collins&amp;#039;s large&lt;br /&gt;
collection of tracts and papers connected with&lt;br /&gt;
International Copyright. He has presented them&lt;br /&gt;
to the Society.&lt;br /&gt;
A memorial has been drawn up addressed to the&lt;br /&gt;
First Lord of the Treasury on the subject of the&lt;br /&gt;
Civil Pensions List. Next month, perhaps, we&lt;br /&gt;
may have more to say on the subject.&lt;br /&gt;
At the beginning of last year the Chairman&lt;br /&gt;
addressed to the Guardian a series of letters on the&lt;br /&gt;
management of the Literary Department of the&lt;br /&gt;
Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge,&lt;br /&gt;
with no other apparent effect than to call forth a&lt;br /&gt;
good deal of private correspondence from authors&lt;br /&gt;
who have been in the hands of this Department.&lt;br /&gt;
Early this year he again addressed the Publication&lt;br /&gt;
Committee on a special case, with the expected&lt;br /&gt;
result. He has now written a pamphlet on the&lt;br /&gt;
whole question, which, together with the previous&lt;br /&gt;
correspondence, will be published immediately.&lt;br /&gt;
The points at issue are confidently left to the&lt;br /&gt;
decision of the public.&lt;br /&gt;
A case of extensive fraud&mdash;so extensive that the&lt;br /&gt;
man chiefly concerned is found to have a hundred&lt;br /&gt;
unpublished MSS. in his possession&mdash;was taken up&lt;br /&gt;
by the Committee, but broke down owing to the&lt;br /&gt;
refusal of the victims to give evidence! This is&lt;br /&gt;
an interesting illustration of the black ignorance&lt;br /&gt;
which prevails as to literary property. Not one of&lt;br /&gt;
these men or women, had he or she been robbed of&lt;br /&gt;
a watch, a purse, a mantle, or an umbrella, but&lt;br /&gt;
would have gone straight to the nearest magistrate&lt;br /&gt;
and gave evidence fearlessly. But it was only a&lt;br /&gt;
manuscript&mdash;only a thing which might have been&lt;br /&gt;
worth many thousand pounds! In such a case as&lt;br /&gt;
this, we can only hope to instruct the world and&lt;br /&gt;
gradually to create as great a jealousy over literary&lt;br /&gt;
property as prevails for every other kind.&lt;br /&gt;
In another case, however, when the victim was&lt;br /&gt;
willing and ready to come forward, we recovered&lt;br /&gt;
for him the money of which he had been plundered&lt;br /&gt;
and the unsold copies of his work.&lt;br /&gt;
A case was recently brought before us in which&lt;br /&gt;
a country newspaper had republished, without&lt;br /&gt;
permission, a paper from a magazine. We obtained&lt;br /&gt;
compensation for the author.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Sprigge&amp;#039;s book on the &amp;quot;Methods of Publica-&lt;br /&gt;
tion,&amp;quot; with the frauds, tricks, and dangers to which&lt;br /&gt;
the author is exposed in every one, is very nearly&lt;br /&gt;
ready. It will be issued as soon as possible.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 15 (#29) ##############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
15&lt;br /&gt;
A circular letter has been issued by the Copy-&lt;br /&gt;
right Committee addressed to colonial libraries and&lt;br /&gt;
booksellers asking for information on the sale of&lt;br /&gt;
pirated editions in the various colonies, and how&lt;br /&gt;
far such editions damage the sale of the authorised&lt;br /&gt;
English editions.&lt;br /&gt;
The draft of the Copyright Bill has been placed&lt;br /&gt;
in the hands of Mr. James Rolt, New Square,&lt;br /&gt;
Lincoln&amp;#039;s Inn, for revision up to the date of the&lt;br /&gt;
latest legislation.&lt;br /&gt;
The question of copyright in pieces for recitation&lt;br /&gt;
has been brought before the Committee. It was&lt;br /&gt;
suggested that perhaps authors might not feel&lt;br /&gt;
themselves injured by a recitation which could not&lt;br /&gt;
fail to increase their popularity. It was decided to&lt;br /&gt;
ask the opinion of two gentlemen, well known pro-&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
ducers of such pieces.&lt;br /&gt;
It was recently stated in a morning paper that&lt;br /&gt;
any person, author or not, may become a member&lt;br /&gt;
of this Society. The statement was publicly denied&lt;br /&gt;
by the Chairman. As, however, there existed no&lt;br /&gt;
bye-law on the subject, but only the practice of&lt;br /&gt;
the Committee, and the implied understanding&lt;br /&gt;
that members should be authors, three have been&lt;br /&gt;
passed, viz.:&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
1. No one shall be eligible for membership or&lt;br /&gt;
fellowship of the Society who is not actually an&lt;br /&gt;
author of some published literary or artistic work.&lt;br /&gt;
2. Should anyone desire to consult the Society as&lt;br /&gt;
to literary work, without having as yet qualified for&lt;br /&gt;
membership, the Secretary may then and there&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
reporting the case at the next Committee Meeting &mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
admit him as an Associate only, on payment of one&lt;br /&gt;
guinea, his privileges to consist only of the right to&lt;br /&gt;
ask advice from the office, this right to terminate&lt;br /&gt;
at the end of the current year. Such an Associate&lt;br /&gt;
can have no part in the administration.&lt;br /&gt;
3. Any donor of ten guineas shall be admitted&lt;br /&gt;
by the Secretary then and there, reporting the&lt;br /&gt;
case at the next Committee, to be an Honorary&lt;br /&gt;
Associate of the Society. Such Associate can take&lt;br /&gt;
no part in the administration.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
LITERARY QUERIES.&lt;br /&gt;
I. Who Wrote This Ballad?&lt;br /&gt;
BOLD TURPIN upon Hounslow Heath&lt;br /&gt;
His black mare Bess bestrode,&lt;br /&gt;
When he saw a Bishop&amp;#039;s coach and four&lt;br /&gt;
Sweeping along the road:&lt;br /&gt;
He bade the coachman stop, but he,&lt;br /&gt;
Suspecting of the job,&lt;br /&gt;
His horses lashed&mdash;but soon rolled off&lt;br /&gt;
With a brace of slugs in his nob.&lt;br /&gt;
Galloping to the carriage door,&lt;br /&gt;
He thrust his face within,&lt;br /&gt;
When the Chaplain cried&mdash;&amp;quot; Sure as eggs is eggs&lt;br /&gt;
That is the bold Turpin.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Quoth Turpin, &amp;quot;You shall eat your words&lt;br /&gt;
With sauce of leaden bullet:&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
So clapped his pistol to his mouth,&lt;br /&gt;
And fired it down his gullet.&lt;br /&gt;
The Bishop fell upon his knees,&lt;br /&gt;
When Turpin bade him stand:&lt;br /&gt;
And gave him his watch, a bag of gold,&lt;br /&gt;
And six bright rings from his hand.&lt;br /&gt;
Rolling with laughter Turpin plucked&lt;br /&gt;
The Bishop&amp;#039;s wig from his head,&lt;br /&gt;
And popp&amp;#039;d it on the Chaplain&amp;#039;s poll&lt;br /&gt;
As he sat in the corner dead.&lt;br /&gt;
Upon the box he tied him then,&lt;br /&gt;
With the reins behind his back,&lt;br /&gt;
Put a pipe in his mouth, the whip in his hand,&lt;br /&gt;
And set off the horses smack!&lt;br /&gt;
Then whispered in the black mare&amp;#039;s ear,&lt;br /&gt;
Who luckily wasn&amp;#039;t fagg&amp;#039;d,&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;You must gallop fast and far, my dear,&lt;br /&gt;
Or I shall be surely scragg&amp;#039;d.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
He never drew bit, nor stopped to bait,&lt;br /&gt;
Nor walked up hill or down,&lt;br /&gt;
Until he came to Gloucester Gate,&lt;br /&gt;
Which is the Assizes town.&lt;br /&gt;
Full eighty miles in one dark night&lt;br /&gt;
He made his black mare fly,&lt;br /&gt;
And walk&amp;#039;d into court at nine o&amp;#039;clock,&lt;br /&gt;
To swear an alibi.&lt;br /&gt;
A hue and cry the Bishop raised,&lt;br /&gt;
And so did Sheriff Forster,&lt;br /&gt;
But stared to hear that Turpin was&lt;br /&gt;
By nine o&amp;#039;clock at Gloucester.&lt;br /&gt;
So all agreed it couldn&amp;#039;t be him&lt;br /&gt;
Neither by hook nor crook:&lt;br /&gt;
And said that the Bishop and Chaplain was&lt;br /&gt;
Most certainly mistook.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
AT WORK.&lt;br /&gt;
This column is reserved entirely for Members of the&lt;br /&gt;
Society, wlio are invited to keep tlie Editor&lt;br /&gt;
acquainted with their work and engagements.&lt;br /&gt;
PROFESSOR MAX MULLER is engaged in&lt;br /&gt;
preparing for the press his second volume&lt;br /&gt;
of Gifford Lectures, delivered last year at&lt;br /&gt;
Glasgow. The title will be Physical Religion. The&lt;br /&gt;
next courses, which will be delivered at Glasgow&lt;br /&gt;
in 1891 and 1892, will treat of Anthropological and&lt;br /&gt;
Psychological Religion.&lt;br /&gt;
Professor Max Muller&amp;#039;s new edition of the &amp;quot;Rig-&lt;br /&gt;
Veda,&amp;quot; with Sayana&amp;#039;s Commentary, is progressing.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 16 (#30) ##############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
i6&lt;br /&gt;
THE A UTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
Two volumes of 800 pages 4to. are finished. The&lt;br /&gt;
third volume is passing through the press, and it is&lt;br /&gt;
hoped that the whole work, in four volumes, will be&lt;br /&gt;
ready for the ninth meeting of the International Con-&lt;br /&gt;
gress of Orientalists, to be held at Oxford in 1892.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Edmund Gosse will publish this month a&lt;br /&gt;
reprint of his early poems, under the title of &amp;quot; On&lt;br /&gt;
Viol and Flute&amp;quot; (Messrs. Kcgan Paul, Trench,&lt;br /&gt;
Triibner and Co.), with illustrations by Mr. Alma&lt;br /&gt;
Tadema and Mr. Hamo Thornycroft. The June&lt;br /&gt;
volume of the &amp;quot;Camelot Classics&amp;quot; will be the&lt;br /&gt;
Scandinavian portion of Mr. Gosse&amp;#039;s &amp;quot;Northern&lt;br /&gt;
Studies,&amp;quot; originally issued in 1879. Mr. Gosse is&lt;br /&gt;
also engaged on a collected edition of the poetical&lt;br /&gt;
works of Thomas Lovell Beddoes, founded on the&lt;br /&gt;
papers placed in his hands by the late Mr. Robert&lt;br /&gt;
Browning.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Alfred Austin is engaged upon a poem, in&lt;br /&gt;
form more or less like &amp;quot;Prince Lucifer,&amp;quot; which will&lt;br /&gt;
exhibit the influence and operation of Pessimism&lt;br /&gt;
on a richly endowed nature. Messrs. Macmillan&lt;br /&gt;
will publish early in the autumn a collected edition&lt;br /&gt;
of his poetical works in six volumes.&lt;br /&gt;
The collected verses of Mr. Walter Herries&lt;br /&gt;
Pollock will shortly appear in one of the volumes&lt;br /&gt;
called the &amp;quot;Rosslyn Series&amp;quot; (Remington and Co.).&lt;br /&gt;
A story, entitled &amp;quot;A Blind Musician,&amp;quot; adapted&lt;br /&gt;
from the Russian of Korolenko by Stepniak and&lt;br /&gt;
William Westall, has just been published by Ward&lt;br /&gt;
and Downey.&lt;br /&gt;
In the course of a few days the same publishers&lt;br /&gt;
will issue by the same author a collection of strange&lt;br /&gt;
crimes put into narrative form and told in tales.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. James Payn&amp;#039;s &amp;quot;The Burnt Million,&amp;quot; 3 vols.,&lt;br /&gt;
has just been published by Messrs. Chatto and&lt;br /&gt;
Windus.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;London City.&amp;quot; Those who appreciated Mr.&lt;br /&gt;
Loftie&amp;#039;s &amp;quot; Kensington,&amp;quot; will be glad to hear that he&lt;br /&gt;
has completed a similar work for the same publishers&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;Messrs. Field and Tuer. It will be illustrated by&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. W. Luker, junior. The published price will&lt;br /&gt;
be 42J.; but subscribers who pay in advance can&lt;br /&gt;
have it for 2 if.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Stanley Little is engaged upon a novel&lt;br /&gt;
dealing with Sussex life and scenes. His new play&lt;br /&gt;
will probably see the light in the autumn.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Rudyard Kipling&amp;#039;s &amp;quot;Plain Tales from the&lt;br /&gt;
Hills &amp;quot; will form one of the next volumes of Baron&lt;br /&gt;
Tauchnitz&amp;#039;s Continental Series of English Authors.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Henry Hermann&amp;#039;s &amp;quot;Scarlet Fortune&amp;quot; is to&lt;br /&gt;
be issued in shilling form by Messrs. Trischler and&lt;br /&gt;
Co. His &amp;quot;Eagle Joe&amp;quot; will shortly appear as a&lt;br /&gt;
special number of the Illustrated London News.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. David Christie Murray has completed his&lt;br /&gt;
lecture engagements in Australia, and is now&lt;br /&gt;
lecturing in New Zealand.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. G. G. Chisholm&amp;#039;s &amp;quot;Handbook of Com-&lt;br /&gt;
mercial Geography&amp;quot; has recently been published&lt;br /&gt;
by Messrs. Longmans and Co. (515 pp., 29 maps,&lt;br /&gt;
and index, price \(ss.) This work is an attempt to&lt;br /&gt;
give interest to the leading facts of commerce by&lt;br /&gt;
setting forth the natural conditions that account for&lt;br /&gt;
the magnitude and direction of international com-&lt;br /&gt;
merce all over the globe. The work is divided&lt;br /&gt;
into two main sections, one dealing with com-&lt;br /&gt;
modities, the other with countries. There is also&lt;br /&gt;
a statistical appendix which shows by five years&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
averages the absolute and relative amount of&lt;br /&gt;
foreign trade in the more important articles of the&lt;br /&gt;
chief commercial countries of the world.&lt;br /&gt;
Mrs. Alec Tweedie, author of &amp;quot;A Girl&amp;#039;s Ride in&lt;br /&gt;
Iceland&amp;quot; (Griffith, Farran, and Co., 5*.), has pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lished (Kegan Paul, Trench, and Co., 2s. 6d.) a&lt;br /&gt;
little book on the &amp;quot;Oberammergau Passion Play.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
It contains historical notes, an account of the&lt;br /&gt;
origin of Passion Plays, a full account of the Play&lt;br /&gt;
itself, and of the country (how to reach it, &amp;amp;c),&lt;br /&gt;
with a chapter on Church Plays specially written for&lt;br /&gt;
this work by the Rev. Canon Shuttleworth.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. John W. Lovell, of New York, has effected&lt;br /&gt;
a publishing combination which may prove of&lt;br /&gt;
great importance to English authors. Under the&lt;br /&gt;
system of unlicensed competition in the sale of&lt;br /&gt;
English books, which has been developing in the&lt;br /&gt;
United States for the past five years or more, the&lt;br /&gt;
works of popular English writers, and especially of&lt;br /&gt;
English novelists, have been reproduced in half a&lt;br /&gt;
dozen ditferent editions within a week of the&lt;br /&gt;
appearance of the authorised American edition.&lt;br /&gt;
This has resulted in a war of prices which has&lt;br /&gt;
left little or no profit out of which the recognised&lt;br /&gt;
editor can pay the English writer. At the same&lt;br /&gt;
time the quality of the books produced under this&lt;br /&gt;
suicidal system has grown steadily worse. Mr.&lt;br /&gt;
Lovell has purchased the plates and stock of no&lt;br /&gt;
less than twenty of the principal American firms&lt;br /&gt;
engaged in the business of issuing reprints of&lt;br /&gt;
English books. This reduction of twenty competing&lt;br /&gt;
houses to one will certainly tend to bring order&lt;br /&gt;
out of the chaos which has been so destructive&lt;br /&gt;
alike to the interests of the English author and the&lt;br /&gt;
American publisher. Mr. Lovell has a large&lt;br /&gt;
opportunity and should he, as there is reason to&lt;br /&gt;
hope, use it responsibly, the amalgamation of trade&lt;br /&gt;
interests which he has accomplished will be likely&lt;br /&gt;
to bring about beneficent results for English writers.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. James Baker, F.R.G.S., has recently brought&lt;br /&gt;
out &amp;quot;By the Southern Sea, a Summer Idyll&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
(Longmans, 6s.). The work has been well received,&lt;br /&gt;
not only here, but in America. The same author&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 17 (#31) ##############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
*7&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Papers on Forgotten Great Englishmen,&amp;quot; which&lt;br /&gt;
appeared in the Leisure Hour, have had the effect&lt;br /&gt;
of reviving the memory of one Englishman at least,&lt;br /&gt;
who was for nearly fifty years a leader of the&lt;br /&gt;
Wyclyfites in Bohemia. The papers have been&lt;br /&gt;
translated into Czech, and will appear as a feuilleton&lt;br /&gt;
in the Silve Slivo, a Bohemian paper.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. T. Bailey Saunders has in the Press &amp;quot;Coun-&lt;br /&gt;
sels and Maxims,&amp;quot; being the second part of Arthur&lt;br /&gt;
Schopenhauser&amp;#039;s &amp;quot;Aphorismen zur Leibesweis-&lt;br /&gt;
heit.&amp;quot; It is to be uniform with his &amp;quot;Wisdom of&lt;br /&gt;
Life,&amp;quot; the first part of the same work (Sonnenschein&lt;br /&gt;
and Co., 2s. 6d.). His translation of Schopen-&lt;br /&gt;
hauser&amp;#039;s &amp;quot;Religious Dialogues, and other Essays,&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
is going into a second edition.&lt;br /&gt;
The Rev. E. Gough has brought out (Kegan Paul,&lt;br /&gt;
and Co., price i6x. each volume) the third volume&lt;br /&gt;
of his work, entitled, &amp;quot;The Bible True from the&lt;br /&gt;
Beginning.&amp;quot; He proposes to complete it in seven&lt;br /&gt;
volumes. The author writes, &amp;quot;The two chief&lt;br /&gt;
principles of the work are the following. First,&lt;br /&gt;
that there is in Scripture a system of grades and&lt;br /&gt;
grade words which proves the Bible to be verbally&lt;br /&gt;
inspired. Second, that far beyond what is usually&lt;br /&gt;
supposed, the histories contained in the Bible are&lt;br /&gt;
moral and not literal.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Rider Haggard&amp;#039;s &amp;quot;Beatrice,&amp;quot; now running, is&lt;br /&gt;
published by a syndicate of papers. The &amp;quot;World&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
Desire,&amp;quot; in which he has collaborated with Mr.&lt;br /&gt;
Andrew Lang, is running in the New Review.&lt;br /&gt;
The first quarter&amp;#039;s collection of stories syndicated&lt;br /&gt;
for the Society has been sold for serial right&mdash;one&lt;br /&gt;
appearance only, after which each becomes again&lt;br /&gt;
the property of the owner&mdash;in Great Britain,&lt;br /&gt;
America, India, Australia, and New Zealand. The&lt;br /&gt;
Editor is now preparing the second quarter&amp;#039;s col-&lt;br /&gt;
lection. Will members who desire to belong&lt;br /&gt;
kindly read the leaflet on &amp;quot;Syndicating &amp;quot; in this&lt;br /&gt;
number?&lt;br /&gt;
Mrs. Oliphant will next year contribute a novel&lt;br /&gt;
to the Sun. At present she is in the Holy Land,&lt;br /&gt;
and writes that the change of air and scenery has&lt;br /&gt;
greatly invigorated her.&lt;br /&gt;
Dr. George Macdonald has written the Christmas&lt;br /&gt;
Number for the Sunday Magazine.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. W. F. Smith, Fellow and Lecturer of St.&lt;br /&gt;
John&amp;#039;s College, Cambridge, has finished a new&lt;br /&gt;
translation of Rabelais. The text will be illustrated&lt;br /&gt;
by copious notes, giving among other things the&lt;br /&gt;
sources whence this great Master drew. A&lt;br /&gt;
limited edition only will be published, signed and&lt;br /&gt;
numbered. No cheaper edition will be produced.&lt;br /&gt;
The trade will not sell it at a lower than the&lt;br /&gt;
subscription price. The agent for the work is Mr.&lt;br /&gt;
A. P. Watt, 2, Paternoster Square.&lt;br /&gt;
The editor of Lippincott&amp;#039;s Magazine has secured&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Clarke Russell and Mr. Rudyard Kipling for&lt;br /&gt;
an early date.&lt;br /&gt;
The many admirers of &amp;quot;Owen Meredith &amp;quot; will&lt;br /&gt;
make a note that his &amp;quot;Ring of Amasis&amp;quot; has just&lt;br /&gt;
been published (Macmillan, 3*. 6d.).&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Grant Allen has completed a new three-&lt;br /&gt;
volume novel.&lt;br /&gt;
Sir George Douglas is compiling the volume of&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Scottish Minor Poets&amp;quot; for the Canterbury Series.&lt;br /&gt;
Starting with Ramsay&amp;#039;s publication of the &amp;quot;Tea&lt;br /&gt;
Table Miscellany&amp;quot; in the year 1724 (in which a few&lt;br /&gt;
original contributions were included), the collection&lt;br /&gt;
will comprise selections from Tannahill, Mother-&lt;br /&gt;
well, Lady Nairne, and a whole host of minor&lt;br /&gt;
writers, and will terminate probably with a specimen&lt;br /&gt;
of the song-writer&amp;#039;s art by the late Dr. Charles&lt;br /&gt;
Mackay. The volume will be prefaced by a&lt;br /&gt;
critical and historical introduction, and will be&lt;br /&gt;
inscribed to the Lady John Scott, the foremost&lt;br /&gt;
living writer of Scottish Song.&lt;br /&gt;
The new weekly called Short Cuts begins with&lt;br /&gt;
a novel by Mr. George Sims. The conductors seem&lt;br /&gt;
to have secured as fine a collection of contributors&lt;br /&gt;
as can be found in the lists of any magazine in the&lt;br /&gt;
world. Presumably, taste in popular reading has&lt;br /&gt;
been developed as well as the number of readers.&lt;br /&gt;
Almost every writer of note seems included in the&lt;br /&gt;
list.&lt;br /&gt;
The Rev. Charles D. Bell, D.D., of Cheltenham,&lt;br /&gt;
has just published &amp;quot;A Winter on the Nile&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
(Hodder and Stoughton, price 6d.), containing the&lt;br /&gt;
record of a tour up the Nile as far as the Second&lt;br /&gt;
Cataract, with a sojourn at Luxor and a description&lt;br /&gt;
of recent discoveries and antiquities at Bubastis&lt;br /&gt;
and the Fayoum. The same author has recently&lt;br /&gt;
issued &amp;quot; Reminiscences of a Boyhood in the Early&lt;br /&gt;
Part of the Century&amp;quot; (Sampson, Low, and Co.,&lt;br /&gt;
price bd.).&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Church and Creed&amp;quot; (William Blackwood and&lt;br /&gt;
Sons, price 4s. 6d.), by Professor Momerie, which&lt;br /&gt;
appeared in December last, has gone into a second&lt;br /&gt;
edition. His &amp;quot;Origin of Evil&amp;quot; is in its sixth edition,&lt;br /&gt;
and his &amp;quot;Agnosticism &amp;quot; in the third.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Edward Walford, his long connection with&lt;br /&gt;
Messrs. Hurst and Blackett being severed after&lt;br /&gt;
a period of twenty-seven years, has commenced a&lt;br /&gt;
new Peerage, called the &amp;quot;Royal Windsor Peerage,&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
at a cost of one-third the price of Lodge. He has&lt;br /&gt;
added lists of an order of knighthood, that of St.&lt;br /&gt;
John of Jerusalem, of which the Queen has become&lt;br /&gt;
Patron and Head, and the Prince of Wales Grand&lt;br /&gt;
Prior.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 18 (#32) ##############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
i8&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Walford is also bringing out at, he requests&lt;br /&gt;
us to say, his own cost, a &amp;quot;Life of William Pitt,&amp;quot; in&lt;br /&gt;
which he advances new and striking views of that&lt;br /&gt;
statesman.&lt;br /&gt;
The title of Mr. C. F. Keary&amp;#039;s newly-published&lt;br /&gt;
novel is &amp;quot;A Mariage dc Convenance&amp;quot; (Fisher&lt;br /&gt;
Unwin, 2 vols., price 21s.).&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. McGrigor Allan, author of &amp;quot;Women&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
Suffrage Wrong in Principle and Practice,&amp;quot; has in&lt;br /&gt;
hand two treatises, one called &amp;quot;The Tobacco&lt;br /&gt;
Scourge,&amp;quot; the other, &amp;quot;Advantages of a Channel&lt;br /&gt;
Tunnel to our Enemies.&lt;br /&gt;
A second edition is just ready of Mr. F. Howard&lt;br /&gt;
Collins&amp;#039;s &amp;quot; Epitome of the Synthetic Philosophy&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
(Williams and Norgate, 1 vol., 8vo, 15s.). The&lt;br /&gt;
work has been favourably received in America, and&lt;br /&gt;
has been translated at the present time into French,&lt;br /&gt;
German, and Russian.&lt;br /&gt;
Professor A. H. Church, F.R.S., has just issued&lt;br /&gt;
his &amp;quot;Chemistry of Paints and Painting&amp;quot; (Seeley&lt;br /&gt;
and Co., 8vo, pp. 312).&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Geo. Williamson, editor of Boyne&amp;#039;s &amp;quot;Seven-&lt;br /&gt;
teenth Century Tokens,&amp;quot; has in hand a book on&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Coins of the Bible.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Egmont Hake&amp;#039;s work, &amp;quot;Free Trade in&lt;br /&gt;
Capital,&amp;quot; which has greatly interested the Emperor&lt;br /&gt;
of Germany, is being translated into German.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
NOTES.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
HE date of the Annual Dinner has not yet&lt;br /&gt;
been fixed, but it will be held rather earlier&lt;br /&gt;
in the year than formerly.&lt;br /&gt;
Circulars will be sent out as soon as the date&lt;br /&gt;
has been definitely decided upon.&lt;br /&gt;
The Secretary earnestly begs that in all cases&lt;br /&gt;
where a member can do so, he will give notice at&lt;br /&gt;
the office early of his intention to be present.&lt;br /&gt;
Last year the dinner suffered from the fact that the&lt;br /&gt;
tables were over-crowded. As, however, one quarter&lt;br /&gt;
of those present signified their intention within the&lt;br /&gt;
last day or two, the discomfort, if any, was unavoid-&lt;br /&gt;
able.&lt;br /&gt;
The tickets for the dinner will be, as last year,&lt;br /&gt;
10s. 6d. This sum will include claret. Payment&lt;br /&gt;
should be made to &amp;quot;Society of Authors (Dinner&lt;br /&gt;
Account),&amp;quot; and all Cheques and Postal Orders&lt;br /&gt;
should be crossed, &amp;quot;Imperial Bank, Westminster&lt;br /&gt;
Branch.&amp;quot; Much letter writing would be saved&mdash;a&lt;br /&gt;
serious consideration to an office whose clerical&lt;br /&gt;
staff is very small&mdash;if members would enclose the&lt;br /&gt;
money when ordering the tickets.&lt;br /&gt;
The Committee hope that as many members as&lt;br /&gt;
possibly can, will be present.&lt;br /&gt;
In all cases where an opinion is desired upon a&lt;br /&gt;
manuscript, the author should send with it a table&lt;br /&gt;
of contents and a type-written scenario. This latter&lt;br /&gt;
can always be done at the expense of two or three&lt;br /&gt;
shillings. It must be clearly understood that a prac-&lt;br /&gt;
tised reader does not require to read the whole of an&lt;br /&gt;
author&amp;#039;s work before being perfectly able to give a&lt;br /&gt;
just opinion on its merits. If by the help of a&lt;br /&gt;
scenario the reader can grasp at once the story, he&lt;br /&gt;
is so much the more able readily to point out any&lt;br /&gt;
errors of construction, and to devote more time to&lt;br /&gt;
examination of style and other technical points.&lt;br /&gt;
If he know the author&amp;#039;s design, it is possible to say&lt;br /&gt;
if he has succeeded or failed. With the honestest&lt;br /&gt;
intent in the world to thoroughly peruse a manu-&lt;br /&gt;
script, it is difficult not to get weary when the work&lt;br /&gt;
is badly written, and wrongly paged, and when much&lt;br /&gt;
time has to be idly spent in finding out what the&lt;br /&gt;
author&amp;#039;s story is before a decision can be arrived&lt;br /&gt;
at concerning its merits. The more the reader&lt;br /&gt;
is helped, the better he can discharge his duties.&lt;br /&gt;
It has been brought to our notice that certain&lt;br /&gt;
people are advertising that they publish &amp;quot;on terms&lt;br /&gt;
approved by the Society of Authors,&amp;quot; or words to&lt;br /&gt;
that effect.&lt;br /&gt;
It is pleasing to receive this acknowledgment&lt;br /&gt;
of our labours, but we are compelled to warn&lt;br /&gt;
readers that the Society is wholly unconnected&lt;br /&gt;
with any firm of publishers whatever.&lt;br /&gt;
NEW BOOKS AND NEW EDITIONS.&lt;br /&gt;
This list includes books by members published&lt;br /&gt;
since the beginning of the year. In future issues&lt;br /&gt;
the list will be monthly. If omissions are dis-&lt;br /&gt;
covered the Editor will be glad to receive them.&lt;br /&gt;
Religious.&lt;br /&gt;
Gough, Edward. The Bible true from the&lt;br /&gt;
Beginning. Vols. II and III. Kegan Paul,&lt;br /&gt;
Trench and Co. 165. each.&lt;br /&gt;
Harper, Henry A. The Bible and Modern&lt;br /&gt;
Discoveries. 8vo, pp. 536. A. P. Watt. ids.&lt;br /&gt;
Lightfoot (Late Bishop of Durham). The&lt;br /&gt;
Apostolic Fathers. Part II. 3 vols. Mac-&lt;br /&gt;
millan. 48.C&lt;br /&gt;
Art, Fiction, and Belles Lettres.&lt;br /&gt;
Allen, Grant. The Tents of Shem. A Novel.&lt;br /&gt;
Chatto and Windus. 6d. The Tents of Shem. 3 vols. Chatto and&lt;br /&gt;
Windus. 3if. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 19 (#33) ##############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
19&lt;br /&gt;
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eady early in June, printed on hand-made Paper at the Chisivich&lt;br /&gt;
Press, in an edition of 350 copies, at 55. net, and 50 copies large&lt;br /&gt;
Paper, numbered and signed, at :cr. 6d. net,&lt;br /&gt;
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Ready shortly, post 8ro., cloth, 2S.&lt;br /&gt;
DANTE: Six Sermons.&lt;br /&gt;
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Author of &amp;quot;The Alphabet of Economic Science,&amp;quot; &amp;amp;c.&lt;br /&gt;
Realty shortly, post St&amp;#039;O. cloth ys. 6tl., luith portrait, &amp;amp;c.&lt;br /&gt;
GEORGE MEREDITH,&lt;br /&gt;
Novelist and Poet. Some Characteristics.&lt;br /&gt;
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With a Bibliography by John Lane.&lt;br /&gt;
London: Elkin Mathews, Vigo Street, London, W.&lt;br /&gt;
Sent, post free, upon application.&lt;br /&gt;
A Complete Catalogue of Works published by&lt;br /&gt;
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Containing the following Standard Works, which they&lt;br /&gt;
think will be found peculiarly suitable to Authors as&lt;br /&gt;
Works of Reference.&lt;br /&gt;
Bibliotheca Classica. 26 vols. (Onlyfewsetsleft).&lt;br /&gt;
Bohn&amp;#039;s Dictionary of Poetical Quotations.&lt;br /&gt;
Fourth Edition.&lt;br /&gt;
Bryan&amp;#039;s Dictionary of Painters and&lt;br /&gt;
Engravers. 2 volumes. New Edition, Revised. By&lt;br /&gt;
Walter Armstrong and others.&lt;br /&gt;
Cooper&amp;#039;s Biographical Dictionary. 2 volumes.&lt;br /&gt;
Denton&amp;#039;s England in the Fifteenth Century.&lt;br /&gt;
Dodd&amp;#039;s Epigrammatists. The most complete&lt;br /&gt;
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Gasc&amp;#039;s Concise Dictionary of the French&lt;br /&gt;
and English Languages. Fourth Edition, Revised.&lt;br /&gt;
Grimm&amp;#039;s Teutonic Mythology. 4 Volumes.&lt;br /&gt;
Guest&amp;#039;s History of English Rhythms.&lt;br /&gt;
Lewin&amp;#039;s Life and Epistles of St. Paul.&lt;br /&gt;
Illustrated. 2 volumes.&lt;br /&gt;
Long&amp;#039;s Decline of the Roman Republic.&lt;br /&gt;
5 volumes.&lt;br /&gt;
Lowndes&amp;#039; Bibliographer&amp;#039;s Manual of&lt;br /&gt;
English Literature. In n parts or 4 volumes.&lt;br /&gt;
Lupton&amp;#039;s Life of Dean Colet.&lt;br /&gt;
Redgrave&amp;#039;s Dictionary of Artists of the&lt;br /&gt;
English School.&lt;br /&gt;
Smith&amp;#039;s Synonyms and Antonyms.&lt;br /&gt;
Sowerby&amp;#039;s English Botany. 12 volumes.&lt;br /&gt;
Cloth, Half Morocco, and Whole Morocco.&lt;br /&gt;
Stevenson&amp;#039;s Dictionary of Roman Coins.&lt;br /&gt;
(Republican and Imperial).&lt;br /&gt;
Strickland&amp;#039;s Lives of the Queensof England.&lt;br /&gt;
8 volumes.&lt;br /&gt;
Webster&amp;#039;s English Dictionary. In Cloih,&lt;br /&gt;
Half Calf, Calf or Half Russia, and Russia.&lt;br /&gt;
Webster&amp;#039;s English Dictionary with Appen-&lt;br /&gt;
dices. Cloth, Half Calf, Calf or Half Russia, or Russia.&lt;br /&gt;
Wheeler&amp;#039;s Noted Names of Fiction.&lt;br /&gt;
Wright&amp;#039;s Dictionary of Obsolete and Pro-&lt;br /&gt;
vincial English. 2 volumes.&lt;br /&gt;
The following Works are offered at Reduced Prices.&lt;br /&gt;
Archer&amp;#039;s British Army.&lt;br /&gt;
Bloxam&amp;#039;s Ecclesiastical Architecture. 3 vols.&lt;br /&gt;
Burn&amp;#039;s Rome and the Campagna.&lt;br /&gt;
Burn&amp;#039;s Old Rome.&lt;br /&gt;
Castle&amp;#039;s Schools and Masters of Fence.&lt;br /&gt;
Davies&amp;#039;s Supplementary English Glossary.&lt;br /&gt;
Dyer&amp;#039;s Ancient Athens.&lt;br /&gt;
Palmer&amp;#039;s Desert of the Exodus. 2 Volumes.&lt;br /&gt;
(Only 12 Copies left).&lt;br /&gt;
Palmer&amp;#039;s Folk Etymology. (Only 8ocopies left.)&lt;br /&gt;
Scrivener&amp;#039;s Codex Bezae.&lt;br /&gt;
Smith&amp;#039;s Synonyms Discriminated.&lt;br /&gt;
London: GEORGE BELL &amp;amp; SONS, York St., Covent Garden.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 23 (#37) ##############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
AD VER TISEMENTS.&lt;br /&gt;
NEW BOOKS&lt;br /&gt;
A New Translation. By W. F. Smith, M.A., Fellow&lt;br /&gt;
and Lecturer of Saint John&amp;#039;s College, Cambridge,&lt;br /&gt;
Issued to Subscribers in a limited Edition of 750&lt;br /&gt;
copies, all numbered, of which 500 copies are for&lt;br /&gt;
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the above translation has been to render more&lt;br /&gt;
accessible, to explain and illustrate a book which&lt;br /&gt;
has exercised a wide influence on the French&lt;br /&gt;
language as well as on European literature.&lt;br /&gt;
A system of marginal reference has been&lt;br /&gt;
introduced. Great attention has been paid&lt;br /&gt;
RABELAIS } to t&amp;#039;le mst0&amp;quot;ca&amp;#039; aspect of the book, and&lt;br /&gt;
points bearing on the political and religous&lt;br /&gt;
affairs of the times have been carefully&lt;br /&gt;
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a whole, and as certain passages and parts&lt;br /&gt;
can no longer be presented in English, these&lt;br /&gt;
have been left in the original old French, where&lt;br /&gt;
they can be read by such as desire it. The work&lt;br /&gt;
will be accompanied by a life of Rabelais, a notice&lt;br /&gt;
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Prospectus giving/nil details ami ail information to be luul on&lt;br /&gt;
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A BOOK NECESSARY TO EVERY AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
SLANG AND ITS ANALOGUES &mdash; Past and&lt;br /&gt;
Present. B^jr John S. Farmer, Author of &amp;quot;Americanisms&mdash;Old&lt;br /&gt;
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The price will be mis&lt;br /&gt;
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ment sides. The price will be raised on completion as in the case of&lt;br /&gt;
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and Manners of the English People.&lt;br /&gt;
A&amp;#039;aUs and Queries says&mdash;* For the first time in a dictionary the subject&lt;br /&gt;
of English slang is seriously treated. Recent works have been catchpennies,&lt;br /&gt;
and Mr. Farmer is the first to treat the subject of sl;imj in .1 manner com-&lt;br /&gt;
mensurate with its importance. . . . Very full is Mr. Farmer&amp;#039;s list, the&lt;br /&gt;
first volume extending to over four luindred double columned pages. . . .&lt;br /&gt;
II is book commends itself warmly to our readers, and its progress cannot be&lt;br /&gt;
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Prospectus and all information to be hadfrom the Publisher.&lt;br /&gt;
AMERICANISMS: OLD AND NEW. By John&lt;br /&gt;
S. Farmer. In 1 vol. Foolscap 410. printed in antique style, and&lt;br /&gt;
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A booli for the library, desk, or general reading: for journalists,&lt;br /&gt;
Members of Parliament, public speakers, and all professional men. It is&lt;br /&gt;
a dictionary of words, phrases, and colloquialism:, peculiar to the United&lt;br /&gt;
States, British America, the West Indies, &amp;amp;c, &amp;amp;c, together with their&lt;br /&gt;
derivation, meaning, and application.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Certainly the r&amp;gt;est and completes! dictionary of Americanisms at&lt;br /&gt;
present existing.&amp;quot;&mdash;Athenaum.&lt;br /&gt;
THREE NEW BOOKS ON THE&lt;br /&gt;
HOLY LAND.&lt;br /&gt;
PALESTINE UNDER THE MOSLEMS. By&lt;br /&gt;
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Cloth extra, 12s. (yl.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;A work intended to render the mass of interesting Information about&lt;br /&gt;
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** .... is written throughout with a sort of loving care which&lt;br /&gt;
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Saturday Review.&lt;br /&gt;
Third Edition, now ready.&lt;br /&gt;
THE BIBLE AND MODERN DISCOVERIES.&lt;br /&gt;
By Henrv A. H \rper. With an Introduction by Walter Besant.&lt;br /&gt;
Coloured Map and numerous Illustrations, demy 8vo, i&amp;amp;r.&lt;br /&gt;
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NORTHERN AJLUN, &amp;quot;Within the Decapolis.&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
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D.C.L., I.L.D., R.E. ; Col. Sir Charles Warren, G.C.M.G., K.C.B.,&lt;br /&gt;
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An Illustrated Circular, giving all information about the above, will be&lt;br /&gt;
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Published for the Palestine Exploration Fund by&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 24 (#38) ##############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
24&lt;br /&gt;
AD VERTISEMENTS.&lt;br /&gt;
OBJECTS OF THE SOCIETY.&lt;br /&gt;
i&lt;br /&gt;
1. The maintenance, definition, and defence of literary property.&lt;br /&gt;
2. The consolidation and amendment of the laws of Domestic Copyright.&lt;br /&gt;
3. The promotion of International Copyright.&lt;br /&gt;
The first of these objects requires explanation. In order to defend Literary Property, the Society&lt;br /&gt;
acts as follows :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
a. It aims at defining and establishing the principles which should rule the methods of&lt;br /&gt;
publishing.&lt;br /&gt;
f). It examines agreements submitted to authors, and points out to them the clauses which&lt;br /&gt;
are injurious to their interests.&lt;br /&gt;
7. It advises authors as to the best publishers for their purpose, and keeps them out of the&lt;br /&gt;
hands of unscrupulous traders.&lt;br /&gt;
8. It publishes from time to time, books, papers, &amp;amp;c, on the subjects which fall within its&lt;br /&gt;
province.&lt;br /&gt;
e. In every other way possible the Society protects, warns, and informs its members as to&lt;br /&gt;
the pecuniary interest of their works.&lt;br /&gt;
WARNINGS,&lt;br /&gt;
Authors are most earnestly warned&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
(1) Not to sign any agreement of which the alleged cost of production forms an integral&lt;br /&gt;
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(2) Not to enter into any correspondence with publishers, who are not recommended by&lt;br /&gt;
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(3) Never, on any account whatever, to bind themselves down to any one firm of publishers.&lt;br /&gt;
(4) Not to accept any proposal of royalty without consultation with the Society.&lt;br /&gt;
(5) Not to accept any offer of money for MSS., without previously taking advice of the&lt;br /&gt;
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(7) Not, under ordinary circumstances, when a MS. has been refused by the well-known&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 24 (#39) ##############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
AD VER TISEMENTS.&lt;br /&gt;
iii.&lt;br /&gt;
PUBLICATIONS OF THE SOCIETY.&lt;br /&gt;
1. The Annual Report. That for January, 1890, can be had on application&lt;br /&gt;
to the Secretary.&lt;br /&gt;
2. The Author. A Monthly Journal, devoted especially to the protection&lt;br /&gt;
and maintenance of Literary Property.&lt;br /&gt;
3. The Grievances of Authors. (Field &amp;amp; Tuer). 2^. The Report of&lt;br /&gt;
three Meetings on the general subject of Literature and its defence,&lt;br /&gt;
held at Willis&amp;#039;s Rooms, March, 1887.&lt;br /&gt;
4. Literature and the Pension List. By W. Morris Colles, Barrister-&lt;br /&gt;
at-Law. (Henry Glaisher, 95, Strand, W.C.) \s. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
5. The History of the Societe des Gens de Lettres. By S. Squire&lt;br /&gt;
Sprigge, Secretary to the Society, is.&lt;br /&gt;
6. The Cost of Production. In this work specimens are given of the&lt;br /&gt;
most important forms of type, size of page, &amp;amp;c, with estimates showing&lt;br /&gt;
what it costs to produce the more common kinds of books. The work is&lt;br /&gt;
printed for members of the Society only. 2s. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
7. The Various Methods of Publication. By S. Squire Sprigce. In&lt;br /&gt;
this work, compiled from the papers in the Society&amp;#039;s offices, the various&lt;br /&gt;
kinds of agreements proposed by Publishers to Authors are examined, and&lt;br /&gt;
their meaning carefully explained, with an account of the various kinds of&lt;br /&gt;
fraud which have been made possible by the different clauses in their&lt;br /&gt;
agreements. The book is nearly ready, and will be issued as soon as&lt;br /&gt;
possible.&lt;br /&gt;
Other works bearing on the Literary Profession will follow.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 24 (#40) ##############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
ADVERTISEMENTS.&lt;br /&gt;
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</td><td>https://historysoa.com/files/original/5/239/1890-05-19-The-Author-1-1.pdf</td><td>publications, The Author</td></tr><tr><td>240</td><td>https://historysoa.com/items/show/240</td><td>The Author, Vol. 01 Issue 02 (June 1890)</td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=%3Cem%3EThe+Author%3C%2Fem%3E%2C+Vol.+01+Issue+02+%28June+1890%29&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;The Author&lt;/em&gt;, Vol. 01 Issue 02 (June 1890)&lt;/a&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015031017927&amp;amp;view=1up&amp;amp;seq=20&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; rel=&quot;noopener&quot;&gt;https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015031017927&lt;/a&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Publication&quot;&gt;Publication&lt;/a&gt;</td><td>1890-06-16-The-Author-1-2</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>25&ndash;58</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=89&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1&quot;&gt;1&lt;/a&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=76&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1890-06-16&quot;&gt;1890-06-16&lt;/a&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>2</td><td></td><td></td><td>18900616</td><td>Vol. 1.&mdash;No. 2.)&lt;br /&gt;
JUNE 16, 1890&lt;br /&gt;
[Price, Sixpence.&lt;br /&gt;
The Author.&lt;br /&gt;
THE ORGAN OF THE SOCIETY OF AUTHORS&lt;br /&gt;
(INCORPORATED).&lt;br /&gt;
CONDUCTED BY&lt;br /&gt;
WALTER BESANT.&lt;br /&gt;
Published for the Society be&lt;br /&gt;
ALEXANDER P. WATT, 2, PATERNOSTER SQUARE&lt;br /&gt;
LONDON, E.C.&lt;br /&gt;
1890.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 24 (#42) ##############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The Society of Authors (Incorporated).&lt;br /&gt;
PRESIDENT.&lt;br /&gt;
The RIGHT HON. THE LORD TENNYSON, D.C.L.&lt;br /&gt;
SIR EDWIN ARNOLD, K.C.S.I.&lt;br /&gt;
ROBERT BATEMAN.&lt;br /&gt;
Walter BESANT.&lt;br /&gt;
Rev. PROF. BONNEY, F.R.S.&lt;br /&gt;
J. COMYNS CARR.&lt;br /&gt;
EDWARD CLODD.&lt;br /&gt;
THE EARL OF DESART.&lt;br /&gt;
A. W. DUBOURG.&lt;br /&gt;
PROF. MICHAEL FOSTER, F.R.S.&lt;br /&gt;
HERBERT GARDNER, M.P.&lt;br /&gt;
RICHARD GARNETT, LL.D.&lt;br /&gt;
EDMUND GOSSE,&lt;br /&gt;
H. RIDER HAGGARD.&lt;br /&gt;
THOMAS HARDY.&lt;br /&gt;
PROF. E. RAY LANKESTER, F.R.S.&lt;br /&gt;
COUNCIL.&lt;br /&gt;
Rev. W. J. LOFTI&Euml;, F.S.A.&lt;br /&gt;
George MEREDITH.&lt;br /&gt;
HERMAN C. MERIVALE.&lt;br /&gt;
J. C. PARKINSON.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
THE EARL OF PEMBROKE AND MONTGOMERY&lt;br /&gt;
SIR FREDERICK POLLOCK, Bart., LL.D.&lt;br /&gt;
WALTER HERRIES POLLOCK.&lt;br /&gt;
A. G. Ross.&lt;br /&gt;
George AUGUSTUS SALA.&lt;br /&gt;
W. BAPTISTE&amp;#039; Scoones.&lt;br /&gt;
J. J. STEVENSON.&lt;br /&gt;
JAS. SULLY.&lt;br /&gt;
William MoY THOMAS.&lt;br /&gt;
H. D. Traill, D.C.L.&lt;br /&gt;
Hon. Counsel-E. M. UNDERDOWN, Q.C.&lt;br /&gt;
Auditor&mdash;Rev. C. H. MIDDLETON-WAKE, F.L.S.&lt;br /&gt;
COMMITTEE OF MANAGEMENT.&lt;br /&gt;
Chairman-Walter BESANT.&lt;br /&gt;
1. H. Rider HAGGARD.&lt;br /&gt;
I J. M. Lely.&lt;br /&gt;
ROBERT BATEMAN.&lt;br /&gt;
EDMUND Gosse.&lt;br /&gt;
SIR FREDERICK POLLOCK.&lt;br /&gt;
A. G. Ross.&lt;br /&gt;
Solicitors.&lt;br /&gt;
Messrs. Field, Roscoe, &amp;amp; Co., Lincoln&amp;#039;s Inn Fields.&lt;br /&gt;
Secretary-S. SQUIRE SPRIGGE.&lt;br /&gt;
OFFICES.&lt;br /&gt;
4, PORTUGAL STREET, LINCOLN&amp;#039;S INN FIELDS, W.C.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 24 (#43) ##############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
(The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly.)&lt;br /&gt;
CONDUCTED BY WALTER BESANT.&lt;br /&gt;
Vol. I.&mdash;No. 2.]&lt;br /&gt;
JUNE 16, 1890.&lt;br /&gt;
[Price Sixpence.&lt;br /&gt;
CONTENTS.&lt;br /&gt;
News and Notes&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Thou shah not Steal,&amp;quot; by Wilkie Collins&lt;br /&gt;
The Troubles of a Beginner&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Cursed Coincidences&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
The Exchange of Books&lt;br /&gt;
Leaflet No&amp;quot;. II.&mdash;On Royalties&lt;br /&gt;
Royal Literary Fund&lt;br /&gt;
A Hard Case, No. II&lt;br /&gt;
PACE&lt;br /&gt;
... 35&lt;br /&gt;
... 31&lt;br /&gt;
- 35&lt;br /&gt;
... 37&lt;br /&gt;
- 37&lt;br /&gt;
... 38&lt;br /&gt;
- 39&lt;br /&gt;
... 41&lt;br /&gt;
The Chestnut Bell&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The Art of Authorship&amp;quot; ...&lt;br /&gt;
Notes&lt;br /&gt;
Literary Puzzles&lt;br /&gt;
Questions, Cases, and Answers&lt;br /&gt;
At Work&lt;br /&gt;
New Books and New Editions&lt;br /&gt;
Advertisements&lt;br /&gt;
**AOE&lt;br /&gt;
. . 42&lt;br /&gt;
... 44&lt;br /&gt;
... 47&lt;br /&gt;
... 49&lt;br /&gt;
... 50&lt;br /&gt;
... 52&lt;br /&gt;
... 54&lt;br /&gt;
... 56&lt;br /&gt;
NEWS AND NOTES.&lt;br /&gt;
AMONG other suggestions received from&lt;br /&gt;
readers some have been sent anony-&lt;br /&gt;
mously. I thought it was unnecessary to&lt;br /&gt;
warn correspondents that no notice can be taken&lt;br /&gt;
of unsigned communications. As, however, the&lt;br /&gt;
warning has to be made, I hope that this note will&lt;br /&gt;
be sufficient.&lt;br /&gt;
It was stated in our last number that we proposed&lt;br /&gt;
inviting the First Lord of the Treasury to receive&lt;br /&gt;
a deputation on the Administration of the Civil&lt;br /&gt;
List Pension. A memorial was prepared and&lt;br /&gt;
sent with the letter. The following is the reply of&lt;br /&gt;
the Right Hon. W. H. Smith. The memorial will&lt;br /&gt;
be published in our next number with a lew obser-&lt;br /&gt;
vations on the whole subject in general and on Mr.&lt;br /&gt;
Smith&amp;#039;s letter in especial:&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
Downing Street,&lt;br /&gt;
June 6th, 1890.&lt;br /&gt;
Dear Sir,&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. W. H. Smith desires me to acknowledge&lt;br /&gt;
the receipt of your letter of the 24th ult., forward-&lt;br /&gt;
ing a memorial in regard to the Administration of&lt;br /&gt;
the Civil List Pension Fund, and requesting him&lt;br /&gt;
to receive a deputation on the subject.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Smith has carefully read the statements&lt;br /&gt;
and suggestions placed before him, and he need&lt;br /&gt;
not say that he would be glad to receive such a&lt;br /&gt;
vol. 1.&lt;br /&gt;
deputation if any useful purpose could be served&lt;br /&gt;
thereby; but he fears that there is some misappre-&lt;br /&gt;
hension as to the power of the First Lord of the&lt;br /&gt;
Treasury in regard to the Fund.&lt;br /&gt;
The administration is governed strictly by Act&lt;br /&gt;
of Parliament, and the intervention of the First&lt;br /&gt;
Lord is limited to that discretion which must in&lt;br /&gt;
such cases finally rest with some one responsible&lt;br /&gt;
minister; his decisions, although not subject to the&lt;br /&gt;
review of Parliament, are by Act yearly brought&lt;br /&gt;
under the cognisance of both Houses and of the&lt;br /&gt;
public, by the annual return of all pensions granted&lt;br /&gt;
within the year.&lt;br /&gt;
To make such changes as the memorial suggests&lt;br /&gt;
would necessitate a new Act of Parliament, and&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Smith does not think that there has been any&lt;br /&gt;
such expression of dissatisfaction either in the&lt;br /&gt;
House or outside of it as would justify the&lt;br /&gt;
proposal, while on the other hand, he fears that&lt;br /&gt;
Parliament would be very unlikely to agree to an&lt;br /&gt;
increase of the sum annually set apart for the&lt;br /&gt;
Pension List.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Smith must also point out that the figures&lt;br /&gt;
in the memorial, accepting them as fairly correct,&lt;br /&gt;
show that the practical administration of the&lt;br /&gt;
Fund is almost identical with the distribution&lt;br /&gt;
proposed by the Societies, namely, one-third to&lt;br /&gt;
the services rendered to the Sovereign and under&lt;br /&gt;
the Crown, and two-thirds to the representatives&lt;br /&gt;
of Science, Literature, and Art.&lt;br /&gt;
With this explanation, and looking also to the&lt;br /&gt;
extreme pressure of engagements on his time,&lt;br /&gt;
c&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 24 (#44) ##############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Zhe Society of Hutbors (Jncorporateb),&lt;br /&gt;
PRESIDENT.&lt;br /&gt;
The Right Hon. the LORD TENNYSON, D.C.L.&lt;br /&gt;
COUNCIL.&lt;br /&gt;
Rev. W. J. Loftie, F.S.A.&lt;br /&gt;
George Meredith.&lt;br /&gt;
Herman C. Merivale.&lt;br /&gt;
T. C. Parkinson.&lt;br /&gt;
The Earl of Pembroke and Montgomery&lt;br /&gt;
Sir Frederick Pollock, Bart., LL.D.&lt;br /&gt;
Walter Herries Pollock.&lt;br /&gt;
A. G. Ross.&lt;br /&gt;
George Augustus Sala.&lt;br /&gt;
W. Baptiste&amp;#039; Scoones.&lt;br /&gt;
J. J. Stevenson.&lt;br /&gt;
Jas. Sully.&lt;br /&gt;
William Moy Thomas.&lt;br /&gt;
H. D. Traill, D.C.L.&lt;br /&gt;
Bon. Con/isei&mdash;&amp;#039;E. M. Underdown, Q.C.&lt;br /&gt;
Auditor&mdash;Ret. C. H. Middleton-Wake, F.L.S.&lt;br /&gt;
COMMITTEE OF MANAGEMENT.&lt;br /&gt;
Chairman&mdash;Walter Besani&lt;br /&gt;
Robert Batbman. H. Rider Haggard.&lt;br /&gt;
Edmund Gosse. J. M. Lely.&lt;br /&gt;
Solicitors.&lt;br /&gt;
Messrs. Field, Roscoe. &amp;amp; Co., Lincoln&amp;#039;s Inn Fields.&lt;br /&gt;
Secretary&mdash;S. Squire Sprigge.&lt;br /&gt;
OFFICES.&lt;br /&gt;
4, Portugal Street, Lincoln&amp;#039;s Inn Fields, W.C.&lt;br /&gt;
Sir Edwin Arnold, K.C.S.I.&lt;br /&gt;
Robert Bateman.&lt;br /&gt;
Walter Besant.&lt;br /&gt;
Rev. Prof. Bonney, F.R.S.&lt;br /&gt;
J. Comyns Carr.&lt;br /&gt;
Edward Clodd.&lt;br /&gt;
The Earl of Desart.&lt;br /&gt;
A. W. Dubourg.&lt;br /&gt;
Prof. Michael Foster, F.R.S.&lt;br /&gt;
Herbert Gardner, M. P.&lt;br /&gt;
Richard Garnett, LL.D.&lt;br /&gt;
Edmund Gosse.&lt;br /&gt;
H. Rider Haggard.&lt;br /&gt;
Thomas Hardy.&lt;br /&gt;
Prof. E. Ray Lankester, F.R.S.&lt;br /&gt;
Sir Frederick Pollock.&lt;br /&gt;
A. G. Ross.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 25 (#45) ##############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
(The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly)&lt;br /&gt;
CONDUCTED BY WALTER BESANT.&lt;br /&gt;
Vol. I.&mdash;No. 2.]&lt;br /&gt;
JUNE 16, 1890.&lt;br /&gt;
[Price Sixpence.&lt;br /&gt;
CONTENTS.&lt;br /&gt;
News and Notes&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Thou shall not Steal,&amp;quot; by Wilkie Collins&lt;br /&gt;
The Troubles of a Beginner&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Cursed Coincidences&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
The Exchange of Books&lt;br /&gt;
Leaflet No~ II.&mdash;On Royalties&lt;br /&gt;
Royal Literary Fund&lt;br /&gt;
AHardCase.No.il&lt;br /&gt;
I ACE&lt;br /&gt;
... 25&lt;br /&gt;
... 31&lt;br /&gt;
&bull;&bull;■ 35&lt;br /&gt;
... 37&lt;br /&gt;
■&bull;&bull; 37&lt;br /&gt;
... 38&lt;br /&gt;
... 39&lt;br /&gt;
... 41&lt;br /&gt;
The Chestnut Bell&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The Art of Authorship&amp;quot; ...&lt;br /&gt;
Notes&lt;br /&gt;
Literary Puzzles&lt;br /&gt;
Questions, Cases, and Answers&lt;br /&gt;
At Work&lt;br /&gt;
New Books and New Editions&lt;br /&gt;
Advertisements&lt;br /&gt;
PAGE&lt;br /&gt;
&bull; &bull; 42&lt;br /&gt;
... 44&lt;br /&gt;
... 47&lt;br /&gt;
... 49&lt;br /&gt;
... 50&lt;br /&gt;
... 52&lt;br /&gt;
&bull;&bull;■ 54&lt;br /&gt;
... 56&lt;br /&gt;
A copy of this paper will be sent free to any member of the&lt;br /&gt;
Society for one twelvemonth. It is hoped, however, that most&lt;br /&gt;
members will subscribe to the paper. The yearly subscription is&lt;br /&gt;
6s. 6d. including postage, to be sent to the Society, 4, Portugal&lt;br /&gt;
Street, W.C.&lt;br /&gt;
111C XVIglJl HUH. &raquo;&raquo;. 11. OllllLU. inv. uuuuuu. .....&lt;br /&gt;
be published in our next number with a few obser-&lt;br /&gt;
vations on the whole subject in general and on Mr.&lt;br /&gt;
Smith&amp;#039;s letter in especial:&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
Downing Street,&lt;br /&gt;
June 6th, 1890.&lt;br /&gt;
Dear Sir,&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. W. H. Smith desires me to acknowledge&lt;br /&gt;
the receipt of your letter of the 24th ult., forward-&lt;br /&gt;
ing a memorial in regard to the Administration of&lt;br /&gt;
the Civil List Pension Fund, and requesting him&lt;br /&gt;
to receive a deputation on the subject.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Smith has carefully read the statements&lt;br /&gt;
and suggestions placed before him, and he need&lt;br /&gt;
not say that he would be glad to receive such a&lt;br /&gt;
vol. 1.&lt;br /&gt;
nOUSC Or UUIS1UC VI 11 tu mmu jUu...;&lt;br /&gt;
proposal, while on the other hand, he fears that&lt;br /&gt;
Parliament would be very unlikely to agree to an&lt;br /&gt;
increase of the sum annually set apart for the&lt;br /&gt;
Pension List.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Smith must also point out that the figures&lt;br /&gt;
in the memorial, accepting them as fairly correct,&lt;br /&gt;
show that the practical administration of the&lt;br /&gt;
Fund is almost identical with the distribution&lt;br /&gt;
proposed by the Societies, namely, one-third to&lt;br /&gt;
the services rendered to the Sovereign and under&lt;br /&gt;
the Crown, and two-thirds to the representatives&lt;br /&gt;
of Science, Literature, and Art.&lt;br /&gt;
With this explanation, and looking also to the&lt;br /&gt;
extreme pressure of engagements on his time,&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 26 (#46) ##############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
26&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Smith hopes that the gentlemen represented&lt;br /&gt;
in the memorial will not feel it necessary to seek&lt;br /&gt;
for a personal interview.&lt;br /&gt;
I remain, Dear Sir,&lt;br /&gt;
Yours faithfully,&lt;br /&gt;
S. S. Sprigge, Esq. C. Maude.&lt;br /&gt;
It is pleasant to find that one&amp;#039;s efforts are&lt;br /&gt;
appreciated by all the persons concerned. I am&lt;br /&gt;
therefore glad to report that The Author has&lt;br /&gt;
received a cordial welcome from the Publisher&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
Circular. It has also received the kind of criticism&lt;br /&gt;
which somewhat cools the cordiality. Let us re-&lt;br /&gt;
peat, therefore, one point on which we have always&lt;br /&gt;
insisted and which those who profess to write in&lt;br /&gt;
the trade interest always try to evade or else boldly&lt;br /&gt;
deny, viz., that there is very little speculation or&lt;br /&gt;
risk in modern publishing. However, since the&lt;br /&gt;
Publisher&amp;#039;s Circular declares that the Society has&lt;br /&gt;
their &amp;quot;most hearty sympathy&amp;quot; in asking for &amp;quot;just&lt;br /&gt;
and honest treatment, fair and open agreements,&lt;br /&gt;
and honourable observance of those agreements,&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
we will not find fault with these criticisms, and&lt;br /&gt;
we shall look for the practical co-operation of the&lt;br /&gt;
Publisher&amp;#039;s Circular, especially in our determination&lt;br /&gt;
to show authors what, in their agreements, they&lt;br /&gt;
concede to publishers and what they keep to them-&lt;br /&gt;
selves.&lt;br /&gt;
I am happy to report that The Author has met&lt;br /&gt;
with a very satisfactory reception from all quarters.&lt;br /&gt;
The &amp;quot;literary ladies &amp;quot; met at dinner on the 30th&lt;br /&gt;
of May at the Criterion. The chair was occupied&lt;br /&gt;
by Mrs. L. T. Meade, who was supported by Miss&lt;br /&gt;
Mabel Collins, Mrs. Pennell, Miss Corkran, and&lt;br /&gt;
Mrs. Grahame R. Tomson. Letters of apology&lt;br /&gt;
for non-attendance were read from Lady Colin&lt;br /&gt;
Campbell, Miss Jessie Fothergill, Mrs. Crawford,&lt;br /&gt;
Miss Sarah Tytler, and Mrs. Leith Adams. Let us&lt;br /&gt;
hope that a pleasant evening was the result. We&lt;br /&gt;
shall be very glad to see the literary ladies side by&lt;br /&gt;
side with the literary men at our own dinner next&lt;br /&gt;
month. And I, for one, have no doubt as to which&lt;br /&gt;
will prove the pleasanter function. Literature, like&lt;br /&gt;
the world itself, is of both sexes, and therefore&lt;br /&gt;
happiest when fully represented.&lt;br /&gt;
The fusion of the two old publishing firms of&lt;br /&gt;
Longman and Rivington, or rather the absorption&lt;br /&gt;
of the latter by the former, destroys one of the few&lt;br /&gt;
remaining old publishing firms. The history of&lt;br /&gt;
Literature in all ages is that of the publication&lt;br /&gt;
of new works, if only for the simple reason&lt;br /&gt;
that authors must work to live, and that if men&lt;br /&gt;
are not forced to work they will for the most part&lt;br /&gt;
produce nothing. The history of Literature in the&lt;br /&gt;
eighteenth century is very closely bound up with the&lt;br /&gt;
two houses of Longman and Rivington. If it were&lt;br /&gt;
written, which never has been done, we should learn&lt;br /&gt;
howtheliterary public&mdash;the people who read and look&lt;br /&gt;
for new books, and buy them&mdash;gradually increased&lt;br /&gt;
during this century, until by its close publishing&lt;br /&gt;
was no longer a speculative and uncertain business&lt;br /&gt;
conducted in ignorance by persons who had small&lt;br /&gt;
means of judging the state of the market, who&lt;br /&gt;
bought MSS. for so many guineas apiece, losing&lt;br /&gt;
largely by one work, and doing pretty well by&lt;br /&gt;
another. By the end of the eighteenth century the&lt;br /&gt;
reign of the Book Clubs had already well set in;&lt;br /&gt;
these were literary centres in provincial towns, such&lt;br /&gt;
as Norwich and Birmingham; the clergy were&lt;br /&gt;
scholars and students; a publisher knew where he&lt;br /&gt;
could &amp;quot;place&amp;quot; a certain number of every good&lt;br /&gt;
book; and a great change had come over the&lt;br /&gt;
whole art and mystery of publishing books. Prac-&lt;br /&gt;
tically, &amp;quot;Risk,&amp;quot; that good old Bogey whose demise&lt;br /&gt;
is still so persistently denied, had already vanished.&lt;br /&gt;
&diams;&lt;br /&gt;
There appeared lately in the New York Tribune&lt;br /&gt;
a communication signed by the well-known letters,&lt;br /&gt;
G. W. S., which, beginning with the relations of&lt;br /&gt;
bookseller to publisher, passed on to the questions&lt;br /&gt;
in which we ourselves are mainly interested. It is&lt;br /&gt;
this portion of the letter which we reproduce, sup-&lt;br /&gt;
pressing the name referred to, as it has nothing to&lt;br /&gt;
do with the argument.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;It is A. B. who, among others, makes himself&lt;br /&gt;
responsible for the statement that it is rapidly&lt;br /&gt;
becoming impossible for a bookseller, pure and&lt;br /&gt;
simple, dealing in current literature, to make a living&lt;br /&gt;
profit from his business. No doubt A. B. is right,&lt;br /&gt;
if the publisher&amp;#039;s view of what constitutes a &amp;#039;living&lt;br /&gt;
profit&amp;#039; is to prevail. A. B. is a partner in a very&lt;br /&gt;
eminent publishing house, and anything he says&lt;br /&gt;
on the publishing or selling of books deserves&lt;br /&gt;
attention. He has written a long letter about&lt;br /&gt;
bookselling to a trade organ, and expresses some&lt;br /&gt;
sympathy with the booksellers in their present&lt;br /&gt;
difficulties. Before we proceed with that, might&lt;br /&gt;
I suggest to A. B. that some of his sympathies&lt;br /&gt;
might be bestowed on another person concerned&lt;br /&gt;
in the book business, the author? If the figures&lt;br /&gt;
I have given above are correct, the seller of books,&lt;br /&gt;
even in his present wretched estate, makes a profit&lt;br /&gt;
of 30 per cent. Will A. B. be so kind as to tell&lt;br /&gt;
us in what proportion the profits on a successful&lt;br /&gt;
book are distributed between author and publisher?&lt;br /&gt;
Does the author make a &amp;#039; living profit&amp;#039; on what&lt;br /&gt;
is commonly the only capital he possesses, his&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 27 (#47) ##############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
27&lt;br /&gt;
brains? Let us take an imaginary case. We will&lt;br /&gt;
suppose that an eminent firm publishes a book,&lt;br /&gt;
say, of reminiscences in two handsome volumes at&lt;br /&gt;
$7.50, and that, notwithstanding the high price,&lt;br /&gt;
the public buys four editions of it. That, surely,&lt;br /&gt;
is a successful book, and one that ought to pay&lt;br /&gt;
everybody concerned a living profit, and perhaps&lt;br /&gt;
something more. Does A. B. think he could find&lt;br /&gt;
out what share of the proceeds the author received&lt;br /&gt;
and how much the publisher kept for himself, and,&lt;br /&gt;
if he could, will he let us know?&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;A private transaction? Oh, no, A. B., that is&lt;br /&gt;
one of several mistakes into which you publishers&lt;br /&gt;
occasionally fall. It is a matter of very considerable&lt;br /&gt;
public interest. It concerns the community deeply&lt;br /&gt;
that literature should be encouraged, and should&lt;br /&gt;
be profitable to the producer of it. The patron on&lt;br /&gt;
whom the author once in some measure depended&lt;br /&gt;
has disappeared. The publisher has taken his&lt;br /&gt;
place. He is, or ought to be, the Maecenas of the&lt;br /&gt;
nineteenth century. But if Johnson were living&lt;br /&gt;
now, do you think he would soften the terrible&lt;br /&gt;
lines which he wrote under the sting of Lord&lt;br /&gt;
Chesterfield&amp;#039;s neglect?&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;#039;There mark what ills the scholar&amp;#039;s life assail,&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
Toil, envy, want, the patron and the jail.&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;To substitute publisher for patron would spoil&lt;br /&gt;
the metre. Would it much affect the sense?&lt;br /&gt;
The publisher is a man of business, the author is&lt;br /&gt;
not, or seldom is. Do you think publishers have&lt;br /&gt;
always borne that in mind? They have drawn&lt;br /&gt;
their own contracts. Have the interests of the&lt;br /&gt;
author or of the publisher been most carefully&lt;br /&gt;
considered in those printed forms, filled up ac-&lt;br /&gt;
cording to circumstances which are presented to&lt;br /&gt;
the author, all unacquainted as he is with affairs,&lt;br /&gt;
for him to sign?&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Do not imagine, my dear A. B., that I address&lt;br /&gt;
these questions to you because I mean to imply&lt;br /&gt;
that you personally do not conduct your business&lt;br /&gt;
on the most honourable principles. I am per-&lt;br /&gt;
suaded that you do. But I apprehend you would&lt;br /&gt;
admit, or perhaps even assert, that among your&lt;br /&gt;
many rivals in the business of publishing books&lt;br /&gt;
are to be found some whose treatment of authors is&lt;br /&gt;
less considerate than your own. I will not say, and&lt;br /&gt;
perhaps you would not, that any of them are dis-&lt;br /&gt;
honest. I prefer to use a word which was a&lt;br /&gt;
favourite with Matthew Arnold, and to suggest&lt;br /&gt;
that in their dealings with the authors on whose&lt;br /&gt;
productions their own prosperity depends, some&lt;br /&gt;
of them are sometimes indelicate. You would not,&lt;br /&gt;
I think, refuse to go as far as that. You would&lt;br /&gt;
say, no doubt, there are publishers and publishers,&lt;br /&gt;
and that not every firm is so scrupulous in its trans-&lt;br /&gt;
actions or so high-minded as your own.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;If they were, how would you explain, for ex-&lt;br /&gt;
ample, the existence of the Incorporated Society of&lt;br /&gt;
Authors, and what construction would you put&lt;br /&gt;
upon some of its recent proceedings? Some of&lt;br /&gt;
the most respected and popular authors of the&lt;br /&gt;
day are members of that Society. They have&lt;br /&gt;
an executive committee, and that committee&lt;br /&gt;
go so far as to declare that there are firms&lt;br /&gt;
of so-called publishers which exist solely by&lt;br /&gt;
robbery and cheating. Surely you, and all other&lt;br /&gt;
publishers of high character and repute, must&lt;br /&gt;
desire to dissociate yourselves as widely as possible&lt;br /&gt;
from the scoundrels who profess to carry on the&lt;br /&gt;
same business that you do. You would agree with&lt;br /&gt;
the committee, would you not, in their urgent re-&lt;br /&gt;
commendation that authors should send their&lt;br /&gt;
agreements with publishers for examination by the&lt;br /&gt;
Society before signing? If there were clauses in&lt;br /&gt;
those agreements injurious to the author, he would&lt;br /&gt;
be warned not to sign. If there were none, no&lt;br /&gt;
harm would be done. You would heartily dis-&lt;br /&gt;
approve, I am sure, every attempt to induce an&lt;br /&gt;
unwary writer to bind himself not to publish in&lt;br /&gt;
future with any other house than that which was&lt;br /&gt;
then to issue a particular book&mdash;an attempt which&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Besant calls monstrous and indecent. You&lt;br /&gt;
would, if the Society called upon you for advice,&lt;br /&gt;
strike out that agreed statement of the cost of&lt;br /&gt;
production which the less delicate publisher some-&lt;br /&gt;
times inserts; and is sometimes careless enough&lt;br /&gt;
to exaggerate. You would not justify for a&lt;br /&gt;
moment the refusal of a publisher to submit his&lt;br /&gt;
books to examination, in order that his statement&lt;br /&gt;
of the expenses of publication, of the number of&lt;br /&gt;
copies printed and sold, and other such interesting&lt;br /&gt;
and vital particulars, might undergo an indepen-&lt;br /&gt;
dent audit. You will rejoice in the appearance of&lt;br /&gt;
that little treatise on &amp;#039;The Cost of Production,&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
and that other now preparing on &amp;#039;The Different&lt;br /&gt;
Methods of Publishing&amp;#039;; including, I think, the&lt;br /&gt;
Half-Profit System, and probably pointing out the&lt;br /&gt;
method by which the indelicate publisher charges&lt;br /&gt;
the author full price for advertisements which cost&lt;br /&gt;
the publishers nothing, and omits to deduct the&lt;br /&gt;
discount he obtains on the nominal prices of paper,&lt;br /&gt;
printing and other important items. Mr. Besant,&lt;br /&gt;
less scrupulous in his choice of words than our&lt;br /&gt;
lamented friend Arnold, talks of frauds. You&lt;br /&gt;
would join him in exposing and repressing and&lt;br /&gt;
preventing them. In short, you and the Incor-&lt;br /&gt;
porated Society of Authors have so many aims&lt;br /&gt;
and interests in common that you will perhaps&lt;br /&gt;
permit me to wonder that you are not already a&lt;br /&gt;
member of it. For the one person to whom it is&lt;br /&gt;
of the utmost consequence that the business of&lt;br /&gt;
publishing should be freed from all stains and all&lt;br /&gt;
suspicion is the publisher.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
vol.. 1.&lt;br /&gt;
c 2&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 28 (#48) ##############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
28&lt;br /&gt;
THE A UTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
The death of Mr. Fletcher Harper, the senior of the&lt;br /&gt;
second generation of the brothers, removes another&lt;br /&gt;
of the American firm which first began to recognize&lt;br /&gt;
the right of English authors. Perhaps the child&lt;br /&gt;
is already born in the United States who will,&lt;br /&gt;
before he finally droops his snow-white head, see&lt;br /&gt;
a tardy justice sullenly granted. But we must not&lt;br /&gt;
hold out illusive hopes. The great American&lt;br /&gt;
public from whom are taken the members of&lt;br /&gt;
Congress are not exactly composed of gentlemen,&lt;br /&gt;
nor are they in their public, any more than their&lt;br /&gt;
private acts, guided by the delicate sense of honour&lt;br /&gt;
for which we ourselves still try to retain a traditional&lt;br /&gt;
reverence. In fact we are too apt to suppose that&lt;br /&gt;
the cultivated, well-bred American cousin we meet&lt;br /&gt;
here is a specimen&mdash;perhaps a little favourable&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
of the ordinary citizen of that big Republic which&lt;br /&gt;
will perhaps some day be great as well as big.&lt;br /&gt;
The attitude taken by the American editors and&lt;br /&gt;
authors alike on the Copyright Question is every-&lt;br /&gt;
thing that can be desired, or, indeed, expected of a&lt;br /&gt;
body of gentlemen. It must not be thought, there-&lt;br /&gt;
fore, that in publishing Wilkie Collins&amp;#039;s views we&lt;br /&gt;
are in the least reflecting upon our American con-&lt;br /&gt;
jrlres. One of them writes, &amp;quot;The Copyright Bill&lt;br /&gt;
was defeated by ignorance misled by greed, but we&lt;br /&gt;
hope to retrieve our reputation soon. Everybody&lt;br /&gt;
is hard at work to this end.&amp;quot; Wilkie Collins says&lt;br /&gt;
nothing so severe.&lt;br /&gt;
Here is a practical suggestion. Some time ago&lt;br /&gt;
we poor English had to pay, justly or unjustly,&lt;br /&gt;
^3,000,000 for the Alabama claims. The claims&lt;br /&gt;
did not amount to half that money. Suppose the&lt;br /&gt;
Government of the U.S.A. were to hand over the&lt;br /&gt;
difference to British authors. The moral effect in&lt;br /&gt;
the States of such an act of reparation would be&lt;br /&gt;
enormous, while its material effect in this country&lt;br /&gt;
would be, to say the least, extremely beneficial to a&lt;br /&gt;
hard-working and deserving set of men and women.&lt;br /&gt;
This is what Mr. Lowell says :&mdash;&amp;quot; I have had too&lt;br /&gt;
long experience of the providential thickness of&lt;br /&gt;
the human skull, as well as of the eventual success&lt;br /&gt;
of all reasonable reforms, to be discouraged by the&lt;br /&gt;
temporary defeat of any measure which I believe&lt;br /&gt;
to be sound. I am too old to be persuaded by any&lt;br /&gt;
appearances, however specious, that truth has lost or&lt;br /&gt;
can lose that divine quality which gives her immortal&lt;br /&gt;
advantage over error. Foreign right to property in&lt;br /&gt;
books stands precisely on the same footing as Ameri-&lt;br /&gt;
can home right, and the moral wrong of stealing&lt;br /&gt;
either is equally great. But literary property is at&lt;br /&gt;
a disadvantage, because, as the appropriation is not&lt;br /&gt;
open, gross, and palpable, it is not regarded as&lt;br /&gt;
wrongful. It touches the public conscience more&lt;br /&gt;
faintly. In ordinary cases it is the thief, but in&lt;br /&gt;
this case the thing stolen, that is invisible. To&lt;br /&gt;
steal is no doubt more immediately profitable than&lt;br /&gt;
acquisition by the more tedious methods of honesty,&lt;br /&gt;
but it is nevertheless apt to prove costlier in the&lt;br /&gt;
long run. How costly our own experiments in&lt;br /&gt;
larceny have been, only those know who have&lt;br /&gt;
studied the rise and progress of our literature,&lt;br /&gt;
which has been forced to grow as virtue is said to&lt;br /&gt;
do, in spite of weight laid upon it. But, even if&lt;br /&gt;
this particular form of dishonesty against which we&lt;br /&gt;
are contending, were always and everywhere com-&lt;br /&gt;
mercially profitable, I think the American people&lt;br /&gt;
are so honest that they may be made to see that&lt;br /&gt;
profit which is allowed to be legitimate by us alone&lt;br /&gt;
among all civilised nations, profit, too, which goes&lt;br /&gt;
wholly into the pockets of a few unscrupulous men,&lt;br /&gt;
must have something queer about it, something&lt;br /&gt;
which even a country so rich as ours cannot afford.&lt;br /&gt;
I have lived to see more than one successful appeal&lt;br /&gt;
from the unreason of the people&amp;#039;s representatives to&lt;br /&gt;
the reason of the people themselves. I am there-&lt;br /&gt;
fore not to be tired with waiting. It is wearisome&lt;br /&gt;
to ourselves and to others to go on repeating&lt;br /&gt;
arguments which we have been using these forty&lt;br /&gt;
years, and which to us seem so self-evident, but&lt;br /&gt;
I think it is true that no reformer has ever gained&lt;br /&gt;
his end who has not first made himself an intoler-&lt;br /&gt;
able bore to the vast majority of his kind.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Out of the fine chorus of indignation which has&lt;br /&gt;
ascended from the better class of American papers&lt;br /&gt;
unto the heavens like incense, and, like that fragrant&lt;br /&gt;
smoke, probably of small practical use, I extract&lt;br /&gt;
the following from &amp;quot;America,&amp;quot; a Chicago paper of&lt;br /&gt;
great promise.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The International Copyright Bill has been&lt;br /&gt;
slaughtered in the House by protectionists after&lt;br /&gt;
almost all the authors&amp;#039; interests in it had been&lt;br /&gt;
sacrificed to the manufacturers and mechanics in&lt;br /&gt;
order to get protectionist votes for the bill. There&lt;br /&gt;
was very little protection for authors in the bill,&lt;br /&gt;
and a great deal of protection for publishers and&lt;br /&gt;
paper-makers and type-setters, and then the bill&lt;br /&gt;
was knifed by the statesmen who have great respect&lt;br /&gt;
for manual labourers, who are numerous on election&lt;br /&gt;
day, and none for authors, whose vote is not a&lt;br /&gt;
political factor. We Americans look well, do we&lt;br /&gt;
not, rejecting an International Copyright Law for&lt;br /&gt;
fear that it would make books dear; that is, after&lt;br /&gt;
paying for the paper and the type-setting, we flatly&lt;br /&gt;
refuse to pay anything additional for the author.&lt;br /&gt;
Our statesmen oppose the bill because they want&lt;br /&gt;
cheap books for the people. By all means then,&lt;br /&gt;
let us steal the books as well as the learning, or the&lt;br /&gt;
imagination contained therein. Let us repeal the&lt;br /&gt;
law against horse stealing, and we may all ride.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 29 (#49) ##############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE A UTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
29&lt;br /&gt;
This objection to the International Copyright Bill,&lt;br /&gt;
that under it book purchasers would have to pay the&lt;br /&gt;
foreign author of the book something, is the most&lt;br /&gt;
shameful proposition I have happened to hear in&lt;br /&gt;
Congress. The interest of the American author&lt;br /&gt;
is perfectly plain; if the American publisher can&lt;br /&gt;
get English copy for nothing, he will be propor-&lt;br /&gt;
tionately unwilling to buy a copy of an American&lt;br /&gt;
author. The Congress that proposes to pass the&lt;br /&gt;
McKinley bill for the additional protection of&lt;br /&gt;
American manual labour, refuses to pass the In-&lt;br /&gt;
ternational Copyright Bill for the protection of&lt;br /&gt;
American intellectual labour. It is easy to see&lt;br /&gt;
what kind of labour we value most highly.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
How it strikes the American author, again, is set&lt;br /&gt;
forth by Mr. J. D. Gilden, in &amp;quot;The Critic.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Says Pirate A. to Victim B. :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;You&amp;#039;ve got no reason to complain;&lt;br /&gt;
Just see how popular you be;&lt;br /&gt;
Your books is read from Tex. to Maine.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Were not the foreign stuff &amp;#039; free grat.&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
I&amp;#039;d buy some native fellow&amp;#039;s wares;&lt;br /&gt;
Just paste that &amp;#039;memo.&amp;#039; in your hat,&lt;br /&gt;
And don&amp;#039;t go puttin&amp;#039; on such airs.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Aye, true enough my books are read,&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
No doubt your imprint makes them sell;&lt;br /&gt;
But if on air I must be fed,&lt;br /&gt;
Why won&amp;#039;t that fare serve you as well?&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Henceforth we both will write for fame,&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
I write, you publish, free of charge;&lt;br /&gt;
Whatever type proclaims my name,&lt;br /&gt;
Yours shall be printed just as large.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Should profits by some chance accrue,&lt;br /&gt;
Deed them forthwith to charity:&lt;br /&gt;
I&amp;#039;m rich, of course; and as for you,&lt;br /&gt;
What&amp;#039;s wealth to popularity?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
How the present question struck Wilkie Collins&lt;br /&gt;
is pretty well known. The paper printed in this&lt;br /&gt;
number by him was recovered by accident, and is&lt;br /&gt;
here published by permission of his literary executor.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Edwin Waugh, the poet, is dead. With him&lt;br /&gt;
dies a pension on the Civil List. It has been pro-&lt;br /&gt;
posed to the First Lord of the Treasury that he&lt;br /&gt;
should transfer this pension to Mr. Ben. Brierly,&lt;br /&gt;
the well-known Lancashire writer. Mr. W. H.&lt;br /&gt;
Smith cannot transfer a pension which dies with its&lt;br /&gt;
recipient. He will, however, consider Mr. Brierly&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
claims.&lt;br /&gt;
The centenary dinner of the Royal Literary Fund&lt;br /&gt;
took place on May 14th, the Prince of Wales being&lt;br /&gt;
in the chair. This venerable Society was founded,&lt;br /&gt;
and still exists, for the purpose of granting doles&lt;br /&gt;
to distressed authors. It administers a good deal&lt;br /&gt;
of money in this way every year. It is sad that&lt;br /&gt;
there should be distressed literary men and it is&lt;br /&gt;
very good indeed that there should be a fund for&lt;br /&gt;
their relief. The Prince of Wales, in an excellent&lt;br /&gt;
speech, dwelt largely on the precarious nature of&lt;br /&gt;
the literary calling. The occupation of the literary&lt;br /&gt;
man, he said, is uncertain; his remuneration is&lt;br /&gt;
not high. There is no flow of promotion for literary-&lt;br /&gt;
men. All this is true indeed; it is said every year&lt;br /&gt;
at the dinner; never once has it been asked by the&lt;br /&gt;
Council of this Society why this remuneration of&lt;br /&gt;
the literary man is so small&mdash;why his calling is so&lt;br /&gt;
uncertain. Well: it is small and uncertain because&lt;br /&gt;
there is no rule arrived at as to the share which he&lt;br /&gt;
should justly take in the proceeds of his own labours.&lt;br /&gt;
When that rule is airived at and put into practice&lt;br /&gt;
the labours of the Royal Literary Fund will be con-&lt;br /&gt;
fined to the relief of the distressed incompetent.&lt;br /&gt;
It may be asked why our Society does not at once&lt;br /&gt;
lay down this Golden Rule; well, there are two&lt;br /&gt;
reasons, of which the first should be enough, viz.,&lt;br /&gt;
(1) that the Society has not yet arrived at the Golden&lt;br /&gt;
Rule, though it is getting nearer, and (2) that there&lt;br /&gt;
is no use in laying it down until public opinion is&lt;br /&gt;
riper. It is a rule well known in legislation that&lt;br /&gt;
to make laws before the people are ready for them,&lt;br /&gt;
unless you can carry them out in spite of popular&lt;br /&gt;
resistance and apathy, is not good government.&lt;br /&gt;
Let us go on a little longer teaching people the&lt;br /&gt;
reality of literary property and its sacredness. Let&lt;br /&gt;
us go on a little longer hammering into the heads of&lt;br /&gt;
authors their folly and madness in signing agree-&lt;br /&gt;
ments by which they ignorantly give themselves&lt;br /&gt;
away and go into slavery. We shall then have a&lt;br /&gt;
better chance with our Golden Rule.&lt;br /&gt;
&diams;&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. John Morley, who always speaks&amp;quot; well on&lt;br /&gt;
literature, made a very curious slip the other day.&lt;br /&gt;
He stated that there are not fifty or even twenty&lt;br /&gt;
men and women who live by authorship. Why, by&lt;br /&gt;
the writing of novels alone there are at least fifty&lt;br /&gt;
who make over a thousand a year, let alone a vast&lt;br /&gt;
number, especially ladies, who live on incomes of&lt;br /&gt;
a hundred or two made by authorship. As for this&lt;br /&gt;
great mass we may find at an early opportunity some-&lt;br /&gt;
thing profitable as well as interesting to say about&lt;br /&gt;
them and their incomes and their methods of work.&lt;br /&gt;
I have written a small pamphlet for the Publi-&lt;br /&gt;
cation Committee of the Society for the Promotion&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 30 (#50) ##############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
3&deg;&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
of Christian Knowledge. My intention has been&lt;br /&gt;
to point out to this body, first, certain elementary&lt;br /&gt;
laws which govern literary property and its ad-&lt;br /&gt;
ministration, &amp;amp;c, and next, to set forth certain&lt;br /&gt;
cases which illustrate their own administration of&lt;br /&gt;
the literary property in their hand. Lastly, I have&lt;br /&gt;
invited them to draw their own conclusions for&lt;br /&gt;
themselves as to their own methods. There is no&lt;br /&gt;
desire to make any money by this pamphlet&mdash;■&lt;br /&gt;
which is published by Mr. Henry Glaisher in the&lt;br /&gt;
Strand&mdash;and if any member of this Society would&lt;br /&gt;
like a copy I will send him one on the simple con-&lt;br /&gt;
dition that he undertakes to read it and to pass it&lt;br /&gt;
on to some person interested in the Society for the&lt;br /&gt;
Promotion of Christian Knowledge.&lt;br /&gt;
The following explains itself. The ingenious&lt;br /&gt;
Rand, M&amp;#039;Nally and Company, of Chicago and&lt;br /&gt;
New York, have added a new terror to literary men.&lt;br /&gt;
Not only do they steal their works but they alter&lt;br /&gt;
and mutilate and ruin them. The idea will doubt-&lt;br /&gt;
less be copied and widely adopted in Pirate-land.&lt;br /&gt;
In a few years, probably, there will be two Rider&lt;br /&gt;
Haggards in the field, one of Great Britain and the&lt;br /&gt;
other of that other country, totally unlike each&lt;br /&gt;
other and of literary reputation entirely different.&lt;br /&gt;
Let us have patience.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Gentlemen, June $rd, 1890.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;A pirated edition of my novel &amp;#039; Beatrice&amp;#039; has&lt;br /&gt;
been forwarded to me, bearing your names as its&lt;br /&gt;
publishers. I find, on lookng through it, that the&lt;br /&gt;
book has been hacked and hewed till it bears&lt;br /&gt;
about as much resemblance to the work which left&lt;br /&gt;
my hand as an oaked felled and barked does to the&lt;br /&gt;
same tree in leaf.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Thus, to take one or two examples among&lt;br /&gt;
many which offer:&mdash;Chapter 18 has been reduced&lt;br /&gt;
to little more than three pages, and from chapters&lt;br /&gt;
25 and 26 some 16 pages have been omitted bodily.&lt;br /&gt;
Nor is this all; another chapter has been mis-&lt;br /&gt;
named, and in one place, at least, your editor, or,&lt;br /&gt;
judging from the style, perhaps I should hazard, your&lt;br /&gt;
compositor, has tried his hand at improving my text&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;has printed under my name words which I never&lt;br /&gt;
wrote. In short, the story is turned into a string&lt;br /&gt;
of disjointed situations, its life, spirit, and meaning&lt;br /&gt;
are gone, all of which is done without warning to&lt;br /&gt;
the reader, and, I need hardly add, without reference&lt;br /&gt;
to the author.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;At first I believed that these evils must have&lt;br /&gt;
been wrought maliciously, perhaps to save expense&lt;br /&gt;
in the printer&amp;#039;s bill, but reflection shows me that it&lt;br /&gt;
cannot be. Of course, when the Legislature of your&lt;br /&gt;
country, alone among those of civilized nations,&lt;br /&gt;
has hoisted the black flag, not merely by tolerating&lt;br /&gt;
an established custom but publicly and after full&lt;br /&gt;
debate&mdash;thereby declaring the labour of foreign&lt;br /&gt;
writers to be the spoil of any who wish to profit by&lt;br /&gt;
it&mdash;it would be Quixotic of you to refuse to sail&lt;br /&gt;
beneath that flag. But I feel convinced that your&lt;br /&gt;
native courtesy and kindness would prevent you&lt;br /&gt;
knowingly from treating an author as I have been&lt;br /&gt;
treated in this instance. You would remember&lt;br /&gt;
that in America almost the only good left to an&lt;br /&gt;
English writer is his chance of a literary reputation,&lt;br /&gt;
and this, at least, you would strive to protect in&lt;br /&gt;
every way as some small return for the amusement&lt;br /&gt;
he affords your readers and the money which he&lt;br /&gt;
earns for you. Certainly, therefore, you would not&lt;br /&gt;
send his work willingly from your press in such a&lt;br /&gt;
questionable shape, and thus expose him to the&lt;br /&gt;
contempt of critics and the wonder of your reading&lt;br /&gt;
public.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;This being so, I have to ask, I am sure not in&lt;br /&gt;
vain, that for the sake of your own fair name, as&lt;br /&gt;
much as for the sake of mine, you will withdraw&lt;br /&gt;
from circulation the pages of printed matter which&lt;br /&gt;
are being passed off, no doubt unwittingly, by you&lt;br /&gt;
among the American public as a reprint of my&lt;br /&gt;
novel &amp;#039;Beatrice,&amp;#039; and that you will give this letter&lt;br /&gt;
of repudiation every publicity in your power.&lt;br /&gt;
Awaiting the favour of a reply,&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I am, gentlemen, your obedient servant,&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;H. Rider Haggard.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;To Messrs. Rand, M&amp;#039;Nally, &amp;amp;■&amp;gt; Co., Publishers,&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Chicago and New York.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Coincidences (see p. 37) are interesting. Here&lt;br /&gt;
is one sent me by a correspondent from the North.&lt;br /&gt;
The editor of a certain paper lately received the&lt;br /&gt;
scenario of a story submitted tor his approbation.&lt;br /&gt;
He liked it, and commissioned the author to write&lt;br /&gt;
it for him. The day after he received the same&lt;br /&gt;
story, that is, the same plot and the same set of&lt;br /&gt;
characters distributed in the same way, from another&lt;br /&gt;
correspondent writing from a different part of&lt;br /&gt;
England. Therefore one of two things. Either&lt;br /&gt;
two minds were at the same moment pursuing the&lt;br /&gt;
same imaginary series of events, or two minds were&lt;br /&gt;
at the same time cribbing from the same source.&lt;br /&gt;
One would like to read the scenario. Perhaps it&lt;br /&gt;
was only a commonplace plot such as one may read&lt;br /&gt;
in any penny novelette. There is another ex-&lt;br /&gt;
planation possible. One lady at least there is&lt;br /&gt;
among us who adds to her income by the sale of&lt;br /&gt;
plots for stories. There may be more than one&lt;br /&gt;
plot inventor among us, and he&mdash;or she&mdash;may have&lt;br /&gt;
sold the same plot twice over, a thing which has&lt;br /&gt;
happened once or twice in the buying and selling&lt;br /&gt;
of sermons.&lt;br /&gt;
The Editor.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 31 (#51) ##############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
3i&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;THOU SHALT NOT STEAL:&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Considerations on the Copyright Question.&lt;br /&gt;
Addressed to an American friend by&lt;br /&gt;
WILKIE COLLINS.&lt;br /&gt;
YOU were taking leave of me the other day,&lt;br /&gt;
Colonel, when I received from the United&lt;br /&gt;
States a copy of a pirated edition of one&lt;br /&gt;
of my books. I threw it into the waste-paper&lt;br /&gt;
basket with an expression of opinion which a little&lt;br /&gt;
startled you. As we shook hands at parting, you&lt;br /&gt;
said, &amp;quot;When you are cool, my friend, I should like&lt;br /&gt;
to be made acquainted with your sentiments on&lt;br /&gt;
the copyright question.&amp;quot; I am cool now, and here&lt;br /&gt;
are my sentiments.&lt;br /&gt;
I shall ask permission to begin by looking back&lt;br /&gt;
to the early history of your own family. The fact&lt;br /&gt;
is, that I wish to interest you personally in the&lt;br /&gt;
otherwise unattractive subject on which I am about&lt;br /&gt;
to write.&lt;br /&gt;
I.&lt;br /&gt;
At the beginning of the seventeenth century,&lt;br /&gt;
one of your ancestors, voyaging with the illustrious&lt;br /&gt;
Hendrick Hudson, got leave of absence from the&lt;br /&gt;
ship and took a walk on Manhattan Island, in the&lt;br /&gt;
days before the Dutch settlement. He was pos-&lt;br /&gt;
sessed, as I have heard you say, of great ability in&lt;br /&gt;
the mechanical arts. Among the articles of per-&lt;br /&gt;
sonal property which he had about him was a&lt;br /&gt;
handsome watch, made by himself, and containing&lt;br /&gt;
special improvements of his own invention.&lt;br /&gt;
The good man sat down to rest and look about&lt;br /&gt;
him at a pleasant and pastoral spot&mdash;now occu-&lt;br /&gt;
pied, it may be interesting to you to know, by a&lt;br /&gt;
publishing house in the city of New York. Having&lt;br /&gt;
thoroughly enjoyed the cool breeze and the bright&lt;br /&gt;
view, he took out his watch to see how the time&lt;br /&gt;
was passing. At the same moment, an Iroquois&lt;br /&gt;
chief&mdash;whose name has, I regret to say, escaped&lt;br /&gt;
my memory&mdash; passed that way, accompanied by a&lt;br /&gt;
suitable train of followers. He observed the hand-&lt;br /&gt;
some watch; snatched it out of the stranger&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
hand; and, then and there, put it into the Indian&lt;br /&gt;
substitute for a pocket&mdash;the name of which, after&lt;br /&gt;
repeated efforts, I find myself unable to spell.&lt;br /&gt;
Your ancestor, a man of exemplary presence&lt;br /&gt;
of mind, counted the number of the chiefs fol-&lt;br /&gt;
lowers; perceived that resistance on his single&lt;br /&gt;
part would be a wilful casting away of his own&lt;br /&gt;
valuable life; and wisely decided on trying the&lt;br /&gt;
effect of calm remonstrance.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Why do you take my watch away from me,&lt;br /&gt;
sir?&amp;quot; he asked.&lt;br /&gt;
The Indian answered with dignity, &amp;quot;Because I&lt;br /&gt;
want it.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;May I ask why you want it?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
The Indian checked off his reasons on his fin-&lt;br /&gt;
gers. &amp;quot;First, because I am not able to make such&lt;br /&gt;
a watch as yours. Secondly, because your watch is&lt;br /&gt;
an article likely to be sufficiently popular among&lt;br /&gt;
the Indians to be worth . . Thirdly, because the&lt;br /&gt;
popularity of the watch will enable me to sell it&lt;br /&gt;
with considerable advantage to myself. Is my&lt;br /&gt;
white brother satisfied?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Your ancestor said that he was not satisfied.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The thing you have taken from me,&amp;quot; he said, &amp;quot;is&lt;br /&gt;
the product of my own invention and my own&lt;br /&gt;
handiwork. It is my watch.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
The Indian touched his substitute for a pocket.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Pardon me,&amp;quot; he replied, &amp;quot;it is mine.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Your ancestor began to lose his temper; he&lt;br /&gt;
reiterated his assertion. &amp;quot;I say my watch is my&lt;br /&gt;
lawful property.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
The noble savage reasoned with him. &amp;quot;Possibly&lt;br /&gt;
your watch is protected in your country,&amp;quot; he said.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;It is not protected in mine.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;And therefore you steal it?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;And therefore I steal it.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;On what moral grounds, sir, can you defend&lt;br /&gt;
an act of theft?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
The chief smiled. &amp;quot;I defend it on practical&lt;br /&gt;
grounds. There is no watch-right treaty, sir, be-&lt;br /&gt;
tween my country and yours.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;And on that account you are not ashamed to&lt;br /&gt;
steal my watch?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;On that account I am not ashamed to steal&lt;br /&gt;
your watch. Good morning!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
The prototypes of modern persons have existed&lt;br /&gt;
in past ages. The Indian chief was the first&lt;br /&gt;
American publisher. Your ancestor was the parent&lt;br /&gt;
of the whole European family of modern authors.&lt;br /&gt;
II.&lt;br /&gt;
You and I, Colonel, are resolved to look this&lt;br /&gt;
copyright question fairly in the face. Suppose we&lt;br /&gt;
look at it from the historical point of view to begin&lt;br /&gt;
with. The Dutch emigrants settled on Manhattan&lt;br /&gt;
Island about two hundred and fifty years ago.&lt;br /&gt;
They might have pirated the Island on the ground&lt;br /&gt;
that it was not protected by treaty. But they were&lt;br /&gt;
loth to commit an act of theft; they asked the&lt;br /&gt;
Indians to mention their price. The Indians men-&lt;br /&gt;
tioned twenty-four dollars. The noble Dutchmen&lt;br /&gt;
paid, and a very good price, too, for a bit of un-&lt;br /&gt;
cultivated ground, with permission to move your&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Wigwam&amp;quot; to the neighbouring Continent.&lt;br /&gt;
In due course of time arose the Dutch City of&lt;br /&gt;
New Amsterdam. Civilization made its appear-&lt;br /&gt;
ance on Manhattan Island; and with civilization&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 32 (#52) ##############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
32&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
came Law. Acting as the agent of Justice, Law-&lt;br /&gt;
protected property. In those days of moral im-&lt;br /&gt;
provement, if an Indian stole a Dutchman&amp;#039;s watch,&lt;br /&gt;
he committed an offence, and he was punished ac-&lt;br /&gt;
cordingly&mdash;for, observe, a watch was now property.&lt;br /&gt;
Later dates brought their changes with them.&lt;br /&gt;
The English forced themselves into the Dutch-&lt;br /&gt;
men&amp;#039;s places. New Amsterdam became New&lt;br /&gt;
York. As time went on, a foolish English King,&lt;br /&gt;
and a tyrannical Government were deservedly&lt;br /&gt;
beaten on a trial of strength with the descendants&lt;br /&gt;
of the first English settlers. The Republic of the&lt;br /&gt;
United States started on its great career. With&lt;br /&gt;
peace came the arts of peace. The American&lt;br /&gt;
author rose benignly on the national horizon.&lt;br /&gt;
And what did the American Government do?&lt;br /&gt;
The American Government, having all other&lt;br /&gt;
property duly protected, bethought itself of the&lt;br /&gt;
claims of Literature; and, looking towards old&lt;br /&gt;
Europe, saw that the work of a man&amp;#039;s brains, pro-&lt;br /&gt;
duced in the form of a book, had been at last&lt;br /&gt;
recognised as that man&amp;#039;s property. by the Law.&lt;br /&gt;
Congress followed this civilised example, and re-&lt;br /&gt;
cognised and protected the published work of an&lt;br /&gt;
American citizen as that citizen&amp;#039;s property.&lt;br /&gt;
Having thus provided for the literary interests&lt;br /&gt;
of its own people within its own geographical&lt;br /&gt;
limits, Congress definitely turned its back on all&lt;br /&gt;
further copyright proceedings in the Old World.&lt;br /&gt;
After a certain lapse of time, the three greatest&lt;br /&gt;
nations on the Continent of Europe, France, Ger-&lt;br /&gt;
many, and Italy, agreed with England that an act&lt;br /&gt;
of justice to Literature still remained to be done.&lt;br /&gt;
Treaties of international copyright were accord-&lt;br /&gt;
ingly exchanged between these States. An author&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
right of property in his work was thus recognised&lt;br /&gt;
in other countries than his own. It was legally&lt;br /&gt;
forbidden to a foreign bookseller to republish his&lt;br /&gt;
work for foreign circulation without his permission;&lt;br /&gt;
for the plain and unanswerable reason that his&lt;br /&gt;
work belonged, in the first place, to him and to no&lt;br /&gt;
other person.&lt;br /&gt;
With this honourable example set before it by&lt;br /&gt;
other Governments, what has the United States&lt;br /&gt;
done? Nothing! To this day it refuses to the&lt;br /&gt;
literary property of other people the protection&lt;br /&gt;
which it gives to the literary property of its own&lt;br /&gt;
people. To this day the President and Congress&lt;br /&gt;
of America remain content to contemplate the&lt;br /&gt;
habitual perpetration, by American citizens, of the&lt;br /&gt;
act of theft.&lt;br /&gt;
III.&lt;br /&gt;
Having now done with our historical survey&mdash;in&lt;br /&gt;
plainer words, having now got our facts&mdash;we may&lt;br /&gt;
conveniently confront the grave question :&mdash;Why&lt;br /&gt;
does the Government of the United States refuse&lt;br /&gt;
to foreign writers the copyright in their works&lt;br /&gt;
which it concedes to the works of its own&lt;br /&gt;
citizens?&lt;br /&gt;
Colonel, when honest men perceive an act of&lt;br /&gt;
justice to be done, and determine really to do it,&lt;br /&gt;
there are never any insuperable difficulties in the&lt;br /&gt;
way. On the plain merits of the case&mdash;work that&lt;br /&gt;
if you please, you will see why&mdash;there are no more&lt;br /&gt;
difficulties in the way of international copyright&lt;br /&gt;
between England and America than between&lt;br /&gt;
England and France, England and Germany,&lt;br /&gt;
England and Italy. The cases run on parallel&lt;br /&gt;
lines; the necessity of foreign translation, in the&lt;br /&gt;
European case, being an accidental circumstance&lt;br /&gt;
which adds to the expense of publishing the book,&lt;br /&gt;
and nothing more. My work is republished in&lt;br /&gt;
America in English, and republished in French.&lt;br /&gt;
Whatever difference there may be in the language&lt;br /&gt;
of the republication, the fact of the republication&lt;br /&gt;
remains the same fact in both instances.&lt;br /&gt;
1 am very careful to put this plainly; there must&lt;br /&gt;
be some clear ground to stand on before I can&lt;br /&gt;
attempt to clear away the extraordinary accumu-&lt;br /&gt;
lation of delusions under which the unfortunate&lt;br /&gt;
question of copyright has been suffering in recent&lt;br /&gt;
years. If you see any difficulty in accepting my&lt;br /&gt;
statement of the case thus far, let us revert to first&lt;br /&gt;
principles, and ask ourselves&mdash;What is the object&lt;br /&gt;
to be obtained by the thing called International&lt;br /&gt;
Copyright?&lt;br /&gt;
In answering this question I will put it person-&lt;br /&gt;
ally for the greater facility of illustration. The&lt;br /&gt;
object of International Copyright is to give me, by&lt;br /&gt;
law (on considerations with which it is possible for&lt;br /&gt;
me to comply), the same right of control over my&lt;br /&gt;
book in a foreign country, which the law gives me&lt;br /&gt;
in my own country.&lt;br /&gt;
In Europe, this is exactly what we have done.&lt;br /&gt;
When I publish my book in London, I enter it&lt;br /&gt;
at Stationers&amp;#039; Hall, and register it as my property&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
and my book is mine in Great Britain. When I&lt;br /&gt;
publish my book in Paris, I register it by the per-&lt;br /&gt;
formance of similar formalities&mdash;and again my book&lt;br /&gt;
is mine in France. In both cases my publisher&lt;br /&gt;
(English or French) is chosen at my own free will.&lt;br /&gt;
His position towards me is the position of a person&lt;br /&gt;
who takes the business of publishing and registering&lt;br /&gt;
off my hands, in consideration of a bargain pre-&lt;br /&gt;
viously made between us&mdash;the essence of which&lt;br /&gt;
bargain is, that the book is my property, and that&lt;br /&gt;
my written permission is necessary before he can&lt;br /&gt;
obtain his right to publish the book, and his ex-&lt;br /&gt;
clusive claim (for a greater or lesser period of time)&lt;br /&gt;
to the privilege of selling it. Why can I not do&lt;br /&gt;
the same thing in the free Republic of the United&lt;br /&gt;
States?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 33 (#53) ##############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
do&lt;br /&gt;
IV.&lt;br /&gt;
Here the Colonel lays down my letter for a&lt;br /&gt;
while, and looks bewildered.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The copyright difficulty, as stated by Mr.&lt;br /&gt;
Wilkie Collins,&amp;quot; he says, &amp;quot;appears to be no diffi-&lt;br /&gt;
culty at all. What am I to think of the multitu-&lt;br /&gt;
dinous objections from the American point of view,&lt;br /&gt;
raised in leading articles, pamphlets, speeches, and&lt;br /&gt;
so forth?&amp;quot; My good friend, a word in your ear.&lt;br /&gt;
The American objections (I say it with all due&lt;br /&gt;
respect for the objections) are, one and all, Ameri-&lt;br /&gt;
can delusions. The main object of this letter is,&lt;br /&gt;
if possible, to blow these delusions away. I&lt;br /&gt;
promise not to be long about it, and to keep my&lt;br /&gt;
temper&mdash;though I have lost some thousands of&lt;br /&gt;
pounds by American pirates.&lt;br /&gt;
Let us begin with the delusion&mdash;the most extra-&lt;br /&gt;
ordinary in the whole list&mdash;that the American&lt;br /&gt;
people have something to do with the question of&lt;br /&gt;
International Copyright.&lt;br /&gt;
An American citizen sees a reprinted English&lt;br /&gt;
book in a shop window, or has it pitched into his&lt;br /&gt;
lap by a boy in a railway train, or hears from a&lt;br /&gt;
friend that it is well worth reading. He buys the&lt;br /&gt;
book, and reads it&mdash;and, as I can gratefully testify&lt;br /&gt;
from my own personal experience, he feels, in the&lt;br /&gt;
great majority of cases, a sincere respect for litera-&lt;br /&gt;
ture and a hearty gratitude to the writer who has&lt;br /&gt;
instructed or interested him, which is one among&lt;br /&gt;
the many honourable distinctions of the national&lt;br /&gt;
character. When he has done all this, what in&lt;br /&gt;
Heaven&amp;#039;s name has author, publisher, orator, or&lt;br /&gt;
leading-article writer any further right to expect&lt;br /&gt;
from him? When I have paid for my place at&lt;br /&gt;
the theatre, and added my little tribute of applause&lt;br /&gt;
in honour of the play and the actors, have I not&lt;br /&gt;
done my duty as one of the audience? Am I&lt;br /&gt;
expected to insist on knowing whether the author&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
rights have been honestly recognised by the mana-&lt;br /&gt;
ger, and the players&amp;#039; salaries regularly paid without&lt;br /&gt;
reductions once a week? It is simply ridiculous&lt;br /&gt;
to mention the American people in connection&lt;br /&gt;
with the settlement of the copyright question.&lt;br /&gt;
The entire responsibility of honourably settling the&lt;br /&gt;
question in my country rests with the Legislature.&lt;br /&gt;
In the United States the President and Congress&lt;br /&gt;
are the guardians and representatives of American&lt;br /&gt;
honour. It is they, and not the people, who are&lt;br /&gt;
to blame for the state which book-stealing has set&lt;br /&gt;
on the American name.&lt;br /&gt;
Ixt us get on to another delusion which has&lt;br /&gt;
amused us in England.&lt;br /&gt;
We are gravely informed that the United States&lt;br /&gt;
is the paradise of cheap literature, and that In-&lt;br /&gt;
ternational Copyright would raise the price of&lt;br /&gt;
American books to the inordinately high level of&lt;br /&gt;
the English market. Our circulating Library system&lt;br /&gt;
is cited as a proof of the truth of this assertion.&lt;br /&gt;
There can be no two opinions on the absurdity of&lt;br /&gt;
that system&mdash;but, such as it is, let us, at least,&lt;br /&gt;
have it fairly understood. When a novel, for&lt;br /&gt;
example, is published at the preposterous price of&lt;br /&gt;
a guinea and a half, nobody pays that price. A de-&lt;br /&gt;
duction of one-third at least is made. An individual&lt;br /&gt;
speculator buys the book, and lends it to the public.&lt;br /&gt;
Even this man, as an annual subscription, demands&lt;br /&gt;
the nominal price originally asked for the book (a&lt;br /&gt;
guinea and a half), and he will send you at least&lt;br /&gt;
three novels a week, for a whole year. If this is&lt;br /&gt;
not cheap reading, what is? But you will say&lt;br /&gt;
the public may want to buy some of the best of&lt;br /&gt;
these novels. Very well. Within a year from the&lt;br /&gt;
date of its first issue, the book is republished at&lt;br /&gt;
five or six shillings (a dollar and a half); and is&lt;br /&gt;
again republished at two shillings (fifty cents).&lt;br /&gt;
Setting the case of stolen literary property out of&lt;br /&gt;
the question, are these not correct American prices?&lt;br /&gt;
But why should the purchaser be made to wait&lt;br /&gt;
till the book can be sold at a reasonable price?&lt;br /&gt;
I admit the absurdity of making him wait. But&lt;br /&gt;
is that absurdity likely, under any conceivable&lt;br /&gt;
circumstances, to be copied in America? In&lt;br /&gt;
England the circulating library is one of our old&lt;br /&gt;
institutions which dies very slowly. In America&lt;br /&gt;
it is no institution at all. Is it within the limits of&lt;br /&gt;
probability that one of your citizens should prefer&lt;br /&gt;
lending a novel to a few hundred subscribers,&lt;br /&gt;
when he can sell it to purchasers by the thousand?&lt;br /&gt;
It is a waste of words to ask the question. The&lt;br /&gt;
one thing needful, so far as works of fiction are&lt;br /&gt;
concerned, is to shew you that our popular price&lt;br /&gt;
for a novel is the American popular price. Look&lt;br /&gt;
at the catalogue of &amp;quot; Harper&amp;#039;s Library of American&lt;br /&gt;
Fiction,&amp;quot; and you will find that the prices range&lt;br /&gt;
from two to three shillings&mdash;fifty to seventy per&lt;br /&gt;
cent.&lt;br /&gt;
Turning to literature in general let us consult&lt;br /&gt;
Messrs. Harper again. I am away from home&lt;br /&gt;
while I write, and I have no means of quoting from&lt;br /&gt;
a more recent catalogue than the summer list of&lt;br /&gt;
1878. However, the prices of less than two years&lt;br /&gt;
ago in New York cannot be obsolete prices yet.&lt;br /&gt;
Here are some specimens :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The Atlantic Islands.&amp;quot; Illustrated. 8vo.&lt;br /&gt;
Cloth. $3 (twelve shillings).&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Annual Record of Science and Industry for&lt;br /&gt;
1877.&amp;quot; Large i2mo. Cloth. 82 (eight&lt;br /&gt;
shillings).&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The Student&amp;#039;s French Grammar.&amp;quot; i2mo.&lt;br /&gt;
Cloth. $1.40 (say five shillings and six-&lt;br /&gt;
pence).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 34 (#54) ##############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
34&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Art Education applied to Industry.&amp;quot; Illus-&lt;br /&gt;
trated. 8vo. Cloth gilt. (Sixteen shillings.)&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Harper&amp;#039;s Travellers&amp;#039; Handbooks for Europe&lt;br /&gt;
and the East. $3 per volume (twelve&lt;br /&gt;
shillings).&lt;br /&gt;
I am quite ready to believe that every one of&lt;br /&gt;
these books is well worth the price asked for it.&lt;br /&gt;
But don&amp;#039;t tell me that American books are always&lt;br /&gt;
cheap books, and let it at least be admitted that&lt;br /&gt;
English publishers are not the only publishers who&lt;br /&gt;
charge a remunerative price for a valuable work,&lt;br /&gt;
which has proved a costly work to produce and&lt;br /&gt;
which is not always likely to command a large circu-&lt;br /&gt;
lation. To sum it up, literature which addresses all&lt;br /&gt;
classes of the population is as cheap in England as it&lt;br /&gt;
is in America. Literature which addresses special&lt;br /&gt;
classes only will on that very account always be&lt;br /&gt;
published at special prices (with or without inter-&lt;br /&gt;
national copyright) on both sides of the Atlantic.&lt;br /&gt;
V.&lt;br /&gt;
I must not try your patience too severely,&lt;br /&gt;
Colonel. Let me leave unnoticed some of the&lt;br /&gt;
minor misunderstandings which obscure the&lt;br /&gt;
American view of the copyright case, and let me&lt;br /&gt;
occupy the closing lines of this letter with a really&lt;br /&gt;
mischievous delusion. Just consider what this extra-&lt;br /&gt;
ordinary delusion really amounts to. &amp;quot;We don&amp;#039;t&lt;br /&gt;
deny (the American publishers say) that you&lt;br /&gt;
English authors have a moral right of property in&lt;br /&gt;
your books, which we are quite ready to make&lt;br /&gt;
a legal right, on conditions that we are to dictate&lt;br /&gt;
the use which you make in America of your own&lt;br /&gt;
property. If we confer on you international copy-&lt;br /&gt;
right, we see with horror a future day when&lt;br /&gt;
English publishers and English printers may start&lt;br /&gt;
in business under our very noses, and we will only&lt;br /&gt;
give you your due, with the one little drawback that&lt;br /&gt;
we prohibit you to employ your countrymen to pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lish your books in our country. Our respect for&lt;br /&gt;
justice is only matched by our respect for our&lt;br /&gt;
purses. Hurrah for honourable dealings with the&lt;br /&gt;
British author&mdash;so long as there is no fear of a&lt;br /&gt;
decrease in the balance at our bankers! Down&lt;br /&gt;
with the British author, and away with the national&lt;br /&gt;
honour if there is the slightest danger of the&lt;br /&gt;
almighty dollar finding its way into other pockets&lt;br /&gt;
than ours!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Am I exaggerating? Let two of the American&lt;br /&gt;
publishers speak for themselves.&lt;br /&gt;
Hear Messrs. Harper Brothers first. After&lt;br /&gt;
reciting the general conditions on which they pro-&lt;br /&gt;
pose to grant us copyright in the United States,&lt;br /&gt;
they proceed as follows :&mdash;&amp;quot; And provided further,&lt;br /&gt;
that within six months after registration of title the&lt;br /&gt;
work shall have been manufactured and published&lt;br /&gt;
in the country, and by a subject or citizen of the&lt;br /&gt;
country in which such registration has been made.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. \V. H. Appleton, writing to the Ixmdon Times&lt;br /&gt;
(in a curiously aggressive tone), expresses himself&lt;br /&gt;
more plainly. &amp;quot;Our people,&amp;quot; he says, evidently&lt;br /&gt;
meaning our printers and publishers, &amp;quot;would&lt;br /&gt;
rejoice to open this vast opportunity of your&lt;br /&gt;
intellectual labours . . . But they hold them-&lt;br /&gt;
selves perfectly competent to manufacture the&lt;br /&gt;
books that shall embody your authors&amp;#039; thoughts, in&lt;br /&gt;
accordance with their own needs, habits, and tastes,&lt;br /&gt;
and in this they will not be interfered with.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
(Extracted from Messrs. Harper Brothers pamphlet,&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;New York, March 17th, 1879.&amp;quot;)&lt;br /&gt;
To argue the question with men who are of this&lt;br /&gt;
way of thinking would be merely to waste your&lt;br /&gt;
time and mine. It we are ever to have international&lt;br /&gt;
copyright between the two countries we must have&lt;br /&gt;
the same unreserved recognition of a moral right,&lt;br /&gt;
the same ungrudging submission to the law of&lt;br /&gt;
honour, which has produced the treaties exchanged&lt;br /&gt;
between the European Powers. In this respect&lt;br /&gt;
England has set the example to the United States.&lt;br /&gt;
And, let me add, England has no fear of compe-&lt;br /&gt;
tition. I have put the question myself to eminent&lt;br /&gt;
London publishers ; they have no idea of intruding&lt;br /&gt;
their trade interests into a gTeat question of national&lt;br /&gt;
justice. They are ready to welcome wholesale&lt;br /&gt;
competition in an open market. If they set up&lt;br /&gt;
branch establishments in New York, the American&lt;br /&gt;
publishers shall be free to follow their example in&lt;br /&gt;
London. What does Mr. Marston (of the London&lt;br /&gt;
firm of Sampson Low, Marston and Co.) say on this&lt;br /&gt;
subject, in his letter to The Times, published May&lt;br /&gt;
12th, 1879 ?&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;As a publisher, I trust I shall l&amp;gt;e absolved from the&lt;br /&gt;
charge of advocating trade interests, when I express my&lt;br /&gt;
strong conviction that the only Convention between the&lt;br /&gt;
two countries which can possibly bear the test of time, must be&lt;br /&gt;
one based upon the original and inherent rights of property!&lt;br /&gt;
Let registration in Washington and London, within a month&lt;br /&gt;
or two months of first publication in either country, convey&lt;br /&gt;
respectively to English and American authors the same right&lt;br /&gt;
in each other&amp;#039;s country as in their own, and one&amp;#039;s sense of&lt;br /&gt;
justice will be satisfied. . . . Such restrictions as those&lt;br /&gt;
proposed by American publishers exist in no other Conven-&lt;br /&gt;
tions; they arise out of a most unfounded and unnecessary&lt;br /&gt;
fear of competition by English publishers!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
There is the opinion of one member of the&lt;br /&gt;
representative of the trade. I could produce&lt;br /&gt;
similar opinions from other members, but I must&lt;br /&gt;
not needlessly lengthen my letter. Hear, instead,&lt;br /&gt;
an American citizen who agrees with Mr. Marston,&lt;br /&gt;
and with me. Let Mr. George Haven Putnam&lt;br /&gt;
speak&mdash;delivering an address on International&lt;br /&gt;
Copyright in New York, on the 29th of January,&lt;br /&gt;
1879:-&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I believe that in the course of time the general&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 35 (#55) ##############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
35&lt;br /&gt;
laws of trade would and ought to so regulate the&lt;br /&gt;
arrangements for supplying the American public&lt;br /&gt;
with books that, if there were no restriction as to&lt;br /&gt;
volumes, the author would select the publishing&lt;br /&gt;
agent, English or American, who could serve him&lt;br /&gt;
to best advantage, and that agent would be found&lt;br /&gt;
to be the man who would prepare for the largest&lt;br /&gt;
possible circle of American readers the editions&lt;br /&gt;
best suited to their wants ... If English pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lishers settling here could excel our American&lt;br /&gt;
houses in this understanding and in these facilities&lt;br /&gt;
they ought to be at liberty to do so, and it would&lt;br /&gt;
be for the interest of the public that no hindrance&lt;br /&gt;
should be placed in their way.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
I have now, I hope, satisfied you that I do not&lt;br /&gt;
stand quite alone in my way of thinking. If you&lt;br /&gt;
make inquiries you will find that other American&lt;br /&gt;
citizens, besides Mr. Putnam, can see the case&lt;br /&gt;
plainly as it stands on its merits.&lt;br /&gt;
Thus far I have been careful to base our claim&lt;br /&gt;
to international copyright on no larger ground than&lt;br /&gt;
the ground of justice. Would you like, before I&lt;br /&gt;
conclude, to form some idea of the money we lose&lt;br /&gt;
by the freedom of robbery which is one of the&lt;br /&gt;
freedoms of the American Republic?&lt;br /&gt;
Take-the illustrious instance of Charles Dickens.&lt;br /&gt;
The price agreed on with his English publishers for&lt;br /&gt;
the work interrupted by his death, &amp;quot; Edwin Drood,&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
was seven thousand five hundred pounds, with a&lt;br /&gt;
promise of an addition to this sum if the work&lt;br /&gt;
exceeded a certain circulation. Even Dickens&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
enormous popularity in England is beaten by his&lt;br /&gt;
popularity in the United States. He was more&lt;br /&gt;
read in your country than in mine, and, as a&lt;br /&gt;
necessary consequence (with international copy-&lt;br /&gt;
right) his work would be worth more in America&lt;br /&gt;
than in England. What did he get in America&lt;br /&gt;
for the &amp;quot;advance sheets?&amp;quot; With the pirates to&lt;br /&gt;
be considered in making the bargain? Less than&lt;br /&gt;
a seventh part of what his English publisher has&lt;br /&gt;
agreed to give him before a line of his novel was&lt;br /&gt;
written&mdash;one thousand pounds!&lt;br /&gt;
But the case of Charles Dickens is a case of a&lt;br /&gt;
writer who stands apart, and without a rival in&lt;br /&gt;
popularity. Take my case, if you like, as repre-&lt;br /&gt;
sentative, the position of writers of a lesser degree&lt;br /&gt;
of popularity. I fail to remember the exact price&lt;br /&gt;
which Messrs. Harper paid me for the advance&lt;br /&gt;
sheets of &amp;quot;The Woman in White.&amp;quot; It was certainly&lt;br /&gt;
not a thousand pounds; perhaps half a thousand, or&lt;br /&gt;
perhaps not so much. At any rate (with the&lt;br /&gt;
pirates in the background waiting to steal) the&lt;br /&gt;
great firm in New York dealt with me liberally.&lt;br /&gt;
It has been calculated by persons who under-&lt;br /&gt;
stand the matter better than I do that for every&lt;br /&gt;
one reader in England I have ten readers in the&lt;br /&gt;
United States. How many nnauthorized editions&lt;br /&gt;
of this one novel of mine&mdash;published without my&lt;br /&gt;
deriving any profit from them&mdash;made their appear-&lt;br /&gt;
ance in America? I can only tell you, as a basis&lt;br /&gt;
for calculation, one American publisher informed a&lt;br /&gt;
friend of mine that he had sold one hundred and&lt;br /&gt;
twenty thousand copies of &amp;quot;The Woman in White.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
He never sent me sixpence!&lt;br /&gt;
Good-bye for the present, Colonel. I must go&lt;br /&gt;
back to my regular work, and make money for my&lt;br /&gt;
American robbers, under the sanction of Congress.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
THE TROUBLES OF A BEGINNER.&lt;br /&gt;
THE perusal of a &amp;quot; Hard Case&amp;quot; in the first&lt;br /&gt;
issue of The Author tempts me to put on&lt;br /&gt;
paper my own experiences as a beginner.&lt;br /&gt;
Owing to what might be called a mild inoculation&lt;br /&gt;
of the fraudulent publisher at the commencement&lt;br /&gt;
of my career, the consequences of my gullibility&lt;br /&gt;
have not proved so pecuniarily serious as they&lt;br /&gt;
were in a &amp;quot;Hard Case&amp;quot;; but that has not been&lt;br /&gt;
for lack of trying on the part of the various so-called&lt;br /&gt;
societies, or dishonest tradesmen, who thrive on&lt;br /&gt;
the inexperience and vanity of the literary fledgling.&lt;br /&gt;
I launched my first effort in the shape of a short&lt;br /&gt;
story, under the auspices of the &amp;quot;London Literary&lt;br /&gt;
Society.&amp;quot; Their prospectus was all that could be&lt;br /&gt;
desired. For the modest sum of one guinea per&lt;br /&gt;
annum my literary success was assured. They&lt;br /&gt;
undertook to place MSS. in the hands of magazine&lt;br /&gt;
editors, who (apparently) had no other means of&lt;br /&gt;
obtaining copy for their publications. Thus young&lt;br /&gt;
and unknown authors were placed upon the first&lt;br /&gt;
rung of the ladder of fame, and it would be their&lt;br /&gt;
own fault if they did not eventually reach the top.&lt;br /&gt;
By thus establishing a regular method of communi-&lt;br /&gt;
cation between author and publisher, interest and&lt;br /&gt;
prejudice, so fatal to beginners, would be over-&lt;br /&gt;
ridden, and a long-felt want supplied. So it would,&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;but the &amp;quot;long-felt want&amp;quot; was that experienced&lt;br /&gt;
by the organizers of the Society.&lt;br /&gt;
I sent in my guinea and my MS., and waited&lt;br /&gt;
hopefully for the result. The receipt for the money&lt;br /&gt;
was a work of art; it was no common receipt, it was&lt;br /&gt;
a Diploma informing me that I had been enrolled a&lt;br /&gt;
member of the London Literary Society, and re-&lt;br /&gt;
questing that in future I would add L.L.S. after&lt;br /&gt;
my name when communicating with the Secretary.&lt;br /&gt;
In due course I received an official looking docu-&lt;br /&gt;
ment which proved to be a criticism of my story.&lt;br /&gt;
Then for the first time I knew, what I had hitherto&lt;br /&gt;
only suspected, that I was undoubtedly a writer of&lt;br /&gt;
merit! According to the criticism nothing stood&lt;br /&gt;
between me and success but the narrow-minded-&lt;br /&gt;
ness and prejudice of undiscriminating editors.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 36 (#56) ##############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
3&laquo;&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
The document concluded by recommending me to&lt;br /&gt;
send my story to a publication entitled Lloyd&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
Magazine.&lt;br /&gt;
Of course I was delighted. Certainly I could&lt;br /&gt;
not remember having ever heard of Lloyd&amp;#039;s Maga-&lt;br /&gt;
zine, but then it was hardly to be expected that I&lt;br /&gt;
had heard of all the magazines published, and at&lt;br /&gt;
any rate I hoped they would pay well. It was&lt;br /&gt;
probably connected with Lloyd&amp;#039;s paper. The&lt;br /&gt;
editor was very civil, and assured me he would be&lt;br /&gt;
pleased to print my story, adding casually that&lt;br /&gt;
some alterations would have to be made, and little&lt;br /&gt;
technicalities attended to, before the MS. would be&lt;br /&gt;
ready for the printer&amp;#039;s hands, but that half a guinea&lt;br /&gt;
would cover these necessary expenses. Hard as it&lt;br /&gt;
may be to believe, I sent my half guinea! How I&lt;br /&gt;
marvel at my credulity. But then I knew nothing&lt;br /&gt;
of such things, and it seemed quite possible that a&lt;br /&gt;
tyro like myself might have made technical mistakes&lt;br /&gt;
that would entail a certain amount of trouble.&lt;br /&gt;
I also received a prospectus setting forth the&lt;br /&gt;
advantages enjoyed by subscribers to Lloyd&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
Magazine. &amp;quot;Every talented author would ensure&lt;br /&gt;
immediate appearance in print;&amp;quot; this, it was as-&lt;br /&gt;
serted, would prove most beneficial in treating with&lt;br /&gt;
editors who objected to unknown writers. &amp;quot;Ster-&lt;br /&gt;
ling merit would be amply remunerated;&amp;quot; this was&lt;br /&gt;
satisfactory, as the verdict of the Literary Society-&lt;br /&gt;
had inferred that my particular qualifications came&lt;br /&gt;
under that head. In fact, the advantages were so&lt;br /&gt;
great, and so plausibly set forth, that I felt I really&lt;br /&gt;
must get into Lloyd&amp;#039;s Magazine at any price.&lt;br /&gt;
Finally, the editor wrote to say that the MS. was&lt;br /&gt;
now corrected and ready for the press, and that if&lt;br /&gt;
I invested in twenty-four copies of the magazine, at&lt;br /&gt;
6d. apiece, my story should appear in the next&lt;br /&gt;
issue! Having already paid so much, I took the&lt;br /&gt;
twenty-four copies, thinking, as so many beginners&lt;br /&gt;
do, that to get a story printed in anything was&lt;br /&gt;
better than not getting it printed at all, and trust-&lt;br /&gt;
ing to the promises of the prospectus as to the&lt;br /&gt;
future. However, one glance at Lloyd&amp;#039;s Magazine&lt;br /&gt;
was sufficient to dispel any such hopes. To judge&lt;br /&gt;
by the calibre of its contents all the contributors&lt;br /&gt;
must have paid as heavily as myself, to induce&lt;br /&gt;
anyone to print their productions; and heartily&lt;br /&gt;
disgusted I sent in my resignation to the London&lt;br /&gt;
Literary Society.&lt;br /&gt;
I was informed in return that not having given&lt;br /&gt;
three months&amp;#039; notice I was liable for my subscrip-&lt;br /&gt;
tion. I sent it, and at the same time an intimation&lt;br /&gt;
that I wished to withdraw. The following year I&lt;br /&gt;
received a claim for my subscription, upon which&lt;br /&gt;
I drew the attention of the Secretary to my previous&lt;br /&gt;
communication. The only answer to this was&lt;br /&gt;
another claim, of which I took no notice. Again,&lt;br /&gt;
the year after I was sent a request for two years&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
subscription, which was quickly followed by a letter&lt;br /&gt;
threatening me with the law. Whether further&lt;br /&gt;
proceedings would have been taken against me I&lt;br /&gt;
never knew, as the Secretary solved the question&lt;br /&gt;
by going bankrupt. The Court of Bankruptcy&lt;br /&gt;
informed me that I was down on the books of the&lt;br /&gt;
Society for two guineas, but on explaining matters&lt;br /&gt;
the affair was dropped, and my dealings with the&lt;br /&gt;
London Literary Society became a thing of the&lt;br /&gt;
past I think that I bought my experience&lt;br /&gt;
cheaply.&lt;br /&gt;
One of the most ingenious attempts at fraud of&lt;br /&gt;
the kind was perpetrated by a Society calling itself&lt;br /&gt;
the &amp;quot;Southampton Association.&amp;quot; Upon seeing&lt;br /&gt;
the advertisement of a new magazine entitled Pen&lt;br /&gt;
and Ink, I sent in a sample MS. In response, I&lt;br /&gt;
got a letter informing me that, after looking through&lt;br /&gt;
my MS., the Society was prepared to accept me as&lt;br /&gt;
a &amp;quot;staff member&amp;quot; of the Association. This, at&lt;br /&gt;
first sight, seemed all I could wish for&mdash;there is a&lt;br /&gt;
peculiarly fascinating ring about the word &amp;quot;staff&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
to a beginner&amp;#039;s ear. The letter, however, went on&lt;br /&gt;
to explain what the privileges of a staff member&lt;br /&gt;
were, i.e., &amp;quot;one whose contributions can be accepted&lt;br /&gt;
and paid for,&amp;quot; not will be &amp;quot;immediately proofs are&lt;br /&gt;
passed by the editor.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
The wording of this sounded suspicious, and&lt;br /&gt;
when the epistle concluded by a casual request&lt;br /&gt;
that I would fill up the form enclosed and return&lt;br /&gt;
it, the said form being a pledge on my part to pay&lt;br /&gt;
a guinea to the Society, I decided to have nothing&lt;br /&gt;
further to do with it. My course of the Literary&lt;br /&gt;
Society had rendered me proof against any more&lt;br /&gt;
attacks of the same sort.&lt;br /&gt;
I was very nearly falling a prey, however, to the&lt;br /&gt;
wiles of the fraudulent publisher. I had perpetrated&lt;br /&gt;
a one volume novel, and sent it up to Messrs.&lt;br /&gt;
A. and B. Of course it was &amp;quot;favourably reported&lt;br /&gt;
on&amp;quot; by the reader, and was going to make a&lt;br /&gt;
great impression. The firm offered to publish it&lt;br /&gt;
and pay half expenses, if I would pay the other&lt;br /&gt;
half, the profits to be also equally shared. This&lt;br /&gt;
offer sounded reasonable to inexperienced ears,&lt;br /&gt;
and I asked for an estimate. The answer was, that&lt;br /&gt;
my half share would amount to ^55 io*. (Refer-&lt;br /&gt;
ence to a little book since published by the Society&lt;br /&gt;
of Authors will show that the entire cost of publish-&lt;br /&gt;
ing such a volume is &pound;25 18*. yd.!) Fortunately&lt;br /&gt;
I was alarmed at the sum asked, and declined the&lt;br /&gt;
offer. They wrote again, offering to publish the&lt;br /&gt;
book if I would pay ^40 towards it, and receive&lt;br /&gt;
one-third of the profits; this I also declined.&lt;br /&gt;
They then suggested bringing it out in is. form&lt;br /&gt;
for the book stalls, my share to be ^28 10s.&lt;br /&gt;
At this point, however, I became a member of&lt;br /&gt;
the Society of Authors, and on sending the whole&lt;br /&gt;
correspondence to the Secretary, received a letter&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 37 (#57) ##############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
37&lt;br /&gt;
in reply, which saved me from the clutches of&lt;br /&gt;
the respectable A. and B., and quite decided me&lt;br /&gt;
that it was better posterity should suffer from the&lt;br /&gt;
loss of my book, than that I should suffer from the&lt;br /&gt;
loss of my money.&lt;br /&gt;
I may add that the above are a few of the ex-&lt;br /&gt;
periences to which any beginner is liable when&lt;br /&gt;
acting without advice. In my successful under-&lt;br /&gt;
takings I have been fortunate enough to fall into&lt;br /&gt;
the hands of one of the most honourable members&lt;br /&gt;
of the profession.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;CURSED COINCIDENCES.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
London, June io, 1890.&lt;br /&gt;
There is a source of great annoyance and&lt;br /&gt;
pecuniary loss to authors for which it is possible&lt;br /&gt;
that some remedy may be found by your aid. I&lt;br /&gt;
can best set it forth by stating the simple fact that&lt;br /&gt;
every one of the last six works which I have&lt;br /&gt;
written, or on which I have collaborated, has been&lt;br /&gt;
met or anticipated by a similar publication on the&lt;br /&gt;
same subject; in every instance to my own detri-&lt;br /&gt;
ment and annoyance, or that of others. In some of&lt;br /&gt;
thesecases the coincidence was doubtless accidental;&lt;br /&gt;
and I am satisfied that the authors of the books&lt;br /&gt;
were as ignorant that I was engaged on a like work,&lt;br /&gt;
as I was of their intentions. Could we have known&lt;br /&gt;
it I am sure that we should have been spared in&lt;br /&gt;
one way or the other great trouble, loss, and&lt;br /&gt;
vexation.&lt;br /&gt;
It is true that such an extraordinary run of bad&lt;br /&gt;
luck savours of the marvellous; but if anyone who&lt;br /&gt;
reads this suspects me of mistake or exaggeration,&lt;br /&gt;
I shall be glad to supply him with all the details,&lt;br /&gt;
and refer him to my publishers, who will fully&lt;br /&gt;
confirm my assertions. But the history of literature&lt;br /&gt;
is full of instances of men who, after devoting&lt;br /&gt;
months or years to a work, have had the sorrow to&lt;br /&gt;
learn that another had been engaged in a similar&lt;br /&gt;
task.&lt;br /&gt;
The very obvious remedy for this among honour-&lt;br /&gt;
able men would be for authors to announce their&lt;br /&gt;
intentions, and make it known in your columns&lt;br /&gt;
what they are actually engaged on and really&lt;br /&gt;
intend to publish. On the other hand, there are&lt;br /&gt;
innumerable hacks and quacks in literature who&lt;br /&gt;
would avail themselves of these very announce-&lt;br /&gt;
ments to &amp;quot;hurry up &amp;quot; works on the same subjects,&lt;br /&gt;
to say nothing of the half-honest scribes who would&lt;br /&gt;
pre-empt a subject by declaring that they are&lt;br /&gt;
engaged on it&mdash;the engagement being like that of&lt;br /&gt;
the American young woman who admitted, in a&lt;br /&gt;
breach of promise case, that she had nothing&lt;br /&gt;
written to prove a betrothal, nor had the defendant&lt;br /&gt;
ever spoken to her, but that &amp;quot;looks had passed&lt;br /&gt;
between them.&amp;quot; Many men seem to think that&lt;br /&gt;
if they have only looked at a subject it is their&lt;br /&gt;
property for ever.&lt;br /&gt;
If there were a real guild of literary men holding&lt;br /&gt;
and exercising power&mdash;such as the Society of&lt;br /&gt;
Authors may become&mdash;this great evil of &amp;quot;the&lt;br /&gt;
unlucky chance,&amp;quot; or cursed coincidence, could&lt;br /&gt;
really be obviated. For it could declare thieves&lt;br /&gt;
and plagiarists &amp;quot;niddering&amp;quot; or infamous, and by&lt;br /&gt;
establishing and exacting a high code of honour it&lt;br /&gt;
could eliminate much of the disreputable Bohe-&lt;br /&gt;
mianism or carelessness as to morals from the&lt;br /&gt;
profession of letters. And if it be not really a&lt;br /&gt;
profession it would soon become one by the&lt;br /&gt;
simple process 01 outlawing all who disgrace&lt;br /&gt;
it. For in fact the dishonest writer is as great an&lt;br /&gt;
injury to his betters in the craft as the dishonest&lt;br /&gt;
publisher, and deserves even greater punishment.&lt;br /&gt;
A few cases of flagrant meanness vigorously exposed&lt;br /&gt;
would soon end the career of many literary&lt;br /&gt;
sharpers.&lt;br /&gt;
Charles G. Leland.&lt;br /&gt;
THE EXCHANGE OF BOOKS.&lt;br /&gt;
WOULD it be possible 10 open a Book&lt;br /&gt;
Exchange in the pages of The Author?&lt;br /&gt;
I am myself continually compelled to&lt;br /&gt;
buy books which serve their purpose and are hence-&lt;br /&gt;
forth of no more use to me. I buy them not for&lt;br /&gt;
their rarity but for their practical use. Others there&lt;br /&gt;
are who are always looking out for the completion&lt;br /&gt;
of sets or the improvement of collections, for first&lt;br /&gt;
editions, for books specially bound, for books&lt;br /&gt;
privately printed (of which a certain second-hand&lt;br /&gt;
bookseller is now bringing out a catalogue).&lt;br /&gt;
Everybody who wants books depend upon those&lt;br /&gt;
excellent people, the second-hand booksellers and&lt;br /&gt;
their lists. They depend upon the people who,&lt;br /&gt;
like myself, are always wanting to get rid of books.&lt;br /&gt;
Why cannot The Author give us space, if only&lt;br /&gt;
a page, to advertise our wants and our wares?&lt;br /&gt;
Members of the Society should, perhaps, be&lt;br /&gt;
allowed to take up a certain space for the mere&lt;br /&gt;
cost of the printing and paper. Other people&lt;br /&gt;
might be made to pay for the privilege at such a&lt;br /&gt;
rate as would assist the finances of the paper.&lt;br /&gt;
Can my suggestion find a corner?&lt;br /&gt;
F. R. S.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 38 (#58) ##############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
3&laquo;&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
LEAFLET No. II.&lt;br /&gt;
On Royalties.&lt;br /&gt;
WHAT is loosely and ignorantly called&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The Royalty System&amp;quot;&mdash;a system where&lt;br /&gt;
all is chaos&mdash;may be defined as pay-&lt;br /&gt;
ment by results. It came into existence chiefly&lt;br /&gt;
as a sop to authors who were discontented with&lt;br /&gt;
the so-called half-profit system, after it had been&lt;br /&gt;
worked into a system which gave all the profits&lt;br /&gt;
to the publisher. &amp;quot;At least,&amp;quot; they thought, &amp;quot;there&lt;br /&gt;
will be something for us if we are to have so much&lt;br /&gt;
for every copy sold.&amp;quot; They therefore signed any&lt;br /&gt;
agreement in this sense that was placed in their&lt;br /&gt;
hands without asking what it meant&mdash;what the&lt;br /&gt;
proposed arrangement kept for the publisher and&lt;br /&gt;
what it would give them. They signed what they&lt;br /&gt;
were told to sign, and they took what was offered&lt;br /&gt;
them. They began to sign these royalty agreements&lt;br /&gt;
about twenty years ago, when the &amp;quot;system&amp;quot; first&lt;br /&gt;
came into use. They have continued to sign&lt;br /&gt;
them; they are signing them every day, and it is&lt;br /&gt;
not too much to say that not one single author up&lt;br /&gt;
to this day of writing, outside the office of the&lt;br /&gt;
Society, knows when he signs, what he has kept&lt;br /&gt;
for himself, or what proportion of the results of his&lt;br /&gt;
labour he has given to the man who sells his book.&lt;br /&gt;
In accordance with the principles of this Society,&lt;br /&gt;
which endeavours to throw light upon everything&lt;br /&gt;
connected with the production and sale of books,&lt;br /&gt;
or in other words, enables authors to understand&lt;br /&gt;
exactly what they give away and what they reserve&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;what, in fact, an agreement means&mdash;the Leaflet&lt;br /&gt;
of this month is devoted to a very brief statement of&lt;br /&gt;
the &amp;quot;Royalty System &amp;quot; in its various forms applied to&lt;br /&gt;
author and publisher.&lt;br /&gt;
The discovery that the author was as easily&lt;br /&gt;
gulled by a Royalty as by a show of half profits,&lt;br /&gt;
caused certain gentry to introduce improvements&lt;br /&gt;
into the original plan. Thus the Royalty at first&lt;br /&gt;
offered and eagerly taken by the ignorant author&lt;br /&gt;
was 10 per cent, on the published price from the&lt;br /&gt;
beginning. Then one man sharper than his&lt;br /&gt;
brothers discovered that his authors would take 5&lt;br /&gt;
per cent, from the beginning; another that his men&lt;br /&gt;
would take 10 per cent, on the trade price; a&lt;br /&gt;
third, and this was the most happy discovery of&lt;br /&gt;
all, that his men would take 10 per cent, to begin&lt;br /&gt;
when a great number of copies had been first sold.&lt;br /&gt;
In the forthcoming work on &amp;quot;Methods of&lt;br /&gt;
Publication,&amp;quot; the author prints a table which&lt;br /&gt;
shows the working of the system and the results to&lt;br /&gt;
author and publisher.&lt;br /&gt;
He takes as an example an ordinary novel in&lt;br /&gt;
one volume, sold at 6s., a very common form of&lt;br /&gt;
book at this day. These six shilling novels vary&lt;br /&gt;
considerably in length, running from 70,000 words&lt;br /&gt;
to 180,000 words&mdash;or even more. The average&lt;br /&gt;
length, however, may be taken as from 70,000 to&lt;br /&gt;
100,000 words.&lt;br /&gt;
The cost of producing such a work is, with a&lt;br /&gt;
liberal allowance for advertising, as follows :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
(1) For the first 1,000 copies nearly &pound;100.&lt;br /&gt;
(2) For the second edition of 3,000 copies,&lt;br /&gt;
&pound;120, or with a liberal increase of adver-&lt;br /&gt;
tising, .&pound;150.&lt;br /&gt;
(3) If the success be so great as to justify a large&lt;br /&gt;
edition of 10,000, the cost of production of&lt;br /&gt;
this edition would be about ^360, or with&lt;br /&gt;
increased advertising say ^400.&lt;br /&gt;
(4) The trade price of the book varies from&lt;br /&gt;
3s. 4&amp;lt;/. to 3-r. Sd. We may fairly take it at&lt;br /&gt;
3*. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
The trade price is generally arrived at by -&lt;br /&gt;
taking two-thirds of the published price and&lt;br /&gt;
allowing thirteen copies as twelve. In the&lt;br /&gt;
case of the great distributing houses an&lt;br /&gt;
additional 10 per cent, is allowed. There&lt;br /&gt;
are also cases in which lower terms are&lt;br /&gt;
given for special reasons. Many copies,&lt;br /&gt;
however, are sold at a higher price.&lt;br /&gt;
(5) The publisher therefore obtains&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
a. For the first edition of 1,000 copies,&lt;br /&gt;
^175-&lt;br /&gt;
/3. For a second edition of 3,000 copies,&lt;br /&gt;
7. For an edition of 10,000 copies, ^1,750.&lt;br /&gt;
Out of this he has to pay the author, printer, paper-&lt;br /&gt;
maker, binder, and the advertisements.&lt;br /&gt;
We might proceed at once to our table, but for&lt;br /&gt;
one objection which will be raised. It is this.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 39 (#59) ##############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
39&lt;br /&gt;
Suppose the publisher prints io,ooo copies and&lt;br /&gt;
sells only 1,000 copies, he then has 9,000 copies on&lt;br /&gt;
his hands. That is true. To overprint is a mistake&lt;br /&gt;
that inexperienced publishers often make: experi-&lt;br /&gt;
enced, rarely. The wise publisher feels his way&lt;br /&gt;
even though to print 3,000 only will cost him a&lt;br /&gt;
halfpenny more on each copy than boldly to order&lt;br /&gt;
10,000. When the demand for a popular book&lt;br /&gt;
ceases, which is not suddenly but gradually, the&lt;br /&gt;
prudent publisher is not generally left with many&lt;br /&gt;
copies on hand. It must be remembered that we&lt;br /&gt;
are here speaking of a popular and successful book,&lt;br /&gt;
of which there are a great many issued every year.&lt;br /&gt;
Now, then, for our table. We deduct from the&lt;br /&gt;
publisher&amp;#039;s profits (1) what he pays to the author,&lt;br /&gt;
(2) what he pays for production. The reader will&lt;br /&gt;
see set forth in order the respective shares of profit&lt;br /&gt;
presented by a 5 per cent, up to a 35 per cent,&lt;br /&gt;
royalty to author and to publisher. The per-&lt;br /&gt;
centage is taken on the published price, the full&lt;br /&gt;
price of 6s.&lt;br /&gt;
I. On the sale of the first 1,000.&lt;br /&gt;
Per cent.&lt;br /&gt;
■&lt;br /&gt;
10&lt;br /&gt;
■5&lt;br /&gt;
20&lt;br /&gt;
25&lt;br /&gt;
30&lt;br /&gt;
&pound;&lt;br /&gt;
&pound;&lt;br /&gt;
&pound;&lt;br /&gt;
&pound;&lt;br /&gt;
&pound;&lt;br /&gt;
&pound;&lt;br /&gt;
Publisher&lt;br /&gt;
60&lt;br /&gt;
45&lt;br /&gt;
3&deg;&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
Author ...&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;#039;5&lt;br /&gt;
3&deg;&lt;br /&gt;
45&lt;br /&gt;
60&lt;br /&gt;
75&lt;br /&gt;
90&lt;br /&gt;
II. On the sale of the next 3,000.&lt;br /&gt;
Per cent.&lt;br /&gt;
5&lt;br /&gt;
10&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;5&lt;br /&gt;
20&lt;br /&gt;
3&deg;&lt;br /&gt;
35&lt;br /&gt;
&pound;&lt;br /&gt;
&pound;&lt;br /&gt;
&pound;&lt;br /&gt;
&pound;&lt;br /&gt;
&pound;&lt;br /&gt;
&pound;&lt;br /&gt;
&pound;&lt;br /&gt;
Publisher&lt;br /&gt;
33&deg;&lt;br /&gt;
285&lt;br /&gt;
&bull;40&lt;br /&gt;
195&lt;br /&gt;
■ 50&lt;br /&gt;
105&lt;br /&gt;
Author ...&lt;br /&gt;
45&lt;br /&gt;
90&lt;br /&gt;
13s&lt;br /&gt;
180&lt;br /&gt;
225&lt;br /&gt;
270&lt;br /&gt;
315&lt;br /&gt;
III. On the sale of an edition of 10,000.&lt;br /&gt;
Pe&lt;br /&gt;
r cent.&lt;br /&gt;
5&lt;br /&gt;
IO&lt;br /&gt;
IS&lt;br /&gt;
20&lt;br /&gt;
3&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
35&lt;br /&gt;
&pound;&lt;br /&gt;
&pound;&lt;br /&gt;
&pound;&lt;br /&gt;
&pound;&lt;br /&gt;
&pound;&lt;br /&gt;
C&lt;br /&gt;
&pound;&lt;br /&gt;
Publisher&lt;br /&gt;
1,300&lt;br /&gt;
1,050&lt;br /&gt;
900&lt;br /&gt;
750&lt;br /&gt;
600&lt;br /&gt;
45&deg;&lt;br /&gt;
300&lt;br /&gt;
Author ...&lt;br /&gt;
150&lt;br /&gt;
450&lt;br /&gt;
600&lt;br /&gt;
75&deg;&lt;br /&gt;
900&lt;br /&gt;
1,050&lt;br /&gt;
Since it is more common to meet with a success&lt;br /&gt;
corresponding with the second than with the first&lt;br /&gt;
table, let us consider what the figures mean. They&lt;br /&gt;
speak for themselves, but to those who cannot&lt;br /&gt;
understand figures let us explain.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Your publisher, dear Sir or Madam, when he&lt;br /&gt;
benevolently offers you a 5 per cent, royalty, will&lt;br /&gt;
on a second edition of 3,000 copies make ^330 to&lt;br /&gt;
your ^45, i.e., eight times your share. If he gives&lt;br /&gt;
you 10 per cent.&mdash;which is common&mdash;he will&lt;br /&gt;
make ,&pound;285 to your &pound;90, that is, three times your&lt;br /&gt;
share. If 15 per cent, he will make ^240 to your&lt;br /&gt;
^135, i.e., twice your share. If 20 per cent., .&pound;195&lt;br /&gt;
to your ;&pound;i8o. If 25 per cent., ^170 to your&lt;br /&gt;
.&pound;225. If 30 per cent., &pound;10$ to your ^270.&lt;br /&gt;
Consider this, and refuse the 10 per cent, with&lt;br /&gt;
indignation.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
As for the &amp;quot;fancy&amp;quot; royalties, those on trade&lt;br /&gt;
price, those to begin when a certain number of&lt;br /&gt;
copies have gone and so forth, the reader may&lt;br /&gt;
calculate for himself the meaning of these pro-&lt;br /&gt;
posals. We will, however, on a future occasion&lt;br /&gt;
assist his calculations. With the help of these&lt;br /&gt;
tables, too, the reader will be able to make an&lt;br /&gt;
intelligent attempt towards finding an answer to&lt;br /&gt;
the question, &amp;quot;What proportion of profit should&lt;br /&gt;
in equity be the share of the publisher in the case&lt;br /&gt;
of a book which has no risk?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
THE ROYAL LITERARY FUND.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Yours be the task to foster and protect&lt;br /&gt;
Genius in rags and learning in neglect.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
W. T. I- ITZGERALD.&lt;br /&gt;
THE object of the Royal Literary Fund, as&lt;br /&gt;
summed up in Mr. Fitzgerald&amp;#039;s Anniversary&lt;br /&gt;
Ode, is one of which all of us, members of&lt;br /&gt;
this Society, must cordially approve.&lt;br /&gt;
Here are its aims set forth a little more at&lt;br /&gt;
length:&mdash;■&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;To administer assistance to Authors of published&lt;br /&gt;
works of approved literary merit and of important&lt;br /&gt;
contributions to periodical literature, who may be&lt;br /&gt;
reduced to distress by unavoidable calamities, or&lt;br /&gt;
deprived by enfeebled faculties, or declining life, of&lt;br /&gt;
the power of literary exertion. This assistance may&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 40 (#60) ##############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
40&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
be extended at the death of an Author to his widow&lt;br /&gt;
and children.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Every one may not know the pathetic incident to&lt;br /&gt;
which the Fund actually owed its origin. It was&lt;br /&gt;
this. A member of a club in London, much&lt;br /&gt;
frequented by literary men, being arrested for a&lt;br /&gt;
small debt, died in consequence. It then leaked&lt;br /&gt;
out that the unfortunate scholar had lived for years&lt;br /&gt;
in the extremest poverty, but had borne his suffer-&lt;br /&gt;
ings in silence. Some fifteen years before this&lt;br /&gt;
occurrence, in the very club of which he was a&lt;br /&gt;
member, an attempt had been set on foot to found&lt;br /&gt;
some sort of pension scheme, but it had fallen&lt;br /&gt;
through, after a few desultory meetings. This,&lt;br /&gt;
however, galvanized it into life again.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. David Williams was from the first the life&lt;br /&gt;
and soul of the movement. He had been the&lt;br /&gt;
person with whom the idea first originated, and he&lt;br /&gt;
was the first to assist in its resuscitation. He&lt;br /&gt;
organized the scheme, and was indefatigable in its&lt;br /&gt;
promotion. He levied taxes on all his friends and&lt;br /&gt;
acquaintances, and persuaded actors, poets, and&lt;br /&gt;
princes to sound the praises of the new institution.&lt;br /&gt;
We fear he must have been, good worthy man, a&lt;br /&gt;
terrible bore.&lt;br /&gt;
We learn that he himself made house-to-house&lt;br /&gt;
visits in behalf of his project, and collected large&lt;br /&gt;
sums of money in that way. In addition to which&lt;br /&gt;
he gave personal attention to all the routine business,&lt;br /&gt;
with the result that, when the Society had literally&lt;br /&gt;
thousands invested, and a most magnificent roll of&lt;br /&gt;
supporters, the executive expenses were returned&lt;br /&gt;
as only &pound;$o.&lt;br /&gt;
In 1818 the Society was incorporated.&lt;br /&gt;
After Williams&amp;#039;s death, however, the Society had&lt;br /&gt;
rather a stormy time. This was not only due to&lt;br /&gt;
the loss of their indefatigable leader. The extreme&lt;br /&gt;
secrecy with which the doles were made, while show-&lt;br /&gt;
ing the kindly delicacy of the administrators, might,&lt;br /&gt;
it is obvious, if sufficient care were not taken, be the&lt;br /&gt;
source of abuse. Sufficient care was not taken, and&lt;br /&gt;
abuses followed.&lt;br /&gt;
The affairs of the Society were at that time&lt;br /&gt;
administered by an Executive Committee and a&lt;br /&gt;
Council. The Executive Committee did the work,&lt;br /&gt;
and the Council lent their name. When some of&lt;br /&gt;
the work could not be approved of, a quarrel took&lt;br /&gt;
place between the Council and the Committee.&lt;br /&gt;
Many of the Council joined in the general demand&lt;br /&gt;
for an investigation into the manner in which the&lt;br /&gt;
Society&amp;#039;s affairs had been conducted.&lt;br /&gt;
Then came an agitation for reform. The leader&lt;br /&gt;
of this was Dickens, who attributed the malpractices,&lt;br /&gt;
which had undoubtedly occurred, to the demoral-&lt;br /&gt;
izing effect inflicted upon men by much sitting on&lt;br /&gt;
boards of direction. The demand was to a certain&lt;br /&gt;
extent acceded to, and Dickens, Mr. Wentworth&lt;br /&gt;
Dilke, and Sir E. L. Bulwer were placed upon the&lt;br /&gt;
first Committee of reform, and no one has since&lt;br /&gt;
that day breathed a word against the way in which&lt;br /&gt;
the Fund is administered.&lt;br /&gt;
The benefits are disposed entirely without regard to&lt;br /&gt;
religious sect, the only disqualification being offences&lt;br /&gt;
against public morality. Neither are they con-&lt;br /&gt;
fined to Englishmen. At the dinner of 1822, when&lt;br /&gt;
Chateaubriand&amp;#039;s health was proposed by the Duke&lt;br /&gt;
of York, as the ambassador of France, he mentioned,&lt;br /&gt;
in his acknowledgment of the toast, that he was&lt;br /&gt;
himself aware of the benevolent character of the&lt;br /&gt;
Fund, for, during the period of the French&lt;br /&gt;
Revolution, a French literary gentleman was in&lt;br /&gt;
difficulties, and these difficulties having been repre-&lt;br /&gt;
sented to the Committee by one of his friends, a&lt;br /&gt;
sum was voted sufficient to relieve him from all&lt;br /&gt;
anxiety, and that at a time when the institution&lt;br /&gt;
was itself struggling into notice. &amp;#039; This gentleman,&lt;br /&gt;
Chateaubriand continued, was thus enabled to&lt;br /&gt;
maintain his ground. At the Restoration he&lt;br /&gt;
returned to France to acquire fresh honours as a&lt;br /&gt;
literary man, and to rise in the favour of his&lt;br /&gt;
Sovereign. He had now returned to England, but&lt;br /&gt;
in a different capacity&mdash;as the ambassador of his&lt;br /&gt;
Sovereign; and he was that man.&lt;br /&gt;
When Macaulay inveighed against all institutions&lt;br /&gt;
having for their object the pecuniary relief of authors,&lt;br /&gt;
he was taking a position he might be expected to&lt;br /&gt;
take, one which it was dignified for him to take,&lt;br /&gt;
and one which we sincerely wish could rationally&lt;br /&gt;
be taken. Macaulay&amp;#039;s contention was that good&lt;br /&gt;
work would always find sufficient pay, and that&lt;br /&gt;
therefore the very people who would require such&lt;br /&gt;
assistance were the people who did not do good&lt;br /&gt;
work. That, in fact, all such Societies must lead to&lt;br /&gt;
the encouragement of the incompetent. This of&lt;br /&gt;
course is very far from being the case. A great&lt;br /&gt;
deal of admirable work, useful to mankind, and&lt;br /&gt;
most creditable to the author, never can command&lt;br /&gt;
sufficient circulation to make it remunerative.&lt;br /&gt;
The Fund most wisely allows for the fact that,&lt;br /&gt;
whereas while the author is able to work at full&lt;br /&gt;
pressure, he may keep his head above water, there&lt;br /&gt;
may come a time when such &amp;quot;H state cannot be&lt;br /&gt;
continued. His methods may get out of date.&lt;br /&gt;
The very lucidity of his teaching may have enabled&lt;br /&gt;
some younger man, more in touch with modern&lt;br /&gt;
thought, to carry similar work to a point of higher&lt;br /&gt;
perfection. Old age and sickness may arrive. At&lt;br /&gt;
once poverty stares the author of unremunerative&lt;br /&gt;
work in the face. He need be in no way impro-&lt;br /&gt;
vident and yet be unable to lay aside money to&lt;br /&gt;
meet such an emergency.&lt;br /&gt;
It is in such cases as these that the bounty of&lt;br /&gt;
the Royal Literary Fund is freely and delicately&lt;br /&gt;
bestowed.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 41 (#61) ##############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
4-&lt;br /&gt;
It is in such cases as these that such assistance&lt;br /&gt;
is too often urgently necessary.&lt;br /&gt;
There exists another institution for the relief of&lt;br /&gt;
authors. There is a provision on the Civil List for&lt;br /&gt;
pensions to the amount of ^1,200 per annum,&lt;br /&gt;
which should be devoted to the reward of (1)&lt;br /&gt;
Persons having just claims on the Royal benevo-&lt;br /&gt;
lence; (2) Persons who have rendered personal&lt;br /&gt;
service to the Crown; (3) Persons who have&lt;br /&gt;
benefited the public by discoveries in science;&lt;br /&gt;
(4) Persons who have benefited the public by&lt;br /&gt;
their attainments in literature and the arts.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Colles&amp;#039; book* has shown very clearly that&lt;br /&gt;
these pensions are awarded in a most reprehensible&lt;br /&gt;
manner, and are very generally devoted to the&lt;br /&gt;
relief of people often having no claim to charity at&lt;br /&gt;
all, certainly having no claim upon this establish-&lt;br /&gt;
ment, and occasionally having a distinct claim to&lt;br /&gt;
bounty from other sources. The author may well&lt;br /&gt;
look somewhat askance at an institution whose&lt;br /&gt;
benefits are administered with so much caprice,&lt;br /&gt;
and so regularly reaped by the wrong people.&lt;br /&gt;
While there is no doubt that the writers of much&lt;br /&gt;
good work do not derive much good pay from it,&lt;br /&gt;
so that in certain cases the assistance of charity be*&lt;br /&gt;
comes absolutely needful, it is perfectly certain that&lt;br /&gt;
there would be fewer such cases if the literary man&lt;br /&gt;
were more alive to his own interests, mors careful&lt;br /&gt;
of his own property. We learn from the Prince of&lt;br /&gt;
Wales&amp;#039;s speech that the Royal Literary Fund has&lt;br /&gt;
lately made grants to the families of the late J. G.&lt;br /&gt;
Wood and the late R. A. Proctor. These men&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
names were household words; their teaching and&lt;br /&gt;
their books were known in every family. They&lt;br /&gt;
were not devoted to abstract and abstruse science;&lt;br /&gt;
they did not produce works of great research,&lt;br /&gt;
appealing necessarily to so small a public as to&lt;br /&gt;
make it impossible that their work should be&lt;br /&gt;
pecuniarily successful. On the contrary, they were&lt;br /&gt;
the most popular expositors whom the world has&lt;br /&gt;
ever seen of the physical and natural wonders of&lt;br /&gt;
the world. Their books had an enormous popular&lt;br /&gt;
circulation, and the fact that it has been necessary&lt;br /&gt;
for their families to apply for assistance to the&lt;br /&gt;
Royal Literary Fund speaks volumes for the&lt;br /&gt;
statement made so often in the paper of this&lt;br /&gt;
Society. &amp;quot;The nature of literary property is mis-&lt;br /&gt;
understood and its very reality is hardly recog-&lt;br /&gt;
nized.&amp;quot; Had these writers understood the value&lt;br /&gt;
of their own property they would never, perhaps,&lt;br /&gt;
have become the recipients either in life, or through&lt;br /&gt;
their widows, after death, of the Literary Fund&lt;br /&gt;
Bounty.&lt;br /&gt;
* &amp;quot;Literature and the Pension List,&amp;quot; by W. Morris Colles.&lt;br /&gt;
Cr. 8vo., y. td. Henry Glaisher, 95, Strand, W.C.&lt;br /&gt;
VOL. I.&lt;br /&gt;
A HARD CASE.&lt;br /&gt;
No. II&lt;br /&gt;
THIS publisher, Mr. Henry Skimpington-&lt;br /&gt;
Brown, prided himself on his double-&lt;br /&gt;
barrelled name. It certainly lent weight&lt;br /&gt;
to his assurances that he was in a position to pro-&lt;br /&gt;
duce guarantees from most influential people that&lt;br /&gt;
he was honest&mdash;nay more, that he was generous.&lt;br /&gt;
He came under the notice of the Society of&lt;br /&gt;
Authors in the following way. He was an adver-&lt;br /&gt;
tising person, whose letter paper bore the elastic title&lt;br /&gt;
of &amp;quot;publisher&amp;quot; upon it, and whose address was in&lt;br /&gt;
Fleet Street. An author, bitten by one of his&lt;br /&gt;
specious circulars, sent a manuscript to him for his&lt;br /&gt;
consideration. Here is the author&amp;#039;s account of&lt;br /&gt;
what followed :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I unfortunately entrusted my book to Mr. Skim-&lt;br /&gt;
pington-Brown. He engaged to publish for me any&lt;br /&gt;
number of copies required &amp;quot; up to 1,000,&amp;quot; beginning&lt;br /&gt;
at 200. The book came out. I at once began to&lt;br /&gt;
receive letters from friends, acquaintances, and&lt;br /&gt;
book-sellers, complaining that they could not obtain&lt;br /&gt;
copies through the ordinary channels. Mr. Mudie&lt;br /&gt;
also informed me privately that my publisher was&lt;br /&gt;
quite unable to meet his orders. I wrote re-&lt;br /&gt;
peatedly to Mr. Skimpington-Brown demanding an&lt;br /&gt;
explanation. Sometimes I got an evasive answer;&lt;br /&gt;
generally no notice was taken of my letters. By&lt;br /&gt;
this time I was quite certain that something was&lt;br /&gt;
wrong, and a friend of mine, who interviewed him&lt;br /&gt;
for me, elicited from him :&mdash;that he had only&lt;br /&gt;
printed 100 copies; that the type had been broken&lt;br /&gt;
up; and that he had not enough money to pay for&lt;br /&gt;
composition again.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
The author had given the man &pound;%o to produce&lt;br /&gt;
the book. Now, although a part of the money&lt;br /&gt;
paid was for advertisement of the book, no adver-&lt;br /&gt;
tisements were ever seen except in a trade circular&lt;br /&gt;
once or twice. Hardly any copies were sent out&lt;br /&gt;
for review. What reviews were obtained were very&lt;br /&gt;
good ones.&lt;br /&gt;
Therefore when the author applied to the Society&lt;br /&gt;
of Authors, the position of affairs was thus:&mdash;He had&lt;br /&gt;
been induced to pay the publisher a sum of money&lt;br /&gt;
equivalent to double as much as was actually spent&lt;br /&gt;
in bringing the little book out; also an extra ^5&lt;br /&gt;
on some pretext or other; third, a large sum for&lt;br /&gt;
author&amp;#039;s corrections. Only 100 copies were printed.&lt;br /&gt;
The circulating libraries could not put the book on&lt;br /&gt;
their lists, because they could get no copies. The&lt;br /&gt;
author had received nothing back but a small sum&lt;br /&gt;
obtained by privately disposing of a few copies to&lt;br /&gt;
his friends.&lt;br /&gt;
A few letters were written which seemed to have&lt;br /&gt;
11&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 42 (#62) ##############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
42&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR&lt;br /&gt;
the effect of temporarily frightening Mr. Skimping-&lt;br /&gt;
ton-Brown, for it was at this time that he sent to&lt;br /&gt;
the Society a letter in which he said that most in-&lt;br /&gt;
fluential people were willing to come forward and&lt;br /&gt;
speak to his honesty and generosity.&lt;br /&gt;
It happened that another author had some idea&lt;br /&gt;
of publishing a work with Mr. Skimpington-Brown.&lt;br /&gt;
To this gentleman, whom he seemed to think might&lt;br /&gt;
possibly prove a new victim, the worthy publisher&lt;br /&gt;
mentioned the first author&amp;#039;s book, and stated that he&lt;br /&gt;
was bringing out a second edition of it, for which&lt;br /&gt;
there was already a demand for neatly 3,000 copies!&lt;br /&gt;
But the two authors were acquainted with each&lt;br /&gt;
other, and this communication reached the first&lt;br /&gt;
author. As he said, &amp;quot;the state of things is worse&lt;br /&gt;
now than ever. As long as the book was prac-&lt;br /&gt;
tically unpublished, there was a chance of getting&lt;br /&gt;
a new publisher for it; but if this man, hiving&lt;br /&gt;
evidently no position, no capital, and, indeed, no&lt;br /&gt;
right to the name of publisher, really keeps his hold&lt;br /&gt;
on the book, it is a ruined work. He cannot,&lt;br /&gt;
in fact, publish it himself, and yet he deprives the&lt;br /&gt;
author of his chance of finding another publisher.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
So it was determined that, at all events, the&lt;br /&gt;
book must be got out of his hands, and that after-&lt;br /&gt;
wards the possibility of making him disgorge some&lt;br /&gt;
of the plunder must be considered.&lt;br /&gt;
The agreement was unstamped, that is, for prac-&lt;br /&gt;
tical purposes. It must be admitted that it had&lt;br /&gt;
affixed to it a penny postage stamp. In it the&lt;br /&gt;
publisher covenanted to &amp;quot;print,publish, and push(\)&lt;br /&gt;
the book, and meet all demands up to 1,000&lt;br /&gt;
copies.&amp;quot; This latter phrase alone would have put&lt;br /&gt;
anyone of experience upon his guard. It is almost&lt;br /&gt;
invariably the prelude to the following dodge for&lt;br /&gt;
extortion. A large number of copies is named,&lt;br /&gt;
say 10,000; then a correspondingly large figure is&lt;br /&gt;
named as the publisher&amp;#039;s risk, say &pound;50. The&lt;br /&gt;
author may feel that &pound;50 is not much for 10,000&lt;br /&gt;
copies; more, he may ask someone who knows,&lt;br /&gt;
and will be informed that the demand is not very&lt;br /&gt;
exorbitant. So he pays it. Then only 100 copies&lt;br /&gt;
are printed. The author objects. The other per-&lt;br /&gt;
son says: &amp;quot;I never said I should produce 10,000&lt;br /&gt;
copies. No good publisher ever produces such&lt;br /&gt;
large editions of new men&amp;#039;s work. I said I would&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;#039;meet demands&amp;#039; up to that number. I have as&lt;br /&gt;
yet not been asked for more than I have printed.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
But the author may say: &amp;quot;It did not cost you&lt;br /&gt;
,&pound;50 to produce 100 copies.&amp;quot; To which the other&lt;br /&gt;
person may reply: &amp;quot;I never said it did.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Only in one way had Mr. Skimpington-Brown&lt;br /&gt;
contracted to do something definite. He said he&lt;br /&gt;
would advertise up to &pound;20. He was asked to pro-&lt;br /&gt;
duce vouchers for this sum. He then said that he&lt;br /&gt;
had only advertised to the extent of j&pound;g, and that,&lt;br /&gt;
of course, the surplus would be refunded.&lt;br /&gt;
The Society of Authors made an appointment&lt;br /&gt;
with this honest tradesman to meet their accountant.&lt;br /&gt;
But the accountant found the office locked up,&lt;br /&gt;
and received a note stating that his books were&lt;br /&gt;
at his suburban office!&lt;br /&gt;
At last, upon threats of legal procedure, Mr.&lt;br /&gt;
Skimpington-Brown appeared, and, with tears in his&lt;br /&gt;
eyes, refunded j&pound;io. He said that was all he pos-&lt;br /&gt;
sessed.&lt;br /&gt;
This was all the satisfaction that could be&lt;br /&gt;
possibly obtained for the author. Nothing would&lt;br /&gt;
have been gained by legal procedure, and the&lt;br /&gt;
author was advised to take Mr. Skimpington-&lt;br /&gt;
Brown&amp;#039;s little all.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
THE CHESTNUT BELL.&lt;br /&gt;
THE sound of the Chestnut Bell is now be-&lt;br /&gt;
coming rare in America; heard indeed as&lt;br /&gt;
seldom as those of the Sunken City, comme-&lt;br /&gt;
morated by Riickert, which &amp;quot;peal once more their&lt;br /&gt;
old melodious chime&amp;quot; but once or twice in a century,&lt;br /&gt;
and then only to the Sunday child who is born to&lt;br /&gt;
hear what is inaudible to the Philistine. But before&lt;br /&gt;
the last Ming of this extraordinary instrument dies&lt;br /&gt;
away, it may be worth while to record its history,&lt;br /&gt;
and give for the first time what is probably a true&lt;br /&gt;
clue to its origin.&lt;br /&gt;
About four years ago Senator Jerome, of New&lt;br /&gt;
York who, because of his immaculate life, admir-&lt;br /&gt;
able gravity, and personal resemblance to a famous&lt;br /&gt;
picture byMurillo, has always been known as Saint&lt;br /&gt;
Jerome&mdash;was one day pouring forth in a speech a&lt;br /&gt;
grand series of moral axioms, which, however&lt;br /&gt;
admirable, &amp;quot;had not,&amp;quot; as Heine says, &amp;quot;novelty for&lt;br /&gt;
merit,&amp;quot; when all at once Senator Riddleberger,&lt;br /&gt;
of Virginia, the licensed clown, jester, and mischief&lt;br /&gt;
maker of the Senate, called to a point of order.&lt;br /&gt;
And on being asked what it was he replied: &amp;quot;Mr.&lt;br /&gt;
Speaker, I want the Senator from New York to stop&lt;br /&gt;
ringing that d -d old Chestnut bell of his.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
The mot was new and it spread &amp;quot;like wildfire&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
over the Union. Wherever the Frenchman of&lt;br /&gt;
1840 would have cried connu, the American roared&lt;br /&gt;
Chestnut. If an orator uttered a truism&mdash;if any&lt;br /&gt;
body dared to say &amp;quot; be virtuous and you will be&lt;br /&gt;
happy&amp;quot;&mdash;&amp;quot;Chestnut!&amp;quot;was sure to be heard. Woe&lt;br /&gt;
to the narrators of old Joes, for the nuts were cast&lt;br /&gt;
at them, and they were abashed. Ere long the&lt;br /&gt;
Chestnut Bell itself appeared. It was a small&lt;br /&gt;
highly resonant apparatus of a tintinnabulistic or&lt;br /&gt;
campanological nature, worn as an appendage to the&lt;br /&gt;
button hole&mdash;it went with a spring, and its sound&lt;br /&gt;
became a terror in the land. I am now in posses-&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 43 (#63) ##############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
43&lt;br /&gt;
sion of six different kinds of Chestnut Bells&mdash;none&lt;br /&gt;
of them are loud, but all are of piercing, insulting,&lt;br /&gt;
aggravating, tone. It has happened that even&lt;br /&gt;
clergymen when using platitudes or dropping into&lt;br /&gt;
cant, have been called to silence by the dreadful&lt;br /&gt;
bell.&lt;br /&gt;
It is usual in the United States whenever a new&lt;br /&gt;
slang term appears for all the minor literati of the&lt;br /&gt;
press to at once invent Jts origin. Consequently&lt;br /&gt;
there were innumerable anecdotes, every one more&lt;br /&gt;
anthentic than the others, telling how and when the&lt;br /&gt;
term Chestnut came into existence. Of these I&lt;br /&gt;
have made a collection, with the result of distrust-&lt;br /&gt;
ing them all. In such cases it is almost invariably&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;the oldest which is truest.&amp;quot; The oldest in this&lt;br /&gt;
case is Italian. In Northern Italy, especially in&lt;br /&gt;
Florence, when a man would discredit or snub&lt;br /&gt;
another, and intimate that what he says is untrue,&lt;br /&gt;
or contemptible, or worn out, he puts his thumb&lt;br /&gt;
between his fore and middle finger, and presents&lt;br /&gt;
it. This is called making the Chestnut. In&lt;br /&gt;
Naples they call it la fica, or the fig, but the&lt;br /&gt;
castagna or Chestnut is the most ancient term.&lt;br /&gt;
All of the American origins confine themselves&lt;br /&gt;
to the Chestnut, but say nothing of the bell.&lt;br /&gt;
For the bell is the real object, &amp;quot;Chestnut&amp;quot; being&lt;br /&gt;
only the adjective which qualifies it. This part of&lt;br /&gt;
the problem is specially interesting.&lt;br /&gt;
There has long been known in Bavaria, possibly&lt;br /&gt;
in other parts of Germany, but I have only known&lt;br /&gt;
it in the Bayerisches Land, what is called the&lt;br /&gt;
Lugnermesser or Liar&amp;#039;s Knife. This is a knife of&lt;br /&gt;
wood exactly resembling those which are used by&lt;br /&gt;
grocers in England to scoop butter or lard.&lt;br /&gt;
There is a hole iri it in which hangs a hawk&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
bell, and on the blade is an inscription of which&lt;br /&gt;
the following is, though not a translation, a toler-&lt;br /&gt;
able imitation:&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
Who liftes thys Knyfe&lt;br /&gt;
Nor ringes y* Bell,&lt;br /&gt;
Ne&amp;#039;er in his Lyfe&lt;br /&gt;
A Lye did tell.&lt;br /&gt;
The most remarkable of these knives which I&lt;br /&gt;
have ever seen is in the possession of Miss Mary&lt;br /&gt;
B. Reath, of Philadelphia. Another was in the&lt;br /&gt;
great Art Exhibition at Munich in 1888. A third&lt;br /&gt;
is in the Artists&amp;#039; Club of Munich. Whenever a&lt;br /&gt;
member tells a doubtful or a worn-out or commonly&lt;br /&gt;
known story, and tries to pass it off for new, some&lt;br /&gt;
one rings the bell. All three bore inscriptions in&lt;br /&gt;
old Bavarian which were, however, so peculiar and&lt;br /&gt;
requiring so much explanation, that it is hardly&lt;br /&gt;
worth while to give them here.&lt;br /&gt;
The ringing of the Liar&amp;#039;s Bell is a kind of shut-&lt;br /&gt;
ting off or condemnation, and as such is manifestly&lt;br /&gt;
derived from the &amp;quot; bell, book, and candle,&amp;quot; the form&lt;br /&gt;
vol. 1.&lt;br /&gt;
of excommunication of the Church of Rome, ending&lt;br /&gt;
by closing the book against the offender, extin-&lt;br /&gt;
guishing the candle, and ringing the bell.&lt;br /&gt;
(&amp;quot; Reliq. Antiq., i, 1, Gawaine and Gavin, 3023&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
Halliwell.&amp;quot;) Also to bear the bell, to carry off the&lt;br /&gt;
prize, to be unsurpassed as a liar. For a bell, a&lt;br /&gt;
whetstone, a knife, and, in America, a hat have&lt;br /&gt;
here or there been substituted.&lt;br /&gt;
It is very strange that Friedrich in his &amp;quot;Symbolik&lt;br /&gt;
der Natur,&amp;quot; says of the chestnut that it is a type of&lt;br /&gt;
the unchangeable, of the old which ever persists in&lt;br /&gt;
remaining&mdash;which is the very spirit of all that is&lt;br /&gt;
hackneyed, &amp;quot;the reason for this being that its&lt;br /&gt;
leaves femain so long unchanged.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;And as&lt;br /&gt;
most races name their national fools from some&lt;br /&gt;
popular dish, as Jack Pudding, in England;&lt;br /&gt;
Hanswurst, in Germany; Pickle Herring, in&lt;br /&gt;
Holland; Jean Potage, in France; so the Italians&lt;br /&gt;
call a silly, stupid, would-be witty fellow a Marone,&lt;br /&gt;
which is a large kind of chestnut.&amp;quot; But the&lt;br /&gt;
real ancient meaning of the nut is Beharrlich-&lt;br /&gt;
keit, obstinate endurance, like that of an old&lt;br /&gt;
story which holds its own for ever. Therefore&lt;br /&gt;
the Greeks called it the Euboic acorn, and con-&lt;br /&gt;
secrated it to Jupiter, he being of all the gods&lt;br /&gt;
the most unyielding.&lt;br /&gt;
It is also to be noted that the Greeks and&lt;br /&gt;
Romans carried little silver bells, the tinkling of&lt;br /&gt;
which drove away witchcraft and evil spells&mdash;which&lt;br /&gt;
latter certainly include old Joe Millers, so well&lt;br /&gt;
known to possess a kind of dire and intolerable&lt;br /&gt;
fascination. I have a fac simile of one of these&lt;br /&gt;
ancient chestnut bells, with its strange incantation,&lt;br /&gt;
which I carry in my dressing case as a warning.&lt;br /&gt;
I trust that the reader will not conclude, from what&lt;br /&gt;
I have written, that I need it!&lt;br /&gt;
C. G. Leland.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
The Death of a Scholar.&mdash;&amp;quot; Come and see&lt;br /&gt;
the difference there is between the powerful Rabbis&lt;br /&gt;
of the Land of Israel and the pious Rabbis of&lt;br /&gt;
Babylon. Resh Lakish made a funeral oration&lt;br /&gt;
in honour of a certain disciple of the wise, and&lt;br /&gt;
exclaimed, &amp;#039;Alas! the I and of Isiael has lost a&lt;br /&gt;
great man!&amp;#039; Whereas Rabbi Nachman at Babylon&lt;br /&gt;
declined delivering a funeral oration on a similar&lt;br /&gt;
occasion; for, said he, &amp;#039;What can I say more than&lt;br /&gt;
Alas! a basketful of books is lost&amp;#039;?&amp;quot;&mdash;Talmud&lt;br /&gt;
Megillah.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
i) 2&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 44 (#64) ##############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
44&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;THE ART OF AUTHORSHIP.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
In August, 1888, a well-known English novelist&lt;br /&gt;
received the following letter :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Coventry,&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Dear Madam, &amp;quot;August 21, &amp;#039;88.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I am wanting to address our young people, in&lt;br /&gt;
response to their request, by way of a lecture upon&lt;br /&gt;
the art of composition and the means essential to&lt;br /&gt;
secure a forcible and interesting style of expression.&lt;br /&gt;
I have thought that the only way by which I could&lt;br /&gt;
add any considerable interest and usefulness to an&lt;br /&gt;
evening&amp;#039;s pleasant intercourse upon such a topic&lt;br /&gt;
would be to secure, if at all possible, a personal&lt;br /&gt;
testimony of the experience of one or two of our&lt;br /&gt;
most skilful and honoured authors.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;To that end I have taken the very great liberty&lt;br /&gt;
to write to you and solicit your generous help.&lt;br /&gt;
May I be permitted to ask whether in early life you&lt;br /&gt;
pave yourself to any special training with a view to&lt;br /&gt;
the formation of style, and also whether you can&lt;br /&gt;
give us any information of your own methods that&lt;br /&gt;
would aid us to realize, in some degree at least, the&lt;br /&gt;
secrets of your own great powers in the use of a&lt;br /&gt;
clear and forcible English.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I write to you because your finely conceived&lt;br /&gt;
novels are cherished friends of my own, delightful&lt;br /&gt;
companions which give me more pleasure than I&lt;br /&gt;
can well say; and also because I feel in asking such&lt;br /&gt;
a favour, that you must be so accustomed to people&lt;br /&gt;
getting truly attached to you by reason of your&lt;br /&gt;
beautiful stories, that you will very readily forgive&lt;br /&gt;
the request even though you cannot grant it. But&lt;br /&gt;
if you are able to spare a few minutes to do me this&lt;br /&gt;
kind service, I can assure you of the gratitude of&lt;br /&gt;
many beside myself.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Pray excuse this long letter, and if I am giving&lt;br /&gt;
you any trouble, or ignorantly making an undue&lt;br /&gt;
demand on your time, do more than forgive me,&lt;br /&gt;
take no notice of me, and you will be appreciated&lt;br /&gt;
and understood by&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Yours most faithfully and respectfully,&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;GEORGE BAINTON.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Mrs. Parr.&lt;br /&gt;
Now this was really a very polite and appreciative&lt;br /&gt;
letter, and to it she returned a courteous answer.&lt;br /&gt;
It was nice to be considered among &amp;quot;one or two&lt;br /&gt;
of the most skilful authors,&amp;quot; and kindness of heart&lt;br /&gt;
prompted her to assist a clergyman in his task of&lt;br /&gt;
lecturing to his young people upon a subject that,&lt;br /&gt;
like Ah Sin, &amp;quot;he did not understand.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
But in May, 1890, she received the following letter&lt;br /&gt;
from her correspondent:&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Dear Madam, &amp;quot;May 2, &amp;#039;90.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Some time since I wrote to you concerning a&lt;br /&gt;
lecture I was about to give to a number of young&lt;br /&gt;
men upon the art of composition, and asked your&lt;br /&gt;
aid. You most generously responded to my appeal,&lt;br /&gt;
and gave me the privilege of using your kind words&lt;br /&gt;
of counsel and experience in the event of my being&lt;br /&gt;
desirous to put the lecture into printed form. I&lt;br /&gt;
thought you would like to see the extract from your&lt;br /&gt;
letter thus incorporated into the lecture&mdash;a lecture&lt;br /&gt;
I have expanded into book form and published&lt;br /&gt;
through Messrs. Clarke &amp;amp; Co., Fleet St., under the&lt;br /&gt;
title&amp;#039;The Art of Authorship.&amp;#039; The little volume&lt;br /&gt;
now issued is simply the lecture amplified&mdash;matter&lt;br /&gt;
growing under my hands until it far exceeded the&lt;br /&gt;
limits of the pamphlet I at first intended.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;For your valued aid I again thank you most&lt;br /&gt;
heartily, and am&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Very faithfully yours,&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Mrs. Louisa Parr. &amp;quot;George Bainton.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
The author gave the Correspondence to this&lt;br /&gt;
Society. She denies having given Mr. Bainton&lt;br /&gt;
leave to print her letter, and considers that its&lt;br /&gt;
appearance in a collection of letters headed &amp;quot;The&lt;br /&gt;
Art of Authorship,&amp;quot; and published as a book by&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Bainton, is a breach of faith.&lt;br /&gt;
On receiving these letters it was decided to in-&lt;br /&gt;
vestigate the case a little and to appeal to a few of&lt;br /&gt;
our members, whose names were mentioned both in&lt;br /&gt;
the book and in public advertisement as &amp;quot;personal&lt;br /&gt;
contributors,&amp;quot; and ascertain if they thought like-&lt;br /&gt;
wise.&lt;br /&gt;
It will not be possible to print all the replies in&lt;br /&gt;
full, but here are a few extracts :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Alfred Austin says:&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I answered Mr. Bainton&amp;#039;s enquiries concerning&lt;br /&gt;
how I formed my style, from motives of courtesy&lt;br /&gt;
and good nature, and I hear of the use he has&lt;br /&gt;
made of what I wrote with surprise and regret.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Hall Caine :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The man wrote to me to say that he was about&lt;br /&gt;
to lecture on style to his young men, who were&lt;br /&gt;
enthusiastic readers of mine, etc., etc., and would&lt;br /&gt;
take it as an honour, etc., if I would write them a&lt;br /&gt;
letter on my personal aims and endeavours, early&lt;br /&gt;
efforts, etc., with much of the same sort. Of&lt;br /&gt;
course I was drawn by the silly subterfuge, and&lt;br /&gt;
when, some time later, a second letter asked for&lt;br /&gt;
permission to print my answer in a pamphlet that&lt;br /&gt;
was to contain &amp;#039;the text of the lecture,&amp;#039; I was&lt;br /&gt;
once more made victim. It was not until the&lt;br /&gt;
book appeared that I realized that the man had&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 45 (#65) ##############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
45&lt;br /&gt;
written to everybody, that his &amp;#039;young men &amp;#039; were&lt;br /&gt;
all fudge, that the book was the thing, and that,&lt;br /&gt;
thanks to the folly of folks like myself, he had got&lt;br /&gt;
it cheap.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Here it becomes evident that, at any rate to&lt;br /&gt;
novelists, Mr. Bainton employed an almost in-&lt;br /&gt;
variable form&mdash;the letter, in fact, which we began&lt;br /&gt;
by quoting. For Mr. Grant Allen, Mr. R. D.&lt;br /&gt;
Blackroore, Mrs. Lovett Cameron, Mr. W. S.&lt;br /&gt;
Gilbert, Mr. Rider Haggard, Mrs. Kennard, Mr.&lt;br /&gt;
George Meredith, Miss F. M. Peard, Mr. F. W.&lt;br /&gt;
Robinson, John Strange Winter, Mr. Edmund&lt;br /&gt;
Yates, and Miss Charlotte Yonge all were ignorant&lt;br /&gt;
that Mr. Bainton intended to print their remarks;&lt;br /&gt;
all believed that their assistance was being asked&lt;br /&gt;
by a clergyman and a stranger for his young people,&lt;br /&gt;
and none had an idea that they were being vic-&lt;br /&gt;
timised by a circular letter.&lt;br /&gt;
This simplicity is the more excusable that in the&lt;br /&gt;
specimens before us as we write, Mr. Bainton&lt;br /&gt;
distinctly says he is applying to &amp;quot;one or two&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
authors. Unless one knows him personally before-&lt;br /&gt;
hand, how is the ordinary gentleman, how is the&lt;br /&gt;
ordinary lady, to have an idea that by this state-&lt;br /&gt;
ment Mr. Bainton may mean one or two hundred&lt;br /&gt;
authors?&lt;br /&gt;
Space will not allow that we should print more&lt;br /&gt;
than brief extracts from these authors&amp;#039; letters.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Rider Haggard says :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Some years ago Mr. Bainton, or some person,&lt;br /&gt;
wrote to me saying he was going to give a lecture,&lt;br /&gt;
and asked my opinion on certain literary matters.&lt;br /&gt;
I replied, and, if my memory serves me, stipulated&lt;br /&gt;
that if he printed anything, I should have a proof.&lt;br /&gt;
The other day I received a printed slip, which I&lt;br /&gt;
took for and corrected as a proof. On further&lt;br /&gt;
examination of covering letter, however, I found&lt;br /&gt;
it was an exiract from a printed book forwarded&lt;br /&gt;
for my perusal.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I think it quite unjustifiable that matter&lt;br /&gt;
obtained for one purpose should be used for another&lt;br /&gt;
without reference to its author.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Bainton does appear in Mr. Rider Haggard&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
case to have gone through the form of obtaining&lt;br /&gt;
permission to print his remarks, although he disre-&lt;br /&gt;
garded the stipulation that his request evoked. But&lt;br /&gt;
in some cases he appears to have gone more&lt;br /&gt;
directly to work.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. George Meredith says:&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I received a letter some weeks back from Mr.&lt;br /&gt;
Bainton, enclosing two printed pages of his book,&lt;br /&gt;
with his thanks to me for &amp;#039;my kind permission&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
that he might make public use of my private remarks&lt;br /&gt;
to his young men, through him, at his request, upon&lt;br /&gt;
styles in writing. I am not aware of having even&lt;br /&gt;
granted the permission. It would not have been in&lt;br /&gt;
accord with a system I hold to&mdash;which is, to spare&lt;br /&gt;
the public any talk upon my methods and doings.&lt;br /&gt;
If I wrote the words of the grant, I must have done&lt;br /&gt;
so heedlessly, and I shall require to see them in my&lt;br /&gt;
handwriting, before I can attach any belief to the&lt;br /&gt;
statement made by Mr. Bainton. The one object&lt;br /&gt;
of my writing, was to be of service to an audience&lt;br /&gt;
that he, &amp;#039; a stranger to me, wrote of as being hungry&lt;br /&gt;
for literary instruction.&amp;#039;&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. George Meredith is not singular in his belief&lt;br /&gt;
that, albeit Mr. Bainton says so, he never received&lt;br /&gt;
any permission.&lt;br /&gt;
Miss Charlotte Yonge believes the same. So&lt;br /&gt;
does Professor Huxley. Miss F. M. Peard&lt;br /&gt;
writes :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I am more surprised and annoyed than I can&lt;br /&gt;
say at hearing of the use Mr. Baintdn has made of&lt;br /&gt;
my answer. I imagined him to be a clergyman&lt;br /&gt;
rather at his wits&amp;#039; ends for subjects for parish&lt;br /&gt;
entertainments or lectures, and that he was merely&lt;br /&gt;
getting up the subject in the abstract. It did not&lt;br /&gt;
even occur to me that he would use my name in&lt;br /&gt;
talking about it, much less that he would drag it&lt;br /&gt;
into print. You will see that he speaks of &amp;#039;an&lt;br /&gt;
e\ening&amp;#039;s pleasant intercourse.&amp;#039;&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Miss Peard encloses Mr. Bainton&amp;#039;s first&mdash;and&lt;br /&gt;
only&mdash;letter to her, which is almost the exact&lt;br /&gt;
counterpart of his letter to Mrs. Parr. Miss Peard,&lt;br /&gt;
like Mrs. Parr, is one out of &amp;quot;one or two,&amp;quot; and&lt;br /&gt;
she also is appealed to because her books are&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Bainton&amp;#039;s cherished friends. Mr. Bainton is&lt;br /&gt;
evidently a man of lively sympathies.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Grant Allen says:&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I was not aware Mr. Bainton meant to publish&lt;br /&gt;
in book form. Mr. Bainton only mentioned that he&lt;br /&gt;
wished for the information for an apparently private&lt;br /&gt;
lecture to young people. I was much annoyed at&lt;br /&gt;
the use Mr. Bainton made of my letter (which he&lt;br /&gt;
printed incorrectly). The details I gave were far&lt;br /&gt;
more personal than I should have dreamt of making&lt;br /&gt;
them had I expected them to be published. What&lt;br /&gt;
is perfectly allowable in answer to a private question&lt;br /&gt;
about one&amp;#039;s own methods mayseem like impertinence&lt;br /&gt;
and bad taste if obtruded on the general public,&lt;br /&gt;
which never asked to know how one writes one&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
books or articles.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. R. D. Blackmore writes:&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;When I complied with Mr. Bainton&amp;#039;s request&lt;br /&gt;
I was not aware that he intended to publish or even&lt;br /&gt;
print my words. His letter suggested that he wanted&lt;br /&gt;
aid in a lecture to young people and would use my&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 46 (#66) ##############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
46&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
reply for that purpose, and (as I naturally concluded)&lt;br /&gt;
for that purpose only. Now that I know the nature&lt;br /&gt;
of Mr. Bainton&amp;#039;s book I do object to the use he&lt;br /&gt;
has made of a reply procured through the goodwill&lt;br /&gt;
due to a clergyman and for clerical purposes.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. W. S. Gilbert writes :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;When I complied with Mr. Bainton&amp;#039;s request I&lt;br /&gt;
was not aware that it was that gentleman&amp;#039;s intention&lt;br /&gt;
to publish my letter in book form. His first letter&lt;br /&gt;
to me suggested that he wanted aid in compiling a&lt;br /&gt;
lecture. I consider that he was not justified in&lt;br /&gt;
publishing my letter without my express permission.&lt;br /&gt;
His action appears to me to amount to a breach of&lt;br /&gt;
faith.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Mrs. Lovett-Cameron says:&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I certainly had not the smallest idea that he&lt;br /&gt;
intended to publish the letter which I wrote to him.&lt;br /&gt;
He informed me that he was about to give a lecture&lt;br /&gt;
to young people, and I understood most clearly that&lt;br /&gt;
it was for this purpose alone that my letter would&lt;br /&gt;
be made use of. I do most strongly object to the&lt;br /&gt;
use he has made of my letter, and consider that in&lt;br /&gt;
publishing letters written to him for private use&lt;br /&gt;
only Mr. Bainton is guilty of a most unwarrantable&lt;br /&gt;
breach of faith.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
On the other hand, the Bishop of Carlisle, Mr.&lt;br /&gt;
Thomas Hardy, and Sir John Lubbock have no&lt;br /&gt;
objection to the use Mr. Bainton has made of their&lt;br /&gt;
letters, while Mr. T. Marion Crawford writes as&lt;br /&gt;
follows : &mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Two or three years ago Mr. Bainton wrote&lt;br /&gt;
requesting me to give him an expression of my&lt;br /&gt;
opinions in regard to the course to be followed by&lt;br /&gt;
beginners, who would acquire some practical skill&lt;br /&gt;
in the use of the English language. I believe that&lt;br /&gt;
was the substance of his letter. Mr. Bainton&lt;br /&gt;
stated clearly that he wished to make use of my&lt;br /&gt;
answer in lecturing to young people.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I complied with his request and wrote at some&lt;br /&gt;
length. I said that I would prefer my letter not&lt;br /&gt;
to be printed. Mr. Bainton wrote again to thank&lt;br /&gt;
me, but added, that if I would not consent to his&lt;br /&gt;
printing the matter, it could be of little service to&lt;br /&gt;
him. I then replied that since he so much desired&lt;br /&gt;
it, he might make any use he pleased of my com-&lt;br /&gt;
munication. The correspondence ended, and I&lt;br /&gt;
considered Mr. Bainton at liberty to print the&lt;br /&gt;
whole, parts, or a part of what I had written. I&lt;br /&gt;
now learn for the first time that he has published&lt;br /&gt;
a book, and I infer that something of mine has&lt;br /&gt;
appeared in it. I do not consider myself in any&lt;br /&gt;
way aggrieved, as Mr. Bainton&amp;#039;s conduct towards&lt;br /&gt;
me was perfectly frank and consistent throughout.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
But Mr. Marion Crawford has been better&lt;br /&gt;
used than many of Mr. Bainton&amp;#039;s contributors.&lt;br /&gt;
It may seem that we have gone into this matter&lt;br /&gt;
at more length than the circumstances warranted.&lt;br /&gt;
As long as ladies and gentlemen are so far polite that&lt;br /&gt;
when they receive a letter, made to bear all thestamp&lt;br /&gt;
of a private letter in contradistinction to a circular,&lt;br /&gt;
they answer it, and so far charitable that, when they&lt;br /&gt;
are told a thing by a person they know nothing of,&lt;br /&gt;
they accept his statement, so long will ladies and&lt;br /&gt;
gentlemen be victims.&lt;br /&gt;
To the Editor of The Author.&lt;br /&gt;
Sir,&lt;br /&gt;
When I sent Mr. Bainton the letter published in&lt;br /&gt;
his book, I was not aware that it would ever be&lt;br /&gt;
printed. He wrote to me in September last, saying&lt;br /&gt;
that he wished to address &amp;quot;our young people&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
upon the art of composition, and he had thought&lt;br /&gt;
that it would add &amp;quot;considerable interest and use-&lt;br /&gt;
fulness to an evening&amp;#039;s pleasant intercourse&amp;quot; on&lt;br /&gt;
such a topic, if a few authors would give him their&lt;br /&gt;
personal experiences in acquiring their respective&lt;br /&gt;
styles.&lt;br /&gt;
It will be obvious to anyone, from the compo-&lt;br /&gt;
sition of my letter, that I had no thought of my&lt;br /&gt;
words being used verbatim. Some time afterwards&lt;br /&gt;
he wrote asking if he might make use of some parts&lt;br /&gt;
of my letter in a pamphlet in which he proposed to&lt;br /&gt;
preserve his lecture, and I gave him permission to&lt;br /&gt;
do so.&lt;br /&gt;
I cannot say that / particularly object to the use&lt;br /&gt;
he has made of it, though I do not think it was&lt;br /&gt;
quite fair to issue the opinions of authors in book-&lt;br /&gt;
form, after winning their confidences for a benevo-&lt;br /&gt;
lent purpose; but I do most utterly and strongly&lt;br /&gt;
condemn the great discourtesy of issuing such a&lt;br /&gt;
book without sending proofs of the matter to each&lt;br /&gt;
author (and I know one author of high standing&lt;br /&gt;
whose permission to print Mr. Bainton did not&lt;br /&gt;
trouble to ask for at all). I think far more of that&lt;br /&gt;
than I do of his having picked our foolish brains&lt;br /&gt;
to make profit for himself.&lt;br /&gt;
In my own case, probably a glance at proof&lt;br /&gt;
sheets would have caused me to amplify one of my&lt;br /&gt;
statements&mdash;that when I was a very young writer&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I found myself slipping into the Rhoda Broughton&lt;br /&gt;
school&amp;quot;&mdash;in such a way as to give a would-be witty&lt;br /&gt;
reviewer less chance of misrepresenting my meaning&lt;br /&gt;
and making merry over my comprehensive phrase.&lt;br /&gt;
For myself I would be the last to discuss criticism,&lt;br /&gt;
however flippant or unjust; but as Miss Broughton&lt;br /&gt;
may have seen the much-quoted article, and per-&lt;br /&gt;
haps have felt some annoyance through reading my&lt;br /&gt;
meaning with the writer&amp;#039;s eyes, may I say here that&lt;br /&gt;
I meant no disrespect for the strong, vigorous, and&lt;br /&gt;
fascinating author, whose books have always&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 47 (#67) ##############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
47&lt;br /&gt;
charmed me, and whose portrait hangs near me&lt;br /&gt;
each day as I work&mdash;but very much the reverse,&lt;br /&gt;
Miss Broughton would probably join her con-&lt;br /&gt;
tempt to mine for the host of imitators of her&lt;br /&gt;
style, whose work is a weak reflection of her&lt;br /&gt;
manner without any of her genius or her strength&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
the &amp;quot;school&amp;quot; to designate which her name is com-&lt;br /&gt;
monly employed&mdash;and entirely agree with me that&lt;br /&gt;
if, as an inexperienced writer, I felt myself drifting&lt;br /&gt;
toward this justly despised group, it was well for&lt;br /&gt;
me&mdash;and perhaps for others&mdash;that I should re-&lt;br /&gt;
solutely set myself to work out a style of my own&lt;br /&gt;
rather than become even a successful imitator of&lt;br /&gt;
another.&lt;br /&gt;
It seems to me that cheap sneers at this kind of&lt;br /&gt;
effort are a little unworthy of a great literary&lt;br /&gt;
Review.&lt;br /&gt;
I am, Sir,&lt;br /&gt;
Your obedient servant,&lt;br /&gt;
John Strange Winter.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
NOTES.&lt;br /&gt;
I. Copyright.&lt;br /&gt;
UNDER this head, and that of &amp;quot;The First&lt;br /&gt;
Principles of Literary Property,&amp;quot; in the&lt;br /&gt;
first number of The Author, I find one&lt;br /&gt;
or two statements which, if not in terms erroneous,&lt;br /&gt;
are capable of misleading or unduly alarming&lt;br /&gt;
readers who do not know any law.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Literary property,&amp;quot; it is said, &amp;quot;is subject to the&lt;br /&gt;
laws which protect all other property.&amp;quot; That it is&lt;br /&gt;
recognized and protected by law as something of&lt;br /&gt;
value is quite true; and probably this is all that&lt;br /&gt;
the writer meant. But &amp;quot;the laws which protect&lt;br /&gt;
property&amp;quot; differ greatly according to the kind of&lt;br /&gt;
property. Land is not protected in exactly the&lt;br /&gt;
same way as goods, and a trade mark and a copy-&lt;br /&gt;
right are again protected by means different from&lt;br /&gt;
those in use for tangible property, and differing in&lt;br /&gt;
details from one another. Let not the unwary&lt;br /&gt;
reader therefore imagine that he or she can have a&lt;br /&gt;
literary pirate dealt with as a thief. Copyright is&lt;br /&gt;
not, in the legal sense, a thing capable of being&lt;br /&gt;
stolen.&lt;br /&gt;
It is asked, &amp;quot;Does anybody take the trouble to&lt;br /&gt;
secure his copyright in a public lecture?&amp;quot; (meaning,&lt;br /&gt;
by the process of giving notice to two Justices of&lt;br /&gt;
the Peace as provided by the Act 5 and 6 Wm. IV,&lt;br /&gt;
c. 65). The answer is, probably not. But there&lt;br /&gt;
is an excellent reason for not doing it which the&lt;br /&gt;
author of &amp;quot;Notes on Copyright&amp;quot; seems to have&lt;br /&gt;
overlooked. The common law gives a sufficient&lt;br /&gt;
remedy without the help of the Act, as was decided&lt;br /&gt;
by the House of Lords in 1887, in Professor Caird&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
case in Scotland {Caird v. Sime, 12 App. Ca. 326).&lt;br /&gt;
It is a question of fact whether the delivery of a&lt;br /&gt;
lecture implies authority to the hearers to republish&lt;br /&gt;
it. Whatever may have been the opinion of the&lt;br /&gt;
framers of the Act of William IV (which expressly&lt;br /&gt;
preserves the general law, only giving the benefit of&lt;br /&gt;
special new sanctions to lecturers who fulfil the&lt;br /&gt;
formalities of notice to two justices), no such&lt;br /&gt;
authority is presumed, as a matter of law, from the&lt;br /&gt;
mere fact of a lecture being delivered to a more or&lt;br /&gt;
less numerous audience. If there be any presump-&lt;br /&gt;
tion it seems to be the other way. In truth the&lt;br /&gt;
right to restrain the publication of an orally&lt;br /&gt;
delivered lecture is not copyright at all. It is&lt;br /&gt;
distinct from and antecedent to copyright, like the&lt;br /&gt;
right to restrain publication of one&amp;#039;s private letters.&lt;br /&gt;
As that right is unaffected by the original letter&lt;br /&gt;
having become the property (for all purposes short&lt;br /&gt;
of publication) of the person to whom it was sent,&lt;br /&gt;
so the lecturer&amp;#039;s right is unaffected by his lecture&lt;br /&gt;
having been orally delivered to a particular audience&lt;br /&gt;
or any number of audiences. The commentator&lt;br /&gt;
goes on to say that &amp;quot;a lecturer is powerless to protect&lt;br /&gt;
himself against unauthorized re-delivery.&amp;quot; I am not&lt;br /&gt;
aware of any authority for this statement as regards&lt;br /&gt;
an unpublished lecture, and am not at all disposed&lt;br /&gt;
to agree with it. As for the exception of university&lt;br /&gt;
and certain other public lectures and discourses in&lt;br /&gt;
the Act of William IV, it has, by its express terms,&lt;br /&gt;
only the effect of leaving them in the same con-&lt;br /&gt;
dition as if the Act had not passed. Caird v. Sime&lt;br /&gt;
shows that at least some university lectures are&lt;br /&gt;
efficiently protected by the general law. Therefore&lt;br /&gt;
a person acting on the commentator&amp;#039;s opinion that&lt;br /&gt;
sermons &amp;quot;seem to be clearly public property&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
would be more likely to make practical acquaintance&lt;br /&gt;
with the nature and operation of an injunction than&lt;br /&gt;
to make his fortune by unlicensed reprints of pulpit&lt;br /&gt;
eloquence. When the writer adds that &amp;quot;there is&lt;br /&gt;
seldom any very great demandfor sermons, university&lt;br /&gt;
or college lectures,&amp;quot; he is so far right that in these,&lt;br /&gt;
as in other kinds of literary production, the suc-&lt;br /&gt;
cessful and popular authors are a minority. Still,&lt;br /&gt;
both sermons and lectures are known to become&lt;br /&gt;
fairly successful books. It is the fact that the greater&lt;br /&gt;
part of Sir Henry Maine&amp;#039;s works (for example) was&lt;br /&gt;
first delivered in the form of lectures. An uncon-&lt;br /&gt;
trolled right to print the matter which afterwards&lt;br /&gt;
became &amp;quot;Village Communities&amp;quot; from notes taken&lt;br /&gt;
in Maine&amp;#039;s lecture room at Oxford would have been&lt;br /&gt;
a right of no small value. And the fact that no&lt;br /&gt;
attempt was ever made to exercise such a supposed&lt;br /&gt;
right is some evidence that no one at the time&lt;br /&gt;
imagined it to exist.&lt;br /&gt;
I have made these remarks only for the purpose&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 48 (#68) ##############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
48&lt;br /&gt;
THE A UTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
of preventing misapprehension as to the existing&lt;br /&gt;
law. But I wish to add that I am wholly adverse&lt;br /&gt;
to the proposal of creating a new kind of performing&lt;br /&gt;
right in the recitation of verses or prose already&lt;br /&gt;
printed and published, and therefore already&lt;br /&gt;
enjoying the protection of ordinary literary copy-&lt;br /&gt;
right. Where is this kind of thing to stop? Why&lt;br /&gt;
should not Sydney Smith have had an exclusive&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;performing right&amp;quot; in his jokes and anecdotes?&lt;br /&gt;
The author of &amp;quot;recitations&amp;quot; who wants to keep them&lt;br /&gt;
to himself has only not to publish the text, a pre-&lt;br /&gt;
caution quite consistent with privately printing any&lt;br /&gt;
number of copies that may be convenient. He can&lt;br /&gt;
then make his own terms with anyone who desires&lt;br /&gt;
to use it.&lt;br /&gt;
Frederick Pollock.&lt;br /&gt;
II. Charges for Corrections.&lt;br /&gt;
I suppose all authors have their grievances against&lt;br /&gt;
publishers. I have had mine. Yet, taking all in&lt;br /&gt;
all, I must say that I have been well treated oy my&lt;br /&gt;
English publisher. My advice to young authors&lt;br /&gt;
is&mdash;find a respectable publisher and stick to him.&lt;br /&gt;
But I have had a long-standing grievance against&lt;br /&gt;
printers, and I wonder whether The Author can&lt;br /&gt;
help me. Is there no means of checking the&lt;br /&gt;
charges for corrections?&lt;br /&gt;
I know that in good printing offices there is a&lt;br /&gt;
man specially appointed to check off charges for&lt;br /&gt;
corrections. But, in spite of that, there must be&lt;br /&gt;
something wrong in the system. The estimate&lt;br /&gt;
one receives from a printer seems at first sight&lt;br /&gt;
very reasonable. But when the bill comes, there&lt;br /&gt;
are always high charges for corrections, for extra-&lt;br /&gt;
small type, for foreign matter, for reading and&lt;br /&gt;
putting to press, &amp;amp;c, so that one has often to pay&lt;br /&gt;
twice as much as the original estimate.&lt;br /&gt;
Much seems to me to depend on the judgment&lt;br /&gt;
and the good-will of the compositor in making&lt;br /&gt;
corrections. If a few words are put in by the&lt;br /&gt;
author, surely, with a little management, they&lt;br /&gt;
could be squeezed in; some other words might&lt;br /&gt;
be left out, or two paragraphs might be run into&lt;br /&gt;
one. But if, instead of that, ten or twenty pages&lt;br /&gt;
are disturbed, of course the bill is very much&lt;br /&gt;
swelled. One line too much on any one page is&lt;br /&gt;
looked upon as high treason in every printing office.&lt;br /&gt;
But surely it would matter less than twenty shillings&lt;br /&gt;
for re making twenty pages.&lt;br /&gt;
I know quite well what compositors will say.&lt;br /&gt;
Copy your MS., or have it copied and carefully&lt;br /&gt;
revised, and then the charges for corrections will&lt;br /&gt;
be next to nothing. My answer is, I am willing&lt;br /&gt;
to pay what is reasonable for my own careless&lt;br /&gt;
writing, and for my changing my mind at the last&lt;br /&gt;
moment. But I do not like to see corrections&lt;br /&gt;
treated as mere &amp;quot; fat.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
F. Max Muller.&lt;br /&gt;
III. American Rights.&lt;br /&gt;
Before the collaboration of an American citizen&lt;br /&gt;
can procure copyright, the following conditions&lt;br /&gt;
must be borne in mind.&lt;br /&gt;
1. The American collaborator must not receive&lt;br /&gt;
a lump sum for his share of the work, but must&lt;br /&gt;
receive a portion of the royalty, i.e., he must have&lt;br /&gt;
a continuous interest in the sale of the work.&lt;br /&gt;
2. He must be a bond fide collaborator. Some&lt;br /&gt;
people suppose that it is sufficient for an American&lt;br /&gt;
citizen to write a paragraph, or even a sentence&lt;br /&gt;
only, put his name on the title page with that of&lt;br /&gt;
the author, and that the copyright is secured. It&lt;br /&gt;
is not so. In case of such a book being &amp;quot; pirated,&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
he might be called to swear what he wrote before&lt;br /&gt;
a judge, who would order the &amp;quot; pirate &amp;quot; to take out&lt;br /&gt;
of the book the paragraph or sentence, or whatever&lt;br /&gt;
the American wrote, and then advise the &amp;quot; pirate&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
to help himself to the rest. The collaborator must&lt;br /&gt;
be able to swear that he is the author of the book&lt;br /&gt;
quite as much as the European one, that there is&lt;br /&gt;
not in the book a single sentence he did not&lt;br /&gt;
approve of and sign, whether he actually wrote it&lt;br /&gt;
or not.&lt;br /&gt;
3. The European author must have a contract&lt;br /&gt;
with his American collaborator, in which the above&lt;br /&gt;
conditions are set down; and a copy of it must be&lt;br /&gt;
in the hands of the American publisher.&lt;br /&gt;
I think that all the good American publishers&lt;br /&gt;
would tell you that I am right.&lt;br /&gt;
At any rate, these are the conditions on which I&lt;br /&gt;
have published my &amp;quot; Jonathan and his Continent&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
in America; and the &amp;quot;pirates.&amp;quot; knowing it, have&lt;br /&gt;
not touched it&mdash;to the comfort of&lt;br /&gt;
Paul Blouet.&lt;br /&gt;
IV. The Raising of the Dead.&lt;br /&gt;
I have received the first number of The&lt;br /&gt;
Author, and, on lroking through it, it has&lt;br /&gt;
occurred to me that our members might possibly&lt;br /&gt;
be interested in the following personal experiences&lt;br /&gt;
bearing on the question as to whether a book that&lt;br /&gt;
has practically fallen dead can by any possibility&lt;br /&gt;
be revived.&lt;br /&gt;
The work to which I refer was, on its first&lt;br /&gt;
appearance, absolutely ignored by the London&lt;br /&gt;
literary organs of opinion, and the sales in con-&lt;br /&gt;
sequence fell, after the advertisements had ceased to&lt;br /&gt;
appear, to about ten copies a year. This continued&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 49 (#69) ##############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
49&lt;br /&gt;
for three years, during which time I left no stone un-&lt;br /&gt;
turned in my efforts to bring the book into notice.&lt;br /&gt;
I sent copies to the number of thirty or more to such&lt;br /&gt;
of our most eminent thinkers and writers as 1 deemed&lt;br /&gt;
most likely to give it a favourable reception ; at the&lt;br /&gt;
same time sending second copies to the editors of&lt;br /&gt;
the most important literary journals, soliciting a&lt;br /&gt;
second inspection, and explaining in justification&lt;br /&gt;
that the work had not been run off at the point of&lt;br /&gt;
the pen, but had occupied ten years in preparation,&lt;br /&gt;
and four in actual construction and writing. But&lt;br /&gt;
the eminent writers, as Was only to be expected in&lt;br /&gt;
the case of a work sent to them in forma pauperis,&lt;br /&gt;
replied by courteous acknowledgments merely;&lt;br /&gt;
while my efforts to get a second hearing fiom the&lt;br /&gt;
editors completely failed&mdash;with the exception of the&lt;br /&gt;
editor of T/ie Spectator, who, with his usual fair-&lt;br /&gt;
mindedness, and a generosity which I shall not&lt;br /&gt;
soon forget, at once gave me a long and complU&lt;br /&gt;
mentary review, expressing at the same time his&lt;br /&gt;
surprise that the work had been allowed to fall&lt;br /&gt;
through. But it was too long after publication to&lt;br /&gt;
be of any service; the sales fell lower and lower;&lt;br /&gt;
and it seemed as if the book would now slip&lt;br /&gt;
quietly into oblivion.&lt;br /&gt;
Meantime one or two of the well-known writers,&lt;br /&gt;
to whom I had sent private copies, had evidently&lt;br /&gt;
glanced into the work, and had become sufficiently&lt;br /&gt;
interested in it to express the opinion that some-&lt;br /&gt;
thing further ought to be done to try and revive it.&lt;br /&gt;
After some consideration, and with the consent of&lt;br /&gt;
the publishers, I determined on my plan of campaign,&lt;br /&gt;
which was this: to bring out the unsold copies as&lt;br /&gt;
a new edition; to reduce the price from 14*. 10 51.;&lt;br /&gt;
to write a fresh preface; and, most important of all,&lt;br /&gt;
to concentrate and mass together in large advertise-&lt;br /&gt;
ments the best extracts I could select from the&lt;br /&gt;
various scattered notices which in the interim I&lt;br /&gt;
had succeeded in extorting from more or less un-&lt;br /&gt;
willing editors!&lt;br /&gt;
The effect of this new move was immediate and&lt;br /&gt;
decisive. The whole unsold edition of some 700&lt;br /&gt;
or 800 copies went off at the rate of forty or fifty a&lt;br /&gt;
month until it was exhausted; the demand increas-&lt;br /&gt;
ing rather than diminishing at the time when the&lt;br /&gt;
last copies were sold out.&lt;br /&gt;
The above recital, in view of the common&lt;br /&gt;
tradition that a book, once practically fallen dead,&lt;br /&gt;
cannot again be revived, seems to me to have some&lt;br /&gt;
interest for young authors struggling against adverse&lt;br /&gt;
fate; and it may perhaps be worth while to ask&lt;br /&gt;
here to which of the above circumstances the&lt;br /&gt;
resuscitation of the work was principally due. My&lt;br /&gt;
own feeling is that it was due not to the reduction&lt;br /&gt;
of price, for purchasers of that class of work are&lt;br /&gt;
not much affected by its price, in the first instance&lt;br /&gt;
at least; nor yet to the press notices taken singly,&lt;br /&gt;
although these no doubt were exceptionally strong;&lt;br /&gt;
but rather to their being massed together so as to&lt;br /&gt;
catch the eye in large and glaring advertisements.&lt;br /&gt;
At any rate it was on this theory that I acted at the&lt;br /&gt;
time, and the event, it must be admitted, fully&lt;br /&gt;
justified my anticipation. Now. that a work of a&lt;br /&gt;
serious character, on a wide and all-important&lt;br /&gt;
subject of human interest, and professing at least&lt;br /&gt;
to add another story to the hitherto existing super-&lt;br /&gt;
structures of thought on the same subject ; that a&lt;br /&gt;
book of this kind, I say, should have to save itself&lt;br /&gt;
from extinction by methods suitable rather to the&lt;br /&gt;
sale and success of some &amp;#039;&amp;quot; Pears&amp;#039; Soap&amp;quot; or &amp;quot; Hol-&lt;br /&gt;
loway&amp;#039;s Pill,&amp;quot; must give rise to considerations on&lt;br /&gt;
the curious conditions of literary success at the&lt;br /&gt;
present time well worthy the attention of all thinking&lt;br /&gt;
minds.&lt;br /&gt;
J. B. C.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
LITERARY PUZZLES.&lt;br /&gt;
THE Ballad of Bold Turpin is to be found in&lt;br /&gt;
a volume called &amp;quot;Gaieties and Gravities,&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
written by one of the authors of &amp;quot; Rejected&lt;br /&gt;
Addresses.&amp;quot; The &amp;quot;one,&amp;quot; I believe, was Horace&lt;br /&gt;
Smith. It was published in 1825, when Dickens&lt;br /&gt;
was a boy of fourteen, by Henry Colburn, of&lt;br /&gt;
New Burlington Street. It occurs in a sketch&lt;br /&gt;
called &amp;quot; Harry Halter the Highwayman,&amp;quot; in which&lt;br /&gt;
two other efforts in verse also occur&mdash;the volumes,&lt;br /&gt;
indeed, are crammed with verses, sprightly and&lt;br /&gt;
jolly, and full of mad rhymes. The song, for&lt;br /&gt;
instance, called &amp;quot;Bachelor&amp;#039;s Fare &amp;quot; follows that of&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Bold Turpin.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Funny and free are a Bachelor&amp;#039;s revelries,&lt;br /&gt;
Cheerily, merrily passes his life;&lt;br /&gt;
Nothing knows he of connubial devilries,&lt;br /&gt;
Troublesome children and clamourous wife,&lt;br /&gt;
Free from satiety, care, and anxiety,&lt;br /&gt;
Charms in variety fall to his share,&lt;br /&gt;
Bacchus&amp;#039;s blisses and Venus&amp;#039;s kisses,&lt;br /&gt;
This, boys, this is the Bachelor&amp;#039;s Fare.&lt;br /&gt;
A wife like a canister, chattering, clattering,&lt;br /&gt;
Tied to a dog for his torment and dread,&lt;br /&gt;
All bespattering, bumping and battering,&lt;br /&gt;
Hurries and worries him till he is dead.&lt;br /&gt;
Old ones are two devils haunted with blue devils,&lt;br /&gt;
Young ones are new devils raising despair;&lt;br /&gt;
Doctors and nurses combining their curses,&lt;br /&gt;
Adieu to full purses and Bachelor&amp;#039;s Fare.&lt;br /&gt;
Through such folly days, once sweet holidays,&lt;br /&gt;
Soon are embittered by wrangling and strife&lt;br /&gt;
Wives turn jolly days to melancholy days,&lt;br /&gt;
All perplexing and vexing one&amp;#039;s life.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 50 (#70) ##############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
50 THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
Children are riotous, maid-servants fly at us,&lt;br /&gt;
Mammy to quiet us growls like a bear;&lt;br /&gt;
Polly is squalling and Molly is bawling,&lt;br /&gt;
While dad is recalling his Bachelor&amp;#039;s Fare.&lt;br /&gt;
When they are older grown, then they are bolder&lt;br /&gt;
grown,&lt;br /&gt;
Turning your temper and spurning your rule,&lt;br /&gt;
Girls through foolishness, passion or mulishness,&lt;br /&gt;
Parry your wishes and marry a fool.&lt;br /&gt;
Boys will anticipate, lavish and dissipate,&lt;br /&gt;
All that your busy pate hoarded with care;&lt;br /&gt;
Then tell me what jollity, fun or frivolity,&lt;br /&gt;
Equals in quality Bachelor&amp;#039;s Fare?&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
QUESTIONS, CASES, AND&lt;br /&gt;
ANSWERS.&lt;br /&gt;
Now that authors have a medium to voice their&lt;br /&gt;
woes and, let us hope, their victories, we may look&lt;br /&gt;
forward to many questions of interest being thrashed&lt;br /&gt;
out. And, in order to set the ball rolling ever so&lt;br /&gt;
little a distance, may I crave space to point out&lt;br /&gt;
how&mdash;as it seems to me&mdash;authors can combine&lt;br /&gt;
and gather strength even in their hours of ease?&lt;br /&gt;
In short, what is wanted is an &amp;quot;Authors&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
Club.&amp;quot; There are many clubs in existence which&lt;br /&gt;
are partly intended for literary men and largely&lt;br /&gt;
patronised by them; but in every instance where&lt;br /&gt;
the club is accessible to the mass, other interests&lt;br /&gt;
have been introduced to the prejudice of literature&lt;br /&gt;
and the literary profession. In one case, it may&lt;br /&gt;
be the egotistic actor; in another, the aesthetic or&lt;br /&gt;
impressionistic painter; in a third, that blight on&lt;br /&gt;
society&mdash;the man who wishes you to remember&lt;br /&gt;
that he is a tenor. These introduce an element&lt;br /&gt;
which many authors feel to be jarring, if not&lt;br /&gt;
actually antagonistic. The general desire is for a&lt;br /&gt;
Lotos Eater&amp;#039;s Land where neither jar nor an-&lt;br /&gt;
tagonism is possible; what is really sighed for is&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The Authors&amp;#039;Club.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Is not the profession strong enough to support&lt;br /&gt;
such a club? Cannot the Society of Authors pro-&lt;br /&gt;
vide the men who will help to make it a success?&lt;br /&gt;
Who will adopt the idea and give it their personal&lt;br /&gt;
support and service? The financial details could&lt;br /&gt;
easily be arranged, if a strong committee were ap-&lt;br /&gt;
pointed; and if the matter be mooted now, by the&lt;br /&gt;
time that the evenings draw in and the days grow&lt;br /&gt;
chill, &amp;quot;The Authors&amp;#039; Club&amp;quot; should be a fait&lt;br /&gt;
accompli. A. M.&lt;br /&gt;
Allow me to bring the following facts before the&lt;br /&gt;
readersof The Author. About two years ago I&lt;br /&gt;
had printed a mathematical work which I brought&lt;br /&gt;
to a well-known firm for publication in England in&lt;br /&gt;
conjunction with my Irish publishers. I paid the&lt;br /&gt;
former ;&pound;io for advertising, but all that I ever saw&lt;br /&gt;
were two or three in the Saturday Revieiv. As a&lt;br /&gt;
result I find they have practically sold no copies&lt;br /&gt;
in England, and all that they have sold are about&lt;br /&gt;
30 copies in America, from which I infer that ad-&lt;br /&gt;
vertisement money has been spent there. Conse-&lt;br /&gt;
quently nearly all sales of my book were in Ireland,&lt;br /&gt;
and these have all been effected without any ad-&lt;br /&gt;
vertisement expenses. At the time of the publi-&lt;br /&gt;
cation of my book, the author of a book on the&lt;br /&gt;
same subject as my own was under an apprehen-&lt;br /&gt;
sion that the sale of the latter might interfere with&lt;br /&gt;
that of his, and I have reason to believe exerted&lt;br /&gt;
pressure on his publishers the same as those of my&lt;br /&gt;
book, not to push or in any way promote the sale&lt;br /&gt;
of the latter. All that they have done is to sell it&lt;br /&gt;
in America, which is but a poor return, as, besides&lt;br /&gt;
the difficulty of getting it off there, I am only&lt;br /&gt;
allowed barely 50 per cent, of the published price.&lt;br /&gt;
A. B.&lt;br /&gt;
The following case is submitted with the con-&lt;br /&gt;
viction that it is not by any means an isolated one.&lt;br /&gt;
A gentleman proposes to the Editor of a Magazine&lt;br /&gt;
to write a short article on a new book, and the&lt;br /&gt;
proposal is immediately accepted in writing. The&lt;br /&gt;
article is sent in, and at the request of the con-&lt;br /&gt;
tributor (who is leaving England for some months)&lt;br /&gt;
the Editor shortly afterwards forwards him a proof&lt;br /&gt;
of the article and a cheque at the current rate of&lt;br /&gt;
remuneration. A letter of inquiry from the writer&lt;br /&gt;
some months afterwards as to why the article has&lt;br /&gt;
not appeared elicits no information, and it turns&lt;br /&gt;
out that the article is not published. Has the&lt;br /&gt;
contributor any claim in this case for the loss of&lt;br /&gt;
that part of the remuneration which, it need hardly&lt;br /&gt;
be said, may be indirectly of quite as much&lt;br /&gt;
pecuniary consequence to him as the money-&lt;br /&gt;
payment? In the case of a daily paper a review-&lt;br /&gt;
is, as we all know, liable to be crowded out by&lt;br /&gt;
press of matter. But is the case of a magazine,&lt;br /&gt;
that does not in a general way review books, on&lt;br /&gt;
precisely the same footing?&lt;br /&gt;
As an aggravated instance of the business&lt;br /&gt;
methods described under &amp;quot;QuestionsandAnswers,&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
No. 3, at page 9, of the May number of The Author,&lt;br /&gt;
I offer the following personal experience. I sent&lt;br /&gt;
a short story to the Editor of a fairly reputable and&lt;br /&gt;
outwardly prosperous London periodical, no doubt&lt;br /&gt;
regarded by its numerous readers as a marvel 01&lt;br /&gt;
enterprise and cheapness, enclosing, as I always&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 51 (#71) ##############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
5*&lt;br /&gt;
do, a stamped directed envelope for the return of&lt;br /&gt;
the MS. if not required. I received neither manu-&lt;br /&gt;
script nor answer of any kind. I wrote repeatedly&lt;br /&gt;
after waiting some months, when to my surprise I&lt;br /&gt;
heard quite accidentally through a friend who&lt;br /&gt;
recognised my nam de plume that my story was then&lt;br /&gt;
actually being published in the magazine I had sent&lt;br /&gt;
it to, and which I do not always see. I waited a&lt;br /&gt;
month or two and wrote for payment. I wrote&lt;br /&gt;
two or three times more, but from first to last&lt;br /&gt;
I never had a reply to a single communication. I&lt;br /&gt;
then got the Secretary of the Society to write, and&lt;br /&gt;
he very kindly did write a pretty strong letter con-&lt;br /&gt;
taining a plain threat of the legal proceedings;&lt;br /&gt;
that produced an interview with the editor, an&lt;br /&gt;
apology, and a cheque. The whole affair took&lt;br /&gt;
about a year. Now does anyone believe that if I&lt;br /&gt;
had not by the merest fluke found that the story&lt;br /&gt;
had been printed, I should ever have had the&lt;br /&gt;
money to this day? I do not. I may add that&lt;br /&gt;
others have had similar experiences in the same&lt;br /&gt;
quarter, and the periodical in question continues&lt;br /&gt;
to be a marvel of enterprise and cheapness.&lt;br /&gt;
M. O. H.&lt;br /&gt;
What is the true position of affairs in such a&lt;br /&gt;
case as this? An author (young, struggling, and&lt;br /&gt;
inexperienced) fires off a composition&mdash;say a short&lt;br /&gt;
story&mdash;at the editor of a magazine. He either&lt;br /&gt;
writes with it to say he &amp;quot;encloses a MS. and hopes&lt;br /&gt;
it will prove suitable,&amp;quot; or writes his name and&lt;br /&gt;
address on the back of it, and sends postage&lt;br /&gt;
stamps for its return.&lt;br /&gt;
The editor &amp;quot;begs to accept it, and encloses a&lt;br /&gt;
cheque from the proprietors for &pound;5.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
A few years later, less young, and perhaps less&lt;br /&gt;
struggling, the author wishes to republish some of&lt;br /&gt;
his former efforts in a volume, or has a chance of&lt;br /&gt;
re-selling them, but is confronted with the difficulty&lt;br /&gt;
that he really does not know whether he has the&lt;br /&gt;
right to with regard to a story originally disposed&lt;br /&gt;
of as indicated above. He asks himself and other&lt;br /&gt;
persons, &amp;quot;Who has the copyright?&amp;quot; Has the&lt;br /&gt;
writer been employed by the proprietor of the&lt;br /&gt;
magazine?&lt;br /&gt;
Have they a joint ownership?&lt;br /&gt;
Has the author sold the copyright right out?&lt;br /&gt;
Or has he only sold &amp;quot;serial rights?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Ought not all books to be dated on the title-&lt;br /&gt;
page with the year and month of publication?&lt;br /&gt;
Ought not reviewers to state the price of books&lt;br /&gt;
in reviewing them, and if not, why not?&lt;br /&gt;
Is a contributor on the staff of more magazines&lt;br /&gt;
than one justified in proposing an article on the&lt;br /&gt;
same subject to them all contemporaneously, and&lt;br /&gt;
if more than one accept, selecting the acceptance&lt;br /&gt;
which pleases him best?&lt;br /&gt;
Ought a reviewer to write more than one review&lt;br /&gt;
of the same book?&lt;br /&gt;
Ought a publisher&amp;#039;s advertisements in his own&lt;br /&gt;
magazine to be charged to the author? And can&lt;br /&gt;
a publisher charge such advertisements to the&lt;br /&gt;
author without first obtaining his consent to an&lt;br /&gt;
expenditure which goes into the publisher&amp;#039;s own&lt;br /&gt;
pocket?&lt;br /&gt;
%&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
In answer to your query I am detailing briefly&lt;br /&gt;
my own experience, and I understand that many&lt;br /&gt;
other authors have suffered similar treatment.&lt;br /&gt;
In 1882 I sent an article to&amp;quot;&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
(a well-known monthly): it was accepted. It ap-&lt;br /&gt;
peared 17 months afterwards. I was paid, however,&lt;br /&gt;
directly it appeared.&lt;br /&gt;
In 1885 I sent an article to&amp;quot;&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
(another well-known monthly), and I heard no&lt;br /&gt;
more of it. It may have appeared, or it may have&lt;br /&gt;
been lost. I have never seen it in proof, and I&lt;br /&gt;
have never been paid for it.&lt;br /&gt;
In this year I sent a short story to a journal with&lt;br /&gt;
a fair reputation and position. They cut it down,&lt;br /&gt;
and in so doing cut out a small episode&mdash;of itelf&lt;br /&gt;
unimportant&mdash;to which reference happened to be&lt;br /&gt;
made twice later on in the story. That is, they&lt;br /&gt;
made nonsense of my work. They did not pay&lt;br /&gt;
until three months after printing the story.&lt;br /&gt;
In 1889 I sent a story to a daily paper. They&lt;br /&gt;
did not accept it or refuse it, or acknowledge it.&lt;br /&gt;
One day I saw it in print, and three monihs after-&lt;br /&gt;
wards I received most inadequate payment for it.&lt;br /&gt;
It appears, however, that I have no remedy.&lt;br /&gt;
A Scribbler.&lt;br /&gt;
I sent a story to a weekly journal. They printed&lt;br /&gt;
it without acknowledgment almost directly after-&lt;br /&gt;
wards. I wrote a second&mdash;not knowing the fortu-&lt;br /&gt;
nate fate of the first&mdash;and sent it to them. Then&lt;br /&gt;
I heard that the first one had been printed. I&lt;br /&gt;
wrote to ask for payment. They did not answer.&lt;br /&gt;
I wrote again. They did not answer, but printed&lt;br /&gt;
my second story. Months afterwards, with no&lt;br /&gt;
apology, I received a cheque for both of them.&lt;br /&gt;
If these people had accepted my first story in the&lt;br /&gt;
usual manner, I should have looked for it, and&lt;br /&gt;
if I had been paid for it at the rate I eventually&lt;br /&gt;
received for the two, I should have never sent them&lt;br /&gt;
the second story. I can get more from a daily&lt;br /&gt;
provincial paper and get my money promptly, as&lt;br /&gt;
well as have proofs sent to me for correction. The&lt;br /&gt;
paper was&amp;quot; .&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
A. E.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 52 (#72) ##############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
52&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
AT WORK.&lt;br /&gt;
This column is reserved entirely for Members of the&lt;br /&gt;
Society, who are invited to keep the Editor&lt;br /&gt;
acquainted with their work and engagements.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
R. WILLIAM MICHAEL ROSSETTI&lt;br /&gt;
is at present engaged upon an annotated&lt;br /&gt;
edition of Shelley&amp;#039;s &amp;quot;Adonais&amp;quot; for the&lt;br /&gt;
Clarendon Press. It will contain a considerable&lt;br /&gt;
amount of prefatory matter, and a long series of&lt;br /&gt;
notes. Mr. Rossetti is also engaged u|.on a scries&lt;br /&gt;
of articles, bearing the title &amp;quot;Portraits of Robert&lt;br /&gt;
Browning,&amp;quot; which are appearing, with copious&lt;br /&gt;
illustrations, in J he Magazine of Art.&lt;br /&gt;
Mrs. Brightwen, who is one of the Vice-Presi-&lt;br /&gt;
dents of the Selborne Society, is issuing a small&lt;br /&gt;
book, entitled &amp;quot;Wild Nature Won by Kindness.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
It will be illustrated partly by the author, and&lt;br /&gt;
partly by Mr. Carruthers Gould, and will be pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lished by Mr. T. Fisher Unwin.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. T. Bailey Saunders has in the press&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Counsels and Maxims,&amp;quot; being the second part&lt;br /&gt;
of Arthur Schopenhauer&amp;#039;s &amp;quot;Aphorismen zur Le-&lt;br /&gt;
bensweisheit.&amp;quot; It is to be uniform with the&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Wisdom of Life,&amp;quot; the first part of the same work&lt;br /&gt;
(Swan, Sonnenschein, &amp;amp; Co., 1 vol., 2s. 6d.). His&lt;br /&gt;
translation of Schopenhauer&amp;#039;s &amp;quot;Religion: a Dia-&lt;br /&gt;
logue,&amp;quot; and other Essays, is going into a second&lt;br /&gt;
edition.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. H. G. Keene, CLE., is engaged in editing&lt;br /&gt;
an Oriental Biographical Dictionary. The work&mdash;■&lt;br /&gt;
founded on materials collected by the late Mr.&lt;br /&gt;
Thomas Beale, an assistant of Sir H. Elliot&amp;#039;s&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
was originally brought out in Calcutta undrr the&lt;br /&gt;
auspices of the Government of the North-West&lt;br /&gt;
Provinces. As the editor was at a distance from&lt;br /&gt;
the press, and his time was much forestalled by&lt;br /&gt;
his official occupation, a good many clerical and&lt;br /&gt;
typographical errors escaped attention; but the&lt;br /&gt;
book was found useful by scholars, and is now&lt;br /&gt;
scarce. Mr. Keene&amp;#039;s edition, besides containing&lt;br /&gt;
corrections of these errors, will also include con-&lt;br /&gt;
siderable additional matter. It will be published&lt;br /&gt;
by Messrs. W. H. Allen &amp;amp; Co., and the price, to&lt;br /&gt;
subscribers, will be 15J.&lt;br /&gt;
In the new edition of &amp;quot; Chitty on Contracts,&amp;quot; now&lt;br /&gt;
being issued under the auspices of Mr. J. M. Lely&lt;br /&gt;
and Mr. Nevill Geary, there will be found (p. 665) a&lt;br /&gt;
recently settled agreement for publication on com-&lt;br /&gt;
mission, the author retaining his copyright. The&lt;br /&gt;
agreement was settled by the Society of Authors.&lt;br /&gt;
Miss Charlotte M. Yonge has in preparation a&lt;br /&gt;
story entitled &amp;quot;The Slaves of Sabinus.&amp;quot; The scene&lt;br /&gt;
is laid in the time of Vespasian, and the book will&lt;br /&gt;
be published in the autumn season. The seventh&lt;br /&gt;
series of the &amp;quot;Cameos of English History,&amp;quot; by the&lt;br /&gt;
same author, is now appearing.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. W. A. Copinger, F.S.A., the author of&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The Law of Copyright in Works of Literature&lt;br /&gt;
and Art,&amp;quot; has now in hand a Bibliography of the&lt;br /&gt;
various editions of the Latin Bible in the fifteenth&lt;br /&gt;
and sixteenth centuries, with full collations, and&lt;br /&gt;
fac similes of pages of the principal editions.&lt;br /&gt;
The life of &amp;quot;Carmen&amp;#039;Sylva,&amp;quot; Queen of Rou-&lt;br /&gt;
mania&mdash;a translation from the German (Messrs.&lt;br /&gt;
Kegan Paul, Trench, Triibner, &amp;amp; Co.)&mdash;contains&lt;br /&gt;
numerous extracts from the illustrious lady&amp;#039;s poetry,&lt;br /&gt;
which have been gracefully rendered into English&lt;br /&gt;
by Sir Edwin Arnold.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Thomas Dain, the Memoirs of an Irish Patriot,&lt;br /&gt;
1840-1846,&amp;quot; is also announced by the same pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lisher. The author is Sir Charles Gavan Duffy&lt;br /&gt;
K.C.M.G.&lt;br /&gt;
M. Jusserand, author of &amp;quot;English Wayfaring&lt;br /&gt;
Life,&amp;quot; and an honorary foreign member of our&lt;br /&gt;
Society, has revised and enlarged his work, &amp;quot;Le&lt;br /&gt;
Roman au temps de Shakespeare,&amp;quot; and a translation&lt;br /&gt;
of it has just been issued (Mr. T. Fisher Unwin).&lt;br /&gt;
Miss Jane E. Harrison, author of &amp;quot; Myths of the&lt;br /&gt;
Odyssey, &amp;amp;c,&amp;quot; has written an introductory essay, with&lt;br /&gt;
archaeological comments, to Miss Verrall&amp;#039;s work&lt;br /&gt;
upon Ancient Athens (Messrs. Macmillan &amp;amp; Co.).&lt;br /&gt;
The Rev. Charles D. Bell, D.D., of Cheltenham,&lt;br /&gt;
has just published &amp;quot;A Winter on the Nile&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
(Hodder and Stoughton, price 6s.), containing the&lt;br /&gt;
record of a tour up the Nile as far as the Second&lt;br /&gt;
Cataract, with a sojourn at Luxor and a description&lt;br /&gt;
of recent discoveries and antiquities at Bubastis&lt;br /&gt;
and the Fayoum.&lt;br /&gt;
Marion Crawford&amp;#039;s new book, &amp;quot;A Cigarette&lt;br /&gt;
Maker&amp;#039;s Romance,&amp;quot; will be published this month&lt;br /&gt;
(Macmillan).&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Edward Clodd&amp;#039;s &amp;quot;Story of Creation&amp;quot; will&lt;br /&gt;
be issued in a cheaper edition next month by&lt;br /&gt;
Messrs. Longmans. An Italian translation will&lt;br /&gt;
also be published in Rome shortly.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Edmund Gosse announces the first three&lt;br /&gt;
volumes of an International Library, under his&lt;br /&gt;
editorship (William Heineman). Cine is from&lt;br /&gt;
the French, one from the German, and one from&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 53 (#73) ##############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
53&lt;br /&gt;
the Norwegian. A search is to be made on all&lt;br /&gt;
hands and in all languages for such books as com-&lt;br /&gt;
bine the greatest literary value with the most&lt;br /&gt;
curious and amusing qualities of manner and&lt;br /&gt;
matter. If such a search is only rewarded by&lt;br /&gt;
a modicum of success a large body of readers&lt;br /&gt;
should be placed under a great debt to editor and&lt;br /&gt;
publisher.&lt;br /&gt;
A new edition of Lamb&amp;#039;s &amp;quot;Adventures of Ulysses&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
will be issued shortly, edited by Mr. Andrew&lt;br /&gt;
I-arig.&lt;br /&gt;
The Open Court&mdash;a Chicago journal&mdash;is at&lt;br /&gt;
present publishing a series of papers by Mr. T.&lt;br /&gt;
Bailey Saunders, constituting a short critical re-&lt;br /&gt;
view of recent theories on the Origin of Reason.&lt;br /&gt;
Miss Mary Rowsell is engaged upon a biography&lt;br /&gt;
of Charlotte de la Tremouille, Countess of Derby&lt;br /&gt;
(the I^idy of Lathom), (Vizetelly &amp;amp; Co.). The book&lt;br /&gt;
is to form one of a series of Romantic Biographies.&lt;br /&gt;
Miss Rowsell is also dramatizing her novel &amp;quot;The&lt;br /&gt;
Red House.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Oswald Crawfurd, C.M.G., Her Majesty&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
Consul at Oporto, author of &amp;quot; Portugal: Old and&lt;br /&gt;
New,&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Beyond the Seas,&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Sylvia Arden,&amp;quot; is&lt;br /&gt;
working upon the final revise of &amp;quot;Round the&lt;br /&gt;
Calendar in Portugal,&amp;quot; a book dealing chiefly with&lt;br /&gt;
rural life and rural themes in that country. The&lt;br /&gt;
work is copiously illustrated by Miss Dorothy&lt;br /&gt;
Tennant, Mrs. Arthur Walter, Miss Alice Wood-&lt;br /&gt;
ward, Miss Winifred Thomson, Mr. Tristram Elles,&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Ambrose Lee, and the author.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. William Sharp has written a memoir of the&lt;br /&gt;
great critic to be prefixed to Sainte Beuve&amp;#039;s Essays,&lt;br /&gt;
which are announced by Mr. David Stott, as a&lt;br /&gt;
volume in a new series, entitled &amp;quot; Masterpieces of&lt;br /&gt;
Foreign Authors.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
The latest volume of the Camelat Series,&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Northern Studies,&amp;quot; is by Mr. Edmund Gosse;&lt;br /&gt;
the latest volume of the Canterbury Series, &amp;quot;Great&lt;br /&gt;
Oder,&amp;quot; has been selected and edited by Mr.&lt;br /&gt;
William Sharp (Walter Scott).&lt;br /&gt;
A new edition of &amp;quot;The Story of a Marriage,&amp;quot; by&lt;br /&gt;
L. Baldwin, will appear immediately (Ward and&lt;br /&gt;
Downey).&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The Roll of the Highland Clans.&amp;quot; This is a&lt;br /&gt;
sheet somewhat similar to &amp;quot;The Roll of Battle&lt;br /&gt;
Abbey,&amp;quot; about 34 inches by 24 inches, on which is&lt;br /&gt;
an inner scroll bearing the names of the principal&lt;br /&gt;
cadets, the badge, and coloured specimen of the&lt;br /&gt;
Tartan of each Clan. It has been prepared by&lt;br /&gt;
Mrs. Philip Champion de Crespigny, and is sub-&lt;br /&gt;
scribed in a limited edition by Mr. Bernard&lt;br /&gt;
Quaritch, at a guinea.&lt;br /&gt;
Dr. Beattie Crozier, whose book, &amp;quot;Civilization&lt;br /&gt;
and Progress,&amp;quot; met with such success last year, has&lt;br /&gt;
in hand a book dealing with the Labour Question.&lt;br /&gt;
The book will be a sequel to &amp;quot;Civilization and&lt;br /&gt;
Progress,&amp;quot; and will be published by Messrs. Long-&lt;br /&gt;
mans &amp;amp; Co.&lt;br /&gt;
Mrs. Kennard has begun a new novel in London&lt;br /&gt;
Society, entitled &amp;quot;A Homburg Beauty.&amp;quot; Her&lt;br /&gt;
story, &amp;quot;That Pretty Little Horse-breaker,&amp;quot; will run&lt;br /&gt;
upon the Syndicate System with Mr. Tillotson, at&lt;br /&gt;
the end of this year.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;John Strange Winter &amp;quot; will also employ the Syn-&lt;br /&gt;
dicate System over her new novel. This will run&lt;br /&gt;
as a serial in various newspapers from September&lt;br /&gt;
to December.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. H. J. B. Montgomery, author of &amp;quot;The&lt;br /&gt;
British Navy in the present Year of Grace,&amp;quot; is&lt;br /&gt;
publishing some reminiscences of the Naval&lt;br /&gt;
Service in the Naval and Military Argus. These&lt;br /&gt;
will shortly appear in book form.&lt;br /&gt;
The names of subscribers to Mr. W. F. Smith&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Rabelais &amp;quot; are rapidly coming in. It is expected&lt;br /&gt;
that the book will go to press almost immediately.&lt;br /&gt;
The agent for The Author is Mr. A. P. Watt.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Rudyard Kipling&amp;#039;s &amp;quot;A Conference of the&lt;br /&gt;
Powers,&amp;quot; which appeared in The United Services&lt;br /&gt;
Magazine in this country, was also published&lt;br /&gt;
simultaneously in America, Australia, and India.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Bret Harte is engaged writing a short story&lt;br /&gt;
for a syndicate of newspapers.&lt;br /&gt;
Henry Herman is about to issue shortly&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Between the Whiffs&amp;quot; (Arrowsmith). The book is&lt;br /&gt;
a collection of theatrical anecdotes which have&lt;br /&gt;
appeared in various journals.&lt;br /&gt;
William Werlah is writing a fifty thousand word&lt;br /&gt;
romance for Lippincotfs Magazine, which will&lt;br /&gt;
probably appear in the August number. The&lt;br /&gt;
title of it is &amp;quot;Roy the Royalist.&amp;quot; It is mainly a&lt;br /&gt;
romance of adventure, but in part historical. The&lt;br /&gt;
interest centres round the siege of St. Jean d&amp;#039;Acre&lt;br /&gt;
(1799), and among the characters introduced are&lt;br /&gt;
Bonaparte, Sir Sidney Smith, and Ahmed Dgezzar,&lt;br /&gt;
the famous Pacha of Syria.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 54 (#74) ##############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
54&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
NEW BOOKS AND NEW EDITIONS.&lt;br /&gt;
Allincham, Herbert W., F.R.C.S. Treatment&lt;br /&gt;
of Internal Diseases of the Knee-joint. J. A.&lt;br /&gt;
Churchill and Co. i vol. 5s.&lt;br /&gt;
Archer, William. William Charles Macready.&lt;br /&gt;
Eminent Actor Series. Kegan Paul, Trench,&lt;br /&gt;
Triibner and Co. 1 vol. 2s. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
Besant, Walter. Herr Paulus. Chatto and&lt;br /&gt;
Windus. 1 vol. 2s.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Bickerdyke, John.&amp;quot; The Book of the All-round&lt;br /&gt;
Angler. L. Upcott Gill. 1 vol. 5s. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
Large Paper Edition. 25*.&lt;br /&gt;
Black, William. The Penance of John Logan.&lt;br /&gt;
Sampson Low, Marston and Co. 1 vol.&lt;br /&gt;
6s.&lt;br /&gt;
Blackmore, R. D. Mary Annesley. Cheap&lt;br /&gt;
Edition. Sampson Low. 1 vol. 2^.&lt;br /&gt;
Springhaven: a Tale of the Great War.&lt;br /&gt;
Sampson Low, Marston and Co. 1 vol. 6*.&lt;br /&gt;
Blind, Mathilde. The Journal of Marie Bash-&lt;br /&gt;
kirtseff. Cassell and Co. 1 vol.&lt;br /&gt;
Bramston, M., and Coleridge, C. R. Truth&lt;br /&gt;
with Honour. Smith and Innes. 1 vol. 5^.&lt;br /&gt;
Browning, Oscar. The Life of George Eliot.&lt;br /&gt;
1 vol. Walter Scott.&lt;br /&gt;
Calmour, A. C. Confessions of a Doormat. F. V.&lt;br /&gt;
White and Co. 1 vol. if.&lt;br /&gt;
Clifton, Alice. An Unwilling Wife. Reming-&lt;br /&gt;
ton and Co. 6.?.&lt;br /&gt;
Collins, Mabel. Ida; An Adventure in Morocco.&lt;br /&gt;
Smith, Elder and Co. 1 vol. is.&lt;br /&gt;
Cooke, C. W. Radcliffe, M.P. Four Years in&lt;br /&gt;
Parliament, with Hard Labour. A reprint,&lt;br /&gt;
with additions, of articles which have appeared&lt;br /&gt;
in The Times and National Rwiew. 1 vol.&lt;br /&gt;
W. H. Allen and Co.&lt;br /&gt;
Four Years in Parliament with Hard Labour.&lt;br /&gt;
W. H. Allen. 1 vol. 2s. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
Copincer, W. A., F.S.A. A Treatise on Pre-&lt;br /&gt;
destination, Election, and Grace. Jas. Nisbet.&lt;br /&gt;
1 vol. 10s. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
Crawford, T. Marion. Sarinesca. New Edition.&lt;br /&gt;
Messrs. Blackwood and Sons. 1 vol. 6s.&lt;br /&gt;
With the Immortals. New Edition. 1 vol.&lt;br /&gt;
Macmillan and Co.&lt;br /&gt;
Cunningham, Dr. W. Growth of English Indus-&lt;br /&gt;
try and Commerce, Early and Middle Ages.&lt;br /&gt;
Cambridge University Press.&lt;br /&gt;
Davies, Helen. For so Little. Swan Sonnen-&lt;br /&gt;
schein and Co. 1 vol. 6/.&lt;br /&gt;
Edwardes, Charles. Sardinia and the Sardes.&lt;br /&gt;
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9th Edition. In 2 vols. Longmans and Co.&lt;br /&gt;
$2S.&lt;br /&gt;
Esler, E. Rentoul. The Way of Transgressors.&lt;br /&gt;
Sampson Low 3 vols. 3 if. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
Ffoulkes, L. Florence. Sunlight and Shade:&lt;br /&gt;
Poems. Field and Tuer. 1 vol. 6s.&lt;br /&gt;
Frazer, J. G. The Golden Bough : a Study in&lt;br /&gt;
Comparative Religion. Messrs. Macmillan&lt;br /&gt;
and Co. 2 vols. 28^.&lt;br /&gt;
Garnett, Dr. Richard. Iphigenia in Delphi;&lt;br /&gt;
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Vol. IV of the Cameo Series. T. Fisher&lt;br /&gt;
Unwin. 1 vol. 3s. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
Gilchrist, R. Murray. Passion the Plaything.&lt;br /&gt;
William Heineman. 1 vol. 35. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
Gosse, Edmund. On Viol and Flute: Lyrical&lt;br /&gt;
Poems. With frontispiece by L. Alma&lt;br /&gt;
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Thornycroft, R.A. Kegan Paul, Trench,&lt;br /&gt;
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Hake, Dr. J. Gordon. New Day Sonnets.&lt;br /&gt;
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Harland, Henry. Two Women or One. Cassell&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 55 (#75) ##############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
55&lt;br /&gt;
Kipling, Rudyard. The Story of the Gadsleys.&lt;br /&gt;
Sampson Low, Marston and Co. i vol&lt;br /&gt;
is.&lt;br /&gt;
Lankester, Prof. E. Ray, M.A., LL.D., F.R.S.&lt;br /&gt;
The Advancement of Science. Macmillan&lt;br /&gt;
and Co. i vol. io*. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
Lawless, Emily. With Essex in Ireland. Smith,&lt;br /&gt;
Elder and Co. i vol. 7.?. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
Lely, J. M., and Geary, Nevill. Chitty on&lt;br /&gt;
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well, Limited. 1 vol.&lt;br /&gt;
Lytton, Earl, G.C.B. The Ring of Amasis.&lt;br /&gt;
Macmillan and Co. 1 vol. 3*. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
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lution. Chatto and Windus. Vol. I and II.&lt;br /&gt;
12s. each.&lt;br /&gt;
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Morrison, W. D. The Jews under Roman Rule.&lt;br /&gt;
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Robinson, F. Mabel. Irish History for English&lt;br /&gt;
Readers. 4th Edition. Methuen and Co.&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;br /&gt;
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## p. 56 (#76) ##############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
56&lt;br /&gt;
A D VER TISEMENTS.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;THE LITERARY HAJYDJWAID OF THE&lt;br /&gt;
CHURCH.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
HENRY GLAISHER, 95, STRAND. Price ONE SHILLING.&lt;br /&gt;
NOW READY.&lt;br /&gt;
This pamphlet is a reply to the invitation&amp;#039; issued by the Publication Committee of the Society for&lt;br /&gt;
the Promotion of Christian Knowledge in their Report of last year, for any suggestions, which they &amp;quot;will&lt;br /&gt;
gladly receive,&amp;quot; on the best way of making &amp;quot;the Venerable Society the most efficient literary handmaid&lt;br /&gt;
of the Church of England throughout the world.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
The suggestions offered in these pages contain, first, some of the elementary principles which guide&lt;br /&gt;
honourable men in the administration of literary property. The writer next advances three cases, as&lt;br /&gt;
illustrating the methods adopted by the Society. A copy of this pamphlet will be sent to any member of&lt;br /&gt;
the Society by application to the Office, including two postage stamps.&lt;br /&gt;
THE METHODS OF PUBLICATION,&lt;br /&gt;
BY S. S. SPRIGGE, B.A.&lt;br /&gt;
NEARLY READY.&lt;br /&gt;
This book, compiled mainly from documents in the office of the Society of Authors, is intended to&lt;br /&gt;
show a complete conspectus of all the various methods of publication with the meaning of each; that is to&lt;br /&gt;
say, the exact concessions to publishers and the reservation of the owner and author of the work. The&lt;br /&gt;
different frauds which arise out of these methods form a necessary part of the book. Nothing is advanced&lt;br /&gt;
which has not been proved by the experience of the Society.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 57 (#77) ##############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A D VER TISEMEN IS.&lt;br /&gt;
57&lt;br /&gt;
MESSRS. WHITTAKER&amp;#039;S BOOKS OF REFERENCE.&lt;br /&gt;
Large post Zvot doth js. 6d.; half bound, 9*.&lt;br /&gt;
SOBRIQUETS AND NICKNAMES. By Albert&lt;br /&gt;
Krey. With an Index arranged by True Names.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;#039;&bull; The first work that has been devoted to the explanation and derivation&lt;br /&gt;
of the numberless witty and sometimes abusive appellations ... it&lt;br /&gt;
deserves the heartiest praise.&amp;quot;&mdash;Glasgow Herald.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;More than five thousand subjects are given, and the information&lt;br /&gt;
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shows the work to be thoroughly done.&amp;quot;&mdash;Notes and Queries.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Offers an ample fund of information and amusement&mdash;deserves a place&lt;br /&gt;
in every well-chosen library.&amp;quot;&mdash;Morning Post.&lt;br /&gt;
A Dictionary 0/Parisisms and French Slang. Large Post Bcw, ior. &amp;amp;/.&lt;br /&gt;
ARGOT AND SLANG. A New French and English&lt;br /&gt;
Dictionary of the Cant Words, Quaint Expressions, Slang Terms,&lt;br /&gt;
and Flash Phrases used in the High and Low Life of Old and New&lt;br /&gt;
Paris. By A. Bakkere, Officierde PInstruction Publique, Professor&lt;br /&gt;
R. M. Academy, Woolwich.&lt;br /&gt;
The work treats of the cant of thieves; the jargon rf Parisian&lt;br /&gt;
roughs; the military-, naval, parliamentary, academical, legal, and&lt;br /&gt;
freemasons&amp;#039; slang, of that of the workshop, the studio, the stage, the&lt;br /&gt;
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A Companion to the Works op Allan Ramsay, R. Burns, Sir&lt;br /&gt;
W. Scott and all the Scottish Poets.&lt;br /&gt;
Just published* large post Bvo, cloth, 71. 6d., or half bound 8*. 6t&pound;.&lt;br /&gt;
a dictionary of lowland scotch,&lt;br /&gt;
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and Humour of the Scottish language, and an appendix of Scottish&lt;br /&gt;
Proverbs. By Charles Mack ay, LL.D.&lt;br /&gt;
Also a large paper edition, limited to 125 copies, each numbei ed&lt;br /&gt;
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I-ondon: WHITTAKER &amp;amp; Co., Paternoster Square.&lt;br /&gt;
THE SURVEY OF WESTERN&lt;br /&gt;
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Only 17 sets of this magnificent work nmv remain. It will&lt;br /&gt;
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THE MEMOIRS. Being the Notes taken in the Field&lt;br /&gt;
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Published far the Palestine Exploration Fund by&lt;br /&gt;
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Sent, post free, upon application.&lt;br /&gt;
A Complete Catalogue of Works published by&lt;br /&gt;
MESSRS. BELL,&lt;br /&gt;
Containing the following Standard Works, which they&lt;br /&gt;
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Works of Reference.&lt;br /&gt;
Bibliotheca Classica. 26 vols. (Onlyfewsetsleft).&lt;br /&gt;
Bohn&amp;#039;s Dictionary of Poetical Quotations.&lt;br /&gt;
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Gasc&amp;#039;s Concise Dictionary of the French&lt;br /&gt;
and English Languages. Fourth Edition, Revised.&lt;br /&gt;
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Guest&amp;#039;s History of English Rhythms.&lt;br /&gt;
Lewin&amp;#039;s Life and Epistles of St. Paul.&lt;br /&gt;
Illustrated. 2 volumes.&lt;br /&gt;
Long&amp;#039;s Decline of the Roman Republic.&lt;br /&gt;
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Lowndes&amp;#039; Bibliographer&amp;#039;s Manual of&lt;br /&gt;
English Literature. In 11 parts or 4 volumes.&lt;br /&gt;
Lupton&amp;#039;s Life of Dean Colet.&lt;br /&gt;
Redgrave&amp;#039;s Dictionary of Artists of the&lt;br /&gt;
English School.&lt;br /&gt;
Smith&amp;#039;s Synonyms and Antonyms.&lt;br /&gt;
Sowerby&amp;#039;s English Botany. 12 volumes.&lt;br /&gt;
Cloth, Half Morocco, and Whole Morocco.&lt;br /&gt;
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(Republican and Imperial).&lt;br /&gt;
Strickland&amp;#039;s Lives of the Queens of England.&lt;br /&gt;
8 volumes.&lt;br /&gt;
Webster&amp;#039;s English Dictionary. In Cloth,&lt;br /&gt;
Half Calf, Calf or Half Russia, and Russia.&lt;br /&gt;
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dices. Cloth, Half Calf, Calf or Half Russia, or Russia.&lt;br /&gt;
Wheeler&amp;#039;s Noted Names of Fiction.&lt;br /&gt;
Wright&amp;#039;s Dictionary of Obsolete and Pro-&lt;br /&gt;
vincial English. 2 volumes.&lt;br /&gt;
The following Works are offered at Reduced Prices.&lt;br /&gt;
Archer&amp;#039;s British Army.&lt;br /&gt;
Bloxam&amp;#039;s Ecclesiastical Architecture. 3 vols.&lt;br /&gt;
Burn&amp;#039;s Rome and the Campagna.&lt;br /&gt;
Burn&amp;#039;s Old Rome.&lt;br /&gt;
Castle&amp;#039;s Schools and Masters of Fence.&lt;br /&gt;
Davies&amp;#039;s Supplementary English Glossary.&lt;br /&gt;
Dyer&amp;#039;s Ancient Athens.&lt;br /&gt;
Palmer&amp;#039;s Desert of the Exodus. 2 Volumes.&lt;br /&gt;
(Only 12 Copies left).&lt;br /&gt;
Palmer&amp;#039;s Folk Etymology. (Only8ocopies left.)&lt;br /&gt;
Scrivener&amp;#039;s Codex Bezae.&lt;br /&gt;
Smith&amp;#039;s Synonyms Discriminated.&lt;br /&gt;
London: GEORGE BELL &amp;amp; SONS, York St., Covent Garden.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 58 (#78) ##############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
5S AD VER TISEMENTS.&lt;br /&gt;
TYPE-WRITING!&lt;br /&gt;
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OBJECTS OF THE SOCIETY.&lt;br /&gt;
1. The maintenance, definition, and defence of literary property.&lt;br /&gt;
2. The consolidation and amendment of the laws of Domestic Copyright.&lt;br /&gt;
3. The promotion of International Copyright.&lt;br /&gt;
The first of these objects requires explanation. In order to defend Literary Property, the Society acts as&lt;br /&gt;
follows:&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
a. It aims at defining and establishing the principles which should rule the methods of publishing.&lt;br /&gt;
ft. It examines agreements submitted to authors, and points out to them the clauses which are&lt;br /&gt;
injurious to their interests.&lt;br /&gt;
7. It advises authors as to the best publishers for their purpose, and keeps them out of the hands&lt;br /&gt;
of unscrupulous traders.&lt;br /&gt;
f.. It publishes from time to time, books, papers, &amp;amp;c, on the subjects which fall within its province.&lt;br /&gt;
6. In every other way possible the Society protects, warns, and informs its members as to the&lt;br /&gt;
pecuniary interest of their works.&lt;br /&gt;
WARNINGS.&lt;br /&gt;
Authors are most earnestly warned&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
(1) Not to sign any agreement of which the alleged cost of production forms an integral part,&lt;br /&gt;
unless an opportunity of proving the correctness of the figures is given them.&lt;br /&gt;
(2) Not to enter into any correspondence with publishers, who are not recommended by experienced&lt;br /&gt;
friends, or by this Society.&lt;br /&gt;
(3) Never, on any account whatever, to bind themselves down to any one firm of publishers.&lt;br /&gt;
(4) Not to accept any proposal of royalty without consultation with the Society.&lt;br /&gt;
(5) Not to accept any offer of money for MSS., without previously taking advice of the Society.&lt;br /&gt;
(6) Not to accept any pecuniary risk or responsibility without advice.&lt;br /&gt;
(7) Not, under ordinary circumstances, when a MS. has been refused by the well-known houses,&lt;br /&gt;
to pay small houses for the production of the work.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 58 (#79) ##############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A D VER riSEMEN TS.&lt;br /&gt;
iii.&lt;br /&gt;
THE BAR-LOCK TYPE-WRITER saves the eyesight.&lt;br /&gt;
THE BAR-LOCK TYPE-WRITER prevents writer&amp;#039;s cramp.&lt;br /&gt;
THE BAR-LOCK TYPE-WRITER prevents round shoulders.&lt;br /&gt;
THE BAR-LOCK TYPE-WRITER enables you to keep pace&lt;br /&gt;
with your thoughts, the operation requires less mental&lt;br /&gt;
effort than the use of a pen, allowing you to concentrate&lt;br /&gt;
your mind more fully on the matter you are writing on.&lt;br /&gt;
The writing of the BAR-LOCK TYPE-WRITER is equal to a printed proof, and can be used as&lt;br /&gt;
such for corrections, thus saving large printer&amp;#039;s charges which are sufficient in many books to defray the&lt;br /&gt;
cost of a Bar-Lock.&lt;br /&gt;
Supplied for Cash, or on our Hire Purchase System.&lt;br /&gt;
CORRESPONDENCE AND INSPECTION INVITED.&lt;br /&gt;
W. J. RICHARDSON k Co, 12 &amp;amp; 14, Queen Victoria St, E.C.&lt;br /&gt;
40, North John Street, Liverpool; 22, Renfield Street, Glasgow; Guardian Building,&lt;br /&gt;
Manchester; Exchange Building, Cardiff; 385, Little Collins Street, Melbourne.&lt;br /&gt;
PUBLICATIONS OF THE SOCIETY.&lt;br /&gt;
1. The Annual Report. That for January, 1890, can be had on application to the Secretary.&lt;br /&gt;
2. The Author. A Monthly Journal devoted especially to the protection and maintenance oi&lt;br /&gt;
Literary Property.&lt;br /&gt;
3. The Grievances of Authors. (Field &amp;amp; Tuer^. 2.?. The Report of three Meetings on the&lt;br /&gt;
general subject of Literature and its defence, held at Willis&amp;#039;s Rooms, March, 1887.&lt;br /&gt;
4. Literature and the Pension List. By W. Morris Colles, Barrister-at-Law. (Henry&lt;br /&gt;
Glaisher, 95, Strand, W.C.) 4s. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
S The History of the Socidte&amp;quot; des Gens de Lettres. By S. Squire Sprigge, Secretary to the&lt;br /&gt;
Society. is.&lt;br /&gt;
6. The Cost Of Production. In this work specimens are given of the most important forms of&lt;br /&gt;
type, size of page, &amp;amp;c, with estimates showing what it costs to produce the more common kinds&lt;br /&gt;
of books. The work is printed for members of the Society only. 2s. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
7. The Various Methods of Publication. By S. Squire Sprigge. In this work, compiled&lt;br /&gt;
from the papers in the Society&amp;#039;s offices, the various kinds of agreements proposed by Publishers&lt;br /&gt;
to Authors are examined, and their meaning carefully explained, with an account of the various&lt;br /&gt;
kinds of fraud which have been made possible by the different clauses in their agreements. The&lt;br /&gt;
book is nearly ready, and will be issued as soon as possible.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Other works bearing on the Literary Profession willfollow.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 58 (#80) ##############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
IV.&lt;br /&gt;
AD VER TISEMENTS.&lt;br /&gt;
CHEAP PRINTING, A NECESSITY OF THE AGE!!!&lt;br /&gt;
Attention U called to the following important features of this Company:&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
There is no Promotion Money to be paid. There is no Payment for Goodwill or Old and Worn-out Machinery and Plant.&lt;br /&gt;
There are no Founders&amp;#039; Shares, all the Profits belonging to tin Shareholders without preference or distinction&lt;br /&gt;
The ECONOMIC PRINTING &amp;amp; PUBLISHING COMPANY, Limited.&lt;br /&gt;
Incorporated under the Companies Acts, 1862 io 18S6.&lt;br /&gt;
O^.X*XT^.Z. - - - &pound;100,000.&lt;br /&gt;
100,000 SHARES OK &pound;1 EACH UPON WHICH IT IS ANTICIPATED THAT NOT MORE THAN ioj. PER SHARE WILL BE&lt;br /&gt;
CALLED UP AT PRESENT.&lt;br /&gt;
ISSUE OF 100,000 SHARES, payable as follows:-2s. Bd. per SHARE on APPLICATION, 2s. 6d. per SHARE on ALLOTMENT&lt;br /&gt;
Two Months&amp;#039; notice will be given oj subsequent Cells, -which are not Co excxfJ 3s. M. each.&lt;br /&gt;
DIRECTORS.&lt;br /&gt;
JUSTIN MCCARTHY, Esq., M.P., 20, Cheyne Gardens, S.W., Chairman.&lt;br /&gt;
JOSEPH HOULTON, Esq. (Messrs. Joseph Houlton &amp;amp; Co., Limited), Printers and Publishers, Worship Street, E.C.&lt;br /&gt;
A. MONTAGUE HAINES, Esq. (Messrs. Haines &amp;amp; Co.), 155, Fenchurch Street, E.C, and Lloyd&amp;#039;s.&lt;br /&gt;
CAMPBELL PRAED, Esq., 30, Norfolk Square.&lt;br /&gt;
HENRY P. WELCH, Esq. (Messrs. Welch, Perrin, &amp;amp; Co.), 7, Mark Lane, E.C.&lt;br /&gt;
And one or two Directors to be chosen by the Board from the first Shareholders.&lt;br /&gt;
Bankers.&mdash;Messrs. WILLIAMS, DEACON &amp;amp; Co., 20, Birchin Lane, E C.; Messrs. PRAED &amp;amp; Co., 189, Fleet Street, E.C.&lt;br /&gt;
Solicitors.&mdash;Messrs. SAUNDERS, HAWK.SFORD, BENNETT, &amp;amp; Co., 68, Coleman Street, London, E.C.&lt;br /&gt;
Broker.&mdash;TAMES GILLISPIE, Esq., 11, Copthall Court, E.C, and Stock Exchange.&lt;br /&gt;
Auditors.&mdash;Messrs. PiXLEY it Co., Chartered Accountants, 24, Moorgate Street, E.C.&lt;br /&gt;
Architect.&mdash;WILLIAM DAWES, Esq., Manchester and London.&lt;br /&gt;
Secretary {pro /&amp;gt;/&raquo;.).&mdash;A. G. SYMONDS, Esq., M.A. Oxon. Registered Offices (pro tern.).&mdash;68, Coleman Street, London, E.C.&lt;br /&gt;
1&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
I;,&lt;br /&gt;
PROSPECTUS.&lt;br /&gt;
The Company is formed for the purpose of engaging in the business of&lt;br /&gt;
cheap printing and publishing on a large scale. The demand for cheaper&lt;br /&gt;
books, magazines, and newspapers, is rapidly on the increase owing to&lt;br /&gt;
the spread of education and the growth of population. Hundreds of the&lt;br /&gt;
best serial publications and standard works are beyond the reach of the&lt;br /&gt;
masses by reason of their virtually prohibitive prices ; whilst the works of&lt;br /&gt;
specialists in the various scientific and learned professions find but a&lt;br /&gt;
limited field amongst those for whom they are intended, because the&lt;br /&gt;
purchasing of books, varying in price from six shillings to thirty shi lings&lt;br /&gt;
a volume, constitutes a severe tax on the fixed incomes of many pro-&lt;br /&gt;
fessional men.&lt;br /&gt;
Recent developments in printing machinery prove that cheap and&lt;br /&gt;
good books, magazines, and general literature is certainly attainable,&lt;br /&gt;
especially if modern plant and appliances be combined under one&lt;br /&gt;
administration and under one roof.&lt;br /&gt;
A Printing Establishment combining all the aforesaid requisites in one&lt;br /&gt;
set of hands, with abundance of the newest plant, and placed in the&lt;br /&gt;
position of a ready cash purchaser of paper, will be enabled to produce&lt;br /&gt;
printed literature&mdash;the greatest necessity of the age&mdash;cheaply and on a&lt;br /&gt;
large scale, and in a quarter of the time it would otherwise take to turn&lt;br /&gt;
out work.&lt;br /&gt;
Good printing or publishing houses, even in the worst times, are&lt;br /&gt;
hardly ever idle ; and the continuous high dividends declared by them&lt;br /&gt;
attest the solid and profitable nature of the printing and publishing&lt;br /&gt;
industry generally.&lt;br /&gt;
The following are the only firms whose Shares are quoted in the Stock&lt;br /&gt;
Exchange Official List, &amp;amp;c. :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
Ord. Share&lt;br /&gt;
Capital.&lt;br /&gt;
&pound;363,890&lt;br /&gt;
j&pound;toO|Coo ... 10 ... 10 ... 21&lt;br /&gt;
The Shares in these and other similar Companies are held in high&lt;br /&gt;
repute, and are difficult to obtain, the concerns being in some cases little&lt;br /&gt;
more than private family partnerships, from participation in the profits&lt;br /&gt;
of which both author*, customers, and the general public are shut out.&lt;br /&gt;
Accordingly, the Company will erect entirely new workshops on an&lt;br /&gt;
eligible site near London which the Directors have in view. Some of&lt;br /&gt;
the best modern printing works are now situated at Guildford, Aylesbury,&lt;br /&gt;
Redhill, Kingston, and other places outside I,ondon.&lt;br /&gt;
The Company&amp;#039;s workshops will have good railway and cartage facilities.&lt;br /&gt;
They will be erected from the designs of Mr. William Dawes, Architect,&lt;br /&gt;
of Manchester and London. Their estimated cost is moderate, and the&lt;br /&gt;
buildings are designed on such a scale as will admit of gradual expansion&lt;br /&gt;
in sections as business grows. The first sec.ion can be open for business,&lt;br /&gt;
already promised, within a few monthi of the allotment of shares.&lt;br /&gt;
They will be fitted throughout with the electric li.-;ht, a great boon in&lt;br /&gt;
itself to compositors. As they will be new, great expenses for repairs&lt;br /&gt;
will be avoided; and, being practically fireproof, their insurance will be&lt;br /&gt;
at low rates.&lt;br /&gt;
No payments have been or will be mad-i for &amp;#039; ooodvill&amp;#039; or promotion&lt;br /&gt;
money, or, in fact, initiatory charges of any kind other than the pre-&lt;br /&gt;
liminary expenses incident to the fonnatioq and successful establishment&lt;br /&gt;
of the Company.&lt;br /&gt;
The Directors believe that the value of the shares will at least equal&lt;br /&gt;
CasseU &amp;amp; Co., Limited ,&lt;br /&gt;
Waterlow Bros. &amp;amp; Lay ton&lt;br /&gt;
Limited ,&lt;br /&gt;
Num. value&lt;br /&gt;
uf Shares.&lt;br /&gt;
I*3iu* up.&lt;br /&gt;
9 &bull;&bull;&lt;br /&gt;
Market&lt;br /&gt;
Price.&lt;br /&gt;
those of the Companies mentioned above, and that there is every&lt;br /&gt;
probability of substantial dividends.&lt;br /&gt;
In the selection of the printing plant the Directors have taken into&lt;br /&gt;
consideration the fact that, whereas in all but one of the branches&lt;br /&gt;
connected with the printing of books and newspapers enormous&lt;br /&gt;
economies have in the past fifty years been effected, mainly through the&lt;br /&gt;
increased productive power of various machines, in -the one central and&lt;br /&gt;
essential branch, viz., the composing room, not only have the expenses&lt;br /&gt;
increased, but the modus operandi is almost as primitive as in the days&lt;br /&gt;
of Guthenberg and Caxton.&lt;br /&gt;
The Directors believe that the machine known as the Linotype Com-&lt;br /&gt;
posing Machine is capable of effecting the largest nett economies over&lt;br /&gt;
the present cost of type-setting by hand, and that by adopting it they&lt;br /&gt;
save a large capital outlay for type.&lt;br /&gt;
They have accordingly contracted for a supply of Linotype Machines&lt;br /&gt;
under special conditions, of which the following are among the most&lt;br /&gt;
important:&lt;br /&gt;
The rate of wages paid to ordinary compositors in London varies&lt;br /&gt;
m piece work from 8d. to tod. per 1,000ens of typeset up, corrected,&lt;br /&gt;
and distributed ; but the Linotype Company (Limited), agrees to&lt;br /&gt;
hire to the Economic Printing and Publishing Company Linotype&lt;br /&gt;
Composing Machines, and to charge a Royalty equal to only 2d. per&lt;br /&gt;
1,000 ens of matter set up, corrected, and automatically distributed.&lt;br /&gt;
When machines are unemployed, a small sum only is charged for&lt;br /&gt;
each working hour.&lt;br /&gt;
The Linotype Company also gives to this Company a monopoly&lt;br /&gt;
as regards the use of their machines for London and ten miles round,&lt;br /&gt;
subject only to certain exceptions.&lt;br /&gt;
To make the Company&amp;#039;s operations partake as largely as possible of a&lt;br /&gt;
co-operative character, a percentage rebate off the ordinary printing&lt;br /&gt;
tariff&amp;quot; will be allowed to all authors who are shareholders in the Company,&lt;br /&gt;
and all employes will, as far as possible, be chosen first from amongst&lt;br /&gt;
the shareholders.&lt;br /&gt;
It is intended to apply to the Stock Exchange for a quotation.&lt;br /&gt;
The following contract has been entered into:&lt;br /&gt;
Contract dated the 3rd day of June, 1890, made between the Linotype&lt;br /&gt;
Company (Limited) of the one part, and A. G. Symonds, as trustee for&lt;br /&gt;
the Company, of the other part, being the contract referred to above.&lt;br /&gt;
The above is the only contract to which the Company is a party, but&lt;br /&gt;
arrangements have been made with other persons relating to the pre-&lt;br /&gt;
liminary expenses of formation of the Company, and procuring .capital&lt;br /&gt;
which may constitute contracts within the meaning of section 38 of the&lt;br /&gt;
Companies Acts, 1867; but applicants for shares shall be deemed to&lt;br /&gt;
waive their rights to specification of any particulars of such arrange-&lt;br /&gt;
ments or contracts, and to accept the above statements as sufficient&lt;br /&gt;
compliance with Section 38 of the Companies Acts, 1867.&lt;br /&gt;
The Memorandum and Articles of Association and the Contract men-&lt;br /&gt;
tioned above can be inspected by applicants for Shares at the Offices of&lt;br /&gt;
the Company&amp;#039;s Solicitors.&lt;br /&gt;
Applications for Shares may he made by letter or on the prescribed&lt;br /&gt;
form, and forwarded, with a remittance for the amount of the deposit&lt;br /&gt;
payable on application, to the Bankers of the Company, or to the&lt;br /&gt;
Secretary, at the Office of the Company. If the whole amount applied&lt;br /&gt;
for by any applicant is not allotted, the surplus paid on deposits will be&lt;br /&gt;
credited to the sum due on allotment, and where no allotment U made&lt;br /&gt;
the deposit will be returned in full.&lt;br /&gt;
PROSPECTUSES AND FORMS OF APPLICATION MAY BE OBTAINED AT THE OFFICES OF THE COMPANY, OR OF EITHER OF THE&lt;br /&gt;
BANKERS, BROKER, OR SOLICITORS OF THE COMPANY.&lt;br /&gt;
Printed for the Society, by HARRISON &amp;amp; SONS, 45, 46, and 47, St. Martin&amp;#039;s Lane, in the Parish of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, in the City&lt;br /&gt;
of Westminster.</td><td>https://historysoa.com/files/original/5/240/1890-06-16-The-Author-1-2.pdf</td><td>publications, The Author</td></tr><tr><td>241</td><td>https://historysoa.com/items/show/241</td><td>The Author, Vol. 01 Issue 03 (July 1890)</td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=%3Cem%3EThe+Author%3C%2Fem%3E%2C+Vol.+01+Issue+03+%28July+1890%29&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;The Author&lt;/em&gt;, Vol. 01 Issue 03 (July 1890)&lt;/a&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015031017927&amp;amp;view=1up&amp;amp;seq=20&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; rel=&quot;noopener&quot;&gt;https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015031017927&lt;/a&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Publication&quot;&gt;Publication&lt;/a&gt;</td><td>1890-07-15-The-Author-1-3</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>59&ndash;88</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=89&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1&quot;&gt;1&lt;/a&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=76&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1890-07-15&quot;&gt;1890-07-15&lt;/a&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>3</td><td></td><td></td><td>18900715</td><td>Vol. 1.&ndash;No. 3]&lt;br /&gt;
JULY 15, 1890.&lt;br /&gt;
.&lt;br /&gt;
[Price, Sixpence,&lt;br /&gt;
The Author.&lt;br /&gt;
THE ORGAN OF THE SOCIETY OF AUTHORS&lt;br /&gt;
(INCORPORATED).&lt;br /&gt;
CONDUCTED BY&lt;br /&gt;
WALTER BESANT.&lt;br /&gt;
Published for the Society Be&lt;br /&gt;
ALEXANDER P. WATT, 2, PATERNOSTER SQUARE,&lt;br /&gt;
LONDON, E.C.&lt;br /&gt;
-&lt;br /&gt;
1890.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 58 (#82) ##############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Berton, Sept 1yh1878 anse Mersands of letters.&lt;br /&gt;
Men. Marie, Todd &amp;amp; Co.&lt;br /&gt;
Jene t it as of our one&lt;br /&gt;
..... und and I hohe ou une&lt;br /&gt;
I have seus me of your&lt;br /&gt;
do the beat you can for it&lt;br /&gt;
frius, to have a point meuded . Though I have in the mean&lt;br /&gt;
rough Meu Hoshu, leurs : Trier bought another of qui&lt;br /&gt;
It. of Mencity.&lt;br /&gt;
Ton may like to know that shake - Corrugated mached C.&lt;br /&gt;
Thave and this yeu constantly&lt;br /&gt;
I do not know whether :&lt;br /&gt;
formure than twenty years,&lt;br /&gt;
que caus hin this testimonial&lt;br /&gt;
hine the days of a book of min&lt;br /&gt;
hot&amp;#039;I jul as if the fun when&lt;br /&gt;
called &amp;quot;The Automath of the&lt;br /&gt;
Breakfast talle &amp;quot;1857-8 mutie&lt;br /&gt;
. has cancied out to much of&lt;br /&gt;
muy thought and brought back&lt;br /&gt;
last Friday without repair and&lt;br /&gt;
always with herfect satisfaction To much in banin farms in&lt;br /&gt;
ehun was enlitted to this&lt;br /&gt;
I have written with in halfa&lt;br /&gt;
- Certificat of hinnata tecnica&lt;br /&gt;
dozen or more volumes, a&lt;br /&gt;
lange number of Ennys de&lt;br /&gt;
Mira Wordleli Hermes&lt;br /&gt;
ILLUSTRATED Price List will be sent, free and post paid, on application to MABIE, TODD &amp;amp; BARD, 93, CHEAPSIDE, LONDON.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 59 (#83) ##############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
(The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly)&lt;br /&gt;
CONDUCTED BY WALTER BESANT.&lt;br /&gt;
Vol. I.&mdash;No. 3.]&lt;br /&gt;
JULY 15, 1890.&lt;br /&gt;
[Price Sixpence.&lt;br /&gt;
CONTENTS.&lt;br /&gt;
News and Notes ...&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The Literary Handmaid of the Church&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
The German Society of Au-hors&lt;br /&gt;
A Hard Case, No. Ill&lt;br /&gt;
La Federation du Livre&lt;br /&gt;
Unauthorized Publication of Sermons&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
I. Note by W. Morris Colles&lt;br /&gt;
II. Note by F. P&lt;br /&gt;
III. IV. Letters reprinted from the Times by the Bishop&lt;br /&gt;
Peterborough {by permission)&lt;br /&gt;
The Inauthorated Corpses&lt;br /&gt;
Leaflet No. III.&mdash;On Paying for Publication&lt;br /&gt;
of&lt;br /&gt;
Questions, Cases, and Answers&lt;br /&gt;
A Personal Experience&lt;br /&gt;
Chestnut Bells Encore. By Charles G. Leland&lt;br /&gt;
The Queen&amp;#039;s English. By Oswald Crawfurd ...&lt;br /&gt;
The Memorial to the First Lord of the Treasury&lt;br /&gt;
The Pensions of the Year&lt;br /&gt;
A New Guide to Books&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Bainton on Himself&lt;br /&gt;
At Work&lt;br /&gt;
New Books and New Editions&lt;br /&gt;
Advertisements&lt;br /&gt;
PAGE&lt;br /&gt;
... 7&laquo;&lt;br /&gt;
... 78&lt;br /&gt;
... 79&lt;br /&gt;
... 79&lt;br /&gt;
... 80&lt;br /&gt;
... 82&lt;br /&gt;
... 8a&lt;br /&gt;
83&lt;br /&gt;
... 84&lt;br /&gt;
... 85&lt;br /&gt;
... 86&lt;br /&gt;
NEWS AND NOTES.&lt;br /&gt;
TH F. Council of the Society has been strength-&lt;br /&gt;
ened by the accession of the following&lt;br /&gt;
names: &mdash; Lord Brabourne, Sir Henry&lt;br /&gt;
Bergne, K.C.M.G., Messrs. Alfred Austin, R. D.&lt;br /&gt;
Blackmore, James Bryce, W. Martin Conway, P. W.&lt;br /&gt;
Clayden, Oswald Crawfurd, Marion Crawford, Eric&lt;br /&gt;
Erichsen, G. R. Sims, and Edmund Yates. Of&lt;br /&gt;
these gentlemen Mr. W. Martin Conway joins the&lt;br /&gt;
Committee of Management.&lt;br /&gt;
The Third Annual Dinner of the Society was&lt;br /&gt;
held on Tuesday, July 8th. The Chair was taken&lt;br /&gt;
by Prof. Jebb. There were 200 present on the&lt;br /&gt;
occasion. A full report will be presented with the&lt;br /&gt;
next number.&lt;br /&gt;
A lady who wishes to be anonymous has offered&lt;br /&gt;
to present to the Committee the sum of ^30&lt;br /&gt;
annually for three years, to be expended in such a&lt;br /&gt;
manner as may appear to be for the best interests&lt;br /&gt;
of Literature. This offer of pecuniary assistance&lt;br /&gt;
is a new thing of this year. It shows that the&lt;br /&gt;
work of the Society is being understood and ap-&lt;br /&gt;
preciated. Another sign of advancing opinion is&lt;br /&gt;
that on the foundation of The Author a good many&lt;br /&gt;
members came forward to give it a start. It isastound-&lt;br /&gt;
ing how much may be effected even in such a Society&lt;br /&gt;
as ours by means of the little cheque. We have never&lt;br /&gt;
yet gone begging, but . Meantime, there would&lt;br /&gt;
be no pecuniary anxieties if we had two thousand&lt;br /&gt;
members instead of six hundred, and if everybody&lt;br /&gt;
would remember the modest annual obligation.&lt;br /&gt;
Amid the general mingled chorus of denunci-&lt;br /&gt;
ation, exasperation, disappointment, satire, and dis-&lt;br /&gt;
gust, caused by the loss of the International Copy-&lt;br /&gt;
right Bill, there has hitherto been lacking&mdash;what it&lt;br /&gt;
specially behoves The Author to supply&mdash;some&lt;br /&gt;
recognition of the noble efforts made by the leading&lt;br /&gt;
men, the men of culture, in the Eastern States.&lt;br /&gt;
These men have never rested, and are still active,&lt;br /&gt;
in advocating by every means in their power the&lt;br /&gt;
passage of the Bill. They include all the authors&lt;br /&gt;
of America, all the honourable publishers, and a&lt;br /&gt;
great number of editors. The opponents of the Bill&lt;br /&gt;
are the ignorant Western farmers, who know nothing&lt;br /&gt;
about literature, literary property, authors&amp;#039; rights,&lt;br /&gt;
or anything else except their own local interests.&lt;br /&gt;
The education of these men is a slow process; they&lt;br /&gt;
take a great deal of time to grasp new ideas; the&lt;br /&gt;
existence of authors is not suspected by them ; the&lt;br /&gt;
existence of authors&amp;#039; rights is absolutely unknown&lt;br /&gt;
to them. But they are gradually being educated.&lt;br /&gt;
Let us consider our own case before we throw&lt;br /&gt;
stones at the Americans. It is now five years since&lt;br /&gt;
vol. 1.&lt;br /&gt;
E&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 60 (#84) ##############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
6o&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
this Society began its endeavours to educate the&lt;br /&gt;
British world into the perception of the fact that&lt;br /&gt;
there is such a thing as literary property and that&lt;br /&gt;
it is a very real thing. We are not Western farmers.&lt;br /&gt;
Yet we have not learned to grasp this one central&lt;br /&gt;
fact any more than these honest members of Con-&lt;br /&gt;
gress. Still the old ideas cling; still those who talk&lt;br /&gt;
of literary property as if it was a real thing, like&lt;br /&gt;
turnips, are regarded as madmen. Still the leading&lt;br /&gt;
articles talk of the dangers and uncertainties of&lt;br /&gt;
publishing. Still the old belief remains, that authors&lt;br /&gt;
must take whatever their employers choose to bring&lt;br /&gt;
them; still that old Bogey, &amp;quot;Risk,&amp;quot; is trotted out to&lt;br /&gt;
frighten us; still men continue to talk about the&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;generosity &amp;quot; of their publishers&mdash;as if writers were&lt;br /&gt;
beggars, humbly holding out their hands for doles,&lt;br /&gt;
instead of honest men demanding their just share&lt;br /&gt;
in the proceeds of the work of their hand and brain.&lt;br /&gt;
These ideas will slowly pass away. But meantime&lt;br /&gt;
since they linger in this country, and are every day&lt;br /&gt;
traded upon for their own purposes by interested&lt;br /&gt;
persons, we cannot be surprised at an equal ignorance&lt;br /&gt;
among the narrow-minded and half educated people&lt;br /&gt;
who form the greater part of Congress.&lt;br /&gt;
Consider, again, a special case, recent and&lt;br /&gt;
treated further on in these columns. There is a&lt;br /&gt;
certain great Society called the Society for Promot-&lt;br /&gt;
ing Christian Knowledge. Its President is the Arch-&lt;br /&gt;
bishop of Canterbury: its Vice-Presidents are&lt;br /&gt;
other Archbishops and Bishops: its Publication&lt;br /&gt;
Committee are all clergymen.&lt;br /&gt;
Now, not one of these illustrious men seems as&lt;br /&gt;
yet to have grasped the simple truth that an author&lt;br /&gt;
may be sweated as well as a needlewoman; and&lt;br /&gt;
that in the purchase of literary property there are&lt;br /&gt;
elementary laws of morality based on the Eighth&lt;br /&gt;
Commandment. Not one, so far as I know, up to&lt;br /&gt;
the present moment of writing, when their Society&lt;br /&gt;
has been called upon to compare its methods of&lt;br /&gt;
publishing with these simple principles of truth and&lt;br /&gt;
equity, and has, so far, by its silence, refused to do&lt;br /&gt;
so, has boldly declared that he will no longer pre-&lt;br /&gt;
side&mdash;or vicariously preside&mdash;over a great Corpora-&lt;br /&gt;
tion, which, unless certain ugly allegations can be&lt;br /&gt;
explained, seems to be little better than a Society&lt;br /&gt;
of Sweaters for the greater glory of Christ.&lt;br /&gt;
With this illustration before them can the authors&lt;br /&gt;
of Great Britain expect from an ignorant Western&lt;br /&gt;
farmer a keener thirst for righteousness than they&lt;br /&gt;
have found at home among the Societies of the&lt;br /&gt;
Anglican Church?&lt;br /&gt;
As for what is said on International Copyright&lt;br /&gt;
by newspapers in the Eastern States, read the&lt;br /&gt;
enclosed from the New York Evening Post. It&lt;br /&gt;
refers to the pirated edition of the &amp;quot;Encyclopaedia&lt;br /&gt;
Britannica.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;A certain man went from Edinburgh to America&lt;br /&gt;
and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his&lt;br /&gt;
sheets, and electrotyped him, and departed, leaving&lt;br /&gt;
him half dead. And a certain Doctor of Divinity&lt;br /&gt;
passed by on the other side; and when he saw him&lt;br /&gt;
he went over, and came where he was, and said&lt;br /&gt;
unto him: &amp;#039;How is it with thee, my friend?&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
And he answered him: &amp;#039;I am in sore distress,&lt;br /&gt;
for that I have been robbed of nearly all that I&lt;br /&gt;
possess.&amp;#039; And the Doctor of Divinity spake and&lt;br /&gt;
said: &amp;#039;My heart is heavy for thee, my friend; but&lt;br /&gt;
hast thou yet anything left?&amp;#039; And he answered&lt;br /&gt;
him again, saying: &amp;#039;Yea, the half of what I had is&lt;br /&gt;
left me; but I am in fear least my enemy return&lt;br /&gt;
and carry off the rest!&amp;#039; &amp;#039;Nay,&amp;#039; said the man of&lt;br /&gt;
God, &amp;#039;but if others are to have a cast at thee, I&lt;br /&gt;
may as well come in for my share; but, for that I&lt;br /&gt;
have great compassion on thee, I will leave thee&lt;br /&gt;
a portion of what these wicked men have spared.&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
And, so saying, he took what pleased him of the&lt;br /&gt;
man&amp;#039;s goods, and having preyed upon him, gave&lt;br /&gt;
him his blessing and went and prayed in the&lt;br /&gt;
temple. Likewise a certain Pharisee, who was&lt;br /&gt;
also a haberdasher and a man of letters, passed&lt;br /&gt;
that way, voyaging from Washington by way of&lt;br /&gt;
Philadelphia; and he came and looked on the man&lt;br /&gt;
and saw that he was helpless, and heard his groans.&lt;br /&gt;
And he also inquired of him what ailed him; and&lt;br /&gt;
when he had heard his story he beat his breast and&lt;br /&gt;
cried aloud: &amp;#039;This is flat burglary, to take all that&lt;br /&gt;
thou hast, and to leave next to nothing for me!&lt;br /&gt;
Verily, I must protect myself against such wicked-&lt;br /&gt;
ness, and must circumvent the doers thereof; since&lt;br /&gt;
it is expected of me that when circumventing is to&lt;br /&gt;
be done, I shall be there!&amp;#039; And with that he&lt;br /&gt;
seized on the balance of the man&amp;#039;s stock, and&lt;br /&gt;
blessed him in the name of his peculiar god, and&lt;br /&gt;
went his way. But a certain Government having&lt;br /&gt;
on his breast a breastplate whereon was writ in&lt;br /&gt;
letters of gold, &amp;#039;In God We Trust,&amp;#039; came where&lt;br /&gt;
the man was, and when he saw him, he had com-&lt;br /&gt;
passion on him, and went to him, and opened his&lt;br /&gt;
wounds, and rubbed into them salt and vinegar,&lt;br /&gt;
and set him on a wild ass of the desert, and put a&lt;br /&gt;
bunch of nettles under the tail of the beast, and&lt;br /&gt;
cried unto the man: &amp;#039;Away with thee, thou&lt;br /&gt;
foreigner! What rights hast thou that I need&lt;br /&gt;
respect? I care not twopence for thee or thy&lt;br /&gt;
wrongs; and if ever thou darest come again, I will&lt;br /&gt;
repay thee!&amp;quot;&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
In another place will be found a letter from Mr.&lt;br /&gt;
Bainton on the subject of what he is pleased to call&lt;br /&gt;
a &amp;quot; stab in the dark.&amp;quot; Everybody else thinks that&lt;br /&gt;
it has been a stab in the open. But never mind,&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 61 (#85) ##############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
61&lt;br /&gt;
The point and moral of the correspondence to the&lt;br /&gt;
readers of The Author should be that in future they&lt;br /&gt;
should not allow themselves so easily to be drawn.&lt;br /&gt;
Why should authors alone, of all professions, be&lt;br /&gt;
asked to explain their methods? Why should they,&lt;br /&gt;
when they are asked, be so ready to reply? For&lt;br /&gt;
my own part, I fell into the trap, like my neighbours,&lt;br /&gt;
but fortunately wriggled out again and did not&lt;br /&gt;
explain my methods. In future, let us behave with&lt;br /&gt;
greater reticence. Now what would be thought&lt;br /&gt;
if some enterprising gentleman were to write to&lt;br /&gt;
all the barristers in practice in the following&lt;br /&gt;
terms ?&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
Dear Sir,&lt;br /&gt;
I must speak at last. There comes a time when&lt;br /&gt;
silence is culpable. I have long&amp;quot; considered you&lt;br /&gt;
the most eloquent orator as well as the most accom-&lt;br /&gt;
plished and learned lawyer that at present adorns&lt;br /&gt;
the Outer or the Inner Bar. I read nothing at&lt;br /&gt;
all but your speeches; my wife reads nothing at all&lt;br /&gt;
but your speeches. She takes them after early&lt;br /&gt;
dinner, with a nap; moreover, I have for a long&lt;br /&gt;
time given my mother-in-law, who lives with us,&lt;br /&gt;
and is now in declining spirits, nothing at all to&lt;br /&gt;
read but your speeches; my children learn your&lt;br /&gt;
speeches by heart. My youngest&mdash;Teeny Wheeny,&lt;br /&gt;
three&mdash;is now learning her alphabet out of your&lt;br /&gt;
speeches. They are, in fact, deeply alphabetic. I&lt;br /&gt;
am going to give a little lecture&mdash;just a little lecture&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;to one or two young people. I wish to call my&lt;br /&gt;
lecture the &amp;quot;Art of Demosthenes, or the Ciceronian&lt;br /&gt;
Bag of Tricks.&amp;quot; I desire above all things to&lt;br /&gt;
strengthen it by a description of your own Bag of&lt;br /&gt;
Tricks, oratorical and legal. Will you therefore&lt;br /&gt;
kindly tell me where you picked up your method of&lt;br /&gt;
oratory, and how you manage to seem to know so&lt;br /&gt;
much law?&lt;br /&gt;
I remain, Sir,&lt;br /&gt;
Your obedient admirer and respectful&lt;br /&gt;
worshipper,&lt;br /&gt;
Theophilus Swipe.&lt;br /&gt;
Now who would expect a barrister to answer&lt;br /&gt;
this letter, or to take the least notice of the writer?&lt;br /&gt;
Vet the authors, when they receive a similar letter,&lt;br /&gt;
reply all together en masse, without, apparently, any&lt;br /&gt;
exception.&lt;br /&gt;
There was, I learn, an exception. It was an&lt;br /&gt;
American man of letters, and one of great distinction.&lt;br /&gt;
He positively did not reply. It is not generally&lt;br /&gt;
known that a certain fable of ^isop referring to a&lt;br /&gt;
fox and a crow and a piece of cheese, was written&lt;br /&gt;
for authors, who have so far failed to observe the&lt;br /&gt;
moral. The following is a close translation of the&lt;br /&gt;
fable in its first form.&lt;br /&gt;
Amid the leaves&mdash;the leaves of bay&mdash;■&lt;br /&gt;
The leaves they use for crowns&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
The author sat, the livelong day,&lt;br /&gt;
Above the common clowns;&lt;br /&gt;
Well skilled was he the crafty rhyme&lt;br /&gt;
And artful plot to mix;&lt;br /&gt;
And in his hand he held, meantime,&lt;br /&gt;
His precious Bag of Tricks.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Oh! Master, Master, greatest, first&mdash;&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
He heard, and blushed to hear&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;All other bards with envy burst&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
I&amp;#039;ve seen &amp;#039;em&mdash;that I swear.&lt;br /&gt;
Day in, day out, the week about,&lt;br /&gt;
Thy great works through and through,&lt;br /&gt;
I read and read&mdash;I do, indeed;&lt;br /&gt;
So do my children too.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Tell me, sweet author, whom I love&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
Ah !head so fitly crowned!&lt;br /&gt;
Thy place so rightly set above,&lt;br /&gt;
The bay leaves circling round!&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
Tell me, sweet author, if thou wilt,&lt;br /&gt;
Oh! condescend to tell-&lt;br /&gt;
How are thy tales romantic built?&lt;br /&gt;
How canst thou rhyme so well?&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Thy art, thy secret, and thy craft,&lt;br /&gt;
Confide&mdash;confide to me.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
The author smiled&mdash;the author laughed;&lt;br /&gt;
Yet never a word said he.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Oh! by the crown of glory grand&lt;br /&gt;
That on thy pale brow sticks&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
That crown to feel, he raised his hand&lt;br /&gt;
And dropped his Bag of Tricks!&lt;br /&gt;
There is no moral to this fable in the original.&lt;br /&gt;
But La Fontaine&amp;#039;s will do&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Mon bon Monsieur,&lt;br /&gt;
Apprens que tout flaneur&lt;br /&gt;
Vit aux depens de celui qui lecoute.&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
The Daily News, which has always been on the&lt;br /&gt;
alert to watch any step in the movement for&lt;br /&gt;
International Copyright, reportsadecision which may&lt;br /&gt;
lead to very valuable results. It was delivered on&lt;br /&gt;
June 25th, by Judge Shipman, of the United&lt;br /&gt;
States Circuit Court. Three suits were begun some&lt;br /&gt;
time ago by Messrs. A. and C. Black, cf Edinburgh,&lt;br /&gt;
and the Scribners, their American agents, against an&lt;br /&gt;
American firm which had published a pirated&lt;br /&gt;
edition of the &amp;quot;Encyclopaedia Britannica&amp;quot; from&lt;br /&gt;
photographic plates, charging infringement of the&lt;br /&gt;
American copyright laws because the republication&lt;br /&gt;
contained articles written by Americans and copy-&lt;br /&gt;
righted in this country by them. The defendants&lt;br /&gt;
entered demurrers based on the general ground&lt;br /&gt;
VOL. I.&lt;br /&gt;
E 2&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 62 (#86) ##############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
62&lt;br /&gt;
THE A UTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
that the publishers of the &amp;quot;Encyclopaedia Britan-&lt;br /&gt;
nica,&amp;quot; in employing American authors to treat of&lt;br /&gt;
American topics and then publishing their articles&lt;br /&gt;
under copyright, thereby laid a trap for the American&lt;br /&gt;
public and American publishers, and therefore a&lt;br /&gt;
court of equity could not interfere to protect such&lt;br /&gt;
a fraud. Judge Shipman overruled the demurrers,&lt;br /&gt;
and declared that the assignments in no way&lt;br /&gt;
permitted other parties to infringe authors&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
copyrights. This decision has been hailed with&lt;br /&gt;
delight by the advocates of International Copyright,&lt;br /&gt;
who regard it as the most serious check the piratical&lt;br /&gt;
publishers have yet had. There are three photo-&lt;br /&gt;
graphic editions of the &amp;quot;Encyclopaedia Britannica&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
now selling at about a seventh of the price of the&lt;br /&gt;
authorized edition. The decision is likely to alarm&lt;br /&gt;
the publishers, since, if sustained in further&lt;br /&gt;
judgments, Messrs. A. and C. Black will bring suits&lt;br /&gt;
against them for heavy damages.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I have never yet had any disagreement with&lt;br /&gt;
my publisher,&amp;quot; said a well-known man of letters&lt;br /&gt;
the other day. &amp;quot;Therefore, I have not joined the&lt;br /&gt;
Society.&amp;quot; The remark and the inference alike&lt;br /&gt;
illustrate a common disposition to look on the&lt;br /&gt;
Society as one which exists for the purpose of patch-&lt;br /&gt;
ing up or even of creating quarrels and grievances&lt;br /&gt;
with publishers. That is not the case, of course,&lt;br /&gt;
only one is well-nigh tired of repeating the fact.&lt;br /&gt;
It suits certain persons who regard us with natural&lt;br /&gt;
hostility to keep this delusion alive. The Society&lt;br /&gt;
has no quarrel with publishers as such, and never&lt;br /&gt;
has had any. It maintains continually that the&lt;br /&gt;
services which publishers render to Literature are&lt;br /&gt;
solid, and must be substantially paid for. The&lt;br /&gt;
Society exists, however, mainly for the purpose of&lt;br /&gt;
maintaining the rights, the sacredness, and the&lt;br /&gt;
reality of Literary Property. Therefore it fights&lt;br /&gt;
the battle of all authors, and should be supported&lt;br /&gt;
by all who approve of its principles.&lt;br /&gt;
Briefly, they are these :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
(1) Literary property is created by the author,&lt;br /&gt;
and belongs at the outset to him.&lt;br /&gt;
(2) Literary property must be held as sacred as&lt;br /&gt;
any other kind of property.&lt;br /&gt;
(3) Literary property is ruled by the demand for&lt;br /&gt;
a book just as colliery property means the&lt;br /&gt;
sale of the output. And as the value of a&lt;br /&gt;
colliery depends first on the output in tons&lt;br /&gt;
and their price, so the value of a book can&lt;br /&gt;
only be estimated with reference to the&lt;br /&gt;
number of copies sold.&lt;br /&gt;
(4) The author must not part with his property&lt;br /&gt;
without due consideration, nor without&lt;br /&gt;
understanding exactly what possibilities, as&lt;br /&gt;
well as what certainties, he gives and what&lt;br /&gt;
he receives.&lt;br /&gt;
(5) What the author is entitled to, is, after pay-&lt;br /&gt;
ment of the cost of production and the&lt;br /&gt;
publisher&amp;#039;s agency and labour, all the remain-&lt;br /&gt;
ing proceeds. This proportion of the returns&lt;br /&gt;
is the property which he has to sell for a&lt;br /&gt;
lump sum down, or to receive year by year.&lt;br /&gt;
(6) The publisher has to be remunerated for his&lt;br /&gt;
agency and labour out of the returns of the&lt;br /&gt;
book in a certain proportion, which should&lt;br /&gt;
be a fixed proportion recognised by both&lt;br /&gt;
contracting parties and understood by both.&lt;br /&gt;
These principles have long been recognized by&lt;br /&gt;
the French after a good fight, carried on by the&lt;br /&gt;
Socie&amp;#039;te des Gens de Lettres, an association of&lt;br /&gt;
which ours is a successor and an imitator. But how,&lt;br /&gt;
it may be asked, if publishers will not agree to the&lt;br /&gt;
adoption, once for all, of an equitable arrange-&lt;br /&gt;
ment? It is the task of the Society to create&lt;br /&gt;
such a consensus of opinion on the subject as&lt;br /&gt;
will cause all houses which desire to maintain a&lt;br /&gt;
good name to fall in with the Society&amp;#039;s views. It&lt;br /&gt;
will also cause all authors of ability and reputa-&lt;br /&gt;
tion to insist upon equitable agreements. How, it&lt;br /&gt;
may be asked again, about the unfortunate begin-&lt;br /&gt;
ners and those who have no name? The scheme&lt;br /&gt;
to be put forward by the Society will cover their&lt;br /&gt;
case as well. But they must, first of all, be protected.&lt;br /&gt;
And for this reason our pages are full of stories of&lt;br /&gt;
the scoundrels who deceive and rob the literary&lt;br /&gt;
beginner. Consider. Is there to be no protection&lt;br /&gt;
for the weak? Is a pickpocket to get off with&lt;br /&gt;
impunity because he has only stolen a girl&amp;#039;s purse?&lt;br /&gt;
The Council of this Society does not hold that&lt;br /&gt;
opinion.&lt;br /&gt;
There are many who still maintain that sharks&lt;br /&gt;
and thieves should be free to do as they please&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
devour and destroy&mdash;rob and lie with impunity,&lt;br /&gt;
because ignorant and young literary aspirants&lt;br /&gt;
ought to take care of themselves, and because&lt;br /&gt;
most of their work is rubbish. In no branch of&lt;br /&gt;
the industrial community should thieves be per-&lt;br /&gt;
mitted to exist. And even if good quality of work&lt;br /&gt;
were to be the condition of protection, we should&lt;br /&gt;
have to protect a whole hundred because one of&lt;br /&gt;
them&mdash;an unknown one&mdash;may have in him the gift&lt;br /&gt;
of authorship. As a curious illustration of the&lt;br /&gt;
growing change in opinion on this subject, it may&lt;br /&gt;
be mentioned that in one of the most popular penny-&lt;br /&gt;
papers of the day, a paper which circulates by&lt;br /&gt;
the hundred thousand, there lately appeared an&lt;br /&gt;
article on &amp;quot; Bogus Publishers,&amp;quot; written by one who&lt;br /&gt;
knows the gentry and has served under them.&lt;br /&gt;
The article might have been written in this office,&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 63 (#87) ##############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE A UTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
63&lt;br /&gt;
so true it is, and so complete in its details. Was it&lt;br /&gt;
conscience or was it revenge which forced this ex-&lt;br /&gt;
perienced person to reveal the secrets?&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;We have taken your new MS. on the old terms,&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
said a certain small publisher recently. &amp;quot;Of course,&lt;br /&gt;
however, you will not join the Society of Authors.&lt;br /&gt;
In fact, we put a black mark against the name of&lt;br /&gt;
every member of that Society.&amp;quot; The writer of that&lt;br /&gt;
work is a member. If this remark has been made to&lt;br /&gt;
anybody else, let me hasten to point out that if this&lt;br /&gt;
publisher were to put all the black marks he has got&lt;br /&gt;
against all the names of all the authors, no harm&lt;br /&gt;
whatever would be done because in such a case&lt;br /&gt;
we should immediately find other publishers who&lt;br /&gt;
would do the work of production and distribution&lt;br /&gt;
quite as well, and in this case perhaps much better.&lt;br /&gt;
Fortunately the public cares nothing who publishes&lt;br /&gt;
a book; it is concerned solely with the contents.&lt;br /&gt;
Plenty of men&mdash;hundreds and thousands of men&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
are willing and anxious to step into any trade by&lt;br /&gt;
which they can make money. But to the marker in&lt;br /&gt;
black&mdash;the black marker&mdash;we would point out very&lt;br /&gt;
seriously that the Society itself can do a great deal&lt;br /&gt;
more harm to a publisher than he can do to any&lt;br /&gt;
individual member. We are now, he should under-&lt;br /&gt;
stand, by no means a small, harmless, or a feeble&lt;br /&gt;
body.&lt;br /&gt;
One does not like even the appearance of boast-&lt;br /&gt;
fulness, but the following little fact illustrates some-&lt;br /&gt;
thing approaching to power. There is a certain firm&lt;br /&gt;
in this city of which it is sufficient to say that all the&lt;br /&gt;
worst things ever alleged against the publishing&lt;br /&gt;
trade maybe brought together, and, with the greatest&lt;br /&gt;
truth, alleged against this particular firm. We have&lt;br /&gt;
for a long time kept work out of their hands, and&lt;br /&gt;
we intend to go on doing so until they mend their&lt;br /&gt;
ways. It was reckoned the other day, by one who&lt;br /&gt;
has had the chief conduct of this business, that in&lt;br /&gt;
the space of eighteen months or two years over&lt;br /&gt;
,&pound;2,000 worth of work has been kept from these&lt;br /&gt;
people, and that without reckoning on the chance&lt;br /&gt;
of a big success among the authors kept from them.&lt;br /&gt;
Now as writers learn more and more to distrust their&lt;br /&gt;
own ignorance and to seek advice of those who&lt;br /&gt;
know as to whom they should trust, this branch of&lt;br /&gt;
our business will naturally increase and multiply.&lt;br /&gt;
My statement in last month&amp;#039;s Author that there&lt;br /&gt;
are fifty men and women who make a thousand a&lt;br /&gt;
year by writing novels has been questioned. I&lt;br /&gt;
have, therefore, taken the trouble to draw up a&lt;br /&gt;
list, which, however, must not, for obvious reasons,&lt;br /&gt;
be published. I find that I can enumerate almost&lt;br /&gt;
off-hand more than fifty&mdash;Americans and English&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;who are called novelists by the world, and make&lt;br /&gt;
over a thousand a year by writing, though the whole&lt;br /&gt;
income may be sometimes derived from other kinds&lt;br /&gt;
of literary work. I know the facts partly from ex-&lt;br /&gt;
perience acquired in the offices of the Society,&lt;br /&gt;
partly from information. A note in the St. James&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
Gazette asks whether these works are worth the&lt;br /&gt;
money. This question denotes some confusion of&lt;br /&gt;
ideas. For what is the actual worth of a book?&lt;br /&gt;
You cannot measure it at all by money. A suc-&lt;br /&gt;
cessful novelist is one who holds the attention,&lt;br /&gt;
commands interest, awakens emotions, amuses or&lt;br /&gt;
terrifies, calls up tears or laughter, and brings&lt;br /&gt;
brightness into millions of dull lives. This great&lt;br /&gt;
power is not to be valued by money at all. If the&lt;br /&gt;
St. James&amp;#039;s critic asks whether the books really&lt;br /&gt;
produce by their sale all this money, that is a very&lt;br /&gt;
different question. They really do&mdash;and a very&lt;br /&gt;
great deal more.&lt;br /&gt;
Here is an interesting little proposal. A&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Graduate of Oxford,&amp;quot; modestly hiding his philan-&lt;br /&gt;
thropic name, has conceived a theory that there are&lt;br /&gt;
many poets, as yet unrecognized, who would like&lt;br /&gt;
their &amp;quot;best&amp;quot; verses&mdash;only their best, mind&mdash;to be&lt;br /&gt;
published. He invites them, therefore, to send&lt;br /&gt;
him two or three short poems not exceeding in all&lt;br /&gt;
120 lines. With their best verses is to be forwarded&lt;br /&gt;
a guinea. In return the contributor will receive two&lt;br /&gt;
copies of a handsome volume in which&mdash;oh! Joy&lt;br /&gt;
and Glory!&mdash;his own best verses will appear. It&lt;br /&gt;
will be like bringing out the best china, or wearing&lt;br /&gt;
the best clothes, or sleeping in the best bed room, all&lt;br /&gt;
these things being among the innocent pleasures of&lt;br /&gt;
our ancestors. &amp;quot;These,&amp;quot; will say the glorified bard,&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;are my best verses; others I have, second best,&lt;br /&gt;
for home consumption, and even third best, for&lt;br /&gt;
washing day, but these are my best.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
If the poet is to be made happy, what shall be&lt;br /&gt;
said of the benevolent Graduate? His handsome&lt;br /&gt;
volume contains, we will suppose, 20 sheets, or&lt;br /&gt;
320 pages, with, at the rate of three pages apiece,&lt;br /&gt;
107 contributors. He must print 214 copies at&lt;br /&gt;
least. The cost of the volume will be about ,&pound;35.&lt;br /&gt;
Grateful to their Graduate, the poets will contribute&lt;br /&gt;
^107. Net profit to the Graduate (besides&lt;br /&gt;
gratitude, warmth of heart, and glow of virtue)&lt;br /&gt;
^72. Who will say that he is overpaid?&lt;br /&gt;
The Society does not, as a rule, work for people&lt;br /&gt;
whojare not members, but there are occasions on&lt;br /&gt;
which it is necessary to break this rule. One such&lt;br /&gt;
occurred the other day when a young writer&lt;br /&gt;
sent up a grievous case. He had been writing&lt;br /&gt;
steadily for a certain firm, until their obligations&lt;br /&gt;
amounted to a considerable sum. He therefore&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 64 (#88) ##############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
64&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
wrote for a cheque. He received no answer. He&lt;br /&gt;
wrote again&mdash;and again. There was still no answer.&lt;br /&gt;
He wrote therefore to the Society. The firm were&lt;br /&gt;
informed that if they preferred legal proceedings to&lt;br /&gt;
paying their just debts, they could have them.&lt;br /&gt;
They preferred, however, paying the author in full,&lt;br /&gt;
with the statement that they had not received more&lt;br /&gt;
than one letter of application. Now the firm will&lt;br /&gt;
probably never take any more work from the young&lt;br /&gt;
man. But this is the very best thing that could&lt;br /&gt;
possibly happen to him. He will now try to get&lt;br /&gt;
employed by some firm which does pay.&lt;br /&gt;
I give, after these notes, a brief resume of a&lt;br /&gt;
pamphlet addressed to the Publication Committee&lt;br /&gt;
of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.&lt;br /&gt;
I have received other instances of their treatment&lt;br /&gt;
of authors, even more flagrant than those quoted&lt;br /&gt;
in the pamphlet. No answer has been vouch-&lt;br /&gt;
safed to this pamphlet either by the Archbishop of&lt;br /&gt;
Canterbury, the President of the Society, or by the&lt;br /&gt;
Publication Committee. As this worthy body&lt;br /&gt;
will not meet till October, further action in the&lt;br /&gt;
matter is deferred until then, when I hope to&lt;br /&gt;
parade a few more facts to delight the world with&lt;br /&gt;
the &amp;quot;Christian&amp;quot; methods of dealing with other&lt;br /&gt;
people&amp;#039;s property.&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;*&lt;br /&gt;
Among the &amp;quot; warnings &amp;quot; which we publish every&lt;br /&gt;
month in Tlie Author, and every year in the&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Annual Report,&amp;quot; is one which cautions writers&lt;br /&gt;
against signing any agreement, in which the alleged&lt;br /&gt;
cost of production forms an integral part, without&lt;br /&gt;
consulting the Society. A little circumstance&lt;br /&gt;
which happened a year or two ago, and was related&lt;br /&gt;
to me the other day by a very well known man of&lt;br /&gt;
letters, illustrates the necessity for this warning.&lt;br /&gt;
It is what mathematicians call an extreme case&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
that is to say, we have never at the Society come&lt;br /&gt;
across one quite so &amp;quot;extreme.&amp;quot; Here it is :&mdash;A&lt;br /&gt;
person had produced a MS. on a certain subject&lt;br /&gt;
which she&mdash;it was a lady&mdash;wished to publish. She&lt;br /&gt;
accordingly took it to a man whom she believed&lt;br /&gt;
honest, and asked him if he would produce it. He&lt;br /&gt;
agreed to do so if she would pay the whole cost of&lt;br /&gt;
production. He sent an estimate of this. It&lt;br /&gt;
amounted, according to his showing, to &pound;120 for&lt;br /&gt;
so many copies. She showed the estimate to a&lt;br /&gt;
friend, who submitted the MS. to a printer. He&lt;br /&gt;
offered to print and bind as many copies for the&lt;br /&gt;
sum of ^16&mdash;of course it was a very short manuscript.&lt;br /&gt;
This was done and the work published. We have&lt;br /&gt;
often seen the &amp;quot;cost of production&amp;quot; set down at&lt;br /&gt;
double. But to multiply the actual cost by seven&lt;br /&gt;
and a half shows an amount of enterprise which we&lt;br /&gt;
could not previously expect.&lt;br /&gt;
Waltlr Besant.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;THE LITERARY HANDMAID OF&lt;br /&gt;
THE CHURCH.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
THIS pamphlet appeared in the third week&lt;br /&gt;
of June. A copy has been sent to the&lt;br /&gt;
President and all the Vice-Presidents of the&lt;br /&gt;
Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge.&lt;br /&gt;
The following is an abridgment of its contents :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The Publication Committee of the Society for the Promo-&lt;br /&gt;
tion of Christian Knowledge, in their Report for last year,&lt;br /&gt;
announce that they will &amp;#039;gladly receive any suggestion&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
which may enable them to make * the venerable Society&lt;br /&gt;
the most efficient literary handmaid of the Church of Eng-&lt;br /&gt;
land throughout the world.&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;A Publication Committee has to do with Literary Property.&lt;br /&gt;
It is therefore desirable first of all to lay down certain pre-&lt;br /&gt;
liminary observations on the nature of Literary Property.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;(I.) First of all, it is very real property; it has its fluctua-&lt;br /&gt;
tions, like corn, wine, and any other property; but it is a&lt;br /&gt;
species of property which enables a few hundreds to live in&lt;br /&gt;
great comfort, plenty, and luxury, and a great many thousands&lt;br /&gt;
to live simply and carefully.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;(2.) Literary property is subject to the laws w hich protect&lt;br /&gt;
all property. The simplest and the most comprehensive of&lt;br /&gt;
all these laws is the Eighth Commandment, &amp;#039; Thou shalt not&lt;br /&gt;
steal.&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Applied to literature and addressed to Publishers, Publish-&lt;br /&gt;
ing Societies, and Publication Committees, this Command-&lt;br /&gt;
ment is thus to be interpreted: &amp;#039;Thou shalt not cheat the&lt;br /&gt;
author while buying his work from him; thou shalt not pay&lt;br /&gt;
the workmen a price which will reserve for thyself the principal&lt;br /&gt;
profit ; thou shalt remember that the work is his&mdash;his the&lt;br /&gt;
design of it, his the invention, the fancy, the imagination,&lt;br /&gt;
the learning, the brain, and the hand of it. It is not thine&lt;br /&gt;
at all. If it becomes thine it must be by an equitable agree-&lt;br /&gt;
ment, which shall give thee only a fair reward for labour&lt;br /&gt;
done, and leave to him all the rest.&amp;#039; In no other way can&lt;br /&gt;
this Commandment be read and interpreted by a conscien-&lt;br /&gt;
tious Publication Committee.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;(3-) What is the value of a book? Clearly it is the price&lt;br /&gt;
which it will fetch in the market. That is say, it depends&lt;br /&gt;
upon the number of copies which the public will buy. An&lt;br /&gt;
author, therefore, can claim his reward solely with reference&lt;br /&gt;
to that number, and a publisher, can, equitably, make his&lt;br /&gt;
offer of remuneration only with reference to that number.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;(4.) The publisher is an agent ; he must be paid for his&lt;br /&gt;
agency in managing, distributing, and collecting, out of the&lt;br /&gt;
proceeds of the lxx&amp;gt;k. For his trouble he is entitled to a&lt;br /&gt;
reasonable percentage on the proceeds.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;For example, if a publisher gives an author &pound;yi for a book&lt;br /&gt;
out of which he makes a nett profit of &pound;100, knowing, or&lt;br /&gt;
reasonably expecting, that he is going to make that, or some&lt;br /&gt;
similar amount, he may be a successful trader, but he must&lt;br /&gt;
lie classed as a sweater and a robber in the eyes of honour-&lt;br /&gt;
able men, and especially of a Society which exists for the&lt;br /&gt;
Promotion of Christian Knowledge. For if Christian Know-&lt;br /&gt;
ledge be not promoted on Christian principles, then were it&lt;br /&gt;
better not to be promoted at all. The author may never&lt;br /&gt;
know that he has been robbed. But the fact remains. The&lt;br /&gt;
Eighth Commandment still hangs upon the wall.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
The pamphlet then goes on to speak of the four&lt;br /&gt;
kinds of publishers.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;First, the upright, or perfect publisher. He, sensitive and&lt;br /&gt;
lender of conscience, will not take from an author one penny&lt;br /&gt;
more than is his own just due. lie has settled with his&lt;br /&gt;
conscience what he should lie paid for what he has done, and&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 65 (#89) ##############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
65&lt;br /&gt;
he will lake no more. If he pays an author a sum of money&lt;br /&gt;
down, it is considered by this person only as an advance on&lt;br /&gt;
what may become due to him afterwards if his work succeeds.&lt;br /&gt;
He will not publish bad work, or work that will not succeed.&lt;br /&gt;
To have that publisher&amp;#039;s name at the foot of a title-page is a&lt;br /&gt;
hallmark of excellence. To be in his hands is to rest easy in&lt;br /&gt;
the assurance that he will do the best for the book and be&lt;br /&gt;
honest, that is, just, with the author.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Where is that publisher to be found? Surely, we should&lt;br /&gt;
look for him first in the Society for Promoting Christian&lt;br /&gt;
Knowledge. It is a Society whose President is the&lt;br /&gt;
Primate of all England ; whose Vice-Presidents are all the&lt;br /&gt;
Archbishops and Bishops; whose General Literature Com-&lt;br /&gt;
mittee contains nine clergymen out of twelve members; and&lt;br /&gt;
whose three Secretaries are also Clergymen.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;There, if anywhere, should we expect to find the upright&lt;br /&gt;
publisher.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The second kind of publisher is he who belongs to a house&lt;br /&gt;
well established and desirous to be considered as honourable.&lt;br /&gt;
The distinction, let us remember, between the &amp;#039;honourable&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
houses and those which are not honourable is well known and&lt;br /&gt;
perfectly understood by all who have studied the business of&lt;br /&gt;
publishing. Now when we divide publishing houses into&lt;br /&gt;
those which are honourable and those which are dishonour-&lt;br /&gt;
able, there cannot, surely, be a doubt or a question on which&lt;br /&gt;
side we ought to place the Literature Department of the&lt;br /&gt;
Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge&mdash;the &amp;#039;Literary&lt;br /&gt;
Handmaid of the Church.&amp;#039; The gentlemen who form the&lt;br /&gt;
Publication Committee shall themselves, if they please,&lt;br /&gt;
when they have inquired into the conduct of their own&lt;br /&gt;
business, answer that question, each in turn, after the manner&lt;br /&gt;
of the House of Lords, every man his hand on his heart&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;#039;Upon my Honour.&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The third class is that of the knavish publisher. These&lt;br /&gt;
gentry, of whom there are many, are those who rob and&lt;br /&gt;
cheat the ignorant author in every account that they produce,&lt;br /&gt;
who chea-t and lie in their statements of the cost of produc-&lt;br /&gt;
tion, of t he sums spent in advertising, in the moneys they&lt;br /&gt;
have received, and, in fact, in every way that can suggest&lt;br /&gt;
itself to the ingenuity of man.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The fourth class is that of the sweating publisher.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The Select Committee of the House of Lords, on the&lt;br /&gt;
sweating system, of which the Archbishop of Canterbury,&lt;br /&gt;
President of the Society for Promoting Christian Know-&lt;br /&gt;
ledge, was a member, reports that the first evil of the&lt;br /&gt;
sweating system is &amp;#039;A rate of wages inadequate to the&lt;br /&gt;
necessities of the workers or disproportionate to the work&lt;br /&gt;
done.&amp;#039; Let us accept this definition, and apply it to this&lt;br /&gt;
class of publishers.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The sweating publisher, then, is one who grinds down the&lt;br /&gt;
faces of his unfortunate authors, who offers a miserable sum&lt;br /&gt;
for work which is going to bring him in a hundredfold&lt;br /&gt;
profit&mdash;who scruples not to toss an author a ten-pound&lt;br /&gt;
note for his labour, and without a pang of shame or&lt;br /&gt;
remorse makes ^50 or .&pound;100 or &pound;$oo profit for himself;&lt;br /&gt;
who knows no law but the cruel law of supply and demand,&lt;br /&gt;
and recognises no other right in an unfortunate author&lt;br /&gt;
but his right to receive meekly the highest sum that he can&lt;br /&gt;
obtain.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;There are many of these people abroad. They deal&lt;br /&gt;
largely with the productions of women. The sweater, it is&lt;br /&gt;
well known, works more comfortably by means of women.&lt;br /&gt;
They are helpless, they are ignorant of business, they are&lt;br /&gt;
yielding; if they cannot be frightened they can be cajoled.&lt;br /&gt;
And literary women, again, are timid about their own work,&lt;br /&gt;
not knowing what amount of stability they have achieved&lt;br /&gt;
or what is the extent of their popularity. Therefore the&lt;br /&gt;
sweater can do what he pleases with them. If they venture&lt;br /&gt;
gently to remonstrate, he bullies them; if they weep and&lt;br /&gt;
entreat, he threatens. He enjoys making them feel that he&lt;br /&gt;
is their master; he is never so happy as when he has them&lt;br /&gt;
at his feet, humiliated and submissive. The sweater is always&lt;br /&gt;
a bully as well as a sweater.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;He has got all kinds of excuses for his sweating. His first&lt;br /&gt;
excuse&mdash;in fact, the words are seldom out of his mouth&mdash;is&lt;br /&gt;
that there is perfect freedom of contract between himself&lt;br /&gt;
and his authors. &amp;#039;It is take it or leave it. Here is a sum&lt;br /&gt;
of money, there is the MS.&amp;#039; That is all. There is no other&lt;br /&gt;
consideration.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Freedom of contract! It is freedom of contract w hen the&lt;br /&gt;
wretched seamstress toils all day long&mdash;a day of sixteen&lt;br /&gt;
hours&mdash;for 11 hi.&mdash;or less. She is free to take it or to leave it.&lt;br /&gt;
It is freedom of contract when the poor woman who writes&lt;br /&gt;
for her bread submits a manuscript which has cost her weeks&lt;br /&gt;
and months of labour; yes, and that of a kind which requires,&lt;br /&gt;
before it can be produced, a pure heart, a lofty soul, a brain&lt;br /&gt;
rich with knowledge and a-glow with ideas, fancies, and a&lt;br /&gt;
imaginings, and a trained hand. Such a woman is a most&lt;br /&gt;
precious gift and blessing to the generation in which she&lt;br /&gt;
lives and works. She may lie a most potent force in the&lt;br /&gt;
advancement of humanity. But she is also a most sensitive,&lt;br /&gt;
and delicate instrument. And she has to deal with a sweater!&lt;br /&gt;
She goes to him trembling, because she knows what to expect.&lt;br /&gt;
He will toss her j&pound;\0, &pound;20, ^30, &pound;$o, whatever it may be.&lt;br /&gt;
And out of her book he will make to himself a profit of ten,&lt;br /&gt;
twenty, fiftyfold.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Freedom of contract! No greater mockery, no greater&lt;br /&gt;
cruelty than to speak of such a woman driven to such&lt;br /&gt;
necessities, as free to choose&mdash;free to accept or to reject.&lt;br /&gt;
She is not free, she is the slave of the sweater.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
After these preliminary considerations, the&lt;br /&gt;
pamphlet quotes three several cases and describes&lt;br /&gt;
the treatment received by the author in each, and&lt;br /&gt;
the sums received.&lt;br /&gt;
In the first of these cases the Society bought,&lt;br /&gt;
outright, the copyright of a small biographical&lt;br /&gt;
work for the stupendous sum of &pound;12! There was&lt;br /&gt;
also a promise, as affirmed by the author, of future&lt;br /&gt;
payment should the book prove &amp;quot;a success.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
\Vhat constitutes a success? The book is now in&lt;br /&gt;
its seventh thousand&mdash;perhaps by this time in its&lt;br /&gt;
eighth or ninth. The Secretary, while denying the&lt;br /&gt;
promise, owns in his letters to a profit of about six&lt;br /&gt;
times that of the author! This he states without&lt;br /&gt;
a word of shame. Just as if it was a right and&lt;br /&gt;
proper thing, a thing in accordance with the highest&lt;br /&gt;
Christian ethics, that the Society should make this&lt;br /&gt;
enormous proportion of profit!&lt;br /&gt;
In a second case, the author, a lady, wrote ten&lt;br /&gt;
books for the Society. She received, on an average,&lt;br /&gt;
&pound;50 a-piece for them. They were historical books&lt;br /&gt;
and works of fiction. Taking one of the books as&lt;br /&gt;
an example, it is shown that if 6,000 copies have&lt;br /&gt;
been sold this just and generous Society has made&lt;br /&gt;
a profit of about ^330 to the author&amp;#039;s &pound;50, i.e.,&lt;br /&gt;
&pound;Z2&amp;gt; 5s- &amp;gt; so that taking the whole ten books the&lt;br /&gt;
profits of this Christian Society seem to stand at&lt;br /&gt;
the figures of ,&pound;2,739 10 ^4rS&mdash;tne actual sum&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
given to the author.&lt;br /&gt;
Who are the authors who write for this Society?&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I turn next to the list of authors. Setting aside the&lt;br /&gt;
clergymen who have written religious books and still keeping&lt;br /&gt;
to the department of belles lettres and fiction, I find among&lt;br /&gt;
the writers hardly one single name of those who at present&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 66 (#90) ##############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
66&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
stand in the first rank, of those in the second rank&amp;#039;half a&lt;br /&gt;
dozen. The rest are wholly unknown and obscure. Why is&lt;br /&gt;
this? Why does not this venerable Society, with its enormous&lt;br /&gt;
prestige, its immense clientele, its unparalleled power of selling&lt;br /&gt;
books, command the services of the best writers? Have all&lt;br /&gt;
the authors of Great Britain and Ireland abandoned the&lt;br /&gt;
Kaith of their Fathers? No bruit or rumour of so deplorable&lt;br /&gt;
an apostacy has reached my ears. How, then, can we&lt;br /&gt;
account for their absence?&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Is not the reason proclaimed&mdash;shouted aloud&mdash;by the facts&lt;br /&gt;
quoted above? Does the needlewoman continue in her&lt;br /&gt;
bondage when she has found a door of escape? Does she&lt;br /&gt;
return to her old employer unless she is compelled by famine?&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Let us, however, consider another imaginary scene. I see&lt;br /&gt;
before me a Society which has a department devoted to the&lt;br /&gt;
publication of books of all kinds; it defends, in the first in-&lt;br /&gt;
stance, the tenets and doctrines of the Christian religion, and&lt;br /&gt;
in the second place those of the Church of England. Besides&lt;br /&gt;
these books it publishes, on terms and methods prepared&lt;br /&gt;
with the most scrupulous attention to justice and righteous&lt;br /&gt;
dealing, a vast mass of general literature. It is an honour to&lt;br /&gt;
write for the Society ; it is a voucher of the value of the work,&lt;br /&gt;
only to have the name of the Society on the title-page; no&lt;br /&gt;
books have so wide a circulation. Hither come the historians,&lt;br /&gt;
the scholars, the poets, the essayists, the novelists, the writers&lt;br /&gt;
on science, art, music, everything. All the best men&lt;br /&gt;
come to this Society. Its corpus of literature contains all&lt;br /&gt;
that is best and noblest of the work of each generation.&lt;br /&gt;
Those who are authors by profession long to get into the lists&lt;br /&gt;
of the Society. If a clergyman of the Church writes such a&lt;br /&gt;
lxx&amp;gt;k as Farrar&amp;#039;s &amp;#039; Life of Christ,&amp;#039; it is to the Society that&lt;br /&gt;
he goes with it quite naturally, and as if it was the only thing&lt;br /&gt;
to do. If another writes such a book as Green&amp;#039;s &amp;#039; History&lt;br /&gt;
of the People,&amp;#039; it is to the Society that he offers it. If a&lt;br /&gt;
novelist has a finished work, it is to the Society that he takes&lt;br /&gt;
it. This Society leads all other publishers, and is an example&lt;br /&gt;
for them; fair and honourable dealing is rendered necessary&lt;br /&gt;
to all by the bright and shining example of the &amp;#039;Literary&lt;br /&gt;
Handmaid of the Church.&amp;#039; Nor is the money received the&lt;br /&gt;
only thing. This Society, while it continues to defend the&lt;br /&gt;
Church, regards literature from a broad and comprehensive&lt;br /&gt;
point of view. The Church is better served by those who&lt;br /&gt;
write for men, than by those who write for girls.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
This &amp;quot;Reply&amp;quot; to the invitation of the Publica-&lt;br /&gt;
tion Committee of the S.P.C.K. has created&lt;br /&gt;
a certain amount of interest, as was to be ex-&lt;br /&gt;
pected from the nature of the subject and the&lt;br /&gt;
position of the venerable Society concerned. The&lt;br /&gt;
principles laid down in the pamphlet as to the&lt;br /&gt;
Ethics of Publishing are simple, and will probably&lt;br /&gt;
command general acceptance by all but persons&lt;br /&gt;
interested in keeping up the old fictions.&lt;br /&gt;
Among other letters received upon the subject is&lt;br /&gt;
one from a Bishop which so remarkably and so&lt;br /&gt;
fully (though in small space) illustrates a common&lt;br /&gt;
attitude of mind that I venture to quote from it.&lt;br /&gt;
His Lordship writes as follows :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
(i) &amp;quot;I do not find any reason to suppose that&lt;br /&gt;
the publishing department of the S.P.C.K..&lt;br /&gt;
act otherwise than other publishers.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
One is sorry, indeed, that the Bishop thinks&lt;br /&gt;
so badly of other publishers. The pamphlet&lt;br /&gt;
shows some of the prices given by the S.P.C.K.&lt;br /&gt;
and some of the profits made out of the unfortu-&lt;br /&gt;
nate authors. Now, the good Bishop would boil&lt;br /&gt;
with indignation were he to read or hear of&lt;br /&gt;
sweaters in other trades. Yet he can find no tear,&lt;br /&gt;
no sympathy, for the sufferings of the man or woman&lt;br /&gt;
who writes and is sweated.&lt;br /&gt;
(2) &amp;quot;Nor am I convinced that there is any&lt;br /&gt;
injustice in a publisher who has purchased&lt;br /&gt;
an author&amp;#039;s copyright making a larger&lt;br /&gt;
profit on the particular work than he seems&lt;br /&gt;
to have paid for. All publishers risk losses&lt;br /&gt;
by books that do not pay, and take their&lt;br /&gt;
chance of profit or loss. The author will&lt;br /&gt;
not share the loss. He has made his own&lt;br /&gt;
bargain and receives the money. I do not&lt;br /&gt;
see that he is entitled to claim a share in&lt;br /&gt;
the gain unless indeed that is part of the&lt;br /&gt;
bargain.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
The Bishop has here confused two or more&lt;br /&gt;
points of importance which should have been kept&lt;br /&gt;
separate. Let us divide the word.&lt;br /&gt;
a. No risk need ever be incurred by the S.P.C.K.&lt;br /&gt;
Let us repeat this over and over again, be-&lt;br /&gt;
cause of all the Bogies, Spectres, and Ghosts&lt;br /&gt;
ever raised by interested persons this is the&lt;br /&gt;
hardest to lay. No Risk. No Risk at&lt;br /&gt;
ALL NEED BE INCURRED BY THE S.P.C.K.&lt;br /&gt;
In the old days, in fact down to very recent&lt;br /&gt;
times, the business of publishing was specu-&lt;br /&gt;
lative and risky. It is so no longer. That&lt;br /&gt;
is to say, the area of the reading public is so&lt;br /&gt;
vast; the book trade is so enormous; the&lt;br /&gt;
demand is so varied; the knowledge of&lt;br /&gt;
markets and the demand is so much in-&lt;br /&gt;
creased, that no publisher who knows his&lt;br /&gt;
business need ever undertake a risk. In&lt;br /&gt;
other words, having regard (i) to the&lt;br /&gt;
literary worth of a MS. (ii) to the subject;&lt;br /&gt;
(iii) to the name of the author; (iv) to his&lt;br /&gt;
own machinery&mdash;the publisher who knows&lt;br /&gt;
his business knows very well before he&lt;br /&gt;
consents to publish a book that he can&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;plant&amp;quot; such a minimum number of copies&lt;br /&gt;
as will repay the cost of production, in-&lt;br /&gt;
cluding a certain profit for himself.&lt;br /&gt;
p. In the case of the S.P.C.K. their machinery&lt;br /&gt;
for the disposal of books is unrivalled.&lt;br /&gt;
They have shops and agents all over the&lt;br /&gt;
country; they have an immense number of&lt;br /&gt;
subscribers; and they have the invaluable&lt;br /&gt;
reputation of publishing only books that&lt;br /&gt;
are doctrinally &amp;quot;sound.&amp;quot; Another reason&lt;br /&gt;
why the S.P.C.K. need never actually pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lish a book which results in a loss.&lt;br /&gt;
7. &amp;quot;The author will not share the loss.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
First, there is, as I have said above, no&lt;br /&gt;
loss except such as is caused by an error of&lt;br /&gt;
judgment.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 67 (#91) ##############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
67&lt;br /&gt;
Next, apply this principle to other&lt;br /&gt;
branches of production. A man makes a&lt;br /&gt;
beautiful desk. He takes it to a shopkeeper&lt;br /&gt;
who sells desks. The shopkeeper says, &amp;quot;My&lt;br /&gt;
friend, this is an admirable desk. It should&lt;br /&gt;
be worth three pounds to you. But as I&lt;br /&gt;
was a fool yesterday, and bought a desk&lt;br /&gt;
which is too bad for me to sell again, I&lt;br /&gt;
can only give you thirty shillings. You&lt;br /&gt;
must share in the loss.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
The Lord Bishop&amp;#039;s ears shall not be&lt;br /&gt;
shocked by hearing the reply of that&lt;br /&gt;
cabinet-maker.&lt;br /&gt;
i. The principles laid down by this Society are&lt;br /&gt;
few and simple. For our part we contend&lt;br /&gt;
that they are based upon a commandment&lt;br /&gt;
which is read in the Churches every Sunday&lt;br /&gt;
once and sometimes in the week.&lt;br /&gt;
It is contended by the defenders of the Society&lt;br /&gt;
that they give away their books largely. Perhaps&lt;br /&gt;
they do&mdash;but perhaps their gifts are not so very&lt;br /&gt;
large. In one of the cases quoted the Secretary&lt;br /&gt;
did not claim to have given any away: he only&lt;br /&gt;
owned that the profits made by the Society&lt;br /&gt;
amounted to something like six times the sum paid&lt;br /&gt;
to the author. Now to repeat the Archbishop&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
own definition, &amp;quot;The first evil of the sweating&lt;br /&gt;
system is a rate of wages inadequate to the neces-&lt;br /&gt;
sities of the workers or disproportionate to the&lt;br /&gt;
work done.&amp;quot; Six times the author&amp;#039;s profit! Six&lt;br /&gt;
times! My Lord Archbishop, late of the Com-&lt;br /&gt;
mittee on the Sweating System, will you produce&lt;br /&gt;
that sweating cabinet-maker, that sweating shoe-&lt;br /&gt;
maker, that sweating shirt-maker who sweats his&lt;br /&gt;
workmen to the tune of a profit six times the men&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
wage? And there are other cases behind even&lt;br /&gt;
worse than those quoted in the pamphlet which&lt;br /&gt;
shall be produced in good time.&lt;br /&gt;
It remains to be said that as yet no reply at all&lt;br /&gt;
to this pamphlet has been issued by the Publication&lt;br /&gt;
Committee, nor has any answer been received by&lt;br /&gt;
the author from the President of the Society.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
THE GERMAN SOCIETY OF&lt;br /&gt;
AUTHORS.&lt;br /&gt;
AS at present constituted the Deutsche Schrift-&lt;br /&gt;
steller Verbund originated from a fusion of&lt;br /&gt;
the old Schriftsteller Verbund (founded in&lt;br /&gt;
1878) and the former Schriftsteller Verein, a fusion&lt;br /&gt;
which took place some three years ago, and it&lt;br /&gt;
comprises now about 700 literary men and women&lt;br /&gt;
of Germany, Austria, and German Switzerland.&lt;br /&gt;
Its objects are :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
{a.) To look after the members&amp;#039; interests as to&lt;br /&gt;
their calling in general.&lt;br /&gt;
(6.) To support them in case of need and in old&lt;br /&gt;
age, as well as to provide for those they may&lt;br /&gt;
leave behind.&lt;br /&gt;
The constitution of the Society under the&lt;br /&gt;
Presidency of Herr Robert Schweichel in Berlin,&lt;br /&gt;
is similar to that of the English Society of Authors,&lt;br /&gt;
but it is at the same time sub-divided into branch&lt;br /&gt;
societies at Berlin, Breslau, Hamburg, Leipsic,&lt;br /&gt;
Frankfort-on-Maine, Munich, Stuttgart, Vienna,&lt;br /&gt;
Prague, and Gratz.&lt;br /&gt;
Rather important factors in the working order of&lt;br /&gt;
the General Society are :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
(a.) The &amp;quot;literary bureau,&amp;quot; a kind of agency&lt;br /&gt;
established with a view to placing literary&lt;br /&gt;
work of the members, to providing situa-&lt;br /&gt;
tions (in editorial offices, &amp;amp;c), and to find&lt;br /&gt;
out pirated reprints.&lt;br /&gt;
(d.) The &amp;quot;Syndikat,&amp;quot; under a lawyer, to give&lt;br /&gt;
advice gratis on all questions regarding&lt;br /&gt;
their literary interests.&lt;br /&gt;
(c.) Courts of Arbitration, settling any disputes&lt;br /&gt;
between the members who, it must be&lt;br /&gt;
remembered, consist of editors as well as&lt;br /&gt;
contributors, and even as regards publishers,&lt;br /&gt;
I should think he would be a rash man&lt;br /&gt;
who would not readily submit to it.&lt;br /&gt;
The official organ of the Society is the &amp;quot;Deutsche&lt;br /&gt;
Presse,&amp;quot; which comes out weekly.&lt;br /&gt;
All this may look satisfactory enough, but I am&lt;br /&gt;
afraid I must add that all is not yet in such perfect&lt;br /&gt;
working order as it might be, and I feel sure, one&lt;br /&gt;
day&mdash;will be.&lt;br /&gt;
As a special feature of our Society, however, I&lt;br /&gt;
should like to mention also the facilities for social&lt;br /&gt;
intercourse afforded thereby, and which by drawing&lt;br /&gt;
kindred&mdash;or may be sometimes even the reverse&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
spirits of the same calling together, constitute&lt;br /&gt;
perhaps the greatest advantages cf all. There are&lt;br /&gt;
not only frequent meetings all through the year ot&lt;br /&gt;
the members of the different branch societies&mdash;some&lt;br /&gt;
having even special &amp;quot;Vergniigungs&amp;quot; Committees&lt;br /&gt;
for arranging entertainments, excursions, &amp;amp;c.&mdash;but&lt;br /&gt;
once a year a particular place is chosen, to which&lt;br /&gt;
a goodly number of the members always flock from&lt;br /&gt;
all sides for several days&amp;#039; fete, and of course for the&lt;br /&gt;
transaction of some important business of the&lt;br /&gt;
Society. The place chosen for this summer is&lt;br /&gt;
Breslau, and if you, or any of your members, should&lt;br /&gt;
like to have any further information on the&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Schriftsteller Tag&amp;quot; of this summer, I should be&lt;br /&gt;
happy to give it as soon as the programme is out.&lt;br /&gt;
If any of the members of your Society should be&lt;br /&gt;
anywhere near Breslau at the time and care to be&lt;br /&gt;
present at the gathering, I feel sure they would be&lt;br /&gt;
heartily welcomed by my friends in Germany.&lt;br /&gt;
Wilhelm F. Brand.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 68 (#92) ##############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
68&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
A HARD CASE.&lt;br /&gt;
No. III.&lt;br /&gt;
THIS was certainly a hard case, but it was&lt;br /&gt;
also one where the author&amp;#039;s negligence&lt;br /&gt;
largely contributed to his own mishaps.&lt;br /&gt;
For this was a publishing transaction undertaken&lt;br /&gt;
without any agreement at all.&lt;br /&gt;
The publisher approached the author with&lt;br /&gt;
regard to the production of a technical work.&lt;br /&gt;
According to his proposal the author was not only&lt;br /&gt;
to contribute to the work, but was also to obtain&lt;br /&gt;
and edit the other material necessary, and to pay&lt;br /&gt;
towards the cost of production of the first edition&lt;br /&gt;
^150; it being understood that all other monies&lt;br /&gt;
necessary for the issue should be found by the&lt;br /&gt;
publisher. Any profits that might result were to&lt;br /&gt;
be equally divided between the author and the&lt;br /&gt;
publisher. These terms, however, were never&lt;br /&gt;
embodied in any agreement.&lt;br /&gt;
It is easy to see what they might mean.&lt;br /&gt;
When the cost of production is left entirely in&lt;br /&gt;
the publisher&amp;#039;s hands, he can make it as high as he&lt;br /&gt;
likes. He can make it as low as he likes. He can&lt;br /&gt;
advertise to what extent he chooses. He need not&lt;br /&gt;
even advertise at all. He can receive money for&lt;br /&gt;
advertisements to be inserted in the work&mdash;it was&lt;br /&gt;
an annual of the nature of an almanac, appealing to&lt;br /&gt;
a very large body of scientific men, and especially&lt;br /&gt;
likely to be used as a medium of advertisement by&lt;br /&gt;
many tradesmen&mdash;and he can settle the scale at&lt;br /&gt;
which such advertisement shall be charged for.&lt;br /&gt;
He can print as many, or as few copies as he chooses.&lt;br /&gt;
He can, in fact, if he pleases, put off the author&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
chance of a share of profits indefinitely, because it&lt;br /&gt;
is in his power so to manage matters that there&lt;br /&gt;
shall never seem to be any profit to share. He&lt;br /&gt;
can, almost without fear of detection, add what&lt;br /&gt;
sums he likes to the various items of the cost of&lt;br /&gt;
production; he can receive from tradesmen and&lt;br /&gt;
from advertisers whatever commission they may&lt;br /&gt;
choose to give him: he can, in fact, so arrange&lt;br /&gt;
a system of secret profits for himself, that he shall&lt;br /&gt;
receive at least six times as much as the author,&lt;br /&gt;
even should he allow the author ever to receive&lt;br /&gt;
anything at all. Of course he would always and&lt;br /&gt;
in all cases do such things at the risk of a law-suit&lt;br /&gt;
or a criminal prosecution, and, if the author had&lt;br /&gt;
provided himself with an agreement, having in it&lt;br /&gt;
a clause giving him the right to demand an audit&lt;br /&gt;
of the account, with the examination of the actual&lt;br /&gt;
charges incurred by the publisher, it is clear that&lt;br /&gt;
the publisher&mdash;though as unjust as the steward of&lt;br /&gt;
Scripture&mdash;would not be able to render &amp;quot;cooked&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
accounts.&lt;br /&gt;
Whether or no some such &amp;quot;cooking&amp;quot; took place&lt;br /&gt;
in the case before us, cannot be certainly stated,&lt;br /&gt;
but the publisher asserted that the first three annual&lt;br /&gt;
editions only just covered the expenses, so that&lt;br /&gt;
there were no profits to divide, while it came to&lt;br /&gt;
the author&amp;#039;s ears that considerable profits had really&lt;br /&gt;
been made. He then directed his solicitors to&lt;br /&gt;
apply for a statement of accounts.&lt;br /&gt;
Then a strange thing happened. The publishers&lt;br /&gt;
wrote repudiating the author&amp;#039;s claim on the grounds&lt;br /&gt;
that they had nothing to do with the matter at all!&lt;br /&gt;
They were, they said, only issuing the annual on&lt;br /&gt;
commission for another gentleman&mdash;naming one of&lt;br /&gt;
their own employes, whose Christian name was par-&lt;br /&gt;
tially, andsurname entirely identical with those of the&lt;br /&gt;
head of the firm&mdash;and that to him all application for&lt;br /&gt;
redress must be made. They reminded the author&lt;br /&gt;
that all the correspondence concerning the business&lt;br /&gt;
had been transacted between himself and this&lt;br /&gt;
gentleman, who had, it appeared, represented him-&lt;br /&gt;
self as the firm.&lt;br /&gt;
Shortly afterwards the publishers went into bank-&lt;br /&gt;
ruptcy. The trustees then communicated with the&lt;br /&gt;
author, telling him that the accounts of his publish-&lt;br /&gt;
ing transaction with the bankrupts were open to&lt;br /&gt;
his inspection, but refusing to recognise his claim&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
against the estate upon the grounds alleged by the&lt;br /&gt;
bankrupts.&lt;br /&gt;
Considerable profits were then found to have&lt;br /&gt;
been obtained upon the first three editions. The&lt;br /&gt;
employe^ whom the publishers declare to be their&lt;br /&gt;
client, and responsible to the author for the author&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
share of profits, then wrote and denied his liability.&lt;br /&gt;
He asserted that the book was issued by the firm,&lt;br /&gt;
and not hy himself, and that it was ridiculous for&lt;br /&gt;
the firm to attempt to set up such a plea. He&lt;br /&gt;
promised to give the author every assistance in his&lt;br /&gt;
power, and, further, said that the accounts opened&lt;br /&gt;
for inspection did not reveal the true state of the&lt;br /&gt;
case, but that the profits were really larger than&lt;br /&gt;
they were there made to appear.&lt;br /&gt;
There was nothing to be done. The offenders&lt;br /&gt;
were bankrupt, and the author had no agreement&lt;br /&gt;
whereby to substantiate his claim.&lt;br /&gt;
The want of a proper agreement has often, to&lt;br /&gt;
our knowledge, been the source of great loss to an&lt;br /&gt;
author in various ways, but this is the only case&lt;br /&gt;
that has come before us in which the author was&lt;br /&gt;
not able to prove with whom he had made a con-&lt;br /&gt;
tract, having no written contract at all to show.&lt;br /&gt;
This book, treated with such a contemptuous&lt;br /&gt;
want of formality, seems to have been a fairly&lt;br /&gt;
valuable property. Would tlie author have allmved&lt;br /&gt;
a pig-stye of his to be hired of him without knowing&lt;br /&gt;
who his tenant actually was, and without taking the&lt;br /&gt;
trouble to record on paper the terms of the trans-&lt;br /&gt;
action?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 69 (#93) ##############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE A UTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
69&lt;br /&gt;
It remains to be stated that the author, who&lt;br /&gt;
only came to the Society when he thought it might&lt;br /&gt;
help him, retired when he found that nothing could&lt;br /&gt;
be done for him. This was, in fact, a Hard Case&lt;br /&gt;
for the Society. There have been many such, of&lt;br /&gt;
writers who keep aloof till they are in trouble, then&lt;br /&gt;
get proposed and elected, pay the first year&amp;#039;s sub-&lt;br /&gt;
scription, sometimes entail upon the Society legal&lt;br /&gt;
expenses amounting to many years&amp;#039; subscription,&lt;br /&gt;
and then resign.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
LA FEDERATION DU LIVRE.&lt;br /&gt;
To the Editor of&amp;#039;The Author.&lt;br /&gt;
I have read the &amp;quot; Literary Handmaid&amp;quot; with much&lt;br /&gt;
interest; the correspondence in the Guardian I&lt;br /&gt;
had seen at the time. I hope the Authors&amp;#039; Society&lt;br /&gt;
will keep up the discussion, and give an eye also&lt;br /&gt;
toother Religious Societies, which I do not imagine&lt;br /&gt;
to behave much better to their authors than the&lt;br /&gt;
S.P.C.K. This question of the duty of charitable&lt;br /&gt;
or religious institutions, as employers of labour, is&lt;br /&gt;
not new ; it must be thirty years or more since the&lt;br /&gt;
Bookbinders&amp;#039; Union appealed to the dignitaries at&lt;br /&gt;
the head of the Bible Society not to cheapen Bibles&lt;br /&gt;
to such a point as to make them hateful to the&lt;br /&gt;
starving folders and sewers. But in those days&lt;br /&gt;
good people were afraid of labour questions and&lt;br /&gt;
the operatives got no satisfaction.&lt;br /&gt;
Has it occurred to you that in this matter the&lt;br /&gt;
author, the printer, the binder&mdash;and even the ink&lt;br /&gt;
and paper-makers&mdash;are more or less in the same&lt;br /&gt;
boat? The unprincipled publisher, who grows&lt;br /&gt;
rich by grinding the faces of poor authors, also&lt;br /&gt;
has his binding and printing done cheap by the&lt;br /&gt;
houses which the Workmen&amp;#039;s Unions call &amp;quot;unfair.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
And these employers of cheap labour undersell&lt;br /&gt;
liberal publishers, and make it more difficult for&lt;br /&gt;
them to deal fairly by all grades of book pro-&lt;br /&gt;
ducers.&lt;br /&gt;
Now as authors&mdash;I won&amp;#039;t say are&mdash;but are sup-&lt;br /&gt;
posed by an indulgent public to be&mdash;a superior&lt;br /&gt;
race of intellectual beings, would it not be appro-&lt;br /&gt;
priate for them to take the initiative in organizing&lt;br /&gt;
the industry with which they are connected dc fond&lt;br /&gt;
en cortbic, in a reasonable and righteous manner?&lt;br /&gt;
Should we not have a better position, as regards&lt;br /&gt;
the public, when trying to convince the &amp;quot; Literary&lt;br /&gt;
Handmaid &amp;quot; that the labourer is worthy of his hire,&lt;br /&gt;
if we spoke on behalf of all those who get their&lt;br /&gt;
living by assisting in the manufacture of books as&lt;br /&gt;
well as in the interests of the writers? Is it even&lt;br /&gt;
fair for the author to take a high moral ground and&lt;br /&gt;
lecture the publisher on his duties unless he him-&lt;br /&gt;
self is careful not to have any share in the profits&lt;br /&gt;
of iniquity?&lt;br /&gt;
But unless there is some concert and co-opera-&lt;br /&gt;
tion between authors and operatives, through their&lt;br /&gt;
respective organizations, how can the most scrupu-&lt;br /&gt;
lous writer be secure against a partnership in the&lt;br /&gt;
very evils, perhaps denounced in his book? At&lt;br /&gt;
present there is nothing to prevent authors who,&lt;br /&gt;
by position or principles ought to be most secure&lt;br /&gt;
against such dangers, from falling a victim to them.&lt;br /&gt;
There must be something rotten in the state of the&lt;br /&gt;
book trade when it is possible for the works of a&lt;br /&gt;
great and honourable writer to be printed at&mdash;what&lt;br /&gt;
the mass of workmen call&mdash;an &amp;quot;unfair &amp;quot; house : or&lt;br /&gt;
when the journal of a certain most illustrious&lt;br /&gt;
Authoress (who does not depend for maintenance&lt;br /&gt;
on her pen) narrowly escapes causing a strike&lt;br /&gt;
among the women sewing it. (The book referred&lt;br /&gt;
to was on extra thick paper, and the firm of binders&lt;br /&gt;
employed by the publisher refused to pay extra on&lt;br /&gt;
this account; the sore fingers produced by the&lt;br /&gt;
hard work required in a short time are still well&lt;br /&gt;
remembered in the trade.)&lt;br /&gt;
On the other hand, supposing the printing trade&lt;br /&gt;
to be hampered by any unreasonable or ignorant&lt;br /&gt;
prejudices among the operatives, who could medi-&lt;br /&gt;
ate with more effect than writers, who have an&lt;br /&gt;
interest in cheap printing, controlled by the con-&lt;br /&gt;
scientious desire to secure fair wages throughout&lt;br /&gt;
the trade?&lt;br /&gt;
Some slight approach has been made in Paris&lt;br /&gt;
towards recognizing this natural solidarity among&lt;br /&gt;
all workers in the book industry. I do not know&lt;br /&gt;
whether the Soci^ti; des Gens de Lettres is in any&lt;br /&gt;
relation with the Federation du Livre, which last&lt;br /&gt;
year had between 5,000 and 6,000 members in&lt;br /&gt;
Paris, including, besides ordinary compositors and&lt;br /&gt;
bookbinders, highly-paid lithographers and various&lt;br /&gt;
classes which have not yet learnt to act together&lt;br /&gt;
in England.&lt;br /&gt;
In the printing trade the State is not a better&lt;br /&gt;
employer than the Church, and while State, Church,&lt;br /&gt;
and competing private publishers continue to en-&lt;br /&gt;
force the &amp;quot;Law of elevenpence ha&amp;#039;penny,&amp;quot; what&lt;br /&gt;
avails it for one eloquent author to lift up his voice&lt;br /&gt;
against it?&lt;br /&gt;
No doubt some people will say, authors have&lt;br /&gt;
enough to do to fight their own battles without&lt;br /&gt;
troubling about the operatives, who can take care&lt;br /&gt;
of themselves.&lt;br /&gt;
But it is often easier to do a big thing than a&lt;br /&gt;
small one. Suppose there are six sets of work-&lt;br /&gt;
men employed in turning out a book, including&lt;br /&gt;
the humble functionary who writes it. Each of&lt;br /&gt;
the six has to do with an employer or entrepreneur,&lt;br /&gt;
with an interest in keeping down his wages; and&lt;br /&gt;
all six, author included, are more often defeated&lt;br /&gt;
A&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 70 (#94) ##############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
70&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
thrm victorious in their bargains with this opponent.&lt;br /&gt;
But let the six interests be allied, and they are&lt;br /&gt;
stronger than any one adversary; and as a disin-&lt;br /&gt;
terested alliance is only possible in a good cause,&lt;br /&gt;
there is nothing to be feared from a rival federation&lt;br /&gt;
of sweaters.&lt;br /&gt;
If you object that the plea for extended organi-&lt;br /&gt;
zation comes with a bad grace from a scribbler&lt;br /&gt;
who has not joined the Society, I plead guilty and&lt;br /&gt;
am willing to amend, but the fact is, I have been&lt;br /&gt;
waiting for an occasion to ask your views on this&lt;br /&gt;
point first, as one feels now-a-days that any or-&lt;br /&gt;
ganization partaking of the character of a Trade&lt;br /&gt;
Union is particularly bound to recognize the rights&lt;br /&gt;
and interests interwoven with its own, and to sus-&lt;br /&gt;
tain rather than endanger their just claims.&lt;br /&gt;
Edith J. Simcox. *&lt;br /&gt;
UNAUTHORIZED PUBLICATION&lt;br /&gt;
OF SERMONS.&lt;br /&gt;
I.&lt;br /&gt;
SIR FREDERICK POLLOCK in your June&lt;br /&gt;
number criticises my note on &amp;quot;Copyright in&lt;br /&gt;
Lectures &amp;quot; which you published in May. I&lt;br /&gt;
hope you will permit me, as the writer of the note,&lt;br /&gt;
to point out that the common law only gives protec-&lt;br /&gt;
tion to lecturers so long as their lectures are not&lt;br /&gt;
published by being publicly delivered. This protec-&lt;br /&gt;
tion is afforded by the Courts in a practical way&lt;br /&gt;
by issuing an injunction against infringers. But&lt;br /&gt;
directly there is publication (as when a clergyman&lt;br /&gt;
preaches a sermon in church or a public lecture&lt;br /&gt;
open to all without condition is delivered) the&lt;br /&gt;
common law protection is at an end, and the&lt;br /&gt;
lecturer is left to such protection as the statute gives&lt;br /&gt;
him. I am glad of an opportunity to make this&lt;br /&gt;
distinction clear, although as my note only referred&lt;br /&gt;
to public lectures I did not before allude to the&lt;br /&gt;
common law rights in unpublished lectures.&lt;br /&gt;
Sir Frederick Pollock cites the case of &amp;quot;Caird&lt;br /&gt;
v. Sime&amp;quot; (12 App. Ca. 326) but it was there held&lt;br /&gt;
by the Lord Chancellor and Lord Watson (Lord&lt;br /&gt;
Fitzgerald dissenting) that Professor Caird&amp;#039;s lec-&lt;br /&gt;
tures to the students of Glasgow University were&lt;br /&gt;
not public but private, and that, therefore, he was&lt;br /&gt;
entitled to a &amp;quot;perpetual interdict&amp;quot; against their&lt;br /&gt;
publication. Moreover, Lord Watson in his&lt;br /&gt;
judgment remarks :&mdash;&amp;quot; On the other hand I do not&lt;br /&gt;
doubt that a lecturer who addresses himself to the&lt;br /&gt;
public generally without distinction of persons or&lt;br /&gt;
selection or restriction of his hearers has, as the&lt;br /&gt;
Lord President observes in this case, abandoned&lt;br /&gt;
his ideas and words to the use of the public at&lt;br /&gt;
large.&amp;quot; The preamble of the Statute 5 and 6,&lt;br /&gt;
Will. IV, c. 65, runs:&mdash;&amp;quot;Whereas printers, &amp;amp;c,&lt;br /&gt;
have frequently taken the liberty of printing and&lt;br /&gt;
publishing lectures delivered upon divers subjects&lt;br /&gt;
without the consent of the authors, &amp;amp;c, to the&lt;br /&gt;
great detriment of such authors, &amp;amp;c.&amp;quot; This, I&lt;br /&gt;
suppose, was true. As Lord Watson puts it in&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Caird v. Sime,&amp;quot; the purpose of the Act is to&lt;br /&gt;
secure their right of property to the authors of such&lt;br /&gt;
lectures, notwithstanding their having been pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lished by delivery. Nor are all University, &amp;amp;c,&lt;br /&gt;
lectures private, for, as Lord Watson was careful to&lt;br /&gt;
add, &amp;quot;there may be lectures delivered within the&lt;br /&gt;
walls of such institutions which do by their delivery&lt;br /&gt;
become public property just as there may be others&lt;br /&gt;
which do not.&amp;quot; It was pointed out by the Copy-&lt;br /&gt;
right Commissioners, 1878, that these are denied&lt;br /&gt;
statutory protection. It was, as Lord P&amp;#039;itzgerald&lt;br /&gt;
observes in his dissenting judgment in the same&lt;br /&gt;
case, thought desirable by the House of Commons&lt;br /&gt;
of the day that these lectures should remain public&lt;br /&gt;
property, and that their authors should be denied&lt;br /&gt;
statutory copyright.&lt;br /&gt;
My authority for the statement that &amp;quot; a lecturer&lt;br /&gt;
is powerless to prevent unauthorized re-delivery,&amp;quot; is&lt;br /&gt;
in the Report of the Copyright Commission, 1878,&lt;br /&gt;
pp. xvi, xvii. &amp;quot;The present Act of Parliament,&amp;quot; the&lt;br /&gt;
Report runs, &amp;quot;which gives copyright in lectures,&lt;br /&gt;
seems only to contemplate one kind of copyright,&lt;br /&gt;
namely, that of printed publication, whereas it is&lt;br /&gt;
obvious that for their entire protection lectures&lt;br /&gt;
require copyright of two kinds, the one to protect&lt;br /&gt;
them from printed publication by unauthorised&lt;br /&gt;
persons, the other to protect them from re-delivery.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
The Report goes on to suggest that an author&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
copyright should extend to prevent re-delivery. If&lt;br /&gt;
the Commissioners are right, I am correct in stat-&lt;br /&gt;
ing that &amp;quot;there is no such thing as&amp;quot; performing&lt;br /&gt;
right &amp;quot;in a species of literary production in which&lt;br /&gt;
this may be really valuable.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Sir Frederick Pollock further remarks:&mdash;&amp;quot;There-&lt;br /&gt;
fore, a person acting on the commentator&amp;#039;s opinion&lt;br /&gt;
that sermons &amp;#039;seem to be clearly public property,&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
would be more likely to make practical acquaint-&lt;br /&gt;
ance with the nature and operation of an injunction&lt;br /&gt;
than to make his fortune by unlicensed reprints of&lt;br /&gt;
pulpit eloquence.&amp;quot; But I contend that it is a fact&lt;br /&gt;
that the piracy of pulpit eloquence is a systematic,&lt;br /&gt;
and, perhaps, a profitable trade. Lord Eldon, in&lt;br /&gt;
Abernethy v. Hutchinson [3 L. J. (Ch.) 214], distin-&lt;br /&gt;
guished the case of a clergyman as one in which&lt;br /&gt;
there was no remedy by injunction, and Copinger&lt;br /&gt;
remarks (Lmv of Copyright, p. 35), &amp;quot;it would appear&lt;br /&gt;
that sermons by Clergy of the Established Church,&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 71 (#95) ##############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE A UTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
7i&lt;br /&gt;
in endowed places of public worship, are deemed&lt;br /&gt;
public property.&amp;quot; The Bishop of Peterborough,&lt;br /&gt;
to whose case I referred, in complaining of the&lt;br /&gt;
unlicensed publication of his sermons by the Editor&lt;br /&gt;
of the Contemporary Pulpit, remarked (Times, June&lt;br /&gt;
14th, 1888):&mdash;&amp;quot;I am aware that for this kind of&lt;br /&gt;
literary assassination an unhappy preacher has no&lt;br /&gt;
redress; he is completely at the mercy of penny-&lt;br /&gt;
a-liners and enterprising editors who make &amp;#039;per-&lt;br /&gt;
nicious nonsense &amp;#039; of his discourses, and then vend&lt;br /&gt;
them for their own gain.&amp;quot; A story is told of the&lt;br /&gt;
late Canon Henry Melvill to the effect that, on&lt;br /&gt;
one occasion, he paused in the middle of a sermon,&lt;br /&gt;
and exclaimed, pointing an indignant finger at a&lt;br /&gt;
reporter, &amp;quot;There is a thief. He is stealing my&lt;br /&gt;
property.&amp;quot; Sir Frederick Pollock writes with&lt;br /&gt;
authority, but it is more than singular that an&lt;br /&gt;
injunction was never sought by any injured and&lt;br /&gt;
outraged preacher; and I venture to think that&lt;br /&gt;
the explanation is to be found in the fact that&lt;br /&gt;
sermons, like public lectures, are, in Lord Eldon&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
phrase, &amp;quot;communicated urbi et orbi by the mere&lt;br /&gt;
act of delivery.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
W. Morris Collet&lt;br /&gt;
II.&lt;br /&gt;
The point is certainly unsettled. I have little&lt;br /&gt;
doubt that a generation or two ago Mr. Colles&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
opinion was the commonly received one. But, in&lt;br /&gt;
addition to disclaiming any pretension of writing&lt;br /&gt;
with authority myself (which would be superfluous&lt;br /&gt;
if I were writing for lawyers only), I may point&lt;br /&gt;
out that there is no real authority on the other&lt;br /&gt;
side. The opinion of the Copyright Commissioners&lt;br /&gt;
could not be referred to in a Court of Justice, and&lt;br /&gt;
the dicta in Caird v. Sime are extra-judicial, not&lt;br /&gt;
being at all necessary to the decision. It may be&lt;br /&gt;
a long time before we get a legislative declaration,&lt;br /&gt;
and meanwhile case-law can be improved only by&lt;br /&gt;
those who have the courage to dispute current&lt;br /&gt;
opinions. Many opinions quite as current as this,&lt;br /&gt;
and having more show of authority, have been&lt;br /&gt;
over-ruled in our own time. There would be a&lt;br /&gt;
fair chance, to the best of my judgment, of inducing&lt;br /&gt;
the Court of Appeal to throw on the unauthorized&lt;br /&gt;
reproducer the burden of proving an unlimited&lt;br /&gt;
dedication to the public. I do not know why&lt;br /&gt;
authors should acquiesce more than other men in&lt;br /&gt;
that view of a doubtful point which is least favour-&lt;br /&gt;
able to themselves, and I only wish the Bishop of&lt;br /&gt;
Peterborough had been advised to stand in the&lt;br /&gt;
breach. At all events the author who publishes a&lt;br /&gt;
revised text of his discourse has the protection of&lt;br /&gt;
ordinary literary copyright for his additions and&lt;br /&gt;
corrections. F. P.&lt;br /&gt;
III.&lt;br /&gt;
[Reprinted from The Times, June 14th, 1888. By permission&lt;br /&gt;
of the Bishop of Peterborough.]&lt;br /&gt;
To the Editor of The Times.&lt;br /&gt;
Sir,&lt;br /&gt;
I have just received a copy of a publication&lt;br /&gt;
purporting to be a series of sermons on the Church&lt;br /&gt;
Catechism by the Bishop of Peterborough, re-&lt;br /&gt;
printed, apparently, from the Contemporary Pulpit.&lt;br /&gt;
I ask your permission to state that this publication&lt;br /&gt;
has been made without my consent or knowledge;&lt;br /&gt;
and that (with the exception of the first sermon of&lt;br /&gt;
the series, which was partially corrected by me) I&lt;br /&gt;
am in no way responsible for its contents.&lt;br /&gt;
The facts of the case are interesting as an illus-&lt;br /&gt;
tration of what preachers, who, like myself, do not&lt;br /&gt;
use manuscript, have to suffer at the hands of re-&lt;br /&gt;
porters and editors of religious periodicals. I have&lt;br /&gt;
preached lately a series of short sermons in Peter-&lt;br /&gt;
borough Cathedral on the Church Catechism.&lt;br /&gt;
These were reported in the local newspapers; and&lt;br /&gt;
the editor, I think, of the Contemporary Pulpit, or,&lt;br /&gt;
if not, some other editor, sent me shortly after a&lt;br /&gt;
proof of the first of these for correction, with a&lt;br /&gt;
view to publication in his magazine. I found it,&lt;br /&gt;
as might have been expected, both imperfect and&lt;br /&gt;
inaccurate. I could not afford the time, even if I&lt;br /&gt;
had the ability, to reproduce the sermon from&lt;br /&gt;
memory. I was obliged, therefore, to content&lt;br /&gt;
myself with rendering into English a good many&lt;br /&gt;
sentences which were certainly not printed in that&lt;br /&gt;
language, and with erasing one or two amazing&lt;br /&gt;
doctrinal statements which were the reporter&amp;#039;s and&lt;br /&gt;
not mine.&lt;br /&gt;
The remaining sermons were published in the&lt;br /&gt;
Contemporary Pulpit without any revision or cor-&lt;br /&gt;
rection from me, and are now republished in a&lt;br /&gt;
permanent form for the profit of the publisher or&lt;br /&gt;
editor, with the heading &amp;quot;Magee Extra; price&lt;br /&gt;
sixpence.&lt;br /&gt;
I am aware that for this kind of literary assassina-&lt;br /&gt;
tion an unhappy preacher has no legal redress; he&lt;br /&gt;
is completely at the mercy of penny-a-liners and&lt;br /&gt;
enterprising editors, who make &amp;quot;pernicious non-&lt;br /&gt;
sense&amp;quot; of his discourses and then vend them for&lt;br /&gt;
their own gain. I do not grudge them their gains,&lt;br /&gt;
though, if I might be allowed the choice, I would&lt;br /&gt;
gladly pay them what they might think their&lt;br /&gt;
venture worth on condition that they would forego&lt;br /&gt;
it. But what I do complain of is that, because I&lt;br /&gt;
will not, and indeed cannot, reproduce for them&lt;br /&gt;
my sermons, I must submit to the publication&lt;br /&gt;
and circulation of all the bad English and worse&lt;br /&gt;
theology which they think fit to give to the public&lt;br /&gt;
as mine. I complain, too, of the further annoyance&lt;br /&gt;
of having to answer numerous letters from per-&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 72 (#96) ##############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
72&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
plexed, and occasionally angry, correspondents,&lt;br /&gt;
who ask, &amp;quot;Did you really say this?&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Can it be&lt;br /&gt;
possible that you said that ?&amp;quot;and of having to write&lt;br /&gt;
to each one an assurance that I never said &amp;quot;this&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
or &amp;quot;that,&amp;quot; and an explanation&mdash;sometimes a long&lt;br /&gt;
one&mdash;as to what I really did say.&lt;br /&gt;
I know that these complaints of mine will fall&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
so far as enterprising editors are concerned&mdash;upon&lt;br /&gt;
deaf ears. Preachers are their natural prey and&lt;br /&gt;
diet. But, as a matter of common honesty, I think&lt;br /&gt;
it only due to any intending purchaser of this&lt;br /&gt;
particular &amp;quot;Magee Extra &amp;quot;to apprise him that, if&lt;br /&gt;
he expends upon it the sum of sixpence, he will get&lt;br /&gt;
for his money a good deal more of the &amp;quot;Extra&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
than of the &amp;quot; Magee.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
I am, Sir,&lt;br /&gt;
Faithfully yours,&lt;br /&gt;
W. C. Peterborough.&lt;br /&gt;
Palace, Peterborough, June nth.&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;&raquo;&lt;br /&gt;
IV.&lt;br /&gt;
[Reprinted from The Times, June 25th, 1888. By permission&lt;br /&gt;
of the Bishop of Peterborough.]&lt;br /&gt;
To the Editor of The Times.&lt;br /&gt;
Sir,&lt;br /&gt;
The editor of the Contemporary Pulpit alleges&lt;br /&gt;
that &amp;quot;misunderstanding has been caused&amp;quot; by my&lt;br /&gt;
not having &amp;quot;communicated with him&amp;quot; on the&lt;br /&gt;
subject of his &amp;quot; Magee Extra,&amp;quot; about which I lately&lt;br /&gt;
wrote to you. I confess that I see no reason why&lt;br /&gt;
I should have communicated with him on the&lt;br /&gt;
matter. The injury of which I complained&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
namely, the publication of a volume of sermons as&lt;br /&gt;
mine without my consent or knowledge and with-&lt;br /&gt;
out any correction or revision from me&mdash;was done&lt;br /&gt;
and could not be undone by means of any com-&lt;br /&gt;
munication of mine to the doer of it. It seems to&lt;br /&gt;
me that it would be as reasonable to expect me to&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;communicate &amp;quot; with a person who had assaulted&lt;br /&gt;
me in the street in order to prevent any misunder-&lt;br /&gt;
standing that might arise from my giving him into&lt;br /&gt;
custody. Might I suggest to the editor of the&lt;br /&gt;
Contemporary Pulpit that previous communication,&lt;br /&gt;
in either of these cases, from the intending assailant&lt;br /&gt;
to his intended victim, would be the more reason-&lt;br /&gt;
able course of the two? It would prevent some&lt;br /&gt;
pain to one of the parties concerned, and a good&lt;br /&gt;
deal of trouble to both.&lt;br /&gt;
I hasten, however, to correct, as far as possible&lt;br /&gt;
to make amends for these &amp;quot;misunderstandings&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
that I have caused. I was &amp;quot;mistaken,&amp;quot; it appears,&lt;br /&gt;
in thinking &amp;quot;that my sermons were reprinted from&lt;br /&gt;
the Contemporary Pulpit.&amp;quot; That periodical, it&lt;br /&gt;
seems, is none of your &amp;quot;penny dailies,&amp;quot; nor six-&lt;br /&gt;
penny weeklies even. It is nothing less&mdash;so please&lt;br /&gt;
you&mdash;than a quarterly, which &amp;quot;publishes every&lt;br /&gt;
quarter full reflexes of the best preaching of the&lt;br /&gt;
day&amp;quot;&mdash;obtained in my case, at least, by printing off&lt;br /&gt;
a bundle of uncorrected newspaper cuttings&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
edited with no greater pains or cost than is implied&lt;br /&gt;
in the use of the scissors and the paste pot. I&lt;br /&gt;
admit and apologise for my ignorance as to the&lt;br /&gt;
rank and dignity of this youngest of the &amp;quot;quarterlies.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Possibly, however, some of the editor&amp;#039;s elder breth-&lt;br /&gt;
ren may think that, under the circumstances, and&lt;br /&gt;
for the credit of the family, some apology is due to&lt;br /&gt;
them from him. I was also wrong, I am told, in&lt;br /&gt;
believing that the editor was guilty of the weakness&lt;br /&gt;
of allowing me to revise the proof of even one of&lt;br /&gt;
my sermons. As a matter of fact, I did not assert&lt;br /&gt;
this. I gave him the benefit of the doubt, and&lt;br /&gt;
said that this was done either by him or &amp;quot; by some&lt;br /&gt;
other editor.&amp;quot; I admit, however, my mistake in&lt;br /&gt;
crediting him with even this small amount of fair-&lt;br /&gt;
ness and courtesy, and I apologize accordingly.&lt;br /&gt;
Having now, I trust, sufficiently explained my&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;mistake,&amp;quot; I proceed briefly to comment on the&lt;br /&gt;
remainder of the editor&amp;#039;s letter. He is evidently a&lt;br /&gt;
person who, in conducting his business, is in the&lt;br /&gt;
habit of &amp;quot;supposing&amp;quot; a good deal. For (1) he&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;supposed &amp;quot; (he does not say why) that I revised&lt;br /&gt;
all the reports of my sermons for the newspapers in&lt;br /&gt;
which they appeared.&amp;quot; (2) He &amp;quot; supposed&amp;quot; that&lt;br /&gt;
the necessarily hurried and rough correction of&lt;br /&gt;
reporters&amp;#039; errors and mistakes of the Press, which&lt;br /&gt;
alone is possible in such a case, was really equiva-&lt;br /&gt;
lent to the careful revision and to the supply of&lt;br /&gt;
omitted passages which a preacher might not un-&lt;br /&gt;
reasonably desire to make in a re-publication in a&lt;br /&gt;
permanent form of newspaper reports of bis sermons.&lt;br /&gt;
(3) He &amp;quot;supposed&amp;quot; that I had no &amp;quot;intention of&lt;br /&gt;
publishing these sermons myself.&amp;quot; For, as he&lt;br /&gt;
assures us that it is his rule in such a case never to&lt;br /&gt;
publish, and as he certainly never said a word to&lt;br /&gt;
me on the subject, he must have either taken for&lt;br /&gt;
granted that I had no such intention, or he must&lt;br /&gt;
(4) have &amp;quot;supposed&amp;quot; that it was my business to&lt;br /&gt;
notify such intention to every religious editor in&lt;br /&gt;
the country, and that failing such notification they&lt;br /&gt;
were free to publish the sermons on their own&lt;br /&gt;
account.&lt;br /&gt;
In the next place, I observe that this editor&lt;br /&gt;
measures out his civilities to preachers in the&lt;br /&gt;
same way that railway servants are sometimes&lt;br /&gt;
accused of measuring theirs to railway passengers&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;namely, according to their rank. To a &amp;quot;more&lt;br /&gt;
eminent preacher&amp;quot; than myself, it seems, &amp;quot;any&lt;br /&gt;
terms &amp;quot; for the right to publish his sermons revised&lt;br /&gt;
and corrected by himself.&amp;quot; To second class&lt;br /&gt;
preachers like myself he offers no terms whatever,&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 73 (#97) ##############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
73&lt;br /&gt;
and no opportunity for revision or correction. He&lt;br /&gt;
roundly claims the right to republish our sermons&lt;br /&gt;
as a literary speculation, uncorrected and unrevised,&lt;br /&gt;
when and how he pleases, unless, indeed, we in-&lt;br /&gt;
form him beforehand of our intention to publish&lt;br /&gt;
them for ourselves. How he treats third-class&lt;br /&gt;
preachers I hardly dare to imagine. It may be&lt;br /&gt;
that he does not publish their sermons in any&lt;br /&gt;
shape. If so, I should be infinitely obliged to him&lt;br /&gt;
if he would henceforth put me in the third class.&lt;br /&gt;
Probably, however, if we had the opportunity of&lt;br /&gt;
interviewing the eminent preacher above referred&lt;br /&gt;
to, he would tell us that, having been offered the&lt;br /&gt;
uncomfortable alternative either of devoting much&lt;br /&gt;
valuable time and pains to revising and correcting&lt;br /&gt;
his sermons for another man&amp;#039;s profit, or of allowing&lt;br /&gt;
them to go forth unrevised, he chose, as the least&lt;br /&gt;
of two evils, the latter course. So should I, were&lt;br /&gt;
I given the choice, of which, however, it appears I&lt;br /&gt;
am not worthy.&lt;br /&gt;
The editor adds that &amp;quot;it is impossible for him&lt;br /&gt;
to yield to any further claim of mine.&amp;quot; Let me&lt;br /&gt;
assure him that I made and make no claim upon&lt;br /&gt;
him whatsoever. I fully anticipated, as I said in&lt;br /&gt;
my former letter, that any claim of mine on him,&lt;br /&gt;
either for justice or mercy, would &amp;quot;fall on deaf&lt;br /&gt;
ears.&amp;quot; Preachers are, as I said, &amp;quot;the natural prey&lt;br /&gt;
and diet of religious editors;&amp;quot; and I have never&lt;br /&gt;
heard that the carnivorous animals are much&lt;br /&gt;
affected by the sufferings of the creatures upon&lt;br /&gt;
which they dine.&lt;br /&gt;
All that I claimed was the right to disclaim all&lt;br /&gt;
responsibility for the &amp;quot;bald, disjointed trash,&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
which he has published as mine, and to warn in-&lt;br /&gt;
tending purchasers of it as to what they would get&lt;br /&gt;
for their money.&lt;br /&gt;
One word more on the general subject. I make&lt;br /&gt;
no complaint of reporters. They do their best,&lt;br /&gt;
often under very difficult circumstances, and it is&lt;br /&gt;
no discredit to a country reporter if he is not as&lt;br /&gt;
deft and practised as one of the staff of The Times,&lt;br /&gt;
nor so well skilled in divinity as to qualify him for&lt;br /&gt;
detecting doctrinal misstatements in his reports,&lt;br /&gt;
which nevertheless may be distressing to a preacher.&lt;br /&gt;
Nor do I in the least complain of the editors of&lt;br /&gt;
local newspapers for publishing such reports. I&lt;br /&gt;
am not so absurd as to expect that editors of&lt;br /&gt;
newspapers should send me, even if it were always&lt;br /&gt;
possible to do so, the proofs of my sermons or&lt;br /&gt;
speeches, and still less that they should find space,&lt;br /&gt;
to the exclusion of other matter, for sermons in&lt;br /&gt;
extenso. I am quite content in this respect to&lt;br /&gt;
share &amp;quot;neighbours&amp;#039; fare,&amp;quot; and to suffer, as every&lt;br /&gt;
public speaker must, the passing annoyance of&lt;br /&gt;
some misquotation, which I can correct, if I care&lt;br /&gt;
to do so, in the next day&amp;#039;s paper, or the suppression&lt;br /&gt;
of what I might wish had been published, but&lt;br /&gt;
which the editor, probably quite rightly, thought&lt;br /&gt;
might not interest his readers. I know that all&lt;br /&gt;
such reports will, in a day or two, find decent in-&lt;br /&gt;
terment and oblivion in the common grave of&lt;br /&gt;
speeches and sermons, the back files of old news-&lt;br /&gt;
papers.&lt;br /&gt;
But it is quite another matter when some re-&lt;br /&gt;
ligious editor exhumes the mangled corpse, labels&lt;br /&gt;
it as mine, and displays it in an exhibition, &amp;quot;ad-&lt;br /&gt;
mission sixpence,&amp;quot; in order that he may turn what&lt;br /&gt;
I suppose he calls an honest penny at my expense.&lt;br /&gt;
To protest against this may appear to the editor a&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;claim &amp;quot; so outrageous that he &amp;quot;declines to com-&lt;br /&gt;
ment on it.&amp;quot; To me it appears a perfectly just and&lt;br /&gt;
reasonable protest against a practice which I had&lt;br /&gt;
rather not describe by its proper name.&lt;br /&gt;
I am, Sir,&lt;br /&gt;
Yours faithfully,&lt;br /&gt;
W. C. Peterborough.&lt;br /&gt;
The Palace, Peterborough, June 22nd.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
THE INAUTHORATED CORPSES.&lt;br /&gt;
TWO Congresses, fifteen Legislatures, one&lt;br /&gt;
House of Commons, and several hundred&lt;br /&gt;
newspapers had sat upon the question of&lt;br /&gt;
International Copyright for years; and nothing&lt;br /&gt;
beyond pirated editions were ever hatched of it.&lt;br /&gt;
As the honourable member for Lower Idaho&lt;br /&gt;
pointed out in Congress: &amp;quot;If we can hike down&lt;br /&gt;
the fruit of the centuries from the moss-gnarled&lt;br /&gt;
trunks of an effete civilization over the sea, why in&lt;br /&gt;
Paradise should we pay a dollar for a book when we&lt;br /&gt;
can hook it for a dime? Let the good work go on.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
In England every vestryman knew that there were&lt;br /&gt;
no votes to be obtained from authors, and no one&lt;br /&gt;
could quite understand what it was the gang&lt;br /&gt;
wanted, or why they should actually own what&lt;br /&gt;
they had &amp;quot; made out of their heads, y&amp;#039; know,&amp;quot; and&lt;br /&gt;
the situation crystallued itself into a round game&lt;br /&gt;
of grab. The American publishers began by giving&lt;br /&gt;
an English author ten pounds for advance-sheets&lt;br /&gt;
of a book which they brought out for fifty cents.&lt;br /&gt;
Then the Sad Sea Wave Library would undercut&lt;br /&gt;
the first firm, and produce a thirty cent edition;&lt;br /&gt;
and last of all the &amp;quot;Bowery Bloodsucker Serials&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
would set a muzzy German to abridge and adapt&lt;br /&gt;
the book and would issue the mutilated fragments&lt;br /&gt;
for a dime or ten cents. When a man had taken&lt;br /&gt;
some trouble over his book and put perhaps one&lt;br /&gt;
or two ideas into it, and was feeling happy, his&lt;br /&gt;
friends would post him American variorum edi-&lt;br /&gt;
tions of that book to make him happier. Later&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 74 (#98) ##############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
74&lt;br /&gt;
THE A UTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
on the American publisher discovered that it was&lt;br /&gt;
not worth while to pay the author for advance-&lt;br /&gt;
sheets at all. The syndicates established an agency&lt;br /&gt;
for appropriation, and their agents moved among&lt;br /&gt;
the English printing-houses and turned the handle&lt;br /&gt;
of a printing press four or five times more than&lt;br /&gt;
was necessary, and went away with the advance-&lt;br /&gt;
sheets. That was called Enterprise, and it made&lt;br /&gt;
both the British and American reading public&lt;br /&gt;
laugh.&lt;br /&gt;
Then the authors borrowed some writing-paper&lt;br /&gt;
and wrote a petition to Parliament asking that the&lt;br /&gt;
fight might be made if not a fair, at least a free one.&lt;br /&gt;
They respectfully prayed that all the laws were on&lt;br /&gt;
one side, but, they said, if the matter of copyrights&lt;br /&gt;
were &amp;quot;left to be fought out by such instruments as&lt;br /&gt;
your petitioners&amp;#039; resources allow they would ever&lt;br /&gt;
pray, &amp;amp;c.&amp;quot; Parliament being then extremely busy&lt;br /&gt;
with a new scheme for Local Self-Government&lt;br /&gt;
in Cornwall (which county had discovered that it&lt;br /&gt;
was Phoenician and not British), said, &amp;quot;Let it be&lt;br /&gt;
law as it is desired,&amp;quot; and it was law.&lt;br /&gt;
Three days after it came into effect, the London&lt;br /&gt;
representative of the great &amp;quot;publishing&amp;quot; firm of&lt;br /&gt;
Fibbs and Glew met an author-man by appoint-&lt;br /&gt;
ment in the former&amp;#039;s rooms.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;How is the Legend of the Spotted Death getting&lt;br /&gt;
on ?&amp;quot; said the representative, with a grin.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Gone to press,&amp;quot; said the author. &amp;quot;What are&lt;br /&gt;
you going to do about it?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Nothing much. One of our men photoed&lt;br /&gt;
the MS. page by page in the office, with a button-&lt;br /&gt;
hole camera. I&amp;#039;ve mailed the enlarged films to&lt;br /&gt;
America, and I guess we&amp;#039;ve got the drop on your&lt;br /&gt;
English lirm this time.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;But I&amp;#039;m going to knock the thing about in proof&lt;br /&gt;
a great deal,&amp;quot; said the author. &amp;quot;There&amp;#039;s more bad&lt;br /&gt;
work in the last chapter than I care to think of.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;&amp;#039;Can&amp;#039;t help that,&amp;quot; said the representative.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;We must be first in the market if you wrote a&lt;br /&gt;
revised edition of the alphabet with twenty-six&lt;br /&gt;
misprints. However, we&amp;#039;ve dealt with you from&lt;br /&gt;
way back. Here&amp;#039;s a tenner. Take it or leave it.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
He turned to his desk to get the money. When&lt;br /&gt;
he faced round he was looking directly down the&lt;br /&gt;
barrel of a &amp;#039;440 Derringer. His hands stiffened&lt;br /&gt;
above his head, the bank note in the right fist.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Who has the drop now?&amp;quot; said the author.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s a fair fight at last&mdash;with such resources as we&lt;br /&gt;
can command. Keep your hands up, please.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Don&amp;#039;t be an ass,&amp;quot; said the representative.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;This isn&amp;#039;t a theatre.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Quite right. It&amp;#039;s a court of law. Understand,&lt;br /&gt;
I&amp;#039;m not in the least angry with you. You had a&lt;br /&gt;
perfect right to steal my work, which is about all&lt;br /&gt;
the property I have or ever shall have. You were&lt;br /&gt;
entitled to insult me with the sort of &amp;#039;tip&amp;#039; his&lt;br /&gt;
uncle gives to a boy going to Eton, as well as to&lt;br /&gt;
make hay of my sentences to suit your con-&lt;br /&gt;
venience. There was no law, and so you reverted&lt;br /&gt;
to the primitive man. Quite right. Now you&amp;#039;re&lt;br /&gt;
going to learn the law just as a horse-thief in Idaho&lt;br /&gt;
learns it&mdash;through fear of death and physical pain.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
He took the bank note from the uplifted hand.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Lie down on the hearth-rug with your hands&lt;br /&gt;
behind you. I&amp;#039;m going to take all the money I&lt;br /&gt;
can find in the office. Drop!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
The representative obeyed, and the author made&lt;br /&gt;
investigations which repaid him for two years&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
sales of unauthorized editions.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Now it&amp;#039;s not safe,&amp;quot; he concluded, &amp;quot;to leave you&lt;br /&gt;
with a fighting hand. I should be within my right&lt;br /&gt;
if I killed you as your countrymen kill horse-thieves.&lt;br /&gt;
And let us be moral. Why do they kill horse-&lt;br /&gt;
thieves?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Because,&amp;quot; said the representative, his face on&lt;br /&gt;
the hearth-rug, &amp;quot;the assumption is that when you&lt;br /&gt;
steal a horse you dismount a man, and the man&lt;br /&gt;
may die in the wilderness.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Exactly. How do you know where I wish to&lt;br /&gt;
ride on these my books, and why do you try to&lt;br /&gt;
dismount me before I dismount myself?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;There was no law,&amp;quot; said the representative.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The law has come now. It&amp;#039;s primitive for the&lt;br /&gt;
nineteenth century, but I think it will work. Hold&lt;br /&gt;
your right hand over the fender-rim; I don&amp;#039;t want&lt;br /&gt;
to spoil your carpet. There! Through the right&lt;br /&gt;
wrist. That will cripple you for life. If you can&lt;br /&gt;
shoot me with your left next time we meet, well and&lt;br /&gt;
good. Then you can go on stealing without fear.&lt;br /&gt;
Let me tie your hand up. We must all learn the&lt;br /&gt;
Law with pain and sorrow. Good bye!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
The author departed while the representative lay&lt;br /&gt;
fainting with his head in the fender. He came of&lt;br /&gt;
a nation eminently just at heart, so he brought&lt;br /&gt;
neither a civil nor a criminal suit against the&lt;br /&gt;
author, but went to the very best doctor and the&lt;br /&gt;
best gunmaker in all London, and made arrange-&lt;br /&gt;
ments to bring out an edition as soon as possible&lt;br /&gt;
of that author&mdash;in boards&mdash;limited to one copy.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 75 (#99) ##############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
75&lt;br /&gt;
LEAFLET No. III.&lt;br /&gt;
On Paying for Publication.&lt;br /&gt;
THOSE who pay for the publication of their&lt;br /&gt;
works are young poets, travellers, novelists,&lt;br /&gt;
essayists, and clergymen who bring out&lt;br /&gt;
their sermons. The number of poets who at the&lt;br /&gt;
present moment can dispense with the ceremony of&lt;br /&gt;
pre-payment for publication is certainly small,&lt;br /&gt;
probably not more than eight or nine. And there&lt;br /&gt;
appears no indication of an immediate increase in&lt;br /&gt;
their number. The handsome illustrated books of&lt;br /&gt;
travel appear also, for the most part, and judging&lt;br /&gt;
from the agreements sent to this Society, to be&lt;br /&gt;
largely paid for by the author, who is asked to&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;guarantee,&amp;quot; that is, to take and pay for, at a&lt;br /&gt;
certain price, so many copies. The greater number,&lt;br /&gt;
however, of those who pay for the production of&lt;br /&gt;
their books are novelists. Now in the year 1889&lt;br /&gt;
lhere were 828 new novels published and 353 new&lt;br /&gt;
editions of novels. (Let us here remark that both&lt;br /&gt;
writing and publishing of novels ought to be in a&lt;br /&gt;
healthy condition since so many new editions are&lt;br /&gt;
called for.) Out of the 828 new works of fiction&lt;br /&gt;
at least one-half are children&amp;#039;s books or goody books,&lt;br /&gt;
of which the output is enormous. Of the remaining&lt;br /&gt;
half between two and three hundred are three volume&lt;br /&gt;
novels; the rest are either six shilling one volume&lt;br /&gt;
novels, or shilling stories. In any case at least&lt;br /&gt;
two-thirds, and perhaps three-fourths, of this long&lt;br /&gt;
list of novels are books paid for by the author.&lt;br /&gt;
The following is the invariable process. The&lt;br /&gt;
author has written the book&mdash;perhaps with im-&lt;br /&gt;
mense pains and trouble; perhaps he has &amp;quot; dashed&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
it off at odd moments when there was nothing else&lt;br /&gt;
to do. In any case the MS. is at last ready. The&lt;br /&gt;
writer of it now begins to send it round. He&lt;br /&gt;
looks at the advertised lists of books. He selects&lt;br /&gt;
a firm: if he is wise, he begins with a big house:&lt;br /&gt;
and he sends off his manuscript. He then waits&lt;br /&gt;
with a beating heart for a reply. Presently he&lt;br /&gt;
receives a polite answer declining the work. He&lt;br /&gt;
tries another publisher with the same result. And&lt;br /&gt;
a third &mdash;being rejected again. At this point he&lt;br /&gt;
generally commits a fatal error. For, if he were a&lt;br /&gt;
wise man, he would argue that (1), these firms all&lt;br /&gt;
vol.. 1.&lt;br /&gt;
ardently desire to publish good work which they&lt;br /&gt;
can sell; that (2), the fact of their refusal to pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lish his work shows that it lacks at least com-&lt;br /&gt;
mercial value, if not literary merit; and that (3),&lt;br /&gt;
he should now revise it and submit it to some third&lt;br /&gt;
person, say one of the readers for this Society, for&lt;br /&gt;
an independent opinion as to the cause of these&lt;br /&gt;
repeated failures. But he does not take this line at&lt;br /&gt;
all. He says, &amp;quot;Perhaps, if a great house will not&lt;br /&gt;
take my MS., a smaller house will.&amp;quot; Now, there&lt;br /&gt;
are small houses of various kinds. Most of them&lt;br /&gt;
mainly live by bringing out books which are paid&lt;br /&gt;
for by the authors. Some of them do this work,&lt;br /&gt;
which can hardly be called the highest class of&lt;br /&gt;
publishing, honourably and honestly. Others, to&lt;br /&gt;
put it mildly, do not. He goes to one of these&lt;br /&gt;
and he pays for production.&lt;br /&gt;
Whether the author pays a large sum or a small&lt;br /&gt;
sum need not here be considered. The question&lt;br /&gt;
is, why he pays anything at all.&lt;br /&gt;
Consider. There are many authors and many&lt;br /&gt;
publishers. But there is only one public. It is&lt;br /&gt;
true that there are many branches of the public.&lt;br /&gt;
One branch, for instance, likes sporting books, and&lt;br /&gt;
another likes religious books; some like love&lt;br /&gt;
stories and others like murders. Still only one&lt;br /&gt;
public, wherever the author goes&mdash;for all publishers&lt;br /&gt;
alike.&lt;br /&gt;
Let him ask this question then. If this public&lt;br /&gt;
should refuse to buy this MS. if published&mdash;say&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;by Longman or Bentley, of what other pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lisher would they buy it? and for what reason ? .&lt;br /&gt;
In other words:&mdash;If a MS. is offered to all the&lt;br /&gt;
respectable houses in vain, it is refused because&lt;br /&gt;
all the respectable houses are agreed in thinking&lt;br /&gt;
that the public will have none of it. Where, then,&lt;br /&gt;
is that other public which will demand it when it&lt;br /&gt;
is published elsewhere?&lt;br /&gt;
In this Society, cases by the score&mdash;by the&lt;br /&gt;
hundred&mdash;have been examined in which the author&lt;br /&gt;
has had to pay for the production. Nay, in look-&lt;br /&gt;
ing down the lists of new books advertised in the&lt;br /&gt;
papers, we are able to name the books which are&lt;br /&gt;
paid for because we know the houses which publish&lt;br /&gt;
in this way. Seldom, indeed, does a case come&lt;br /&gt;
before us in which the writer gets any of his money&lt;br /&gt;
back. Never does he get any kuIo* at all. He&lt;br /&gt;
1&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 76 (#100) #############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
76&lt;br /&gt;
THE A UTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
gets contemptuous reviews, his friends snigger at&lt;br /&gt;
his failure, he writhes under the shame and pain&lt;br /&gt;
of the plain truth : and when his accounts come&lt;br /&gt;
in there prove to have been no sales.&lt;br /&gt;
Only yesterday I read a letter from a young lady.&lt;br /&gt;
She had paid ^50, being deluded by glowing&lt;br /&gt;
hopes, but not actual promises, of large profits&lt;br /&gt;
to divide. The sales amounted to &pound;1 2s. gd.&lt;br /&gt;
Sometimes, however, there are absolutely no sales&lt;br /&gt;
at all.&lt;br /&gt;
Literary vanity is, of course, at the bottom of&lt;br /&gt;
this folly. All the writer asks for is to be in print,&lt;br /&gt;
only to be printed; if he can obtain this, as he&lt;br /&gt;
always can on such terms, he will pay anything&lt;br /&gt;
and sign anything. No rebuffs, no reader&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
opinions, no rejections can persuade him that his&lt;br /&gt;
MS. is worthless, and that, whatever he pays, he&lt;br /&gt;
will meet with nothing but disappointment, vexa-&lt;br /&gt;
tion and shame. He is quite sure that his work is&lt;br /&gt;
brilliant and certain to succeed.&lt;br /&gt;
There are instances on record of books, after-&lt;br /&gt;
wards successful, having been refused by one pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lisher after the other. The famous and leading&lt;br /&gt;
case of Vanity Fair is one. These instances do&lt;br /&gt;
mightily comfort the rejected author. He feels&lt;br /&gt;
himself a possible Thackeray // only he can get&lt;br /&gt;
printed. Mistakes, he says, have occurred before&lt;br /&gt;
now. Readers are fallible. Mistakes may occur&lt;br /&gt;
again. And perhaps the reader is also himself a&lt;br /&gt;
novelist. We all know that jealousy is a common as&lt;br /&gt;
well as a hateful vice. Or perhaps the reader knows&lt;br /&gt;
some private enemy of the author and bears a grudge.&lt;br /&gt;
What more likely than that the jealous reader&lt;br /&gt;
should wish to smother a dangerous rival? Or&lt;br /&gt;
perhaps the perfidious reader has not even taken&lt;br /&gt;
the trouble to look at his work. Anyhow, since&lt;br /&gt;
the best firms are so foolish as to refuse to make&lt;br /&gt;
money by his work, some other shall have the&lt;br /&gt;
chance. He will get it printed even though he&lt;br /&gt;
has to pay for it. And so the output of worthless&lt;br /&gt;
books is increased by one more, and the reviewers&lt;br /&gt;
grow more and more savage over the swelling&lt;br /&gt;
flood of rubbish, and the noble art of fiction is&lt;br /&gt;
degraded and insulted. Will not the readers of&lt;br /&gt;
this paper join in dissuading, by all means in&lt;br /&gt;
their power, their friends from paying for produc-&lt;br /&gt;
tion? Editor.&lt;br /&gt;
QUESTIONS, CASES, AND&lt;br /&gt;
ANSWERS.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Some years ago I wrote a biographical paper&lt;br /&gt;
for a magazine. It was accepted and published.&lt;br /&gt;
When I wrote for payment I had no reply. I&lt;br /&gt;
wrote another paper also on an historical subject for&lt;br /&gt;
a weekly newspaper. The editor returned it, ask-&lt;br /&gt;
ing me to enlarge it. This I did, and he printed&lt;br /&gt;
it. But he never paid me.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I recently sent an article of a similar character,&lt;br /&gt;
on which I had expended a considerable amount&lt;br /&gt;
of trouble and time, to a monthly magazine. The&lt;br /&gt;
editor has now lost it. I have kept no copy, and&lt;br /&gt;
must write it again. Is there no redress?&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;A publisher lately signed an agreement in which&lt;br /&gt;
he covenanted to bring out a written work in a&lt;br /&gt;
certain series at a certain price. He has printed&lt;br /&gt;
the work and now refuses to bring it out, alleging&lt;br /&gt;
that he believes it would be a failure. He offers&lt;br /&gt;
the author the printed sheets for the price of set-&lt;br /&gt;
ting up the work. What should the author do?&amp;quot; &diams;&lt;br /&gt;
If such a thing should now occur of an editor&lt;br /&gt;
accepting a MS., publishing it in his paper, and&lt;br /&gt;
refusing payment, the author has only to bring the&lt;br /&gt;
case before the Society and he will get redress.&lt;br /&gt;
But the Society cannot take up old cases.&lt;br /&gt;
As for losing a MS. most editors find it necessary&lt;br /&gt;
to warn authors that they will not be responsible&lt;br /&gt;
for losing MSS. If contributors could see the piles&lt;br /&gt;
of MSS. offered to every editor they would not be&lt;br /&gt;
surprised at this stipulation.&lt;br /&gt;
The third question is one for a lawyer to con-&lt;br /&gt;
sider. The proposer of the case should sent up&lt;br /&gt;
all the agreements and letters to the Secretary.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;When an author has paid for the publication of&lt;br /&gt;
a book is it fair on the part of the publisher to sell&lt;br /&gt;
the remainder of the edition as waste paper without&lt;br /&gt;
consulting the author, without giving him the choice&lt;br /&gt;
of buying up the remaining copies, which he would&lt;br /&gt;
assuredly in many cases be glad to do at a price&lt;br /&gt;
even above that of waste paper?&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;If the publisher is entiiled to do this can the&lt;br /&gt;
poor author lay no claim to a share in the proceeds&lt;br /&gt;
of this melancholy transaction?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
The reply to the last question is that the agreement&lt;br /&gt;
generally contains a clause giving the publisher&lt;br /&gt;
such power. It is for the author before signing&lt;br /&gt;
the agreement to make a stipulation that he shall&lt;br /&gt;
first be consulted If he has paid for the publi-&lt;br /&gt;
cation all the copies should be his own, and the&lt;br /&gt;
remainder of the stock should be sent to him as&lt;br /&gt;
soon as the sale is finished.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 77 (#101) #############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE A UTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
77&lt;br /&gt;
Up to the present, authors have always felt that&lt;br /&gt;
to have an MS. published in a magazine was to&lt;br /&gt;
ensure payment according to the scale of the maga-&lt;br /&gt;
zine. This prop appears about to be knocked from&lt;br /&gt;
under them. An enterprising publisher has now&lt;br /&gt;
hit upon the ingenious plan of getting work into&lt;br /&gt;
his magazine for nothing. His method and the&lt;br /&gt;
generosity of his soul are shown in a letter addressed&lt;br /&gt;
to an author. He says that he has been in con-&lt;br /&gt;
sultation with the editor of the Magazine&lt;br /&gt;
since he received the writer&amp;#039;s MS. The Editor is&lt;br /&gt;
willing to insert this story as a serial, if it is illus-&lt;br /&gt;
trated. This the Firm would be willing to do at&lt;br /&gt;
their expense, &amp;quot;if you are willing to make over the&lt;br /&gt;
story to us free of charge.&amp;quot; Should the Firm, in&lt;br /&gt;
the future, think to bring out the work as a volume,&lt;br /&gt;
they should perhaps be able to offer some small&lt;br /&gt;
sum. The pages of the magazine, he says, are full&lt;br /&gt;
for twelve months to come, but the Firm will retain&lt;br /&gt;
the MS. and insert it after that period if the writer&lt;br /&gt;
wishes. &amp;quot;It would have the effect of placing your&lt;br /&gt;
name before the public at all events.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
He goes on to say, &amp;quot;The Firm feel that the&lt;br /&gt;
publication is such a speculation, that considering&lt;br /&gt;
that a great deal of money will have to be spent&lt;br /&gt;
upon illustration and advertising before its publica-&lt;br /&gt;
tion, no payment can be offered to the author until&lt;br /&gt;
the work appears in book form.&amp;quot; The letter con-&lt;br /&gt;
dudes with these words: &amp;quot;We have really only&lt;br /&gt;
made the offer to insert the story in the magazine&lt;br /&gt;
so as to try and give you some encouragement to&lt;br /&gt;
continue writing.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Observe upon this:&mdash;i. The publisher, con-&lt;br /&gt;
sidering the vast sums he spends on illustrating and&lt;br /&gt;
advertising his magazine, cannot pay for the work&lt;br /&gt;
at all. The same reasons apply to all other con-&lt;br /&gt;
tributions. Therefore, we suppose, he has a good&lt;br /&gt;
reason for paying nobody. 2. The author is to give&lt;br /&gt;
him the copyright of the work. If he chooses, he&lt;br /&gt;
is to give her &amp;quot; some small sum,&amp;quot; whether it succeeds&lt;br /&gt;
or not. Even if it turns out to be a great success,&lt;br /&gt;
he is not bound to give the author anything.&lt;br /&gt;
3. This noble offer is wholly disvnteresttd and&lt;br /&gt;
prompted by nothing but a disposition to help a&lt;br /&gt;
struggling author! Generous, large-hearted, whole-&lt;br /&gt;
souled Patron of Letters! One other observation&lt;br /&gt;
presents itself. How enviable is the lot of the&lt;br /&gt;
editor of such a magazine!&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;In your last number, quoting Mr. Rider Hag-&lt;br /&gt;
gard&amp;#039;s letter to Messrs. Rand, McNally &amp;amp; Co., you&lt;br /&gt;
very justly denounce what you call a &amp;#039;new terror&lt;br /&gt;
to literary men.&amp;#039; But this piratical liberty of&lt;br /&gt;
mutilating as well as stealing literary property is by&lt;br /&gt;
no means new. It must be some fifteen years ago&lt;br /&gt;
that I picked up by chance on an American book-&lt;br /&gt;
vor. 1.&lt;br /&gt;
stall a little book of my own, which, without my&lt;br /&gt;
knowledge, had been fitted for theft by the altera-&lt;br /&gt;
tion of phrases likely to wound transatlantic sus-&lt;br /&gt;
ceptibilities. I fancy such a process of judicious&lt;br /&gt;
editing of stolen matter is far from uncommon.&lt;br /&gt;
Has no enterprising American firm thought of&lt;br /&gt;
bringing out a revised edition of the Bible, with&lt;br /&gt;
desirable omissions&mdash;for instance, of the eighih&lt;br /&gt;
commandment! We can sympathize with Mr.&lt;br /&gt;
Rider Haggard; but he must not expect from all&lt;br /&gt;
robbers the courtesy of a Claude Duval.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
A. R. H. M.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Do warn,&amp;quot; a lady writes, &amp;quot;all young authors of&lt;br /&gt;
the folly of doing all or nearly all their work for&lt;br /&gt;
one editor. Editors die, or, as in my case, take&lt;br /&gt;
up another paper or magazine, and the faithful old&lt;br /&gt;
contributor finds her position changed.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Ten years ago I did an immense amount of&lt;br /&gt;
work for a certain paper, which we will call the&lt;br /&gt;
Strand Circus&mdash;essays, stories, &amp;amp;c. It was then&lt;br /&gt;
edited by the eldest son of the proprietor, and I&lt;br /&gt;
was given to understand that it would be worth my&lt;br /&gt;
while to work away at the Strand Circus, to study-&lt;br /&gt;
its interests, and not go roving here and there&lt;br /&gt;
with MSS. Therefore I declined offers of work from&lt;br /&gt;
other papers, and never sought new openings. All&lt;br /&gt;
went well for many years. Then the father died;&lt;br /&gt;
his son had to take over other work, and a new&lt;br /&gt;
editor was appointed.&amp;quot; The sequel may be guessed.&lt;br /&gt;
The warning, however, is serious. Let no young&lt;br /&gt;
author be contented with one magazine or journal.&lt;br /&gt;
In every fresh opening he should find another&lt;br /&gt;
pillar of support, and another body of readers and&lt;br /&gt;
friends.&lt;br /&gt;
&diams;&lt;br /&gt;
Bad authors create bad publishers. This fact, once&lt;br /&gt;
fully apprehended, should be an inceniive to the&lt;br /&gt;
production of good work. But perhaps the state-&lt;br /&gt;
ment wants explanation. A correspondent fur-&lt;br /&gt;
nishes an illustration.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;A lady once wrote to me &amp;#039;as a successful&lt;br /&gt;
author&amp;#039;&mdash;I had at that time published one in-&lt;br /&gt;
different novel, which had been gently reviewed&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
asking my advice under the following conditions.&lt;br /&gt;
She had published three novels at her own expense,&lt;br /&gt;
not one of which had attracted any attention.&lt;br /&gt;
What did I think she had better do now? The&lt;br /&gt;
style of her stationery, as well as this confession,&lt;br /&gt;
pointed to her being wealthy, while the literary&lt;br /&gt;
style of her letter proved that she had no idea of&lt;br /&gt;
writing at all.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;This experience directed me in certain inquiries,&lt;br /&gt;
and I discovered how- the idiotic three volume&lt;br /&gt;
novels which are found in circulating libraries at&lt;br /&gt;
F 2&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 78 (#102) #############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
7&laquo;&lt;br /&gt;
THE A UTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
seaside places get beyond the MS. stage. They&lt;br /&gt;
are written by well-to do women who are ready to&lt;br /&gt;
pay &pound;200 to get a novel published.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Does not the existence of &amp;#039;authors&amp;#039; of this&lt;br /&gt;
kind account in some measure for the existence of&lt;br /&gt;
low class publishers? May we not go even further&lt;br /&gt;
and call this fact a justification of their existence?&lt;br /&gt;
Honourable publishers refuse books which .ire&lt;br /&gt;
foregone failures; they will not allow their names&lt;br /&gt;
to appear on the title-page of such rubbish. Where,&lt;br /&gt;
then, are the poor rich things to go with their MSS.&lt;br /&gt;
and their money, save to such a friendly gentleman,&lt;br /&gt;
who will kindly take &pound;200 for publishing a book&lt;br /&gt;
which costs less than &pound;100 to produce?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
My correspondent is a little too hasty. It is not&lt;br /&gt;
only the rich woman but the poor woman as well&lt;br /&gt;
who is responsible for the existence of these persons.&lt;br /&gt;
It is any one, man or woman, who believes that a&lt;br /&gt;
MS., refused by those who only publish books&lt;br /&gt;
certain to be in demand, will be accepted by the&lt;br /&gt;
public when they are issued by those who publish&lt;br /&gt;
any rubbish brought to them. In another part of&lt;br /&gt;
this number we deal with the question of paying for&lt;br /&gt;
publishing at greater length.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I think,&amp;quot; says a correspondent, &amp;quot;that you do&lt;br /&gt;
not realise that small authors really get a great&lt;br /&gt;
advantage in selling their copyright. In this way&lt;br /&gt;
we get the money at once, without waiting for a&lt;br /&gt;
year, and we have no risk or anxiety as to whether&lt;br /&gt;
the book will sell or not.&amp;quot; Well, if there is any&lt;br /&gt;
risk or anxiety on that score the publisher will not&lt;br /&gt;
buy the MS. at all. At the same time there are&lt;br /&gt;
very few writers who would not rather take a lump&lt;br /&gt;
sum down than the same or a little more spread&lt;br /&gt;
over a term of years. The hardship is that the&lt;br /&gt;
lump sum down is too often such a very little lump&lt;br /&gt;
indeed. One fair and honest way would be for the&lt;br /&gt;
publisher to buy an edition of so many copies, a&lt;br /&gt;
new arrangement to be made when these were&lt;br /&gt;
gone.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
A PERSONAL EXPERIENCE.&lt;br /&gt;
MY remarks arise out of one made by Mr.&lt;br /&gt;
Max Miiller :&mdash;&amp;quot; Find a respectable pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lisher and stick to him.&amp;quot; It has been&lt;br /&gt;
the ambition of my literary life to do so, but I shall&lt;br /&gt;
have to postpone it, I fancy, to another and a better&lt;br /&gt;
world! I began full of hope ten years ago, deter-&lt;br /&gt;
mined to give the public the best work of which I&lt;br /&gt;
was capable as a novel writer. I loved the work&lt;br /&gt;
and spared no pains to make it good. I sent what&lt;br /&gt;
I had written to a firm of leading publishers, who&lt;br /&gt;
accepted my novel. Terms&mdash;half profits. I&lt;br /&gt;
accepted the offer with joy, thinking myself fortu-&lt;br /&gt;
nate th:it I had not been asked to take any risks.&lt;br /&gt;
My book was well launched and excellently re-&lt;br /&gt;
viewed by all but the Athenceum, Academy, and the&lt;br /&gt;
Saturday Revieiv. The Athenceitm called it &amp;quot;a&lt;br /&gt;
wealth of nonsense,&amp;quot; whereupon I asked the&lt;br /&gt;
editor&mdash;when I told him it had been accepted on&lt;br /&gt;
its merits by the firm in question, who, he admitted,&lt;br /&gt;
would not have accepted &amp;quot;a wealth of nonsense &amp;quot;&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
how he permitted such an unjust criticism in the&lt;br /&gt;
pages of a journal supposed to guide literary&lt;br /&gt;
opinion. The Academy critic cast odium on his&lt;br /&gt;
paper by uttering an opinion on the book and the&lt;br /&gt;
writing which a subsequent critic in the same paper&lt;br /&gt;
emphatically contradicted. He spoke of the book&lt;br /&gt;
as &amp;quot;beneath criticism,&amp;quot; while my next critic&lt;br /&gt;
in the same referred to it as a book of &amp;quot; distinct&lt;br /&gt;
merit.&amp;quot; The Saturday Review danced upon it.&lt;br /&gt;
The result of this handling by the three leading&lt;br /&gt;
papers then, was, that the short three months&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
existence enjoyed by a three volume novel, by an&lt;br /&gt;
unknown author, was insufficient to sell the number&lt;br /&gt;
of copies published, and my publishers, while&lt;br /&gt;
admitting that I had written a good book, found&lt;br /&gt;
me a non-financial success, and bade me go else-&lt;br /&gt;
where. The consequence of their decision was&lt;br /&gt;
that other firms fought shy of my next book, which&lt;br /&gt;
took three years in finding a publisher and was&lt;br /&gt;
refused by twelve, one of whom took twelve months&lt;br /&gt;
to consider it, and finally refused it &amp;quot;regretting&mdash;&amp;quot;!&lt;br /&gt;
It was published at length and favourably reviewed.&lt;br /&gt;
But all this came too late. The three years lost in&lt;br /&gt;
finding a publisher made me practically once more a&lt;br /&gt;
beginner after the lapse of five years between my&lt;br /&gt;
first and second book. I lost heart after this, and&lt;br /&gt;
tried no more &amp;quot;leading firms,&amp;quot; since I found it was&lt;br /&gt;
not good work they wanted so much as quick&lt;br /&gt;
financial returns.&lt;br /&gt;
Last year, ten years after my first work appeared,&lt;br /&gt;
I went casually and as a stranger into a first class&lt;br /&gt;
library in a fashionable watering place. I asked for&lt;br /&gt;
a small shilling story I had just brought out&mdash;not&lt;br /&gt;
by a leading firm. Of course it had never been&lt;br /&gt;
heard of, so I humbly said, &amp;quot;It is by the author of and &amp;quot;naming my books. &amp;quot;Oh,&amp;quot; ex-&lt;br /&gt;
claimed the librarian, brightening up, &amp;quot;I know&lt;br /&gt;
those books well, they are among the best read in&lt;br /&gt;
our library.&amp;quot; This after ten years!&lt;br /&gt;
Moral:&mdash;Would it not be well for leading firms&lt;br /&gt;
to be a little more patient with the slow sales of an&lt;br /&gt;
unknown author&amp;#039;s work ripening into &amp;quot;profits.&amp;quot; My&lt;br /&gt;
difficulty has been not so much in not being able&lt;br /&gt;
to find a publisher I could stick to, but in finding&lt;br /&gt;
one who would stick to me. I think I have proved&lt;br /&gt;
that the adhesive properties are not lacking in&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 79 (#103) #############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
79&lt;br /&gt;
consequence of bad work, or work that is short-&lt;br /&gt;
lived. Where is the remedy for such a case as&lt;br /&gt;
mine?&lt;br /&gt;
Editor&amp;#039;s Note.&mdash;Perhaps the author is wrong,&lt;br /&gt;
and the three leading literary papers were right.&lt;br /&gt;
That is to say, they were probably right when they&lt;br /&gt;
condemned the book from a literary point of view,&lt;br /&gt;
and in regard to style or artistic construction. In&lt;br /&gt;
such matters these papers do not often go wrong.&lt;br /&gt;
But there are readers in plenty who regard neither&lt;br /&gt;
style nor artistic construction. For them the&lt;br /&gt;
story&mdash;that is the leading situation&mdash;is everything.&lt;br /&gt;
And the leading firms do publish many books every&lt;br /&gt;
year the sale of which is necessarily slow.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
CHESTNUT BELLS ENCORE.&lt;br /&gt;
APROPOS of Chestnut Bells. We often see the&lt;br /&gt;
hand-bell in grotesque sculptures of the&lt;br /&gt;
middle ages used in a manner which clearly&lt;br /&gt;
indicates that it is intended to impose silence, oras an&lt;br /&gt;
intimation that what one person is saying is not&lt;br /&gt;
believed in, or is ridiculed by another. Thus on the&lt;br /&gt;
grand portal of St. Stephen&amp;#039;s Church, Vienna, there&lt;br /&gt;
is a sp;rited stone-picture of a rollicking witch and a&lt;br /&gt;
reprobate priest (perhaps a sorcerer), engaged in&lt;br /&gt;
a tussle, he holding her by one leg, while she with&lt;br /&gt;
the right hand pulls his head back by the capote,&lt;br /&gt;
and with the other rings a bell in his ear&mdash;as if to&lt;br /&gt;
silence his love-making, and say, &amp;quot;Yes, I have&lt;br /&gt;
heard all that before&mdash;enough&mdash;shut up!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
A copy of this will appear as a vignette in my&lt;br /&gt;
work on gypsy sorcery now in the press. On more&lt;br /&gt;
than one bas-relief of the fourteenth century, we&lt;br /&gt;
see a goat dressed as a monk, and in one instance,&lt;br /&gt;
a sow, ringing a small bell. The allusion here is&lt;br /&gt;
to telling coarse tales, since in modern German&lt;br /&gt;
phrase doing this is called ringing the Sauglocke,&lt;br /&gt;
or sow-bell, and I possess an outrageous little old&lt;br /&gt;
work bearing that name, with the picture of a bell&lt;br /&gt;
on the cover depicted in a manner &amp;quot;which could&lt;br /&gt;
convey little joy to either moralist or Christian.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
The Lumpenglock, or blackguard&amp;#039;s bell, is a term&lt;br /&gt;
applied in Germany to the bells in steeples, rung&lt;br /&gt;
at eleven o&amp;#039;clock p.m., as a signal to close all the&lt;br /&gt;
beer-houses. So we are told of that veteran rois-&lt;br /&gt;
terer, the Herr von Rodenstein, that when he died&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The blackguard&amp;#039;s l&amp;gt;ell in the old Town Hall,&lt;br /&gt;
Began of itself to ring.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
A man who is always telling coarse and rude tales&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;or a Zotenreisser&mdash;is commonly said to be contin-&lt;br /&gt;
ually ringing the sow-bell. And I think it very probable&lt;br /&gt;
that at a time when symbolism entered into every-&lt;br /&gt;
thing, there was something of all this implied by the&lt;br /&gt;
bells on the cap of the professional jester or fool.&lt;br /&gt;
There was mockery in their sound, as in the words&lt;br /&gt;
of their wearer, and both were like the ring of the&lt;br /&gt;
chestnut bell, and the tinkling of brass pots of&lt;br /&gt;
yore&mdash;all synonyms for vain repetition and idle&lt;br /&gt;
chatter.&lt;br /&gt;
It may be here observed that the primary object&lt;br /&gt;
of church bells was not so much to call the faithful&lt;br /&gt;
together to worship, as to drive away and avert&lt;br /&gt;
evil influences, especially devils, concerning all&lt;br /&gt;
which there is a deeply learned chapter in Southey&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
Doctor. The primitive Christian church bell was&lt;br /&gt;
very truly what Mr. William Sikes called a &amp;quot; tinkler,&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
since it was precisely of the shape, material, and&lt;br /&gt;
make of the same which, in America especially, is&lt;br /&gt;
hung to the necks of cows. Their object is to&lt;br /&gt;
keep the cows from straying afield too far&mdash;that of&lt;br /&gt;
the chestnut bell to recall men from wandering in&lt;br /&gt;
discourse.&lt;br /&gt;
When I was a schoolboy, I once invested my&lt;br /&gt;
last cent in the purchase of a black letter Latin&lt;br /&gt;
folio&mdash;the &amp;quot; Moralization of the entire Bible,&amp;quot; by&lt;br /&gt;
Petrus Berchorius, all of which I perused faithfully&lt;br /&gt;
and admiringly many times. By the way, my copy&lt;br /&gt;
had belonged to Melancthon. It just occurs to&lt;br /&gt;
me that the spirit of the old monk Pierre Bercheur&lt;br /&gt;
is living again in these disquisitions on the true&lt;br /&gt;
inwardness of the chestnut bell, and the esoteric&lt;br /&gt;
mysteries of the Sauglocke. &amp;quot;Oh, good old man&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
even from the grave thy spirit&amp;quot; comes over thy&lt;br /&gt;
disciple, into the year eighteen hundred and ninety,&lt;br /&gt;
prompting him to find preaching in pebbles and&lt;br /&gt;
sermons in grains of sand ; of which &amp;quot;making great&lt;br /&gt;
amount of small things,&amp;quot; all that can be said is that&lt;br /&gt;
it is better than making no account of or be-littling&lt;br /&gt;
great ones, which is the vice of our day.&lt;br /&gt;
Chari.es G. Leland.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
THE QUEEN&amp;#039;S ENGLISH.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;#039;&amp;quot;T^ HE enrolment into a single company of&lt;br /&gt;
I so numerous and influential a body of&lt;br /&gt;
English writers as composes the Society&lt;br /&gt;
of Authors, may perhaps be profitably utilized in a&lt;br /&gt;
manner which, if it be a little outside the scope&lt;br /&gt;
of its foundation, would interest and benefit every&lt;br /&gt;
reader and writer of the English language.&lt;br /&gt;
There has never yet existed in this country any&lt;br /&gt;
academic body, any authoritative company of edu-&lt;br /&gt;
cated Englishmen qualified to pronounce judgment&lt;br /&gt;
upon moot points connected with the writing of&lt;br /&gt;
English. It has been questioned whether the&lt;br /&gt;
formal institution of such an Academy would be&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 80 (#104) #############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
8o&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
for the lasting benefit of literature, and I doubt&lt;br /&gt;
myself if the ex cathedra pronouncements of an&lt;br /&gt;
official Board of Letters would ever carry much&lt;br /&gt;
weight with Englishmen. We are too impatient of&lt;br /&gt;
law and precedent; but in a humble way some nse-&lt;br /&gt;
ful work might surely be done. An expression of&lt;br /&gt;
the consensus of opinion of so influential a body&lt;br /&gt;
as our Society, can never be without influence and&lt;br /&gt;
effect, and a resolution of the doubts and uncer-&lt;br /&gt;
tainties that exist on manypoints in syntax, spelling,&lt;br /&gt;
prosody, and phraseology would be welcomed by&lt;br /&gt;
every educated man and woman in the land inside&lt;br /&gt;
and outside of our own circle. I venture to sug-&lt;br /&gt;
gest therefore that the Society of Authors should&lt;br /&gt;
from time to time hold an inquest upon some one&lt;br /&gt;
or other of the aforesaid moot points, and that their&lt;br /&gt;
deliberation should issue in the shape of verdicts&lt;br /&gt;
to be arrived at by unanimity, or by a large&lt;br /&gt;
majority of votes; the verdicts to be published to&lt;br /&gt;
the world at large in the columns of The Author.&lt;br /&gt;
There is another and perhaps a still greater service&lt;br /&gt;
which our Society and its new organ might confer&lt;br /&gt;
upon English letters, and that is by their sanction of&lt;br /&gt;
the admission of useful provincial words into general&lt;br /&gt;
usage. Many an admirable English word has no&lt;br /&gt;
circulation beyond a limited district, many a word&lt;br /&gt;
expressing ideas that can only be rendered else-&lt;br /&gt;
where by a clumsy paraphrase. More competent&lt;br /&gt;
persons than myself could cite many local words,&lt;br /&gt;
which, if they were made general, would enrich the&lt;br /&gt;
language. I will give but one example at present.&lt;br /&gt;
In parts of the West and of the North of England&lt;br /&gt;
backword signifies a refusal to comply with a&lt;br /&gt;
pomise made or to fulfil some intention declared.&lt;br /&gt;
The following telegram was recently offered at a&lt;br /&gt;
London Post Office: &amp;quot;Dine with me on Saturday.&lt;br /&gt;
A sends me a backword.&amp;quot; The telegraph clerk&lt;br /&gt;
refused &amp;quot;backword&amp;quot; as a single word, properly&lt;br /&gt;
observing that it was in no dictionary, and the&lt;br /&gt;
recipient of the message&mdash;a cockney&mdash;had no&lt;br /&gt;
notion of its meaning. Now surely such a word&lt;br /&gt;
deserves to pass into circulation, to enjoy the&lt;br /&gt;
approval, to be stamped with the mint mark of&lt;br /&gt;
some academic body, and to become at once&lt;br /&gt;
current coin of full weight and value in the realm&lt;br /&gt;
of English literature.&lt;br /&gt;
Oswald Crawfurd.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE CIVIL LIST.&lt;br /&gt;
I.&lt;br /&gt;
The following is the Memorial which it was&lt;br /&gt;
proposed to submit to Mr. W. H. Smith :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;This Memorial Sheweth as follows:&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;(a) It was enacted by section 5 of 1 Vict., c. 2.&lt;br /&gt;
That your Memorialists respectfully submit that&lt;br /&gt;
further Legislation is urgently needed on the&lt;br /&gt;
grounds and for the following purposes :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;(b) Section 6 of 1 Vict., c. 2, declared that it&lt;br /&gt;
is the bounden duty of the responsible advisers of&lt;br /&gt;
the Crown to recommend to her Majesty, for grants&lt;br /&gt;
of pensions of the Civil List, such persons only as&lt;br /&gt;
have just claims on the Royal beneficence, or who&lt;br /&gt;
by their personal services to the Crown by the&lt;br /&gt;
performance of duties to the public, or by their&lt;br /&gt;
useful discoveries in science or attainments in&lt;br /&gt;
literature and the arts, have merited the gracious&lt;br /&gt;
consideration of their Sovereign and the gratitude&lt;br /&gt;
of their country.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;(c) The Select Committee appointed in 1837&lt;br /&gt;
to inquire into the then existing pensions, classed&lt;br /&gt;
them under the following heads:&mdash;(i)Army; (2)&lt;br /&gt;
Navy; (3) Diplomatic; (4) Judicial and Legal; (5)&lt;br /&gt;
Political; (6) Civil and Revenue; (7) Colonial;&lt;br /&gt;
(8) Services to Royal Family and in Household;&lt;br /&gt;
(9) Rewards for Literary and Scientific Attain-&lt;br /&gt;
ments; (10) Royal Bounty and Charity; (11)&lt;br /&gt;
Compensation for Forfeited Estates; (12) Mis-&lt;br /&gt;
cellaneous.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The said Select Committee also reported as&lt;br /&gt;
follows :&mdash;The operation of the Superannuation&lt;br /&gt;
Acts, the system of retired allowances, the military&lt;br /&gt;
and naval pensions for good services, the pensions&lt;br /&gt;
granted by 57 Geo. iii, c. 65, for pensions holding&lt;br /&gt;
high political offices, and the pensions for the&lt;br /&gt;
diplomatic and consular services, have to a great&lt;br /&gt;
extent superseded one of the original purposes of&lt;br /&gt;
the Pension List. These Acts have also substi-&lt;br /&gt;
tuted a strictly-defined and regulated system of&lt;br /&gt;
reward for a system which depended on the&lt;br /&gt;
arbitrary selection of the Crown or the recommen-&lt;br /&gt;
dation of the existing Government exposed to the&lt;br /&gt;
bias of party or personal consideration.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;(d) The said regulated system of reward has&lt;br /&gt;
since the passing of 1 Vict., c. 2, been confirmed,&lt;br /&gt;
amended, and extended by the following statutes:&lt;br /&gt;
The Superannuation Act, 1859 ; The Naval and&lt;br /&gt;
Marine Pay and Pensions Act, 1865 ; The Colonial&lt;br /&gt;
Governors&amp;#039; Pensions Act, 1865; The Superannua-&lt;br /&gt;
tion Act, 1866; The Diplomatic Salaries Act,&lt;br /&gt;
1869; The Political Offices Pensions Act, 1869;&lt;br /&gt;
The Colonial Governors&amp;#039; Pensions Act, 1872;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 81 (#105) #############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
81&lt;br /&gt;
The Superannuation Act, 1876; The Pensions&lt;br /&gt;
and Yeomanry Pay Act, 1884; The Pensions&lt;br /&gt;
(Colonial Service) Act, 1887.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;(e) Notwithstanding the said Statutes, and the&lt;br /&gt;
Report of the said Select Committee, pensions on&lt;br /&gt;
the Civil List have been granted for services per-&lt;br /&gt;
formed in the (1) Army; (2) Navy; (3) Diplo-&lt;br /&gt;
matic Service; (4) Civil and Revenue Services;&lt;br /&gt;
and (5) Colonial Service.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;(J) It appears from the &amp;#039;Returns of all Per-&lt;br /&gt;
sons now in receipt of Pensions charged on the&lt;br /&gt;
Civil List&amp;#039; (1889), that of the ,&pound;25,221 13*. 4*/.&lt;br /&gt;
(the total annual charge of the pensions payable at&lt;br /&gt;
the date of the said Return) &pound;8,625 was payable&lt;br /&gt;
at the date of the said Return in the following&lt;br /&gt;
proportions for services in the (1) Army (.&pound;2,710);&lt;br /&gt;
(2) Navy (&pound;1,335) j (3) Diplomatic Service&lt;br /&gt;
(&pound;9&deg;&deg;); (4) Civil Service and Revenue (&pound;3,455) J&lt;br /&gt;
(5) Colonial Service (.&pound;225).&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;And your Memorialists respectfully submit&lt;br /&gt;
that further Legislation is urgently needed for the&lt;br /&gt;
following purposes :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;(a) The restriction of the grant of pensions on&lt;br /&gt;
tie Civil List within ascertained limits.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;(b) The allocation of pensions amounting to&lt;br /&gt;
ru t less than &pound;800 in each year to those who by&lt;br /&gt;
th.iir useful discoveries in Science or attainments&lt;br /&gt;
in Literature and the Arts have merited the gra-&lt;br /&gt;
cious consideration of their Sovereign and the&lt;br /&gt;
gratitude of their country, or their widows and&lt;br /&gt;
children.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;(c) The increase of the Royal Bounty Fund&lt;br /&gt;
and the Civil List Pension Fund so that her&lt;br /&gt;
Majesty may be enabled to relieve distress and&lt;br /&gt;
reward merit in a manner worthy of the dignity of&lt;br /&gt;
the Crown.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
The Memorial speaks for itself and requires&lt;br /&gt;
little further elucidation here. It places on record&lt;br /&gt;
the following facts :&mdash;(1) That notwithstanding the&lt;br /&gt;
wording of the Civil List Act, and notwithstanding&lt;br /&gt;
the Report of the Select Committee, pensions on&lt;br /&gt;
the Civil List have been improperly granted; (2)&lt;br /&gt;
That of the &pound;25,221 13*. ^d. (the total annual&lt;br /&gt;
charge of the pensions payable in May, 1889),&lt;br /&gt;
.&pound;8,625 was paid to the classes of persons not&lt;br /&gt;
contemplated by the Act or the Report of the&lt;br /&gt;
Committee.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. VV. H. Smith remarks in his letter to Mr.&lt;br /&gt;
S. S. Sprigge, which we published last month, &amp;quot; that&lt;br /&gt;
the figures in the Memorial, accepting them as&lt;br /&gt;
fairly correct, show that the practical administration&lt;br /&gt;
of the Fund is almost identical with the distribu-&lt;br /&gt;
tion proposed by the Societies, namely, one-third&lt;br /&gt;
to services rendered to the Sovereign, and two-&lt;br /&gt;
thirds to the representatives of Science, Literature,&lt;br /&gt;
and Art&amp;quot; From this it appears that the First&lt;br /&gt;
Lord of the Treasury defends the grant of pensions&lt;br /&gt;
on the &amp;quot;Civil List&amp;quot; for services performed in the&lt;br /&gt;
Army, Navy, Diplomatic, Civil and Revenue, and&lt;br /&gt;
Colonial Services on the grounds that these are&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;services to the Sovereign.&amp;quot; The Act, however,&lt;br /&gt;
only empowers the grant of pensions for &amp;quot; personal&lt;br /&gt;
services to the Crown,&amp;quot; and it is, we imagine,&lt;br /&gt;
merely idle to pretend that this expression was&lt;br /&gt;
ever intended to have any such meaning as that&lt;br /&gt;
which it is now sought to give it. It was no&lt;br /&gt;
doubt one of the original purposes of the Pension&lt;br /&gt;
List to reward all these classes of public servants,&lt;br /&gt;
but as the Report of the Select Committee (cited&lt;br /&gt;
in the Memorial) points out, various statutes have&lt;br /&gt;
been passed &amp;quot;substituting a strictly-defined and&lt;br /&gt;
regulated system of reward &amp;quot; in all these cases fcr&lt;br /&gt;
a system which depended on the caprice of the&lt;br /&gt;
Crown and of Her Majesty&amp;#039;s advisers. It was&lt;br /&gt;
clearly not the intention of the Act or the desire of&lt;br /&gt;
the Committee-&mdash;and it is necessary to remember&lt;br /&gt;
that it was a Select Committee of Inquiry into this&lt;br /&gt;
very question appointed in deference to a loudly&lt;br /&gt;
expressed public opinion&mdash;that any pensions for&lt;br /&gt;
these services should in future be charged on the&lt;br /&gt;
Civil List. We think, then, that we have fully&lt;br /&gt;
established the irregularity of all these pensions,&lt;br /&gt;
and we regret that the First Lord of the Treasury,&lt;br /&gt;
who admits that he enjoys &amp;quot;that discretion which&lt;br /&gt;
must in such cases finally rest with some one res-&lt;br /&gt;
ponsible minister,&amp;quot; has attempted to evade the&lt;br /&gt;
conclusion.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. W. H. Smith further remarks that&amp;quot; to make&lt;br /&gt;
such changes as the Memorial suggests would&lt;br /&gt;
necessitate a new Act of Parliament.&amp;quot; This we&lt;br /&gt;
are not prepared to deny. The Memorial prays&lt;br /&gt;
for &amp;quot; further legislation &amp;quot; for certain specified pur-&lt;br /&gt;
poses. We feel some diffidence in making any&lt;br /&gt;
rejoinder to Mr. Smith&amp;#039;s expression of opinion that&lt;br /&gt;
there has not been &amp;quot;any such expression of dis-&lt;br /&gt;
satisfaction either in the House or outside of it as&lt;br /&gt;
would justify the proposal.&amp;quot; But we think it due&lt;br /&gt;
to ourselves to say that the Incorporated Society&lt;br /&gt;
of Authors and the Institute of Journalists do&lt;br /&gt;
not stand alone in objecting to the present&lt;br /&gt;
administration of the Civil List Pension Fund.&lt;br /&gt;
The press has almost without distinction or&lt;br /&gt;
exception condemned the existing system in no&lt;br /&gt;
measured terms, and we are not aware that a single&lt;br /&gt;
voice has been raised in its defence. If the Fund&lt;br /&gt;
were administered strictly within its proper limits,&lt;br /&gt;
it would, it is universally admitted, be impossible&lt;br /&gt;
to satisfy the just claimants. Restrictions, it&lt;br /&gt;
appears, already exist. It will be seen from the&lt;br /&gt;
correspondence published in the current report of&lt;br /&gt;
the Executive Committee that literary pensions&lt;br /&gt;
can only be granted to the writers of &amp;quot;historical&lt;br /&gt;
novels and technical and useful books,&amp;quot; owing&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 82 (#106) #############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
82&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
to the unexpected existence of certain regulations,&lt;br /&gt;
or, as Mr. Smith denned them in the House of&lt;br /&gt;
Commons, &amp;quot;notes on practice.&amp;quot; The Society has&lt;br /&gt;
already placed on record a protest against the&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;permanent exclusion of any class of Literary,&lt;br /&gt;
Scientific, or Artistic production from the just&lt;br /&gt;
claims on the Royal beneficence contemplated by&lt;br /&gt;
section 6 of i Vict., c. 2.&amp;quot; The Society has already&lt;br /&gt;
demanded that &amp;quot;the regulations, if any, under&lt;br /&gt;
which the Civil List Pension Fund is administered&lt;br /&gt;
should be communicated to the public.&amp;quot; The&lt;br /&gt;
case for reform is now complete. It cannot be&lt;br /&gt;
left to private secretaries to draw up rules which&lt;br /&gt;
vary the meaning and affect the application of an&lt;br /&gt;
Act of Parliament. It is high time that genuine&lt;br /&gt;
regulations were framed, if necessary by statute,&lt;br /&gt;
which should restrict the grant of pensions not upon&lt;br /&gt;
an artificial theory but in accordance with public&lt;br /&gt;
opinion. Mr. Smith &amp;quot;fears that Parliament would&lt;br /&gt;
be very unlikely to agree to an increase of the sum&lt;br /&gt;
annually set apart for the Pension List.&amp;quot; We, on&lt;br /&gt;
the other hand, believe that if the necessity were&lt;br /&gt;
shown to exist, the popular representatives would&lt;br /&gt;
ungrudgingly support such a use of public money.&lt;br /&gt;
And there is only too little doubt as to the urgent&lt;br /&gt;
character of the necessity. It is the unanimous&lt;br /&gt;
testimony of every First Lord of the Treasury that&lt;br /&gt;
he is year by year deluged with applications for&lt;br /&gt;
pensions which he is unable to grant. Many of&lt;br /&gt;
those cases which now, perhaps, &amp;quot;lie forgotten in&lt;br /&gt;
the cupboards of the Treasury,&amp;quot; were, we do not&lt;br /&gt;
doubt, sad and saddening, although no whisper&lt;br /&gt;
of them reached the unofficial world. There are&lt;br /&gt;
moreover, few years that pass by without the&lt;br /&gt;
country being startled by the announcement that a&lt;br /&gt;
pension has been refused to some distinguished&lt;br /&gt;
man of letters or his surviving widow and children.&lt;br /&gt;
We do not doubt, we repeat, that the public&lt;br /&gt;
would support even an increase of the Pension&lt;br /&gt;
List, but be that as it may, it cannot be denied&lt;br /&gt;
that the country at large would welcome a re-&lt;br /&gt;
form in the administration of the Pension Fund,&lt;br /&gt;
which would ensure it being devoted to the pur-&lt;br /&gt;
poses for which it was founded.&lt;br /&gt;
II,&lt;br /&gt;
The Pensions of the Year.&lt;br /&gt;
The Civil List Pensions granted during the last&lt;br /&gt;
twelve months have now been published. They&lt;br /&gt;
are as follows:&mdash;William Muggins, LL.D., a pension&lt;br /&gt;
of ^150 (very good). Ellen S. Scott, widow of&lt;br /&gt;
(General H. Scott, R,E., a pension of j&pound;iqo (very&lt;br /&gt;
bad). The widow of a soldier does not fall within&lt;br /&gt;
the limits of the grant. Bessie Hatch (widow of&lt;br /&gt;
Rev. Edwin Hatch, a pension of &pound;100 (very good).&lt;br /&gt;
Ellen Isabella Tupper, daughter of Martin Tupper,&lt;br /&gt;
a pension of ^75 (very good). Rosamond Bur-&lt;br /&gt;
nard, daughter of Gen. Sir H. W. Burnard, a pension&lt;br /&gt;
&deg;f &pound;lS- 1&amp;quot;ne daughter of a soldier has no business&lt;br /&gt;
in the list at all, unless that soldier was also dis-&lt;br /&gt;
tinguished for service, art or literature. Henrietta&lt;br /&gt;
Elizabeth Wood, widow of the late J. T. Wood, a&lt;br /&gt;
pension of &pound;,!$■ Augusta Theresa Motteram,&lt;br /&gt;
widow of the late Judge Motteram, a pension 0^75.&lt;br /&gt;
l&amp;gt;ady Wilde, a pension of ^70. Pensions of ^50&lt;br /&gt;
each to Mrs. Caroline Blanchard, Mr. John&lt;br /&gt;
Absolon, Rev. E. Cobham Brewer, Dr. William&lt;br /&gt;
Spark, Mrs. Kate Livingstone, Miss Catherine&lt;br /&gt;
Shilleto, Mrs. Jane Eleanor Wood (widow of Rev.&lt;br /&gt;
J. G. Wood). Pensions of ^25 each have been&lt;br /&gt;
granted to the Misses Eliza and Mary Maquire,&lt;br /&gt;
daughters of the late Dr. Thomas Maquire, of&lt;br /&gt;
Trinity College, Dublin, and of &pound;20 each to the&lt;br /&gt;
four unmarried daughters of the late Rev. M. J.&lt;br /&gt;
Berkeley, F.R.S. General verdict. On the whole,&lt;br /&gt;
a great improvement on many recent lists.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
A NEW GUIDE TO BOOKS.&lt;br /&gt;
AGUIDE to Books should be found in any&lt;br /&gt;
review. That is to say, the reader should&lt;br /&gt;
be able to depend upon the review which&lt;br /&gt;
he reads regularly to guide him in the ordering of&lt;br /&gt;
books from the library. And, no doubt, the&lt;br /&gt;
reader of the Saturday Review, for instance, would&lt;br /&gt;
find no difficulty in understanding what is promis-&lt;br /&gt;
ing in the way of new literature. But one can&lt;br /&gt;
very well understand that there may arise cases in&lt;br /&gt;
which the most perfect review may fail to inform&lt;br /&gt;
the reader as to the best books on special subjects.&lt;br /&gt;
For instance, the Saturday Review may be acknow-&lt;br /&gt;
ledged by its best friends to be weak in the&lt;br /&gt;
Department of Surgery, or of Pure Mathematics,&lt;br /&gt;
or of Electricity. Therefore, a certain compilation&lt;br /&gt;
which will first appear in the autumn may prove of&lt;br /&gt;
great use to specialists, if not to the general reader.&lt;br /&gt;
The object of the editors is to &amp;quot;place at the&lt;br /&gt;
service of the reader the opinions of those who&lt;br /&gt;
may be trusted to give sound advice upon the&lt;br /&gt;
books which are of value in each department of&lt;br /&gt;
knowledge.&amp;quot; A great many people&mdash;specialists-&lt;br /&gt;
have promised to assist. Among them&mdash;members&lt;br /&gt;
of the Society&mdash;we find the names of William&lt;br /&gt;
Archer, Courthope Bowen, James Bryce, John&lt;br /&gt;
Earle, Richard Gamett, J, W. Hales, E. Ray&lt;br /&gt;
Lankester, J. Norman Lockyer, Erikr Magnusson,&lt;br /&gt;
Max Miiller, Sir Frederick Pollock, Burden San-&lt;br /&gt;
derson, J. R. Seeley, Sir Henry Thompson, Andrew&lt;br /&gt;
Tuer, and Sir Charles Wilson,&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 83 (#107) #############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR. 83&lt;br /&gt;
MR. BAINTON ON HIMSELF.&lt;br /&gt;
To the Editor of The Author.&lt;br /&gt;
Sir,&lt;br /&gt;
I deeply regret I should have been the cause of so serious&lt;br /&gt;
an amount of feeling and annoyance as the correspondence&lt;br /&gt;
in your paper reveals&mdash;a correspondence which comes upon&lt;br /&gt;
me as a most painful surprise. I must ask your corres-&lt;br /&gt;
pondents to believe me when I say that my fault or folly,&lt;br /&gt;
whichever it may be, was wholly unintentional ; and that how-&lt;br /&gt;
ever carelessly I may appear to have acted in certain instances,&lt;br /&gt;
I have had no other than the purest purpose in view, and have&lt;br /&gt;
been moved by no mean or dishonourable motive. Un-&lt;br /&gt;
fortunately the book in question was quite an after-thought.&lt;br /&gt;
When preparing my address I had no idea of so extended a&lt;br /&gt;
compilation. I simply desired my lecture to be issued in&lt;br /&gt;
pamphlet form, shoul 1 it stem likely to answer the purpose&lt;br /&gt;
for which it was designed. My fault has been in changing&lt;br /&gt;
the form of publication without first acquainting all my&lt;br /&gt;
generous correspondents of what I purposed doing. But I&lt;br /&gt;
acted under the impression that this was not necessary after&lt;br /&gt;
having solicited their consent to use their words in print.&lt;br /&gt;
That in this I committed a serious over-ight I now learn to&lt;br /&gt;
my bitter cost, and I deeply regret it should have happ ned.&lt;br /&gt;
But that I have been guilty of the unfairness, the wilful&lt;br /&gt;
discourtesy, and other outrageous sins which some of your&lt;br /&gt;
correspondents&mdash;and especially yourself&mdash;are anxious to fasten&lt;br /&gt;
upon me, I most earnestly and indignantly deny.&lt;br /&gt;
After the first portion of the address was given here in the&lt;br /&gt;
Old Grammar School, to a united meeting of the Young&lt;br /&gt;
Men&amp;#039;s Associations of the City, and largely reproduced in&lt;br /&gt;
the columns of our local papers, I was repeatedly urged to&lt;br /&gt;
return to the subject, and put the matter I had already&lt;br /&gt;
spoken into print. Through lack of time long delays inter-&lt;br /&gt;
vened before I could make any attempt to compile a&lt;br /&gt;
promised second part of the same address, or before I could&lt;br /&gt;
do anything towards remoulding what I had roughly sketched&lt;br /&gt;
out. When I did the contributions with which I had to&lt;br /&gt;
deal were so many, and the interest attaching to them so&lt;br /&gt;
great, that my MS. quickly exceeded the limits of an ordinary&lt;br /&gt;
pamphlet. It was then, and not till then, the idea of the&lt;br /&gt;
book occurred to me. Had I for a moment conceived that&lt;br /&gt;
in this I was exceeding the bounds of a strict courtesy and&lt;br /&gt;
integrity, I should most certainly have communicated again&lt;br /&gt;
with the authors who had generously sent me the items of&lt;br /&gt;
their experience. Indeed the book would have been at once&lt;br /&gt;
abandoned had I known it would have given pain to any. I&lt;br /&gt;
had no interest to serve by concealment, and nothing what-&lt;br /&gt;
ever to lead me to act in the spirit Mr. Hall Caine insinuates.&lt;br /&gt;
Some of your correspondents, and several critics outside&lt;br /&gt;
the columns of The Author, have Hung the ungenial sneer at&lt;br /&gt;
my supposed sordid desire for gain. The imputation is most&lt;br /&gt;
unjust, and does not speak well for the spirit of those by&lt;br /&gt;
whom it is made. I have not received one penny from the&lt;br /&gt;
book. When towards the close of last year I finished the&lt;br /&gt;
MS. and submitted it to the publishers, I did not stipulate&lt;br /&gt;
for any payment, I did not ask for any terms on my own&lt;br /&gt;
behalf, but gladly accepted their suggestions, with the&lt;br /&gt;
assurance I should be only too pleased and grateful if the&lt;br /&gt;
book repaid them the cost of production, and proved of some&lt;br /&gt;
real in erest and value to its readers. Should anything ever&lt;br /&gt;
come to me from its sale it will be hea tily at the disposal of&lt;br /&gt;
those who made the book possible. I prepared the book&lt;br /&gt;
with a good motive, and it was not the motive of personal&lt;br /&gt;
gain.&lt;br /&gt;
I notice in many of the letters you have reproduced your cor-&lt;br /&gt;
respondents speak of their communications to me as private.&lt;br /&gt;
They quite overlook the fact that I wrote to them upon a&lt;br /&gt;
matter for a pitblic and not a private purpose. Letters sent&lt;br /&gt;
expressly for use in illustrating a lecture can hardly be&lt;br /&gt;
regarded as ordinary private correspondence. A lecture is&lt;br /&gt;
not usually private ami confidential. It is liable to be&lt;br /&gt;
reported and reproduced in print, with or without the&lt;br /&gt;
lecturer&amp;#039;s consent ; and as a matter of fact the lecture in&lt;br /&gt;
question, which Mr. Hall Caine angrily infers was never&lt;br /&gt;
given, was in great part printed in the columns of a local&lt;br /&gt;
paper,* portions of the same appearing three successive&lt;br /&gt;
weeks, with Ion*; extracts from the most interesting and&lt;br /&gt;
useful letters, Mr. Hall Caine&amp;#039;s not excepted. The com-&lt;br /&gt;
munications were not sent to me as private, or for a private&lt;br /&gt;
purpose ; they were not requested for any private aim, else&lt;br /&gt;
they would have been treated strictly as such. A few of the&lt;br /&gt;
most helpful letters I received and retain, were not used at&lt;br /&gt;
all, because the writers expressly objected to their contents&lt;br /&gt;
being made public.&lt;br /&gt;
You mention several persons and say they were all ignorant&lt;br /&gt;
that I intended to print their remarks. That is not correct.&lt;br /&gt;
I wrote to almost every person you name, to almost every&lt;br /&gt;
correspondent in your columns, asking permission to use&lt;br /&gt;
their words in print. Only in two instances am I uncertain&lt;br /&gt;
of having done so. To Mr. Allen, then in Italy, I wrote&lt;br /&gt;
twice, to make sure he should receive my request, and neither&lt;br /&gt;
letter was returned. Several like Mr. Allen did not reply.&lt;br /&gt;
Was I wrong in assuming that such silence meant either&lt;br /&gt;
indirierence or consent? If Mrs. Parr, Mr. Gilbe rt, and&lt;br /&gt;
others had the opportunity to refuse and did not, where is&lt;br /&gt;
the breach of faith of which they speak? Surely if they had&lt;br /&gt;
felt so serious an objection to the use of their words they&lt;br /&gt;
would at least have given expression to it. But though&lt;br /&gt;
opportunity was afforded they did nothing of the kind; they&lt;br /&gt;
left me, therefore, free to act as I thought best, and I inter-&lt;br /&gt;
preted silence as consent. The majoiity did reply, and gave&lt;br /&gt;
the consent I asked. How then can they have been ignorant&lt;br /&gt;
of my intention to print their remarks? One of the most&lt;br /&gt;
eminent of your correspondents assures you I acted in his&lt;br /&gt;
case with perfect frankness and consistency throughout. In&lt;br /&gt;
no instance have I sought to be less open and (rank. Why&lt;br /&gt;
should I i What had I to gain by such concealment with&lt;br /&gt;
one person more than another? Whatever you or others&lt;br /&gt;
may affirm to the ontrary I am at least guiltless of any&lt;br /&gt;
intention to deceive.&lt;br /&gt;
Memory does not serve some of your correspondents with&lt;br /&gt;
any great fidelity. Miss Yonge mvy perhaps recall her&lt;br /&gt;
assurance that I could make the use I asked of what she had&lt;br /&gt;
written, when I remind her that such consent was given upon&lt;br /&gt;
condition that no mention should be made of a statement&lt;br /&gt;
concerning a recent writer. I was careful to respect her&lt;br /&gt;
wish. Mr. Blackmore too was asked and consented to the&lt;br /&gt;
use of his letter in print ; and only a few weeks since, May&lt;br /&gt;
3rd, 1890, wrote in acknowledgment of acopyof his printed&lt;br /&gt;
letter, &amp;quot;Am glad to hear of the appearance of your book,&lt;br /&gt;
which I hope to procure at the first opportunity. With all&lt;br /&gt;
good wishes for its success, &amp;amp;c.&amp;quot; Yet this gentleman&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;&amp;#039;objects to the use Mr. Bainton has made of the reply&lt;br /&gt;
procured through the good will due to a clergyman, and lor&lt;br /&gt;
clerical purposes.&amp;quot; Mrs. Kennard also joins in the protest&lt;br /&gt;
that she did not know, though her letter was printed with&lt;br /&gt;
her consent ; while writing on May 5th, 1890, she says,&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;My poor remarks scarcely deserved such prominence as&lt;br /&gt;
you have been g&amp;#039;&amp;gt;od en ugh to give them. Thanking you&lt;br /&gt;
for the compliment you have paid me, &amp;amp;c.&amp;quot; To Mr. Rider&lt;br /&gt;
Hagyaid I owe a special word of explanation and apology.&lt;br /&gt;
The proof he requested when consenting to mv use of his&lt;br /&gt;
letter would have been submi&amp;#039;ted, but for a statement I saw&lt;br /&gt;
at the time that he was travelling in the Erst. I trust he&lt;br /&gt;
will accept the expression of my sincere regret that for this&lt;br /&gt;
reason his desire was not complied with.&lt;br /&gt;
* Coventry Times.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 84 (#108) #############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&laquo;4&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
Permit me to add in conclusion that only this week have I&lt;br /&gt;
learned, and that quite casually, of this painful corres-&lt;br /&gt;
pondence. No copy of The Author was sent me, and no&lt;br /&gt;
intimation was given that you were endeavouring so seriously&lt;br /&gt;
to injure my good name. Is it fair dealing to stab a man in&lt;br /&gt;
the dark? Is it fair dealing to seek to destroy a man&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
reputation without a word of warning, and without so much&lt;br /&gt;
as a hint of the course of action you have taken? Is this the&lt;br /&gt;
spirit in which the Society of Authors is conducted? If so&lt;br /&gt;
it is the spirit of a ruthless cruel&amp;#039;y. I do not for a moment&lt;br /&gt;
doubt that your purpose is just and your motive pure; but&lt;br /&gt;
surely before seeking fataby to injure the reputation and&lt;br /&gt;
character of another, you might at least have had sufficient&lt;br /&gt;
considerate feeling to give him a chance to vindicate himself&lt;br /&gt;
and explain his conduct in the same issue of the journal in&lt;br /&gt;
which you have printed your hard and harsh judgment. You&lt;br /&gt;
have not done so, and I now claim the right that my letter&lt;br /&gt;
shall appear in the following number of the paper, the&lt;br /&gt;
columns of which have been used to do me so grievous a&lt;br /&gt;
wrong.&lt;br /&gt;
Gf.orgf. Bainton.&lt;br /&gt;
Coventry, /tine 26/h, 1890.&lt;br /&gt;
P. S.&mdash;When writing the above letter more than a week&lt;br /&gt;
since, I could discover scarcely any of the replies I had re-&lt;br /&gt;
ceived frc-m authors giving me permission to use their&lt;br /&gt;
communications in print. 1 can now put my hands upon&lt;br /&gt;
several, and I may even yet find others. Unfortunately I&lt;br /&gt;
did not conceive the matter would ever be called in question,&lt;br /&gt;
and, therefore, never thought it necessary to preserve them.&lt;br /&gt;
But it would have been strange had I been so punctilious&lt;br /&gt;
about the consent of some, and so careless about that of others&lt;br /&gt;
of my correspondents. An impartial judge would surely&lt;br /&gt;
admit the strong probability that what was done in so many&lt;br /&gt;
cases was haidly neglected in the bulk cf the others. When&lt;br /&gt;
I have used no more than a sentence or two I did not trouble&lt;br /&gt;
the writers with a note of request ; but if I missed any others&lt;br /&gt;
the omission was purely accidental. My complaint of the&lt;br /&gt;
lady who opened this painful controversy is, that she printed&lt;br /&gt;
two of my letters, and said not a word about the letter in&lt;br /&gt;
which I responded to and thanked her for her communica-&lt;br /&gt;
tion. It was in that I asked her to do me the kindness to&lt;br /&gt;
consent to the use of her letter.&lt;br /&gt;
Much has been made of the fact that I used in many cases&lt;br /&gt;
the same form of request. After writing to the first author I&lt;br /&gt;
retained a rough copy of the letter sent, and used it whenever&lt;br /&gt;
its terms made it possible, or altered it as the circumstances&lt;br /&gt;
of the case rt quired. This was done to save unnecessary&lt;br /&gt;
trouble, and I cannot think in doing so I did wrong. I spoke&lt;br /&gt;
in some of those letters of the author&amp;#039;s books as having given&lt;br /&gt;
me very special pleasure and help. After twenty-five years&lt;br /&gt;
constant reading, a man may well have very many pleasant&lt;br /&gt;
companions amongst the authors of the day&mdash;it would be&lt;br /&gt;
strange if he had not. In my own case I think the book&lt;br /&gt;
itself will sufficiently show I hardly deserve the suspicious&lt;br /&gt;
comments you have made. It is easy for a critic to indicate&lt;br /&gt;
a special point in the speech or conduct of another, and then&lt;br /&gt;
draw from it a general adverse conclusion.&lt;br /&gt;
At first I only purposed securing the aid of a few favourite&lt;br /&gt;
authors, and wrote to that end. The words, which I fain&lt;br /&gt;
hope were not often used, to which you so seriously and&lt;br /&gt;
justly object, formed part of the draft of the earliest commu-&lt;br /&gt;
nication sent out, and were not written with any attempt to&lt;br /&gt;
mislead.&lt;br /&gt;
All the correspondence I hold relating to the matter in&lt;br /&gt;
question is freely open to the inspection of anyone concerned&lt;br /&gt;
in it.&lt;br /&gt;
George Bainton.&lt;br /&gt;
July 5th, 1890.&lt;br /&gt;
To the Editor of The AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
Sir,&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Bainton has only himself to thank for our change of&lt;br /&gt;
tone towards him.&lt;br /&gt;
Many may have wished him success&mdash;as I did&mdash;through&lt;br /&gt;
misconception of his purpose. W ho could foretell from a&lt;br /&gt;
page of his book what the nature of the volume was to be?&lt;br /&gt;
It proves to be a piece of patchwork, collected from fifty&lt;br /&gt;
quarters; and the patches, though not exactly pilfered, were&lt;br /&gt;
procured for a very different use.&lt;br /&gt;
If Mr. Bainton had said at first&mdash;&amp;quot; I am writing to all the&lt;br /&gt;
English authors I have heard of, to ask them how they do&lt;br /&gt;
their work; I shall use their replies for my own pupils first,&lt;br /&gt;
and then (if I see my way) make a book out of them &amp;quot;&mdash;how&lt;br /&gt;
many answers would he have got?&lt;br /&gt;
Later on, when he had obtained replies (by writing to&lt;br /&gt;
scores of authors, as if to each exclusively and for a benevolent&lt;br /&gt;
purpose), in fairness he should have explained to each the&lt;br /&gt;
character of his forthcoming volume, instead of describing it&lt;br /&gt;
as a mere expansion of his lecture. In that case, how many&lt;br /&gt;
would have allowed him to pour on the literary world&lt;br /&gt;
(instead of his Coventry class) their off-handed replies?&lt;br /&gt;
Faithfully yours,&lt;br /&gt;
R. D. Blackmore.&lt;br /&gt;
[Mr. Bainton&amp;#039;s letter only shows the justice of those who&lt;br /&gt;
complained of his conduct. He asked certain questions,&lt;br /&gt;
the answers to be used for a lecture. That he admits. He&lt;br /&gt;
then used them for a book. That he also admits. If a man&lt;br /&gt;
prints a communication for one purpose which was intended&lt;br /&gt;
for another it is not enough ;o write for permission&mdash;he must&lt;br /&gt;
also obtain permission. A letter is a private document,&lt;br /&gt;
unless the contrary is stipulated expressly. As for the spirit&lt;br /&gt;
in which this Society is conducted, it is one of continued&lt;br /&gt;
hostility to all who invade or attack the rights of authors.&lt;br /&gt;
Having printed Mr. Bainton&amp;#039;s reply, we can now leave the&lt;br /&gt;
matter as between Mr. Bainton and his correspondents and&lt;br /&gt;
between him and The Author to be judged by our readers.&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;Editor.]&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
AT WORK.&lt;br /&gt;
This column is reserved entirely for Members of the Society,&lt;br /&gt;
who are invited to keep the Editor acquainted with their&lt;br /&gt;
work and engagements.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
R. J. NORMAN LOCKYER, F.R.S., is editing&lt;br /&gt;
Am&pound;dee Guillemin&amp;#039;s work, &amp;quot;The Heavens.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. J. E. Gore, F.R.A.S., has presented to the Royal&lt;br /&gt;
Irish Academy a &amp;quot;Catalogue of binary Stars for which&lt;br /&gt;
orbits have been computed.&amp;quot; The Catalogue, which will be&lt;br /&gt;
published by the Academy, contains the elements of all the&lt;br /&gt;
orbits hitherto calculated, the magnitudes and colours of the&lt;br /&gt;
components, spectra, &amp;quot;hypothetical,&amp;quot; and measured parellax,&lt;br /&gt;
the relative brightness of each compared with a standard star,&lt;br /&gt;
and data for computing the velocity in the line of sight, for&lt;br /&gt;
use in the spectroscopic method of measuring the star&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
distance from the earth. The Catalogue is followed by a&lt;br /&gt;
series of notes giving further details and the most recent&lt;br /&gt;
measures of position of the component stars.&lt;br /&gt;
There has been a change in the Editorship of the&lt;br /&gt;
Publishers&amp;#039; Circular&amp;quot;; Mr. J. A. Steuart is the new Editor.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Steuart has in the press a work of Criticism and a&lt;br /&gt;
novel, both of which will be published in the autumn by-&lt;br /&gt;
Messrs. Sampson Low, Marston &amp;amp; Co.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 85 (#109) #############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE A UTHOR&lt;br /&gt;
85&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Charles Leland is now preparing a work on &amp;quot;Gypsy&lt;br /&gt;
Sorcery and Fortune Telling.&amp;quot; There will be an Edition de&lt;br /&gt;
Luxe. 150 copies only, and all numbered. The publisher,&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Fisher Unwin, receives names of intending subscribers.&lt;br /&gt;
Mrs. Cashel Hoey has this year written the summer&lt;br /&gt;
number for Household Words. It is a complete story called&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;His Match and More.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
In last month&amp;#039;s &amp;quot;At Work,&amp;quot; two mistakes were left&lt;br /&gt;
uncorrected. The name of William Westall appeared as&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;William Werlah,&amp;quot; and Mr. Watt wis announced as the agent&lt;br /&gt;
for The Author under Ithe heading of Mr. W. F. Smith&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
new version of &amp;quot;Rabelais.&amp;quot; The author should not be in&lt;br /&gt;
italics. It refers to the translation of &amp;quot;Rabelais,&amp;quot; not the&lt;br /&gt;
Journal.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. E. M. Edmonds will contribute an English edition of&lt;br /&gt;
the &amp;quot;Autobiography of Koloko Kenes,&amp;quot; with an historical&lt;br /&gt;
introduction on the Klephts for Mr. Fisher Unwin&amp;#039;s &amp;quot;Adven-&lt;br /&gt;
ture Series.&amp;quot; His biography of Klugas, the Protomartyr of&lt;br /&gt;
Greece (Longman), has already shown his knowledge of&lt;br /&gt;
kindred subjects.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Oscar Wilde&amp;#039;s story, &amp;quot; The Picture of Dorrin Grey,&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
which constituted the July number of LippincotCs Magazine,&lt;br /&gt;
will shortly be issued as a one volume novel by Messrs.&lt;br /&gt;
Ward and Lock.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Robert Louis Stevenson will shortly issue, through&lt;br /&gt;
Messrs. Chatto and Windus, &amp;quot;Father Damien: an open&lt;br /&gt;
letter to the Kev. Dr. Ande.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
A second edition is ready of Mr. Eustace A. R. Ball&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Mediterranean Winter Resorts.&amp;quot; It is a handbook to the&lt;br /&gt;
principal health and pleasure resorts on the shores of the&lt;br /&gt;
Mediterranean (London, L. Upcott Gill, 170, Strand; and&lt;br /&gt;
Paris, The Galignani Library, 224, Rue de Rivoli).&lt;br /&gt;
The article on &amp;quot;Alexandria,&amp;quot; in Nos. 9 and 10 of Cassell&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Picturesque Mediterranean,&amp;quot; is by Mr. Eustace A. R. Ball,&lt;br /&gt;
who is also the author, under the pseudonym of Evelyn&lt;br /&gt;
Ballantyne, of the article called &amp;quot;The Pit and Its Critic.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Rev. James J. Hillock has issued the third edition of his&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Hard Battles for Life and Usefulness&amp;quot; (Houlston and&lt;br /&gt;
Sons). Crown 8vo. 3*. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
Miss Frances Armstrong begins a story for the young&lt;br /&gt;
called &amp;quot;Changed Lots; or, Nobody Cares,&amp;quot; in the July-&lt;br /&gt;
Number of Newbery House Magazine.&lt;br /&gt;
Miss BIyth&amp;#039;s new story is entitled &amp;quot; Adolphus Etherton ; or,&lt;br /&gt;
the Boy who was Always Amused.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Edric Vredenburg has recently completed a new story&lt;br /&gt;
which will be published in the Weekly Times and Echo,&lt;br /&gt;
beginning January 3rd of next year.&lt;br /&gt;
Mrs. Elizabeth Harcourt Mitchell&amp;#039;s book on Palestine,&lt;br /&gt;
called &amp;quot; Forty Days in Holy Land,&amp;quot; is in the press, and will&lt;br /&gt;
be published by Messrs. Kegan Paul &amp;amp; Co.&lt;br /&gt;
A new edition of Mr. Justin McCarthy&amp;#039;s &amp;quot; History of the&lt;br /&gt;
Four Georges&amp;quot; is being issued by the same publishers.&lt;br /&gt;
Volumes I and II are now ready.&lt;br /&gt;
Esme Stuart commences a new serial tale in the July&lt;br /&gt;
number of the Newbery House Magazine.&lt;br /&gt;
It is now stated that Mr. Christie Murray is not lost at all.&lt;br /&gt;
He has sailed for Samoa vid Sydney with the intention of&lt;br /&gt;
joining Mr. Robert Louis Stevenson.&lt;br /&gt;
The author of &amp;quot;Thoth&amp;quot; (Blackwood), and of &amp;quot; Toxar&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
(Longman) is Professor Nicholson of Edinburgh, a member of&lt;br /&gt;
this Society.&lt;br /&gt;
NEW BOOKS AND NEW EDITIONS.&lt;br /&gt;
Aubyn, St. Alan. A Fellow of Trinity. Chatto and&lt;br /&gt;
Windus. 3 vols. Crown 8vo. (Shortly.)&lt;br /&gt;
Author ok &amp;quot;Thoth.&amp;quot; Toxar, a romance. 1 vol. 6s.&lt;br /&gt;
Longmans.&lt;br /&gt;
BESANT, W. H., D.Sc, F.R.S. Notes on Roulettes and&lt;br /&gt;
Glissettes. Second Edition, enlarged. Messrs. Bell.&lt;br /&gt;
8vo. 5/.&lt;br /&gt;
Collins, M. The Blossom and Fruit: A True Story of a&lt;br /&gt;
Black Magician. Crown 8vo. 2s.&lt;br /&gt;
Conway, H. Martin. Climber&amp;#039;s Guide to Central Alps.&lt;br /&gt;
I vol. 10s. T. Fisher Unwin.&lt;br /&gt;
Conway, W. M. Climbers&amp;#039; Guide to the Central Pennine&lt;br /&gt;
Alps. i8mo. lew.&lt;br /&gt;
Crommelin, May. Midge. Trischler and Co. 6s.&lt;br /&gt;
Dowden, Professor. The Poetry of John Donne. Chap-&lt;br /&gt;
man and Hall.&lt;br /&gt;
Farrar, F. W. The Passion Play at Oberammergau,&lt;br /&gt;
1890. W. Heinemann. 4to. 2s. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
James, C. T. C. The New Faith. 3 vols. 31*. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
Ward and Downey.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;John Strange Winter.&amp;quot; Dinna Forget. Trischler&lt;br /&gt;
and Co. Paper, is. ; cloth boards, Is. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
Kennard, Mrs. G. Matron or Maid: A Novel. Crown&lt;br /&gt;
8vo. 2s. td.&lt;br /&gt;
Lange, F., Ph. D. Elementary German Reader: A Gra-&lt;br /&gt;
duated Collection of Readings in Prose and Poetry.&lt;br /&gt;
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## p. 86 (#110) #############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
86&lt;br /&gt;
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## p. 87 (#111) #############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
87&lt;br /&gt;
NEW BOOKS.&lt;br /&gt;
RABELAIS.&lt;br /&gt;
A New Translation. liy W. F. Smith, M.A., Fellow&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;br /&gt;
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## p. 88 (#113) #############################################&lt;br /&gt;
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## p. 88 (#114) #############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The Society of Authors (Jncorporated).&lt;br /&gt;
PRESIDENT.&lt;br /&gt;
The Right IIon. The LORD TENNYSON, D.C.L.&lt;br /&gt;
Sir Edwin Arnold, K.C.S.I.&lt;br /&gt;
ALFRED AUSTIN.&lt;br /&gt;
ROBERT BATEMAN.&lt;br /&gt;
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WALTER BESANT,&lt;br /&gt;
R. D. BLACKMORE.&lt;br /&gt;
REV. Prof. BONNEY, F.R.S.&lt;br /&gt;
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-&lt;br /&gt;
Hon. Counsel-E. M. UNDERDOWN, Q.C.&lt;br /&gt;
Auditor-Rev. C. H. MIDDLETON-WKAE, F.L.S.&lt;br /&gt;
COMMITTEE OF MANAGEMENT.&lt;br /&gt;
Chairman-WALTER BESANT.&lt;br /&gt;
I&lt;br /&gt;
ROBERT BATEMAN.&lt;br /&gt;
W. MARTIN COYWAY..&lt;br /&gt;
EDMUND Gosse.&lt;br /&gt;
H. RIDER HAGGARD.&lt;br /&gt;
A. G. Ross.&lt;br /&gt;
J. M. LELY,&lt;br /&gt;
Sir FREDERICK POLLOCK.&lt;br /&gt;
Solicitors.&lt;br /&gt;
Messrs. FIELD, Roscoe, &amp;amp; Co., Lincoln&amp;#039;s Inn Fields.&lt;br /&gt;
Secretary-S. SQUIRE SPRIGGE.&lt;br /&gt;
OFFICES.&lt;br /&gt;
4, PORTUGAL Street, LINCOLN&amp;#039;s Inn Fields, W.C.&lt;br /&gt;
Printed for the Society, by HARRISON &amp;amp; SONS, 45, 46, and 47, St. Martin&amp;#039;s Lane, in the Parish of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, in the City&lt;br /&gt;
of Westminster.</td><td>https://historysoa.com/files/original/5/241/1890-07-15-The-Author-1-3.pdf</td><td>publications, The Author</td></tr><tr><td>242</td><td>https://historysoa.com/items/show/242</td><td>The Author, Vol. 01 Issue 04 (August 1890)</td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=%3Cem%3EThe+Author%3C%2Fem%3E%2C+Vol.+01+Issue+04+%28August+1890%29&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;The Author&lt;/em&gt;, Vol. 01 Issue 04 (August 1890)&lt;/a&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015031017927&amp;amp;view=1up&amp;amp;seq=20&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; rel=&quot;noopener&quot;&gt;https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015031017927&lt;/a&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Publication&quot;&gt;Publication&lt;/a&gt;</td><td>1890-08-15-The-Author-1-4</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>89&ndash;102</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=89&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1&quot;&gt;1&lt;/a&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=76&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1890-08-15&quot;&gt;1890-08-15&lt;/a&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>4</td><td></td><td></td><td>18900815</td><td>Vol. I.&ndash;No. 4.]&lt;br /&gt;
:&lt;br /&gt;
AUGUST 15, 1890.&lt;br /&gt;
[Price, Sixpence.&lt;br /&gt;
The Author.&lt;br /&gt;
THE ORGAN OF THE SOCIETY OF AUTHORS&lt;br /&gt;
(INCORPORATED).&lt;br /&gt;
CONDUCTED BY&lt;br /&gt;
WALTER BESANT.&lt;br /&gt;
published for the Society be&lt;br /&gt;
ALEXANDER P. WATT, 2, PATERNOSTER SQUARE,&lt;br /&gt;
LONDON, E.C.&lt;br /&gt;
1890.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 88 (#116) #############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
B Bertan lebt na 1878&lt;br /&gt;
and trousands of lettus.&lt;br /&gt;
Meu Matie, Foad Co.,&lt;br /&gt;
Heee it in as o an one&lt;br /&gt;
Gentlemen.&lt;br /&gt;
... und and I hohe you all&lt;br /&gt;
Thave sur me of your&lt;br /&gt;
do the beach you can for in&lt;br /&gt;
reus, to have a point mended though I have sin the mean&lt;br /&gt;
rough New Horhe Luis&lt;br /&gt;
hier tought acurther of your&lt;br /&gt;
Ito. of the city.&lt;br /&gt;
Ion may like to know that shake - Corrugatia macked C.&lt;br /&gt;
I have made this seu constantly&lt;br /&gt;
. Toe neut know whether&lt;br /&gt;
formue han twenty Ecard,&lt;br /&gt;
que cau hire this testimonial&lt;br /&gt;
time the days of a book of min&lt;br /&gt;
won&amp;#039;t feel as if the pen when&lt;br /&gt;
called &amp;quot;The Autonatop the&lt;br /&gt;
han canied out to much of&lt;br /&gt;
Breakfast talle &amp;quot;1857-8 mutie&lt;br /&gt;
.. any trought and brought back&lt;br /&gt;
last Friday without refrain and&lt;br /&gt;
To much in basiese forms air :&lt;br /&gt;
alway kiho heafect Dalesfachan&lt;br /&gt;
return was enlitted to this&lt;br /&gt;
I have wither with is halfa&lt;br /&gt;
carojicut of ammala tecnce&lt;br /&gt;
dozen or more volumes, a&lt;br /&gt;
Sau, Gunthen Yous turly&lt;br /&gt;
Jance neemba of Enrays the&lt;br /&gt;
Diva Wonotele Homes&lt;br /&gt;
Illustrated Price List will be sent, free and post paid, on application to Mabie, TodD &amp;amp; BARD, 93, CHEAPSIDE, LONDON.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 89 (#117) #############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
flbt Jttttljar.&lt;br /&gt;
(The Organ oj the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly?)&lt;br /&gt;
CONDUCTED BY WALTER BESANT.&lt;br /&gt;
Vol. I.&mdash;No. 4-]&lt;br /&gt;
AUGUST i5, 1890.&lt;br /&gt;
- - [Price Sixpence.&lt;br /&gt;
CONTENTS.&lt;br /&gt;
PAGE 1&lt;br /&gt;
PAGE&lt;br /&gt;
News and Notes&lt;br /&gt;
89 | The Annual Dinner&lt;br /&gt;
90&lt;br /&gt;
NEWS AND NOTES.&lt;br /&gt;
IT has always been our custom to publish the&lt;br /&gt;
proceedings at the annual dinner of the&lt;br /&gt;
Society as a pamphlet, and send it round to&lt;br /&gt;
our members, in order that those unable to be&lt;br /&gt;
present on the occasion may benefit, equally with&lt;br /&gt;
the guests, from the speeches, and may resolve not&lt;br /&gt;
to absent themselves on a future occasion.&lt;br /&gt;
There is a dearth of matter for Literary Notes&lt;br /&gt;
and News in the month of August. The Author&lt;br /&gt;
for this month has therefore been made to consist&lt;br /&gt;
wholly of the proceedings at the dinner. We have&lt;br /&gt;
received communications, which in the natural&lt;br /&gt;
course of events would have been inserted in The&lt;br /&gt;
Author this month, but have decided to delay their&lt;br /&gt;
appearance.&lt;br /&gt;
Several of these are so interesting, and so dis-&lt;br /&gt;
tinctly have reference to our aims and objects that&lt;br /&gt;
it would be the greatest pity to attempt to discuss&lt;br /&gt;
them now.&lt;br /&gt;
It is not fair upon any question of interest to&lt;br /&gt;
submit it to the public&mdash;especially to a public&lt;br /&gt;
largely made up of working litterateurs&mdash;at this&lt;br /&gt;
season of the year.&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;*-&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
Paying for Production.&mdash;Thefollowingcutting&lt;br /&gt;
from some unknown journal was sent to me :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;According to Mr. Besant&amp;#039;s thinking, authors&lt;br /&gt;
should not pay for the printing and publishing of&lt;br /&gt;
their own books.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I am loth to mention names, but I can assure Mr.&lt;br /&gt;
Besant that a great many of our now most popular&lt;br /&gt;
vol. l&lt;br /&gt;
authors did pay for the printing and publishing of&lt;br /&gt;
their first books, including Mr. Besant and his&lt;br /&gt;
clever partner, the late Mr. James Rice.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
This is one of the little paragraphs which contrive&lt;br /&gt;
to tell the truth and to suggest a falsehood.&lt;br /&gt;
It is perfectly false to say that my late partner&lt;br /&gt;
and myself ever were such fools as to &amp;quot;pay for&lt;br /&gt;
production.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
It is perfectly true that with many of our novels&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;certainly the first three&mdash;we chose to print and&lt;br /&gt;
bind the work ourselves, and placed it ready for&lt;br /&gt;
publication in the publisher&amp;#039;s hands. He sold it on&lt;br /&gt;
commission, which, in honest hands, is a very good&lt;br /&gt;
way of publishing a book though it involves some&lt;br /&gt;
knowledge of practical publishing and a good deal&lt;br /&gt;
of trouble. The way to work it is&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
(1) To arrange with a printer and bookbinder.&lt;br /&gt;
(2) Tofind a commission publisher and arrange&lt;br /&gt;
about terms.&lt;br /&gt;
(3) To make the time ofpayment to the printer&lt;br /&gt;
fall at the time of receiving the first&lt;br /&gt;
publisher&amp;#039;s return.&lt;br /&gt;
The advance or prepayment of money is thus&lt;br /&gt;
avoided. What the author risks is the difference&lt;br /&gt;
between the sales and the printers&amp;#039; bills.&lt;br /&gt;
As in the case of those persons who insist on&lt;br /&gt;
publishing what all the respectable houses refuse,&lt;br /&gt;
it is perfectly easy to work in this way, I have&lt;br /&gt;
always been amazed to find that they still fall into&lt;br /&gt;
the trap of so much down towards &amp;quot;cost of pro-&lt;br /&gt;
duction.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
The Committee wish to impress upon members&lt;br /&gt;
of the Society, who are kind enough to interest&lt;br /&gt;
themselves in obtaining new members, that only&lt;br /&gt;
G&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 90 (#118) #############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
90&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
such persons are eligible for membership who have&lt;br /&gt;
at any time published work which may fairly entitle&lt;br /&gt;
them to be described as authors, or those who have&lt;br /&gt;
been or are at present engaged in journalistic work.&lt;br /&gt;
&diams;&lt;br /&gt;
In last month&amp;#039;s issue of The Author by an over-&lt;br /&gt;
sight the names of Professor Max-Miiller and&lt;br /&gt;
Augustine Birrell, M.P., were unfortunately omitted&lt;br /&gt;
from those who have consented to join our Council.&lt;br /&gt;
A document called a Memorandum, in reply to a&lt;br /&gt;
certain pamphlet which is exercising the mind of&lt;br /&gt;
the Society for the Promotion of Christian Know-&lt;br /&gt;
ledge by sweating Christian authors, has been&lt;br /&gt;
received. It shall be published in the September&lt;br /&gt;
number with a few remarks; meantime, it is sufficient&lt;br /&gt;
to say here, that it does not answer a single point&lt;br /&gt;
raised in that pamphlet, that it gives no figures,&lt;br /&gt;
that it explains nothing, that it admits everything,&lt;br /&gt;
and that it ends by denying everything.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
THE ANNUAL DINNER&lt;br /&gt;
OF THE&lt;br /&gt;
INCORPORATED SOCIETY OF&lt;br /&gt;
AUTHORS&lt;br /&gt;
WAS HELD AT &amp;quot;THE CRITERION&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
ON&lt;br /&gt;
Tuesday, July 8th, 1890,&lt;br /&gt;
PROFESSOR JEBB, Litt.D., IN THE CHAIR. &bull;&lt;br /&gt;
TH ERE were about two hundred members&lt;br /&gt;
and guests present at the dinner, amongst&lt;br /&gt;
whom were the following:&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
T. Bailey Aldrich.&lt;br /&gt;
Dr. Allon.&lt;br /&gt;
J. P. Anderson.&lt;br /&gt;
Miss Anderson.&lt;br /&gt;
A. E. Armstrong.&lt;br /&gt;
Alfred Austin.&lt;br /&gt;
James Baker. F.R.G.S.&lt;br /&gt;
W. Balestier.&lt;br /&gt;
E. A. R. Ball.&lt;br /&gt;
A. Barczinsky.&lt;br /&gt;
Mrs. Batty.&lt;br /&gt;
Dr. Beattie-Crozier.&lt;br /&gt;
E. Bechmann.&lt;br /&gt;
A. W. a Beckett.&lt;br /&gt;
Mrs. Belloc.&lt;br /&gt;
Sir Henry Bergne, K.C.M.G&lt;br /&gt;
Oscar Berry.&lt;br /&gt;
Walter Besant.&lt;br /&gt;
Mrs. Walter Besant.&lt;br /&gt;
J. A.-Blaikie.&lt;br /&gt;
Herr Brand.&lt;br /&gt;
C. Brookfield.&lt;br /&gt;
Mrs. Brookfield.&lt;br /&gt;
Oscar Browning.&lt;br /&gt;
General Burton.&lt;br /&gt;
Mrs. Mona Caird.&lt;br /&gt;
A. C. Calmour.&lt;br /&gt;
Mrs. Lovett Cameron.&lt;br /&gt;
William Carey.&lt;br /&gt;
Miss Childar.&lt;br /&gt;
Professor Church, F.R.S.&lt;br /&gt;
P. W. Clayden.&lt;br /&gt;
Mrs. Clifford.&lt;br /&gt;
Miss Clodd.&lt;br /&gt;
Edward Clodd.&lt;br /&gt;
W. Morris Colles.&lt;br /&gt;
F. Howard Collins.&lt;br /&gt;
W. M. Conway.&lt;br /&gt;
Miss Roalfe Cox.&lt;br /&gt;
Mrs. Roalfe Cox.&lt;br /&gt;
Oswald Crawfurd, C.M.G.&lt;br /&gt;
Miss S. Creed.&lt;br /&gt;
Miss May Crommelin.&lt;br /&gt;
A. P. Crouch.&lt;br /&gt;
Miss Curtis.&lt;br /&gt;
Mrs-. Cuthell&lt;br /&gt;
Austin Dobson.&lt;br /&gt;
Mrs. Edmonds.&lt;br /&gt;
Charles Edwardes.&lt;br /&gt;
John Eric Erichsen, F.R.S.&lt;br /&gt;
Professor Michael Foster, F.R.S.&lt;br /&gt;
G. W. Forrest.&lt;br /&gt;
H. Gilzean-Reid, P.I.J.&lt;br /&gt;
Mrs. Gilzean-Reid.&lt;br /&gt;
Dr. Ginsburg.&lt;br /&gt;
Dr. Goodchild.&lt;br /&gt;
Edmund Gosse.&lt;br /&gt;
Mrs. Edmund Gosse.&lt;br /&gt;
Mrs. Egmont Hake.&lt;br /&gt;
Egmont Hake.&lt;br /&gt;
Professor Hales.&lt;br /&gt;
Captain Harding, R.N.&lt;br /&gt;
Henry Harland.&lt;br /&gt;
Isaac Henderson.&lt;br /&gt;
W. L. Hetherington.&lt;br /&gt;
Mrs. Cashel Hoey.&lt;br /&gt;
J. Hollingshead.&lt;br /&gt;
H. M. Holman.&lt;br /&gt;
Miss Eleanor Holmes.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 91 (#119) #############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE&lt;br /&gt;
AUTHOR. ■ 91&lt;br /&gt;
Mrs. Holmes.&lt;br /&gt;
Rev. J. Inches Hillocks.&lt;br /&gt;
Fergus Hume.&lt;br /&gt;
Rev. W. Hunt.&lt;br /&gt;
A. James.&lt;br /&gt;
Mrs. James. (&amp;quot; Florence Warden.&amp;quot;)&lt;br /&gt;
C. T. C. James.&lt;br /&gt;
Jerome K. Jerome.&lt;br /&gt;
Rev. Prebendary Harry Jones.&lt;br /&gt;
Major Jones, R.E.&lt;br /&gt;
Mrs. Charles Jones.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Jones.&lt;br /&gt;
Miss Jones.&lt;br /&gt;
C. F. Keary.&lt;br /&gt;
H. G. Keene, CLE.&lt;br /&gt;
Rudyard Kipling.&lt;br /&gt;
R. B. S. Knowles.&lt;br /&gt;
James Stanley Little.&lt;br /&gt;
L&pound;on Little.&lt;br /&gt;
Mrs. Long.&lt;br /&gt;
E. J. Martyn.&lt;br /&gt;
Campbell McKellar.&lt;br /&gt;
Dr. McKinney.&lt;br /&gt;
Mrs. Middleton-Wake.&lt;br /&gt;
Rev. C. H. Middleton-Wake, F.L.S.&lt;br /&gt;
Mme. Mijiatovich.&lt;br /&gt;
C. Mitchell.&lt;br /&gt;
B. Mitford.&lt;br /&gt;
J. Fitzgerald Molloy.&lt;br /&gt;
A. Montefiore.&lt;br /&gt;
H. J. Montgomery.&lt;br /&gt;
George Moore.&lt;br /&gt;
Mrs. Chandler Moulton.&lt;br /&gt;
H. Naidley.&lt;br /&gt;
Professor Nicholson.&lt;br /&gt;
Rev. W. Robertson Nicoll, LL.D.&lt;br /&gt;
Mrs. Goddard Orpen.&lt;br /&gt;
J. R. Osgood.&lt;br /&gt;
Mrs. Louisa Parr.&lt;br /&gt;
Dr. Parker.&lt;br /&gt;
A. Paterson.&lt;br /&gt;
Mrs. J. Pennell.&lt;br /&gt;
Miss E. Pollock.&lt;br /&gt;
Mrs. Walter Pollock.&lt;br /&gt;
Walter Herries Pollock.&lt;br /&gt;
Sir Frederick Pollock, Bart.&lt;br /&gt;
H. Campbell Praed.&lt;br /&gt;
Mrs. Campbell Praed.&lt;br /&gt;
Geo. Haven Putnam.&lt;br /&gt;
Mrs. Rohlf. (&amp;quot; Anna K. Green.&amp;quot;)&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Rohlf.&lt;br /&gt;
A. Gait Ross.&lt;br /&gt;
R. B. Ross.&lt;br /&gt;
Mrs. Mary Rowsell.&lt;br /&gt;
Mrs. Sala.&lt;br /&gt;
T. Bailey Saunders.&lt;br /&gt;
W. Baptiste Scoones.&lt;br /&gt;
Sydney Scott.&lt;br /&gt;
Professor A. Sedgwick, F.R.S.&lt;br /&gt;
Mrs. William Sharp.&lt;br /&gt;
William Sharp.&lt;br /&gt;
Mrs. Olive Logan Sikes.&lt;br /&gt;
G. R. Sims.&lt;br /&gt;
Dr. Sisley.&lt;br /&gt;
Professor Skeat.&lt;br /&gt;
G. W. Smalley.&lt;br /&gt;
G. Smith.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Crafton Smith.&lt;br /&gt;
Mrs. Crafton Smith. (&amp;quot; Nomad.&amp;quot;)&lt;br /&gt;
Rev. J. Smith.&lt;br /&gt;
Miss S. J. Smith.&lt;br /&gt;
S. S. Sprigge {Secretary).&lt;br /&gt;
Dr. Balmanno Squire.&lt;br /&gt;
Sir John Stainer, Mus. Doc.&lt;br /&gt;
Lady Stainer.&lt;br /&gt;
Captain Stannard.&lt;br /&gt;
Mrs. Stannard. (&amp;quot;John Strange Winter.&amp;quot;)&lt;br /&gt;
James Sully.&lt;br /&gt;
Miss Moy Thomas.&lt;br /&gt;
W. Moy Thomas.&lt;br /&gt;
A. W. Tuer.&lt;br /&gt;
Mrs. Underdown.&lt;br /&gt;
E. M. Underdown, Q.C.&lt;br /&gt;
Edric Vredenburg.&lt;br /&gt;
Arthur Warren.&lt;br /&gt;
A. P. Watt.&lt;br /&gt;
Theodore Watts.&lt;br /&gt;
William Westall.&lt;br /&gt;
Percy White.&lt;br /&gt;
Rev. Henry White.&lt;br /&gt;
Oscar Wilde.&lt;br /&gt;
W. H. Wilkinson.&lt;br /&gt;
Dr. C. J. Wills.&lt;br /&gt;
T. Woolner, R.A.&lt;br /&gt;
At the conclusion of dinner :&mdash;The Chairman&lt;br /&gt;
(in proposing the toast of &amp;quot;The Queen&amp;quot;) said:&lt;br /&gt;
Ladies and gentlemen, the toast which I have the&lt;br /&gt;
honour now to propose to you is ever the first&lt;br /&gt;
where British subjects are assembled, and is ever&lt;br /&gt;
received with sincere loyalty and reverential attach-&lt;br /&gt;
ment,&mdash;sentiments justly inspired by a reign which&lt;br /&gt;
has given to this Empire, in the fullest measure, the&lt;br /&gt;
blessings of constitutional freedom, and which, in&lt;br /&gt;
every sphere of thought and action, has been auspi-&lt;br /&gt;
cious for the fruitful rivalries of peace. (Cheers.)&lt;br /&gt;
I ask you to drink to the health of our most&lt;br /&gt;
gracious Sovereign, the Queen.&lt;br /&gt;
The toast having been duly honoured&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
The Chairman said: Ladies and gentlemen, the&lt;br /&gt;
next toast which I have the honour to propose to you&lt;br /&gt;
is that of the &amp;quot;Incorporated Society of Authors,&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
and I rejoice that I can commence by offering&lt;br /&gt;
congratulations. During the past year, as the&lt;br /&gt;
VOL. I.&lt;br /&gt;
G 2&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 92 (#120) #############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
92&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
Report shows, the prosperity of this Society has&lt;br /&gt;
not only been fully maintained, but has been&lt;br /&gt;
increased in a marked degree. There has been a&lt;br /&gt;
very large accession to the number of members;&lt;br /&gt;
in every sphere of work which the Society has&lt;br /&gt;
entered, it has received fresh encouragement to&lt;br /&gt;
persevere; and amongst the new forms of activity&lt;br /&gt;
which it has developed, there is one which is&lt;br /&gt;
especially deserving of mention. The Society now&lt;br /&gt;
possesses a monthly periodical of its own in a&lt;br /&gt;
journal entitled The Author, which was published&lt;br /&gt;
for the first time in the month of May, and the&lt;br /&gt;
second number of which we have had in June.&lt;br /&gt;
It is an organ for the record and discussion of&lt;br /&gt;
everything that concerns the profession of letters;&lt;br /&gt;
it is also designed to be the medium by which&lt;br /&gt;
the Committee of the Society of Authors may keep&lt;br /&gt;
the other members informed of their proceedings.&lt;br /&gt;
The inception and editing of this Journal is a new&lt;br /&gt;
benefit which the Society owes to a member of its&lt;br /&gt;
Council, to whom it has been indebted for so&lt;br /&gt;
much else&mdash;Mr. Walter Besant. (Cheers.) I&lt;br /&gt;
think one may say that the establishment of this&lt;br /&gt;
Journal is a formal expression of the fact that this&lt;br /&gt;
Society is now the recognised guardian of great&lt;br /&gt;
and constantly growing interests. (Hear, hear.)&lt;br /&gt;
It is well known to all of you that on the list of&lt;br /&gt;
this Society&amp;#039;s members are found some of the&lt;br /&gt;
foremost names in every branch of literature,&lt;br /&gt;
science, and art; and therefore in its corporate&lt;br /&gt;
capacity the Society may claim that representative&lt;br /&gt;
character which the appearance of this Journal&lt;br /&gt;
indicates. (Hear, hear.)&lt;br /&gt;
Literary property is no inconsiderable element in&lt;br /&gt;
the wealth of the nation; and yet hitherto the&lt;br /&gt;
producers of this wealth have, for various reasons,&lt;br /&gt;
been too often careless of their rights, and some-&lt;br /&gt;
times unable to defend them. This Society was&lt;br /&gt;
formed for the purpose of diffusing clearer know-&lt;br /&gt;
ledge regarding the nature and the value of literary&lt;br /&gt;
property, and also for the purpose of adopting all&lt;br /&gt;
possible means which may render such property&lt;br /&gt;
more secure.&lt;br /&gt;
In pursuing these aims there are, broadly&lt;br /&gt;
speaking, two principal provinces of endeavour&lt;br /&gt;
which such a Society as this is called upon to&lt;br /&gt;
enter:&mdash;One is that of the relations which exist&lt;br /&gt;
between authors and publishers; the other is the&lt;br /&gt;
Law of Copyright. As regards the relations which&lt;br /&gt;
exist between authors and publishers, the desire of&lt;br /&gt;
this Society is simply to see those relations placed&lt;br /&gt;
on a thoroughly intelligible and equitable footing&lt;br /&gt;
(hear, hear), a footing equitable for both the&lt;br /&gt;
partners in the joint enterprise. The Society&lt;br /&gt;
w;-&amp;#039; :s to see literary business conducted on prin-&lt;br /&gt;
■ similar to those which regulate business in&lt;br /&gt;
Lther form. Simply to state this is to say&lt;br /&gt;
that this Society has no quarrel whatsoever with&lt;br /&gt;
any honourable publishing firm. (Hear, hear.) On&lt;br /&gt;
the contrary, the work which this Society is attempt-&lt;br /&gt;
ing must be not less welcome to such firms than&lt;br /&gt;
it is to the authors themselves, for that work tends&lt;br /&gt;
to eliminate from the publishing vocation any&lt;br /&gt;
persons who may be likely to discredit it. It also,&lt;br /&gt;
by securing the fruits of his labour to the labourer,&lt;br /&gt;
encourages the deserving, and so seeks to elevate&lt;br /&gt;
the standard of literary produce.&lt;br /&gt;
It is fully and cordially recognised by the mem-&lt;br /&gt;
bers of this Society&mdash;recognised with a pride natural&lt;br /&gt;
to Englishmen&mdash;that the general history of publishing&lt;br /&gt;
in this country has been marked by integrity, in&lt;br /&gt;
many cases by enterprise, and in very many cases&lt;br /&gt;
by generosity. (Hear, hear.) On the other hand&lt;br /&gt;
it is undeniable that many authors are incapable&lt;br /&gt;
of appreciating the merits of a bargain proposed to&lt;br /&gt;
them by a trained man of business who regards the&lt;br /&gt;
matter from a commercial point of view; and it is&lt;br /&gt;
also undeniable that the details of the publishing&lt;br /&gt;
trade have too often been surrounded with a&lt;br /&gt;
needless amount of technical obscurity. (Hear,&lt;br /&gt;
hear, and laughter.) We fully recognize that&lt;br /&gt;
publishing is a useful, it may be a fine art, but we&lt;br /&gt;
deny that it ought to be a mystery. (Hear, hear.)&lt;br /&gt;
Now what have been the principal causes of such&lt;br /&gt;
mystery as has existed? The first cause concerns&lt;br /&gt;
what is termed the cost of production, that is to say,&lt;br /&gt;
of printing a book and introducing it to the public.&lt;br /&gt;
The Society has contributed to the elucidation&lt;br /&gt;
of this subject, which is well within the range of the&lt;br /&gt;
capacity conventionally described as &amp;quot;mean,&amp;quot; by&lt;br /&gt;
publishing a little work for the use of its members,&lt;br /&gt;
called &amp;quot;The Cost of Production.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
The other great cause of the haziness to which&lt;br /&gt;
I have alluded is of a subtler character: it is in&lt;br /&gt;
fact the time-honoured doctrine of &amp;quot;risk,&amp;quot; which&lt;br /&gt;
might be described as the fundamental dogma of&lt;br /&gt;
bibliopolic orthodoxy. The classical adage that&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;books have their fates&amp;quot; has been extended into&lt;br /&gt;
the doctrine that the fate of most books is very&lt;br /&gt;
nearly a toss up, and that, if a publisher has the&lt;br /&gt;
intrepidity to take his chance of heads or tails, such&lt;br /&gt;
heroism deserves a golden reward. (Laughter.)&lt;br /&gt;
Well, we are very far from denying that, down at&lt;br /&gt;
least to the early part of the eighteenth century,&lt;br /&gt;
the business of the publisher was in fact very often&lt;br /&gt;
an extremely hazardous one. But why was it so?&lt;br /&gt;
Because the reading public for most books was&lt;br /&gt;
then comparatively small; because circulation was&lt;br /&gt;
not assisted by such agencies as Book Clubs or&lt;br /&gt;
Literary Institutes; and because, for both those&lt;br /&gt;
reasons, the publisher found it difficult to feel the&lt;br /&gt;
pulse of the book-market. But before the end of&lt;br /&gt;
the eighteenth century a considerable change had&lt;br /&gt;
already occurred in that respect; and at the present&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 93 (#121) #############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
93&lt;br /&gt;
day it is affirmed by competent persons, who have&lt;br /&gt;
investigated the subject, that a publisher very&lt;br /&gt;
seldom indeed brings out a book with the danger of&lt;br /&gt;
losing much by it. A certain margin of uncertainty&lt;br /&gt;
must of course always exist; but the authors of these&lt;br /&gt;
original researches say that theamount of speculative&lt;br /&gt;
element in the publishing trade has been greatly&lt;br /&gt;
exaggerated. And yet how strange, how almost&lt;br /&gt;
pathetic it is to reflect on the large part which this&lt;br /&gt;
dreaded monster &amp;quot;risk&amp;quot; has played in literary&lt;br /&gt;
destinies! There was a time when the average&lt;br /&gt;
author, after receiving from the publisher that&lt;br /&gt;
modest recompense which was appropriate to those&lt;br /&gt;
who ventured nothing, beheld almost with awe the&lt;br /&gt;
publisher pass within the veil, bound for those&lt;br /&gt;
mysterious regions, &amp;quot;farin the unapparent,&amp;quot; where,&lt;br /&gt;
like Hercules or Sir Calidore, he was to meet single-&lt;br /&gt;
handed that appalling bogey &amp;quot; risk,&amp;quot; and to conquer&lt;br /&gt;
or to fall. It must be our best comfort to reflect&lt;br /&gt;
that by far the larger proportion of these daring&lt;br /&gt;
publishers have survived the ordeal. And surely in&lt;br /&gt;
their turn they will permit us to say that writers&lt;br /&gt;
desire a revelation of this monster &amp;quot;risk&amp;quot; which&lt;br /&gt;
shall be less in the manner of Milton and more in&lt;br /&gt;
the manner of Dante. It it not enough for us to&lt;br /&gt;
know that he floats many a rood. We should like to&lt;br /&gt;
have some more exact measure of his dimensions.&lt;br /&gt;
(Laughter.) Before leaving this topic of the relations&lt;br /&gt;
between author and publisher, I would onlyadd that,&lt;br /&gt;
when an author submits to the Committee of this&lt;br /&gt;
Society a proposed but still unsigned agreement with&lt;br /&gt;
a publisher, the Committee does him a service if it&lt;br /&gt;
points out a flaw, but it does him a service also if&lt;br /&gt;
it tells him that there is no flaw&mdash;that he has no&lt;br /&gt;
just grievance, and that he is getting as much as he&lt;br /&gt;
can fairly expect. (Hear, hear.)&lt;br /&gt;
Now I will touch very briefly on the question of&lt;br /&gt;
copyright. As you are aware, the International&lt;br /&gt;
Copyright Act of June, 1886, enables this country&lt;br /&gt;
to enter any International Copyright Union which&lt;br /&gt;
may be established. But before this country can&lt;br /&gt;
do so on equal terms it is desirable&mdash;it is even&lt;br /&gt;
necessary&mdash;that the various existing Acts affecting&lt;br /&gt;
Domestic Copyright should be amended and con-&lt;br /&gt;
solidated. (Hear, hear.) The draft of a Bill for&lt;br /&gt;
that purpose has been prepared by a Committee of&lt;br /&gt;
this Society, of which the chairman is Sir Frederick&lt;br /&gt;
Pollock. (Applause.) As regards International&lt;br /&gt;
Copyright, the case of course in which it most&lt;br /&gt;
directly affects British authors is that of protection&lt;br /&gt;
for their works in the United States. (Hear, hear.)&lt;br /&gt;
It was naturally with a certain feeling of dis-&lt;br /&gt;
appointment that we lately learned that the House&lt;br /&gt;
of Representatives in Congress had thrown out, by&lt;br /&gt;
a majority of 28&mdash;by 126 votes against 98&mdash;the Bill&lt;br /&gt;
which would have afforded such protection. But&lt;br /&gt;
under our disappointment it is no small alleviation&lt;br /&gt;
vol. 1.&lt;br /&gt;
to know that everything that is soundest in American&lt;br /&gt;
opinion deplores that result (hear, hear), and&lt;br /&gt;
anxiously desires a correction of a state of things&lt;br /&gt;
which is felt to be unworthy of a great country.&lt;br /&gt;
(Hear, hear.) The present situation has been&lt;br /&gt;
clearly described in the current number of the&lt;br /&gt;
Fortnightly Review, by Mr. Edmund Gosse. (Ap-&lt;br /&gt;
plause.)&lt;br /&gt;
Among our guests this evening, the educated&lt;br /&gt;
opinion of the United States on this subject is&lt;br /&gt;
represented by some gentlemen who have been&lt;br /&gt;
strenuous supporters of that much-needed measure&lt;br /&gt;
of justice. One among them I may be permitted&lt;br /&gt;
to mention&mdash;one who for a long series of years has&lt;br /&gt;
been an indefatigable worker in that just cause&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. George Haven Putnam. (Applause.) We&lt;br /&gt;
greet him and them, not as the champions of a&lt;br /&gt;
defeated cause, but as the champions of a cause&lt;br /&gt;
which in our hope and belief is destined to no&lt;br /&gt;
uncertain and no distant victory. (Cheers.) The&lt;br /&gt;
true interests of literature in the largest sense&lt;br /&gt;
are always international; and it is a source of&lt;br /&gt;
peculiar gratification to us that our meeting this&lt;br /&gt;
evening should be graced by the presence of a&lt;br /&gt;
representative of the German Society of Letters, to&lt;br /&gt;
whom we offer a respectful and cordial welcome.&lt;br /&gt;
(Cheers.)&lt;br /&gt;
And now, ladies and gentlemen, before I sit&lt;br /&gt;
down, it is my privilege to give you a message,&lt;br /&gt;
which I know you will receive with deep interest&lt;br /&gt;
and gratification. It is from the venerable an&amp;#039;d&lt;br /&gt;
illustrious President of this Society (general cheer-&lt;br /&gt;
ing), whose recent restoration to health has caused&lt;br /&gt;
rejoicing, not only throughout the British Empire,&lt;br /&gt;
but wherever the English language js spoken.&lt;br /&gt;
Lord Tennyson desires to assure you with what&lt;br /&gt;
sincere pleasure he learns of the continued and&lt;br /&gt;
increasing prosperity of this Society, and how glad&lt;br /&gt;
he is to know of the excellent work which it is&lt;br /&gt;
doing, in trying to make literary property more&lt;br /&gt;
secure. (Hear, hear.)&lt;br /&gt;
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the toast of&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The Incorporated Society of Authors.&amp;quot; (Loud&lt;br /&gt;
and prolonged cheering.)&lt;br /&gt;
Sir Frederick Pollock, in acknowledging the&lt;br /&gt;
toast, called attention to the practical work of the&lt;br /&gt;
Society in matters of foreign and colonial copyright,&lt;br /&gt;
and pointed out that the best and most certain way&lt;br /&gt;
to make the Society still more useful to its members&lt;br /&gt;
and to the world of letters, was for the members to&lt;br /&gt;
exert themselves to procure recruits and diffuse&lt;br /&gt;
knowledge of the Society and its operations.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Alfred Austin (in proposing the toast of&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Literature, Science, and Art&amp;quot;) said: Professor&lt;br /&gt;
Jebb, ladies and gentlemen, when somewhat to my&lt;br /&gt;
surprise, and certainly very much above my deserts,&lt;br /&gt;
I was invited by the brilliant and vigorous man of&lt;br /&gt;
c 3&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 94 (#122) #############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
94&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
letters, who is the Chairman of this Society, to&lt;br /&gt;
propose this evening the toast of &amp;quot;Literature,&lt;br /&gt;
Science, and Art,&amp;quot; my first impression was that it&lt;br /&gt;
would be difficult for any man, and for me well&lt;br /&gt;
nigh impossible, to rise to the height of so great a&lt;br /&gt;
task; but on further reflection it occurred to me&lt;br /&gt;
that perhaps I was taking the toast, and myself as&lt;br /&gt;
well, a little too seriously, and I remembered&lt;br /&gt;
that in days less decorous, but perhaps more&lt;br /&gt;
convivial than these, there invariably appeared in&lt;br /&gt;
the programme of a festive evening the toast&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Our noble selves.&amp;quot; Well, sir, in an assembly&lt;br /&gt;
consisting for the most part of men of letters, of&lt;br /&gt;
men of science, and of artists, what after all is the&lt;br /&gt;
toast of &amp;quot;Literature, Science, and Art,&amp;quot; but the&lt;br /&gt;
ancient toast &amp;quot;Our noble selves&amp;quot;? So far as&lt;br /&gt;
science and art are concerned, I almost think that&lt;br /&gt;
toast is superfluous. Science certainly has received&lt;br /&gt;
abundant homage in this way: it has been hailed,&lt;br /&gt;
justly no doubt as the master of the modern world,&lt;br /&gt;
and art too it seems to me, still enjoys the favour&lt;br /&gt;
of princes, and the deference and adulation of critics.&lt;br /&gt;
But I feel sure that literature stands in poorer&lt;br /&gt;
case. Whatever we men of letters may think of&lt;br /&gt;
ourselves, I fancy the present age thinks very little&lt;br /&gt;
of us, most pedple in the present generation it&lt;br /&gt;
seems to me, being of opinion that the writing of&lt;br /&gt;
great works is a thing no longer worth doing, or&lt;br /&gt;
that writing is a thing that anybody can do. In&lt;br /&gt;
the face of such an attitude towards letters, is it&lt;br /&gt;
not natural, nay indeed, is it not necessary to ask&lt;br /&gt;
ourselves the question&mdash;What is literature? But&lt;br /&gt;
the moment we propound that question we find&lt;br /&gt;
ourselves confronted by two principles, two opinions,&lt;br /&gt;
that are a little hard to reconcile. Is literature&lt;br /&gt;
whatever people may choose to write and publish,&lt;br /&gt;
or is it that finer breadth of knowledge, that finer&lt;br /&gt;
spirit of thought, that finer form of expression,&lt;br /&gt;
which, as we all know, is the secret of only a&lt;br /&gt;
minority of those who write? In a word, is&lt;br /&gt;
literature something refined, elevated, fastidious&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
allow me the word exclusive&mdash;or is it on the other&lt;br /&gt;
hand something broad, comprehensive, familiar,&lt;br /&gt;
and in which anyone, if so he chooses, may share?&lt;br /&gt;
The man who in these days seeks to be the&lt;br /&gt;
champion tif exclusiveness, or indeed of superiority&lt;br /&gt;
in any form, sets himself a difficult, an invidious,&lt;br /&gt;
and certainly a most unpopular task. Yet in an&lt;br /&gt;
assembly like this&mdash;an assembly consisting of men&lt;br /&gt;
who are proud of literature, proud of being men of&lt;br /&gt;
letters, and to whom the only patent of nobility&lt;br /&gt;
that they would think of for a moment, is literary&lt;br /&gt;
distinction&mdash;perhaps I may be allowed to add, in&lt;br /&gt;
which, so far as I can observe, any belief in any&lt;br /&gt;
other form of aristocracy, is well nigh dead&mdash;it may&lt;br /&gt;
still be desirable to maintain an aristocracy; it may&lt;br /&gt;
be a natural, but withal a recognisable aristocracy&lt;br /&gt;
of letters. Of course, by &amp;quot;aristocracy,&amp;quot; I mean&lt;br /&gt;
the influence and recognition of what is best, and&lt;br /&gt;
I think that in this age an aristocracy of letters&lt;br /&gt;
might well be maintained. But, sir, if it is to be&lt;br /&gt;
maintained, is it not the fact that it must be imbued&lt;br /&gt;
with a deep reverence for tradition. Whatever&lt;br /&gt;
position we men of letters may occupy in the&lt;br /&gt;
present age, we at least have had great ancestors,&lt;br /&gt;
and the greatness of those ancestors, it seems to&lt;br /&gt;
me, compels us in our turn, whether we succeed or&lt;br /&gt;
whether we fail, at any rate to try to be great, or&lt;br /&gt;
they will reproach us if we fail to do so. But what&lt;br /&gt;
was it that made the distinction of those ancestors?&lt;br /&gt;
Surely it was the manner in which they presented&lt;br /&gt;
their thoughts, the methods by which those great&lt;br /&gt;
writers contrived to insinuate their thoughts at&lt;br /&gt;
once, and to make them abide for ever in the minds&lt;br /&gt;
of men. In a word it was the style, style, which is&lt;br /&gt;
the most aristocratic of all things, because it implies&lt;br /&gt;
absolute self-respect on the part of the writer, and a&lt;br /&gt;
most perfect consideration and deference for those&lt;br /&gt;
whom he addresses; surely without style, before&lt;br /&gt;
these days, no one would have supposed that there&lt;br /&gt;
could have been such a thing as literature at all.&lt;br /&gt;
Nevertheless, I suppose we shall all be of opinion&lt;br /&gt;
that even the claims of style may be pressed too&lt;br /&gt;
far. Everything in this world most readily and&lt;br /&gt;
most rapidly tend to degeneration and to decay,&lt;br /&gt;
and it is conceivable that a select class of writers,&lt;br /&gt;
animated by a passionate attachment to style, may&lt;br /&gt;
end by caring for nothing else.&lt;br /&gt;
Now, substance without form is better than form&lt;br /&gt;
without substance; and is it not possible that in&lt;br /&gt;
our search for that harmony, that common ground,&lt;br /&gt;
of which I spoke, between the champions of easy&lt;br /&gt;
going comprehensiveness on the one side, and&lt;br /&gt;
fastidious exclusiveness on the other side, with&lt;br /&gt;
regard to literature, is it not possible that we may&lt;br /&gt;
now have come upon that very thing of which we&lt;br /&gt;
are in search? The barbarians destroyed the&lt;br /&gt;
Roman Empire, but in that very act they renovated&lt;br /&gt;
the world and sowed the seeds even on the fields&lt;br /&gt;
they devastated, of the love of literature in the&lt;br /&gt;
future. And may we not be seeing at this moment&lt;br /&gt;
something akin&mdash;something analogous? I think&lt;br /&gt;
the masters of style whom I see around me to-night&lt;br /&gt;
will concur in the observation that in this age there&lt;br /&gt;
has been a tremendous irruption of barbarians into&lt;br /&gt;
the domain of literature; but instead of reviling&lt;br /&gt;
them should you not receive them with open arms?&lt;br /&gt;
They bring with them I suppose the modern spirit.&lt;br /&gt;
Their baggage may be sometimes rude and&lt;br /&gt;
occasionally perhaps a trifle scanty ; but at any rate&lt;br /&gt;
it is new and it is their own. Nor do I think there&lt;br /&gt;
is any fear of their overwhelming you, the masters&lt;br /&gt;
of style. At any rale they will not overwhelm you&lt;br /&gt;
permanently nor for ever keep back from mankind&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 95 (#123) #############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR,&lt;br /&gt;
95&lt;br /&gt;
that in you which deserves to be perpetuated and&lt;br /&gt;
when the fear of their onset, the onset of these&lt;br /&gt;
barbarians, has passed away, style, like Shelley&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
cloud, will &amp;quot; silently laugh at its own cenotaph,&amp;quot; and&lt;br /&gt;
changing, but never dying, will arise after a time&lt;br /&gt;
and re-assert its perpetual fascination.&lt;br /&gt;
Therefore I am sure I shall most faithfully carry&lt;br /&gt;
out your behests if in proposing the toast of&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Literature, Science, and Art,&amp;quot; I regard literature&lt;br /&gt;
in no narrow spirit, but in the broadest possible&lt;br /&gt;
signification, heartily sympathising with all those,&lt;br /&gt;
whether they may be masters or apprentices, whether&lt;br /&gt;
poets or novelists, historians or artists, dramatists&lt;br /&gt;
or journalists, who aspire to be regarded as men&lt;br /&gt;
of letters.&lt;br /&gt;
Many of us are of opinion that the state of&lt;br /&gt;
English Society with its infinite variety and easy,&lt;br /&gt;
endless gradations, is the most satisfactory, as&lt;br /&gt;
assuredly it is the most natural that the world has&lt;br /&gt;
ever seen. And is not this infinite variety&mdash;are not&lt;br /&gt;
these easy, endless, elastic gradations represented&lt;br /&gt;
in literature? It is no question of high and low;&lt;br /&gt;
it is no question of superior and inferior; it is only&lt;br /&gt;
a heterogeneous but harmonious company, ani-&lt;br /&gt;
mated by a common animation, and marching on&lt;br /&gt;
to a common end under the banner of a generous&lt;br /&gt;
brotherhood.&lt;br /&gt;
And here, sir, I think I might cease to occupy&lt;br /&gt;
your attention, were it not that 1 find that in this&lt;br /&gt;
toast science and art are coupled with literature,&lt;br /&gt;
and I should gladly testify, however inadequately,&lt;br /&gt;
to the close kinship which subsists between litera-&lt;br /&gt;
ture and science, and between science and art.&lt;br /&gt;
Many persons in these days have expressed grave&lt;br /&gt;
anxiety lest science, with its hard-headed temper&lt;br /&gt;
and practical spirit, should prove to be the enemy&lt;br /&gt;
of literature. Surely, sir, there never was a more&lt;br /&gt;
idle or more unfounded fear. Astronomy, I sup-&lt;br /&gt;
pose, is the oldest of the sciences; but surely the&lt;br /&gt;
definite and helpful discoveries of Kepler and&lt;br /&gt;
Copernicus, or of Newton and Galileo, have in no&lt;br /&gt;
degree diminished the magic and&amp;quot; mystery of the&lt;br /&gt;
stars. But there is a still more helpful relation&lt;br /&gt;
between science and literature. It is more than&lt;br /&gt;
250 years since Harvey published his celebrated&lt;br /&gt;
treatise on the circulation of the blood, but I&lt;br /&gt;
suppose that neither lovers nor men of letters&lt;br /&gt;
discourse less effectively or less fervently about&lt;br /&gt;
the heart than they did in days of old when Helen&lt;br /&gt;
was killed, or Dido was abandoned.&lt;br /&gt;
With regard to the connection between literature&lt;br /&gt;
and art, I prefer that Professor Conway should&lt;br /&gt;
discourse upon that subject. Therefore, ladies and&lt;br /&gt;
gentlemen, I propose to you the toast of &amp;quot; Litera-&lt;br /&gt;
ture, Science, and Art,&amp;quot; coupled with the names of&lt;br /&gt;
Professor Hales, Professor Erichsen, and Professor&lt;br /&gt;
Conway. (Cheers.)&lt;br /&gt;
Professor Hales: Professor Jebb, ladies and&lt;br /&gt;
gentlemen, at this late hour of the night I will&lt;br /&gt;
not waste your time. Though I am sorry that no&lt;br /&gt;
more worthy name than my own could be selected&lt;br /&gt;
to respond to this toast, I thank you sincerely for&lt;br /&gt;
the honour you have done me. One thing strikes&lt;br /&gt;
me forcibly, however. I can imagine the amaze-&lt;br /&gt;
ment with which the authors of the last century&lt;br /&gt;
would have contemplated such a sight as we are&lt;br /&gt;
witnessing here to-night, downright regular authors&lt;br /&gt;
dining in state as wre are dining this evening.&lt;br /&gt;
(Laughter.)&lt;br /&gt;
Projessor John Eric Erichsen: Mr. Chairman,&lt;br /&gt;
ladies and gentlemen, when the history of the&lt;br /&gt;
nineteenth century comes to be written, the future&lt;br /&gt;
Lecky of another generation will have the task&lt;br /&gt;
before him of endeavouring to show the great and&lt;br /&gt;
deep influence that science has exercised during&lt;br /&gt;
the Victorian age, and not in its academic, or so&lt;br /&gt;
to speak, its scientific relations alone, but in all&lt;br /&gt;
that concerns the improvement of the social con-&lt;br /&gt;
ditions and the well-being of man, and in much&lt;br /&gt;
thatconcerns the political and international relations&lt;br /&gt;
of the civilized communities of the world. Every&lt;br /&gt;
century is an epoch or presents an epoch peculiarly&lt;br /&gt;
characteristic of itself in which some dominant&lt;br /&gt;
method of thought has found expression and has&lt;br /&gt;
influenced the feelings and the work of mankind;&lt;br /&gt;
and one may truly say that science in the nineteenth&lt;br /&gt;
century governs that expression. If we compare the&lt;br /&gt;
position of science as it was in the first decade of this&lt;br /&gt;
century with that which it now occupies in the last&lt;br /&gt;
decade, we cannot but be struck with the enormous&lt;br /&gt;
progress that it has made and the enormous&lt;br /&gt;
influence that it is exercising upon all classes and&lt;br /&gt;
all conditions of the community. If we look back&lt;br /&gt;
to what natural and applied science was in the&lt;br /&gt;
earliest period of this century&mdash;in the first decade&lt;br /&gt;
of this century&mdash;and compare it with what it is&lt;br /&gt;
now, we shall be struck with this enormous&lt;br /&gt;
difference&mdash;we shall see that in the early period&lt;br /&gt;
of this century what is called Natural History or&lt;br /&gt;
Zoology was really nothing but a description of&lt;br /&gt;
animals, the collection of stuffed beasts, the&lt;br /&gt;
classification of plants, and the giving, as it was&lt;br /&gt;
somewhat cynically termed, of &amp;quot; barbaric names to&lt;br /&gt;
worthless weeds,&amp;quot; we shall find that more than half&lt;br /&gt;
a century had to elapse before that great doctrine of&lt;br /&gt;
evolution which has exercised so deep an impres-&lt;br /&gt;
sion, not only upon the scientific, but on the&lt;br /&gt;
philosophic and religious thought of this generation&lt;br /&gt;
had been put forward by Darwin. If we look&lt;br /&gt;
at the other natural sciences, and I shall not&lt;br /&gt;
attempt to lead you through them&mdash;we shall&lt;br /&gt;
find the same remarkable fact&mdash;that chemistry,&lt;br /&gt;
which was only getting into the position of a&lt;br /&gt;
science under the guidance of Davy and Wollaslon,&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 96 (#124) #############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
96&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
has now become not the handmaiden but the master&lt;br /&gt;
of every technical art, of every manufacture, and&lt;br /&gt;
has contributed largely to the comfort and happi-&lt;br /&gt;
ness of mankind. We shall find if we look back&lt;br /&gt;
to physical science, greatly advanced as it was,&lt;br /&gt;
that the professors of it had not the remotest&lt;br /&gt;
conception of the enormous strides it was destined&lt;br /&gt;
to take in days antecedent to railways and locomo-&lt;br /&gt;
tives&mdash;still more was it impossible, in the wildest&lt;br /&gt;
dreams of science, to think of locomotives not only&lt;br /&gt;
running along a level plane but ascending moun-&lt;br /&gt;
tain sides, tunnelling through Alpine chains for many&lt;br /&gt;
miles, carried aloft on gigantic structures many&lt;br /&gt;
hundred feet high above arms of the sea, and founded&lt;br /&gt;
upon bases that were buried a hundred feet below&lt;br /&gt;
the surface of the tide. If we look to the other&lt;br /&gt;
sciences, to electricity, for instance, which at that&lt;br /&gt;
period was simply a toy to amuse schoolboys, or&lt;br /&gt;
to instruct the audiences of mechanics&amp;#039; institutes,&lt;br /&gt;
we find now, beating gas as an illuminant, that other&lt;br /&gt;
great power which has been created almost within&lt;br /&gt;
our own time, that it has in the electric telegraph&lt;br /&gt;
connection in every part of the world, that by&lt;br /&gt;
telephone it conveys, not only the voice, but the&lt;br /&gt;
very tones of that voice, to a distance of hundreds&lt;br /&gt;
of miles, that by the phonograph it records on&lt;br /&gt;
almost indelible tablets the accents in which those&lt;br /&gt;
words were spoken. And if we go to other&lt;br /&gt;
departments of Science&mdash;to that with which I&lt;br /&gt;
am the most conversant&mdash;we shall find that by&lt;br /&gt;
those inestimable chemical agencies pain has been&lt;br /&gt;
rendered a thing of the past, that surgery has been&lt;br /&gt;
deprived of its terrors, that procedures which&lt;br /&gt;
appalled the stoutest, the most heroic breast, are&lt;br /&gt;
now submitted to by the most timid person with&lt;br /&gt;
complacency and without a murmur. These great&lt;br /&gt;
triumphs of science are enduring; they are perma-&lt;br /&gt;
nent, and can never be lost to mankind. There is&lt;br /&gt;
no such thing as retrogression in science; science&lt;br /&gt;
never moves in circles, but ever in advance; year&lt;br /&gt;
after year some fresh position is conquered, often&lt;br /&gt;
it is true, after a hot conflict, though happily not a&lt;br /&gt;
sanguinary one; and once having been obtained,&lt;br /&gt;
it is never lost. There is no finality in science.&lt;br /&gt;
Art may be final&mdash;it may be final, if not in its&lt;br /&gt;
conception, at all events in its perfection; but&lt;br /&gt;
science is illimitable alike in its conception and in&lt;br /&gt;
its execution. What oi)r ancestors knew we well&lt;br /&gt;
know, and we know much more than they did.&lt;br /&gt;
What they could&amp;#039;db we can accomplish, and more&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;more than they ever dreamed of accomplishing.&lt;br /&gt;
The same will be the case with our successors&lt;br /&gt;
undoubtedly. They will stand in the same relation&lt;br /&gt;
to us that we now stand in in regard to our&lt;br /&gt;
predecessors.&lt;br /&gt;
Great as the triumphs of science have been, there&lt;br /&gt;
are yet, in all probability, greater triumphs still in&lt;br /&gt;
store for science. Any day may bring forth a&lt;br /&gt;
discovery that may revolutionize the world. We&lt;br /&gt;
are ever on the threshold, as it were, looking over&lt;br /&gt;
boundless plains of research, great fields of know-&lt;br /&gt;
ledge which may yield most fruitful results.&lt;br /&gt;
Whatever may happen in the future, if we may&lt;br /&gt;
judge from the past, we may be sure that nothing&lt;br /&gt;
but benefit from science will accrue to mankind&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
that his social condition will be improved, that his&lt;br /&gt;
intellectual status will be raised, and that he will&lt;br /&gt;
have a wider horizon of knowledge constantly&lt;br /&gt;
spreading before him in the field of science.&lt;br /&gt;
(Cheers.)&lt;br /&gt;
Professor Conway: Ladies and gentlemen, I&lt;br /&gt;
will only detain you for one moment, and during&lt;br /&gt;
that moment I will express my astonishment at&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Art &amp;quot; having been included in this toast. I have&lt;br /&gt;
been debating in my own mind during the course&lt;br /&gt;
of dinner for what reason it has been done, and it&lt;br /&gt;
was not until I heard the words of the Chairman&lt;br /&gt;
with reference to the art of publishing that I under-&lt;br /&gt;
stood why art should be included in our toast list.&lt;br /&gt;
Unfortunately, I am no representative of that art.&lt;br /&gt;
The only art I know is the art of listening, and I&lt;br /&gt;
hoped that I should not have been called upon&lt;br /&gt;
for an after-dinner speech.&lt;br /&gt;
Professor Michael Foster (in the absence of Mr.&lt;br /&gt;
George Augustus Sala) then proposed the toast of&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The Guests.&amp;quot; He said: Mr. President, ladies&lt;br /&gt;
and gentlemen, I am very sorry&mdash;it is not necessary&lt;br /&gt;
for me to say&mdash;that I am not George Augustus&lt;br /&gt;
Sala. Why George Augustus Sala is not here and&lt;br /&gt;
where he may be at the present moment I do not&lt;br /&gt;
know; but I am very sorry that he is not here&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
sorry for those whose health he was about to pro-&lt;br /&gt;
pose, sorry for those who were about to listen to&lt;br /&gt;
him, and sorrowing still more for myself who have&lt;br /&gt;
to put my diminutive feet into his somewhat roomy&lt;br /&gt;
shoes. (Laughter.) Who I am does not, I think,&lt;br /&gt;
concern you to know; it is sufficient to say that I&lt;br /&gt;
belong to a large class, to those who cannot say&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;no&amp;quot; when Walter Besant asks you to do a thing,&lt;br /&gt;
and I do it under circumstances of great difficulty.&lt;br /&gt;
Just before dinner in the room down below, when&lt;br /&gt;
we were expecting the time when the clock would&lt;br /&gt;
strike half-past seven precisely, I was talking to&lt;br /&gt;
one of our distinguished members, and he drew the&lt;br /&gt;
conversation towards speeches after dinner, and I&lt;br /&gt;
thought then that I had no speech before me. I&lt;br /&gt;
do not like to quote his exact words&mdash;in my scien-&lt;br /&gt;
tific memoirs I always quote the exact words of&lt;br /&gt;
authors&mdash;in this assembly I feel a diffidence in&lt;br /&gt;
doing so, but I will give you the effect, and it was&lt;br /&gt;
that instructive speeches after dinner are detestable.&lt;br /&gt;
Now I must unfortunately, be instructive, because&lt;br /&gt;
I have to propose to you &amp;quot;The Guests,&amp;quot; and&lt;br /&gt;
although they are known to all the world they are&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 97 (#125) #############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
97&lt;br /&gt;
not all of them known to all of you. In the first place,&lt;br /&gt;
there is Mr. Gilzean Reid, who is the President of&lt;br /&gt;
the Institute of Journalists, which is a kindred&lt;br /&gt;
Institution with similar aims and identical objects.&lt;br /&gt;
If that is so Mr. Gilzean Reid is not a guest but a&lt;br /&gt;
brother. Then there is the German Society of&lt;br /&gt;
Authors, represented by Herr Brand, who has&lt;br /&gt;
already been referred to by the Chairman, and on&lt;br /&gt;
the principle that bis dat qui cito dat and therefore&lt;br /&gt;
qui bis dat cito dat, the toast will get to him all&lt;br /&gt;
the earlier if I ask you to repeat what has been&lt;br /&gt;
said. Then we come to a whole group which,&lt;br /&gt;
in the instructions that Mr. Walter Besant has&lt;br /&gt;
kindly given me, is spoken of as our American&lt;br /&gt;
friends, and here again I must commit an act of&lt;br /&gt;
reduplication. The first name I have to mention&lt;br /&gt;
is that of Mr. Geo. Haven Putnam, the greatest&lt;br /&gt;
friend of American Copyright. I have further to&lt;br /&gt;
mention Mr. Harry Harvey, who is well known all&lt;br /&gt;
over America&mdash;and perhaps I might venture to&lt;br /&gt;
say in the obscure little island of England&mdash;as&lt;br /&gt;
Sydney Scott. Then there is Mr. Bailey Aldrich,&lt;br /&gt;
an American poet, whom an English poet dares&lt;br /&gt;
to welcome as his guest. Lastly there is Mrs.&lt;br /&gt;
Chandler Moulton, the American poetess, with&lt;br /&gt;
whose poems all of us are familiar. Then I come&lt;br /&gt;
to one of whom, perhaps, though she is last is not&lt;br /&gt;
least Arriving at King&amp;#039;s Cross this afternoon I&lt;br /&gt;
had an opportunity of a hurried word with a lady&lt;br /&gt;
who is not distantly connected with your Chairman.&lt;br /&gt;
I spoke to her of the interest attaching to ladies&lt;br /&gt;
dining in public with gentlemen. She said she&lt;br /&gt;
always thought that ladie s were in the way; she&lt;br /&gt;
then rushed into a cab before I had time to say&lt;br /&gt;
that that way was in all cases a shining way. But&lt;br /&gt;
perhaps Walter Besant will allow me to say that&lt;br /&gt;
with all respect for the great deeds that you have&lt;br /&gt;
done of late, I am inclined to think that the great&lt;br /&gt;
work of this Society of Authors has been that&lt;br /&gt;
they have instituted the practice of ladies dining&lt;br /&gt;
in public with gentlemen. (Applause.) I do not&lt;br /&gt;
know how the ladies have stood the severe baptism&lt;br /&gt;
of smoke, as my friend near me calls it, to which&lt;br /&gt;
they have been subjected; but I trust that in spite&lt;br /&gt;
of that and in spite of the speeches to which they&lt;br /&gt;
have listened and to which they are listening, they&lt;br /&gt;
have passed a pleasant evening. (Hear, hear.)&lt;br /&gt;
Ladies and gentlemen, I propose to you &amp;quot;Our&lt;br /&gt;
Guests,&amp;quot; mentioning particularly the names of Mr.&lt;br /&gt;
Gilzean Reid, the President of the Institute of&lt;br /&gt;
Journalists, Herr Brand, and Mr. George Haven&lt;br /&gt;
Putnam. (Cheering.)&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Giltean Reid: Mr. Chairman, Professor&lt;br /&gt;
Foster, ladies and gentlemen, I can assure you that&lt;br /&gt;
I shall not occupy your attention very long. A&lt;br /&gt;
friend has reminded rae that this is only the three&lt;br /&gt;
hundred and thirty-ninth time that I have responded&lt;br /&gt;
to the toast of the Institute of Journalists, and you&lt;br /&gt;
may rest assured that I am as anxious to get rid of&lt;br /&gt;
it as you are to get rid of me. I must protest&lt;br /&gt;
against being classed as a guest. I may claim in&lt;br /&gt;
one respect to be an author, as I wrote a book&lt;br /&gt;
which had a circulation of 1,400, which was sold to&lt;br /&gt;
the public at 6s., and which brought me the hand-&lt;br /&gt;
some recompense of &pound;2 \2S. 3d. I also wrote&lt;br /&gt;
another book which had a circulation of 100,000,&lt;br /&gt;
and which never brought me a farthing profit. And&lt;br /&gt;
therefore I think I can claim to be one of your-&lt;br /&gt;
selves. We have not present here to-night George&lt;br /&gt;
Augustus Sala, and I always feel that a meeting of&lt;br /&gt;
literary men is defective without his genial sparkling&lt;br /&gt;
picturesque personality, which has added lustre to a&lt;br /&gt;
great profession. (Hear, hear.) Let me say we,&lt;br /&gt;
the Institute of Journalists, are entirely in sympathy&lt;br /&gt;
with the Society of Authors, and you may rest&lt;br /&gt;
assured that we shall continue, as we have been&lt;br /&gt;
doing, to work together for common and bene--&lt;br /&gt;
ficial ends. There are many common ends to&lt;br /&gt;
which we can co-operate, and to which we&lt;br /&gt;
have co-operated with this Society of Authors in&lt;br /&gt;
seeking to promote an equitable distribution of the&lt;br /&gt;
property in literature, and we have agreed to co-&lt;br /&gt;
operate in trying to establish an equitable inter-&lt;br /&gt;
national scheme of copyright, and I hope we&lt;br /&gt;
journalists shall also co-operate in exposing those&lt;br /&gt;
publishers&mdash;for a few still remain&mdash;who, whether&lt;br /&gt;
they be artists or not, know something about being&lt;br /&gt;
artful dodgers. (Laughter.)&lt;br /&gt;
Let me say that our Institute has made consider-&lt;br /&gt;
able progress. A few years ago we had only a&lt;br /&gt;
handful of members; to-day we have between two&lt;br /&gt;
and three thousand; and I can fairly say that our&lt;br /&gt;
membership represents nearly all that is best and&lt;br /&gt;
certainly all that is thoroughly representative in&lt;br /&gt;
Journalism. A friend has hinted here that the times&lt;br /&gt;
have changed. In the days of Queen Anne Acts were&lt;br /&gt;
introduced to restrain and repress and tax news-&lt;br /&gt;
papers. The press of the country was even then&lt;br /&gt;
becoming too powerful for the powers that were.&lt;br /&gt;
But a great change has taken place since that time.&lt;br /&gt;
Within the last few months another monarch,&lt;br /&gt;
good Queen Victoria, has given the journalists of the&lt;br /&gt;
Empire a royal charter, which enables them to define&lt;br /&gt;
their position, to secure privileges, and to establish&lt;br /&gt;
a scheme of administration and education; and we&lt;br /&gt;
shall work on as we have worked with this Society&lt;br /&gt;
of Authors, and other kindred institutions, so that&lt;br /&gt;
we may establish that which will be in truth a real&lt;br /&gt;
and healthy brotherhood of the pencil and the pen.&lt;br /&gt;
(Cheers.)&lt;br /&gt;
Herr Brand: Ladies and gentlemen, I beg to&lt;br /&gt;
thank you for inviting me to this charming assembly&lt;br /&gt;
to-night. I shall not fail to report it in the proper&lt;br /&gt;
quarters, hoping that if any of you were ever to come&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 98 (#126) #############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
98&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
to our assemblies, you would be made to feel welcome&lt;br /&gt;
in the veryheartiest manner as we have been made to&lt;br /&gt;
feel welcome amongst you here to-night. I am afraid&lt;br /&gt;
we could not offer you such a splendid banquet, but&lt;br /&gt;
we would try to make up for that in the extension&lt;br /&gt;
of our festivities. Our annual assembly actually&lt;br /&gt;
extends over three whole days and part of the night&lt;br /&gt;
as well. (Laughter.) It is chiefly devoted to the&lt;br /&gt;
transaction of the business of the Society, but still&lt;br /&gt;
there remains some time left, as there was last&lt;br /&gt;
summer in Frankfort-on-the-Maine, for a festival&lt;br /&gt;
performance at the Opera one night; for an&lt;br /&gt;
excursion to the Rhine; for an excursion to&lt;br /&gt;
Wiesbaden, and for a few other entertainments.&lt;br /&gt;
With those exceptions the time was strictly devoted&lt;br /&gt;
to business. This summer, next month, the gather-&lt;br /&gt;
ing will take place at Breslau, and if any of those&lt;br /&gt;
present here to-night should be there, we shall offer&lt;br /&gt;
them a hearty welcome. (Cheers.)&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. George Haven Putnam: If I remember my&lt;br /&gt;
Scriptures, directly Daniel was able to get safely out&lt;br /&gt;
of the Den of Lions he made a speech; but I do&lt;br /&gt;
not think he was asked to make a speech before he&lt;br /&gt;
got out. (Laughter.) I am conscious of being a&lt;br /&gt;
publisher; however, I am not come here to speak&lt;br /&gt;
these words to-night in the rdle of a publisher; but&lt;br /&gt;
only because my business happens to be associated&lt;br /&gt;
with international copyright. On behalf of the&lt;br /&gt;
associated trades of authors and publishers of the&lt;br /&gt;
United States, who have been doing very hard work&lt;br /&gt;
under circumstances of some little discouragement&lt;br /&gt;
and difficulty, I have to express to this Society&lt;br /&gt;
that it is their fixed intention to carry on that work&lt;br /&gt;
with the hope that in the future international&lt;br /&gt;
copyright will be put in a proper position of&lt;br /&gt;
solidarity, and that the relations of authors and&lt;br /&gt;
publishers will be put on a proper footing. I need&lt;br /&gt;
only say with regard to the work already done, and&lt;br /&gt;
in connection with the discouraging vote in the&lt;br /&gt;
House of Representatives a few weeks back, a great&lt;br /&gt;
deal has been done in the United States. As you&lt;br /&gt;
Englishmen know, we have used English books&lt;br /&gt;
very largely during the last century, and not paid&lt;br /&gt;
for them. A great many of the States have instructed&lt;br /&gt;
their representatives to vote in behalf of authors,&lt;br /&gt;
both English and American, and the middle States,&lt;br /&gt;
and the greater portion of the States of the North&lt;br /&gt;
West, voted solidly in support of that Bill. So that&lt;br /&gt;
we have won over communities, and the work of&lt;br /&gt;
winning over communities will still go on, and will&lt;br /&gt;
not be so long a task as people here dreaded. I&lt;br /&gt;
look forward to the day when all these difficulties&lt;br /&gt;
between authors and publishers will be settled on&lt;br /&gt;
a mutually remunerative basis. Publishers will&lt;br /&gt;
soon I expect have an association of their own, and&lt;br /&gt;
we shall hear of the grievances of publishers against&lt;br /&gt;
authors, and we shall then have our own organs on&lt;br /&gt;
the other side. But these are practically, as between&lt;br /&gt;
honest publishers and honest authors, matters of&lt;br /&gt;
detail. I look forward to the day when authors all&lt;br /&gt;
over the world will be receiving the highest&lt;br /&gt;
remuneration. Then authors will become princes&lt;br /&gt;
of finance, as well as princes of literature.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Oscar Wilde: Ladies and gentlemen, I&lt;br /&gt;
confess that I am of opinion that in the case of&lt;br /&gt;
authors while speech is silver, writing is gold, and&lt;br /&gt;
that on the whole those of us, who claim at all the&lt;br /&gt;
distinction of being men of letters, should not&lt;br /&gt;
get up after dinner and make serious speeches,&lt;br /&gt;
except for the purpose, so necessary in a great re-&lt;br /&gt;
ligious country like England, of conveying in a&lt;br /&gt;
certain popular manner the sense of the tediousness&lt;br /&gt;
of eternity. But on the other hand when I was&lt;br /&gt;
invited by the Committee of this Society to pro-&lt;br /&gt;
pose the health of our Chairman this evening, I&lt;br /&gt;
felt that no incorporated author could attempt to&lt;br /&gt;
draw back. This is, ladies and gentlemen, our&lt;br /&gt;
third banquet. We had first Mr. Bryce, and I&lt;br /&gt;
think it was a privilege to us to have as guest&lt;br /&gt;
on that occasion a man so loved and so honoured&lt;br /&gt;
amongst the people of the largest English-speaking&lt;br /&gt;
country in the world, as Mr. J. Russell Lowell.&lt;br /&gt;
Lord Pembroke, an author and a man of&lt;br /&gt;
culture, and one whose name being so intimately&lt;br /&gt;
connected with English literature, going back in-&lt;br /&gt;
deed to Elizabethan days, conferred distinction&lt;br /&gt;
upon our Society. And to-night we have to wel-&lt;br /&gt;
come as our Chairman Professor Richard Claver-&lt;br /&gt;
house Jebb, who is known, not merely in England,&lt;br /&gt;
but certainly in Germany, France and Holland, and&lt;br /&gt;
everywhere where Greek and Latin literature is&lt;br /&gt;
read, as a scholar and a man of letters. (Cheers.)&lt;br /&gt;
I must confess, sir, if you will allow me to address&lt;br /&gt;
you personally, that I think that you, in confining&lt;br /&gt;
yourself to the wide sphere of University life, have&lt;br /&gt;
chosen the better part. The man of letters, on&lt;br /&gt;
the whole, should live in a University and with&lt;br /&gt;
University surroundings. We have constantly be-&lt;br /&gt;
fore us the irresistible temptations of modern life,&lt;br /&gt;
and now and then a dreadful rumour appears in&lt;br /&gt;
the papers that many of our most popular writers&lt;br /&gt;
are tempted to abandon literature for other things.&lt;br /&gt;
I remember the pang that shot through many of&lt;br /&gt;
us when we read in the Times one morning that&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Walter Besant was going to become a member&lt;br /&gt;
of the County Council. Subsequently there ap-&lt;br /&gt;
peared a statement that Mr. Rider Haggard, de-&lt;br /&gt;
siring to find a fuller scope for the mendacity of&lt;br /&gt;
Allan Quatermain, intended to seek distraction on&lt;br /&gt;
a political platform, and that charming and graceful&lt;br /&gt;
writer, the author of &amp;quot;Obiter Dicta,&amp;quot; has lately&lt;br /&gt;
joined the minority in the House of Commons.&lt;br /&gt;
Yes, sir, you have chosen the better part. A&lt;br /&gt;
scholar&mdash;a man of letters&mdash;should not live in&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 99 (#127) #############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
99&lt;br /&gt;
the turmoil of modern life. With us Ariel&lt;br /&gt;
comes too rarely and Caliban criticizes our books.&lt;br /&gt;
You have written, sir, upon Homer. Alas! in our&lt;br /&gt;
life there is nothing that is Homeric except the&lt;br /&gt;
uncouth Thersites. Sir, we look upon you as one&lt;br /&gt;
who has realized the ideal and as one who has&lt;br /&gt;
devoted himself to literature. When I was at&lt;br /&gt;
Oxford I was always consoled for the extraordinary&lt;br /&gt;
and, as it seemed to me at the time, the deliberate&lt;br /&gt;
dullness of my tutor, by the fact that one could&lt;br /&gt;
loiter in the grey cloisters at morning listening to&lt;br /&gt;
the voices singing, and lie in the garden on the&lt;br /&gt;
grass and see the sunlight reflected on the towers&lt;br /&gt;
and gilded panes, or wander up the staircase of&lt;br /&gt;
Christ Church beneath its vaulted ceilings, and&lt;br /&gt;
stroll across the College of St. John&amp;#039;s and see the&lt;br /&gt;
house that Laud built for his pleasure. You, sir,&lt;br /&gt;
have surroundings no less lovely and beautiful;&lt;br /&gt;
and those are the surroundings that a man of&lt;br /&gt;
letters should have. Nor is it a question of sur-&lt;br /&gt;
roundings merely. The great eras in English&lt;br /&gt;
literature have been those when the Universities&lt;br /&gt;
have been in immediate touch with the literature&lt;br /&gt;
of the times; one imperishable thing we have in&lt;br /&gt;
our literature&mdash;the work of Milton, which shows&lt;br /&gt;
what I mean.&lt;br /&gt;
I remember, sir, having the pleasure some years&lt;br /&gt;
ago of reading a book of yours upon the Attic&lt;br /&gt;
orators, a book, I need hardly say, distinguished&lt;br /&gt;
by the highest scholarship j and in those days&lt;br /&gt;
it seemed that the literary man was also able&lt;br /&gt;
to make a speech. I am inclined to think that&lt;br /&gt;
now that is the one thing we should never do.&lt;br /&gt;
But as I have touched upon the definite work&lt;br /&gt;
that you have done, not merely for your own&lt;br /&gt;
University, but for all of us, allow me to remind&lt;br /&gt;
the company present of other things you have done&lt;br /&gt;
also. That great scholar, Richard Bentley, seems&lt;br /&gt;
to me to have left the mantle of his critical insight&lt;br /&gt;
to that scholar who now holds the position of Regius&lt;br /&gt;
Professor of Greek in the University of Cambridge,&lt;br /&gt;
and who has written a monograph on his great&lt;br /&gt;
predecessor that is a little masterpiece of style and&lt;br /&gt;
method. It is said sometimes of those scholars who&lt;br /&gt;
deal critically with minute work that they deal merely&lt;br /&gt;
with words. Sometimes I think that words are&lt;br /&gt;
the only reality, and I wish that the English critics&lt;br /&gt;
whom we have now working amongst us would&lt;br /&gt;
expend upon the linguistic criticism of the English&lt;br /&gt;
language one-twentieth part of the care and trouble&lt;br /&gt;
that a scholar of Oxford or Cambridge gives to the&lt;br /&gt;
language of the Greek or the Roman. What is the&lt;br /&gt;
mission of criticism but to preserve language pure&lt;br /&gt;
and uncorrupted, to test every new intruder, to keep&lt;br /&gt;
the old words from getting old-fashioned, and to&lt;br /&gt;
always keep before the eyes of the writer that language&lt;br /&gt;
is precious material. Our ordinary books have passed&lt;br /&gt;
into uncouth realism or into what is not literature at&lt;br /&gt;
all, and when one remembers what the Universities&lt;br /&gt;
do for us in keeping alive the Greek and Latin lan-&lt;br /&gt;
guages and Greek and Latin modes of thought, and&lt;br /&gt;
then takes up some ordinary and possibly evening&lt;br /&gt;
newspaper, one is tempted to think that the only&lt;br /&gt;
dead language is the English language. (Laughter.)&lt;br /&gt;
And finally, sir, you will allow me to remind the&lt;br /&gt;
audience of authors who are present here to-night&lt;br /&gt;
that your work is not merely confined to perfect&lt;br /&gt;
scholarship, to the delicate traditions of the most&lt;br /&gt;
perfect literature of the world, but that by your quick&lt;br /&gt;
insight into modern culture you have been the link&lt;br /&gt;
between the life of our own time and the life of&lt;br /&gt;
the Greek; and that you yourself have also con-&lt;br /&gt;
tributed to modern literature a work that no one&lt;br /&gt;
would ever dream of parting with&mdash;that beautiful&lt;br /&gt;
translation of Sophocles that enables us to hear&lt;br /&gt;
the imaginative voice of music that once stirred&lt;br /&gt;
the people of Athens. There is an Italian proverb&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;tradittori traduttori.&amp;quot; I think the translation of&lt;br /&gt;
the work of the creator of CEdipus Tyrannos shows,&lt;br /&gt;
so far as we are concerned, that our withers are&lt;br /&gt;
unwrung. There have been beautiful translations&lt;br /&gt;
in verse of Greek and Latin things and one, a gentle&lt;br /&gt;
and most courteous man of letters, Lord Carnarvon,&lt;br /&gt;
whose death we all deplore, did recently into verse&lt;br /&gt;
a translation of the &amp;quot;Odyssey,&amp;quot; but your transla-&lt;br /&gt;
tion, sir, is a classic. And so, sir, let me felicitate&lt;br /&gt;
you in that you have chosen the better part: let&lt;br /&gt;
me felicitate the University that has had so dis-&lt;br /&gt;
tinguished a son: let me felicitate the Society of&lt;br /&gt;
Authors in that we have as our Chairman one who&lt;br /&gt;
is not only a perfect scholar but also a brilliant man&lt;br /&gt;
of letters.&lt;br /&gt;
Ladies and gentlemen, I ask you to drink to the&lt;br /&gt;
Chairman of the evening. (Loud cheers.)&lt;br /&gt;
The Chairman: Let me ask permission to&lt;br /&gt;
thank you most sincerely for the kind words&lt;br /&gt;
you have spoken, words which I felt to be most&lt;br /&gt;
deeply sympathetic, and to thank this distinguished&lt;br /&gt;
company for the very kind manner in which those&lt;br /&gt;
words have been received.&lt;br /&gt;
Allow me simply to say from my heart that it&lt;br /&gt;
has been felt by me as the greatest possible honour&lt;br /&gt;
and pleasure to be here this evening. I thank&lt;br /&gt;
you.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 100 (#128) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
IOO&lt;br /&gt;
AD VER TISEMENTS.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;THE LITERARY HAflDJKAID OF THE&lt;br /&gt;
CHURCH-&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
HENRY GLAISHER, 95, STRAND. Price ONE SHILLING.&lt;br /&gt;
NOW READY.&lt;br /&gt;
This pamphlet is a reply to the invitation issued by the Publication Committee of the Society for&lt;br /&gt;
the Promotion of Christian Knowledge in their Report of last year, for any suggestions, which they &amp;quot;will&lt;br /&gt;
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of the Church of England throughout the world.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
The suggestions offered in these pages contain, first, some of the elementary principles which guide&lt;br /&gt;
honourable men in the administration of literary property. The writer next advances three cases, as&lt;br /&gt;
illustrating the methods adopted by the Society. A copy of this pamphlet will be sent to any member of&lt;br /&gt;
the Society by application to the Office, including two postage stamps.&lt;br /&gt;
THE METHODS OF PUBLICATION.&lt;br /&gt;
BY S. S. SPRIGGE, B.A.&lt;br /&gt;
READY IN OCTOBER.&lt;br /&gt;
This book, compiled mainly from documents in the office of the Society of Authors, is intended to&lt;br /&gt;
show a complete conspectus of all the various methods of publication with the meaning of each; that is to&lt;br /&gt;
say, the exact concessions to publishers and the reservation of the owner and author of the work. The&lt;br /&gt;
different frauds which arise out of these methods form a necessary part of the book. Nothing is advanced&lt;br /&gt;
which has not been proved by the experience of the Society.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 101 (#129) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
ADVER TISEMENTS.&lt;br /&gt;
101&lt;br /&gt;
NEW BOOKS.&lt;br /&gt;
A New Translation. By W. F. Smith, M.A., Fellow&lt;br /&gt;
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RAREI AIQ I t0 ^e historical aspect of the book, and&lt;br /&gt;
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Prospectus giving full details and ail information to be had on&lt;br /&gt;
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A BOOK NECESSARY TO EVERY AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
SLANG AND ITS ANALOGUES &mdash; Past and&lt;br /&gt;
Present. By John S. Farmer, Author of &amp;quot;Americanisms&mdash;Old&lt;br /&gt;
and New/&amp;#039; sc. A new and absolutely unique Slang Dictionary.&lt;br /&gt;
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of the Heterodox Speech of all Classes of Society for more than&lt;br /&gt;
300 years, the whole presenting a Curious Picture of Social Life&lt;br /&gt;
and Manners of the English People.&lt;br /&gt;
Notes and Queries says&mdash;&amp;#039;* For the first time in a dictionary the subject&lt;br /&gt;
of V. ntflish slang is seriously treated. Recent works have been catchpennies,&lt;br /&gt;
and Mr, Farmer is the first to treat the subject of slang In a manner com.&lt;br /&gt;
mensuratc with its importance. . . . Very full is Mr. Farmer&amp;#039;s list, the&lt;br /&gt;
first volume extending to over four hundred double columned pages. . . .&lt;br /&gt;
His book commends itself warmly to our readers, and its progress cannot be&lt;br /&gt;
otherwise than interesting. As it is issued in a limited edition it can scarcely&lt;br /&gt;
fail of becoming a prized possession.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Prospectus and all information to be hadfrom the Publisher.&lt;br /&gt;
AMERICANISMS: OLD AND NEW. By John&lt;br /&gt;
S. Farmer. In 1 vol. Foolscap ato, printed in antique style, and&lt;br /&gt;
bound in vellum. &pound;2 2s.&lt;br /&gt;
A book for the library, desk, or general reading; for journalists.&lt;br /&gt;
Members of Parliament, public speakers, and all professional men. It is&lt;br /&gt;
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derivation, meaning, and application.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Certainly the best and complctest dictionary of Americanisms at&lt;br /&gt;
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THREE NEW BOOKS ON THE&lt;br /&gt;
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NORTHERN AJLUN, &amp;quot;Within the Decapolis,&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 102 (#130) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
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W. J. RICHARDSON &amp;amp; Co, 12 &amp;amp; 14, Queen Victoria St., E.C.&lt;br /&gt;
40, North John Street, Liverpool; 22, Renfleld Street, Glasgow; Guardian Building,&lt;br /&gt;
Manchester; Exchange Building, Cardiff; 385, Little Collins Street, Melbourne.&lt;br /&gt;
PUBLICATIONS OF THE SOCIETY.&lt;br /&gt;
1. The Annual Report. That for January, 1890, can be had on application to the Secretary.&lt;br /&gt;
2. The Author. A Monthly Journal devoted especially to the protection and maintenance ot&lt;br /&gt;
Literary Property. Issued to all members.&lt;br /&gt;
3. The Grievances of Authors. (Field &amp;amp; Tuer.) 2*. The Report of three Meetings on the&lt;br /&gt;
general subject of Literature and its defence, held at Willis&amp;#039;s Rooms, March, 1887.&lt;br /&gt;
4. Literature and the Pension List. By W. Morris Colles, Barrister-at-Law. (Henry&lt;br /&gt;
Glaisher, 95, Strand, W.C.) 4s. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
5. The History of the Socie&amp;quot;te&amp;quot; des Gens de Lettres. By S. Squire Sprigge, Secretary to the&lt;br /&gt;
Society, is.&lt;br /&gt;
6. The Cost of Production. In this work specimens are given of the most important forms of&lt;br /&gt;
type, size of page, &amp;amp;c, with estimates showing what it costs to produce the more common kinds&lt;br /&gt;
of books. The work is printed for members of the Society only. 2s. 6d. (A new Edition&lt;br /&gt;
preparing.)&lt;br /&gt;
7. The Various Methods of Publication. By S. Squire Sprigge. In this work, compiled&lt;br /&gt;
from the papers in the Society&amp;#039;s offices, the various kinds of agreements proposed by Publishers&lt;br /&gt;
to Authors are examined, and their meaning carefully explained, with an account of the various&lt;br /&gt;
kinds of fraud which have been made possible by the different clauses in their agreements. The&lt;br /&gt;
book is nearly ready, and will be issued as soon as possible.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Other works bearing on the Literary Profession will follow.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 102 (#132) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
REMINGTON&lt;br /&gt;
STANDARD TYPEWRITER.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
From&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
No more writer&amp;#039;s cramp.&lt;br /&gt;
No more round shoulders.&lt;br /&gt;
ra&lt;br /&gt;
CHARLES SCRIBNER&amp;#039;S SONS,&lt;br /&gt;
New York, Publishers.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The value of having MSS.&lt;br /&gt;
copied by the Typewriter is so&lt;br /&gt;
evident that it is hardly necessary&lt;br /&gt;
to advise authors to use the&lt;br /&gt;
Typewriter for preparing copy for&lt;br /&gt;
the printer.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
No more late hours.&lt;br /&gt;
No more delayed correspondence&lt;br /&gt;
No more illegible letters.&lt;br /&gt;
SAVES COST OF PRINTER&amp;#039;S PROOF.&lt;br /&gt;
Apply for Price List and particulars to Sole London Office-&lt;br /&gt;
WYCKOFF, SEAMANS &amp;amp; BENEDICT,&lt;br /&gt;
100, GRACECHURCH STREET, E.C.&lt;br /&gt;
Branch Offices,&lt;br /&gt;
MANCHESTER : 8, MOULT STREET.&lt;br /&gt;
LIVERPOOL: CENTRAL BUILDINGS, NORTH JOHN STREET.&lt;br /&gt;
BIRMINGHAM : 88, COLMORE ROW.&lt;br /&gt;
Printed for the Society, by HARRISON &amp;amp; SONS, 45, 46, and 47, St. Martin&amp;#039;s Lane, in the Parish of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, in the City&lt;br /&gt;
of Westminster.</td><td>https://historysoa.com/files/original/5/242/1890-08-15-The-Author-1-4.pdf</td><td>publications, The Author</td></tr><tr><td>243</td><td>https://historysoa.com/items/show/243</td><td>The Author, Vol. 01 Issue 05 (September 1890)</td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=%3Cem%3EThe+Author%3C%2Fem%3E%2C+Vol.+01+Issue+05+%28September+1890%29&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;The Author&lt;/em&gt;, Vol. 01 Issue 05 (September 1890)&lt;/a&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015031017927&amp;amp;view=1up&amp;amp;seq=20&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; rel=&quot;noopener&quot;&gt;https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015031017927&lt;/a&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Publication&quot;&gt;Publication&lt;/a&gt;</td><td>1890-09-15-The-Author-1-5</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>105&ndash;128</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=89&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1&quot;&gt;1&lt;/a&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=76&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1890-09-15&quot;&gt;1890-09-15&lt;/a&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>5</td><td></td><td></td><td>18900915</td><td>Vol. I.-- No. 5.].&lt;br /&gt;
SEPTEMBER 15, 1890.&lt;br /&gt;
[Price, Sixpence.&lt;br /&gt;
The Author.&lt;br /&gt;
THE ORGAN OF THE SOCIETY OF AUTHORS&lt;br /&gt;
(INCORPORATED).&lt;br /&gt;
CONDUCTED BY&lt;br /&gt;
WALTER BESANT.&lt;br /&gt;
Published for the Society Be&lt;br /&gt;
ALEXANDER P. WATT, 2, PATERNOSTER SQUARE,&lt;br /&gt;
LONDON, E.C.&lt;br /&gt;
1890.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 102 (#134) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
ADVERTISEMENTS.&lt;br /&gt;
Why is &ldquo;Vinolia&amp;quot; Soap&lt;br /&gt;
FREE FROM THE EVILS&lt;br /&gt;
OF OTHER TOILET SOAPS?&lt;br /&gt;
wwwwwwwwwwwww&lt;br /&gt;
After careful investigation, the highest authority on Soaps, Dr. ALDER WRIGHT, F.R.S.,&lt;br /&gt;
reports as follows:--&lt;br /&gt;
FIRST.&lt;br /&gt;
INGREDIENTS PUREST. &amp;quot;The ingredients are of excellent quality for the manufacture of a first-class soap.&lt;br /&gt;
SECOND.&lt;br /&gt;
PATENT PROCESSES. &ldquo;The process is carried out in such a way as to render the products wholly free from all surplus&lt;br /&gt;
uncombined alkaline matter, and therefore incapable of acting on tender skins, in the injurious and objection-&lt;br /&gt;
able fashion exhibited by most kinds of ordinary soap.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
THIRD.&lt;br /&gt;
Extra CREAM.&lt;br /&gt;
&ldquo;A further amelioration is also effected by the incorporation with the soap of extra fatty matter, well&lt;br /&gt;
calculated to soften the skin, and diminish the tendency to irritation sometimes caused in very tender&lt;br /&gt;
subjects by even the Purest of Ordinary Soaps.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
FOURTH.&lt;br /&gt;
DELICATE SCENT. &amp;quot; Vinolia&amp;#039; Soap is Delicately Scented, and wholly free from poisonous Metallic Colouring&lt;br /&gt;
Matters.&rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;
An overwhelming Proof that it is without any rival whatever is this:--&lt;br /&gt;
o IT IS THE SOAP OF THE MEDICAL PROFESSION.&lt;br /&gt;
OF ALL CHEMISTS. SAMPLES FORWARDED POST FREE ON RECEIPT OF THREE PENNY STAMPS.&lt;br /&gt;
PRICES:-VINOLIA SOAP, Floral, 6d. ; Medical (Balsamic), 8d.; and Toilet (Otto of Rose), rod. per Tablet. VINOLIA SHAVING&lt;br /&gt;
SOAP, Is., IS. 6d., and zs. 6d. per Stick, and Flat Cakes in Porcelain-lined metal boxes, 2s. VINOLIA CREAM (a Plastic Emollient&lt;br /&gt;
Cream for the Skin in Health and Disease ; for Itching, Eczema, Sunburn, Roughness, &amp;amp;c.), is, ed., 35. 6d., and 6s. per Box. VINOLIA&lt;br /&gt;
POWDER (a Soothing, Soluble, Rose Dusting Powder, for the Toilet, Nursery, Skin Irritation, &amp;amp;c.), in Pink, White, and Cream,&lt;br /&gt;
IS. 9d., 35. 6d. and 6s. per box.&lt;br /&gt;
BLONDEAU ET CIE., RYLAND ROAD, LONDON, N.W.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 103 (#135) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The Society of Authors (Incorporated).&lt;br /&gt;
PRESIDENT.&lt;br /&gt;
THE Right Hon. THE LORD TENNYSON, D.C.L.&lt;br /&gt;
SIR EDWIN ARNOLD, K.C.S.I.&lt;br /&gt;
ALFRED AUSTIN.&lt;br /&gt;
Robert BATEMAN.&lt;br /&gt;
SIR HENRY BERGNE.&lt;br /&gt;
WALTER BESANT.&lt;br /&gt;
R. D. BLACKMORE.&lt;br /&gt;
Rev, PROF. BONNEY, F.R.S.&lt;br /&gt;
LORD BRABOURNE.&lt;br /&gt;
JAMES BRYCE.&lt;br /&gt;
P. W. CLAYDEN.&lt;br /&gt;
J. COMYNS CARR.&lt;br /&gt;
EDWARD CLODD.&lt;br /&gt;
W. MARTIN CONWAY.&lt;br /&gt;
MARION CRAWFORD.&lt;br /&gt;
OSWALD CRAWFURD.&lt;br /&gt;
THE EARL OF DESART.&lt;br /&gt;
A. W. DUBOURG.&lt;br /&gt;
ERIC ERICHSEN, F.R.S.&lt;br /&gt;
ProF. MICHAEL FOSTER, F.R.S.&lt;br /&gt;
HERBERT GARDNER, M.P.&lt;br /&gt;
RICHARD GARNETT, LL.D.&lt;br /&gt;
COUNCIL.&lt;br /&gt;
EDMUND Gosse.&lt;br /&gt;
H. RIDER HAGGARD.&lt;br /&gt;
THOMAS HARDY.&lt;br /&gt;
PROF. E. RAY LANKESTER, F.R.S.&lt;br /&gt;
Rev. W. J. Lortie, F.S.A.&lt;br /&gt;
GEORGE MEREDITH.&lt;br /&gt;
HERMAN C. MERIVALE.&lt;br /&gt;
J. C. PARKINSON.&lt;br /&gt;
THE EARL OF PEMBROKE AND MONTGOMERY.&lt;br /&gt;
SIR FREDERICK POLLOCK, BART., LL.D.&lt;br /&gt;
WALTER Herries Pollock.&lt;br /&gt;
A. G. Ross.&lt;br /&gt;
GEORGE AUGUSTUS SALA.&lt;br /&gt;
W. BAPTISTE SCOONES.&lt;br /&gt;
G. R. Sims.&lt;br /&gt;
J. J. STEVENSON.&lt;br /&gt;
JAS. SULLY.&lt;br /&gt;
WILLIAM Moy THOMAS.&lt;br /&gt;
H. D. Traill, D.C.L.&lt;br /&gt;
EDMUND YATES.&lt;br /&gt;
Hon. Counsel-E. M. UNDERDOWN, Q.C.&lt;br /&gt;
Auditor-Rev. C. H. MIDDLETON-WAKE, F.L.S.&lt;br /&gt;
ROBERT BATEMAN.&lt;br /&gt;
W. MARTIN CONWAY.&lt;br /&gt;
COMMITTEE OF MANAGEMENT.&lt;br /&gt;
Chairman-Walter BESANT.&lt;br /&gt;
EDMUND Gosse.&lt;br /&gt;
H. Rider HAGGARD.&lt;br /&gt;
A. G. Ross.&lt;br /&gt;
J. M. LELY.&lt;br /&gt;
Sir FREDERICK POLLOCK.&lt;br /&gt;
Solicitors.&lt;br /&gt;
Messrs. FIELD, Roscoe, &amp;amp; Co., Lincoln&amp;#039;s Inn Fields.&lt;br /&gt;
Secretary&ndash;S. SQUIRE SPRIGGE.&lt;br /&gt;
OFFICES.&lt;br /&gt;
4, PORTUGAL STREET, LINCOLN&amp;#039;s Inn Fields, W.C.&lt;br /&gt;
VOL. I.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 104 (#136) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
104&lt;br /&gt;
ADVERTISEMENTS,&lt;br /&gt;
1. Bertan, Sept nyt 1878&lt;br /&gt;
Men. Marie, Todd &amp;amp; lo.&lt;br /&gt;
Gentleman,&lt;br /&gt;
- Thave seur me of your&lt;br /&gt;
Reus, to have a paina mended&lt;br /&gt;
through Men. Hochen, Leurs&lt;br /&gt;
Ito. of Mencity.&lt;br /&gt;
For may like to know that&lt;br /&gt;
Shune had tri fen Cmitute&lt;br /&gt;
formue han twenty years,&lt;br /&gt;
rune the days of a book of men&lt;br /&gt;
called&amp;quot; The Autorahas the&lt;br /&gt;
Breckfact tere 1857-8 mute&lt;br /&gt;
last Friday without retain and&lt;br /&gt;
alway with herfect Dalesjacken&lt;br /&gt;
I have written with is halfa&lt;br /&gt;
dozen arimare volumes, a&lt;br /&gt;
Tance neember of Enneps to&lt;br /&gt;
auce reusands of letters.&lt;br /&gt;
Tere bir as of an ole&lt;br /&gt;
rence and I hohe yeu ance&lt;br /&gt;
do the beat you can for it&lt;br /&gt;
Though I have in the meci&lt;br /&gt;
Hier bought austan of qui&lt;br /&gt;
mate&amp;#039; corrugała? mashed C.&lt;br /&gt;
- The net know whether&lt;br /&gt;
que crue fire this testimonial,&lt;br /&gt;
hor&amp;#039;s feel as if the free which&lt;br /&gt;
han Casies out to much of&lt;br /&gt;
may throught and brought back&lt;br /&gt;
To much in various forms in&lt;br /&gt;
return was enlithed to this&lt;br /&gt;
Carlisicut of hionnaha seccica&lt;br /&gt;
Sau, Centhum Yorus terly&lt;br /&gt;
Mica Wendell Hemed&lt;br /&gt;
ILLUSTRATED Price List will be sent, free and post paid, on application to Mabie, Todd &amp;amp; BARD, 93, CHEAPSIDE, LONDON.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 105 (#137) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
(The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly.)&lt;br /&gt;
CONDUCTED BY WALTER BESANT.&lt;br /&gt;
Vol. I.&mdash;No. 5.] SEPTEMBER 15, 1890. [Price Sixpence.&lt;br /&gt;
C O N T&lt;br /&gt;
PAGE&lt;br /&gt;
News and Notes ~ 105&lt;br /&gt;
The Poet&amp;#039;s Seat: An Idyll of the Suburbs. By Austin Dobson ... 111&lt;br /&gt;
English Authors and the Colonial Book Market in&lt;br /&gt;
A Hard Case, No. IV 114&lt;br /&gt;
A Society of Authors for America 115&lt;br /&gt;
An Author&amp;#039;s Home &amp;quot;8&lt;br /&gt;
The Word &amp;quot; Slang.&amp;quot; By Charles G. Leland 119&lt;br /&gt;
Go Slow. By H. G. Keene 110&lt;br /&gt;
NEWS AND NOTES.&lt;br /&gt;
IHOPE that readers of The Author&amp;#039;will regard&lt;br /&gt;
with favour the arrangement of last month&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
number, which contained nothing but the&lt;br /&gt;
Report of the Dinner and the speeches pronounced&lt;br /&gt;
on that occasion. For my own part I would gladly&lt;br /&gt;
have a close season for magazines, journals, and&lt;br /&gt;
new books of every kind. It would do the world&lt;br /&gt;
every kind of good to rest from ephemerals during&lt;br /&gt;
the months of August and September. There is&lt;br /&gt;
plenty of old literature to read: no one can read&lt;br /&gt;
anything like the number of good things that&lt;br /&gt;
come out. If we would only rest! In a sense we&lt;br /&gt;
do. The summer is the season for publishing in&lt;br /&gt;
the magazines the papers which nobody cares to&lt;br /&gt;
read. How if there were no publications at all ?&bull;&lt;br /&gt;
The Authors&amp;#039; Dinner I regard as chiefly valuable&lt;br /&gt;
because it is the only function in which authors, as&lt;br /&gt;
a body, have ever come together. It is difficult to&lt;br /&gt;
manage; it causes little frictions of the moment;&lt;br /&gt;
there is always the usual excuse from the man you&lt;br /&gt;
want most to get. He who is best qualified to speak&lt;br /&gt;
on this or that point is sure to be ill or absent. Yet&lt;br /&gt;
with all these difficulties we have met for the third&lt;br /&gt;
time, and we have met very successfully in increas-&lt;br /&gt;
ing numbers. Would it be possible, or would it be&lt;br /&gt;
better for us&mdash;in our own interests&mdash;to meet in any&lt;br /&gt;
other way? A conference has been suggested, or a&lt;br /&gt;
E N T S.&lt;br /&gt;
PAGE&lt;br /&gt;
Correspondence&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
I. A Club of Critics &amp;quot;i&lt;br /&gt;
II. American Cookery &amp;quot;I&lt;br /&gt;
III. The Society&amp;#039;s Readers i&laquo;&lt;br /&gt;
IV. Black Beauty m&lt;br /&gt;
The Library of Toronto University &amp;quot;4&lt;br /&gt;
International Copyright - &amp;quot;4&lt;br /&gt;
At Work - &amp;quot;5&lt;br /&gt;
New Books and New Editions &amp;quot;5&lt;br /&gt;
Advertisements &amp;quot;7&lt;br /&gt;
conversazione, as a change from the dinner. As&lt;br /&gt;
regards the former we should require certain very&lt;br /&gt;
definite points of discussion, and there would have&lt;br /&gt;
to be a very rigid chairman, and I think that reporters&lt;br /&gt;
should be excluded. A conference of two days&lt;br /&gt;
followed by a conversazione might be a change for&lt;br /&gt;
the better in our annual programme. I shall be very&lt;br /&gt;
glad to receive any communications on this subject. &diams;&lt;br /&gt;
For reasons not wholly unconnected with laziness&lt;br /&gt;
and a long holiday I have to defer the few observa-&lt;br /&gt;
tions I wish to make on a certain Memorandum&lt;br /&gt;
recently issued by the Society for the Promotion of&lt;br /&gt;
Christian Knowledge until next month. However,&lt;br /&gt;
two letters on the subject which appeared in the&lt;br /&gt;
Daily News and in the Guardian early in August,&lt;br /&gt;
have perhaps explained my views as to the value of&lt;br /&gt;
that document and have prevented my silence being&lt;br /&gt;
misconstrued. Meantime, let us note one thing very&lt;br /&gt;
carefully. There is not in the minds either of the&lt;br /&gt;
Publication Committee of that Society or in the&lt;br /&gt;
minds of those who were persuaded to sign this&lt;br /&gt;
precious Memorandum, the slightest perception;&lt;br /&gt;
not the least glimmering of perception; that literary&lt;br /&gt;
property now exists. Yet they make thousands&lt;br /&gt;
every year by literary property. And they obsti-&lt;br /&gt;
nately refuse to inquire, as to their methods of ac-&lt;br /&gt;
quisition, whether they are honest and honourable,&lt;br /&gt;
or the reverse.&lt;br /&gt;
This prevailing ignorance of the existence of&lt;br /&gt;
vol. 1.&lt;br /&gt;
h 2&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 106 (#138) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
io6&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
literary property and its rights has been also illus-&lt;br /&gt;
trated in other ways. Thus, a man who has long&lt;br /&gt;
been connected with literature writes to a journal&lt;br /&gt;
that he has been more &amp;quot;generously &amp;quot; treated by the&lt;br /&gt;
S.P.C.K. than byother publishers. More generously!&lt;br /&gt;
But the question is not one of generosity, but of&lt;br /&gt;
justice. When will the world understand this?&lt;br /&gt;
Are authors to stand, hat in hand, the tears of grati-&lt;br /&gt;
tude running down their hungry cheeks, when these&lt;br /&gt;
high-minded Christiangentlemen bestow theirdoles? &bull;&lt;br /&gt;
The awakening, however, even of the religious&lt;br /&gt;
mind is illustrated by a recent fact. A lady writes&lt;br /&gt;
that another religious publishing society&mdash;noncon-&lt;br /&gt;
formists, these&mdash;have sent her word, that although&lt;br /&gt;
they bought certain books of hers outright, and she&lt;br /&gt;
has no claim, in spite of their success, they recognise&lt;br /&gt;
the equity of her case. They have therefore sent&lt;br /&gt;
her a substantial cheque for past years and promise&lt;br /&gt;
her a royalty in future.&lt;br /&gt;
This, you see, concedes the first principle to be&lt;br /&gt;
observed by all honest men in the acquisition of&lt;br /&gt;
literary property, viz., that the price paid for it, or&lt;br /&gt;
the rental for the use of it, must depend on the&lt;br /&gt;
actual sale of the book and not upon the amount&lt;br /&gt;
fixed by the avarice of a sweater or the necessities&lt;br /&gt;
of an author. But this is a Society managed by&lt;br /&gt;
humble nonconformists, not by high - minded&lt;br /&gt;
Churchmen. And a second lady, herself one of&lt;br /&gt;
the unfortunate victims of the S.P.C.K., writes that&lt;br /&gt;
shehas just negotiated with another religious publish-&lt;br /&gt;
ing house for the production of a book. She has&lt;br /&gt;
received the same sum which she has been accus-&lt;br /&gt;
tomed to get from the former liberal and honourable&lt;br /&gt;
house, but accompanied by a very reasonable royalty&lt;br /&gt;
in addition. We are waking up, after all.&lt;br /&gt;
Why is it that religious societies are always&lt;br /&gt;
doing things of which private firms would be&lt;br /&gt;
ashamed? I have, still further, received the par-&lt;br /&gt;
ticulars of a case which I set down as it was told&lt;br /&gt;
to me. If I had time to investigate the case fully&lt;br /&gt;
I would publish the name of the Society. The&lt;br /&gt;
accountant of a certain society discovered that&lt;br /&gt;
another officer, by an elaborate system of secret&lt;br /&gt;
book-keeping, had turned the society into a firm&lt;br /&gt;
trading for his own advantage! He proceeded to&lt;br /&gt;
expose the whole business after an immense deal of&lt;br /&gt;
trouble in unearthing the intricacies of the method.&lt;br /&gt;
The result was that the committee, on the offender&lt;br /&gt;
saying that he had now repented, with prayer and&lt;br /&gt;
tears, and had turned over a new leaf, passed a vote&lt;br /&gt;
of confirmed confidence&mdash;and dismissed the ac-&lt;br /&gt;
countant! It seems incredible, and there may be&lt;br /&gt;
another side to the story, but the documents, which&lt;br /&gt;
I have received and read, appear to leave no doubt&lt;br /&gt;
on the matter.&lt;br /&gt;
Here, again, is another case which speaks for&lt;br /&gt;
itself. It is an advertisement cut out of a paper.&lt;br /&gt;
In this case the name of the truly conscientious&lt;br /&gt;
Society is given at full, for the admiration of the&lt;br /&gt;
world:&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Competition for Twenty Pounds.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The Junior Division Church of England&lt;br /&gt;
Temperance Society offers the following prizes :--&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Ten Pounds for the best set of eight dialogues&lt;br /&gt;
suitable for Church Bands of Hope, illus-&lt;br /&gt;
trating respectively the eight lectures of the&lt;br /&gt;
syllabus (health, wealth, and temperance)&lt;br /&gt;
for the next year&amp;#039;s examination.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Ten pounds for the best set of eight stories for&lt;br /&gt;
tracts for children (not exceeding 1,000&lt;br /&gt;
words), illustrating, respectively, the eight&lt;br /&gt;
lectures above mentioned.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The Society reserves the right to publish any&lt;br /&gt;
competition, whether it gain the prize or not.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;For further particulars apply to the Secretary,&lt;br /&gt;
(Junior Division C.E.T.S.), 9, Bridge Street,&lt;br /&gt;
Westminster, S.W.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
This Church of England Society calmly proposes,&lt;br /&gt;
in fact, to keep for nothing all the things that are&lt;br /&gt;
sent in to them. It &amp;quot; reserves the right to publish&lt;br /&gt;
any competition, whether it gains the prize or not.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Now if an enterprising butcher was to offer a prize&lt;br /&gt;
of twenty pounds for the best pig, &amp;quot;reserving the&lt;br /&gt;
right&amp;quot; of keeping and selling for himself all the&lt;br /&gt;
competing pigs, whether they gained a prize or not,&lt;br /&gt;
what would be said of that butcher&amp;#039;s impudence?&lt;br /&gt;
How would his brother butchers speak of the offer?&lt;br /&gt;
In what light would it be regarded by the pro-&lt;br /&gt;
prietors of pigs? Yet, because it is only literary&lt;br /&gt;
property that is concerned, the respectable Com-&lt;br /&gt;
mittee of the Junior Division of the Church of&lt;br /&gt;
England Temperance Society does not scruple to&lt;br /&gt;
imitate that enterprising butcher. The committees&lt;br /&gt;
of religious societies always, I believe, begin with&lt;br /&gt;
prayer. Would it be possible for the Archbishop&lt;br /&gt;
to draw up a form of prayer suitable for those&lt;br /&gt;
committees which have to do with publishing?&lt;br /&gt;
Some kind person has sent me the prospectus of&lt;br /&gt;
a Society which really does seem to meet that &amp;quot;long-&lt;br /&gt;
felt want&amp;quot; which calls for every new association.&lt;br /&gt;
One need not mention it by name, because an&lt;br /&gt;
association with such benevolent aims cannot fail to&lt;br /&gt;
make rapid way. It is, in fact, the much-desired&lt;br /&gt;
Ghost Society. There has never been a time when&lt;br /&gt;
people have more ardently desired dramatic success.&lt;br /&gt;
There has also never been a time when so few&lt;br /&gt;
people have possessed the first elements of dramatic&lt;br /&gt;
success. They may now, however, by joining this&lt;br /&gt;
Association, whose terms of membership ought to be&lt;br /&gt;
very high, be able to gratify their laudable ambition.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 107 (#139) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
They can have their manuscript plays corrected, re-&lt;br /&gt;
vised, and put into practical dramatic form for them&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;no doubt by Messrs. Sims, Pinero, Henry Jones,&lt;br /&gt;
Petlitt, and other leading dramatists. The Society&lt;br /&gt;
is also about to issue a monthly paper, &amp;quot;supported&lt;br /&gt;
by tales of the Association,&amp;quot; which is a very odd&lt;br /&gt;
form of support. They are also going to find&lt;br /&gt;
engagements for ladies and gentlemen who wish to&lt;br /&gt;
go on the stage, and they will teach people to play&lt;br /&gt;
the violin or the harp, to sing, to become eloquent,&lt;br /&gt;
and to compose music; in short, a most excellent&lt;br /&gt;
Ghost Society. One department is, no doubt&lt;br /&gt;
only for the moment, omitted. They do not yet&lt;br /&gt;
propose to correct literary work and make it fit&lt;br /&gt;
for publication. But here is a very great field&lt;br /&gt;
lying open for the first comer. If only those who&lt;br /&gt;
are now so foolish as to spend their money in&lt;br /&gt;
paying for their own productions, receiving&lt;br /&gt;
in return nothing but a nasty, spiteful notice&lt;br /&gt;
in the papers, would only lay out that money&lt;br /&gt;
in buying MSS. worth printing and put their own&lt;br /&gt;
names to them, how much better it would be&lt;br /&gt;
for all parties! For the author would get properly&lt;br /&gt;
paid, the person with the money would get the&lt;br /&gt;
glory, and the public would be spared the trash that&lt;br /&gt;
is now offered them. We look for the develop-&lt;br /&gt;
ment of this new Society in the direction of litera-&lt;br /&gt;
ture. Perhaps we might do a good turn to our own&lt;br /&gt;
members by creating a new Branch&mdash;the Ghostly&lt;br /&gt;
Branch&mdash;of the Society of Authors ; or it might&lt;br /&gt;
seem better adapted&mdash;a more natural growth&mdash;to&lt;br /&gt;
the S.P.C.K.&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;&diams;&lt;br /&gt;
An American paper, the Critic, has lately been&lt;br /&gt;
preparing a list of the Forty living Immortals&mdash;the&lt;br /&gt;
Academy&mdash;of the United States. Here they are,&lt;br /&gt;
divided into the States or countries of their resi-&lt;br /&gt;
dence :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
Massachusetts. Aldrich, Brooks, Cable, Child,&lt;br /&gt;
Fiske, Frothingham, Hall, Higginson, Holmes,&lt;br /&gt;
Howells, Lowell, Norton, Parkman, Whittier.&lt;br /&gt;
New York. Burroughs, Curtis, Dana, Gilder,&lt;br /&gt;
Hawthorne, Stedman, Stoddard, Tylor, White.&lt;br /&gt;
Connecticut. Clemens, Fisher, Lathrop, Mitchell,&lt;br /&gt;
Porter, Warner, Whitney.&lt;br /&gt;
New Jersey. Stockton, Whitman.&lt;br /&gt;
Pennsylvania. Furness.&lt;br /&gt;
England. Bret Harte, James.&lt;br /&gt;
Columbia District. Bancroft.&lt;br /&gt;
Michigan. Winchell.&lt;br /&gt;
Georgia. Harris.&lt;br /&gt;
Italy. Story.&lt;br /&gt;
The same paper is about to prepare a new li*&amp;gt;t,&lt;br /&gt;
containing the twenty who shall be considered the&lt;br /&gt;
truest representatives of what is best in cultivated&lt;br /&gt;
American womanhood.&lt;br /&gt;
In a lecture entitled &amp;quot;Literature as a Profession,&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Col. T. W. Higginson has made some remarks&lt;br /&gt;
which are quoted in the Critic of New York.&lt;br /&gt;
Among them are the following :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Here, as nowhere else, the author stands free&lt;br /&gt;
and dignified in his profession, with no class above&lt;br /&gt;
him. How does a literary man stand to-day in&lt;br /&gt;
England? So long as he is not raised to the&lt;br /&gt;
peerage, he takes rank below the meanest man&lt;br /&gt;
who has been: and if, like Tennyson, he consents&lt;br /&gt;
to join it, he has the extreme felicity of being&lt;br /&gt;
followed in that body by a prosperous London&lt;br /&gt;
brewer. The separation of set from set makes its&lt;br /&gt;
mark in all the literature of England. Why is it&lt;br /&gt;
that the American magazines have marched in&lt;br /&gt;
solid column into England and displaced the&lt;br /&gt;
English magazines? It is because the American&lt;br /&gt;
magazine is a magazine. It is a place of compre-&lt;br /&gt;
hension. It brings people together.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Here are two interesting points. The first is the&lt;br /&gt;
wonderful inability of the American mind to under-&lt;br /&gt;
standj^&amp;#039;hat rank means. As regards precedence the&lt;br /&gt;
best English poet, if he had no title, would have to&lt;br /&gt;
walk behind the lowest birthday or jubilee knight.&lt;br /&gt;
But what Englishman in his senses would rank the&lt;br /&gt;
birthday knight above the poet? What does it&lt;br /&gt;
matter to the author and his position whether a&lt;br /&gt;
brewer or a brewer&amp;#039;s clerk receive a title? His&lt;br /&gt;
own position remains the same. It is that acquired&lt;br /&gt;
by his reputation alone. The next point is more&lt;br /&gt;
serious. The lecturer says that the American&lt;br /&gt;
magazines have displaced the English magazines in&lt;br /&gt;
their own land. Is this so? Does the statement&lt;br /&gt;
approach the truth? If it is true, or nearly true,&lt;br /&gt;
it is a very great reproach on English writers and&lt;br /&gt;
a great blow and discouragement. Well, we have&lt;br /&gt;
the Contemporary, the Nineteenth Century, the&lt;br /&gt;
Fornightly, the National, the Universal, the New&lt;br /&gt;
Review, Blaekwood&amp;#039;s, Macmillan&amp;#039;s, the Cornhill,&lt;br /&gt;
Longman&amp;#039;s, Temple Bar, and a dozen others,&lt;br /&gt;
all of which are well known to be flourishing,&lt;br /&gt;
more or less&mdash;some, exceedingly&mdash;all supposed&lt;br /&gt;
to be good properties, and all taken in and&lt;br /&gt;
read in every part of our great Empire. The&lt;br /&gt;
American magazines have come over here. One&lt;br /&gt;
or two have succeeded, and deservedly. But to&lt;br /&gt;
the detriment of the English magazines? I be-&lt;br /&gt;
lieve, not at all. If this had been the case, it&lt;br /&gt;
would have been proved by a falling-off in prices&lt;br /&gt;
paid to contributors, when the Society would have&lt;br /&gt;
heard of it. But no such thing has happened.&lt;br /&gt;
Some magazines there are which are in a bad way,&lt;br /&gt;
and have been in a bad way for years, because,&lt;br /&gt;
when a magazine -takes a turn for the worse, it&lt;br /&gt;
seems unable to recover itself, but goes continually&lt;br /&gt;
down till it reaches the point of extinction.&lt;br /&gt;
O&amp;quot; the other hand, the success of one magazine&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 108 (#140) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
io8&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
may create such a demand as will make room for&lt;br /&gt;
half a dozen more, and this, I take it, is the reason&lt;br /&gt;
of the English success of the American magazines.&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;&diams;&lt;br /&gt;
I wonder if it is too late to speak with admiration&lt;br /&gt;
of a paper in an August magazine. The &amp;quot; Perilous&lt;br /&gt;
Amour&amp;quot; of Mr. Weyman, in Temple Bar for that&lt;br /&gt;
month, stood out, as regards interest, workmanship,&lt;br /&gt;
and freshness, above and beyond everything else&lt;br /&gt;
of that month&mdash;I mean, of course, everything else&lt;br /&gt;
that I saw.&lt;br /&gt;
In August we received a letter from Lord Monks-&lt;br /&gt;
well, who has charge of our Copyright Bill, informing&lt;br /&gt;
us that the great length of the Bill made it for&lt;br /&gt;
various reasons inadvisable that it should - be in-&lt;br /&gt;
troduced at so late a period in the Session. Both&lt;br /&gt;
his lordship and others whom he kindly consulted&lt;br /&gt;
on the matter, recommended that it should be held&lt;br /&gt;
over until November. This little delay is quite&lt;br /&gt;
unimportant; the more so when we remember the&lt;br /&gt;
many long years through which authors have waited&lt;br /&gt;
for some attempt at the remedial legislation, which&lt;br /&gt;
is now only some three months away. Of course it&lt;br /&gt;
is the attempt only, and not the legislation, which&lt;br /&gt;
is so near.&lt;br /&gt;
The ingenious hidalgo, Don Quixote de la&lt;br /&gt;
Mancha, seems to have thought that there were cer-&lt;br /&gt;
tain plights from which the extremest knight-errantry-&lt;br /&gt;
could not extricate a man. At any rate he tilts no&lt;br /&gt;
lance on the author&amp;#039;s behalf, but commends him&lt;br /&gt;
simply to God. The passage runs as follows:&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Tell me, your worship, print you this book&lt;br /&gt;
upon your own charges, or have you sold the&lt;br /&gt;
copyright to some publisher?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I print it on my own account,&amp;quot; said the author,&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;and think to gain a thousand crowns by the first&lt;br /&gt;
impression, which will be of two thousand copies,&lt;br /&gt;
which they will sell at six reales a piece in a brace&lt;br /&gt;
of straws.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Your worship is mighty well up in the account.&lt;br /&gt;
It is well seen that you know nothing of the ins&lt;br /&gt;
and outs of publishers. I promise you that when&lt;br /&gt;
you shall find you laden with the bodies of two&lt;br /&gt;
thousand books, your own body shall be so wearied&lt;br /&gt;
that it will affiright you, especially if the book be a&lt;br /&gt;
little dull and is nothing piquant.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;So then, your worship,&amp;quot; said the author,&amp;quot; would&lt;br /&gt;
have me give my copyright for three maravedis to&lt;br /&gt;
a publisher, who will think he does me a kindness&lt;br /&gt;
in giving me so much? I do not print my books&lt;br /&gt;
to achieve fame in the world, for I am already&lt;br /&gt;
known by my works; I want profit, for without it&lt;br /&gt;
fine fame is not worth a farthing.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;God give your worship good fortune,&amp;quot; said&lt;br /&gt;
Pon Quixote, and passed on.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I cannot,&amp;quot; says an eminent author and drama-&lt;br /&gt;
tist (who surely wants a holiday badly), &amp;quot;use my&lt;br /&gt;
own judgment in a literary contract without being&lt;br /&gt;
pounced upon and bullied by a trades union of&lt;br /&gt;
authors.&amp;quot; Now this is meant for us, and is not fair.&lt;br /&gt;
We have pounced upon nobody, we have bullied&lt;br /&gt;
nobody, nor have we ever attempted to pounce or&lt;br /&gt;
to bully. We have never set ourselves up as a&lt;br /&gt;
tribunal to which authors, eminent or otherwise,&lt;br /&gt;
should apply before acceding to a publisher&amp;#039;s terms,&lt;br /&gt;
unless they wish to do so. We may have excellent&lt;br /&gt;
reasons for thinking that they would be very wise&lt;br /&gt;
if they did come to us, but we leave it to them:&lt;br /&gt;
and more and more come daily. As for this&lt;br /&gt;
particular author, he has never applied to us for&lt;br /&gt;
advice and has therefore never received any. But&lt;br /&gt;
a trades&amp;#039; union, I believe, dictates to its members&lt;br /&gt;
[hat they should accept certain terms only, upon cer-&lt;br /&gt;
tain conditions only, and members cannot continue&lt;br /&gt;
to belong to the union unless they do as they are told.&lt;br /&gt;
We have never attempted or wished to take up this&lt;br /&gt;
position. We simply say to all authors and to this&lt;br /&gt;
our eminent member among them :&mdash;&amp;quot; Com-&lt;br /&gt;
plaints have been made and are still being made&lt;br /&gt;
by men of letters that they have not obtained&lt;br /&gt;
fair terms for their work, that they have been&lt;br /&gt;
led to sign contracts to which they never would&lt;br /&gt;
have assented had the meaning of those con-&lt;br /&gt;
tracts been apparent to them, and the ultimate&lt;br /&gt;
division of profits foreshadowed; that in short in&lt;br /&gt;
the business side of the literary profession they&lt;br /&gt;
have been at a disadvantage. Therefore the&lt;br /&gt;
Society offers to make clear to its members the&lt;br /&gt;
meaning of any proposal submitted to them, so&lt;br /&gt;
that they may be, perhaps for the first time, in a&lt;br /&gt;
position to understand whether they should take&lt;br /&gt;
an offer or leave it.&amp;quot; That is not the same thing as&lt;br /&gt;
preventing an author from using his own judgment&lt;br /&gt;
about a literary contract. Let those who have&lt;br /&gt;
judgment exercise it, but what is to become of&lt;br /&gt;
those whose judicial faculties are small, or who&lt;br /&gt;
from absence of technical knowledge, or data from&lt;br /&gt;
which to make deduction, cannot tell a good bargain&lt;br /&gt;
from a bad one, when its terms are submitted to&lt;br /&gt;
them? Must such an one always go to the wall?&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;&mdash;&diams;&lt;br /&gt;
Mrs. Craik and Mr. Richard Jefferies are both&lt;br /&gt;
to be honoured in the same way.&lt;br /&gt;
There has lately been placed in Tewkesbury&lt;br /&gt;
Abbey a medallion portrait of the author of &amp;quot;John&lt;br /&gt;
Halifax, Gentleman.&amp;quot; Tewkesbury was the home&lt;br /&gt;
of John Halifax, and the last place visited by the&lt;br /&gt;
author before her death.&lt;br /&gt;
Salisbury Cathedral very fitly has been selected&lt;br /&gt;
as the right place to do similar honour to the&lt;br /&gt;
memory of Richard Jefferies, a Wiltshire man and&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 109 (#141) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
109&lt;br /&gt;
the poet of the Wiltshire Downs. As regards the&lt;br /&gt;
latter, subscriptions may be sent to myself, and I&lt;br /&gt;
shall be very grateful to any who will help to erect&lt;br /&gt;
this monument to the great naturalist and writer.&lt;br /&gt;
The following seems to me a remarkable story&lt;br /&gt;
of perseverance. A young author writes :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;My story,&amp;#039; ,&amp;#039; has only been rejected&lt;br /&gt;
twice, as yet. My first story, published just three&lt;br /&gt;
years ago, was rejected thirty-six times before it&lt;br /&gt;
was finally accepted. Another story of mine was&lt;br /&gt;
only taken after forty-two publishers had refused it.&lt;br /&gt;
So, you see, I cannot despair about&amp;#039; .&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
Besides, she is the only child of my brain that I&lt;br /&gt;
have left to see settled in the world, all my other&lt;br /&gt;
MSS. having been accepted, with the exception of&lt;br /&gt;
a four-act drama.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
One can only wish every success to the four-act&lt;br /&gt;
drama. This author has worked his way to suc-&lt;br /&gt;
cess against discouragement that would almost&lt;br /&gt;
have dashed the ardour of the Bruce&amp;#039;s spider.&lt;br /&gt;
Probably he could have spared himself a good&lt;br /&gt;
proportion of these refusals, if he had been advised&lt;br /&gt;
earlier of the most suitable direction in which to&lt;br /&gt;
seek for a publisher. At the Society, we are often&lt;br /&gt;
asked to &amp;quot;recommend a publisher,&amp;quot; and it is&lt;br /&gt;
possible that a mere glance at these books would&lt;br /&gt;
have enabled us to save this author at least two&lt;br /&gt;
dozen refusals by pointing out the publishers to&lt;br /&gt;
whom it would be useless or unwise to apply.&lt;br /&gt;
We are glad to learn from their organ, The&lt;br /&gt;
Journalist, that the Institute of Journalists thinks,&lt;br /&gt;
like ourselves, on the matter of International Copy-&lt;br /&gt;
right, and that the Committee of Management&lt;br /&gt;
propose to take such steps towards its establish-&lt;br /&gt;
ment as may seem expedient. The question was&lt;br /&gt;
brought to their notice through a resolution, passed&lt;br /&gt;
on the motion of Mr. James Baker, by the Bristol&lt;br /&gt;
Branch of the Institute. The motion was to the&lt;br /&gt;
effect that &amp;quot;this meeting pledges itself to do all in&lt;br /&gt;
its power to hasten the passing of a just and equit-&lt;br /&gt;
able copyright convention between this country and&lt;br /&gt;
America, especially urging that in such a conven-&lt;br /&gt;
tion no injustice be done to the printers and paper-&lt;br /&gt;
makers of this country; and that copies of this&lt;br /&gt;
resolution be sent to the Institute of Journalists&lt;br /&gt;
and the Society of Authors.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
M. Chatrian is dead. Chatrian, of the Erckmann-&lt;br /&gt;
Chatrian series-&mdash;Chatrian whom we have all loved&lt;br /&gt;
since first we read him. As for me, I think I made&lt;br /&gt;
the acquaintance of this godlike pair early in the&lt;br /&gt;
sixties&mdash;the remote sixties. What popularity has&lt;br /&gt;
been the lot of these twins! Who can say how much&lt;br /&gt;
they have done towards the extinction of the idiotic&lt;br /&gt;
thirst for glory that formerly filled every ardent&lt;br /&gt;
Gaul? Not that it has disappeared, but it burns&lt;br /&gt;
now with a dimmer force. The young men go out&lt;br /&gt;
to war because they must, but they know that it is&lt;br /&gt;
not d la gloire but aux abattoirs. They will fight&lt;br /&gt;
no worse for the knowledge, but they will not fight&lt;br /&gt;
unless they must. Chatrian is dead! And before&lt;br /&gt;
he died he had quarrels with his partner! The&lt;br /&gt;
latter is as bad to think of as the former. One&lt;br /&gt;
thing is quite certain&mdash;when two men form a literary&lt;br /&gt;
partnership, they construct by talk and confidence,&lt;br /&gt;
by weaving and interweaving, by selection and by&lt;br /&gt;
arrangement, between them a work of art. Treason&lt;br /&gt;
to Art if one begins to count how many pages he&lt;br /&gt;
has written more than his partner!&lt;br /&gt;
Charles Gibbon, who died last month at Yar-&lt;br /&gt;
mouth, while still a middle-aged man, was a most&lt;br /&gt;
prolific novelist. He wrote over thirty novels,&lt;br /&gt;
some of which, &amp;quot;For Lack of Gold,&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;The&lt;br /&gt;
Queen of the Meadow,&amp;quot; for example, enjoyed&lt;br /&gt;
considerable popularity.&lt;br /&gt;
I find the following in the Athenaum;&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;In the course of nearly thirty years&amp;#039; continuous&lt;br /&gt;
literary work, I have had frequent occasion for&lt;br /&gt;
protest against the dishonesty of American pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lishers, but I think my latest experience supplies&lt;br /&gt;
one of the most striking examples of unscrupulous-&lt;br /&gt;
ness in piracy.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I am credited in a glowing advertisement with&lt;br /&gt;
the authorship of a sensational romance called&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;#039;Tiger-Head; or, the Ghost of the Avalanche,&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
now being published in the New York Sunday&lt;br /&gt;
Mercury. Now I never wrote a story called&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;#039;Tiger-Head; or, the Ghost of the Avalanche,&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
nor any story which could, by any possibility, be&lt;br /&gt;
described by such a title, and 1 beg to protest&lt;br /&gt;
most earnestly against this misuse of my name.&lt;br /&gt;
In the words of the great Burke I may say, &amp;#039;My&lt;br /&gt;
errors, if any, are my own. I bear no man&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
proxy.&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Mary E. Maxwell, nee Braddon.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
At present in America, as everyone who enjoys&lt;br /&gt;
any circulation in England knows, there is nothing&lt;br /&gt;
to prevent the unauthorized publication of English&lt;br /&gt;
books on the other side of the Atlantic. But it&lt;br /&gt;
seems to me that Miss Braddon has, in this case,&lt;br /&gt;
some chance of an indirect remedy, or has, at any&lt;br /&gt;
rate, an opportunity of some sort for some sort of&lt;br /&gt;
reprisal, though blood would hardly wash out the&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 110 (#142) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I IO&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
insult of being publicly accused of having invented&lt;br /&gt;
the title of &amp;quot;Tiger-Head; or, the Ghost of the&lt;br /&gt;
Avalanche.&amp;quot; Miss Braddon&amp;#039;s enormous and well-&lt;br /&gt;
deserved popularity with all classes makes her&lt;br /&gt;
name very valuable to the go-ahead Editor of&lt;br /&gt;
the Sunday Mercury, and it is her name and&lt;br /&gt;
not the story that is selling the periodical.&lt;br /&gt;
Would it not be possible to send out to America&lt;br /&gt;
an earnestly-worded repudiation of the literary&lt;br /&gt;
honours thrust upon her? If this were sent to&lt;br /&gt;
The New York Tribune, and The New York&lt;br /&gt;
Herald, and the Sunday papers, most of the&lt;br /&gt;
other journals might be trusted to copy it,&lt;br /&gt;
without being requested to do so. This might&lt;br /&gt;
damage the boom of the Sunday Mercury. Charles&lt;br /&gt;
Reade was victimized in the same way, and, if I&lt;br /&gt;
mistake not, Wilkie Collins was also.&lt;br /&gt;
Here is a very interesting communication, based&lt;br /&gt;
entirely upon the question of &amp;quot;What is trade-&lt;br /&gt;
custom?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Without expressing any opinion on the case, we&lt;br /&gt;
cordially echo our correspondent&amp;#039;s wish that the&lt;br /&gt;
customs of the trade could be made comprehensible&lt;br /&gt;
to the intelligence of the author.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;A publisher makes the following agreement:&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Messrs. X. and Y. agree to pay a royalty of so&lt;br /&gt;
much per copy on all copies sold after the sale of&lt;br /&gt;
the first copies of the said work, the publishing&lt;br /&gt;
price of which shall be so much. The royalty on&lt;br /&gt;
copies sold in America shall be one-half.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
The figures are omitted in charity to the pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lisher and pity for the author.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;In a few years about 1,000 copies are sold in&lt;br /&gt;
America, and the royalty is duly paid; but these&lt;br /&gt;
copies are not allowed to be reckoned among&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;#039;the first &amp;#039;; so that the author has to wait till&lt;br /&gt;
that number, plus the copies taken in America, are&lt;br /&gt;
sold before he gets his royalty of ;i.e., the&lt;br /&gt;
publisher, bypaying in advancethe stipulated royalty&lt;br /&gt;
on the 1,000 copies sold in America, avoids the&lt;br /&gt;
payment of the full royalty. Is this the &amp;#039;custom&lt;br /&gt;
of the trade&amp;#039;? It certainly seems an infraction of&lt;br /&gt;
the agreement.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I found, too, by sad experience,&amp;quot; continues the&lt;br /&gt;
letter, &amp;quot;that it was the custom of the trade to&lt;br /&gt;
distribute a large number of presentation copies,&lt;br /&gt;
without consultation, and to advertise in such a&lt;br /&gt;
way that in one year the cost of advertisements&lt;br /&gt;
alone exceeded the receipts from the sale of the&lt;br /&gt;
book. Having stopped this, I still had to submit&lt;br /&gt;
to items like the following:&mdash;(The published price&lt;br /&gt;
being, say, 3*. 6d.) 101 sold as 97, at 2s. 6d., less&lt;br /&gt;
5 per cent., trade allowance (besides, of course,&lt;br /&gt;
publisher&amp;#039;s commission); or 52 (America) sold as&lt;br /&gt;
48, at is. 4d. All this may be quite fair and&lt;br /&gt;
necessary in a business way; but I think&lt;br /&gt;
publishers should let authors know of these&lt;br /&gt;
customs of the trade before the latter put a price&lt;br /&gt;
on their book. Few new authors realize that in&lt;br /&gt;
this way they can only expect (not counting adver-&lt;br /&gt;
tisements), at most, one-half of the published price,&lt;br /&gt;
and that six months after the whole year&amp;#039;s account&lt;br /&gt;
is made up.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Our correspondent raises many questions in his&lt;br /&gt;
letter, with all of which we hope at one time or&lt;br /&gt;
another to deal. For the present I note only&lt;br /&gt;
that this author has been made to sign an agree-&lt;br /&gt;
ment, the nature of which he has not understood.&lt;br /&gt;
For example, he is to receive nothing till the&lt;br /&gt;
publisher has sold so many copies. How much&lt;br /&gt;
will the publisher have made when the author&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
time begins? The author does not know. Yet&lt;br /&gt;
he signed the agreement in the dark. When his&lt;br /&gt;
time arrives, how much will the publisher make&lt;br /&gt;
for his share? He knows very well, but the&lt;br /&gt;
author does not. In this case the agreement was&lt;br /&gt;
such, that the publisher would make, on a rough&lt;br /&gt;
estimate, at least ^150 profit before the author got&lt;br /&gt;
anything. He would afterwards make about twice&lt;br /&gt;
as much as the author.&lt;br /&gt;
There is given, later on, a resumi of an enquiry&lt;br /&gt;
commenced last spring, into the position of the&lt;br /&gt;
English author with reference to the Colonial&lt;br /&gt;
book market. That this market is an ever-in-&lt;br /&gt;
creasing one is plain. In the Colonies there are&lt;br /&gt;
not only more people to read than formerly, but,&lt;br /&gt;
in proportion, many more now who do read, and&lt;br /&gt;
in both directions this increase will go on.&lt;br /&gt;
The Society will do its best to deal with this&lt;br /&gt;
problem. We shall probably first memorialize&lt;br /&gt;
Government to enforce the existing protection,&lt;br /&gt;
and shall then consider whether there is any direc-&lt;br /&gt;
tion in which more protection could be obtained,&lt;br /&gt;
and whether we have any chance of obtaining it.&lt;br /&gt;
Local Copyright Acts might perhaps be procured&lt;br /&gt;
in the interests of the English owners of the copy-&lt;br /&gt;
rights, if the representations were made in the&lt;br /&gt;
proper direction.&lt;br /&gt;
At the present it may seem that great importance&lt;br /&gt;
is being attached to a small matter, but our Colonial&lt;br /&gt;
readers are no small matter, and it would be a&lt;br /&gt;
thousand pities if, through supineness now, we lost&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
a splendid market in the future.&lt;br /&gt;
In the meantime, let everybody see that his book&lt;br /&gt;
is duly and promptly entered at Stationers&amp;#039; Hall.&lt;br /&gt;
I beg to invite suggestions as to a future plan.&lt;br /&gt;
Walter Besant.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 111 (#143) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
111&lt;br /&gt;
THE POET&amp;#039;S SEAT:&lt;br /&gt;
AN IDYLL OF THE SUBURBS.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Ille terrarum mihi prater omnes&lt;br /&gt;
Angulus RIDET.&amp;quot;&mdash;Hor. ii, 6.&lt;br /&gt;
IT was a towering tree of yore,&lt;br /&gt;
A lordly elm, before they lopped it,&lt;br /&gt;
And weighty, said those five who bore&lt;br /&gt;
Its bulk across the lawn, and dropped it&lt;br /&gt;
Not once or twice, before it lay,&lt;br /&gt;
With two young pear trees to protect it,&lt;br /&gt;
Safe where the Poet hoped some day&lt;br /&gt;
The curious pilgrim would inspect it.&lt;br /&gt;
He saw him with his Poet&amp;#039;s eye,&lt;br /&gt;
The tall Maori, turned from etching&lt;br /&gt;
The ruin of St. Paul&amp;#039;s, to try&lt;br /&gt;
Some object better worth the sketching ;&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
He saw him, and it nerved his strength&lt;br /&gt;
What time he hacked and hewed and scraped it,&lt;br /&gt;
Until the monster grew at length&lt;br /&gt;
The Master-piece to which he shaped it.&lt;br /&gt;
To wit&mdash;a goodly garden-seat,&lt;br /&gt;
And fit alike for Shah or Sophy,&lt;br /&gt;
With shelf for cigarettes complete,&lt;br /&gt;
And one, but lower down, for coffee;&lt;br /&gt;
He planted pansies round its foot,&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Pansies for thoughts,&amp;quot; and rose and arum;&lt;br /&gt;
The Motto (that he meant to put)&lt;br /&gt;
Was Ille angulus terrarum.&lt;br /&gt;
But &amp;quot;Oh ! the change (as Milton sings)&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
The heavy change!&amp;quot; When May departed,&lt;br /&gt;
When June with its &amp;quot;delightful things&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Had come and gone, the rough bark started,&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
Began to lose its sylvan brown,&lt;br /&gt;
Grew parched, and powdery, and spotted,&lt;br /&gt;
And, though the Poet nailed it down,&lt;br /&gt;
It still flapped up, and dropped, and rotted.&lt;br /&gt;
Nor was this all. &amp;#039;Twas next the scene&lt;br /&gt;
Of vague (and viscous) vegetations;&lt;br /&gt;
Queer fissures gaped, with oozings green,&lt;br /&gt;
And moist, unsavoury exhalations,&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
Faint wafts of wood decayed and sick,&lt;br /&gt;
Till, where he meant to carve his Motto,&lt;br /&gt;
Strange leathery fungi sprouted thick,&lt;br /&gt;
And made it like an oyster grotto.&lt;br /&gt;
In short it grew a Seat of Scorn,&lt;br /&gt;
Bare,&mdash;shameless,&mdash;till, for fresh disaster,&lt;br /&gt;
From end to end, one April morn,&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;#039;Twas riddled like a pepper caster,&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
Drilled like a vellum of old time,&lt;br /&gt;
And musing on this final mystery,&lt;br /&gt;
The Poet left off scribbling rhyme&lt;br /&gt;
And took to studying Natural History.&lt;br /&gt;
This was the turning of the tide:&lt;br /&gt;
His five-act-play is still unwritten;&lt;br /&gt;
The dreams that now his soul divide&lt;br /&gt;
Are more of Lubbock than of Lytton;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Ballades &amp;quot; are &amp;quot;verses vain &amp;quot; to him&lt;br /&gt;
Whose first ambition is to lecture&lt;br /&gt;
(So much is man the sport of whim !)&lt;br /&gt;
On &amp;quot;Insects and their Architecture.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Austin Dobson. *&lt;br /&gt;
ENGLISH AUTHORS AND THE&lt;br /&gt;
COLONIAL BOOK MARKET.&lt;br /&gt;
IT may be remembered that at the end of last&lt;br /&gt;
year we published a communication received&lt;br /&gt;
by us from the Secretary of State for the&lt;br /&gt;
Colonies, informing us that steps should be taken&lt;br /&gt;
in accordance with our representations, to prevent&lt;br /&gt;
the introduction of foreign reprints into the Straits&lt;br /&gt;
Settlements. Shortly after this Mr. Rider Haggard&lt;br /&gt;
sent to us a copy of his novel &amp;quot;Jess,&amp;quot; which was&lt;br /&gt;
circulating largely in an unauthorized edition in&lt;br /&gt;
Africa, and pointed out the advisability of making&lt;br /&gt;
an enquiry into the matter, with a view of finding&lt;br /&gt;
out how far such practices were generally pre-&lt;br /&gt;
valent in the Crown Colonies.*&lt;br /&gt;
It is evident that our novelists have a large and&lt;br /&gt;
ever-increasing market in the Colonies, and that&lt;br /&gt;
some steps ought to be taken to prevent such&lt;br /&gt;
robbery and secure the profits to them. At the&lt;br /&gt;
same time it did not appear so very clear what&lt;br /&gt;
those steps should be.&lt;br /&gt;
We therefore addressed the following questions to&lt;br /&gt;
prominent book-sellers in our various Colonies, in&lt;br /&gt;
the hope that we should thus learn how much the&lt;br /&gt;
author is at present injured by these reprints, which&lt;br /&gt;
are mostly American, and how far anything could&lt;br /&gt;
be done to prevent the injury :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;(i.) Are pirated editions imported freely&lt;br /&gt;
into the colony?&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;(2.) Is there any legislation to prevent this&lt;br /&gt;
importation?&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;(3.) Are such books openly exposed for&lt;br /&gt;
sale?&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;(4.) To what extent in your opinion do&lt;br /&gt;
pirated books and American reprints&lt;br /&gt;
damage the books of the English trade?&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;(5.) What in your opinion would be the&lt;br /&gt;
best steps to take for the protection of&lt;br /&gt;
English and Colonial authors?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
* The cost of this production was twenty cents, and it was&lt;br /&gt;
the meanest Americanism we ever saw.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 112 (#144) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
i 12&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
The result of the answers we have received, as&lt;br /&gt;
yet, is as follows :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
Pirated editions are imported freely into Africa&lt;br /&gt;
generally, into some parts of India, and into&lt;br /&gt;
British Guiana, but not to any extent into Australia&lt;br /&gt;
or New Zealand. In some colonies, what legal&lt;br /&gt;
protection the law affords, is enforced, and in&lt;br /&gt;
some it is not. For there is imperial legislation&lt;br /&gt;
to meet the ppint. If the books are registered at&lt;br /&gt;
Stationers&amp;#039; Hall, an import duty of 20 per cent, on&lt;br /&gt;
the published price is collected by the Custom&lt;br /&gt;
House for the good of the owner of the copyright.&lt;br /&gt;
This, of course, is legislation for the regulation&lt;br /&gt;
of the abuse, not for its prevention. It is very&lt;br /&gt;
significant, however, that in Australia and New&lt;br /&gt;
Zealand, where the Custom House officials levy the&lt;br /&gt;
duty carefully, pirated editions are by no means&lt;br /&gt;
rife.&lt;br /&gt;
We are indebted to the courtesy of the Registrar&lt;br /&gt;
of Canterbury College, Christchurch, N.Z., for the&lt;br /&gt;
following information&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Lists of English copyright books are sent by&lt;br /&gt;
the British Customs House to Wellington, and&lt;br /&gt;
thence distributed to the collectors of customs at&lt;br /&gt;
the different ports. I have this morning inspected&lt;br /&gt;
the latest; it is dated May, 1889. The collector&lt;br /&gt;
of Customs informs me that quite recently a&lt;br /&gt;
quantity of music from America was destroyed&lt;br /&gt;
under his directions, because of infringement of&lt;br /&gt;
English copyright.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
From Auckland, New Zealand, we have received&lt;br /&gt;
almost the same information, our correspondents&lt;br /&gt;
believing that the existing law is sufficient if strictly&lt;br /&gt;
carried out. Instances are given of the efficient&lt;br /&gt;
working of the law.&lt;br /&gt;
A correspondent writes from Dunedin to the&lt;br /&gt;
same effect, adding that no bookseller worthy of&lt;br /&gt;
the name would import reprints to the prejudice of&lt;br /&gt;
the publishers of the old country.&lt;br /&gt;
In Adelaide the law is enforced. The Principal&lt;br /&gt;
Librarian of the Free Public Library at Sydney&lt;br /&gt;
considers that the protection extended to authors&lt;br /&gt;
and publishers by the Custom House is adequate.&lt;br /&gt;
He has not received in seven years of office fifty&lt;br /&gt;
such unauthorized books. In Melbourne we are&lt;br /&gt;
informed that pirated editions are but seldom seen,&lt;br /&gt;
and our correspondent is of opinion that the Eng-&lt;br /&gt;
lish owners of the copyright have sustained no&lt;br /&gt;
damage from them. In Brisbane the Act seems to&lt;br /&gt;
be a sufficient protection, for but few American&lt;br /&gt;
reprints have been seen there, and the fact that&lt;br /&gt;
they are prohibited seems to be distinctly under-&lt;br /&gt;
stood.&lt;br /&gt;
In India, we hear from Calcutta that pirated&lt;br /&gt;
editions are sometimes extensively imported. Our&lt;br /&gt;
correspondent also casually throws out a horrible&lt;br /&gt;
suggestion. He thinks that copyright books are&lt;br /&gt;
sometimes printed in secrecy in India. This, of&lt;br /&gt;
course, is quite beside the question, but it is a&lt;br /&gt;
matter for grave apprehension.&lt;br /&gt;
The Honorary Secretary of the Library at Simla&lt;br /&gt;
Station informs us that pirated editions are freely&lt;br /&gt;
imported into India, and that such legislation as&lt;br /&gt;
exists to prevent this is not put in force.&lt;br /&gt;
We learn from Bombay that the Custom House&lt;br /&gt;
is very strict in preventing the import of pirated&lt;br /&gt;
books, and that hardly any such editions find their&lt;br /&gt;
way into British possessions.&lt;br /&gt;
In Madras pirated editions are imported, but&lt;br /&gt;
only rarely. They are always cheap American&lt;br /&gt;
reprints. But in Madras the law is recognised,&lt;br /&gt;
for one of our correspondents points out that the&lt;br /&gt;
importation into British India of pirated editions,&lt;br /&gt;
which infringe any law in force in the territory, can&lt;br /&gt;
be punished by forfeiture and fine.&lt;br /&gt;
Neither in Australia, New Zealand, or India, are&lt;br /&gt;
these books openly exposed for sale, and the damage&lt;br /&gt;
done to authors in the first two colonies by their&lt;br /&gt;
sale is, of course, very slight.&lt;br /&gt;
In Africa the tale is different; we print the&lt;br /&gt;
following letter from the biggest book-seller at Cape&lt;br /&gt;
Town, as it so clearly sets out the points at issue :&mdash;■&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;As the question of the prevention of Ameri-&lt;br /&gt;
can reprints is an important one and damaging&lt;br /&gt;
to a honest book-selling establishment, we beg-&lt;br /&gt;
to reply to your queries, at the same time&lt;br /&gt;
assuring you that you will have our heartiest co-&lt;br /&gt;
operation. We may, however, tell you that we&lt;br /&gt;
tried some two years ago this very same question,&lt;br /&gt;
and we, as the largest publishers and importers of&lt;br /&gt;
books into the Cape Colony, would have petitioned&lt;br /&gt;
Government, but wanted the assistance of the&lt;br /&gt;
London publishers. We were already in corres-&lt;br /&gt;
pondence with the firms of Macmillan &amp;amp; Co.,&lt;br /&gt;
Hurst &amp;amp; Blackett &amp;amp; Co., but we are sorry to say&lt;br /&gt;
the matter has been allowed to drop. We have&lt;br /&gt;
no doubt that, with the assistance of your Society,&lt;br /&gt;
this evil will now be remedied, and those authors,&lt;br /&gt;
whose works are stolen, will be protected from the&lt;br /&gt;
American&amp;#039;s avarice, which is allowed free play&lt;br /&gt;
simply and only through the absence of an Inter-&lt;br /&gt;
national Copyright Act. We, in the Cape Colony,&lt;br /&gt;
are somewhat similarly placed to the injured authors&lt;br /&gt;
with respect to the neighbouring States; for in-&lt;br /&gt;
stance, books we publish are being sold in the&lt;br /&gt;
Orange Free State and the South African Republic&lt;br /&gt;
with impunity, without our being able to stop it,&lt;br /&gt;
also for the want of an International Copyright&lt;br /&gt;
Act&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 113 (#145) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;(i.) Pirated editions are imported into the&lt;br /&gt;
Colony in places like Cape Town and Port&lt;br /&gt;
Elizabeth, as long as they pay the 20 per cent.&lt;br /&gt;
Customs duty. These reprints, we learn, are&lt;br /&gt;
imported direct from America.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;(2.) There is no legislation to prevent this&lt;br /&gt;
importation as long as they pay the duty.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;(3.) Such books openly exposed for sale: it&lt;br /&gt;
was not so very long ago there was a book-seller&lt;br /&gt;
in Cape Town who had his windows simply&lt;br /&gt;
swamped with these pirated American books,&lt;br /&gt;
exhibiting books of authors like Rider Haggard s,&lt;br /&gt;
Edna Lyall&amp;#039;s, Mrs. Wood&amp;#039;s, George Macdonald&amp;#039;s,&lt;br /&gt;
Ruskin&amp;#039;s works, and others, selling them at is. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
per vol., whereas we had, of course, only the&lt;br /&gt;
honest English edition at 6s., as the cheapest to&lt;br /&gt;
sell.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;(4.) The extent to which the pirated books&lt;br /&gt;
and American reprints damage the books of the&lt;br /&gt;
English trade is made evident by reading the fore-&lt;br /&gt;
going paragraph. Moreover, this illicit trade is&lt;br /&gt;
specially damaging in the Cape, where the majority&lt;br /&gt;
of the population are not&amp;#039; reading people,&amp;#039; and may&lt;br /&gt;
be induced to buy a book for cheapness sake, when&lt;br /&gt;
they would not purchase it otherwise.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
At Cape Town, therefore,-in which town, by-the-&lt;br /&gt;
bye, it was that the pirated copy of &amp;quot;Jess&amp;quot; was&lt;br /&gt;
bought, the English author&amp;#039;s property is greatly&lt;br /&gt;
damaged by these illicit editions, and the law, even&lt;br /&gt;
when enforced, is found powerless to check the&lt;br /&gt;
evil. From Natal we have much the same story.&lt;br /&gt;
From British Guiana we learn that the Custom&lt;br /&gt;
House exacts on American editions, which are&lt;br /&gt;
freely imported, the duty of 20 per cent, on the pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lished price of all registered books.&lt;br /&gt;
Here the penalty does not, in any way, stop the&lt;br /&gt;
abuse. The impost is cheerfully paid, and the&lt;br /&gt;
sale goes on to the detriment of the owners of the&lt;br /&gt;
copyright.&lt;br /&gt;
From the Straits Settlements we leam that the&lt;br /&gt;
American reprint has been rife there. The Chap-&lt;br /&gt;
lain of Penang, who is also honorary librarian of&lt;br /&gt;
the Public Library, informs us that there were few&lt;br /&gt;
books, except the pirated editions, to be bought&lt;br /&gt;
on the Island, and that the question of purchasing&lt;br /&gt;
these volumes for the use of the Library had been&lt;br /&gt;
frequently before him. But from Singapore we&lt;br /&gt;
have the following significant letter:&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;We beg to acknowledge receipt of your favour&lt;br /&gt;
of the 29th ult., and in reply beg to inform you&lt;br /&gt;
that pirated editions are not sold in Singapore&lt;br /&gt;
at all. All the firms here have agreed, in response&lt;br /&gt;
to an appeal from the Colonial Government, not to&lt;br /&gt;
keep them in stock.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
We say significant, for our attention was first&lt;br /&gt;
called to this matter in reference to the Straits&lt;br /&gt;
Settlements, so that before making this inquiry&lt;br /&gt;
into the prevalence of the abuse in the Colonies&lt;br /&gt;
generally, we were able to direct the attention of&lt;br /&gt;
the Colonial Office to Singapore in particular: and&lt;br /&gt;
the fact that action in Singapore has been so suc-&lt;br /&gt;
cessful is encouraging to future effort.&lt;br /&gt;
We invited, in our letter, suggestions for the&lt;br /&gt;
remedy of the evil where it existed, and, with great&lt;br /&gt;
unanimity, the Colonial book-sellers point out that&lt;br /&gt;
the most certain remedy imaginable would be to&lt;br /&gt;
issue cheap authorised editions for the Colonial&lt;br /&gt;
market A Colonial edition of more expensive&lt;br /&gt;
books is already issued by several publishers, and&lt;br /&gt;
the plan has proved successful. One book-seller&lt;br /&gt;
tells us that he could have sold perhaps 100 copies&lt;br /&gt;
of Stanley&amp;#039;s &amp;quot;Darkest Africa &amp;quot; at the English price&lt;br /&gt;
of 42s., whereas he is confident that he will dispose&lt;br /&gt;
of over 2,000 copies of the i6.r. edition, which has&lt;br /&gt;
been prepared for Colonial use. It is suggested&lt;br /&gt;
by most of our correspondents that this plan&lt;br /&gt;
should be tried for cheaper books, that, in&lt;br /&gt;
fact, the 3J. 6d., 5s. and 6s. novel, as each&lt;br /&gt;
appears in England, should be accompanied by a&lt;br /&gt;
is., is. 6d., 2s., paper-covered edition for the&lt;br /&gt;
Colonies. It is too much to expect that people&lt;br /&gt;
will give the large sums asked for the English&lt;br /&gt;
edition, when they can buy the American copies&lt;br /&gt;
for 25 cents.&lt;br /&gt;
In New Zealand and Australia present legislation&lt;br /&gt;
seems sufficient, and the English author does not&lt;br /&gt;
appear to have been really damaged in India, but&lt;br /&gt;
in Africa something must be done. Either the&lt;br /&gt;
law is not enforced, or else the demand for these&lt;br /&gt;
books is so large that, after the 20 per cent, has&lt;br /&gt;
been paid to the Custom House officers, a hand-&lt;br /&gt;
some profit can be made by their sale of them.&lt;br /&gt;
The present law is not too neat in its working.&lt;br /&gt;
The lists supplied to the Custom House are often&lt;br /&gt;
a year old and more, which means that the pirate&lt;br /&gt;
has a year&amp;#039;s clear run before an official notice&lt;br /&gt;
reaches the colony that the book is a registered&lt;br /&gt;
property, and that a duty of 20 per cent, is due to&lt;br /&gt;
the owner of its copyright. Now the edge is taken&lt;br /&gt;
off the sale of a novel in a year. Again, the lists&lt;br /&gt;
are made up from the registrations at Stationers&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
Hall, but very few authors trouble themselves to&lt;br /&gt;
find out if their books are duly registered. They&lt;br /&gt;
generally do get registered, but often not at the&lt;br /&gt;
moment of publication, so that, during the first&lt;br /&gt;
rush for the work, the book will often be unprotected&lt;br /&gt;
in the Colonies, even though the Custom House&lt;br /&gt;
officials should happen to be furnished with the&lt;br /&gt;
latest lists.&lt;br /&gt;
Lastly, if all goes well, the pecuniary return is a&lt;br /&gt;
pitiful one. It was from this source that Charles&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 114 (#146) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
Reade received i6.f. 4J. as the result of two years&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
sale of &amp;quot; Never too late to Mend.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
There is no doubt that English authors ought to&lt;br /&gt;
secure a better hold on this enormous market.&lt;br /&gt;
The result of this inquiry will be laid before our&lt;br /&gt;
Committee at once, and a sub-Committee formed&lt;br /&gt;
to decide upon the best course. We know from&lt;br /&gt;
experience that we can depend upon the courteous&lt;br /&gt;
co-operation of the Colonial Office.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
A HARD CASE.&lt;br /&gt;
No. IV.&lt;br /&gt;
AN author, already favourably known to a&lt;br /&gt;
good if small public, wrote a story and&lt;br /&gt;
took it to a literary gentleman, who had&lt;br /&gt;
offered him friendly assistance in his search for a&lt;br /&gt;
publisher. This gentleman approved of the story,&lt;br /&gt;
and, on his recommendation, a publisher offered to&lt;br /&gt;
bring the book out on the half-profit system. The&lt;br /&gt;
agreement was a perfectly informal document, drawn&lt;br /&gt;
by the intermediary on a sheet of writing paper.&lt;br /&gt;
Under it the author gave up all his rights in the&lt;br /&gt;
book in return for a half share in future profits.&lt;br /&gt;
Let us stop here and consider what that means.&lt;br /&gt;
The author gives up his work entirely to another&lt;br /&gt;
person, a joint-adventurer, on the understanding&lt;br /&gt;
that all profits shall be shared between them, and&lt;br /&gt;
from the moment that he does so he ceases to have&lt;br /&gt;
any voice in the management of the transaction,&lt;br /&gt;
and any control over the expenditure. He is con-&lt;br /&gt;
sidered to have done his share of the task. His&lt;br /&gt;
has been the simple and easy part, the writing of&lt;br /&gt;
the book. Why it is a thing, some people say, that&lt;br /&gt;
any educated gentleman can do, if he can get credit&lt;br /&gt;
for pens and paper; and a thing, moreover, which&lt;br /&gt;
is constantly done by people of no education what-&lt;br /&gt;
ever. The author is at no expense. It is true&lt;br /&gt;
that the work may occupy all his leisure time for a&lt;br /&gt;
year. It is true that if he had devoted that time,&lt;br /&gt;
to (say) digging, he would have earned perhaps fifty&lt;br /&gt;
pounds, and that there are still more people who&lt;br /&gt;
can dig than spell. Indeed we do not ourselves&lt;br /&gt;
think that writing even a very bad book is so simple&lt;br /&gt;
a matter, but let it be conceded that the author&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
lot&amp;#039;s a very happy one, and let us suppose that he&lt;br /&gt;
has just written a book. He expects to be repaid&lt;br /&gt;
in money and in increased reputation. If he does&lt;br /&gt;
get money so much the better, but if he only gets&lt;br /&gt;
fame from any one venture, that will mean money&lt;br /&gt;
from his next venture. Now comes in the daring&lt;br /&gt;
publisher and proceeds to take the risk. He can&lt;br /&gt;
take it how he likes, either fighting&mdash;like Colonel&lt;br /&gt;
Quaggs&mdash;or with sugar&mdash;as Orpheus C. Kerr took&lt;br /&gt;
the oath&mdash;but how he takes it is a matter for his&lt;br /&gt;
own private consideration. And this is the fact&lt;br /&gt;
with which we find fault. The publisher can pro-&lt;br /&gt;
duce so small an edition that if the whole sold, there&lt;br /&gt;
would still be a loss on the book. Then, one may&lt;br /&gt;
say, where are his own profits to come from? There&lt;br /&gt;
won&amp;#039;t be any for him, but that is a most unchristian,&lt;br /&gt;
as well as an empty sort of satisfaction for his partner.&lt;br /&gt;
He can produce so large an edition that it never&lt;br /&gt;
can sell, so that the results of all the sales that do&lt;br /&gt;
take place do not cover the printer&amp;#039;s bill. He can&lt;br /&gt;
advertise once a month in a circular privately sent&lt;br /&gt;
out to a few customers, or daily in The Times, and&lt;br /&gt;
take a column of it. He can bind the book in any-&lt;br /&gt;
thing. There is or was a book in a well-known&lt;br /&gt;
local library, bound in the skin of the Red Barn&lt;br /&gt;
murderer; between anything so expensive and&lt;br /&gt;
unique as this and a paper wrapper, there is a large&lt;br /&gt;
choice for the publisher to whom the total manage-&lt;br /&gt;
ment of details is left, and the chance of there&lt;br /&gt;
being a profit depends greatly on the publisher&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
choice.&lt;br /&gt;
It was in this way that the entire management of&lt;br /&gt;
the book in question fell into the publisher&amp;#039;s hands;&lt;br /&gt;
he could produce it entirely as he pleased, all the&lt;br /&gt;
details of publishing were left to his discretion.&lt;br /&gt;
But alas! he appears to have had no discretion.&lt;br /&gt;
He employed good artists and first-class printers,&lt;br /&gt;
and he ordered an enormous first edition of this&lt;br /&gt;
costly book, an edition he would hardly have been&lt;br /&gt;
justified in ordering, if the book had been written&lt;br /&gt;
by one of the most popular writers of fiction.&lt;br /&gt;
Doubtless he relied on the splendid work put into&lt;br /&gt;
the production to largely assist in the sale, for, in&lt;br /&gt;
spite of the expense incurred over illustration, the&lt;br /&gt;
book was announced at a popular price. The fact&lt;br /&gt;
that the name of his firm was and is one honoured&lt;br /&gt;
in book-land, would also be a great help to the&lt;br /&gt;
author.&lt;br /&gt;
Then came a series of delays in the publication,&lt;br /&gt;
quite incomprehensible to the author, for neither&lt;br /&gt;
the publisher nor the common friend gave him a&lt;br /&gt;
hint that there was any definite reason for these&lt;br /&gt;
delays. The book was announced for this month&lt;br /&gt;
and for that month; now it was to stimulate the&lt;br /&gt;
wear)&amp;#039; palate of August, now to satisfy the hungry&lt;br /&gt;
cravings of Christmas, but still it never appeared.&lt;br /&gt;
But at last an explanation of some sort or another&lt;br /&gt;
leaked out. The publisher was at variance with&lt;br /&gt;
his partners, who repudiated, as a firm, this and&lt;br /&gt;
other contracts, into which he had entered in their&lt;br /&gt;
name. Certainly this one partner had signed the&lt;br /&gt;
agreement, given all the orders and effected all&lt;br /&gt;
communications with the author, but the idea that,&lt;br /&gt;
when doing so, he wasnot in a position to speak&lt;br /&gt;
for his firm never occurred to the author. The&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 115 (#147) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
legal side of this question was never discussed. It&lt;br /&gt;
is possible and even probable, that the firm would&lt;br /&gt;
have been obliged to carry out the undertaking, but&lt;br /&gt;
the author was advised to try and get away from his&lt;br /&gt;
original arrangements and find a fresh publisher.&lt;br /&gt;
The position now was this.&lt;br /&gt;
An enormous and splendidly illustrated stock lay&lt;br /&gt;
in sheets at the printers, and an enormous bill had&lt;br /&gt;
to be paid for it, before the printer would let it&lt;br /&gt;
out of his hands, and the copyright of the work&lt;br /&gt;
had been assigned&mdash;at any rate, for this enormous&lt;br /&gt;
number of copies&mdash;to a man who could not meet&lt;br /&gt;
the bill himself, and whose firm repudiated their&lt;br /&gt;
liability. This was awkward, but further complica-&lt;br /&gt;
tions were yet to follow.&lt;br /&gt;
The publisher&amp;#039;s creditors proceeded against him,&lt;br /&gt;
and chose to consider this luckless novel one of&lt;br /&gt;
his most valuable assets. So much money had&lt;br /&gt;
already been spent upon it in the way of illustra-&lt;br /&gt;
tion, and the chance that it would achieve a large&lt;br /&gt;
sale seemed so good, that they were probably right&lt;br /&gt;
in so appreciating it. But that meant that the aulhor&lt;br /&gt;
could not get his book from the printer without much&lt;br /&gt;
trouble and legal formality. For if the copyright&lt;br /&gt;
was undoubtedly partly the author&amp;#039;s, it was un-&lt;br /&gt;
doubtedly partly the publisher&amp;#039;s, and if the author&lt;br /&gt;
redeemed his stock and sold it for his own benefit,&lt;br /&gt;
he might be held to have injured the publisher&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
estate. On the other hand, the author had many&lt;br /&gt;
grounds upon which to base a large pecuniary&lt;br /&gt;
claim against the publisher, and some to substan-&lt;br /&gt;
tiate a breach of contract. Their joint property&lt;br /&gt;
had been damaged by the continual delay; large&lt;br /&gt;
orders which had been given for the book were&lt;br /&gt;
not, of course, executed, and perhaps would not&lt;br /&gt;
be repeated later, while many advertisements,&lt;br /&gt;
some representing a tolerable sum of money, were&lt;br /&gt;
lost for good. This was a side of the question&lt;br /&gt;
which, we are happy to allow, the publisher&amp;#039;s re-&lt;br /&gt;
presentatives saw most clearly. Their behaviour&lt;br /&gt;
throughout to the author was very considerate, and&lt;br /&gt;
a definite understanding was at last arrived at, that&lt;br /&gt;
no obstacle would be put in the way of the author&lt;br /&gt;
if he chose to treat directly with the printer for the&lt;br /&gt;
stock.&lt;br /&gt;
Now things began to look smoother, when there&lt;br /&gt;
appeared on the scene another claimant to rights&lt;br /&gt;
over the unfortunate book. It appeared that i/ie&lt;br /&gt;
publisher had assigned the copyright of the work for&lt;br /&gt;
this enormous first edition to another publisher at&lt;br /&gt;
the actual cost price of the work! Of course he had&lt;br /&gt;
no power whatever thus to assign a copyright, which&lt;br /&gt;
was not unconditionally his, to a third person, who&lt;br /&gt;
was unknown to the author, and to do so without&lt;br /&gt;
the author&amp;#039;s sanction: but, setting this point aside,&lt;br /&gt;
consider his interpretation of his agreement. He&lt;br /&gt;
was to give the author half-profits. Avowedly to&lt;br /&gt;
effect this, he took the book, gave nothing for it,&lt;br /&gt;
but promised &amp;quot;as remuneration,&amp;quot; to give the author&lt;br /&gt;
one-half of any receipts over and above his disburse-&lt;br /&gt;
ments. Then he sells the book for the exact sum&lt;br /&gt;
he had disbursed, or, at any rate, for the exact sum&lt;br /&gt;
he is stated to have disbursed.&lt;br /&gt;
This assignment was set aside by the author,&lt;br /&gt;
who was advised that he need not be bound by&lt;br /&gt;
such an arrangement, and the hard case had a happy&lt;br /&gt;
termination. With the co-operation of the first&lt;br /&gt;
publisher&amp;#039;s solicitors, the author recovered his stock&lt;br /&gt;
from the printers, and came to an arrangement with&lt;br /&gt;
the second publisher (who had already advertised&lt;br /&gt;
the book and taken orders for it), to publish it for&lt;br /&gt;
him.&lt;br /&gt;
The book has been so far a success.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
A SOCIETY OF AUTHORS FOR&lt;br /&gt;
AMERICA.&lt;br /&gt;
I.&lt;br /&gt;
[Reprinted from the Xciv York Tribune.]&lt;br /&gt;
London, July igth.&lt;br /&gt;
WHY is there no Society of Authors in the&lt;br /&gt;
United States? I shall, perhaps, be&lt;br /&gt;
told there is one, but is there one answer-&lt;br /&gt;
ing to the Society of Men of Letters in France, or&lt;br /&gt;
to that which exists in England? The work this&lt;br /&gt;
Society has done here is most useful, and it would&lt;br /&gt;
be hard to praise it too highly, if you consider that&lt;br /&gt;
it has been done by authors who are themselves both&lt;br /&gt;
busy and successful. They give many hours a&lt;br /&gt;
week to the cause of Literature, and to the interests&lt;br /&gt;
of their fellow-authors. They have made the&lt;br /&gt;
Society what it is; a body with purely practical&lt;br /&gt;
aims, using practical methods to attain them. It&lt;br /&gt;
takes a long time for the English&mdash;and, perhaps,&lt;br /&gt;
sometimes for others than English&mdash;to grasp a new&lt;br /&gt;
fact, or comprehend the real object of a new enter-&lt;br /&gt;
prise.&lt;br /&gt;
There are people, as 7&amp;#039;he Author tells us, who&lt;br /&gt;
look on the Society as one which exists for the&lt;br /&gt;
purpose of patching up, or even of creating quarrels&lt;br /&gt;
and grievances with publishers. It is nothing of&lt;br /&gt;
the kind. The Society has no quarrel with pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lishers as such, and never had any: that it exists&lt;br /&gt;
mainly for the purpose of maintaining the rights,&lt;br /&gt;
the sacredness, and the reality of Literary Property.&lt;br /&gt;
With the honest publisher the Society has no&lt;br /&gt;
quarrel; with the dishonest publisher it has, and&lt;br /&gt;
it makes no secret of its desire and intention to&lt;br /&gt;
keep the author out of the clutches of the dis-&lt;br /&gt;
honest publisher. As success in that laudable&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 116 (#148) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
u6&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
effort will increase the business of the honest pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lisher, they and the Society ought to be on good&lt;br /&gt;
terms. The honest publisher, like the author,&lt;br /&gt;
owes, or will owe, a debt of gratitude to all who&lt;br /&gt;
are concerned with it.&lt;br /&gt;
It has some 600 members, with Lord Tennyson as&lt;br /&gt;
President. On its Council are&mdash;besides Mr. Besant&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;Sir Edwin Arnold, Mr. Bryce, Sir Frederick&lt;br /&gt;
Pollock, Mr. Rider Haggard, Mr. Marion Craw-&lt;br /&gt;
ford, Mr. George Meredith, Prof. Michael Foster,&lt;br /&gt;
and many more men of leading and light in the&lt;br /&gt;
world of letters. It has offices in Portugal Street,&lt;br /&gt;
Lincoln&amp;#039;s Inn Fields. It has legal counsel, solici-&lt;br /&gt;
tors, a committee of management, and a monthly&lt;br /&gt;
organ. And it has principles. These have just&lt;br /&gt;
been restated in a brief and convenient form, and&lt;br /&gt;
I cannot do better than quote them:&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
1. Literary property is created by the author,&lt;br /&gt;
and belongs, at the outset, to him.&lt;br /&gt;
2. Literary property must be held as sacred as&lt;br /&gt;
any other kind of property.&lt;br /&gt;
3. Literary property is ruled by the demand for&lt;br /&gt;
a book, just as colliery property means the&lt;br /&gt;
sale of the output. And as the value of&lt;br /&gt;
a colliery depends first on the output in&lt;br /&gt;
tons and their price, so the value of a book&lt;br /&gt;
can only be estimated with reference to the&lt;br /&gt;
number of copies sold.&lt;br /&gt;
4. The author must not part with his property&lt;br /&gt;
without due consideration, nor without&lt;br /&gt;
understanding exactly what possibilities,&lt;br /&gt;
as well as what certainties, he gives and&lt;br /&gt;
what he receives.&lt;br /&gt;
5. What the author is entitled to is, after pay-&lt;br /&gt;
ment of the cost of production and the pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lisher&amp;#039;s agency and labour, all the remaining&lt;br /&gt;
proceeds. This proportion of the returns is&lt;br /&gt;
the property which he has to sell for a lump&lt;br /&gt;
sum down, or to receive year by year.&lt;br /&gt;
6. The publisher has to be remunerated for his&lt;br /&gt;
agency and labour out of the returns of the&lt;br /&gt;
book in a certain proportion which should&lt;br /&gt;
be a fixed proportion recognized by both&lt;br /&gt;
contracting parties and understood by both.&lt;br /&gt;
To some of these the publisher may demur, but&lt;br /&gt;
they are principles which the French Society of Men&lt;br /&gt;
of Letters have established in France. There is, I&lt;br /&gt;
apprehend, no country in the world where the rights&lt;br /&gt;
of Literature are better understood or settled on a&lt;br /&gt;
more practical basis than in France. The English&lt;br /&gt;
Society of Authors is, in fact, an imitator of the&lt;br /&gt;
French, and will perhaps end by doing for the&lt;br /&gt;
English author what has been done for the French,&lt;br /&gt;
Both in England and America a public opinion&lt;br /&gt;
on this subject has yet to be created. Recent events&lt;br /&gt;
have shown that in America there is a great body of&lt;br /&gt;
opinion which is hostile to the whole idea of literary&lt;br /&gt;
property. Mr. Payson of Illinois and Mr. Mills of&lt;br /&gt;
Texas seem to deny its existence. That they repre-&lt;br /&gt;
sent the majority of the American people I do not&lt;br /&gt;
believe. It is enough for them to have carried with&lt;br /&gt;
with them a majority of the House of Represen-&lt;br /&gt;
tatives. They and their majority have brought such&lt;br /&gt;
discredit and disgrace upon the American name as&lt;br /&gt;
many years of honesty and honourable dealing will&lt;br /&gt;
not altogether efface. Judge Shipman, of the&lt;br /&gt;
United States Circuit Court, has done something to&lt;br /&gt;
efface it&mdash;all honour to him, strange as it still seems&lt;br /&gt;
to be proclaiming honour to a Judge because he will&lt;br /&gt;
not admit it to be legal to steal.&lt;br /&gt;
The question of copyright, domestic or inter-&lt;br /&gt;
national, may seem aside from the main subject, but&lt;br /&gt;
all questions of literary property are inextricably in-&lt;br /&gt;
terwoven and cannot be separated. They all have&lt;br /&gt;
the Eighth Commandment for their basis. Until&lt;br /&gt;
the &amp;quot;Encyclopaedia Britannica&amp;quot; case, it had been&lt;br /&gt;
supposed that the American Pirate put forth no&lt;br /&gt;
pretension to rob any other than the foreign author.&lt;br /&gt;
It was then seen that he claimed the right to rob the&lt;br /&gt;
native author also; the American man of letters was&lt;br /&gt;
to be his spoil just as much as the British. There&lt;br /&gt;
can be&mdash;outside of the courts, and the courts are&lt;br /&gt;
always a last resort&mdash;no complete remedy for such&lt;br /&gt;
a state of things, and no redress of grievances,&lt;br /&gt;
otherwise than by the creation of a sound public&lt;br /&gt;
opinion, and that is one of the aims of the&lt;br /&gt;
Society of Authors. Very different, I may re-&lt;br /&gt;
mark, is the handling of the copyright business in&lt;br /&gt;
the Society&amp;#039;s Journal from that of Mr. Wemyss&lt;br /&gt;
Reid, whose heavy-handed invective attracted some&lt;br /&gt;
notice at the time. Mr. Wemyss Reid would fain&lt;br /&gt;
hold all America responsible for Mr. Payson and&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Mills. The Society urges, on the other hand,&lt;br /&gt;
a recognition of the noble efforts in behalf of copy-&lt;br /&gt;
right made by the leading men, the men of culture,&lt;br /&gt;
in the Eastern States. These men, it tells its British&lt;br /&gt;
readers, include all the authors of America, all the&lt;br /&gt;
honourable publishers and a great number of editors.&lt;br /&gt;
The opponents of the Bill were Western farmers,&lt;br /&gt;
who knew nothing about literature, literary property,&lt;br /&gt;
authors&amp;#039; rights or anything else except their own&lt;br /&gt;
local interests. And The Author boldly says that&lt;br /&gt;
the views of the British world, with respect to literary&lt;br /&gt;
property, are not much more enlightened than those&lt;br /&gt;
of the ignorant Western farmer.&lt;br /&gt;
Education, however, and most of all the educa&lt;br /&gt;
tion of public opinion, is a slow process, and the&lt;br /&gt;
Society of Authors meanwhile busies itself with&lt;br /&gt;
the most practical and pressing necessities of its&lt;br /&gt;
clients. Any respectable author may join it on&lt;br /&gt;
payment of a yearly subscription of 85. Once a&lt;br /&gt;
member, he becomes a client, and may have his&lt;br /&gt;
business transacted for him without further charge.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 117 (#149) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
117&lt;br /&gt;
It is the cheapest advice anywhere to be had, and&lt;br /&gt;
it is also the best. The relations between author&lt;br /&gt;
and publisher undergo a change at once. It is&lt;br /&gt;
no longer the case of a business man dealing with&lt;br /&gt;
one who, as a rule, is not a man of business, and&lt;br /&gt;
knows nothing of the mysteries of manufacturing&lt;br /&gt;
and publishing printed books. The Society does&lt;br /&gt;
know, and knows how to make its knowledge&lt;br /&gt;
useful to the author.&lt;br /&gt;
He has only to send to the Committee the form&lt;br /&gt;
of contract prepared for him by the publisher.&lt;br /&gt;
He will be told whether it is a fair one or not,&lt;br /&gt;
and, if not, in what particulars it is unfair. He&lt;br /&gt;
will be told what it costs to manufacture his&lt;br /&gt;
book if he is himself to bear, or to share, the&lt;br /&gt;
cost of publication. If he is to be paid by a&lt;br /&gt;
royalty, he will be advised what percentage upon&lt;br /&gt;
the selling price of the book he ought to receive.&lt;br /&gt;
He will be warned, if need be, against the dis-&lt;br /&gt;
honest publisher. If the publisher he has selected&lt;br /&gt;
be honest, his negotiation with him is still a&lt;br /&gt;
matter of business, and he needs all the help he&lt;br /&gt;
can get toward looking after his own end of the&lt;br /&gt;
bargain. Legal advice is of little or no use.&lt;br /&gt;
Few lawyers have taken the trouble to master&lt;br /&gt;
the intricacies of publishing, or are aware of the&lt;br /&gt;
pitfalls and traps in which some of these pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lishers&amp;#039; forms of contract abound. The author who&lt;br /&gt;
goes to this Society may or may not be able to&lt;br /&gt;
command good terms. But at least he will know&lt;br /&gt;
whether they are good or bad, and know exactly&lt;br /&gt;
what the contract is which he is asked to sign.&lt;br /&gt;
A case came to my knowledge the other day.&lt;br /&gt;
An author submitted two contracts to his solicitor:&lt;br /&gt;
one of the few who are supposed really to under-&lt;br /&gt;
stand the subject. He approved of both, and&lt;br /&gt;
advised his client to sign both, with, in one case, a&lt;br /&gt;
trivial technical alteration. Not quite satisfied, the&lt;br /&gt;
author sent them to the Society; with this sur-&lt;br /&gt;
prising result, that he was advised to object to&lt;br /&gt;
many of the clauses, and did object. The pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lishers in both cases were among the best, and&lt;br /&gt;
assented readily enough to the modifications pro-&lt;br /&gt;
posed. The effect of them was that in both cases&lt;br /&gt;
the agreement ultimately signed was far more&lt;br /&gt;
beneficial to the author than those first submitted&lt;br /&gt;
to him and sanctioned by his solicitor.&lt;br /&gt;
The organ of the Society gives singular instances&lt;br /&gt;
of the adventures which have befallen the authors&lt;br /&gt;
in quest of publicity. The latest case is the most&lt;br /&gt;
extreme,&mdash;that of a lady who handed her manu-&lt;br /&gt;
script to a publisher, and was told that the cost of&lt;br /&gt;
printing a specified number of copies would be&lt;br /&gt;
$600. A friend sent it direct to a printer, who&lt;br /&gt;
offered to print and bind that number of copies for&lt;br /&gt;
$80! Perhaps this publisher was one of that firm,&lt;br /&gt;
elsewhere described in The Author, as one &amp;quot;of&lt;br /&gt;
which all the worst things ever alleged against the&lt;br /&gt;
publishing trade may be alleged with the greatest&lt;br /&gt;
truth.&amp;quot; The paper adds: &amp;quot;We have for a long time&lt;br /&gt;
kept work out of their hands, and we intend to&lt;br /&gt;
go on doing so until they mend their ways.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
An earlier statement shows that the dishonest&lt;br /&gt;
publisher is not such a rarity that the author need&lt;br /&gt;
not beware of him. There are, according to this&lt;br /&gt;
estimate, not more than a dozen publishers in all&lt;br /&gt;
London with whom publishing is anything but a&lt;br /&gt;
system of robbery. If the condition of things in&lt;br /&gt;
America be in any degree analogous to this, the&lt;br /&gt;
foundation of a Society of American Authors is a&lt;br /&gt;
pressing need. And even if the American be, as&lt;br /&gt;
we are bound to suppose, vastly more virtuous&lt;br /&gt;
than his British brother, there are other reasons&lt;br /&gt;
which make the need for such a Society hardly&lt;br /&gt;
less imperative. I have touched on but few of&lt;br /&gt;
them, and it is for the American at home to&lt;br /&gt;
consider the whole subject for himself. But I may&lt;br /&gt;
repeat what I have said before, that, perhaps&lt;br /&gt;
evenmorethan the author, the honourable publisher&lt;br /&gt;
has an interest in suppressing his dishonourable&lt;br /&gt;
rival.&lt;br /&gt;
G. W. S.&lt;br /&gt;
II.&lt;br /&gt;
{Reprintedfrom the Brooklyn Times.)&lt;br /&gt;
Mrs. Katherine Hodges, the authoress, of this&lt;br /&gt;
city, has a grievance against her publishers of long&lt;br /&gt;
standing and grave nature. To ventilate that&lt;br /&gt;
grievance a meeting of authors took place yester-&lt;br /&gt;
day afternoon in the green room of Historical&lt;br /&gt;
Hall.&lt;br /&gt;
Dr. Ingersoll, who was voted to the chair,&lt;br /&gt;
said that the gathering had been called to assist&lt;br /&gt;
those who seemed to have been wronged and to&lt;br /&gt;
prevent others from falling into the same trouble.&lt;br /&gt;
He then called on Mrs. Hodges to recite the story&lt;br /&gt;
of the wrong that she had suffered at the hands of&lt;br /&gt;
her publishers.&lt;br /&gt;
The authoress said: &amp;quot;In the urgent need for an&lt;br /&gt;
Authors&amp;#039; Protective Union or for some means by&lt;br /&gt;
which this class of bread-winners may be protected&lt;br /&gt;
in their rights, as are all other wage-workers save&lt;br /&gt;
the author, perhaps the best argument I could&lt;br /&gt;
offer would be some experiences of my own in&lt;br /&gt;
dealing with publications. The book, &amp;#039;Fifty&lt;br /&gt;
Years a Queen,&amp;#039; was published on my account by&lt;br /&gt;
Belford, Clarke &amp;amp; Co., New York and Chicago,&lt;br /&gt;
in the last days of April, 1887. A few days after&lt;br /&gt;
it appeared, Mr. Robert Belford, manager of the&lt;br /&gt;
New York branch, told me in his office, 386,&lt;br /&gt;
Broadway, that he had on that morning received&lt;br /&gt;
an order for 100 of the books from one house and&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 118 (#150) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
n8&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
had the morning before had an order from another&lt;br /&gt;
house for 200. When the publisher&amp;#039;s first state-&lt;br /&gt;
ment was rendered in September, 1887 (four&lt;br /&gt;
months after this conversation), I was astonished&lt;br /&gt;
to see that the total receipts up to that date were&lt;br /&gt;
given as &sect;101.88! I remembered the sale of 300&lt;br /&gt;
books mentioned by Mr. Belford in the first days&lt;br /&gt;
of May, the price of which alone would aggregate&lt;br /&gt;
more than the whole sum of money stated, and&lt;br /&gt;
that four months had passed since that time, from&lt;br /&gt;
May to September, these months including the&lt;br /&gt;
Jubilee celebration, when the book had a good&lt;br /&gt;
sale. My surprise was followed by doubts. This&lt;br /&gt;
statement of September, 1887, also gave the issue&lt;br /&gt;
of the book as one edition of 1,000, which seemed&lt;br /&gt;
to me to be as doubtful as was the statement of&lt;br /&gt;
money said to have been received by the pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lishers.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;In this dilemma, and in order to explain, if&lt;br /&gt;
possible, the seeming discrepancy between facts&lt;br /&gt;
and figures, I made an appeal for information and&lt;br /&gt;
learned from an undoubted authority that instead&lt;br /&gt;
of 1,000 copies of the book being made Belford,&lt;br /&gt;
Clarke &amp;amp; Co. had issued no less than 3,000.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;On February 1, 1888, a further statement was&lt;br /&gt;
furnished by the publishers, in which the receipts&lt;br /&gt;
were stated as $101.88, and the number of books&lt;br /&gt;
as 1,000, as in the first account. In February, 1888,&lt;br /&gt;
however, as I have since learned and can conclu-&lt;br /&gt;
sively prove, these publishers (without my know-&lt;br /&gt;
ledge), surreptitiously issued the book in paper&lt;br /&gt;
covers under the title of &amp;#039;Great Britain under&lt;br /&gt;
Queen Victoria,&amp;#039; and altered my name as author.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Mrs. Hodges here produced the two issues of&lt;br /&gt;
the book to illustrate her remarks. (The alteration&lt;br /&gt;
was thus: In the genuine edition the proper name&lt;br /&gt;
of the authoress is given&mdash;Mrs. Katherine Hodges;&lt;br /&gt;
in the paper covered and spurious edition the book&lt;br /&gt;
is stated to be by &amp;quot; Mrs. K. Hodge.&amp;quot;)&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Of this paper covered edition,&amp;quot; resumed the&lt;br /&gt;
speaker, &amp;quot; they put out an edition of at least 4,000&lt;br /&gt;
copies at 50 cents a book at retail, and in May, 1888,&lt;br /&gt;
they issued (as Mr. Belford now acknowledges) 4,000&lt;br /&gt;
more in paper covers, cheaper form, &amp;amp;c, which were&lt;br /&gt;
sold to Butler Brothers, also under the altered title,&lt;br /&gt;
obviously with fraudulent intent. In all I have&lt;br /&gt;
traced nearly 20,000 copies of my book issued by&lt;br /&gt;
the firm in question, and I believe that they have&lt;br /&gt;
issued a great many more. They have not paid&lt;br /&gt;
me one dollar. They have appropriated the whole&lt;br /&gt;
work, and in the present defenceless condition of&lt;br /&gt;
authors, who are without any protection whatever,&lt;br /&gt;
the chance of gaining redress which people who&lt;br /&gt;
labour in other channels may resort to for remedy&lt;br /&gt;
in cases of spoliation does not exist. This case, it&lt;br /&gt;
seems to me&mdash;and I know of other cases similar to&lt;br /&gt;
mine&mdash;proves the necessity for immediate action&lt;br /&gt;
for the protection of authors, and adequate action&lt;br /&gt;
at that. That there are honourable publishers,&lt;br /&gt;
honest men who would scorn to rob persons so&lt;br /&gt;
entirely at their mercy as the authors, no one can&lt;br /&gt;
doubt. To such men the protection to authors&lt;br /&gt;
would be welcome and gratifying, while in cases of&lt;br /&gt;
the unscrupulous classes of publishers who make it&lt;br /&gt;
a practice to pilfer when they can, the author&lt;br /&gt;
would have his safeguard as others have, and even&lt;br /&gt;
those men in whom morality must be at low ebb&lt;br /&gt;
would be made better, higher and more human by&lt;br /&gt;
the utilization of this portion of the Lord&amp;#039;s Prayer:&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;#039;Lead us not into temptation.&amp;#039;&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
AN AUTHOR&amp;#039;S HOME.&lt;br /&gt;
AREFUGE for brain workers in need has&lt;br /&gt;
been started within the last year by Miss&lt;br /&gt;
Fisher, of Brooklyn, New York.&lt;br /&gt;
This lady owns a large house, and having only&lt;br /&gt;
an invalid father occupying it with her, she con-&lt;br /&gt;
ceived the idea of sharing it with some authors&lt;br /&gt;
who are in need.&lt;br /&gt;
Miss Fisher wisely thinks it more humane to&lt;br /&gt;
help the author before he quite breaks down, rather&lt;br /&gt;
than subscribe to a monument to him after he has&lt;br /&gt;
been starved to death. About half a century ago,&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. N. P. Willis tried to establish such a home. The&lt;br /&gt;
terrible sufferings of Edgar Poe and his wife made&lt;br /&gt;
such an impression on him, that he appealed to&lt;br /&gt;
several of his contemporaries to help him in found-&lt;br /&gt;
ing a refuge where literary workers and others of&lt;br /&gt;
refinement, whose pursuits had been of an intellec-&lt;br /&gt;
tual character, might find a temporary home and&lt;br /&gt;
rest, to help them to &amp;quot;tide &amp;quot; over a season of diffi-&lt;br /&gt;
culty or illness, without any publicity. He did&lt;br /&gt;
not succeed. Now, in its infancy, Miss Fisher&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
Home Hotel, it is hoped, will fulfil this mission.&lt;br /&gt;
The object is to afford the guests of the Home a&lt;br /&gt;
retreat until able to resume their labours, or to&lt;br /&gt;
find a permanent home (for those who are unable&lt;br /&gt;
to work) for the rest of their lives. This home is&lt;br /&gt;
free to those who cannot pay; to others a merely&lt;br /&gt;
nominal charge is made.&lt;br /&gt;
It has been asked in busy America, &amp;quot; How can&lt;br /&gt;
gifted people come to such terrible want?&amp;quot; And&lt;br /&gt;
yet it is said that Edgar Poe worked hard as a&lt;br /&gt;
newspaper slave from morning until midnight,&lt;br /&gt;
while his devoted wife lay dying on a bed of straw&lt;br /&gt;
with his only coat covering her shivering body.&lt;br /&gt;
The poem which has made his fame, &amp;quot;The Raven,&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
brought him only ten dollars&mdash;about two guineas.&lt;br /&gt;
A case was lately cited of dire poverty of an&lt;br /&gt;
author in a wealthy city like New York, which&lt;br /&gt;
seems almost too horrible to tell. An aged pro-&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 119 (#151) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
119&lt;br /&gt;
fessor and his wife, dreading the poor-house, com-&lt;br /&gt;
mitted suicide together, bequeathing to Columbia&lt;br /&gt;
College (N.Y.) his valuable writings, notes, and&lt;br /&gt;
researches, the study of a lifetime. A writer in&lt;br /&gt;
the Woman&amp;#039;s Cycle (from whom I collate these&lt;br /&gt;
facts) tells me that an aged and well-known author&lt;br /&gt;
whose books are read by every youth in America,&lt;br /&gt;
has said that the future was appalling to him.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;After a lifetime devoted to authorship, I see&lt;br /&gt;
nothing for my old age but want and privation.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
These cannot all be divided into Mr. Gosse&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
helpable and unhelpable folks. As we know, in&lt;br /&gt;
the terrible contradictions of society, there are&lt;br /&gt;
scoundrels who pay their tradespeople, so also do&lt;br /&gt;
those, whose experience outruns popular &amp;quot; saws,&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
understand that there are practically honourable&lt;br /&gt;
people who are breaking their hearts because they&lt;br /&gt;
cannot do so.&lt;br /&gt;
Miss Fisher&amp;#039;s home is supported by many patrons,&lt;br /&gt;
but those who have helped it most generously&lt;br /&gt;
with money are, Mrs. Chauncey M. Depew, Mrs.&lt;br /&gt;
Russell Sage, and Mrs. Whittlow Reid, wife of the&lt;br /&gt;
American Minister to Paris.&lt;br /&gt;
In Paris, an author&amp;#039;s home has been founded by&lt;br /&gt;
the publisher, Galignani. He left a sum sufficient&lt;br /&gt;
to build a home for those who bad been less&lt;br /&gt;
fortunate than himself, without depriving them of&lt;br /&gt;
their independence or self-respect. This home&lt;br /&gt;
shelters one hundred people of both sexes, who&lt;br /&gt;
have each a sleeping room and a dining room. Fifty&lt;br /&gt;
of this number are to pay one hundred dollars a&lt;br /&gt;
year for lodging and board, the remaining fifty pay&lt;br /&gt;
nothing, but they must belong to the literary or&lt;br /&gt;
artistic profession. Ten must have been publishers,&lt;br /&gt;
twenty savants, and twenty literary men or artists.&lt;br /&gt;
Once inmates of the house they are as free as if&lt;br /&gt;
at an hotel; they come and go as they like.&lt;br /&gt;
Ralph Waldo Emerson calls the scholar and&lt;br /&gt;
thinker one beloved of God; with a few Miss&lt;br /&gt;
Fishers and Galignanis we may come to think&lt;br /&gt;
him not ignored of men.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
THE WORD &amp;quot;SLANG.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
IT would seem as if by some strange law of de-&lt;br /&gt;
velopment, or non-development, all men,&lt;br /&gt;
but especially philologists, are incapable of&lt;br /&gt;
understanding that a word may be derived from&lt;br /&gt;
several sources. The fewer words a man possesses,&lt;br /&gt;
the more meanings he makes them carry&mdash;as it is&lt;br /&gt;
said in Egypt that the poorer the peasant the more&lt;br /&gt;
water jars must his wife bear. In jargons and&lt;br /&gt;
slangs with limited vocabularies such as Chinook,&lt;br /&gt;
pidgin English and English Gypsy, a single word has&lt;br /&gt;
vol. 1.&lt;br /&gt;
very frequently from ten to twelve or more meanings,&lt;br /&gt;
which is natural enough, when the whole language&lt;br /&gt;
or dialect contains less than five hundred words&lt;br /&gt;
all told. Thus in English Gypsy a dozen Hindi&lt;br /&gt;
terms with entirely different meanings, become one&lt;br /&gt;
word, e.g., shukdr, which means dry, sweet, gently,&lt;br /&gt;
forcibly, loud, &amp;amp;c.; that is to say, it is derived from&lt;br /&gt;
words which separately mean dry, gentle, and so&lt;br /&gt;
forth. So it would be difficult to decide whether&lt;br /&gt;
bully, boss, the master of a house of vile character,&lt;br /&gt;
comes entirely from bully and boss (Dutch bas,&lt;br /&gt;
master), or whether it does not owe something by&lt;br /&gt;
association, to the Yiddisch baal-habos, which means&lt;br /&gt;
precisely the same thing (bal, master, bas, house)&lt;br /&gt;
and which is very widely disseminated in foreign&lt;br /&gt;
slangs.&lt;br /&gt;
This is all curiously enough illustrated by the&lt;br /&gt;
word slang itself. According to Skeat, in his&lt;br /&gt;
Etymological Dictionary, slang is of Norse or&lt;br /&gt;
Northern origin, and meant originally to revile or&lt;br /&gt;
abuse. And so far as abuse goes, I see no reason&lt;br /&gt;
to differ from him. In popular parlance, when one&lt;br /&gt;
man &amp;quot;slangs&amp;quot; another, he &amp;quot;gives him a bit&lt;br /&gt;
of his mind,&amp;quot; in the gypsy sense in which to&lt;br /&gt;
give means to hit a hard blow. And it therefore&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;follows perforce as a matter of course,&amp;quot; that this&lt;br /&gt;
is the sole source and origin of the word! So in&lt;br /&gt;
my boyhood, having learned that the Mississippi&lt;br /&gt;
came from a small rivulet which ran out of Turtle&lt;br /&gt;
Pond, I speculated on the dire consequences&lt;br /&gt;
which would ensue&mdash;such as the desolate dessica-&lt;br /&gt;
tion of the entire valley of the Mississippi&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
should any small Indian boy take it into his head&lt;br /&gt;
to dam the rivulet.&lt;br /&gt;
For to return to slang, it has other meanings&lt;br /&gt;
besides abuse. One of these, and the one most&lt;br /&gt;
familiar to Alltheworld, as well as Mrs. Alltheworld,&lt;br /&gt;
his wife, is that of vulgar, or at least unlicensed,&lt;br /&gt;
synonyme. Some of these plebians in quarantine&lt;br /&gt;
rise eventually to the pratique of aristocracy (excuse&lt;br /&gt;
mixed metaphors) but I speak of those which are&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
like the good knight in the old German tale,&lt;br /&gt;
ascensionem expectans&mdash;waiting to be hanged and to&lt;br /&gt;
rise to heaven. Now, to abuse a man is one thing,&lt;br /&gt;
but to call him by a fond nick-name which may be&lt;br /&gt;
highly complimentary&mdash;as, for instance, a gom&mdash;is&lt;br /&gt;
quite another, both being however &amp;quot;slanguage&amp;quot; of&lt;br /&gt;
the most decided description.&lt;br /&gt;
Now, it is worth noting that slang, in the sense&lt;br /&gt;
of vulgar synonyme, has long been popularly&lt;br /&gt;
regarded as a gypsy word, and that the gypsies&lt;br /&gt;
themselves claim it. And though they be no&lt;br /&gt;
philologists, the accuracy with which these people&lt;br /&gt;
distinguish between words which belong to their&lt;br /&gt;
own tongue, and those which do not, is very&lt;br /&gt;
remarkable. Having taken down as they came,&lt;br /&gt;
by chance here and there, about four thousand&lt;br /&gt;
1&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 120 (#152) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
English gypsy words, chiefly from old people, I&lt;br /&gt;
have been astonished to find what a vast proportion&lt;br /&gt;
of these, especially those now obsolete, are Hindi-&lt;br /&gt;
Persian, especially the former, and how very few&lt;br /&gt;
really English slang words have crept into Romany.&lt;br /&gt;
One especially gypsy use of the word slang is its&lt;br /&gt;
application to all matters connected with the stage,&lt;br /&gt;
or with &amp;quot;shows,&amp;quot; requiringtheatrical language, which&lt;br /&gt;
they in common with the vulgar regard as &amp;quot;a way of&lt;br /&gt;
talk&amp;quot; quite different from that of common life.&lt;br /&gt;
Hence, being &amp;quot;on the slangs&amp;quot; in common parlance&lt;br /&gt;
means connected with exhibitions, and also licensed&lt;br /&gt;
to hold forth in any way whatever. In this sense,&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Henry Irving, Miss Ellen Terry, or the Rev.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Spurgeon (I am not so sure as to his Grace the&lt;br /&gt;
Archbishop of Canterbury), are all &amp;quot;on the slangs&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;and long may they wave there as credits to them-&lt;br /&gt;
selves and their country 1&lt;br /&gt;
Now, be it noted that the word &amp;quot;swdngi&amp;quot; means&lt;br /&gt;
in India just what slangi (the old form) does in&lt;br /&gt;
gypsy&mdash;all which is of the shows, showy, and of&lt;br /&gt;
theatres, theatrical. As for the conversion of W to&lt;br /&gt;
L, it took place innumerable times in India, just as&lt;br /&gt;
it takes place now, ever and anon, in England, when&lt;br /&gt;
it comes easier. The better philologer a man is, and&lt;br /&gt;
the more familiar with strictly correct language, the&lt;br /&gt;
more foreign and forced does the change from&lt;br /&gt;
swangi to slangi seem, but to a gypsy it is the most&lt;br /&gt;
natural thing in the world. It is within the memory&lt;br /&gt;
of man that at one time there were few side or&lt;br /&gt;
small shows, or even large theatres in which gypsies&lt;br /&gt;
were not to be found, and the terms current among&lt;br /&gt;
actors, such as cully, gorger, and mash, indicate&lt;br /&gt;
their influence. By the way I have been reproved&lt;br /&gt;
in print, for extravagance in declaiming that mask&lt;br /&gt;
is gypsy, but I earnestly reply with the exquisite&lt;br /&gt;
logic of the American darkey, &amp;quot;I wish I had as&lt;br /&gt;
many dollars as I can prove dat to be true.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
It maybe remarked&mdash;&amp;quot;to top of faith&amp;quot;&mdash;that slang&lt;br /&gt;
of yore meant abuse, and that its connection with&lt;br /&gt;
things theatrical, and as a canting jargon, is subse-&lt;br /&gt;
quent to the incoming of Gypsyness to England.&lt;br /&gt;
And for a supernaculum to the topping-off, that the&lt;br /&gt;
fact that slang is in these senses possibly not&lt;br /&gt;
known to Continental gypsies, goes for little,&lt;br /&gt;
considering that English Gypsy has retained a vast&lt;br /&gt;
number of Indian words&mdash;such as Kushte and&lt;br /&gt;
Koshko (good), which are rarely, if ever, heard out&lt;br /&gt;
of England.&lt;br /&gt;
Charles G. Leland.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
GO SLOW.&lt;br /&gt;
ALL here, give ear, to whom I sing,&lt;br /&gt;
Whatever your degree;&lt;br /&gt;
Don&amp;#039;t go to fast in anything,&lt;br /&gt;
However fast you be.&lt;br /&gt;
If people try to give you tips&lt;br /&gt;
Because &amp;quot;they love you so,&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Don&amp;#039;t let your heart approach your lips&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
Go slow, my friends, go slow.&lt;br /&gt;
If girls with curls above their brow,&lt;br /&gt;
And roses on their cheek,&lt;br /&gt;
Smile innocently when you bow,&lt;br /&gt;
Or listen when you speak;&lt;br /&gt;
If one of them, in times of grief,&lt;br /&gt;
Desires to share your woe,&lt;br /&gt;
Avoid the dangerous relief&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
Go slow, my friends, go slow.&lt;br /&gt;
If folks that hoax should call on you&lt;br /&gt;
To stand for Parliament,&lt;br /&gt;
And ask you for an I.O.U.&lt;br /&gt;
For cash they say they&amp;#039;ve spent;&lt;br /&gt;
Or talk to you of &amp;quot;bulls and bears,&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Like people &amp;quot;in the know,&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
And undertake to get you shares&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
Go slow, my friends, go slow.&lt;br /&gt;
If men, again, pronounce your verse&lt;br /&gt;
Too precious to be lost,&lt;br /&gt;
And try to dip into your purse&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;To meet production&amp;#039;s cost &amp;quot;j&lt;br /&gt;
However pleasant they appear&lt;br /&gt;
In Paternoster Row,&lt;br /&gt;
That whistle will be bought too dear&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
Then, most of all, go slow.&lt;br /&gt;
H. G. Keene.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
INSCRIPTION FOR A MEMORIAL BUST OF&lt;br /&gt;
FIELDING.&lt;br /&gt;
[From The Atlantic Monthly, August, 1890.]&lt;br /&gt;
He looked on naked Nature unashamed,&lt;br /&gt;
And saw the Sphinx, now bestial, now divine,&lt;br /&gt;
In change and rechange; he nor praised nor blamed,&lt;br /&gt;
But drew her as he saw with fearless line.&lt;br /&gt;
Did he good service? God must judge, not we;&lt;br /&gt;
Manly he was, and generous and sincere;&lt;br /&gt;
English in all, of genius blithely free:&lt;br /&gt;
Who loves a Man may see his image here.&lt;br /&gt;
James Russell Lowell.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 121 (#153) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE A UTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
CORRESPONDENCE.&lt;br /&gt;
I.&lt;br /&gt;
A Club of Critics.&lt;br /&gt;
Can it be that a &amp;#039;plan for the foundation of a&lt;br /&gt;
club of critics is really and seriously under con-&lt;br /&gt;
sideration, or has the suggestion merely been&lt;br /&gt;
thrown out by an enterprising daily paper on the&lt;br /&gt;
chance of eliciting an interesting correspondence?&lt;br /&gt;
I have now read this statement in half-a-dozen&lt;br /&gt;
different places. The much-maligned critic, who&lt;br /&gt;
is generally a very good fellow, and, in letters&lt;br /&gt;
at any rate, almost always knows what he is about,&lt;br /&gt;
has three or four good clubs open to him already;&lt;br /&gt;
he has to share them with his victims but, if they&lt;br /&gt;
do not mind, it is difficult to see why he should.&lt;br /&gt;
It seems to me, also, that it would be very hard&lt;br /&gt;
to define the qualifications for membership, for&lt;br /&gt;
the critic of to-day is the criticised of to-morrow.&lt;br /&gt;
Again, is the expert in Greek art or German music&lt;br /&gt;
to compete for a vacancy with the man who can&lt;br /&gt;
appreciate the qualities of a prize-fighter or the legs&lt;br /&gt;
of an horse?&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Robert Buchanan says that his night is made&lt;br /&gt;
hideous by journalistic birds of prey, and begs&lt;br /&gt;
that a Trades&amp;#039; Union of critics may boycott the&lt;br /&gt;
slanderer and blackmailer. If a slanderer is to&lt;br /&gt;
be blackballed at the critics&amp;#039; club, and if everybody&lt;br /&gt;
who falls foul of an author&amp;#039;s work is to be held to&lt;br /&gt;
have slandered that author, where are the members&lt;br /&gt;
of the club to come from, and how is the Com-&lt;br /&gt;
mittee, who elect, to be constituted?&lt;br /&gt;
That the blackmailer exists is a serious sugges-&lt;br /&gt;
tion (has Mr. Robert Buchanan made it&lt;br /&gt;
seriously?), but I am unwilling to believe in the&lt;br /&gt;
venal critic. I remember that Mr. Lang, in his&lt;br /&gt;
very humorous lecture, &amp;quot; How to fail in Literature,&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
pointed out that the writers who affected to believe&lt;br /&gt;
that the critic had gone out of his way to slander&lt;br /&gt;
them, in spite of their poor opinion of his manners&lt;br /&gt;
and his morals, never approached him with gifts.&lt;br /&gt;
A. B.&lt;br /&gt;
II.&lt;br /&gt;
American Cookery.&lt;br /&gt;
August &amp;quot;jth, 1890.&lt;br /&gt;
I think that my experience of cookery at the&lt;br /&gt;
hands of the Americans caps that of Mr. Rider&lt;br /&gt;
Haggard and &amp;quot;A. R. H. M.&amp;quot; The recipe is as&lt;br /&gt;
as follows, the cook being one &amp;quot;Smith, D.D. &amp;quot; :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
Take the whole of Clodd&amp;#039;s Childhood of the&lt;br /&gt;
World, garble all the passages which tell against&lt;br /&gt;
vol. 1.&lt;br /&gt;
the doctrine of man&amp;#039;s total depravity (which doc-&lt;br /&gt;
trine the aforesaid Smith&amp;#039;s act is designed to further&lt;br /&gt;
establish), add thereto a few chapters from Cox&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
Gods and Herons; strain all the juice therefrom;&lt;br /&gt;
pour in some pious reflections on the fall of man,&lt;br /&gt;
and on echoes of the Hebrew revelation in Greek&lt;br /&gt;
mythology; mix well together, so as not to know&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;t&amp;#039;other from which,&amp;quot; and serve up cold under the&lt;br /&gt;
title of &amp;quot;Myths and Herons; or, the Childhood of&lt;br /&gt;
the World.&amp;quot; Edited by Rev. S. F. Smith, D.D.&lt;br /&gt;
This is how they served up Sir George W. Cox&lt;br /&gt;
and&lt;br /&gt;
Your obedient servant,&lt;br /&gt;
Edward Clodd.&lt;br /&gt;
III.&lt;br /&gt;
The Society&amp;#039;s Readers.&lt;br /&gt;
I have read &amp;quot;Leaflet No. Ill&amp;quot; on the subject&lt;br /&gt;
of &amp;quot;Paying for Publication,&amp;quot; which appeared in the&lt;br /&gt;
last issue of The Author, with interest and with&lt;br /&gt;
some amusement. After describing the process&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;too familiar to all writers&mdash;of the rejection of a&lt;br /&gt;
MS. by successive publishers, and the subsequent&lt;br /&gt;
determination of the author to pay for its produc-&lt;br /&gt;
tion himself, you condemn the conduct of such an&lt;br /&gt;
author as foolish, and suggest the proper course&lt;br /&gt;
for him to follow. You say, &amp;quot;If a MS. is offered&lt;br /&gt;
to all the respectable houses in vain, it is refused&lt;br /&gt;
because all the respectable houses are agreed that&lt;br /&gt;
the public will have none of it.&amp;quot; You tell the&lt;br /&gt;
poor author to ask himself these questions, &amp;quot;If&lt;br /&gt;
this public should refuse to buy this MS. if pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lished&mdash;say, by or of what other publisher&lt;br /&gt;
would they buy it? and for what reason?&amp;quot; In short&lt;br /&gt;
you imply that a MS. is always rejected by respect-&lt;br /&gt;
able publishers because it is worthless, and you con-&lt;br /&gt;
sequently suggest to the author that instead, after&lt;br /&gt;
such rejection, of rushing recklessly into print at&lt;br /&gt;
his own expense, he should revise his MS. and&lt;br /&gt;
submit it some third person&mdash;&amp;quot;say one of the&lt;br /&gt;
readers for this Society, for an independent opinion&lt;br /&gt;
as to the cause of these repeated failures.&amp;quot; Now,&lt;br /&gt;
sir, it is this last sentence which tickled my fancy&lt;br /&gt;
in an especial degree for reasons which I shall now&lt;br /&gt;
mention.&lt;br /&gt;
Some little time ago I had ready for publication&lt;br /&gt;
the materials of a book! I submitted them to&lt;br /&gt;
various well-known publishers, with the usual&lt;br /&gt;
result&mdash;they were declined with thanks. I then,&lt;br /&gt;
instead of determining to pay for the production of&lt;br /&gt;
them, adopted precisely the course you recommend.&lt;br /&gt;
I took the MS. to the Incorporated Society of&lt;br /&gt;
Authors, of which I have the honour to be a mem-&lt;br /&gt;
ber, and requested to have the opinion of &amp;quot; one of&lt;br /&gt;
1 a&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 122 (#154) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
122&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
your readers.&amp;quot; In due course the opinion was&lt;br /&gt;
given to the effect that it would be unwise to pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lish the book, as it was not likely to have a sale.&lt;br /&gt;
Thereupon, I suppose, I ought to have concluded&lt;br /&gt;
that, in your own words, my work &amp;quot;lacked at least&lt;br /&gt;
commercial value, if not literary merit,&amp;quot; and should&lt;br /&gt;
have thrown it behind the fire. However, with&lt;br /&gt;
the folly which characterises the race of scribblers,&lt;br /&gt;
I had one more try and found in Messrs.&lt;br /&gt;
a firm willing to produce my book at their own&lt;br /&gt;
risk. Subsequently at my request they permitted&lt;br /&gt;
me to alter my arrangement with them and pay&lt;br /&gt;
for the production of the book myself, but this&lt;br /&gt;
change, though advantageous to me, does not&lt;br /&gt;
affect the question with which I am dealing. Now&lt;br /&gt;
what has been the result? The first edition of&lt;br /&gt;
1,000 copies was exhausted in less than three&lt;br /&gt;
weeks, and the demand for the second edition is&lt;br /&gt;
most encouraging. In a word, the book, which&lt;br /&gt;
your reader condemned, is a success&mdash;and your&lt;br /&gt;
reader has proved himself just as fallible as the&lt;br /&gt;
majority of publishers&amp;#039; readers; and no wonder,&lt;br /&gt;
as the sequel will show. Calling a few days ago&lt;br /&gt;
at the office of the Society, I could not resist the&lt;br /&gt;
temptation to draw the attention of the courteous&lt;br /&gt;
Secretary to the passages in &amp;quot; Leaflet No. Ill,&amp;quot; on&lt;br /&gt;
which I am commenting, and to point the moral.&lt;br /&gt;
This gentleman said he could not understand how&lt;br /&gt;
my book had been misjudged, for he had sub-&lt;br /&gt;
mitted it to one of Messrs. &amp;#039;s most ex-&lt;br /&gt;
perienced readers. He could only suppose that&lt;br /&gt;
the reader in question, being a seriously minded&lt;br /&gt;
man, had been misled by the title&mdash;&amp;quot; Four years in&lt;br /&gt;
Parliament with Hard Labour &amp;quot;&mdash;and finding the&lt;br /&gt;
contents not so grave as he had been led to expect&lt;br /&gt;
therefrom, had condemned the work in conse-&lt;br /&gt;
quence of the inconsistency between the inside and&lt;br /&gt;
the outside.&lt;br /&gt;
I own that I was not much impressed with this&lt;br /&gt;
suggested explanation, but I certainly was struck&lt;br /&gt;
with the discovery that the readers for the Society&lt;br /&gt;
should be none other than the very same publishers&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
readers to whom in the ordinary course and with-&lt;br /&gt;
out the intervention of the Society, the work would&lt;br /&gt;
be submitted by the author.&lt;br /&gt;
Surely when you advise an author who has had&lt;br /&gt;
his MS. returned by publishers to submit it &amp;quot;to&lt;br /&gt;
some third person&mdash;say one of the readers for this&lt;br /&gt;
Society&mdash;for an independent opinion as to the&lt;br /&gt;
cause of these repeated failures,&amp;quot; no one would&lt;br /&gt;
suppose that these independent third persons&lt;br /&gt;
would be of the very class of men, possibly the&lt;br /&gt;
very men themselves, by whom the MS. had already&lt;br /&gt;
been examined and rejected! It is clear that if&lt;br /&gt;
the Society desire to set up, what I think might be&lt;br /&gt;
a useful tribunal, namely, a Court of Appeal from&lt;br /&gt;
the judgment of publishers&amp;#039; readers, which may&lt;br /&gt;
gain and retain the confidence of authors, such a&lt;br /&gt;
Court will have to be composed of persons other&lt;br /&gt;
than than those who at present seem to constitute&lt;br /&gt;
it.&lt;br /&gt;
Do not suppose, however, because I have given&lt;br /&gt;
a quite recent instance of a case in which the&lt;br /&gt;
advice of the Society, if followed, would have pre-&lt;br /&gt;
vented the publication of a successful book, that&lt;br /&gt;
therefore I can see no good in the existence of the&lt;br /&gt;
Society. On the contrary I acknowledge that the&lt;br /&gt;
Society has by its disclosures of the practices of&lt;br /&gt;
dishonest publishers done an excellent work&mdash;a&lt;br /&gt;
work which will benefit authors and improve and&lt;br /&gt;
strengthen the position of respectable publishers.&lt;br /&gt;
If it proceed on these lines and receive the support&lt;br /&gt;
to which it will then be entitled, it will become not&lt;br /&gt;
merely a prosperous but also a powerful body&mdash;a&lt;br /&gt;
body able to make good terms for authors because&lt;br /&gt;
it will be able to say how the constant output of&lt;br /&gt;
new literary work on which publishers in a great&lt;br /&gt;
measure subsist shall be divided among them.&lt;br /&gt;
I am, Sir,&lt;br /&gt;
Your obedient Servant,&lt;br /&gt;
C. W. Radcliffe Cooke.&lt;br /&gt;
House of Commons,&lt;br /&gt;
August 6lh, 1890.&lt;br /&gt;
Editor&amp;#039;s Note.&mdash;We think Mr. Radcliffe Cooke expects&lt;br /&gt;
too much of us, although we appreciate the compliment.&lt;br /&gt;
Our readers are not infallible, nor have we made any such&lt;br /&gt;
claim for them. We think also that the reader for a pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lisher is in a position to give the surest prognosis that can&lt;br /&gt;
be given as to the future of a book.&lt;br /&gt;
This was our meaning when we invited authors, after&lt;br /&gt;
continued rejection, to submit their MSS. for an &amp;quot;indepen-&lt;br /&gt;
dent&amp;quot; opinion. From a good publisher, such an author&lt;br /&gt;
receives, as a rule, only a few words regretting the inability&lt;br /&gt;
of the firm to undertake &amp;#039;the work. Sometimes the answer&lt;br /&gt;
comes back so promptly that the author cannot believe his&lt;br /&gt;
claims have been properly considered. From others he&lt;br /&gt;
receives invitations to provide the expense of production.&lt;br /&gt;
From some he receives a letter of high commendation by&lt;br /&gt;
return of post, with an effusive offer to publish at once on&lt;br /&gt;
the half-profit system, if the author will pay&mdash;say &pound;&amp;lt;)0&mdash;in&lt;br /&gt;
three instalments. Whom is he to believe! What is he to&lt;br /&gt;
do?&lt;br /&gt;
We try to tell him. But we are not infallible. In this&lt;br /&gt;
case our reader&amp;#039;s opinion proved completely wrong. We are,&lt;br /&gt;
however, quite certain that this reader has kept from publica-&lt;br /&gt;
tion, at the author&amp;#039;s risk and expense, a mass of stuff which&lt;br /&gt;
would never repay the author, and would only have swollen&lt;br /&gt;
the mass of worthless literature.&lt;br /&gt;
IV.&lt;br /&gt;
Black Beauty.&lt;br /&gt;
There are cases so strong that any comment&lt;br /&gt;
weakens them. Permit me, therefore, to tell the&lt;br /&gt;
story of &amp;quot;Black Beauty,&amp;quot; and to leave you and&lt;br /&gt;
the British public to admire it. This book, written&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 123 (#155) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
by Miss Anna Sewell and published by a reputable&lt;br /&gt;
English firm, made its way to this country early in&lt;br /&gt;
the current year, was placed on the shelves of the&lt;br /&gt;
public and private circulating libraries, and made&lt;br /&gt;
a reputation for itself and accomplished a good&lt;br /&gt;
work among young equestrians, and among the&lt;br /&gt;
owners of costly horses. In time, its influence&lt;br /&gt;
would doubtless have been felt among the teams-&lt;br /&gt;
ters and the drivers of public conveyances, but,&lt;br /&gt;
early in April, Mr. George T. Angell, the Presi-&lt;br /&gt;
dent of the American Humane Society, published&lt;br /&gt;
an edition of his own, and boldly announced that&lt;br /&gt;
he should give away several hundred copies, and&lt;br /&gt;
should sell the remainder of the 10,000 issued at&lt;br /&gt;
twelve cents a copy. He added the words, &amp;quot;The&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;#039;Uncle Tom&amp;#039;s Cabin&amp;#039; of the Horse,&amp;quot; to the&lt;br /&gt;
English author&amp;#039;s title-page, and he wrote a beauti-&lt;br /&gt;
ful preface, running over with benevolence, and&lt;br /&gt;
stating, in substance, that this was the book he&lt;br /&gt;
long had sought, and mourned because he found&lt;br /&gt;
it not, and he kindly italicized certain passages&lt;br /&gt;
which he considered were not strong enough in&lt;br /&gt;
plain Roman type. The importers, booksellers,&lt;br /&gt;
and librarians shrugged their shoulders, but wisely&lt;br /&gt;
saved their breath, about the only thing which the&lt;br /&gt;
present state of the law has left them to save.&lt;br /&gt;
A Mortified Yankee.&lt;br /&gt;
Boston, May 2.2nd, 1890.&lt;br /&gt;
We were unaware that &amp;quot; Black Beauty&amp;quot; was so&lt;br /&gt;
valuable a property, but the manner in which the&lt;br /&gt;
possessor of the copyright has been treated is&lt;br /&gt;
deeply remarkable. For here we have not a story&lt;br /&gt;
of the doings of the pirate-publisher, but of the&lt;br /&gt;
practical philanthropist, yet we doubt if the late Mr.&lt;br /&gt;
Charles Reade, in his wonderful store-house of notes,&lt;br /&gt;
possessed a more bare-faced example of robbery.&lt;br /&gt;
Here is a really valuable property&mdash;of some-&lt;br /&gt;
body&amp;#039;s&mdash;appropriated by a man who has not the&lt;br /&gt;
slightest claim to it, and sold at such a ridiculous&lt;br /&gt;
price that no legitimate edition can possibly live&lt;br /&gt;
in the market with it. &amp;quot;It is highly improbable,&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
says the Boston Herald, &amp;quot;that &amp;#039;An Uncle Tom&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
Cabin&amp;#039; of the horse will be written, or even at-&lt;br /&gt;
tempted, in the country now, since the publication&lt;br /&gt;
of the American edition of &amp;#039;Black Beauty.&amp;#039; The&lt;br /&gt;
proper price of the book should be 50 cents, and&lt;br /&gt;
even in the present ludicrous condition of the&lt;br /&gt;
book trade would be at least 25 cents for the im-&lt;br /&gt;
ported edition. This would remunerate the author,&lt;br /&gt;
the publisher and the bookseller; but the American&lt;br /&gt;
edition being frankly stolen, pays nobody, and&lt;br /&gt;
inspires the person who buys it for 12 cents, for&lt;br /&gt;
the good of the horse, with a disinclination to pay&lt;br /&gt;
more than 12 cents for any other similar book.&lt;br /&gt;
Twelve cents from the purchaser means 12 mills&lt;br /&gt;
for the author, or $12 a thousand, and American&lt;br /&gt;
authors, not being donkeys, do not write books for&lt;br /&gt;
that price, even for the good of the horse. If&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;#039;Uncle Tom&amp;#039;s Cabin&amp;#039; had been sold for next to&lt;br /&gt;
nothing, does anybody suppose that the hundreds&lt;br /&gt;
of later anti-slavery novels which powerfully affected&lt;br /&gt;
public opinion would ever have seen the light?&lt;br /&gt;
Would even &amp;#039;Dred&amp;#039; have been written, had not&lt;br /&gt;
its author expected a fair recompense?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
It is impossible to attribute any but the very&lt;br /&gt;
best and highest intentions to the publishers of the&lt;br /&gt;
American edition, but to do evil that good may&lt;br /&gt;
come is invariably unwise. &amp;quot;The ten command-&lt;br /&gt;
ments will not budge,&amp;quot; as Mr. Lowell says, and&lt;br /&gt;
giving away conveyed copies of &amp;quot;Black Beauty&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
destroys the chance that an American will write a&lt;br /&gt;
better book in behalf of the horse. True, it is&lt;br /&gt;
possible that there is a combination of saint and&lt;br /&gt;
clever writer somewhere in the country, and that&lt;br /&gt;
he may be willing to work for nothing, and to bear&lt;br /&gt;
all manner of abuse by way of compensation, but&lt;br /&gt;
few will believe in his existence until he actually&lt;br /&gt;
appears.&lt;br /&gt;
Here is Mr. George T. Angell&amp;#039;s logical reply :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;To the Editor of the Herald .&mdash;In the Herald&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
review of &amp;#039;Black Beauty,&amp;#039; the book which the&lt;br /&gt;
American Humane Society is distributing free of&lt;br /&gt;
charge, the statement is made that the author re-&lt;br /&gt;
ceives no remuneration. I answer:&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;(1) The authoress died unmarried shortly after&lt;br /&gt;
the publication of the book.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;(2) Her mother, a widow, died soon after.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;(3) So far as we are aware no one but the&lt;br /&gt;
English publisher gets a sixpence from it.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;(4) He has already sold 103,000 copies in&lt;br /&gt;
England.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;(5) Its immense advertisement and circulation&lt;br /&gt;
in the United States will give it a large sale in&lt;br /&gt;
Upper and Lower Canada, where his copyright&lt;br /&gt;
holds good, and will attract increased attention and&lt;br /&gt;
sale both in Great Britain and all British colonies.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;(6) The publisher can better afford to make&lt;br /&gt;
a present to the American Humane Education&lt;br /&gt;
Society than the American Humane Education&lt;br /&gt;
Society can afford to make a present to him.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Boston, May -]th, 1890.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Was there ever such a condition of hopeless&lt;br /&gt;
mental confusion, for it is fair to suppose that his&lt;br /&gt;
action has been entirely dictated by a confused&lt;br /&gt;
idea that good would follow his evil deed. The&lt;br /&gt;
Society of Authors, in spite of its actions and printed&lt;br /&gt;
disclaimers, has often been accused in the press 01&lt;br /&gt;
cherishing savagely unjust views concerning pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lishers, but Mr. Angell&mdash;in his own argdt&mdash;&amp;quot; goes&lt;br /&gt;
us one better.&amp;quot; Stealing does not matter a cent,&lt;br /&gt;
says President Angell, for we are only robbing a&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 124 (#156) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
124 THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
publisher. This is the doctrine of &amp;quot;&amp;#039;eave &amp;#039;arf a&lt;br /&gt;
brick at him &amp;quot; with a vengeance.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Angell holds out to the publisher, as&lt;br /&gt;
though perhaps to show that he was acting for the&lt;br /&gt;
the best all round, the immense sale that his work&lt;br /&gt;
will have in certain Crown colonies where the copy-&lt;br /&gt;
right restrictions hold good. In view of the letters&lt;br /&gt;
whose substance has been reproduced later in this&lt;br /&gt;
number of The Author, we are doubtful if any of&lt;br /&gt;
our colonies are very safe from American enterprise,&lt;br /&gt;
but certainly we cannot believe that there will be&lt;br /&gt;
much demand for this book at its proper price north&lt;br /&gt;
of the American frontier line, while it is being given&lt;br /&gt;
away with a pound of tea on the southern side.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
information, and trust that all willing to contribute&lt;br /&gt;
will communicate with the Executive at 13, King&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
Bench Walk, Temple, London, E.C.&lt;br /&gt;
The Marquis of Lorne {Chairman&lt;br /&gt;
of the Executive Committee),&lt;br /&gt;
Alex. Staveley Hill, Esq., Q.C.,&lt;br /&gt;
M.P. {Hon. Treasurer),&lt;br /&gt;
Sir George Baden-Powell, M.P.&lt;br /&gt;
{Hon. Secretary).&lt;br /&gt;
There has been gathered together a Committee,&lt;br /&gt;
chiefly consisting of lords and noblemen, to collect&lt;br /&gt;
books. Among them appears the name of James&lt;br /&gt;
Bryce, as almost the solitary man of letters, though&lt;br /&gt;
science is well represented. In any other country&lt;br /&gt;
such a Committee would have contained none but&lt;br /&gt;
men of letters and of science.&lt;br /&gt;
THE LIBRARY OF TORONTO&lt;br /&gt;
UNIVERSITY.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
E have great pleasure in giving publicity&lt;br /&gt;
to the following communication, which&lt;br /&gt;
has been received at the office:&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
The loss which the University of Toronto has&lt;br /&gt;
sustained in the destruction by fire of its valuable&lt;br /&gt;
Library, has aroused a widespread feeling of sym-&lt;br /&gt;
pathy in the Mother Country.&lt;br /&gt;
In order to give practical effect to this feeling&lt;br /&gt;
a Committee has now been formed in order to&lt;br /&gt;
collect and forward to Toronto gifts of books.&lt;br /&gt;
The Committee will also gladly receive any con-&lt;br /&gt;
tributions in money to be expended in the purchase&lt;br /&gt;
of suitable books.&lt;br /&gt;
Many possessors of books will be willing to con-&lt;br /&gt;
tribute. The Committee are happy to state that&lt;br /&gt;
the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge, and Dublin,&lt;br /&gt;
the British Museum, and other public bodies, as&lt;br /&gt;
well as many private firms and individuals, have&lt;br /&gt;
already offered to contribute books. The Com-&lt;br /&gt;
mittee are also happy to state that the Allan and&lt;br /&gt;
Dominion Steamship Lines and the Canadian&lt;br /&gt;
Railways have generously offered to carry the&lt;br /&gt;
books free of charge.&lt;br /&gt;
It will be a convenience if those willing to con-&lt;br /&gt;
tribute would, first of all, send to the Executive&lt;br /&gt;
Committee a list of such books as they may be&lt;br /&gt;
willing to give, with a view to the avoidance of&lt;br /&gt;
the unnecessary multiplication of copies of the&lt;br /&gt;
same book.&lt;br /&gt;
A plate will be prepared for insertion in each&lt;br /&gt;
volume, upon which will appear the name of the&lt;br /&gt;
contributor of the books or of the money expended&lt;br /&gt;
upon the purchase.&lt;br /&gt;
The Committee will be glad to afford every&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT.&lt;br /&gt;
ON July 29th, Samuel Gompers, President of&lt;br /&gt;
the Federation of Labour, addressed the&lt;br /&gt;
following letter to Speaker Reed :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
Dear Sir,&mdash;By direction of the Executive&lt;br /&gt;
Council of the American Federation of Labour,&lt;br /&gt;
it becomes my duty to inform you, and I take&lt;br /&gt;
pleasure in so doing, that the organised working&lt;br /&gt;
men of this country feel a deep interest in the&lt;br /&gt;
enactment of an International Copyright Law by&lt;br /&gt;
the Congress of the United States.&lt;br /&gt;
In favouring such a law, however, we do so pro-&lt;br /&gt;
vided it contains a clause which shall protect the&lt;br /&gt;
compositors and all other wage-workers in the&lt;br /&gt;
printer&amp;#039;s trade, as well as the authors and manu-&lt;br /&gt;
facturers, and believe that House Bill 10,254,&lt;br /&gt;
introduced by Mr. Win. E. Simonds, representing&lt;br /&gt;
the First District of Connecticut, covers all the&lt;br /&gt;
points in interest.&lt;br /&gt;
Seldom if ever have all the interests in an in-&lt;br /&gt;
dustry been so thoroughly united in the advocacy&lt;br /&gt;
of a measure as represented in the Bill referred to.&lt;br /&gt;
No injury is contemplated, or can occur, to any of&lt;br /&gt;
the people of our country. It can be followed with&lt;br /&gt;
but one, and that a good, effect upon all.&lt;br /&gt;
We earnestly ask you to give the Bill such&lt;br /&gt;
assistance as will bring it before the House, and&lt;br /&gt;
secure its passage, and that I may hear from you&lt;br /&gt;
to that effect.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 125 (#157) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
125&lt;br /&gt;
AT WORK.&lt;br /&gt;
This column is reserved entirely for Members of the Society,&lt;br /&gt;
who are invited to keep the Editor acquainted with their&lt;br /&gt;
work and engagements.&lt;br /&gt;
THE first volume of Mr. York Powell&amp;#039;s new series,&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Scottish History from Contemporary Writers,&amp;quot; has&lt;br /&gt;
appeared. It is entitled &amp;quot;The Days of James IV,&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
and is edited by Mr. Gregory Smith, and published by Nutt.&lt;br /&gt;
The object of this series is to send the reader to the best&lt;br /&gt;
original authorities for information.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Walter Besant&amp;#039;s novel &amp;quot;Armorel of Lyonnesse,&amp;quot; which&lt;br /&gt;
ran in the Illustrated London Nenus from January to July of&lt;br /&gt;
this year, will be published by Chatto and Windus in October.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Fantasia,&amp;quot; by Matilda Serrao, is to be translated from&lt;br /&gt;
the Italian by Sir. H. Harland (Sidney Luska) for the&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;International Library,&amp;quot; edited by Mr. Edmund Gosse, and&lt;br /&gt;
published by Mr. Heinemann.&lt;br /&gt;
Professor J. S. Nicholson&amp;#039;s romance &amp;quot;Thoth,&amp;quot; which is&lt;br /&gt;
now in a third edition, has been translated into German, and&lt;br /&gt;
will shortly appear in the Berlin National Zeitung.&lt;br /&gt;
A new serial story by Mr. Marion Crawford will begin in&lt;br /&gt;
an early number of the English Illustrated Magazine.&lt;br /&gt;
Messrs. Macmillan and Co. will publish &amp;quot;A Cigarette&lt;br /&gt;
Maker&amp;#039;s Romance,&amp;quot; by the same author, this autumn.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. C. F. Keary&amp;#039;s novel in letters, &amp;quot;A Mariage de Cove-&lt;br /&gt;
nance,&amp;quot; is to appear shortly in cheap form in Mr. Fisher&lt;br /&gt;
Unwin&amp;#039;s novel series.&lt;br /&gt;
Dr. W. H. Russell has finished his book on &amp;quot;A Visit to&lt;br /&gt;
Chile and the Nitrate Fields of Tarapaca, &amp;amp;c.,&amp;quot;and it will be&lt;br /&gt;
published shortly by Messrs. Virtue and Co. Mr. Melton&lt;br /&gt;
Prior has furnished some sixty illustrations.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Mademoiselle,&amp;quot; a 1 vol. story by Miss Peard, will shortly&lt;br /&gt;
be published (Walter Smith and Innes).&lt;br /&gt;
Mrs. Oliphant&amp;#039;s story, &amp;quot; Kirstein,&amp;quot; was concluded in last&lt;br /&gt;
month&amp;#039;s number of Macmillan&amp;#039;s Magazine.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Leland&amp;#039;s &amp;quot; Memory and Thought&amp;quot; is now appearing&lt;br /&gt;
in a series of six manuals in New York. The publisher is&lt;br /&gt;
T. P. Downs.&lt;br /&gt;
Dr. Goodchild has in the press a sequel to his clever and&lt;br /&gt;
fanciful little book, &amp;quot;Chats at Sant Ampelio.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
The poems of Owen Meredith (Lord Lytton) form the&lt;br /&gt;
latest volume in the Canterbury series issued by Walter Scott.&lt;br /&gt;
The selection is preceded by an introduction by M. Bethane&lt;br /&gt;
Edwards.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Esme Stuart&amp;#039;s&amp;quot; novel is continued through The New-&lt;br /&gt;
bery House Magazine.&lt;br /&gt;
Messrs. Chatto and Windus have again commissioned Mr.&lt;br /&gt;
T. W. Speight, author of &amp;quot; The Mysteries of Heron Dyke,&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;amp;c, to write 714* Gentleman&amp;#039;s Annual for Christmas next.&lt;br /&gt;
This will make the sixth consecutive year that the Annual in&lt;br /&gt;
question has been from Mr. Speight&amp;#039;s pen. The same&lt;br /&gt;
writer has a three-volume novel well under way, which he&lt;br /&gt;
hopes to have finished by the beginning of the new year.&lt;br /&gt;
A paper on &amp;quot; Binary Stars of Short Period,&amp;quot; by Mr. J. E.&lt;br /&gt;
Gore, F.K.A.S., appears in the August numl&amp;gt;er of Kno-Mledgc.&lt;br /&gt;
The paper is illustrated by drawings of the apparent orbits&lt;br /&gt;
of some remarkable binary stars. These have been drawn&lt;br /&gt;
to scale and reduced by photography.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;John Strange Winter&amp;quot; has three different novels running&lt;br /&gt;
as serials at the present time in London periodicals, viz.,&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Other People&amp;#039;s Children,&amp;quot; in The Gentlewoman, &amp;quot;He Went&lt;br /&gt;
for a Soldier,&amp;quot; in Tit-Bits, and &amp;quot;The Other Man&amp;#039;s Wife,&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
in The Weekly Times and in Tinslcy Magazine, and numerous&lt;br /&gt;
provincial and colonial newspapers. These three novels&lt;br /&gt;
have been written during this year.&lt;br /&gt;
The Rev. Frederick Langbridge has nearly completed a&lt;br /&gt;
volume relating for children the lives of Samuel, Saul, and&lt;br /&gt;
David. The Ixjok will form a number of the &amp;quot;Stepping&lt;br /&gt;
Stones &amp;quot; Series, published by the R.T.S. The same Society&lt;br /&gt;
will also issue immediately the Fourth Part of &amp;quot;What to&lt;br /&gt;
Read,&amp;quot; edited by Mr. Langbridge. Mr. Langbridge has&lt;br /&gt;
just completed a story called, &amp;quot;I Bide My Time,&amp;quot; which&lt;br /&gt;
will run as a serial in the Church Monthly during the first&lt;br /&gt;
half of 1891. In conjunction with Mrs. Lysaght, Mr.&lt;br /&gt;
Langbridge has written a somewhat sensational story, called&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The Burden of Cassandra,&amp;quot; which, previously to its issue&lt;br /&gt;
in volume form, will appear as a feuilleton in the Bristol&lt;br /&gt;
Observer.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
NEW BOOKS AND NEW EDITIONS.&lt;br /&gt;
Allingham, William (The Late). Thought and Word,&lt;br /&gt;
and Ashby Manor. Reeves and Turner. I vol.&lt;br /&gt;
Archer, William. Prose Dramas of Henrik Ibsen.&lt;br /&gt;
Authorized English Edition. Edited by. Vol. I&mdash;III.&lt;br /&gt;
Scott.&lt;br /&gt;
Austin, Alfred. English Lyrics. Edited by William&lt;br /&gt;
Watson. Crown 8vo. ys. 6d. Macmillan and Co.&lt;br /&gt;
Black, William. The New Prince Fortunatus. Cr. 8vo.,&lt;br /&gt;
cloth. Sampson Low.&lt;br /&gt;
Blind, Mathilde. The Journal of Marie Bashkirtseff.&lt;br /&gt;
Translated, with Introduction by. Cassell and Co.&lt;br /&gt;
Burnett, Frances Hodgson. Louisiana; and That Lass&lt;br /&gt;
o&amp;#039; Lowrie&amp;#039;s. I vol. Crown 8vo. y. 6d. Macmillan&lt;br /&gt;
and Co.&lt;br /&gt;
Campbell, Lady Colin. Darell Blake. 1 vol. Trischler&lt;br /&gt;
and Co.&lt;br /&gt;
Clodd, Edward. Story of Creation: A Plain Account of&lt;br /&gt;
Evolution. I vol. Longmans and Co.&lt;br /&gt;
Cobb, Thomas. For Value Received. 3 vols. Ward and&lt;br /&gt;
Downey.&lt;br /&gt;
Conway, W. M. Climber&amp;#039;s Guide to the Central Pennine&lt;br /&gt;
Alps. Fisher Unwin.&lt;br /&gt;
Crommelin, May. Midge. 1 vol. Trischler and Co.&lt;br /&gt;
Dickens (Charles) and Collins (Wilkie). The Lazy&lt;br /&gt;
Tour of Two Idle Apprentices; No Thoroughfare; The&lt;br /&gt;
Perils of Certain English Prisoners. Crown 8vo. I vol.&lt;br /&gt;
Chapman and Hall.&lt;br /&gt;
*#* These stories are now reprinted in complete&lt;br /&gt;
form for the first time.&lt;br /&gt;
Dobson, Austin. Selected Poems of Matthew Prior.&lt;br /&gt;
Messrs. Kegan Paul, Trubner and Co.&lt;br /&gt;
Esler, E. Rentoul. The Way of Transgressors. 3 vols.&lt;br /&gt;
31*. 6d. Sampson Low and Co.&lt;br /&gt;
Farrar, F. W., D.D. The Passion Play at Oberammergau,&lt;br /&gt;
1890. 4to., cloth. I vol. William Heinemann.&lt;br /&gt;
Frazf.r, J. G. The Golden Bough: A Study in Compara-&lt;br /&gt;
tive Religion. Macmillan and Co. 2 vols.&lt;br /&gt;
Harley, Ethel B. (Mrs. Alex. Tweedie). A Girl&amp;#039;s Ride&lt;br /&gt;
in Iceland. Crown 8vo. 1 vol. Ss- Griffith and&lt;br /&gt;
F arran.&lt;br /&gt;
Hethbrington, Helen, and Burton, Rfv. H. Darwin.&lt;br /&gt;
Paul Nugent, Materialist. 2 vols. 2If. Griffith and&lt;br /&gt;
Farran.&lt;br /&gt;
Hume, Fergus. The Man with a Secret. F. V. White.&lt;br /&gt;
3 vols.&lt;br /&gt;
The Gentleman who Vanished. F. V. White.&lt;br /&gt;
James. Henry. The Tragic Muse. 3 vols. Crown 8vo.&lt;br /&gt;
31 j. 6d. Macmillan and Co.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 126 (#158) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
126&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
Kirh&amp;#039;.T,, R&amp;#039;;dtarj&amp;gt;. In Black and White. Demy 8vo.,&lt;br /&gt;
c/vers. Saropvjn Low. Rain Tales from the Hills. Third edition. I voL&lt;br /&gt;
Crown tn&amp;lt;i. (a. Macmillan and Co.&lt;br /&gt;
Lyw*&raquo; Lywto*, Mrs. E. Sowing the Wind. Chattoand&lt;br /&gt;
Wrryius. I rol. 3/. &amp;lt;*/.&lt;br /&gt;
Lrrrojt, Earl op. Poem*. ivoL Walter Scott.&lt;br /&gt;
Marty*, EkwarMSirius). Morgante the Lesser. Swan&lt;br /&gt;
.Sonnensthein and Co. I vol. 6s.&lt;br /&gt;
Mekciek, Dk. Chaei.es. Sanity and Insanity. 1 vol.&lt;br /&gt;
Walter Scott.&lt;br /&gt;
Mo*KHOL&amp;#039;&raquo;E, Cosmo. The Earlier English Water-colour&lt;br /&gt;
Painter n. Illustrated. Seeley and Co.&lt;br /&gt;
Corn and Poppies. Elkin Mathews.&lt;br /&gt;
Murray, Christie, and Herman, Hesry. Wild&lt;br /&gt;
Darrie: A Novel. New and cheaper edition. Crown&lt;br /&gt;
8vo. I vol. 21/. Longmans, Green and Co.&lt;br /&gt;
Nicholson, J. Shield. Toxar: A Romance. Longman&lt;br /&gt;
and Co. 8vo. 6s.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Nomad.&amp;quot; A Railway Foundling. 3 vols. Trischler and&lt;br /&gt;
Co.&lt;br /&gt;
Oliphant, Mrs. The Mystery of Mrs. Blencarrow. 1 vol.&lt;br /&gt;
Spencer lilackett.&lt;br /&gt;
Parry, E. A. Letters from Dorothy Oslx&amp;gt;rne to Sir William&lt;br /&gt;
Temple, 1652-54. New edition. 6s. Griffith and&lt;br /&gt;
larran.&lt;br /&gt;
I&amp;#039;ATEKson, Arthur. The Better Man. 1 vol. Ward&lt;br /&gt;
and Downey.&lt;br /&gt;
I&amp;#039;ayn, Ja.mf.s. Mystery of Mirlvidge. 12 mo. 2s., bds.&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash; Notes from the &amp;quot;News.&amp;quot; Chatto and Windus.&lt;br /&gt;
Crown 8vo. is.&lt;br /&gt;
Pollock, Sir Frederick. An Introduction to the History&lt;br /&gt;
of the Science of Politics. I vol. 2s. 6d. Macmillan&lt;br /&gt;
and Co.&lt;br /&gt;
I&amp;#039;ooi.e, Stanley Lane. Story of the Nations. The&lt;br /&gt;
liarlary Corsairs. Fisher Unwin.&lt;br /&gt;
Praed, Mrs. CamI&amp;#039;HELL. The Romance of a Station.&lt;br /&gt;
2 vols. Trischler and Co.&lt;br /&gt;
Kohinson, Mahk.i.. The Plan of Campaign. Crown 8vo.&lt;br /&gt;
I vol. Mclhuen and Co.&lt;br /&gt;
Rohinson, F. W. A Very Strange Family. Crown 8vo.&lt;br /&gt;
I vol. 3/. 6d. William Ileinemann.&lt;br /&gt;
The Keeper of the Keys. Hurst and lilackett. 3 vols.&lt;br /&gt;
SlDGWICK, Henry. The Methods of Ethics. Fourth&lt;br /&gt;
edition. 8vo. 14/. Macmillan and Co.&lt;br /&gt;
Sims, GkorckK. The Case of George Candlemas. Chatto&lt;br /&gt;
and Windus. 1 vol. is.&lt;br /&gt;
Stevenson, Roiiert Louis. Father Damien: an Open&lt;br /&gt;
I-etlcr to the Rev. Dr. Hyde. 1 vol. Chatto and&lt;br /&gt;
Windus. is.&lt;br /&gt;
Symonds, John AddINCTON. Essays, Speculative and&lt;br /&gt;
Suggestive. Crown 8vo. 2 vols. Chapman and Hall.&lt;br /&gt;
Toynhrk, William. Lays of Common Life. Remington&lt;br /&gt;
and Co.&lt;br /&gt;
Tyti.kr, Sarah. French Janet. Smith, Elder and Co. 1&lt;br /&gt;
vol, 2r.&lt;br /&gt;
Wariikn, Florence. City and Surhurban. F. V. White.&lt;br /&gt;
Westai.l, W. Two Pinches of Snuff. I vol. Crown 8vo.&lt;br /&gt;
2f., hoards.&lt;br /&gt;
Whistler, J. M&amp;#039;Neii.l. The Gentle Art of Making&lt;br /&gt;
Enemies. 410. 1 vol. William Ileinemann. Large-&lt;br /&gt;
Taper Edition, numbered and signed, &pound;2 2s.&lt;br /&gt;
Winter, John Strange.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Dinna Forget. 1 vol.&lt;br /&gt;
Trischler and Co.&lt;br /&gt;
OBJECTS OF THE SOCIETY.&lt;br /&gt;
1. Trie maintenance, definition, and defence of&lt;br /&gt;
literary property.&lt;br /&gt;
2. The consolidation and amendment of the laws&lt;br /&gt;
of Domestic Copyright&lt;br /&gt;
3. The promotion of International Copyright.&lt;br /&gt;
The first of these objects requires explanation. In&lt;br /&gt;
order to defend Literary Property, the Society&lt;br /&gt;
acts as follows :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
a. It aims at defining and establishing the&lt;br /&gt;
principles which should rule the methods&lt;br /&gt;
of publishing.&lt;br /&gt;
/3. It examines agreements submitted to&lt;br /&gt;
authors, and points out to them the&lt;br /&gt;
clauses which are injurious to their in-&lt;br /&gt;
terests.&lt;br /&gt;
! 7. It advises authors as to the best publishers&lt;br /&gt;
for their purpose, and keeps them out of&lt;br /&gt;
the hands of unscrupulous traders.&lt;br /&gt;
&pound;. It publishes from time to time, books,&lt;br /&gt;
papers, &amp;amp;c, on the subjects which fall&lt;br /&gt;
within its province.&lt;br /&gt;
e. In every other way possible the Society&lt;br /&gt;
protects, warns, and informs its members&lt;br /&gt;
as to the pecuniary interest of their works.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
WARNINGS.&lt;br /&gt;
Authors are most earnestly warned&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
(1) Not to sign any agreement of which the&lt;br /&gt;
alleged cost of production forms an in-&lt;br /&gt;
tegral part unless an opportunity of&lt;br /&gt;
proving the correctness of the figures is&lt;br /&gt;
given them.&lt;br /&gt;
(2) Not to enter into any correspondence with&lt;br /&gt;
publishers, who are not recommended by&lt;br /&gt;
experienced friends, or by this Society.&lt;br /&gt;
(3) Never, on any account whatever, to bind&lt;br /&gt;
themselves down to any one firm of pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lishers.&lt;br /&gt;
(4) Not to accept any proposal of royalty&lt;br /&gt;
without consultation with the Society.&lt;br /&gt;
(5) Not to accept any offer of money for MSS.,&lt;br /&gt;
without previously taking advice of the&lt;br /&gt;
Society.&lt;br /&gt;
(6) Not to accept any pecuniary risk or res-&lt;br /&gt;
ponsibility without advice.&lt;br /&gt;
(7) Not, under ordinary circumstances, when a&lt;br /&gt;
MS. has been refused by the well-known&lt;br /&gt;
houses, to pay small houses for the pro-&lt;br /&gt;
duction of the work,&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 127 (#159) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
AD VER TISEMENTS.&lt;br /&gt;
127&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;THE LITERARY HAflDJKAID OF THE&lt;br /&gt;
CHURCH-&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
HENRY GLAISHER, 95, STRAND.&lt;br /&gt;
Price ONE SHILLING.&lt;br /&gt;
NOW READY.&lt;br /&gt;
This pamphlet is a reply to the invitation issued by the Publication Committee of the Society for&lt;br /&gt;
the Promotion of Christian Knowledge in their Report of last year, for any suggestions, which they &amp;quot;will&lt;br /&gt;
gladly receive,&amp;quot; on the best way of making &amp;quot;the Venerable Society the most efficient literary handmaid&lt;br /&gt;
of the Church of England throughout the world.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
The suggestions offered in these pages contain, first, some of the elementary principles which guide&lt;br /&gt;
honourable men in the administration of literary property. The writer next advances three cases, as&lt;br /&gt;
illustrating the methods adopted by the Society. A copy of this pamphlet will be sent to any member of *&lt;br /&gt;
the Society by application to the Office, including two postage stamps.&lt;br /&gt;
THE METHODS OF PUBLICATION,&lt;br /&gt;
BY S. S. SPRIGGE, B.A.&lt;br /&gt;
READY IN OCTOBER.&lt;br /&gt;
This book, compiled mainly from documents in the office of the Society of Authors, is intended to&lt;br /&gt;
show a complete conspectus of all the various methods of publication with the meaning of each; that is to&lt;br /&gt;
say, the exact concessions to publishers and the reservation of the owner and author of the work. The&lt;br /&gt;
different frauds which arise out of these methods form a necessary part of the book. Nothing is advanced&lt;br /&gt;
which has not been proved by the experience of the Society.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 128 (#160) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
128&lt;br /&gt;
AD VER TISEMENTS.&lt;br /&gt;
TYPE-WRITING!&lt;br /&gt;
CHARM CROSS TYPE-WRITING ASSOCIATION,&lt;br /&gt;
h| 447, STRAND *&bull;&lt;br /&gt;
(Directly opposite Charing Cross Station).&lt;br /&gt;
Managers - Miss ROUSE &amp;amp; Mrs. URQUHART.&lt;br /&gt;
Authors&amp;#039; MSS. copied with accuracy and despatch.&lt;br /&gt;
Specifications. Law copying.&lt;br /&gt;
Translations from and into all foreign languages.&lt;br /&gt;
Shorthand Writers always in attendance.&lt;br /&gt;
MISS GILL,&lt;br /&gt;
TYPE-WRITING OFFICES,&lt;br /&gt;
6, ADAM STREET,&lt;br /&gt;
HARRISON &amp;amp; SONS,&lt;br /&gt;
$)rtntrnr in Ortfnarn to $?er fHajeltg,&lt;br /&gt;
GIVE SPECIAL ATTENTION TO&lt;br /&gt;
ARTISTIC AND OLD STYLE PRINTING,&lt;br /&gt;
ALSO TO THE ACCURATE PRODUCTION OF&lt;br /&gt;
SCIENTIFIC AND MATHEMATICAL WORKS,&lt;br /&gt;
AND PRINTING IN&lt;br /&gt;
ORIENTAL TYPES.&lt;br /&gt;
45, 46, &amp;amp; 47, 8t. Martin&amp;#039;s Lane; 14,15,16, &amp;amp; 20, Great May&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
Buildings; 59, Pall Mall; 10, Tower Street,&lt;br /&gt;
LONDON.&lt;br /&gt;
MISS ETHEL DICKENS,&lt;br /&gt;
TYPE-WRITING OFFICE,&lt;br /&gt;
26, WELLINGTON STREET, STRAND&lt;br /&gt;
(Over tie Office of &amp;quot; Alt tie Year Round&amp;quot;).&lt;br /&gt;
MSS. copied. Price List on application.&lt;br /&gt;
TYPE-WRITING OFFICE,&lt;br /&gt;
ST. PAUL&amp;#039;S CHAMBERS, 19, LDDGATE HILL, E.C.&lt;br /&gt;
Authors&amp;#039; MSS. carefully copied from&lt;br /&gt;
i/- per 1,000 words. One additional copy&lt;br /&gt;
(carbon) supplied free of charge.&lt;br /&gt;
References kindly permitted to many&lt;br /&gt;
well-known Authors and Publishers.&lt;br /&gt;
Further particulars on application.&lt;br /&gt;
SECOND-HAND AND SCARCE BOOKS.&lt;br /&gt;
HARRISON &amp;amp; SONS have special facilities&lt;br /&gt;
for the supply of Second-Hand and Scarce Books.&lt;br /&gt;
All orders entrusted to them will receive immediate&lt;br /&gt;
and careful attention. No charge is made until&lt;br /&gt;
successful in procuring the work desired. Price,&lt;br /&gt;
Condition of Binding, Plates, &amp;amp;C, will be reported&lt;br /&gt;
before securing.&lt;br /&gt;
Address&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
HARRISON &amp;amp; SONS,&lt;br /&gt;
NEW &amp;amp; SECOND-HAND BOOKSELLERS,&lt;br /&gt;
59, PALL JWALL, LONDON, S.W.&lt;br /&gt;
ESTABLISHED 1851.&lt;br /&gt;
SOUTHAMPTON BUILDINGS, CHANCERY LANE.&lt;br /&gt;
THREE per CENT. INTEREST allowed on DEPOSITS, repayable on demand.&lt;br /&gt;
TWO per CENT. INTEREST on CURRENT ACCOUNTS when not drawn below &pound;100.&lt;br /&gt;
STOCKS, SHARES, and ANNUITIES purchased and sold.&lt;br /&gt;
DEPARTMEHTT.&lt;br /&gt;
For the encouragement of Thrift the Bank receives small sums on deposit, and allows interest, at the rate of THREE&lt;br /&gt;
per CENT, per Annum, on each completed &pound;l. The Interest is added to the principal on the 31st March annually.&lt;br /&gt;
FRANCIS RAVENSCROFT, Manager.&lt;br /&gt;
HOW TO PURCHASE A HOUSE FOR TWO GUINEAS PER MONTH, OR&lt;br /&gt;
A PLOT OF LAND FOR FIVE SHILLINGS PER MONTH, with immediate&lt;br /&gt;
possession. Apply at Office of the Eirkbeck Freehold Land .Society.&lt;br /&gt;
THE BIRKBECK ALMANACK, with full particulars post free on application.&lt;br /&gt;
FRANCIS RAVENSCROFT, Manager.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 128 (#161) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A D VER TISEMEN TS.&lt;br /&gt;
Hi.&lt;br /&gt;
THE BAR-LOCK TYPE-WRITER saves the eyesight.&lt;br /&gt;
THE BAR-LOCK TYPE-WRITER prevents writer&amp;#039;s cramp.&lt;br /&gt;
THE BAR-LOCK TYPE-WRITER prevents round shoulders.&lt;br /&gt;
THE BAR-LOCK TYPE-WRITER enables you to keep pace&lt;br /&gt;
with your thoughts, the operation requires less mental&lt;br /&gt;
effort than the use of a pen, allowing you to concentrate&lt;br /&gt;
your mind more fully on the matter you are writing on.&lt;br /&gt;
The writing of the BAR-LOCK TYPE-WRITER is equal to&lt;br /&gt;
a printed proof, and can be used as such for corrections, thus saving&lt;br /&gt;
large printer&amp;#039;s charges which are sufficient in many books to defray&lt;br /&gt;
the cost of a Bar-Lock.&lt;br /&gt;
Supplied for Cash, or on Our Easy Payment System by&lt;br /&gt;
Twelve Monthly Payments of &pound;1 19s., or on&lt;br /&gt;
Hire at &pound;2 2s. per Month.&lt;br /&gt;
CORRESPONDENCE AND INSPECTION INVITED.&lt;br /&gt;
THE TYPE-WRITER COMPANY, Limited,&lt;br /&gt;
12 &amp;amp; 14, QUEEN VICTORIA STREET, E.C.&lt;br /&gt;
40, North John Street, Liverpool; 22, Renfleld Street, Glasgow; 25, Market Street,&lt;br /&gt;
Manchester; Exchange Building, Cardiff; 385, Little Collins Street, Melbourne.&lt;br /&gt;
Type- Writing Taught by Experts. Author s MSS. Copied at is. jif. per 1,000 Words at all Our Offices.&lt;br /&gt;
PUBLICATIONS OF THE SOCIETY.&lt;br /&gt;
1. The Annual Report. That for January, 1890, can be had on application to the Secretary.&lt;br /&gt;
2. The Author. A Monthly Journal devoted especially to the protection and maintenance of&lt;br /&gt;
Literary Property. Issued to all members.&lt;br /&gt;
3. The Grievances of Authors. (Field &amp;amp; Tuer.} 2*. The Report of three Meetings on the&lt;br /&gt;
general subject of Literature and its defence, held at Willis&amp;#039;s Rooms, March, 1887.&lt;br /&gt;
4. Literature and the Pension List. By W. Morris Colle=, Barrister-at-Law. (Henry&lt;br /&gt;
(llaisher, 95, Strand, W.C.) 4*. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
5. The History of the Society des Gens de Lettres. By S. Squire Sprigge, Secretary to the&lt;br /&gt;
Society, is.&lt;br /&gt;
6. The Cost of Production. In this work specimens are given of the most important forms of&lt;br /&gt;
type, size of page, &amp;amp;c, with estimates showing what it costs to produce the more common kinds&lt;br /&gt;
of books. The work is printed for members of the Society only. 2s. 6d. (A new Edition&lt;br /&gt;
preparing.)&lt;br /&gt;
7. The Various Methods of Publication. By S. Squire Sprigge. In this work, compiled&lt;br /&gt;
from the papers in the Society&amp;#039;s offices, the various kinds of agreements proposed by Publishers&lt;br /&gt;
to Authors are examined, and their meaning carefully explained, with an account of the various&lt;br /&gt;
kinds of fraud which have been made possible by the different clauses in their agreements. The&lt;br /&gt;
book is nearly ready, and will be issued as soon as possible.&lt;br /&gt;
Other works bearing on the Literary Profession willfollow.&lt;br /&gt;
THIS VIEW IS REFHOOUCH) HtOM APHOTDGRAPH OFAN OPERATOR*&lt;br /&gt;
oarlock&lt;br /&gt;
TYPEWRITER&lt;br /&gt;
^TlMES&lt;br /&gt;
THE SPEED&lt;br /&gt;
OF A PEN.&lt;br /&gt;
Till: TYPK WRITER CO., I^d.,&lt;br /&gt;
12, QUEEN VICTORIA STREET, LONDON.&lt;br /&gt;
40. North Jnim St.-Liverpool; Guardian Bide.,&lt;br /&gt;
Ilinebeater; ja. \\--\- \ St., jci-&lt;br /&gt;
chautfc Uliife&amp;#039;., Cardiff; ?83. Little ColIlUB St..&lt;br /&gt;
aielboume.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 128 (#162) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
iv.&lt;br /&gt;
ADVERTISEMENTS.&lt;br /&gt;
NEW MODEL REMINGTON&lt;br /&gt;
STANDARD TYPEWRITER.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Sim&lt;br /&gt;
For Fifteen Years the Standard, and&lt;br /&gt;
to-day the most perfect development&lt;br /&gt;
of the writing machine, embodying the&lt;br /&gt;
latest and highest achievements of&lt;br /&gt;
inventive and mechanical skill. We&lt;br /&gt;
add to the Remington every improve-&lt;br /&gt;
ment that study and capital can secure.&lt;br /&gt;
WYCKOFF, SEAMANS &amp;amp; BENEDICT,&lt;br /&gt;
Principal Office-&lt;br /&gt;
LONDON: 100, GRACECHURCH STREET, E.C.&lt;br /&gt;
(CORNER OF LEADENHALL STREET).&lt;br /&gt;
Branch Offices-&lt;br /&gt;
LIVERPOOL: CENTRAL BUILDINGS, NORTH JOHN STREET.&lt;br /&gt;
BIRMINGHAM : 88, COLMORE ROW.&lt;br /&gt;
MANCHESTER : 8, MOULT STREET.&lt;br /&gt;
Printed for the Society, by HARRISON &amp;amp; SONS, 45, 46, and 47, St. Martin&amp;#039;s Lane, in the Parish of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, in the Cit&lt;br /&gt;
of Westminster.</td><td>https://historysoa.com/files/original/5/243/1890-09-15-The-Author-1-5.pdf</td><td>publications, The Author</td></tr><tr><td>244</td><td>https://historysoa.com/items/show/244</td><td>The Author, Vol. 01 Issue 06 (October 1890)</td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=%3Cem%3EThe+Author%3C%2Fem%3E%2C+Vol.+01+Issue+06+%28October+1890%29&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;The Author&lt;/em&gt;, Vol. 01 Issue 06 (October 1890)&lt;/a&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015031017927&amp;amp;view=1up&amp;amp;seq=20&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; rel=&quot;noopener&quot;&gt;https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015031017927&lt;/a&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Publication&quot;&gt;Publication&lt;/a&gt;</td><td>1890-10-15-The-Author-1-6</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>129&ndash;162</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=89&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1&quot;&gt;1&lt;/a&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=76&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1890-10-15&quot;&gt;1890-10-15&lt;/a&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>6</td><td></td><td></td><td>18901015</td><td>Vol. I.&mdash;No. 6.]&lt;br /&gt;
OCTOBER 15, 1890.&lt;br /&gt;
[Price, Sixpence.&lt;br /&gt;
The Author.&lt;br /&gt;
THE ORGAN OF THE SOCIETY OF AUTHORS&lt;br /&gt;
(INCORPORATED).&lt;br /&gt;
CONDUCTED BY&lt;br /&gt;
WALTER BESANT&lt;br /&gt;
Published for i&szlig;e Societ&ecirc; Be&lt;br /&gt;
ALEXANDER P: WATT, 2, PATERNOSTER SQU&Agrave;R&Euml;;&lt;br /&gt;
LONDON, E.C:&lt;br /&gt;
1890.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 128 (#164) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
ii.&lt;br /&gt;
ADVERTISEMENTS.&lt;br /&gt;
Berton, Sept 1y* 1878&lt;br /&gt;
muu. M&aacute;lie, Toad y los&lt;br /&gt;
: Gentleman&lt;br /&gt;
I have sout me of your&lt;br /&gt;
Reus, to have a hana mended&lt;br /&gt;
trough Meus. Hoche, leurs&lt;br /&gt;
Ito of theicity&lt;br /&gt;
Tome may like to know that&lt;br /&gt;
I have made this heu constantly .&lt;br /&gt;
formue han twenty years, i&lt;br /&gt;
Trine the days of a book of man&lt;br /&gt;
called &amp;quot;The Autrict of the&lt;br /&gt;
Bruckbank tere &amp;quot;1857&ndash;8 mutć .&lt;br /&gt;
last Friday without repair and&lt;br /&gt;
1.&lt;br /&gt;
aliray with herfect Oale jachten&lt;br /&gt;
I have written with in halfa&lt;br /&gt;
1.&lt;br /&gt;
.&lt;br /&gt;
dozen or onare volumes, a&lt;br /&gt;
Jacce neember of Enraps la&lt;br /&gt;
ause Mousands of letters.&lt;br /&gt;
Tere bit ai to an ole&lt;br /&gt;
und and I hate you will&lt;br /&gt;
do the ben you can for it&lt;br /&gt;
hough I hura in the mean&lt;br /&gt;
hier bought anotion of pain&lt;br /&gt;
mate&amp;#039;&amp;#039; corigazine marked.C.&lt;br /&gt;
Too not know whether&lt;br /&gt;
que cau hir This testimonial&lt;br /&gt;
har I feel as if the pen when&lt;br /&gt;
bar caned out to much of&lt;br /&gt;
Buy thought and thought back&lt;br /&gt;
To much si ranon forms in&lt;br /&gt;
whuan was enlithed to this&lt;br /&gt;
Carlisicut of himnaha Reconce&lt;br /&gt;
. Sans Eurther Homes tunly&lt;br /&gt;
Miera Honeell Hemmer&lt;br /&gt;
ILLUSTRATED Price List will be sent, free and post paid, on application to MABIE, TodD &amp;amp; BARD, 93, Cheapside, LONDON,&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 129 (#165) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
(The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly!)&lt;br /&gt;
CONDUCTED BY WALTER BESANT.&lt;br /&gt;
Vol. I.&mdash;No. 6.] OCTOBER 15, 1890. [Price Sixpence.&lt;br /&gt;
C O N T&lt;br /&gt;
PAGE&lt;br /&gt;
News and Notes &mdash; 129&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The Methods of Publishing.&amp;quot; By S. Squire Sprigge 138&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The Literary Handmaid of the Church.&amp;quot; A Reply by the Author&lt;br /&gt;
of the Pamphlet 139&lt;br /&gt;
American Literature in America 148&lt;br /&gt;
An Old Man s Rejoinder. By Walt Whitman 149&lt;br /&gt;
Leaflet No. IV. Authors&amp;#039; Quarrels 151&lt;br /&gt;
Examination in Vanity Fair 153&lt;br /&gt;
A Model Agreement 153&lt;br /&gt;
A Hard Case, No. V. Through a Literary Agent 154&lt;br /&gt;
E N T S.&lt;br /&gt;
PAGE&lt;br /&gt;
International Copyright &laquo; *55&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Sing a Song for Sixpence.&amp;quot; By W. R. Colles &raquo;55&lt;br /&gt;
Correspondence 156&lt;br /&gt;
Queries 156&lt;br /&gt;
Dreams and the Imagination *57&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The Authors&amp;#039; Manual&amp;quot; 158&lt;br /&gt;
At Work &raquo;58&lt;br /&gt;
New Books and New Editions &raquo;59&lt;br /&gt;
Advertisements 160&lt;br /&gt;
NEWS AND NOTES.&lt;br /&gt;
IT is very much to be regretted that the Inter-&lt;br /&gt;
national Literary and Artistic Congress,&lt;br /&gt;
which has been sitting from October 4th to&lt;br /&gt;
October nth, should have been managed with so&lt;br /&gt;
little consideration for its success. Nobody knew&lt;br /&gt;
that it was going to be held; nobody knows, now,&lt;br /&gt;
who invited the Congress to assemble in London.&lt;br /&gt;
They have received the hospitality of the Lord&lt;br /&gt;
Mayor, who has proved himself ever ready to&lt;br /&gt;
welcome every kind of work and every good&lt;br /&gt;
worker. But that is not enough. English authors&lt;br /&gt;
have been conspicuous by their absence. How&lt;br /&gt;
could they be expected to attend? They knew&lt;br /&gt;
nothing about the Congress. The Society of&lt;br /&gt;
Authors was not informed until a few days before&lt;br /&gt;
the Congress met. Nor were they officially&lt;br /&gt;
informed even then, but heard casually through&lt;br /&gt;
the Mansion House. Two or three of the members,&lt;br /&gt;
however, joined, at this last moment, the Reception&lt;br /&gt;
Committee. But the Society was absolutely ignored&lt;br /&gt;
by the managers of the Congress. As a natural&lt;br /&gt;
result, not a single English author took part in the&lt;br /&gt;
proceedings of the Congress. The proceedings will&lt;br /&gt;
be briefly reported in the next number.&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;&laquo;&lt;br /&gt;
At the Church Congress, which has just con-&lt;br /&gt;
cluded, Archdeacon Farrar read a paper on the&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Ethics of Commerce.&amp;quot; He began by saying that&lt;br /&gt;
he would purposely take only the most obvious&lt;br /&gt;
and elementary side. This is well. Men require&lt;br /&gt;
to have always kept before them the elementary&lt;br /&gt;
side. The Decalogue is extremely elementary, yet&lt;br /&gt;
it is found most useful to hang it up, written large,&lt;br /&gt;
in every Church. &amp;quot;Human beings,&amp;quot; he said, &amp;quot;do&lt;br /&gt;
not constitute a mass of dead, impersonal force, to&lt;br /&gt;
be treated only in accordance with the laws of&lt;br /&gt;
supply and demand; every living soul has rights,&lt;br /&gt;
indivisible, inalienable, eternal, which cannot be&lt;br /&gt;
trampled and crushed into the mire as though&lt;br /&gt;
political economy were some monstrous Juggernaut&lt;br /&gt;
which must be dragged along in triumph . . . .&lt;br /&gt;
As for the law of honesty . . . what are we&lt;br /&gt;
to say ... of bargains made by skilled prey-&lt;br /&gt;
ing on the ignorance or the necessities of others;&lt;br /&gt;
. . . of betraying a confidence fraudulently&lt;br /&gt;
gained by pretence of simplicity? . .&amp;#039; . I might&lt;br /&gt;
expose the dishonourable customs which in many&lt;br /&gt;
cases taint what should be, and often is, the eminently&lt;br /&gt;
respectable trade of the publisher; I might speak&lt;br /&gt;
of the sweating publishers who, without a blush,&lt;br /&gt;
toss to the author perhaps a hundredth part of&lt;br /&gt;
what, by bargains grossly inequitable, they have&lt;br /&gt;
themselves obtained. . . . There are many&lt;br /&gt;
reasons why the conscience of England should be&lt;br /&gt;
awakened on this subject. In the words of a&lt;br /&gt;
vol. 1.&lt;br /&gt;
K&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 130 (#166) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
130&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
living historian, &amp;#039;When men live only to make&lt;br /&gt;
money, and the service of God is become a thing&lt;br /&gt;
of words and ceremonies, and the Kingdom of&lt;br /&gt;
Heaven is bought and sold, a fire bursts out in&lt;br /&gt;
higher natures. Show me a people whose trade is&lt;br /&gt;
dishonest, and I will show you a people whose&lt;br /&gt;
trade is a sham.&amp;#039;&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Dishonest trade may be the buying or selling of&lt;br /&gt;
things adulterated, bad, not what they pretend to&lt;br /&gt;
be; or it may be selling at such a price as to give&lt;br /&gt;
an unjust profit to the seller, over and above what&lt;br /&gt;
he has given to the producer. He then becomes a&lt;br /&gt;
Sweater. Now there will be found on p. i 39, certain&lt;br /&gt;
examples of profit made by the S.P.C.K., which do&lt;br /&gt;
not, indeed, touch the hundredfold spoken of by&lt;br /&gt;
the Archdeacon, but they are double, treble, ten-&lt;br /&gt;
fold, and even twenty-fold! Other traders Sweat&lt;br /&gt;
for their private gain. These traders sweat for the&lt;br /&gt;
promotion of Christian Knowledge. Which is&lt;br /&gt;
worse&mdash;the poor wretch who only degrades him-&lt;br /&gt;
self, or he who traffics in the sacred name of&lt;br /&gt;
religion?&lt;br /&gt;
My answer to this &amp;quot;Memorandum&amp;quot; of the so-&lt;br /&gt;
called Committee of Inquiry of the S.P.C.K. will&lt;br /&gt;
be found on pp. 141-148.&lt;br /&gt;
The Standard has recently published a long&lt;br /&gt;
string of letters coricerning a so-called Society 6f&lt;br /&gt;
Science, Letters, and Art. It is an interesting ex-&lt;br /&gt;
posure of human folly and human cunning. This&lt;br /&gt;
precious Society confers upon a member the privi-&lt;br /&gt;
lege of calling himself a &amp;quot; Fellow,&amp;quot; of wearing a gowrt&lt;br /&gt;
and a hood, showing a diploma, and even wearing&lt;br /&gt;
a badge, like an omnibus cad. As for any qualifi-&lt;br /&gt;
cations necessary to secure these privileges, there&lt;br /&gt;
appear to be none; and as for any joy to be got by&lt;br /&gt;
wearing the badge of the Society, this writer cannot&lt;br /&gt;
understand where it comes in. Certain school-&lt;br /&gt;
masters, it is stated, find it to their advantage to&lt;br /&gt;
call themselves F.S.Sc, and on prize-giving days to&lt;br /&gt;
wear the hood, which appears to be a very splendid&lt;br /&gt;
thing. The Society, however, holds examinations,&lt;br /&gt;
Well, so does the College of Preceptors, so does&lt;br /&gt;
the Society of Arts; there is no reason why one&lt;br /&gt;
Society should not hold examinations as well as&lt;br /&gt;
any other Society, if they can persuade people to&lt;br /&gt;
believe in their certificates. It does not appear&lt;br /&gt;
that this Society of Science, Letters, and Art, does&lt;br /&gt;
anything else at all to justify its existence. It is&lt;br /&gt;
slid to publish no balance sheet, and the evidence&lt;br /&gt;
is overwhelming that it offers its membership for&lt;br /&gt;
sale, although the President&mdash;they have got a Presi-&lt;br /&gt;
dent, as well as a Secretary&mdash;parades the fact that a&lt;br /&gt;
form of election is gone through. Oneneednot, how-&lt;br /&gt;
ever, be too hard upon the S.Sc.L. and A. It does&lt;br /&gt;
pretty much what all Societies do which permit&lt;br /&gt;
their members to put letters after their names. How&lt;br /&gt;
many antiquarians, geographers, geologists, as-&lt;br /&gt;
tronomers, would belong to the Societies represent-&lt;br /&gt;
ing and supporting these sciences if it were not for&lt;br /&gt;
the letters which they allow their members to use.&lt;br /&gt;
Schoolmasters, writers, lecturers, and people gener-&lt;br /&gt;
ally anxious to make themselves known,always try to&lt;br /&gt;
make up for the absence of a degree by the addi-&lt;br /&gt;
tion of these letters. To be an F.R.G.S., F.R.H.S.,&lt;br /&gt;
F.R.C.S, F.R.A.S., F.R.S.L., seems to the outside&lt;br /&gt;
world a proof of distinction. Why not, therefore,&lt;br /&gt;
F.S.Sc.? It means nothing, nor do any of the&lt;br /&gt;
letters, except the plain old-fashioned M.A., R&amp;#039;.A.&lt;br /&gt;
(whether Royal Academy or Royal Artillery), R.E.,&lt;br /&gt;
LL.D., D.C.L. or F.R.S. The poor schoolmaster&lt;br /&gt;
who cannot use one of these legitimate titles might&lt;br /&gt;
as well call himself F.S.Sc. as F.R.G.S. And if it&lt;br /&gt;
helps him in his business, he will, I suppose, con-&lt;br /&gt;
tinue to do so. As for the hood, it seems to be&lt;br /&gt;
believed that only a University can confer a hood.&lt;br /&gt;
That is not so. All that a University can do is to&lt;br /&gt;
confer a certain kind of hood; and, indeed, if a&lt;br /&gt;
man chooses to make and to wear an Oxford hood&lt;br /&gt;
when he does not possess an Oxford degree, what&lt;br /&gt;
pains and penalties does he incur? 1 once saw&lt;br /&gt;
a reverend gentleman mount the reading desk&lt;br /&gt;
in quite a splendid hood, of the Oxford colour,&lt;br /&gt;
but ampler, fuller, more magnificent. I did not&lt;br /&gt;
remember to have heard that he was an Oxford&lt;br /&gt;
rrtan. He was not, in fact. He wore, I was told,&lt;br /&gt;
the hood of St. Bees or of St. Augustine. Perhaps,&lt;br /&gt;
after all, it was the hood of the Society of Science,&lt;br /&gt;
Letters, and Art. Five guineas would have been&lt;br /&gt;
cheap for such a hood.&lt;br /&gt;
When a daily paper has exhausted all the sub-&lt;br /&gt;
jects of the day, there remains, at the bottom of the&lt;br /&gt;
basket, one&mdash;the novel of the period. The editor&lt;br /&gt;
can always have a fling at the novelists. In every&lt;br /&gt;
paper, once a year at least, and generally twice a&lt;br /&gt;
year, there is the leader on modern fiction by a&lt;br /&gt;
leader writer who never reads any modern fiction.&lt;br /&gt;
His view, of course, is pessimistic. In the same&lt;br /&gt;
way, when a man has attained a certain position&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;nd matter in what line&mdash;he considers himself&lt;br /&gt;
qualified to address his fellow-creatures on the&lt;br /&gt;
choice of books. This gives him also an opportunity&lt;br /&gt;
of &amp;quot; slating&amp;quot; fiction of the day.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Frederick Harrison, I learn from the fol-&lt;br /&gt;
lowing extract, has been lecturing us on the Choice&lt;br /&gt;
of Books, and has naturally seized the occasion to&lt;br /&gt;
fling mud at the novelists. Let him speak&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;But assuredly black night will quickly cover the vast&lt;br /&gt;
bulk of modern fiction&mdash;work as perishable as the generations&lt;br /&gt;
whose idleness it has amused. It belongs not to the great&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 131 (#167) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
creations of the world. Beside them it is flat and poor.&lt;br /&gt;
Such facts in human nature as it reveals are trivial and special&lt;br /&gt;
in themselves, and for the most part abnormal and unwhole-&lt;br /&gt;
some. I stand beside the ceaseless flow of this miscellaneous&lt;br /&gt;
torrent as one stands watching the turbid rush of the Thames&lt;br /&gt;
at London Bridge, wondering whence it all comes, whither&lt;br /&gt;
it all goes, what can be done with it, and what may be its&lt;br /&gt;
ultimate function in the order of Providence. To a reader&lt;br /&gt;
who would nourish his laste on the boundless harvests of the&lt;br /&gt;
poetry of mankind, this sewage outfall of to-day offers as&lt;br /&gt;
little in creative as in moral value. Lurid and irregular&lt;br /&gt;
streaks ol imagination, extravagance of plot and incident,&lt;br /&gt;
petty and mean subjects of study, forced and unnatural situa-&lt;br /&gt;
tions, moroid pathology of crime, duM copying of the dullest&lt;br /&gt;
comm mplace, melodramatic hurly-burly, form the certain&lt;br /&gt;
evidence of an art that is exhausted, produced by men and&lt;br /&gt;
women to whom it is become a mere trade, in an age wherein&lt;br /&gt;
change and excitement have corrupted the power of pure&lt;br /&gt;
enjoyment.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&diams;&lt;br /&gt;
Let us add a few words of question and of ■&lt;br /&gt;
comment. Mr. Harrison not only watches the&lt;br /&gt;
ceaseless flow of this miscellaneous torrent, but he&lt;br /&gt;
carefully examines the bulk of the books which&lt;br /&gt;
form the torrent. He reads masses of modern&lt;br /&gt;
fiction. He must, else how can he speak with&lt;br /&gt;
so much authority and precision on the subject?&lt;br /&gt;
Unless, that is, he has evolved from his own brain&lt;br /&gt;
the &amp;quot; lurid and irregular streaks of imagination &amp;quot; and&lt;br /&gt;
nil the rest of it. Most of us do not read all the&lt;br /&gt;
fiction, and therefore we must accept his judgment&lt;br /&gt;
ho far. He complains, however, that he does not&lt;br /&gt;
know whence it conies or whither it goes. Let&lt;br /&gt;
us tell him. Three-fourths of the &amp;quot;torrent&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
consists of feeble, harmless, and imitative stories,&lt;br /&gt;
the production of which is paid for by the&lt;br /&gt;
writers in the vain hope of getting money out&lt;br /&gt;
of them. Very few copies arc printed, still fewer&lt;br /&gt;
are bought; they would be absolutely unheard of&lt;br /&gt;
if the reviewers did not notice them; they die&lt;br /&gt;
as soon as they are born. As regards the&lt;br /&gt;
remaining fourth part, I suppose I may be allowed&lt;br /&gt;
an opinion as a humble follower of the art, and&lt;br /&gt;
I maintain that as regards that fourth part, the&lt;br /&gt;
art of fiction never stood on a higher level than it&lt;br /&gt;
stands to-day. It is not only ridiculously false&mdash;it&lt;br /&gt;
is ridiculously foolish&mdash;to speak of the works that&lt;br /&gt;
are now produced every year as a &amp;quot; sewage outfall.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
There is no Thackeray now living, but there are&lt;br /&gt;
writers of fiction among us who would adorn any&lt;br /&gt;
age. I say that the names of Black, Blackmore,&lt;br /&gt;
Rider Haggard, Hardy, Howells, James, Litton,&lt;br /&gt;
Meredith, Murray, Norris, Oliphant, Payn, Steven-&lt;br /&gt;
son&mdash;which I write down not as exhaustive but as&lt;br /&gt;
occurring to me at the moment&mdash;are names of&lt;br /&gt;
writers who have advanced and are advancing the&lt;br /&gt;
Art of Fiction. If anyone will take the trouble to&lt;br /&gt;
read the novels of fifty years ago&mdash;it has been my&lt;br /&gt;
lot to read a good many&mdash;he must acknowledge&lt;br /&gt;
VOL. 1.&lt;br /&gt;
that the art is far better understood now than&lt;br /&gt;
then, that the style is infinitely better, that the&lt;br /&gt;
work is more dramatic, cleaner, and clearer,&lt;br /&gt;
better finished&mdash;in a word, that the modern work&lt;br /&gt;
far surpasses the older work. Yet there is among&lt;br /&gt;
us no living Thackeray, Dickens, Scott, or&lt;br /&gt;
Fielding.&lt;br /&gt;
&diams;&lt;br /&gt;
This adviser on the Choice of Books further&lt;br /&gt;
informs us gloomily that the Art is exhausted; that&lt;br /&gt;
it is followed by men and women as a trade, and&lt;br /&gt;
that the age has lost the power of pure enjoyment.&lt;br /&gt;
Now let us consider this statement&mdash;so wide and so&lt;br /&gt;
sweeping. First, how can an Art ever be ex-&lt;br /&gt;
hausted? It is the first quality, the chief quality, of&lt;br /&gt;
all Art, that it is as inexhaustible as the whole range&lt;br /&gt;
of human emotion; nay, that for every new gener-&lt;br /&gt;
ation Art shall be young, strong, and immortal.&lt;br /&gt;
It is only when one is old, when there is no&lt;br /&gt;
longer anything to hope, that Art appears decrepit&lt;br /&gt;
or exhausted. The Art of Fiction can no more&lt;br /&gt;
be exhausted than the Art of Painting. As to&lt;br /&gt;
the trade of it, novelists have always, like painters,&lt;br /&gt;
followed their art as a trade. If Mr. Harrison&lt;br /&gt;
means that modern novelists turn out their work&lt;br /&gt;
with no care or thought of Art, why&mdash;there is&lt;br /&gt;
nothing to reply but a flat denial. I suppose that&lt;br /&gt;
Dickens and Thackeray scorned to sell their books&lt;br /&gt;
or to turn them out as a trade! What futile&lt;br /&gt;
rubbish is this!&lt;br /&gt;
4&lt;br /&gt;
Lastly the age . . the age . . Alas! when was&lt;br /&gt;
there ever an age which was not corrupt, ruined,&lt;br /&gt;
hopeless? The present time is more especially lost&lt;br /&gt;
and hopeless on account of the fin de sifrle. Let&lt;br /&gt;
me protest against this fin de stick cry. It means&lt;br /&gt;
that because the century is coming to an end, art,&lt;br /&gt;
thought, invention, science&mdash;everything is senile&lt;br /&gt;
too, in sympathy with the dying century. Let us&lt;br /&gt;
consider again. For literary purposes there are&lt;br /&gt;
only four centuries to think of. First, the sixteenth.&lt;br /&gt;
Where is the fin de sikle in the last decade of that&lt;br /&gt;
century? Shakespeare wrote fifteen of his plays in&lt;br /&gt;
that decade; Ben Jonson began; Kit Marlow ran&lt;br /&gt;
his brief course; Raleigh, Peele, Greene, Spenser,&lt;br /&gt;
Lyly, Drayton, Harrington, Stow, Cervantes, Tasso,&lt;br /&gt;
Montaigne, Du Bartas, Malherbe, all adorn this&lt;br /&gt;
last decade. Where is the fin de si&amp;#039;ede here? Let&lt;br /&gt;
us pass on to the years 1690-1700. What do we&lt;br /&gt;
find? Any weariness, any decay, any senility?&lt;br /&gt;
Not so&mdash;Dryden, Wycherly, Congreve, Steele,&lt;br /&gt;
Dennis, Price, Swift, Burnet, Defoe, Bentley, Tom&lt;br /&gt;
Brown and Ned Ward (a savoury pair), Garth,&lt;br /&gt;
k 2&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 132 (#168) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
132&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
Philips, Rovve, Buxton, John Locke, Tillotson,&lt;br /&gt;
Jeremy Taylor, Colley Gibber, Tom D&amp;#039;Urfey,&lt;br /&gt;
Boileau, Racine, Calderon, Bossuet, Fenelon, La&lt;br /&gt;
Fontaine, Fontenelle&mdash;all adorned the last years of&lt;br /&gt;
the seventeenth century. Pass on to the years&lt;br /&gt;
1790-1800. Was there here any decay, any&lt;br /&gt;
senility? Burns, Wordsworth, Crabbe, Bloomfield,&lt;br /&gt;
Coleridge, Southey, Scott, Cooper, Priestley, Paley,&lt;br /&gt;
Cumberland, Dibdin, Sheridan, Ferguson, Monk&lt;br /&gt;
Lewis, Mary Godwin, William Godwin, White of&lt;br /&gt;
Selborne, Ritson, Thomas Percy, Gifford, Erasmus&lt;br /&gt;
Darwin, Anne Seward, Dugald Stewart, Jeremy&lt;br /&gt;
Bentham, Hannah More, Frances Burney, John&lt;br /&gt;
Aikin, Letitia Burbauld, Roscoe, Sir Joshua Rey-&lt;br /&gt;
nolds, Porson, Edmund Burke, Boswell, Campbell,&lt;br /&gt;
Rogers, Mrs. Inchbald, Malone, D&amp;#039;Israeli, Sir&lt;br /&gt;
James Mackintosh, Charles Lamb, Landor,&lt;br /&gt;
Schiller, Goethe, and a whole crowd of French&lt;br /&gt;
writers wrote; why, so far from being a time of&lt;br /&gt;
decay the last decade of each century has proved&lt;br /&gt;
a period of great intellectual vigour&mdash;a time of&lt;br /&gt;
youth and spring, as every time should be. Let&lt;br /&gt;
us have done with the fin de sikle rubbish. There&lt;br /&gt;
is no more connection between Art or Science&lt;br /&gt;
and the age of the century, than there is between&lt;br /&gt;
the news of this hour&amp;#039;s post and the clouds in the&lt;br /&gt;
sky.&lt;br /&gt;
Last month I asked a foolish question. It was&lt;br /&gt;
foolish because the wise man should not, speaking&lt;br /&gt;
generally, ask a question to which there is no answer.&lt;br /&gt;
In this case, perhaps, one was justified; one put,&lt;br /&gt;
wisely, a foolish question. I asked why religious&lt;br /&gt;
societies allow themselves to do things which indi&lt;br /&gt;
viduals with any self-respect would not dare to do.&lt;br /&gt;
I now ask another foolish question. Why is it that&lt;br /&gt;
men professionally connected with religion are&lt;br /&gt;
generally so extremely irreligious? There is no&lt;br /&gt;
answer to this question. But I will illustrate it by a&lt;br /&gt;
case in point. There is a certain religious publisher&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;from whose clutches may the Lord preserve us!&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;who found a lady with a MS.&mdash;they areas plenti-&lt;br /&gt;
ful as blackberries. This MS., however, was a&lt;br /&gt;
saleable MS. He consented to publish it, and 10&lt;br /&gt;
give her half the profits. Further, he agreed that&lt;br /&gt;
a fresh arrangement was to be made for a second&lt;br /&gt;
edition. The man, however, was too foxy to set&lt;br /&gt;
down this in writing. He allowed the lady to&lt;br /&gt;
make a note of the agreement, and forgot to send&lt;br /&gt;
it to her in writing. Two or three years after-&lt;br /&gt;
wards the author discovered that there had been&lt;br /&gt;
a new edition published without reference to her-&lt;br /&gt;
self and without sending her any accounts. She&lt;br /&gt;
wrote and got no reply. The religious person took&lt;br /&gt;
no notice of her letter. She wrote again and got at&lt;br /&gt;
last a letter and a statement of accounts. It was&lt;br /&gt;
as follows :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
Cost of production ...&lt;br /&gt;
By Sales&lt;br /&gt;
Deficiency&lt;br /&gt;
&pound;&lt;br /&gt;
s.&lt;br /&gt;
d.&lt;br /&gt;
in&lt;br /&gt;
16&lt;br /&gt;
6&lt;br /&gt;
&pound;&lt;br /&gt;
s.&lt;br /&gt;
d.&lt;br /&gt;
80&lt;br /&gt;
II&lt;br /&gt;
9&lt;br /&gt;
31&lt;br /&gt;
4&lt;br /&gt;
9&lt;br /&gt;
in&lt;br /&gt;
16&lt;br /&gt;
6&lt;br /&gt;
The letter deplored the heavy loss of the firm on&lt;br /&gt;
the book, said nothingabout breaking the agreement,&lt;br /&gt;
and offered the lady ten guineas to finish up the&lt;br /&gt;
business. She accepted the offer, and the book is&lt;br /&gt;
now running triumphantly in its seventh or eighth&lt;br /&gt;
edition. It may be argued, of course, that she&lt;br /&gt;
need not have taken the offer, considering the&lt;br /&gt;
nature of the account rendered. I think she was&lt;br /&gt;
right to get anything she could. I have had an&lt;br /&gt;
estimate made of the cost of the book. It comes&lt;br /&gt;
out as follows :- Pubjishers&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
bill.&lt;br /&gt;
&pound; s. d. &pound; s. d.&lt;br /&gt;
Cost of production 67 3 4 ... 111 16 6&lt;br /&gt;
Supposing the other items of engraving and&lt;br /&gt;
advertising to be correct, we reduce the cost of&lt;br /&gt;
production from &pound;\\i i6y. 6d. to &pound;67 3.C 4*/., a&lt;br /&gt;
difference of &pound;42 11s. ?&amp;gt;d.! And yet they talk&lt;br /&gt;
of the heavy loss to the firm.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Radclyffe Cooke&amp;#039;s letter in our last number&lt;br /&gt;
has very naturally called forth a reply from the&lt;br /&gt;
reader concerned. He says, &amp;quot;May I be permitted&lt;br /&gt;
to say that while I certainly claim no infallibility, I&lt;br /&gt;
think Mr. Cooke has a little mistaken the gist of my&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;#039;opinion.&amp;#039; I said that if certain alterations were&lt;br /&gt;
made I thought the book, especially if got up in&lt;br /&gt;
an attractive style, &amp;#039;would be accepted, and would&lt;br /&gt;
obtain a sale. I am glad that it has obtained a&lt;br /&gt;
success greater than I looked for.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Radclyffe Cooke himself writes :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The Editorial Comment does not meet my&lt;br /&gt;
point, which is, that if you invite authors whose&lt;br /&gt;
MSS. have been rejected by publishers&amp;#039; readers to&lt;br /&gt;
submit them for an independent opinion to one of&lt;br /&gt;
the readers of the Society, that opinion cannot be&lt;br /&gt;
independent if the readers of the Society and the&lt;br /&gt;
readers of the publishers are identically the same&lt;br /&gt;
persons.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 133 (#169) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
06&lt;br /&gt;
What is an independent opinion? A. B. receives&lt;br /&gt;
a MS. from a publisher. He is asked to give an&lt;br /&gt;
opinion on the MS., especially as to its commercial&lt;br /&gt;
value. He does so. He does not give a long critical&lt;br /&gt;
opinion for the author, but merely a note for the&lt;br /&gt;
publisher. The author receives in polite language&lt;br /&gt;
a plain No. Suppose&mdash;which is possible, but not&lt;br /&gt;
likely&mdash;the same reader received afterwards the&lt;br /&gt;
same MS. from the same author, he wou;d state&lt;br /&gt;
at length his opinion of the faults in style, the errors&lt;br /&gt;
of taste and judgment, and the other defects which&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;-always in his opinion&mdash;might militate against the&lt;br /&gt;
woik, either from a literary or a commercial point&lt;br /&gt;
of view. He would give, in fact, such an opinion&lt;br /&gt;
as might be of assistance to the writer.&lt;br /&gt;
-Publishers, in fact, do not give authors a critical&lt;br /&gt;
opinion on the MSS. submitted. Considering that&lt;br /&gt;
they have to refuse ninety-nine per cent, of MSS.&lt;br /&gt;
offered, it can hardly be expected thattheycan act as&lt;br /&gt;
teachers and coachesintheartofliterarycomposition.&lt;br /&gt;
The author receives his MS. back with a courteous&lt;br /&gt;
letter giving no reason, or perhaps only general&lt;br /&gt;
reasons. This is the practice. I have seen one or&lt;br /&gt;
two carefully drawn readers&amp;#039; opinions, calculated to&lt;br /&gt;
help the aspirant, but these are rare. What the&lt;br /&gt;
Society gives is such an opinion. The reader is&lt;br /&gt;
asked to consider a MS. partly as a schoolmaster&lt;br /&gt;
considers a set of Latin verses, and partly as a&lt;br /&gt;
publisher would consider it, namely, from the&lt;br /&gt;
commercial point of view. He is asked to give&lt;br /&gt;
his opinion partly on the artistic, dramatic, and&lt;br /&gt;
literary worth or demerits of the work, and partly&lt;br /&gt;
on its chances as a saleable article. As a writer&lt;br /&gt;
or a critic of experience he can do the former; as a&lt;br /&gt;
publisher&amp;#039;s reader he can do the latter. This part&lt;br /&gt;
of our work, therefore, if it is properly carried out,&lt;br /&gt;
may be very useful indeed, and in many cases has&lt;br /&gt;
proved very useful; for instance, a recent work was&lt;br /&gt;
altered in accordance with the suggestions of the&lt;br /&gt;
very reader quoted above, and has proved a very&lt;br /&gt;
considerable success owing to these very alterations.&lt;br /&gt;
And many young writers in consequence of the&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;opinion&amp;quot; they received, have either abandoned&lt;br /&gt;
further effort in a hopeless direction, or are working&lt;br /&gt;
intelligently and earnestly in the right direction.&lt;br /&gt;
Needless to add, that these opinions have kept&lt;br /&gt;
many young writers out of the hands of the&lt;br /&gt;
gentry whose readers never fail to &amp;quot;report so&lt;br /&gt;
favourably that they are prepared to offer the&lt;br /&gt;
following liberal terms.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Our friends, the knavish publisher and the&lt;br /&gt;
sweating publisher, are never weary of procuring&lt;br /&gt;
misrepresentations of the Society and its objects&lt;br /&gt;
and actions. I saw the other day an apparently&lt;br /&gt;
harmless paragraph, beginning about a certain&lt;br /&gt;
literary man of eminence, but ending with the&lt;br /&gt;
slander which was the sole reason of its existence.&lt;br /&gt;
It was inferred, not actually stated, that the Society&lt;br /&gt;
advocated the breaking of agreements, and regarded&lt;br /&gt;
keeping them as &amp;quot;the basest way of evading a moral&lt;br /&gt;
obligation.&amp;quot; A similar slander was admitted some&lt;br /&gt;
months ago into a monthly magazine, and I&lt;br /&gt;
daresay, will be admitted in a good many other&lt;br /&gt;
papers whenever a tool, or a fool, or a busybody&lt;br /&gt;
can be found. Let our friends meet such charges&lt;br /&gt;
with the assurance that the Society has always pro-&lt;br /&gt;
claimed the necessity of keeping agreements&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
indeed, the law takes care of that. But that, if&lt;br /&gt;
the Society has any influence at all, it is persistently&lt;br /&gt;
directed to encourage the examination of agree-&lt;br /&gt;
ments; to awaken jealousy and suspicion as to&lt;br /&gt;
literary, as well as any other kind of property; and&lt;br /&gt;
to make writers insist upon knowing what they&lt;br /&gt;
concede to their agent, as well as what he proposes&lt;br /&gt;
to give them. It is this persistence, not any&lt;br /&gt;
exhortations to break agreements, which makes&lt;br /&gt;
certain tools and busybodies active, and it is a&lt;br /&gt;
sure and most satisfactory sign of influence* that&lt;br /&gt;
they are active. It is not until the wasps&amp;#039; nest&lt;br /&gt;
is disturbed that the wasps try to sting.&lt;br /&gt;
I have received from a Victim certain papers&lt;br /&gt;
connected with a now defunct &amp;quot;Association.&amp;quot; It&lt;br /&gt;
perished perhaps under the weight of its own&lt;br /&gt;
vast labours, which were concerned with the&lt;br /&gt;
advancement of literature, art, science, music, the&lt;br /&gt;
drama, and &amp;quot;&amp;amp;c.&amp;quot; As regards the literary depart-&lt;br /&gt;
ment, which was managed by a gentleman calling&lt;br /&gt;
himself the Hon. Sec, it undertook for the small&lt;br /&gt;
sum of one guinea a year: 1. To reply by return of&lt;br /&gt;
post to questions of all kinds; 2. To read and report&lt;br /&gt;
on MSS.; 3. To publish works at the expense of&lt;br /&gt;
the Association; 4. To offer MSS. for sale; and 5.&lt;br /&gt;
To give commissions to members. Here were in-&lt;br /&gt;
ducements for young, and even for experienced&lt;br /&gt;
writers. The Association would publish their work&lt;br /&gt;
at its own expense, all out of the yearly guineas! If&lt;br /&gt;
the work was not good enough for the Association,&lt;br /&gt;
it would be sold to publishers, w-ho, it is very well&lt;br /&gt;
known, are content with the leavings of such a&lt;br /&gt;
Society, and deeply grateful for getting them; and&lt;br /&gt;
it would, besides, give commissions&mdash;what writer&lt;br /&gt;
would not leap at the chance of getting commis-&lt;br /&gt;
sions? A benevolent Association, truly. In one&lt;br /&gt;
case mentioned in the prospectus, a writer whose&lt;br /&gt;
work had been refused by seven publishers in&lt;br /&gt;
succession, got, through the instrumentality of the&lt;br /&gt;
Association, the sum of ^157 io.y., cash down, for&lt;br /&gt;
it! The oddness of the amount carries convic-&lt;br /&gt;
tion with it. The commission offered to members&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 134 (#170) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
134&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
was noble. It could be obtained in this way: the&lt;br /&gt;
Association ran a sixpenny monthly magazine,&lt;br /&gt;
which was written entirely by members. Now, any&lt;br /&gt;
member who should procure twenty new subscribers&lt;br /&gt;
to the magazine might receive twenty copies of the&lt;br /&gt;
magazine for &pound;4 a year, which of course he would&lt;br /&gt;
sell for sixpence a copy, to his twenty subscribers,&lt;br /&gt;
pocketing &pound;2 a year by the transaction. His&lt;br /&gt;
yearly subscription was also remitted to such an&lt;br /&gt;
active worker. Never was such a disinterested&lt;br /&gt;
Association!&lt;br /&gt;
&raquo;&lt;br /&gt;
The Victim was a young writer who hoped to&lt;br /&gt;
obtain in this Association the opening which up&lt;br /&gt;
to that time he had failed to find. He became a&lt;br /&gt;
member&mdash;he sent up a guinea for membership, and&lt;br /&gt;
six and sixpence for subscription to the magazine;&lt;br /&gt;
he also sent a MS. This was immediately read by&lt;br /&gt;
the official reader of the Society, and as an acknow-&lt;br /&gt;
ledgment of its worth, the writer was promoted&lt;br /&gt;
from a simple member to a &amp;quot;staff member,&amp;quot; that is,&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;one whose contributions can be accepted and paid&lt;br /&gt;
for immediately proofs are passed by the Editor.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Here was .success! and after the nasty envious&lt;br /&gt;
editors of the other magazines had all with one&lt;br /&gt;
consent refused this writer&amp;#039;s works! He submitted&lt;br /&gt;
accordingly more MSS. He was informed that&lt;br /&gt;
one was accepted for the magazine, and would be&lt;br /&gt;
shortly published and paid for; that another was&lt;br /&gt;
under consideration; and that they were &amp;quot;sparing&lt;br /&gt;
no efforts to place &amp;quot; a third, but as yet, unsuccess-&lt;br /&gt;
fully. The result may be foreseen. He lost his&lt;br /&gt;
money, his time, and his MSS. Nothing was&lt;br /&gt;
placed, nothing was published; and in course of&lt;br /&gt;
time the &amp;quot;Association&amp;quot; disappeared.&lt;br /&gt;
There have been several other associations or&lt;br /&gt;
societies of a similar character during the last few&lt;br /&gt;
years. Considering the comparative safety of the&lt;br /&gt;
enterprise, one is astonished that there are not more.&lt;br /&gt;
One of them called itself the City of London Pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lishing Company. Among other little dodges of this&lt;br /&gt;
concern they proposed to publish a volume of poetry,&lt;br /&gt;
a copy of which was to be bought byevery contributor&lt;br /&gt;
of a one page poem for half-a-guinea. The aim of&lt;br /&gt;
the projectors was, of course, to make unknown&lt;br /&gt;
poets known to the public. I never heard anything&lt;br /&gt;
more of this volume. The Company succeeded&lt;br /&gt;
the Charing Cross Publishing Company, and took&lt;br /&gt;
over, I believe, the valuable business of that&lt;br /&gt;
eminent house. The Literary Guild started in&lt;br /&gt;
the same year, and with the same address as the&lt;br /&gt;
City of London Publishing Company, but I know&lt;br /&gt;
not if the two were the same concern. The&lt;br /&gt;
objects of the Guild were to afford to amateur&lt;br /&gt;
and non-professional authors the same advantages&lt;br /&gt;
of popularity and price enjoyed by established&lt;br /&gt;
writers. The prospectus promised to &amp;quot;introduce&lt;br /&gt;
them&amp;quot;&mdash;one does not know how&mdash;&amp;quot;to the reading&lt;br /&gt;
public,&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;to open to the inexperienced the road&lt;br /&gt;
to one of the most agreeable and remunerative of&lt;br /&gt;
the professions.&amp;quot; Through the agency of the&lt;br /&gt;
Guild, members, we are told, might publish on&lt;br /&gt;
exceptional terms&mdash;and so on. The Guild, in fact,&lt;br /&gt;
was an agency, whether connected or unconnected&lt;br /&gt;
with the City of London Publishing Company does&lt;br /&gt;
not appear. I do not know if the Guild still&lt;br /&gt;
exists. Its members were entitled to affix the&lt;br /&gt;
letters M.L.G. after their names. That, indeed,&lt;br /&gt;
was a most valuable privilege. But the Company&lt;br /&gt;
during its existence succeeded in pursuading a&lt;br /&gt;
good many to believe in them, and published no&lt;br /&gt;
fewer than a hundred and fifty books, and not&lt;br /&gt;
one in the whole list that anybody ever heard of!&lt;br /&gt;
The London Literary Society was the longest&lt;br /&gt;
lived of these bogus publishers. It lasted for&lt;br /&gt;
eight or nine years. The manager of this Society,&lt;br /&gt;
in fact, the chairman and the committee, and the&lt;br /&gt;
secretary, all in one, was a gentleman, now&amp;#039; un-&lt;br /&gt;
fortunately bankrupt. He had some genius, as&lt;br /&gt;
shown in the invention of a certain clause in the&lt;br /&gt;
letter which he invariably sent on the receipt of a&lt;br /&gt;
MS.&lt;br /&gt;
He said, &amp;quot;Sir or Madam,&mdash;Our reader has&lt;br /&gt;
reported so favourably on your MS. that we are&lt;br /&gt;
prepared to offer you the following terms. We are&lt;br /&gt;
willing to produce the work shortly .... and meet&lt;br /&gt;
all demands for sales, through the trade, up to io,oco&lt;br /&gt;
copies, at the publishing price of provided you&lt;br /&gt;
pay us j&pound; &amp;quot;(generally double the actual cost of&lt;br /&gt;
production), &amp;quot;and give us one-half the profits.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
The notion of modestlylimiting his liability to 10,000&lt;br /&gt;
copies caught the flats right and left, because they&lt;br /&gt;
immediately sat down and calculated how much&lt;br /&gt;
they would get on a sale of 10,000 copies at least.&lt;br /&gt;
The London Literary Society (Manager, Playster&lt;br /&gt;
Steeds) is now defunct, but a business of the same&lt;br /&gt;
kind, including the favourable report of the reader,&lt;br /&gt;
the offer to meet all sales up to so many thousand,&lt;br /&gt;
and the proviso of the cheque down, is still carried&lt;br /&gt;
on by a firm called Digby and Long. We have in&lt;br /&gt;
the office a letter signed J. Baptiste Long for J.&lt;br /&gt;
Playster Steeds. That gentleman when passing&lt;br /&gt;
his examination in the Bankruptcy Court, stated&lt;br /&gt;
that Long had been his clerk. Messrs. Digby and&lt;br /&gt;
Long wrote to the Publishers&amp;#039; Circular, on Novem-&lt;br /&gt;
ber 15th, 1888, protesting that their firm had never&lt;br /&gt;
had anything to do with the Literary Society.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 135 (#171) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
i35&lt;br /&gt;
Lastly, we have a little legal document connected&lt;br /&gt;
with Digby and Long, in which the Christian&lt;br /&gt;
name of Long is given as J. Baptiste Long, so&lt;br /&gt;
that, after all, there would seem to be a kind of a&lt;br /&gt;
sort of a succession or connection, apart from the&lt;br /&gt;
similarity in the conduct of the business.&lt;br /&gt;
To make an end of these so-called companies,&lt;br /&gt;
there was the Amateur Authors&amp;#039; Association, hailing&lt;br /&gt;
from Windsor. The &amp;quot;manager &amp;quot; of this precious&lt;br /&gt;
concern vanished with all the MSS. There was&lt;br /&gt;
another man called Bentley who advertised for&lt;br /&gt;
MSS. Many were taken in, thinking of the well&lt;br /&gt;
known firm in New Burlington Street. This person&lt;br /&gt;
also vanished with all the MSS. There was quite&lt;br /&gt;
lately one McGuire, who vanished under circum-&lt;br /&gt;
stances detailed in the first number of The Author.&lt;br /&gt;
There are doubtless others contemplating the same&lt;br /&gt;
career. Let us be on the watch for them.&lt;br /&gt;
One thing is truly astonishing, that respectable&lt;br /&gt;
people&mdash;people of decent position&mdash;should befound&lt;br /&gt;
to give their names in support of these schemes.&lt;br /&gt;
Thus the Literary Society had quite a long list of&lt;br /&gt;
apparently respectable people who were called&lt;br /&gt;
patrons. They thought, I suppose, that to figure&lt;br /&gt;
on such a list, gave them a position in the literary&lt;br /&gt;
world. As regards authors, it is quite certain,&lt;br /&gt;
that credulity will never cease. It is as lasting&lt;br /&gt;
and as full of life as the roguery which feeds and&lt;br /&gt;
thrives upon it.&lt;br /&gt;
It seemscruel to disturb the innocent faith of a&lt;br /&gt;
guileless world, but really one is jealous! Why&lt;br /&gt;
should publishers, alone of all trades, professions,&lt;br /&gt;
and callings, bear upon their front the seal of&lt;br /&gt;
perfect sincerity and honesty? We are always&lt;br /&gt;
exhorting everybody to extend to this class of&lt;br /&gt;
community exactly the same confidence&mdash;that,&lt;br /&gt;
and no more&mdash;that is offered to every other trade&lt;br /&gt;
or calling. Yet no sooner does a man call him-&lt;br /&gt;
self publisher than the simple folk rush into the&lt;br /&gt;
trap that he has spread for them. The other day&lt;br /&gt;
an advertisement appeared in one of the morning&lt;br /&gt;
papers to the effect that a &amp;quot;literary firm&amp;quot; was&lt;br /&gt;
ready to give clerical work to ladies in their own&lt;br /&gt;
homes. Applicants were instructed to write to&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Publisher &amp;quot;&mdash;the advertiser knew the saintliness&lt;br /&gt;
which clings to that venerated name&mdash;and to&lt;br /&gt;
enclose a stamp for reply. In two days 1,100&lt;br /&gt;
letters reached the address. The advertiser, un-&lt;br /&gt;
luckily, did not apply for them. His courage&lt;br /&gt;
failed. One or two of the letters were opened.&lt;br /&gt;
Finally they were all opened by the Post Office&lt;br /&gt;
and sent back to their writers. Now here is a case&lt;br /&gt;
in which an active detective should have rooted out&lt;br /&gt;
the whole business. The man should be caught&lt;br /&gt;
and prosecuted. To call himself a publisher, in-&lt;br /&gt;
deed! To trade on the character for disinterested-&lt;br /&gt;
ness and generosity which belongs to that body!&lt;br /&gt;
It was a touch of genius, however. I would advise&lt;br /&gt;
him next time to &amp;quot;go one better.&amp;quot; He should&lt;br /&gt;
advertise the address of the &amp;quot;S.P.C.K.&amp;quot; He would&lt;br /&gt;
then get a million answers, so great is the admira-&lt;br /&gt;
tion of the world for that venerable Society and&lt;br /&gt;
its publishing department.&lt;br /&gt;
I have read in one or two papers that I am&lt;br /&gt;
endeavouring to establish an Authors&amp;#039; Club. This&lt;br /&gt;
is news to me. I am endeavouring no such thing.&lt;br /&gt;
It is true that an Authors&amp;#039; Club has been spoken&lt;br /&gt;
of, and that it may be attempted in friendly union&lt;br /&gt;
with the Society, not as a part of it nor in oppo-&lt;br /&gt;
sition to it. The Society exists for the purpose of&lt;br /&gt;
advancing and protecting authors&amp;#039; material interests,&lt;br /&gt;
pot for social purposes, and if authors will only be&lt;br /&gt;
good enough all to belong to it&mdash;at present we&lt;br /&gt;
number only 600 instead of 1,000 at least&mdash;there&lt;br /&gt;
can be no doubt of efficient safeguarding. One&lt;br /&gt;
difficulty in forming such a club would seem to be&lt;br /&gt;
the fact that a club implies a certain uniformity of&lt;br /&gt;
social level. Now authors belong to a great many&lt;br /&gt;
social levels, and though there can be no reason&lt;br /&gt;
why they should not, as members of the same&lt;br /&gt;
profession, meet together in friendliness, we do not&lt;br /&gt;
see that other professions do so. There is a Law&lt;br /&gt;
Institute which is a kind of club, but it is really a&lt;br /&gt;
society for protecting the material interests of&lt;br /&gt;
solicitors. There are military clubs, but then all&lt;br /&gt;
military men are supposed to be on the same social&lt;br /&gt;
level. At the same time, for country or suburban&lt;br /&gt;
members&mdash;even for town members&mdash;it would be a&lt;br /&gt;
very useful thing if the Society could have near it&lt;br /&gt;
a set of rooms with a library of reference, conve-&lt;br /&gt;
nience for writing, facilities for getting lunch or&lt;br /&gt;
afternoon tea, and so forth; in fact, a house of call&lt;br /&gt;
and convenience. And this has certainly been&lt;br /&gt;
suggested a rid advocated by several persons.&lt;br /&gt;
►&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Brander Mathews has sent me the little book&lt;br /&gt;
of the Authors&amp;#039; Club in New York. The objects&lt;br /&gt;
of the club are stated in the prospectus to be for&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;literary and library purposes, and the promotion&lt;br /&gt;
of social intercourse among authors.&amp;quot; It is to&lt;br /&gt;
consist of not more than 300 men&mdash;no ladies. All&lt;br /&gt;
the members are to be actual authors; the sub-&lt;br /&gt;
scription is four pounds a year and five pounds&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 136 (#172) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
136&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
entrance; the club is to assemble fortnightly; the&lt;br /&gt;
committee elect; the fortnightly meeting means, I&lt;br /&gt;
believe, a dinner; and there are about 250 mem-&lt;br /&gt;
bers. I understand that the club rooms are generally&lt;br /&gt;
empty except at the fortnightly meeting. This&lt;br /&gt;
seems as if American authors were not exactly&lt;br /&gt;
clubable among each other. Whether we have an&lt;br /&gt;
Authors&amp;#039; Club or not, what we want most is a&lt;br /&gt;
Members&amp;#039; House of Call&mdash;and perhaps some day&lt;br /&gt;
we may get it, though our annual guinea sub-&lt;br /&gt;
scription would not go very far towards supporting&lt;br /&gt;
it.&lt;br /&gt;
&diams;&lt;br /&gt;
An interesting experiment in publishing is about&lt;br /&gt;
to be tried, which we shall follow with great&lt;br /&gt;
curiosity. It will, if successfully carried out, as&lt;br /&gt;
there seems every hope that it will be, reveal&lt;br /&gt;
practically what we have advanced and maintained&lt;br /&gt;
from estimates and the piecing together of infor-&lt;br /&gt;
mation, namely, the need of exact information as&lt;br /&gt;
to the proportion of publishers&amp;#039; profits on successful&lt;br /&gt;
works compared with author&amp;#039;s. I would suggest to&lt;br /&gt;
the inventor of this scheme that the greater reticence&lt;br /&gt;
he observes about it for the present, the better it will&lt;br /&gt;
be for the scheme. Once successful, all the world&lt;br /&gt;
may know and follow the example. Once divulged,&lt;br /&gt;
every kind of opposition, hindrance, and secret&lt;br /&gt;
spokes will be set for it.&lt;br /&gt;
An entirely new profession has lately come into&lt;br /&gt;
existence, and though in these days every honest&lt;br /&gt;
way of making money is immediately thronged,&lt;br /&gt;
and this way will certainly prove no exception, it&lt;br /&gt;
is in these columns freely offered and given away.&lt;br /&gt;
There are as yet only two ways of practising it, but&lt;br /&gt;
of course the wit of man will speedily multiply&lt;br /&gt;
those ways. First, you write to as many well-known&lt;br /&gt;
men as you can; you ask them, as if you were&lt;br /&gt;
thirsting for knowledge, for an opinion on any&lt;br /&gt;
point that happens to be under discussion at the&lt;br /&gt;
time. When you have got answers from most of&lt;br /&gt;
them, advertise autograph letters from W. E. G.,&lt;br /&gt;
or anybody else, containing his opinion on such&lt;br /&gt;
and such a subject. Price of this unique autograph&lt;br /&gt;
letter&mdash;two guineas. An industrious man who&lt;br /&gt;
knows how to choose and to change the subject&lt;br /&gt;
may do very well indeed on this lay.&lt;br /&gt;
The second method is simpler. You write for&lt;br /&gt;
an autograph, you keep on writing to everybody&lt;br /&gt;
until you have got quite a nice collection, because&lt;br /&gt;
it is surprising how many people will grant your&lt;br /&gt;
simple prayer. You then advertise your collection&lt;br /&gt;
for sale. One young gentleman of sixteen who has&lt;br /&gt;
already begun to practise this business, confidently&lt;br /&gt;
hopes to pay his expenses through Oxford out of&lt;br /&gt;
the proceeds.&lt;br /&gt;
The following lines seem to show that the&lt;br /&gt;
practice is of great antiquity. We may yet chance&lt;br /&gt;
somewhere upon a collection with the autographs&lt;br /&gt;
of Cicero, Virgil, Horace, and Ovid.&lt;br /&gt;
Nomina facta manu venatur odora viri vis;&lt;br /&gt;
En, sibi vir prcedam destinat ille suam;&lt;br /&gt;
Nescit ut accipiter flecti, miserescere tigris,&lt;br /&gt;
Sic quoque venator solvere nescit iter.&lt;br /&gt;
Et licet aufugiens se victima torqueat usque,&lt;br /&gt;
Haud mora; mox proprio sanguine tincta jacet&lt;br /&gt;
Turn spolia assiduus retulit venator opima,&lt;br /&gt;
Collectasque novo nomine ditat opes.&lt;br /&gt;
To which the following is tendered as an imi-&lt;br /&gt;
tation :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
The autograph hunters are keen on the scent,&lt;br /&gt;
The autograph hunters have singled their prey;&lt;br /&gt;
As a hawk cannot swerve, or a tiger relent,&lt;br /&gt;
So these never turn them nor stop on their way.&lt;br /&gt;
And though he may wriggle and though he may&lt;br /&gt;
run,&lt;br /&gt;
The quarry will presently lie in his gore;&lt;br /&gt;
And the autograph hunter, his victory won,&lt;br /&gt;
With exult o&amp;#039;er the fallen with one name the&lt;br /&gt;
more.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
A scrap-book library is being formed in the&lt;br /&gt;
Brooklyn Library to utilise the material relating&lt;br /&gt;
to topics of interest which would be lost in the&lt;br /&gt;
files of the daily papers. Its nucleus was the&lt;br /&gt;
gathering of a large number of excerpts from the&lt;br /&gt;
newspapers by one Wilcox, a war correspondent.&lt;br /&gt;
The librarian, Mr. Bardwell, got his assistants to sort&lt;br /&gt;
the scraps, and they were arranged by subjects and&lt;br /&gt;
pasted on sheets of uniform size. They are not&lt;br /&gt;
bound, but are on heavy manilla paper, and additions&lt;br /&gt;
can be made at any time. Those relating to any&lt;br /&gt;
particular subject are put together in a box, which is&lt;br /&gt;
properly labelled, and the subjects are arranged in&lt;br /&gt;
alphabetical order. For some subjects several&lt;br /&gt;
boxes are needed, as biography, for instance. It is&lt;br /&gt;
as easy to find any particular topic in the boxes as&lt;br /&gt;
in an encyclopaedia or dictionary. Besides 50&lt;br /&gt;
volumes already made up, with about 350 clippings&lt;br /&gt;
in each, there are three times as many not yet&lt;br /&gt;
pasted and prepared for use, making a total of over&lt;br /&gt;
75,000 clippings. This seems a thing to be&lt;br /&gt;
imitated.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Howells made an onslaught in the August&lt;br /&gt;
number of Harpers on the literary critic, and&lt;br /&gt;
especially on the anonymous critic of the news-&lt;br /&gt;
papers. The Boston Herald has taken up the&lt;br /&gt;
case. Here the writer declares that so far as&lt;br /&gt;
America is concerned there are not more than&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 137 (#173) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
137&lt;br /&gt;
half-a-dozen journals whose critical judgments of&lt;br /&gt;
current literature carry weight and credit for more&lt;br /&gt;
than book-advertising. &amp;quot;Literary criticism in the&lt;br /&gt;
United States was never at so low as ebb. Mr.&lt;br /&gt;
Howells is justifiedin what he saysof the anonymous&lt;br /&gt;
American critic. He is dreadful in his blunders,&lt;br /&gt;
in his bad manners, and in the venom which is&lt;br /&gt;
too often characteristic of his work. This is due&lt;br /&gt;
to the fact that but little attention is paid to critical&lt;br /&gt;
writing. It is thrown out of the magazines, it has&lt;br /&gt;
but a precarious existence in the weekly papers, it&lt;br /&gt;
lacks authority in the purely literary journals, and&lt;br /&gt;
very few of the principal dailies employ critical&lt;br /&gt;
writers who are competent for their task.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&diams;&lt;br /&gt;
What about our own criticisms? In the matter&lt;br /&gt;
of literary criticism there are two or three pro-&lt;br /&gt;
vincial papers a long way ahead of the London&lt;br /&gt;
dailies, which have mostly got into the unholy&lt;br /&gt;
habit of lumping all the books together, and dis-&lt;br /&gt;
missing each with a few lines. Of the weeklies it&lt;br /&gt;
cannot be said that they have in any way lost their&lt;br /&gt;
authority. A good review in the Saturday, the&lt;br /&gt;
Spectator, or the Guardian, is still excellent for&lt;br /&gt;
stimulating the demand. Unfortunately the Spec-&lt;br /&gt;
tator&amp;#039;s notices are too often belated. I recall the&lt;br /&gt;
case of a certain book which appeared in a certain&lt;br /&gt;
month of May. By the month of November it&lt;br /&gt;
had had a great run; but the first rush after it was&lt;br /&gt;
over, the libraries could do without more copies,&lt;br /&gt;
and people were borrowing copies instead of buy-&lt;br /&gt;
ing them. At this time appeared a notice of the&lt;br /&gt;
book&mdash;long and laudatory&mdash;in the Spectator. It&lt;br /&gt;
was too late&mdash;the world had already pronounced&lt;br /&gt;
(verdict, and the book had practically had its run.&lt;br /&gt;
Another point in which authors veniure to disagree&lt;br /&gt;
with the Saturday, the Spectator, the Athemcum,&lt;br /&gt;
and the Academy, is the lumping of all the novels,&lt;br /&gt;
all the theological books, or indeed, all the books&lt;br /&gt;
of any one class, into one article, and reviewing&lt;br /&gt;
them each with half-a-dozen lines. Now if a novel&lt;br /&gt;
is worth reviewing at all, it is worth reviewing&lt;br /&gt;
seriously, and as a work of art. Certainly there&lt;br /&gt;
is not an average of two novels a week which are&lt;br /&gt;
worth reviewing seriously. Again, ;t cannot but be&lt;br /&gt;
known to the editors that three-fourths of the novels&lt;br /&gt;
are paid for by the authors&mdash;that can always be&lt;br /&gt;
told by the name of the publisher: that these&lt;br /&gt;
things are always the sorry rubbish refused by the&lt;br /&gt;
better houses; that nobody ever buys them, and&lt;br /&gt;
that to review them is labour, time, temper, and&lt;br /&gt;
space absolutely thrown away. Does one review&lt;br /&gt;
all the trash and daubs that hang on the walls of&lt;br /&gt;
the Royal Institute or the Grosvenor among and&lt;br /&gt;
between the good pictures?&lt;br /&gt;
An unadorned marble cross has been set up over&lt;br /&gt;
the grave of Wilkie Collins in Kensal Green&lt;br /&gt;
Cemetery with the words, &amp;quot;Author of &amp;#039;The&lt;br /&gt;
Woman in White&amp;#039; and other works of Fiction&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
placed underneath the name and usual dates. A&lt;br /&gt;
few yards away lies Sydney Smith, and not much&lt;br /&gt;
farther distant, Leigh Hunt.&lt;br /&gt;
On May 7th of this year a MS. was sent to a&lt;br /&gt;
certain journal for the editor&amp;#039;s consideration.&lt;br /&gt;
On June 5th, exactly four weeks later, the editor&lt;br /&gt;
says that he thinks he can shortly use it. On this&lt;br /&gt;
understanding the author allows the MS. to remain&lt;br /&gt;
until September 28th, when he sends a reminder&lt;br /&gt;
on September 26th. The editor writes that he&lt;br /&gt;
may be able to use it for a Christmas number.&lt;br /&gt;
Again on this understanding the author allows the&lt;br /&gt;
MS. to remain.&lt;br /&gt;
On October 2nd the editor instructs a secretary&lt;br /&gt;
to write that he will not be able &amp;quot;for some time&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
to give &amp;quot;any further information &amp;quot; about the subject.&lt;br /&gt;
He therefore sends back the MS.&lt;br /&gt;
This is five months after receiving it. Is there&lt;br /&gt;
any other business in the world where the common&lt;br /&gt;
courtesies of civilized life are so little regarded as&lt;br /&gt;
in literary matters? Here is an author&mdash;not un-&lt;br /&gt;
known or obscure&mdash;kept cooling his heels on the&lt;br /&gt;
kerbstone for five months while the editor makes&lt;br /&gt;
up his mind. Four months after promising to use&lt;br /&gt;
the MS. he sends it back.&lt;br /&gt;
A writer in Life is responsible for the following&lt;br /&gt;
story. It would not be printed here but for the&lt;br /&gt;
fact that similar cases have been brought before&lt;br /&gt;
the Society by victims. And it is a pity that the&lt;br /&gt;
exact accounts in this case are not given, because&lt;br /&gt;
it would seem as if the case might be really worse&lt;br /&gt;
than the editor thinks. He says that in receiving&lt;br /&gt;
the arcounts for a certain work, written either by&lt;br /&gt;
himself or by some friend, he made the discovery&lt;br /&gt;
that 25 per cent, had been fraudulently charged on&lt;br /&gt;
all the accounts, which showed a profit of ^7 ioj.&lt;br /&gt;
Also he says that the book had run through three&lt;br /&gt;
editions. Now, I do not know what kind of book&lt;br /&gt;
that is of which three editions&mdash;3,000 copies&mdash;could&lt;br /&gt;
be sold to produce a profit of only &pound;1 10s., even&lt;br /&gt;
making allowance for the fraudulent 25 per cent.,&lt;br /&gt;
or by what kind of agreement the result was arrived&lt;br /&gt;
at. The author, on discovering the fraud, called&lt;br /&gt;
upon that publisher and demanded a cheque for&lt;br /&gt;
the whole amount, with interest. And he got it.&lt;br /&gt;
This strong-armed person has now taken up the&lt;br /&gt;
case of two ladies, who have given him a power of&lt;br /&gt;
attorney to act for them, Let us await the result.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 138 (#174) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
138&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
We have to deplore the death of one who has&lt;br /&gt;
been a steady friend of the Society from its founda-&lt;br /&gt;
tion, the Rev. Henry White. He published little,&lt;br /&gt;
but his sympathies with literature and with those&lt;br /&gt;
who make the literature of the day were deep.&lt;br /&gt;
His loss will be widely deplored. The Church has&lt;br /&gt;
few clergymen who can quite fill the place he&lt;br /&gt;
occupied in public esteem and affection.&lt;br /&gt;
Walter Besant. *&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;THE METHODS OF PUBLISHING.&amp;quot;*&lt;br /&gt;
THIS book may be regarded as a sequel to the&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Cost of Production.&amp;quot; In that work, which&lt;br /&gt;
was issued for the use of members only,&lt;br /&gt;
men of letters learned for the first time what is the&lt;br /&gt;
actual cost of composing, printing, paper, and bind-&lt;br /&gt;
ing, for the production of books of various kinds.&lt;br /&gt;
The little book was the result of a great deal of&lt;br /&gt;
trouble, investigation, comparison of estimates and&lt;br /&gt;
consultation with printers. Even when finished it&lt;br /&gt;
has been found incomplete in parts, and a new&lt;br /&gt;
edition is under preparation.&lt;br /&gt;
Meantime, there has been accumulating in the&lt;br /&gt;
offices of the Society since its foundation a great&lt;br /&gt;
quantity of &amp;quot;cases,&amp;quot; generally of complaint arid&lt;br /&gt;
grievance. Nearly every one of these cases contains&lt;br /&gt;
among its papers and letters an agreement signed by&lt;br /&gt;
the publisher and the author. In this way the&lt;br /&gt;
Society has been enabled to peruse agreements&lt;br /&gt;
from nearly every publishing house in the country.&lt;br /&gt;
In the same way it has also been enabled to learn&lt;br /&gt;
the tricks and frauds which these agreements may&lt;br /&gt;
be designed to cover in the hands of unscru-&lt;br /&gt;
pulous men. Now a signed agreement can only,&lt;br /&gt;
as a rule, even when it can be clearly proved to be&lt;br /&gt;
one-sided, unjust, and procured by misrepresenta-&lt;br /&gt;
tion, be broken and set aside by a costly and&lt;br /&gt;
doubtful action in the High Court of Justice. Con-&lt;br /&gt;
sequently, in many of the cases brought to the&lt;br /&gt;
Society in which highly unjust agreements had&lt;br /&gt;
been carried out to the letter, no redress could be&lt;br /&gt;
obtained. When a man signs a document which&lt;br /&gt;
he does not understand, he has only himself to&lt;br /&gt;
blame if the agreement places him, bound hand and&lt;br /&gt;
foot, in the hands of a robber. It is therefore ap-&lt;br /&gt;
parent that prevention is better than attempt to&lt;br /&gt;
cure.&lt;br /&gt;
This conclusion is the raison d&amp;#039;etre of the book.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Sprigge designs, by classifying agreements,&lt;br /&gt;
quoting examples, explaining the meaning of ciauses,&lt;br /&gt;
* &amp;quot; The Mclhoils of Publishing,&amp;quot; by S. Squire .Sprigge.&lt;br /&gt;
(Jlaiiher, Strand. Trice 4s. t&amp;gt;d.&lt;br /&gt;
and exposing the frauds and tricks that are carried&lt;br /&gt;
on under cover of agreements, to educate his readers&lt;br /&gt;
into a becoming jealousy of their property, whether&lt;br /&gt;
it lies in fields or in written pages.&lt;br /&gt;
We have long lifted up a warning voice and&lt;br /&gt;
cautioned authors against signing any agreement&lt;br /&gt;
whatever, underany pretence or after any representa-&lt;br /&gt;
tions, without advice&mdash;and that, not from their&lt;br /&gt;
own solicitors, or from any lawyer lhat offers, but&lt;br /&gt;
from the Society whose business it is to protect&lt;br /&gt;
them. We are now in a position to explain and&lt;br /&gt;
justify this admonition. Authors may now read for&lt;br /&gt;
themselves and learn in detail what is actually and&lt;br /&gt;
daily practised, and what is the meaning of the&lt;br /&gt;
various clauses by which they sign away, and part&lt;br /&gt;
with, valuable property.&lt;br /&gt;
In other words&mdash;Let no writer sign any agree-&lt;br /&gt;
ment until he has teamed what the publisher reserves&lt;br /&gt;
for himself, and what he proposes to give the author.&lt;br /&gt;
In no other transaction affecting property would&lt;br /&gt;
one party dare to present an agreement designedly&lt;br /&gt;
drawn up so that the other party should understand&lt;br /&gt;
nothing of what it means.&lt;br /&gt;
The book is very earnestly recommended to the&lt;br /&gt;
attention of every person engaged in literature. It&lt;br /&gt;
is designed as the most serious contribution to the&lt;br /&gt;
defence of the author ever yet offered&mdash;most serious&lt;br /&gt;
because it is the only paper which rests, not on&lt;br /&gt;
argument, but on facts and figures. These facts&lt;br /&gt;
cannot be denied, nor can these figures be dis-&lt;br /&gt;
proved. They are all in the archives of the&lt;br /&gt;
Society, and can, if necessary, be published at&lt;br /&gt;
length with the names of the publishers con-&lt;br /&gt;
cerned. Probably, however, they will not be&lt;br /&gt;
anxious for this kind of publicity. The position of&lt;br /&gt;
the Society in respect to this kind of information is&lt;br /&gt;
absolutely unique. No publishers have it; no&lt;br /&gt;
single individual possesses this knowledge; no other&lt;br /&gt;
body possesses it; and the whole of it has been&lt;br /&gt;
placed in Mr. Sprigge&amp;#039;s hands.&lt;br /&gt;
The book is divided into eleven chapters. The&lt;br /&gt;
first two of these are devoted to the general&lt;br /&gt;
consideration of literary property. The next four to&lt;br /&gt;
the four methods under which all kinds of pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lishing may be classed, viz., the Half Profit System,&lt;br /&gt;
the Royalty System, Sale Outright or Limited, and&lt;br /&gt;
Publishing on Commission. Agreements of all&lt;br /&gt;
kinds will be found set forth at length and&lt;br /&gt;
analyzed in these chapters. The remaining five&lt;br /&gt;
deal chiefly with certain common ways of trickery,&lt;br /&gt;
with the statement of such safeguards as may&lt;br /&gt;
protect the author.&lt;br /&gt;
One quotation only shall be made here. It is a&lt;br /&gt;
short summing up as to the laxity with which&lt;br /&gt;
literary property is generally treated :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;At present it would seem that too often the&lt;br /&gt;
author does not, and the publisher cannot, rea&amp;#039;&amp;#039;~e&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 139 (#175) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
139&lt;br /&gt;
that literary property has an existence and a&lt;br /&gt;
value.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;If a man believed his book was an actual&lt;br /&gt;
property he would not deal with it by methods so&lt;br /&gt;
vague, unsatisfactory, and unbusinesslike, under&lt;br /&gt;
agreements teeming with clauses he does not&lt;br /&gt;
understand.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;He would not dispose of his right over it&lt;br /&gt;
without the formality of a written agreement. He&lt;br /&gt;
certainly would not airily hand over to the publisher&lt;br /&gt;
his rights in other property of a similar kind whose&lt;br /&gt;
value he does not yet know, and for an indefinite&lt;br /&gt;
number of years, simply on request.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;He would insist upon alleged expenditure&lt;br /&gt;
being proved to him, before his account was&lt;br /&gt;
debited with it.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;He would insist upon having accounts rendered&lt;br /&gt;
at the right times, and his executors at his death&lt;br /&gt;
would similarly insist.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;lastly, if a man thought his MS. was a&lt;br /&gt;
property in the sense that his watch is a property,&lt;br /&gt;
what would he do if he found that, in spite of his&lt;br /&gt;
letters, he could not get it returned to him by the&lt;br /&gt;
tradesman who had it for inspection?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;THE LITERARY HANDMAID OF&lt;br /&gt;
THE CHURCH.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
I.&lt;br /&gt;
Memorandum on the S.P.C.K.&amp;#039;s relations to&lt;br /&gt;
Authors, drawn up by the ^ijb-Committee&lt;br /&gt;
appointed to consider the Charges made&lt;br /&gt;
in Mr Besant&amp;#039;s Pamphlet.&lt;br /&gt;
I.&mdash;The principles on which the Society&amp;#039;s publishing&lt;br /&gt;
business is conducted.&lt;br /&gt;
THE Society for Promoting Christian Know-&lt;br /&gt;
ledge is not a General Publishing Agency.&lt;br /&gt;
The sole purpose of its publishing enterprise&lt;br /&gt;
is to produce and circulate as widely as possible a&lt;br /&gt;
wholesome literature, both religious and secular.&lt;br /&gt;
This purpose is realised by putting on its publications&lt;br /&gt;
as low a price as is consistent with giving a fair re-&lt;br /&gt;
muneration to Authors, and securing such a margin&lt;br /&gt;
of profit as will protect the Society against a finan-&lt;br /&gt;
cial loss. The average yearly profit of its entire&lt;br /&gt;
business has for many years been about ^6,000,&lt;br /&gt;
and is not a larger percentage on the capital&lt;br /&gt;
employed than the vicissitudes of a very large&lt;br /&gt;
publishing business require for its stability. More-&lt;br /&gt;
over, this profit is not really profit accruing to the&lt;br /&gt;
Society through purchases by the public, inasmuch&lt;br /&gt;
as the Society annually gives away in Grants of&lt;br /&gt;
Books several thousand pounds more than the&lt;br /&gt;
profit, and in the ledgers of the Publishing Depart&lt;br /&gt;
ment credit is taken for all these grants, averaging&lt;br /&gt;
some ^12,000 a year. It will be thus seen that&lt;br /&gt;
the sales and grants of books, taken together, so&lt;br /&gt;
far from bringing in a revenue applicable to other&lt;br /&gt;
purposes, take several thousand pounds annually&lt;br /&gt;
out of the Society&amp;#039;s income.&lt;br /&gt;
II. &mdash;Dealings with Authors.&lt;br /&gt;
1. Royalties (varying from one-tenth to one-sixth&lt;br /&gt;
of the published price) are in ordinary circumstances&lt;br /&gt;
paid to writers who are recognized as specialists in&lt;br /&gt;
any particular subject, or whose names, inserted on&lt;br /&gt;
the title-page of a book, would give it a distinctly&lt;br /&gt;
greater commercial value than the book would&lt;br /&gt;
have if published by the Society without fuch&lt;br /&gt;
name. Some writers who would naturally fall into&lt;br /&gt;
this class prefer a sum down in place of a royalty.&lt;br /&gt;
2. Commissions for most of the chief works of&lt;br /&gt;
fiction, published every autumn, are given before-&lt;br /&gt;
hand to writers of whose competence the Com-&lt;br /&gt;
mittee is satisfied, on the following conditions :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;If the work be accepted by the Society, the sum of&lt;br /&gt;
&pound; will I&amp;gt;e paid you for the copyright, which&lt;br /&gt;
will then be the property of the Society. The Society will&lt;br /&gt;
reserve to itself the right to use the author&amp;#039;s name. If the&lt;br /&gt;
Committee for any reason do not accept the work on behalf&lt;br /&gt;
of the Society, one-half of the sum offered for the copyright&lt;br /&gt;
will be paid to you; and you will have in addition the offer&lt;br /&gt;
of the use of the standing type with a view to your making&lt;br /&gt;
other arrangements for the publication of your work.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
The payments made in this manner are certainly&lt;br /&gt;
as high as, and probably higher than, those offered&lt;br /&gt;
by other publishers for the same class of litera-&lt;br /&gt;
ture.&lt;br /&gt;
3. Besides these commissioned works, the&lt;br /&gt;
Society receives unsought, every year, thousands&lt;br /&gt;
of MSS. of small stories, which are offered without&lt;br /&gt;
condition for the Society&amp;#039;s approval and for publi-&lt;br /&gt;
cation. Such of these MSS. as the Committee may&lt;br /&gt;
approve are paid for according to the Committee&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
view of their merit, but generally somewhat lower&lt;br /&gt;
than the scale adopted in the case of commissioned&lt;br /&gt;
works. The Society has had no reason to suppose&lt;br /&gt;
that these payments have been disappointing to&lt;br /&gt;
the writers who have contributed works to the&lt;br /&gt;
Society.&lt;br /&gt;
III. &mdash;Royalties v. Copyright.&lt;br /&gt;
It has sometimes been suggested, and the&lt;br /&gt;
suggestion is endorsed by Mr. Besant, that it&lt;br /&gt;
would be better that all writers for the Society&lt;br /&gt;
should be paid by royalty, but it is not difficult to&lt;br /&gt;
show that the indiscriminate giving of royalties by&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 140 (#176) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
140&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
the Society would be inequitable, and even im-&lt;br /&gt;
practicable. With respect to the stories and small&lt;br /&gt;
works of fiction published with the advantage of&lt;br /&gt;
the Society&amp;#039;s imprimatur, it has to be remembered&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;whether the fact be satisfactory or not&mdash;that in&lt;br /&gt;
most cases the circulation of such books depends&lt;br /&gt;
at least as much upon the manner in which they&lt;br /&gt;
are printed, bound, and illustrated&mdash;arrangements&lt;br /&gt;
with which the writer has little or nothing to do&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
as upon the merit of the writer himself. The fact&lt;br /&gt;
that this is so throws upon the Society&amp;#039;s Com-&lt;br /&gt;
mittees a very grave responsibility for the character&lt;br /&gt;
of what is thus circulated by their agency, and at&lt;br /&gt;
the same time it materially affects the question of&lt;br /&gt;
the equitable mode of remunerating the authors of&lt;br /&gt;
these little works. Vast quantities of such books&lt;br /&gt;
are annually given away by the Society, or sold at&lt;br /&gt;
a reduced rate, thus swelling the apparent sales far&lt;br /&gt;
beyond the real purchases by the public. In fact,&lt;br /&gt;
if royalties were given on the small works of fiction,&lt;br /&gt;
which, by means of its peculiar organization and&lt;br /&gt;
connections, the Society is enabled to circulate by&lt;br /&gt;
thousands, not only would the price of the books&lt;br /&gt;
be materially raised, and the sales proportionately&lt;br /&gt;
diminished, but the anomaly would arise that a&lt;br /&gt;
writer of little training and capability would, from&lt;br /&gt;
a book costing a few days&amp;#039; labour, receive a far&lt;br /&gt;
larger sum than could be obtained either by&lt;br /&gt;
royalties or otherwise by the most distinguished&lt;br /&gt;
writers on the Society&amp;#039;s list. Thus, a narrative&lt;br /&gt;
Tract of four pages, which is circulated by grants&lt;br /&gt;
to the extent of hundreds of thousands, would&lt;br /&gt;
bring to the writer, by any appreciable royalty, a&lt;br /&gt;
sum out of all proportion to the literary work&lt;br /&gt;
involved, and a similar principle applies in its&lt;br /&gt;
degree to many of the Society&amp;#039;s larger publications.&lt;br /&gt;
IV.&mdash;Mr. Besanfs Specific Charges.&lt;br /&gt;
Much of Mr. Besant&amp;#039;s pamphlet forms part of a&lt;br /&gt;
controversy in which the author has been long&lt;br /&gt;
engaged respecting the general system of pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lishing adopted both in England and abroad, and&lt;br /&gt;
into the merits of that controversy it is not&lt;br /&gt;
necessary here to enter.&lt;br /&gt;
With respect to his charges against the Society,&lt;br /&gt;
the author asked, through the Guardian of&lt;br /&gt;
January 23rd, 1889, for information from writers&lt;br /&gt;
for the Society as to their treatment. Three of&lt;br /&gt;
the answers he received seemed to him to call for&lt;br /&gt;
notice, and on these his specific charges rest.&lt;br /&gt;
1. The first and principal case is that of a writer&lt;br /&gt;
from whom only one book has been accepted by&lt;br /&gt;
the Society. This book was published&mdash;not, as&lt;br /&gt;
alleged, &amp;quot;two or three years ago &amp;quot;&mdash;but thirteen&lt;br /&gt;
years ago. The author received a small sum for&lt;br /&gt;
the copyright of the work (,&pound;12 12.C), because&lt;br /&gt;
the Committee of the time did not see their way&lt;br /&gt;
to estimate it at a higher figure. Probably the&lt;br /&gt;
Committee were unwise in yielding to the writer&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
urgency to accept it at all. As the Committee&lt;br /&gt;
truly foresaw, it has not proved a commercial suc-&lt;br /&gt;
cess. During the long lapse of thirteen years the&lt;br /&gt;
apparent circulation has gradually mounted up to&lt;br /&gt;
5,520 copies, but a very large proportion of these&lt;br /&gt;
have not been purchased by the public, but have&lt;br /&gt;
been issued by the Society in grants for lending&lt;br /&gt;
libraries, &amp;amp;c, at home and in the Colonies. Even&lt;br /&gt;
crediting the bookselling account with the value of&lt;br /&gt;
all the copies both sold and given away, the total&lt;br /&gt;
apparent profit up to date is ,&pound;57 8s. \od.&mdash;a very&lt;br /&gt;
small percentage on the money sunk on it for&lt;br /&gt;
thirteen years. No promise of future payments&lt;br /&gt;
was made to the author; but, in reply to his&lt;br /&gt;
inquiries, he was informed that the Society did&lt;br /&gt;
then (what it continues to do now) give, in the&lt;br /&gt;
shape of a gratuity, and not in any way as a con-&lt;br /&gt;
dition of purchase of copyright, occasional pay-&lt;br /&gt;
ments in cases where books turned out exceptionally&lt;br /&gt;
successful.&lt;br /&gt;
It appears evident that whatever strength may&lt;br /&gt;
seem to be afforded by this case to the charges&lt;br /&gt;
levelled against the Society is derived from a mis-&lt;br /&gt;
conception of the facts.&lt;br /&gt;
2. The second case is that of a writer who has&lt;br /&gt;
been contributing to the Society&amp;#039;s list since 1861,&lt;br /&gt;
and who has, within the last three months, been&lt;br /&gt;
paid for a book which will appear next October.&lt;br /&gt;
During this time she has supplied some twenty&lt;br /&gt;
works to the Society, ranging from little tales at 2d.&lt;br /&gt;
and 3d. each, to books of three or four hundred&lt;br /&gt;
pages. The writer has received in all for these&lt;br /&gt;
twenty books ^716 2s. That she has voluntarily&lt;br /&gt;
continued to write during all these years for the&lt;br /&gt;
Society would seem to indicate that she has had&lt;br /&gt;
no serious cause of complaint, especially as she&lt;br /&gt;
has, it is understood, been also publishing books&lt;br /&gt;
through ether agencies, and has thus been able to&lt;br /&gt;
weigh the relative terms offered to her. As to the&lt;br /&gt;
allegation, which is made in general terms, that she&lt;br /&gt;
received more in times past for her books than at&lt;br /&gt;
present, the evidence, speaking in the same general&lt;br /&gt;
way, seems to point to an opposite conclusion. In&lt;br /&gt;
1871 she received ^25 for a book of 50,000 words,&lt;br /&gt;
in 1876 ^40 for a volume of 75,000 words, and&lt;br /&gt;
in 1886 &pound;50 for a book of 57,000 words. The&lt;br /&gt;
varying quality of her books must also be taken&lt;br /&gt;
into consideration, as well as the fact that some of&lt;br /&gt;
them had been previously published elsewhere.&lt;br /&gt;
3. The remaining case is that of a writer who&lt;br /&gt;
also continues to write for the Society. He has&lt;br /&gt;
written in all for the Society since 1873 twelve&lt;br /&gt;
small books, for which he has received .&pound;060.&lt;br /&gt;
He says that for his first work for the Society he&lt;br /&gt;
received ,&pound;30, and seven months afterwards for&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 141 (#177) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
the same book an unsolicited cheque for &pound;20.&lt;br /&gt;
The memory of this gentleman seems to have&lt;br /&gt;
misled him, as the Society&amp;#039;s ledgers show no trace&lt;br /&gt;
of such a cheque, and the inference drawn from&lt;br /&gt;
its supposed payment must therefore be allowed to&lt;br /&gt;
fall to the ground. The additional .&pound;30 paid in&lt;br /&gt;
1882 was not a gratuity; it was payment for&lt;br /&gt;
bringing a new edition up to date. The charge&lt;br /&gt;
that &amp;quot; half the sums expended in founding Bishop-&lt;br /&gt;
rics belong in all equity to needy authors &amp;quot; is of&lt;br /&gt;
the same baseless character, as will be seen from&lt;br /&gt;
the statement given above. Further comment on&lt;br /&gt;
this writer&amp;#039;s letter seems needless.&lt;br /&gt;
Such are the grounds on which the author of&lt;br /&gt;
the pamphlet bases his somewhat sensational&lt;br /&gt;
indictment, and they appear signally insufficient.&lt;br /&gt;
So far as can be ascertained, the Society holds a&lt;br /&gt;
prominent position among publishers for its fair&lt;br /&gt;
dealing with authors, and enjoys their esteem and&lt;br /&gt;
even gratitude. That works of all kinds are&lt;br /&gt;
pressed on its acceptance by thousands of writers,&lt;br /&gt;
and that out of the many hundreds of whose&lt;br /&gt;
services use has been made, only three seem to&lt;br /&gt;
have responded to the invitation to state a&lt;br /&gt;
grievance, are facts which afford strong evidence&lt;br /&gt;
of the injustice of Mr. Besant&amp;#039;s accusations.&lt;br /&gt;
Nathanaei. Powell,&lt;br /&gt;
H. C. Daubeney,&lt;br /&gt;
H. Wace, Principal of King&amp;#039;s College,&lt;br /&gt;
Treasurers of S. P. C%K.&lt;br /&gt;
Randall T. Davidson, Dean of Windsor.&lt;br /&gt;
William Sinclair, Archdeacon of London.&lt;br /&gt;
Brownlow Maitland.&lt;br /&gt;
W. II. Clay.&lt;br /&gt;
C. J. Bun yon.&lt;br /&gt;
July 25, 1890. _&lt;br /&gt;
II.&lt;br /&gt;
The Reply to the Memorandum.&lt;br /&gt;
I.&mdash;The Principles of the S.P.C.K.&lt;br /&gt;
This is the document which is tendered as a&lt;br /&gt;
reply to my pamphlet. It contains a false state-&lt;br /&gt;
ment on its very title. I made no charges in that&lt;br /&gt;
pamphlet. I called the attention of the Publica-&lt;br /&gt;
tion Committee of the S.P.C.K. to certain well-&lt;br /&gt;
known and recognized principles in the acquisition&lt;br /&gt;
and the administration of literary property. I enu-&lt;br /&gt;
merated certain classes of publishers. I then&lt;br /&gt;
detailed certain cases selected from a great many&lt;br /&gt;
in my hands; and I asked the Committee to which&lt;br /&gt;
class they themselves belong. It is to this question&lt;br /&gt;
that we seek an answer in the Memorandum. But&lt;br /&gt;
we seek in vain.&lt;br /&gt;
The &amp;quot;Memorandum&amp;quot; contains four sections.&lt;br /&gt;
Let us take each in order. The first is called&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The Principles on which the Society&amp;#039;s publishing&lt;br /&gt;
is conducted.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Principles? But there are none.&lt;br /&gt;
The S.P.C.K. is &amp;quot;not a General Publishing&lt;br /&gt;
Agency.&amp;quot; Well, they publish, for as much profit as&lt;br /&gt;
they can get, every kind of book. If that is not a&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;General Publishing Agency,&amp;quot; what is it?&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Its sole purpose is to produce wholesome&lt;br /&gt;
literature.&amp;quot; And make no profit? That can I not&lt;br /&gt;
believe. If so, why was not that ^7,660 profit,&lt;br /&gt;
made last year, divided among the sweated authors?&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;This purpose is realised by putting on its pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lications as low a price .as is consistent with a fair&lt;br /&gt;
remuneration to authors.&amp;quot; What is &amp;quot;fair&amp;quot;? On&lt;br /&gt;
what principles is this justice to authors? This is&lt;br /&gt;
the gist of the whole question: what do they mean&lt;br /&gt;
by &amp;quot;fair&amp;quot;? There is no reply. There is no&lt;br /&gt;
attempt to reply. The signatories are so careless&lt;br /&gt;
as to their words, so blind to the real point, or&lt;br /&gt;
so determined to evade the real issue, that they&lt;br /&gt;
refuse so much as to state the principles by which&lt;br /&gt;
they are guided in deciding what is fair. Now we&lt;br /&gt;
might very well lay the paper down at this point&lt;br /&gt;
and refuse to read any more.&lt;br /&gt;
But there is much more to be noted, if only to&lt;br /&gt;
show the condition of mind to which a body of&lt;br /&gt;
apparently intelligent men may be reduced when&lt;br /&gt;
they are bidden to sign such a paper as this.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The average profits (we are told) amount to&lt;br /&gt;
about ^6,000.&amp;quot; Well, but last year they were put&lt;br /&gt;
at &pound;7,660.&lt;br /&gt;
This seems, at first sight, a straightforward state-&lt;br /&gt;
ment. But there is no such thing as a straight-&lt;br /&gt;
forward statement in the whole paper.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;An average profit of ^6,000.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
What is &amp;quot; profit&amp;quot;? The tradesman buys a thing&lt;br /&gt;
for a shilling and sells it for eighteen pence. The&lt;br /&gt;
sixpence over is his profit. The sixpence is his&lt;br /&gt;
pay for storing and distributing, buying and selling.&lt;br /&gt;
This a law universal in every kind of trade. In the&lt;br /&gt;
publishing trade, if a book costs twopence to pro-&lt;br /&gt;
duce and twopence for the author, and sells for&lt;br /&gt;
sixpence, the twopence is the publisher&amp;#039;s profit.&lt;br /&gt;
Out of this he has to keep up his establishment&lt;br /&gt;
and make his own income.*&lt;br /&gt;
* Since they may attempt to deny this, I subjoin two&lt;br /&gt;
publishers&amp;#039; accounts. They are the accounts of honourable&lt;br /&gt;
men. One is that of the sale of one volume of Gibbon&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Decline and Kail&amp;quot;; the other is an account of this year,&lt;br /&gt;
also rendered by an honourable publisher. The practice of&lt;br /&gt;
reckoning profit on this difference is, it will be remarked, the&lt;br /&gt;
same to-day as a hundred years ago.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;State of the Account of Mr. Gibbon&amp;#039;s &amp;#039; Roman Empire.&amp;quot;&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
Third Edition. Eirst Vol. Number printed, 1,000.&lt;br /&gt;
April 30, 1777.&lt;br /&gt;
&pound; s. J.&lt;br /&gt;
Printing 90 sheets, at .&pound;1 6s., with notes at the&lt;br /&gt;
lx&amp;gt;ttom of the page ... ... ... ... 117 o o&lt;br /&gt;
180 reams of paper, at lgs. ... ... ... 171 o o&lt;br /&gt;
Paid the Corrector, extra 5 5 0&lt;br /&gt;
Advertisements and incidental expenses ... 16 15 o&lt;br /&gt;
&deg; &deg;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 142 (#178) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
142&lt;br /&gt;
THE A U Til OR.&lt;br /&gt;
The ingenious gentlemen of the S.P.C.K. have&lt;br /&gt;
invented a new kind of profit. What they call&lt;br /&gt;
profit is the remainder after tlu zvliole expenses of&lt;br /&gt;
their establishment are met. Thus a partner in a&lt;br /&gt;
house of business would say, &amp;quot;I have kept a whole&lt;br /&gt;
army of clerks. I have kept up my country house&lt;br /&gt;
and my carriages. I have paid for the boys at&lt;br /&gt;
Cambridge and Rugby. There remain &pound;6,000.&lt;br /&gt;
These are the profits of my business for the year.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
In this case the Secretaries represent the partners.&lt;br /&gt;
What remained over is not the profit, but the&lt;br /&gt;
saving, of the year.&lt;br /&gt;
Thus they made last year by selling books,&lt;br /&gt;
.&pound;85,013. (Report for 1889, pp. 92, 93.)&lt;br /&gt;
They had to spend ,&pound;22,812 in buying books to&lt;br /&gt;
sell again, chiefly Bibles and Prayer Books.&lt;br /&gt;
They spent on producing books, &pound;38,375.&lt;br /&gt;
They paid editors and authors&mdash;poor authors !&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
,&pound;2,988 altogether for the whole year.&lt;br /&gt;
Let us deduct the money spent in buying books.&lt;br /&gt;
^85,013&lt;br /&gt;
22,812&lt;br /&gt;
There remains ,&pound;62,201&lt;br /&gt;
They spent on producing books... &bull;&bull;&bull;.&pound;38,375&lt;br /&gt;
There remains ,&pound;23,826&lt;br /&gt;
l,00O books, at i6j.&lt;br /&gt;
Deduct as above ...&lt;br /&gt;
&pound; s.&lt;br /&gt;
800 0&lt;br /&gt;
&bull; 3&amp;gt;&deg; 0&lt;br /&gt;
d.&lt;br /&gt;
0&lt;br /&gt;
0&lt;br /&gt;
Profit on the Edition&lt;br /&gt;
&pound;49&deg; 0&lt;br /&gt;
0&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Gibbon&amp;#039;s two-thirds is&lt;br /&gt;
&pound; s.&lt;br /&gt;
... 326 13&lt;br /&gt;
d.&lt;br /&gt;
4&lt;br /&gt;
S&lt;br /&gt;
Messrs. Strahan and Cadcll&amp;#039;s third is ...&lt;br /&gt;
... 163 6&lt;br /&gt;
The next, an account of the present day, is ns follows.&lt;br /&gt;
The figures are not necessary, and for obvious reasons are&lt;br /&gt;
&pound;400 0&lt;br /&gt;
0&lt;br /&gt;
suppressed :&mdash; &pound; s. &amp;lt;/.&lt;br /&gt;
Composing &mdash; sheets, at &pound;&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
Machining ... ... ... ... ... ...&lt;br /&gt;
Paper&lt;br /&gt;
Corrections&lt;br /&gt;
Binding&lt;br /&gt;
Advertising &amp;#039;..&lt;br /&gt;
Total cost ...&lt;br /&gt;
■ ■&pound;&lt;br /&gt;
By sale of&mdash; copies, producing&lt;br /&gt;
&pound; &amp;#039;■&lt;br /&gt;
d.&lt;br /&gt;
Less cost of production&lt;br /&gt;
Profit&lt;br /&gt;
■■■&pound;&lt;br /&gt;
Of which Author&amp;#039;s two-thirds&lt;br /&gt;
&pound; s.&lt;br /&gt;
d.&lt;br /&gt;
Publisher&amp;#039;s one-third&lt;br /&gt;
/&lt;br /&gt;
as the real profit for the year on the sale of the&lt;br /&gt;
books. On the half-profit system the authors&lt;br /&gt;
would have had &pound;11,913. What did they get?&lt;br /&gt;
Less than &pound;3,000 1&lt;br /&gt;
But, they say, large quantities of books are given&lt;br /&gt;
away, &amp;quot;amounting to an average of &pound;12,000 a year,&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
so that there is a loss on the publishing business of&lt;br /&gt;
many thousands.&lt;br /&gt;
Observe that if they lost a hundred thousand a&lt;br /&gt;
year by giving books away it would not affect tha&lt;br /&gt;
question in the least. The grant of books belongs&lt;br /&gt;
to another department. Whatever expenditure is&lt;br /&gt;
made under this head is made out of the general&lt;br /&gt;
funds of the Society, and from the income derived&lt;br /&gt;
from all sources.&lt;br /&gt;
However, let us look into the allegation. What&lt;br /&gt;
do they give away? Chiefly Bibles and Prayer&lt;br /&gt;
Books, as appears from the Report. They issued&lt;br /&gt;
during the year 561,869 Bibles and Prayer Books.&lt;br /&gt;
The greater part of the annual grant consists of&lt;br /&gt;
Bibles and Prayer Books. Now if they had not&lt;br /&gt;
been given away they would not have been bought.&lt;br /&gt;
Therefore the amount expended in giving Bibles and&lt;br /&gt;
Prayer Books must be deductedfrom both sides. Did&lt;br /&gt;
the Committee of Inquiry inquire into the meaning&lt;br /&gt;
of their own assertion before they set it down? If&lt;br /&gt;
they did and discovered what it means, what are we&lt;br /&gt;
to think of them? If they did not, but signed the&lt;br /&gt;
Memorandum without examination, what, again,&lt;br /&gt;
can we think of them?&lt;br /&gt;
Suppose, for instance, ,&pound;5,000 worth of Bibles&lt;br /&gt;
and Prayer Books and other books bought by the&lt;br /&gt;
Society were included in the ,&pound;8,562 set down for&lt;br /&gt;
grants in 1889, that amount would have to be taken&lt;br /&gt;
from the &pound;22,812 spent in buying books. Where&lt;br /&gt;
then is the loss of &amp;quot; many thousands &amp;quot;?&lt;br /&gt;
&diams;&lt;br /&gt;
II.&mdash;On Dealings with Authors.&lt;br /&gt;
We are told that &amp;quot;royalties varying from one-&lt;br /&gt;
tenth to one-sixth of the published price are {Jven&lt;br /&gt;
to writers who are recognized as specialists, or&lt;br /&gt;
whose names on the title-page of a book give it a&lt;br /&gt;
greater commercial value, &amp;amp;c.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Did the Committee examine this statement before&lt;br /&gt;
they made it?&lt;br /&gt;
Do they know how to examine into the truth of&lt;br /&gt;
such a statement?&lt;br /&gt;
I will tell them.&lt;br /&gt;
They shouid first learn what is meant by a&lt;br /&gt;
royalty of one-tenth, one-sixth, &amp;amp;c, that is to say,&lt;br /&gt;
what it gives the author and what it leaves the&lt;br /&gt;
publisher. They must, of course, bear in mind at&lt;br /&gt;
the same time the legitimate gains of the publisher,&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 143 (#179) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
143&lt;br /&gt;
else they have no standard of right and wrong.&lt;br /&gt;
Next, they should inquire into the reasons of the&lt;br /&gt;
difference&mdash;why a tenth here and a sixth there?&lt;br /&gt;
They should then demand an exact list of the&lt;br /&gt;
books published on royalties, and ascertain what&lt;br /&gt;
considerations the royalty fixed in each case, what&lt;br /&gt;
the publisher made by the transaction, counting&lt;br /&gt;
the publisher&amp;#039;s profit legitimately in excess of&lt;br /&gt;
receipt over expenditure, not after &amp;quot;establishment&lt;br /&gt;
charges &amp;quot; are made.&lt;br /&gt;
I should like very much to see this list.&lt;br /&gt;
The variation of the royalty, without cau se assigned,&lt;br /&gt;
is accepted by the Committee of Inquiry without&lt;br /&gt;
the least question. Why should there be variation&lt;br /&gt;
in a royalty? The system of royalties means an&lt;br /&gt;
admission that the work of an author is to be&lt;br /&gt;
remunerated in proportion to the saleable nature of&lt;br /&gt;
the book. The money value of a property&mdash;which&lt;br /&gt;
is a separate thing from its artistic value&mdash;means&lt;br /&gt;
plainly what it will fetch. Further, the price of a&lt;br /&gt;
book is always regulated by the cost of production.&lt;br /&gt;
Thus we have (1) price; (2) cost of production;&lt;br /&gt;
(3) difference between these two. The royalty&lt;br /&gt;
means that propottion of the difference which should&lt;br /&gt;
be justly divided between author and publisher:&lt;br /&gt;
why, then, should there be any variation? As an&lt;br /&gt;
abstract proposition there should be none. But&lt;br /&gt;
one can quite understand a house declining to&lt;br /&gt;
publish certain books whose sale will be small unless&lt;br /&gt;
so small a royalty is granted to the author as will&lt;br /&gt;
leave the masters a remunerative profit.&lt;br /&gt;
But &amp;quot;recognised specialists.&amp;quot; Take the excellent&lt;br /&gt;
short histories issued&amp;#039; by the Society, for instance&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
Roman-Britain, Saxon-Britain, Norman-Britain&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
all by specialists. Did they get a royalty? Not so.&lt;br /&gt;
They got ^50 each for the copyright. So that&lt;br /&gt;
this statement must be received with reservations.&lt;br /&gt;
We then come to works of fiction. They con-&lt;br /&gt;
fess that in these books their method is to pay &amp;quot;a&lt;br /&gt;
sum &amp;quot; down for the copyright. They do not dare&lt;br /&gt;
to allege that in their decision as to the amount&lt;br /&gt;
offered there is any regard whatever paid to the&lt;br /&gt;
profits which they mean to make on the book. The&lt;br /&gt;
most they venture to plead is an allegation that&lt;br /&gt;
their payments are &amp;quot;as high as, and probably higher&lt;br /&gt;
than,&amp;quot; those offered by other publishers.&lt;br /&gt;
Can anything be weaker or more unworthy of a&lt;br /&gt;
great religious Society than such a plea?&lt;br /&gt;
Weak, because it is evidently signed without the&lt;br /&gt;
least investigation. Into what publishers&amp;#039; books&lt;br /&gt;
did the Committee look before they put their&lt;br /&gt;
names to this assertion? What publishers have&lt;br /&gt;
given them information as to their treatment of&lt;br /&gt;
novelists? I can assure them, from my own know-&lt;br /&gt;
ledge, and most earnestly and truthfully&mdash;that the&lt;br /&gt;
only publishers whose prices can compare with&lt;br /&gt;
their own are the lowest class sweating publishers.&lt;br /&gt;
I declare deliberately, and with a full knowledge of&lt;br /&gt;
what is done in every house in London, that none&lt;br /&gt;
but the sweating publishers can be ranked or&lt;br /&gt;
compared with the Literary Handmaid of the&lt;br /&gt;
Church. I have given the prices paid to one&lt;br /&gt;
writer. I have before me those paid to a great&lt;br /&gt;
many others. It is the same dreary tale&mdash;from&lt;br /&gt;
&pound;20 to ^50 for the whole copyright&mdash;sweater&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
prices. In my pamphlet I mentioned three&lt;br /&gt;
authors only. They were meant to be represen-&lt;br /&gt;
tative, and the Memorandum impudently pretends&lt;br /&gt;
that they were all I could get! They do represent,&lt;br /&gt;
in fact, the great bulk of the unfortunate writers&lt;br /&gt;
who have fallen into the clutches of this religious&lt;br /&gt;
Society. What do they prove? This. That the&lt;br /&gt;
Society habitually and deliberately pay the lowest&lt;br /&gt;
price that will be taken, without any reference to&lt;br /&gt;
the profit that they know will certainly be made.&lt;br /&gt;
Once more&mdash;He who buys a piece of work for the&lt;br /&gt;
lowest sum which the necessities of the producer will&lt;br /&gt;
allow him to take&mdash;knowing that he will make twice,&lt;br /&gt;
three times, fifty times that sum for his own profit&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
is a Sweater.&lt;br /&gt;
Will the Committee of Inquiry deny this propo-&lt;br /&gt;
sition?&lt;br /&gt;
Now, in the case even of untried and unknown&lt;br /&gt;
writers, the Publication Committee know by ex-&lt;br /&gt;
perience that there is a certain minimum sale on&lt;br /&gt;
which they can confidently reckon, provided that&lt;br /&gt;
reasonable care has been exercised in the refusal of&lt;br /&gt;
absolute rubbish. In the case of a popular writer&lt;br /&gt;
they can reckon on a sale of many thousands. Will&lt;br /&gt;
the Committee enquire into the case of those few&lt;br /&gt;
popular authors whose works have been published&lt;br /&gt;
by the Society, and ascertain what royalties have&lt;br /&gt;
been paid to those authors, if any.&lt;br /&gt;
The section winds up with the allegation that&lt;br /&gt;
the Society&amp;#039;s authors are satisfied with their pay.&lt;br /&gt;
That is not my experience. That is not what I&lt;br /&gt;
learn from the dozens of letters I have received.&lt;br /&gt;
The writers of these letters hate the Society. They&lt;br /&gt;
loathe the Society. They say that they only write&lt;br /&gt;
for the Society because they must. They tell me&lt;br /&gt;
so in confidence, but they implore me not to let the&lt;br /&gt;
Committee guess that they have done so&mdash;lest they&lt;br /&gt;
feel the vengeance of that Committee&mdash;the Com-&lt;br /&gt;
mittee of the Literary Handmaid of the Church!&lt;br /&gt;
But even if all the authors in the world are con-&lt;br /&gt;
tented with their pay, that would not make an in-&lt;br /&gt;
justice become just.&lt;br /&gt;
III.&mdash;On Royalties.&lt;br /&gt;
Here follows a very muddled passage. I gather&lt;br /&gt;
from it, if it means anything, the following remark-&lt;br /&gt;
able statements and opinions :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 144 (#180) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
144&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
1. The sale of books depends partly on their&lt;br /&gt;
get-up and appearance.&lt;br /&gt;
This is perfectly true. The fact belongs to all&lt;br /&gt;
books, not especially those published by the&lt;br /&gt;
S.P.C.K. It is the part of the publisher&amp;#039;s business&lt;br /&gt;
to put out his books handsomely. He is paid for&lt;br /&gt;
looking after this part of the work.&lt;br /&gt;
Therefore, says the Memorandum, an author&lt;br /&gt;
must not have a royalty.&lt;br /&gt;
The connection of thought is difficult to follow.&lt;br /&gt;
2. &amp;quot;Vast quantities of books are given away.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
I have already considered the giants. They&lt;br /&gt;
belong to another department, and cannot be&lt;br /&gt;
considered in connection with the Publishing&lt;br /&gt;
Department. &amp;quot;Vast quantities,&amp;quot; however, is a&lt;br /&gt;
vague -statement. Last year books to the amount&lt;br /&gt;
of ^8,562 were given away. If ^5,000 represents&lt;br /&gt;
Bibles given, and ,&pound;17,000 represents Bibles sold,&lt;br /&gt;
we have it that about 6 per cent, of the books sold&lt;br /&gt;
are bought by the General Department to be used&lt;br /&gt;
in accordance with the objects of the Society.&lt;br /&gt;
Tlurefore, says the Memorandum, the author must&lt;br /&gt;
not expect a royalty.&lt;br /&gt;
3. If royalties were given, the price of the books&lt;br /&gt;
would be raised.&lt;br /&gt;
Indeed! Then how is it that in other houses&lt;br /&gt;
where royalties are given the price of the books is&lt;br /&gt;
not raised? In fact, the royalty system depends&lt;br /&gt;
upon a proportion, not a price. It applies equally&lt;br /&gt;
to a shilling book and to a six-shilling book.&lt;br /&gt;
4. If royalties are allowed, an author, by a few&lt;br /&gt;
days&amp;#039; labour, would present the &amp;quot;anomaly&amp;quot; of&lt;br /&gt;
obtaining&mdash;what ?&mdash;the produce of his own labour!&lt;br /&gt;
Here is, indeed, an anomaly. Here is a muddle&lt;br /&gt;
of thought.&lt;br /&gt;
If with a few days&amp;#039; labour an author can produce&lt;br /&gt;
a work which commands a large and continued&lt;br /&gt;
sale&mdash;why not? It is his production&mdash;his book&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
his property. The &amp;quot;anomaly &amp;quot; is that the Society&lt;br /&gt;
■&mdash;a religious Society&mdash;should want to take away&lt;br /&gt;
his property. That a body of Christian men should&lt;br /&gt;
say, &amp;quot;You shall have none of this income. It is&lt;br /&gt;
true that it is of your own making. We will take&lt;br /&gt;
it. All shall be ours.&amp;quot; Is it possible that the&lt;br /&gt;
Committee of Inquiry should not understand the&lt;br /&gt;
immorality of such a contention?&lt;br /&gt;
5. There seems to underlie this section a feeling&lt;br /&gt;
that because the S.P.C.K. has exceptional powers&lt;br /&gt;
of selling books&mdash;which I recognize fully&mdash;the&lt;br /&gt;
books should belong to them. In other words,&lt;br /&gt;
because the administration of property can be&lt;br /&gt;
carried on advantageously, the property belongs to&lt;br /&gt;
them. Or, again, because it can be sold for very-&lt;br /&gt;
large sums, it should be bought for very small&lt;br /&gt;
sums.&lt;br /&gt;
I do not suppose that this view would be&lt;br /&gt;
seriously advanced. But let us clear away the fogs,&lt;br /&gt;
and show it in its nakedness. He who acquires&lt;br /&gt;
property must pay for it in proportion to its value.&lt;br /&gt;
Otherwise he is a sweater, or a thief, or both. He&lt;br /&gt;
who administrates property must be paid in pro-&lt;br /&gt;
portion to the extent and value of that property.&lt;br /&gt;
Thus, an honest publisher who administers a&lt;br /&gt;
successful book is rewarded according to the extent&lt;br /&gt;
of his sales. The book does not belong to him&lt;br /&gt;
because he sells a great many; but he reaps the&lt;br /&gt;
advantage by the proportion equitably allotted to&lt;br /&gt;
him. As a matter of fact, the larger and more&lt;br /&gt;
important is the house, the better, we commonly&lt;br /&gt;
find, are the terms which a successful author&lt;br /&gt;
receives.&lt;br /&gt;
6. There is another very odd confusion of&lt;br /&gt;
thought lying on the mind of the writer of this&lt;br /&gt;
Memorandum. It is one of contempt for authors.&lt;br /&gt;
He cannot bear to think that a little story&mdash;a&lt;br /&gt;
simple little thing&mdash;the delicacy, artistic finish,&lt;br /&gt;
and simplicity of which he cannot for the life of&lt;br /&gt;
him understand&mdash;should be able to bring in for the&lt;br /&gt;
author an income for years. That it does bring in&lt;br /&gt;
to the Society an income for years he knows very&lt;br /&gt;
well&mdash;has he not bought it for a ten-pound note,&lt;br /&gt;
out and out, of the trembling gentlewoman who&lt;br /&gt;
wrote it? But that she should have the proceeds&lt;br /&gt;
of her own labour&mdash;that she, whom he has&lt;br /&gt;
sweated with impunity&mdash;should get rich, is beyond&lt;br /&gt;
him. He cannot understand it. The thing cannot&lt;br /&gt;
be right. Why, he has bought a whole six-months&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
work of her for thirty pounds over and over again!&lt;br /&gt;
IV.&mdash;Specific Charges.&lt;br /&gt;
We come next to what are called &amp;quot;Specific&lt;br /&gt;
Charges.&amp;quot; Again, I repeat, there have been no&lt;br /&gt;
specific charges. A few facts, out of many, were&lt;br /&gt;
advanced, and the S.P.C.K. were invited to give&lt;br /&gt;
their own opinion on them.&lt;br /&gt;
1. As to the first case&mdash;not the most important,&lt;br /&gt;
as they pretend, but the most obvious and glaring&lt;br /&gt;
case&mdash;they acknowledge the sale of 5,200 copies.&lt;br /&gt;
It does not matter to us whether the other depart-&lt;br /&gt;
ment bought them or the general public. The&lt;br /&gt;
book is now priced at 2s. I think, but am not&lt;br /&gt;
sure, that it was formerly 2s. 6d. This means a&lt;br /&gt;
trade price of is. 2d. very nearly. But the ready-&lt;br /&gt;
money sales (about one-fifth of the whole, see&lt;br /&gt;
Report, p. 93) are at i*. 6d. each.&lt;br /&gt;
The cost of production is about 5^. a copy.&lt;br /&gt;
By sales&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&pound; s. d.&lt;br /&gt;
4,400 at is. 2d. a copy ... 256 13 4&lt;br /&gt;
i, 100 at is. 6d. a copy ... 82 10 o&lt;br /&gt;
^339 3 4&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 145 (#181) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
M5&lt;br /&gt;
Hence:&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
5,520 at sd.&lt;br /&gt;
Paid to Author&lt;br /&gt;
Advertising, say&lt;br /&gt;
Profit of the Society&lt;br /&gt;
&pound; s. d.&lt;br /&gt;
. 115 0 o&lt;br /&gt;
12 12 O&lt;br /&gt;
5 0O&lt;br /&gt;
206 II 4&lt;br /&gt;
&pound;2,2,9 3 4&lt;br /&gt;
And this profit, &pound;206&mdash;that is, seventeen times&lt;br /&gt;
that of the author !&mdash;they call &amp;quot;not a commercial&lt;br /&gt;
success &amp;quot;1&lt;br /&gt;
If these figures are wrong let us have the right&lt;br /&gt;
ones, only let us refuse to have dust thrown into our&lt;br /&gt;
eyes by taking savings for profit.&lt;br /&gt;
2. &amp;quot;No promise of future payments was made&lt;br /&gt;
to the author.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
My client says there was. On whose authority&lt;br /&gt;
does this Committee of Inquiry rest their asser-&lt;br /&gt;
tion? My client insists that there was. By what&lt;br /&gt;
right, or after what investigation, does the Com-&lt;br /&gt;
mittee dare to deny the truth of this positive&lt;br /&gt;
assertion? Is it on the word of one man? Why&lt;br /&gt;
is he to be believed more than the author? Now&lt;br /&gt;
there is one simple way of testing this fact. Have&lt;br /&gt;
the Committee tried this way?&lt;br /&gt;
3. &amp;quot;The total profit&amp;quot;&mdash;we have seen the real&lt;br /&gt;
profit above&mdash;&amp;quot;is ^57 8*. iod., a very small per-&lt;br /&gt;
centage on (he money sunk in it for 13 years.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
The italics are my own. This sentence actually&lt;br /&gt;
belongs to the Memorandum.&lt;br /&gt;
Can it be possible that intelligent men should&lt;br /&gt;
have been deluded into a statement so ridiculous?&lt;br /&gt;
Consider. The book began with 3,000 copies,&lt;br /&gt;
say, and subsequently another 3,000 have been&lt;br /&gt;
printed.&lt;br /&gt;
Thirteen years ago the sum of &pound;70, or so, was&lt;br /&gt;
expended in producing the book and paying the&lt;br /&gt;
author that noble&mdash;that princely&mdash;honorarium of&lt;br /&gt;
twelve guineas.&lt;br /&gt;
The sale of 1,200 copies, which was certainly&lt;br /&gt;
reached within a year, paid back this &pound;70.&lt;br /&gt;
Observe, therefore, that &pound;70 was sunk in the book&lt;br /&gt;
for the period of one year only. The interest, at&lt;br /&gt;
3^ per cent., on that sum for that period was&lt;br /&gt;
Jj2 gs. exactly. That would take a few more&lt;br /&gt;
copies. Then the ^70 was back again in the&lt;br /&gt;
Committee&amp;#039;s hands to be invested in some other&lt;br /&gt;
book. It has been used over and over again in&lt;br /&gt;
the thirteen years. It has been sunk over and over&lt;br /&gt;
again, invested, recovered, and re-invested in twenty&lt;br /&gt;
books.&lt;br /&gt;
Yet the Committee of Inquiry actually advance&lt;br /&gt;
the claim that this &pound;70, paid off&mdash;returned to the&lt;br /&gt;
investors&mdash;twelve years ago, should be still paying&lt;br /&gt;
interest!&lt;br /&gt;
In other words. A lends B ,&pound;70. At the end&lt;br /&gt;
VOL. I.&lt;br /&gt;
of a year B repays the amount with interest.&lt;br /&gt;
According to these gentlemen, B ought to be pay-&lt;br /&gt;
ing interest to this day.&lt;br /&gt;
4. The second case, one of a great number, is&lt;br /&gt;
met by the statement that the lady has received in&lt;br /&gt;
all ^716.&lt;br /&gt;
5. The third case is met in the same way. The&lt;br /&gt;
author has received in all &pound;660.&lt;br /&gt;
What has that to do with the question? The&lt;br /&gt;
sweated needlewoman&amp;#039;s pay of n^d. a-day, spread&lt;br /&gt;
over twenty years, mounts up to the prodigious&lt;br /&gt;
sum of ^300, and yet she is discontented.&lt;br /&gt;
Let us make a little estimate, taking a book by the&lt;br /&gt;
third writer, who is a capital writer for boys&mdash;and&lt;br /&gt;
very popular. I take a 35. book by him. It is a&lt;br /&gt;
very rough estimate, but the figures, I know by&lt;br /&gt;
experience, are not far wrong.&lt;br /&gt;
Sale of 5,000&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&pound; s. d.&lt;br /&gt;
4,000 at if. gd. ... ... 350 o o&lt;br /&gt;
1,000 at 2s. 3d. ... ... 112 10 o&lt;br /&gt;
^462 10 o&lt;br /&gt;
Cost of an edition of 5,000&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
At 8d. a copy, say&lt;br /&gt;
Author, say...&lt;br /&gt;
Advertising, say&lt;br /&gt;
Profit to S.P.C.K&lt;br /&gt;
&pound; s.&lt;br /&gt;
170 o&lt;br /&gt;
45 0&lt;br /&gt;
*5 &deg;&lt;br /&gt;
232 10&lt;br /&gt;
d.&lt;br /&gt;
o&lt;br /&gt;
o&lt;br /&gt;
o&lt;br /&gt;
o&lt;br /&gt;
^462 10 o&lt;br /&gt;
If these figures are wrong let us have the right&lt;br /&gt;
figures.&lt;br /&gt;
The Committee of Inquiry affect to believe that&lt;br /&gt;
I have three cases, and three cases only, of injustice&lt;br /&gt;
and cruelty to allege against the S.P.C.K.&lt;br /&gt;
In the first place, before I wrote a line, I had&lt;br /&gt;
satisfied myself that the practice of buying their&lt;br /&gt;
books at a miserable sweater&amp;#039;s price, without the&lt;br /&gt;
least regard to the profits which would accrue, is&lt;br /&gt;
only departed from when the Committee find that&lt;br /&gt;
they must&mdash;that they cannot get a book without&lt;br /&gt;
some show of fair treatment.&lt;br /&gt;
The lady, whose case I brought forward, is&lt;br /&gt;
typical of I know not how many others. Grasping&lt;br /&gt;
in all their dealings, the Publishing Committee&lt;br /&gt;
make even success an excuse for lowering&lt;br /&gt;
their terms. I will show how. A lady wrote a&lt;br /&gt;
book and submitted the MS. They accepted&lt;br /&gt;
it, offered her ^30, and published it. Probably&lt;br /&gt;
they sold five or six thousand copies and cleared&lt;br /&gt;
seven hundred. It was so successful that they in-&lt;br /&gt;
vited her to do some work for them.&lt;br /&gt;
She completed a second work. She took the&lt;br /&gt;
MS. to the office and left it with the Editor, or his&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 146 (#182) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
146&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
representative, explaining clearly that if they wanted&lt;br /&gt;
it they must make an offer. What did they do?&lt;br /&gt;
They seized the MS. Having appropriated this&lt;br /&gt;
lady&amp;#039;s property, without her consent, they set up&lt;br /&gt;
the copy in type, and they sent her the proof with&lt;br /&gt;
&pound;,■20. Her success had actually lowered her price!&lt;br /&gt;
And they seized on her property without her con-&lt;br /&gt;
sent. Perhaps they measured her manuscript with&lt;br /&gt;
a tape and found it a few pages shorter than the&lt;br /&gt;
last. One would like to know, in both cases, viz.,&lt;br /&gt;
the first and the second book, what the Society&lt;br /&gt;
made by the transaction. Meantime, it is quite&lt;br /&gt;
certain that no private publisher would dare so to&lt;br /&gt;
treat the property of other people.&lt;br /&gt;
There is another lady who has done a good deal&lt;br /&gt;
for the Society. Her work is very fine, delicate,&lt;br /&gt;
dainty, and of high tone. She is deservedly&lt;br /&gt;
popular. What have her prices been? I have&lt;br /&gt;
a list before me. She averages ^25 to &pound;do.&lt;br /&gt;
Let us consider. I take one of her books, pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lished at 2S. 6d. Let us suppose an edition of&lt;br /&gt;
5,000, all sold.&lt;br /&gt;
Sold&mdash; &pound; s. d.&lt;br /&gt;
4,000, at is. 6d.... ... ... 300 o o&lt;br /&gt;
1,000, at is. gd.... ... ... 87 10 o&lt;br /&gt;
&pound;387 1&deg; o&lt;br /&gt;
&pound; s. d.&lt;br /&gt;
Cost of production, say 8d. a copy ... 166 13 4&lt;br /&gt;
Author, say ... ... ... ... 40 o o&lt;br /&gt;
Profit of the Society 180 16 8&lt;br /&gt;
&pound;387 10 0&lt;br /&gt;
Now, from an honourable house, that lady would&lt;br /&gt;
have received at least a royalty of one-sixth, or 5*/.&lt;br /&gt;
on every copy. She would have made over a&lt;br /&gt;
hundred pounds, and the publisher would have&lt;br /&gt;
made rather more.&lt;br /&gt;
Are these enormous profits denied? Then here&lt;br /&gt;
is a case which cannot be denied. It is a very&lt;br /&gt;
pretty story, and, I daresay, has been placed in the&lt;br /&gt;
hands of the President and the Vice-President by&lt;br /&gt;
this time.&lt;br /&gt;
A. B. wrote for the Society four books. For the&lt;br /&gt;
first book he received a royalty, which gave the Society&lt;br /&gt;
only double what he himself obtained; for the&lt;br /&gt;
second he received a royalty which gave the Society&lt;br /&gt;
three times what they gave him. Let me explain&lt;br /&gt;
that these amounts were, on their own showing,&lt;br /&gt;
after deducting establishment charges&mdash;the true&lt;br /&gt;
publishers&amp;#039; profit was very much greater.&lt;br /&gt;
Then there came the next two books.&lt;br /&gt;
The author was persuaded to leave the royalty to&lt;br /&gt;
the Society, on the ground that a fixed sum ham-&lt;br /&gt;
pered them.&lt;br /&gt;
Presently he became very much dissatisfied with&lt;br /&gt;
the result.&lt;br /&gt;
As he could get no satisfaction from them, he&lt;br /&gt;
very properly brought an action, at the same time&lt;br /&gt;
offering to submit the thing to arbitration.&lt;br /&gt;
They doubtless believed that he would not dare&lt;br /&gt;
to go into court against so powerful a corporation.&lt;br /&gt;
But he did dare. The case was set down for&lt;br /&gt;
hearing before Lord Coleridge.&lt;br /&gt;
At the last moment they backed out. They&lt;br /&gt;
consented to an arbitration.&lt;br /&gt;
The arbitrator ordered the production of the&lt;br /&gt;
accounts. You shall now understand how far greed&lt;br /&gt;
can be carried by a body of Christian gentlemen.&lt;br /&gt;
The first of the two books showed, after the&lt;br /&gt;
precaution of knocking off establishment expenses,&lt;br /&gt;
a profit of ^633 to the Society, and &pound;62 to the&lt;br /&gt;
author, a proportion of 10 : 1.&lt;br /&gt;
The other book showed the same proportion, a&lt;br /&gt;
profit of &pound;1,246 to the Society, against .&pound;130 to&lt;br /&gt;
the author.*&lt;br /&gt;
The arbitrator awarded a lump sum to be paid&lt;br /&gt;
by the Society, together with all the costs of the&lt;br /&gt;
action.&lt;br /&gt;
This is a very pretty case. It shows that the&lt;br /&gt;
Publication Committee simply grasp at the highest&lt;br /&gt;
profit they can screw out of the poor unfortunate&lt;br /&gt;
author. If this case is denied or questioned the&lt;br /&gt;
author is willing to publish his name.&lt;br /&gt;
Again, one of the ladies who has been writing&lt;br /&gt;
largely for the S.P.C.K. has recently taken her work&lt;br /&gt;
to another religious society. She receives from&lt;br /&gt;
them the same amount which the S.P.C.K. gave,&lt;br /&gt;
but, coupled with a royalty from the beginning.&lt;br /&gt;
Will the Church of England be too proud to&lt;br /&gt;
learn from the Dissenters? A writer for a Noncon-&lt;br /&gt;
formist Society recently addressed the Secretary on&lt;br /&gt;
the subject of the pay awarded her for the copy-&lt;br /&gt;
right of a certain book. Remember that she had&lt;br /&gt;
no claim; she had sold her rights. The Society,&lt;br /&gt;
however, reconsidered her case; they said that her&lt;br /&gt;
work had proved a far greater success than when&lt;br /&gt;
they bought it; they sent her a large cheque, and,&lt;br /&gt;
in addition, placed the book upon a royalty system.&lt;br /&gt;
Again, in illustration of the unscrupulous manner&lt;br /&gt;
in which they appropriate other people&amp;#039;s property,&lt;br /&gt;
here is a case :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
A.B. offered to prepare a book of a special charac-&lt;br /&gt;
ter for S.P.C.K. In reply, the Secretary wrote that&lt;br /&gt;
he did not think that it would be a commercial suc-&lt;br /&gt;
cess, but he would consider anything submitted. As&lt;br /&gt;
this alone would not justify the preparation of such a&lt;br /&gt;
* Taking the figures of the balance sheet, the establishment&lt;br /&gt;
expenses amount to 27 per cent, of the whole profit. There-&lt;br /&gt;
fore the whole profit on this last book would be about &pound;2,000&lt;br /&gt;
against &pound;130 to the author. Are these figures wrong? Then&lt;br /&gt;
let them be set right.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 147 (#183) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
147&lt;br /&gt;
work, A. B. sent two articles which he had written,&lt;br /&gt;
merely as specimens of the manner in which he&lt;br /&gt;
would treat the subject. This he was careful to&lt;br /&gt;
explain. He received a printed acknowledgment,&lt;br /&gt;
which was all that he did receive for three months.&lt;br /&gt;
Then to his amazement his MSS. were sent to him&lt;br /&gt;
with proofs, but not a word of explanation, beyond&lt;br /&gt;
a note on the MSS. probably for the printer, &amp;quot;Set up&lt;br /&gt;
for Dawn of Day.&amp;quot; Dawn of Day is a halfpenny&lt;br /&gt;
monthly of S.P.C.K., against which A. B. has not&lt;br /&gt;
a word to say, but that he had not the most remote&lt;br /&gt;
intention that his articles should appear in it. As&lt;br /&gt;
the matter had gone so far, he did not like to seem&lt;br /&gt;
ungracious and withdraw. The articles came out&lt;br /&gt;
in driblets, with the connection of the subject&lt;br /&gt;
broken, and without illustrations. When the first&lt;br /&gt;
instalment appearedheventured to askforacheque&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
he had parted with his MSS. for more than six&lt;br /&gt;
months&mdash;adding a gentle hint which he thought that&lt;br /&gt;
S.P.C.A&amp;#039;. would esteem, viz., that anything that he&lt;br /&gt;
could earn with his- pen was devoted to a religious&lt;br /&gt;
purpose. He had to wait, however, four months&lt;br /&gt;
more, and then received the magnificent sum of&lt;br /&gt;
three guineas for the two articles, and not a word&lt;br /&gt;
of apology for their misappropriation.&lt;br /&gt;
For the shilling books which the Society issues it&lt;br /&gt;
appears that they pay &pound;10 or jQ\2 down, and the&lt;br /&gt;
authors have no means whatever of ascertaining&lt;br /&gt;
their own success. There are no dates and no&lt;br /&gt;
numbered editions. Some of them are selling&lt;br /&gt;
for many years. Now to one who knows the large&lt;br /&gt;
sums made by shilling books, this dealing seems to&lt;br /&gt;
require the strongest and the plainest language.&lt;br /&gt;
A shilling book is generally produced at 2d. or&lt;br /&gt;
2\d.&lt;br /&gt;
Consider the figures&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
Sale of 10,000 at 6|&amp;lt;/. ... j&pound;21&deg; &amp;#039;fa- &amp;amp;d.&lt;br /&gt;
&pound; s. d.&lt;br /&gt;
10,000 at 2\d., cost 104 3 4&lt;br /&gt;
Author ... ... 10 o o&lt;br /&gt;
Advertising ... 15 o o&lt;br /&gt;
Society&amp;#039;s profit ... 141 13 4&lt;br /&gt;
^270 16 8&lt;br /&gt;
The Committee of Inquiry state that the prices&lt;br /&gt;
f aid compare with those paid by other publishers.&lt;br /&gt;
Well, I have myself written two or three shilling&lt;br /&gt;
books which have had a good sale. Now, had they&lt;br /&gt;
sold only io,oco copies each I should have received&lt;br /&gt;
royalties for each over ^, 80, and my publisher would&lt;br /&gt;
have made nearly as much. There are, perhaps,&lt;br /&gt;
sweating publishers who give even less than the&lt;br /&gt;
S.P.C.K. I know of one firm where the rule is to&lt;br /&gt;
give^5 for a shilling book,,&pound;8 for an eigliteenpenny&lt;br /&gt;
book, and so on. But even this is equalled by the&lt;br /&gt;
vol.. 1.&lt;br /&gt;
S.P.C.K. when they gave &pound;\2 \2S. for a two shil-&lt;br /&gt;
ling book of which they sold nearly 6,000 copies.&lt;br /&gt;
Enough of cases. We have seen enough also of&lt;br /&gt;
the Committee of Inquiry.&lt;br /&gt;
In illustration of the concluding paragraph, I&lt;br /&gt;
add one or two extracts from letters from authors&lt;br /&gt;
who have written for this noble Society. One lady&lt;br /&gt;
writes to say that she prays the Lord to awaken&lt;br /&gt;
their conscience&mdash;words used not flippantly, but&lt;br /&gt;
in deep, sad seriousness. Another&mdash;nay, a dozen&lt;br /&gt;
others&mdash;sends her case and implores me not to let&lt;br /&gt;
the Society know that she has done so. Clergymen&lt;br /&gt;
have written to me begging me to persevere in&lt;br /&gt;
throwing light&mdash;and yet more light&mdash;into this dark&lt;br /&gt;
place! Author after author has written, all to tell&lt;br /&gt;
the same tale of wretched pay and immense sales.&lt;br /&gt;
Nay, in some cases, the greater the success the less&lt;br /&gt;
is the pay. Witness the case already quoted.&lt;br /&gt;
In token of the esteem in which the Society is&lt;br /&gt;
held by its writers, let me add a few words taken&lt;br /&gt;
from a letter written by one of the most charming&lt;br /&gt;
authors of the age. She says, advising a young&lt;br /&gt;
writer about the S.P.C.K. :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The Society, as a rule, makes books from&lt;br /&gt;
copyrights bought outright. It pays them best&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;If the work is not very good, their clientele is so&lt;br /&gt;
large that, with a smart binding, they can command&lt;br /&gt;
sufficient sale to save them from loss. If they are&lt;br /&gt;
fortunate enough to have caught a young genius,&lt;br /&gt;
their profits are very large. The profit of their&lt;br /&gt;
book trade is enormous &amp;quot;&mdash;we have seen what it is.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Their publications have not, however, stood high&lt;br /&gt;
as literature, which has led them to make great&lt;br /&gt;
efforts to secure writers of reputation, and as these will&lt;br /&gt;
not part with copyright, they, have to pay a royalty.&lt;br /&gt;
Your friend&amp;#039;s fate depends entirely on what she&lt;br /&gt;
can command. They are notoriously close-fisted,&lt;br /&gt;
and will not give her one farthing more than they can&lt;br /&gt;
help&amp;quot;&mdash;no question of justice and honesty, then?&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;And if they cannot afford to part with her, they&lt;br /&gt;
will give her anything she wants. If she thinks&lt;br /&gt;
her book likely to continue to sell for years, 1&lt;br /&gt;
advise her to try for the royalty system, but if not,&lt;br /&gt;
they have so many dodges for squeezing you at all&lt;br /&gt;
corners, and it is so difficult to get behind the&lt;br /&gt;
scenes, that I should think it better to struggle for&lt;br /&gt;
a good sum down.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
This is very pleasant reading. This is an ap-&lt;br /&gt;
preciation of the S.P.C.K.&mdash;to the &amp;quot;Literary&lt;br /&gt;
Handmaid of the Church &amp;quot;&mdash;by a woman of the&lt;br /&gt;
very highest character. I will not, in this place,&lt;br /&gt;
give her name.&lt;br /&gt;
Well, is there more to be said?&lt;br /&gt;
I pointed out in my pamphlet&mdash;and I repeat&lt;br /&gt;
here&mdash;that the sweater is one who, knov\ing before-&lt;br /&gt;
hand that he will make a great profit, pays only&lt;br /&gt;
what he must. The S.P.C.K., which nteci never&lt;br /&gt;
l 2&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 148 (#184) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
148&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
lose by a book&mdash;and knows beforehand, within&lt;br /&gt;
a few copies, the minimum of its sales&mdash;is proved&lt;br /&gt;
by the cases I have alleged and by the admissions&lt;br /&gt;
of the so-called Committee of Inquiry, to do&lt;br /&gt;
exactly for authors what the other sweater does&lt;br /&gt;
for needlewomen.&lt;br /&gt;
I pointed out in the pamphlet certain plain&lt;br /&gt;
broad principles of honest publishing. They are&lt;br /&gt;
not my invention. They are acted upon by every&lt;br /&gt;
honourable house; they are reduced to a system&lt;br /&gt;
in France. The Committee refuse so much as to&lt;br /&gt;
consider them. They say that &amp;quot;part of the pam-&lt;br /&gt;
phlet&amp;quot; is part of a controversy in which I have&lt;br /&gt;
long been engaged. It is not part of a contro-&lt;br /&gt;
versy. These principles have never formed part&lt;br /&gt;
of any controversy, because no honourable pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lisher has ever disputed them.&lt;br /&gt;
I pointed out that the S.P.C.K. frequently&lt;br /&gt;
followed the plan adopted by all sweating pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lishers, of carefully concealing the date of the book&lt;br /&gt;
and the number of the edition, so that the author&lt;br /&gt;
shall not learn his own popularity. No notice is&lt;br /&gt;
taken of this point.&lt;br /&gt;
I pointed out very carefully that the eighth Com-&lt;br /&gt;
mandment must be read with reference to literary&lt;br /&gt;
property. It must, by all honest men. The&lt;br /&gt;
Committee of Inquiry pass over this point. Why?&lt;br /&gt;
Can that also be part of a controversy with English&lt;br /&gt;
clergymen and gentlemen of honour?&lt;br /&gt;
I pointed out that their list of authors does not&lt;br /&gt;
include half-a-dozen authors of repute. I asked&lt;br /&gt;
why the best authors never go near the S.P.C.K.&lt;br /&gt;
The Committee of Inquiry give no answer. There&lt;br /&gt;
is no answer to give, except the answer that I sub-&lt;br /&gt;
mit, viz., that none who can escape the sweater&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
yoke submit to it of their own accord.&lt;br /&gt;
Had the Committee of Inquiry inquired at all,&lt;br /&gt;
they wouldhave foundoutthesecases for themselves.&lt;br /&gt;
But they have not. To inquire means taking&lt;br /&gt;
trouble; it also looks suspicious; and it needs a&lt;br /&gt;
clear head because of the dust that would be&lt;br /&gt;
thrown in their eyes. Such an inquiry would&lt;br /&gt;
reveal very startling things to those who understand&lt;br /&gt;
what is meant by honourable publishing.&lt;br /&gt;
So to all the real questions at issue, no answer.&lt;br /&gt;
What is an equitable division of profit between&lt;br /&gt;
author and publisher? No answer.&lt;br /&gt;
On what principles are their authors paid? No&lt;br /&gt;
answer.&lt;br /&gt;
How much his the Society made&mdash;profit, not&lt;br /&gt;
savings&mdash;out of the lady whose case was advanced?&lt;br /&gt;
No answer.&lt;br /&gt;
Why do the foremost living authors refuse to&lt;br /&gt;
enter their walls? No answer.&lt;br /&gt;
Why do the clergy themselves&mdash;those who are&lt;br /&gt;
leaders in literature&mdash;never go to the S.P.C.K.?&lt;br /&gt;
No answer.&lt;br /&gt;
Why do not the Bishops themselves&mdash;let me add&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;go to the Society of which they are Vice-Presi-&lt;br /&gt;
dents? To this question also there will be no&lt;br /&gt;
answer.&lt;br /&gt;
Now, if the Publication Committee dare to brave&lt;br /&gt;
a real inquiry, which (hey will not do unless it is&lt;br /&gt;
forced upon t/iem, I will tell the inquirers how to&lt;br /&gt;
set to work.&lt;br /&gt;
They must send in outside accountants&mdash;pro-&lt;br /&gt;
fessional accountants&mdash;who must be instructed to&lt;br /&gt;
proceed after a uniform method. This will be&lt;br /&gt;
quite simple.&lt;br /&gt;
They must construct a table as follows, and&lt;br /&gt;
fill it in.&lt;br /&gt;
first&lt;br /&gt;
itions&lt;br /&gt;
bpies&lt;br /&gt;
T3&lt;br /&gt;
6&lt;br /&gt;
1&lt;br /&gt;
aid to&lt;br /&gt;
the&lt;br /&gt;
er.&lt;br /&gt;
ook.&lt;br /&gt;
s&lt;br /&gt;
1&lt;br /&gt;
v&lt;br /&gt;
e&lt;br /&gt;
m&lt;br /&gt;
0&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;o .&lt;br /&gt;
O&lt;br /&gt;
N&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;amp;&lt;br /&gt;
J&lt;br /&gt;
unt p&lt;br /&gt;
thor.&lt;br /&gt;
ox&lt;br /&gt;
V&lt;br /&gt;
0 a&lt;br /&gt;
Title&lt;br /&gt;
Date&lt;br /&gt;
9&lt;br /&gt;
dl&lt;br /&gt;
JM&lt;br /&gt;
s&lt;br /&gt;
|J&lt;br /&gt;
0&lt;br /&gt;
! Profi&lt;br /&gt;
Pu&lt;br /&gt;
iss&lt;br /&gt;
d Q.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
6&amp;lt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;&lt;br /&gt;
The profit will be the difference between the cost&lt;br /&gt;
of production (including the author) and the sales.&lt;br /&gt;
That is publisher&amp;#039;s profit.&lt;br /&gt;
When this table is constructed, and not till then&lt;br /&gt;
will the true nature of the transactions of the&lt;br /&gt;
S.P.C.K. stand out revealed to the world. We&lt;br /&gt;
shall then understand to its full extent what can be&lt;br /&gt;
accomplished behind the shield of religion and&lt;br /&gt;
under the secrecy of books undated, editions un-&lt;br /&gt;
numbered, and accounts concealed.&lt;br /&gt;
W. B.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
AMERICAN LITERATURE IN&lt;br /&gt;
AMERICA.&lt;br /&gt;
IF we were to take any four consecutive numbers&lt;br /&gt;
of the Athenceum or Academy, and classify the&lt;br /&gt;
books reviewed, noticed, or announced in&lt;br /&gt;
those numbers, we should arrive at a pretty&lt;br /&gt;
accurate idea of the books published during these&lt;br /&gt;
four or five weeks. In the same way, if we take&lt;br /&gt;
four consecutive numbers of the Critic of New&lt;br /&gt;
York, we shall arrive at the books published in the&lt;br /&gt;
States during the same period. There are now&lt;br /&gt;
before us the numbers of that paper from August&lt;br /&gt;
16th to September 13th, but that for September&lt;br /&gt;
6th has somehow been mislaid. Let us see what&lt;br /&gt;
books are reviewed in these four numbers. The&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 149 (#185) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
149&lt;br /&gt;
titles are written in the order of the reviews and&lt;br /&gt;
notices as they come, and without any attempt at&lt;br /&gt;
classification.&lt;br /&gt;
Kipling&amp;#039;s Plain Tales of the Hills. Macmillan.&lt;br /&gt;
M. Conway Hawthorne. Great Writer Series. Walter&lt;br /&gt;
Scott. Lovell and Co.&lt;br /&gt;
Canadian and Australian Verse. Lovell and Co.&lt;br /&gt;
Cassell.&lt;br /&gt;
FitzGerald&amp;#039;s Omar Khayyam. Macmillan.&lt;br /&gt;
Mrs. McGahan&amp;#039;s Xenia Repnina. Routledge.&lt;br /&gt;
George Ohnet&amp;#039;s Pytre&amp;#039;s Soul. Cassell.&lt;br /&gt;
The Blind Men and the Devil. Lee and Shepard.&lt;br /&gt;
50 cents.&lt;br /&gt;
Smitten and Slain. Nelson and Co.&lt;br /&gt;
Blind Musician. Stepniak and Westall. Lovell and&lt;br /&gt;
Co.&lt;br /&gt;
Aline. Greville. Appleton. 50 cents.&lt;br /&gt;
A Smuggler&amp;#039;s Secret. Frank Barrett. Lovell and Co.&lt;br /&gt;
Ida. Mabel Collins. Lovell and Co.&lt;br /&gt;
Boston Unitarianism. Nottingham. G. P. Putnam&lt;br /&gt;
and Sons.&lt;br /&gt;
Defoe&amp;#039;s Complcat Gentleman, David Nutt.&lt;br /&gt;
Northern Studies. Edmund Gosse. Walter Scott.&lt;br /&gt;
Lovell and Co.&lt;br /&gt;
Hanley&amp;#039;s Views and Reviews. Scribner.&lt;br /&gt;
fava, the Pearl of the East. Houghton, Mifflin and&lt;br /&gt;
Co.&lt;br /&gt;
Drury&amp;#039;s Journal in Madagascar. Macmillan.&lt;br /&gt;
Sister Saint Sulpia. Valdes. Lovell and Co.&lt;br /&gt;
Guy de Maupassant. New Stories. Minerva Pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lishing Co.&lt;br /&gt;
Guy de Maupassant. Pierre et Jean. Routledge.&lt;br /&gt;
Stanley. In Darkest Africa. Sampson Low. Scribner.&lt;br /&gt;
Underwood&amp;#039;s Corean Dictionary. Randolph and Co.&lt;br /&gt;
Molee&amp;#039;s Pure Saxon English. Rand, McNalty and Co.&lt;br /&gt;
Hearne&amp;#039;s Youma. Harper and Bros.&lt;br /&gt;
Italian Characters. Martenengo Cesaresco. Scribner&lt;br /&gt;
and Welford.&lt;br /&gt;
Hall&amp;#039;s Society in the Elizabethan Age. Macmillan.&lt;br /&gt;
Harland&amp;#039;s Two Women or One. Cassell.&lt;br /&gt;
Bjomson&amp;#039;s In God&amp;#039;s Way. Gosse. Lovell and Co.&lt;br /&gt;
An Artist&amp;#039;s Heaven. Octave Feuillet. Cassell.&lt;br /&gt;
Written in Red. Cassell.&lt;br /&gt;
Were they Sinners? Authors&amp;#039; Publishing Co.&lt;br /&gt;
Vivien. Cassell.&lt;br /&gt;
Annie Edwardes&amp;#039; Pearl Poivder. Lippincott.&lt;br /&gt;
Mad. de Mauriscamp. O. Feuillet. Lippincott.&lt;br /&gt;
7ss Americains chez Eux. Paris Librairie de la Nouvelle&lt;br /&gt;
Reveu.&lt;br /&gt;
Fascimiles of MSS. relating to America. London.&lt;br /&gt;
Stevens.&lt;br /&gt;
Poetry. Three English and Three American Poets,&lt;br /&gt;
Foster&amp;#039;s Studies in Theology. Hunt and Eaton.&lt;br /&gt;
Kipling&amp;#039;s Phantom Rickshaw. Lovell.&lt;br /&gt;
Payn&amp;#039;s Burnt Million. Harper and Bros.&lt;br /&gt;
Throctmcnton. Seawell. Appleton.&lt;br /&gt;
Stead&amp;#039;s Passion Play. Merrill and Co.&lt;br /&gt;
Three novels from the French.&lt;br /&gt;
Here are forty-five books reviewed and noticed;&lt;br /&gt;
of these nine are French or translated from the&lt;br /&gt;
French, nine are American, the rest are all English.&lt;br /&gt;
Now it may be that at this time of year there are&lt;br /&gt;
fewer books of native production than earlier or&lt;br /&gt;
later. But what should we think were we to find&lt;br /&gt;
in an English review twenty-six books written by&lt;br /&gt;
Americans to nine written by Britons&mdash;a proportion&lt;br /&gt;
of one hundred to thirty-six, or nearly three to one?&lt;br /&gt;
This, then, is one result of the present system, and&lt;br /&gt;
a result which everybody can understand. The&lt;br /&gt;
American author is ousted and starved to make&lt;br /&gt;
room for the Englishman, who, poor wretch, is&lt;br /&gt;
starved although he is received.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
AN OLD MAN&amp;#039;S REJOINDER.&lt;br /&gt;
IN the domain of literature loftily considered&lt;br /&gt;
(an accomplished and veteran critic in his&lt;br /&gt;
just out work* now says), &amp;quot;the kingdom of&lt;br /&gt;
the Father has passed; the kingdom of the Son is&lt;br /&gt;
passing; the kingdom of the Spirit begins.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Leaving the reader to chew on and extract the&lt;br /&gt;
juice and meaning ot this, I will proceed to say in&lt;br /&gt;
melanged form what I have had brought out by the&lt;br /&gt;
English author&amp;#039;s essay (he discusses the poetic&lt;br /&gt;
art mostly) on my own, real, or by him supposed,&lt;br /&gt;
views and purports. If I give any answers to him,&lt;br /&gt;
or explanations of what my books intend, they will&lt;br /&gt;
be not direct but indirect and derivative. Of course&lt;br /&gt;
this brief jotting is personal. Something very like&lt;br /&gt;
querulous egotism and growling may break through&lt;br /&gt;
the narrative (for I have been and am rejected by&lt;br /&gt;
all the great magazines, carry now my 72nd&lt;br /&gt;
annual burden, and have been a paralytic for 18&lt;br /&gt;
years).&lt;br /&gt;
No great poem or other literary or artistic work&lt;br /&gt;
of any scope, old or new, can be essentially con-&lt;br /&gt;
sidered without weighing first the age, politics (or&lt;br /&gt;
want of politics) and aim, visible forms, unseen&lt;br /&gt;
soul, and current times, out of the midst of which&lt;br /&gt;
it rises and is formulated: as the Bible canticles&lt;br /&gt;
and their days and spirit&mdash;as the Homeric, or&lt;br /&gt;
Dante&amp;#039;s utterance, or Shakespeare&amp;#039;s, or the old&lt;br /&gt;
Scotch or Irish ballads, or Ossian, or Omar&lt;br /&gt;
Khayyam. So I have conceived and launched,&lt;br /&gt;
and worked for years at, my &amp;quot;Leaves of Grass&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;personal emanations only at best, but with&lt;br /&gt;
specialty of emergence and background &mdash; the&lt;br /&gt;
ripening of the nineteenth century, the thought and&lt;br /&gt;
fact and radiation individuality, of America, the&lt;br /&gt;
Secession war, and showing the democratic condi-&lt;br /&gt;
tions supplanting everything that insults them or&lt;br /&gt;
impedes their aggregate way. Doubtless my poems&lt;br /&gt;
illustrate (one of novel thousands to come for a&lt;br /&gt;
* Two new volumes, &amp;quot;Essays Speculative and Suggestive,&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
by John Addington Symonds. One of the Essays is on&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Democratic Art,&amp;quot; in which I and my books are largely&lt;br /&gt;
alluded to and cited ai d dissected. It is this part ot the&lt;br /&gt;
vols, that has caused the off-hand lines above&mdash;(first thank-&lt;br /&gt;
ing Mr. S. for his invariable courtesy of personal treatment).&lt;br /&gt;
The Essays are remarkably tine specimens of type, paper,&lt;br /&gt;
and press work&mdash;Chapman &amp;amp; Hall their English publishers&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;and jobbed here by Scribners, New York.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 150 (#186) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
long period) those conditions; but &amp;quot;democratic&lt;br /&gt;
art &amp;quot; will have to wait long before it is satisfactorily&lt;br /&gt;
formulated and defined&mdash;if it ever is.&lt;br /&gt;
I will now for one indicative moment lock horns&lt;br /&gt;
with what many think the greatest thing, the ques-&lt;br /&gt;
tion of art, so-called. I have not seen without&lt;br /&gt;
learning something therefrom, how, with hardly an&lt;br /&gt;
exception, the poets of this age devote themselves,&lt;br /&gt;
always mainly, sometimes altogether, to fine rhyme,&lt;br /&gt;
spicy verbalism, the fabric and cut of the garment,&lt;br /&gt;
jewelry, concetti, style, art. To-day these adjuncts&lt;br /&gt;
are certainly the effort, beyond all else. Yet the&lt;br /&gt;
lesson of Nature undoubtedly is, to proceed with&lt;br /&gt;
single purpose toward the result necessitated and&lt;br /&gt;
for which the time has arrived, utterly regardless&lt;br /&gt;
of the outputs of shape, appearance or criticism,&lt;br /&gt;
which are always left to settle themselves. T have&lt;br /&gt;
not only not bothered much about style, form, art,&lt;br /&gt;
etc., but confess to more or less apathy (I believe&lt;br /&gt;
I have sometimes caught myself in decided aver-&lt;br /&gt;
sion) toward them throughout, asking nothing of&lt;br /&gt;
them but negative advantages&mdash;that they should&lt;br /&gt;
never impede me, and never under any circum-&lt;br /&gt;
stances, or for their own purposes only, assume any&lt;br /&gt;
mastery over me.&lt;br /&gt;
From the beginning I have watched the sharp&lt;br /&gt;
and sometimes heavy and deep-penetrating objec-&lt;br /&gt;
tions and reviews against my work, and I hope&lt;br /&gt;
entertained and audited them (for I have probably&lt;br /&gt;
had an advantage in constructing from a central&lt;br /&gt;
and unitary principle since the first, but at long&lt;br /&gt;
intervals and stages&mdash;sometimes lapses of five or&lt;br /&gt;
six years, or peace or war). Ruskin, the English-&lt;br /&gt;
man, charges as a fearful and serious lack that my&lt;br /&gt;
poems have no humour. A profound German&lt;br /&gt;
critic complains that, compared with the luxuriant&lt;br /&gt;
and well-accepted songs of the world, there is about&lt;br /&gt;
my verse a certain coldness, severity, absence of&lt;br /&gt;
spice, polish, or of consecutive meaning and plot.&lt;br /&gt;
(The book is autobiographic at bottom, and maybe&lt;br /&gt;
I do not exhibit and make ado about stock pas-&lt;br /&gt;
sions: I am partly of Quaker stock.) Then E. C.&lt;br /&gt;
Steadman finds (or found) marked fault with me&lt;br /&gt;
because while celebrating the common people en&lt;br /&gt;
masse, I do not allow enough heroism and moral&lt;br /&gt;
merit and good intentions to the choicer classes,&lt;br /&gt;
the college-bred, the etat-major. It is quite&lt;br /&gt;
probable that S. is right in the matter. In the&lt;br /&gt;
main I myself look, and&amp;#039;have from the first looked,&lt;br /&gt;
to the bulky democratic torso of the United States&lt;br /&gt;
even for esthetic and moral attributes of serious&lt;br /&gt;
account&mdash;and refused to aim at or accept anything&lt;br /&gt;
less. If America is only for the rule and fashion&lt;br /&gt;
and small typicality of other lands (the rule of the&lt;br /&gt;
etat-major), it is not the land I take it for, and&lt;br /&gt;
should to-day feel that my literary aim and theory&lt;br /&gt;
had been blanks and misdirections. Strictly&lt;br /&gt;
judged, most modern poems are but larger or&lt;br /&gt;
smaller lumps of sugar, or slices of toothsome&lt;br /&gt;
sweetcake&mdash;even the banqueters dwelling on those&lt;br /&gt;
glucose flavours as a main part of the dish. Which&lt;br /&gt;
perhaps leads to something: to have great heroic&lt;br /&gt;
poetry we need great readers&mdash;a heroic appetite and&lt;br /&gt;
audience. Have we at present any such?&lt;br /&gt;
Then the thought at the centre, never too often&lt;br /&gt;
repeated. Boundless material wealth, free politi-&lt;br /&gt;
cal organization, immense geographic area, and&lt;br /&gt;
unprecedented &amp;quot;business&amp;quot; and products&mdash;even&lt;br /&gt;
the most active intellect and &amp;quot;culture &amp;quot;&mdash;-will not&lt;br /&gt;
place this Commonwealth of ours on the topmost&lt;br /&gt;
range of history and humanity&mdash;or any eminence&lt;br /&gt;
of &amp;quot; democratic art &amp;quot;&mdash;to say nothing of its pinnacle.&lt;br /&gt;
Only the production (and on the most copious&lt;br /&gt;
scale) of loftiest moral, spiritual and heroic&lt;br /&gt;
personal illustrations&mdash;a great native Literature&lt;br /&gt;
headed with a Poetry stronger and sweeter than&lt;br /&gt;
any yet. If there can be any such thing as a&lt;br /&gt;
kosmic modern and original song, America needs&lt;br /&gt;
it and is worthy of it.&lt;br /&gt;
In my opinion to-day what is meant through&lt;br /&gt;
civilized nations everywhere by the great words&lt;br /&gt;
Literature, Art, Religion, &amp;amp;c, with their conven-&lt;br /&gt;
tional administerers, stand squarely in the way of&lt;br /&gt;
what the vitalities of those great words signify,&lt;br /&gt;
more than they really prepare the soil for them, or&lt;br /&gt;
plant the seeds, or cultivate or garner the crop.&lt;br /&gt;
My own opinion has long been, that for New&lt;br /&gt;
World service our ideas of beauty (inherited from&lt;br /&gt;
the Greeks, and so on to Shakespeare&mdash;query&mdash;■&lt;br /&gt;
perverted from them?) need to be radically&lt;br /&gt;
changed, and made anew for to-day&amp;#039;s purposes and&lt;br /&gt;
finer standards. But if so, it will all come in due&lt;br /&gt;
time&mdash;the real change will be an autochthonic,&lt;br /&gt;
interior, constitutional, even local one, from which&lt;br /&gt;
our notions of beauty (lines and colours are won-&lt;br /&gt;
drous lovely, but character is lovelier) will branch&lt;br /&gt;
or offshoot.&lt;br /&gt;
So much have I now rattled off (old age&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
garrulity), that there is not space for explaining the&lt;br /&gt;
most important and pregnant principle of all, viz.:&lt;br /&gt;
that Art is one, is not partial, but includes all&lt;br /&gt;
times and forms and sorts&mdash;is not exclusively&lt;br /&gt;
aristocratic or democratic, or oriental or occi-&lt;br /&gt;
dental. My favourite symbol would be a good&lt;br /&gt;
font of type, where the impeccable long-primer&lt;br /&gt;
rejects nothing. Or the old Dutch flour-miller who&lt;br /&gt;
said, &amp;quot;I never bother myself what road the folks&lt;br /&gt;
come&mdash;I only want good wheat and rye.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
The font is about the same forever. Democratic&lt;br /&gt;
art results of the democratic development from&lt;br /&gt;
tinge, true nationality, belief, in the one setting up&lt;br /&gt;
from it.&lt;br /&gt;
Walt Whitman.&lt;br /&gt;
{In the New York Critic.)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 151 (#187) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
LEAFLET No. IV.&lt;br /&gt;
The Quarrels of Authors.&lt;br /&gt;
IT has been the melancholy privilege of authors,&lt;br /&gt;
for two hundred years at least, that everything&lt;br /&gt;
which fortune brings to them, whether good&lt;br /&gt;
or bad, shall sooner or later become known to&lt;br /&gt;
all the world This exclusive privilege will, there&lt;br /&gt;
is reason to believe, shortly be withdrawn from&lt;br /&gt;
them, partly because they have become too&lt;br /&gt;
numerous for its general exercise, and partly&lt;br /&gt;
because other people are beginning to think that&lt;br /&gt;
their own lives are quite as interesting as those&lt;br /&gt;
of authors. Hitherto people who are not authors&lt;br /&gt;
have been contented to sit down and endure in&lt;br /&gt;
silence. Think of what we know concerning&lt;br /&gt;
judges compared with what we know concerning&lt;br /&gt;
poets. Compare the personal interest attached&lt;br /&gt;
to the names of Erskine, Mansfield, VVedderburn,&lt;br /&gt;
with that which belongs to Pope, Dryden, Gold-&lt;br /&gt;
smith. Who wants to know how a Q.C. lives,&lt;br /&gt;
what letters he writes, what friendships and&lt;br /&gt;
enimities he makes? Who, again, cares for a&lt;br /&gt;
life of the ordinary physician? Yet quite small&lt;br /&gt;
authors find their biographers, and even when one&lt;br /&gt;
cannot reach the level which demands a special&lt;br /&gt;
biography, there are countless volumes of re-&lt;br /&gt;
miniscences, autobiographies, and memoirs which&lt;br /&gt;
serve to rescue the small fry from oblivion, and&lt;br /&gt;
set them once more talking and acting, writing,&lt;br /&gt;
feasting, and drinking for the admiration of pos-&lt;br /&gt;
terity.&lt;br /&gt;
The world, I believe, first began to like memoirs&lt;br /&gt;
of authors because they were the only articulate&lt;br /&gt;
creatures, and they naturally liked to talk about&lt;br /&gt;
themselves. Therefore the only memoirs were&lt;br /&gt;
those written by literary men. Then they have&lt;br /&gt;
always been such unlucky creatures&mdash;born with a&lt;br /&gt;
most splendid birthright, a noble inheritance, which&lt;br /&gt;
has always been snatched away from them. Their&lt;br /&gt;
very misfortunes have lent interest to their lives.&lt;br /&gt;
For another reason, their lives used to contain quan-&lt;br /&gt;
tities of letters, and there is no reading in the&lt;br /&gt;
world more delightful than the reading of letters.&lt;br /&gt;
Consider the tons of books written about authors,&lt;br /&gt;
the masses of recollections and memoirs of persons&lt;br /&gt;
connected with literature. The world reads all; it&lt;br /&gt;
makes little distinction; it receives the auto-&lt;br /&gt;
biography of Leigh Hunt with as much joy as&lt;br /&gt;
if it had been that of Shelley, and it devours&lt;br /&gt;
the Recollections of a Jerdan with as much avidity&lt;br /&gt;
as the Confessions of Rousseau.&lt;br /&gt;
The literary calling, chiefly owing to this readi-&lt;br /&gt;
ness of authors to talk and of the world to listen,&lt;br /&gt;
has been so fully illustrated that there seems&lt;br /&gt;
nothing new to be said about it. Within the&lt;br /&gt;
memory of man, however, a great change has&lt;br /&gt;
come over the profession. The Bohemian has&lt;br /&gt;
well-nigh disappeared; the author has become re-&lt;br /&gt;
spectable. He no longer thinks it due to the&lt;br /&gt;
profession that he should behave, even while he&lt;br /&gt;
is in the twenties, after the manner depicted by&lt;br /&gt;
Henri Miirger, or, when he is past the twenties,&lt;br /&gt;
like certain gentlemen of the pen in Thackeray&lt;br /&gt;
He is even, gradually and slowly, becoming a&lt;br /&gt;
man of business; He actually demands the audit&lt;br /&gt;
of his accounts, and he has begun to refuse&lt;br /&gt;
signing agreements unless he knows what they&lt;br /&gt;
mean. There are also signs that he is beginning&lt;br /&gt;
to give up his old bad habit of quarrelling with&lt;br /&gt;
his brother author. The last is a great step in&lt;br /&gt;
advance. When an author is no longer ready to&lt;br /&gt;
fall upon a rival writer; to overwhelm him with&lt;br /&gt;
contempt: to sting him with epigram, and be-&lt;br /&gt;
labour him with abuse, there will be the greater&lt;br /&gt;
hope of his rising to the level of acting with his&lt;br /&gt;
brother as one member of a profession acts with&lt;br /&gt;
another&mdash;for mutual protection and advantage.&lt;br /&gt;
Hitherto, it may fairly be said that in no other&lt;br /&gt;
profession has there ever been witnessed or allowed&lt;br /&gt;
such unbridled license, such unrestrained insolence&lt;br /&gt;
of speech, as has been claimed and practised by&lt;br /&gt;
literary men towards each other. No one can&lt;br /&gt;
even think of a barrister speaking of another&lt;br /&gt;
barrister in such terms as are still sometimes&lt;br /&gt;
used by one author speaking of another. Can we&lt;br /&gt;
understand the Law Times opening its columns to&lt;br /&gt;
a young barrister who desires to call his seniors&lt;br /&gt;
quacks in law and humbugs in oratory? Does&lt;br /&gt;
one physician charge another in the Lancet with&lt;br /&gt;
ignorance? Does one architect, in the organs of&lt;br /&gt;
that calling, accuse another of theft? No. He is&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 152 (#188) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
152&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
restrained, first by the unwritten law of the pro-&lt;br /&gt;
fession, which enjoins the outward signs of respect;&lt;br /&gt;
and next by the simple laws of good breeding,&lt;br /&gt;
which do not allow men always to tell each other&lt;br /&gt;
what they think. Why, some of the very best&lt;br /&gt;
things recorded of the &amp;quot;wits&amp;quot; are things which&lt;br /&gt;
in any other class would not be tolerated for a&lt;br /&gt;
moment. There is, one acknowledges with grati-&lt;br /&gt;
tude, a marked improvement of late years; yet&lt;br /&gt;
even now, every editor is quite ready to admit from&lt;br /&gt;
one literary man an attack upon another. It is not&lt;br /&gt;
many months ago that there appeared, in a monthly&lt;br /&gt;
magazine of high standing, an attack upon a living&lt;br /&gt;
author by another, so scurrilous, so virulent, so full&lt;br /&gt;
of rage and malice, that it ought to have been&lt;br /&gt;
brought into a High Court of Justice. But I&lt;br /&gt;
suppose it never occurred, either to the editor who&lt;br /&gt;
admitted this article, or to the man who wrote it,&lt;br /&gt;
that in no other profession would such an article&lt;br /&gt;
by one follower of the craft concerning another&lt;br /&gt;
have been admitted, and that a barrister would be&lt;br /&gt;
disbarred if he dared to write such a paper on&lt;br /&gt;
the professional character of another barrister.&lt;br /&gt;
In the old days literary men rejoiced and gloried&lt;br /&gt;
in giving pain; they killed each other if they could,&lt;br /&gt;
with abuse and contempt. They loved to dance&lt;br /&gt;
and jump upon another man simply because he&lt;br /&gt;
belonged to their own trade. The first reception&lt;br /&gt;
of Keats, Byron, and Tennyson is well known.&lt;br /&gt;
The savage ferocity of Macaulay remains gibbeted&lt;br /&gt;
in that volume of essays which every schoolboy&lt;br /&gt;
still gets for a prize. Nay, the old spirit is not yet&lt;br /&gt;
dead; it is only growing gradually disreputable.&lt;br /&gt;
Within the last twenty years we have seen actions&lt;br /&gt;
brought for libel by Charles Reade, George Augustus&lt;br /&gt;
Sala, Hepworth Dixon, Gilbert, Robert Buchanan,&lt;br /&gt;
Keith Johnston, William Black, and Whistler&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
there have probably been others. Mostly, the&lt;br /&gt;
libels which formed the cause of action were written&lt;br /&gt;
by literary men, and in some cases by well-known&lt;br /&gt;
literary men. Why? It is difficult to understand&lt;br /&gt;
the pleasure or the profit of inventing deliberately,&lt;br /&gt;
and then publishing, a malignant falsehood, con-&lt;br /&gt;
cerning a man who is not an enemy. Is it envy,&lt;br /&gt;
or is it sheer stupidity, or is it recklessness? Does&lt;br /&gt;
the writer desire to pose as a champion of virtue?&lt;br /&gt;
Possibly this desire has been generally the ruling&lt;br /&gt;
motive. Vanity is also probably a factor. It is&lt;br /&gt;
always grand to attack somebody ever so much&lt;br /&gt;
bigger than yourself. Thus, this Society is accus-&lt;br /&gt;
tomed to misrepresentation whenever the knavish&lt;br /&gt;
publisher or the sweater can find an agent. But it&lt;br /&gt;
was an author who wrote an article in the Contem-&lt;br /&gt;
porary, indignantly charging the Society with ad-&lt;br /&gt;
vocating the breaking of agreements&mdash;actually, the&lt;br /&gt;
breaking of agreements! What did he do it for?&lt;br /&gt;
Probably because it made him feel grand.&lt;br /&gt;
Are we to have no criticism, then? There is&lt;br /&gt;
plenty of room for real criticism: it exists already,&lt;br /&gt;
though, to be sure, not in large quantities. The&lt;br /&gt;
true critic&mdash;he also exists, but in small quantities&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
does not call names; he does not suggest motives;&lt;br /&gt;
he does not recklessly accuse of plagiarism; he&lt;br /&gt;
does not account for success by any but the real&lt;br /&gt;
reasons&mdash;especially that the author deserves success;&lt;br /&gt;
he neither down-cries, nor depreciates, nor mis-&lt;br /&gt;
represents. These arts he leaves for the baser sort.&lt;br /&gt;
One does not find the larger men playing the&lt;br /&gt;
part of defendants in libel suits brought by authors.&lt;br /&gt;
Can we imagine a case of Dickens v. Thackeray?&lt;br /&gt;
This is how it might be reported.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The defendant, a well known man of letters, has&lt;br /&gt;
recently written an anonymous critique, the author-&lt;br /&gt;
ship of which is not denied, on a certain work&lt;br /&gt;
by the plaintiff called Martin Chuzzlewit. In&lt;br /&gt;
this review he spoke of the writer as a creature&lt;br /&gt;
of low humour&mdash;rather of no humour at all;&lt;br /&gt;
he said that the characters are dragged out of the&lt;br /&gt;
gutter; that their language, their action, and their&lt;br /&gt;
manners are entirely in accordance with their&lt;br /&gt;
station in life, to which the author himself probably&lt;br /&gt;
belongs; that some of the scenes, especially&lt;br /&gt;
those in which a monthly nurse figures, are of a&lt;br /&gt;
revolting indecency; that the book is throughout&lt;br /&gt;
destitute of principle or honour; that the hero&lt;br /&gt;
is nothing but a penniless adventurer: that the&lt;br /&gt;
author laughs with wickedness and at morality; that&lt;br /&gt;
he goes so far as to deride, in the person of a&lt;br /&gt;
respectable undertaker, the solemnity and the awful-&lt;br /&gt;
ness of Death. . . . Counsel for the plaintiff, after&lt;br /&gt;
reading tiie reviewand dwelling on certain extractson&lt;br /&gt;
which his client based his case, pointed out that the&lt;br /&gt;
defendant was a rival of the plaintiff and jealous of&lt;br /&gt;
his superior fame. For the defence it was argued&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 153 (#189) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;gt;53&lt;br /&gt;
that authors are notoriously a highly sensitive set of&lt;br /&gt;
people; that they naturally hate and suspect each&lt;br /&gt;
other; and that the review was in every particular&lt;br /&gt;
justified in the interests of religion, morals, and&lt;br /&gt;
literature. The Judge summed up. . . . The&lt;br /&gt;
Jury, without leaving the box, accorded damages&lt;br /&gt;
of ,&pound;10,000. The defendant, a tall man with a&lt;br /&gt;
broken nose, appeared astonished at the verdict,&lt;br /&gt;
and left the court promising to make mincemeat of&lt;br /&gt;
his rival in spite of all the Courts in Christendom.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
The case reads prettily&mdash;but one feels that&lt;br /&gt;
Thackeray could not have been the defendant. It&lt;br /&gt;
is not every author, however, who tries to conduct&lt;br /&gt;
himself according to the laws of good breeding. Nor&lt;br /&gt;
is it every barrister&mdash;yet the barrister must, or else&lt;br /&gt;
the Benchers will speak seriously to him. Cannot&lt;br /&gt;
authors create a Bar of Opinion equally potent,&lt;br /&gt;
though it has no power to expel from a profession&lt;br /&gt;
which any may enter at any time or leave at any&lt;br /&gt;
time without asking permission? Can we not beg&lt;br /&gt;
them, while they are in it, to respect themselves&lt;br /&gt;
in respecting their fellow-workers?&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
EXAMINATION IN VANITY FAIR.&lt;br /&gt;
1. What do you know of Mary Box, of Mr.&lt;br /&gt;
Chopper (state his Christian name), of the Rev.&lt;br /&gt;
Silas Hornblower? Have you any later informa-&lt;br /&gt;
tion about this gentleman and his wife?&lt;br /&gt;
2. Where did Mr. James Crawley reside on the&lt;br /&gt;
first night of his arrival at Brighton? What favourite&lt;br /&gt;
accompanied him thither?&lt;br /&gt;
3. Who laid the odds, and what odds, against&lt;br /&gt;
Kangaroo? What charge of unsportsmanlike con-&lt;br /&gt;
duct was brought against Captain Rawdon Crawley?&lt;br /&gt;
4. State the second title in Lord Southdown&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
family.&lt;br /&gt;
5. Give the circumstances of Mrs. MajorO&amp;#039;Dowd&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
education. What was her favourite consolatory&lt;br /&gt;
reading?&lt;br /&gt;
6. Discuss the relations of Sir Pitt Crawley and&lt;br /&gt;
his tenantry, and state the results of Dr. Squills&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
conversation with Mr. Clump.&lt;br /&gt;
7. What did Miss Sharp call her maternal stock&lt;br /&gt;
before they were Montmorencys?&lt;br /&gt;
Andrew Lang {The Sign of the Ship).&lt;br /&gt;
Overheard outside the Senate House. &amp;quot;Scan-&lt;br /&gt;
dalous! Disgraceful! Couldn&amp;#039;t answer a single&lt;br /&gt;
question. We shall all be plucked. Like to set&lt;br /&gt;
the examiner to answer his own paper.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
A MODEL AGREEMENT.&lt;br /&gt;
WE have received from a member of the&lt;br /&gt;
Society one of the most delightful agree-&lt;br /&gt;
ments ever submitted to an author. We&lt;br /&gt;
hasten to submit it to our readers with a few words&lt;br /&gt;
of explanation. Here it is in brief:&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
Book. A demy 8vo. volume of 300 pages. Price,&lt;br /&gt;
1 of. 6d. Edition of 500 copies.&lt;br /&gt;
Author to give. (1) Whole copyright; i.e., to&lt;br /&gt;
part absolutely with his property. (2) Also to con-&lt;br /&gt;
tribute &pound;60 towards publishing. Certainly more&lt;br /&gt;
than enough to cover the whole necessary cost of&lt;br /&gt;
production.&lt;br /&gt;
Publisher to give. Royalty of 2/. 6d. a copy up&lt;br /&gt;
to 250, and 3-f. a copy afterwards.&lt;br /&gt;
What under the most favourable terms can the&lt;br /&gt;
author get?&lt;br /&gt;
Here is his account, supposing that all the copies&lt;br /&gt;
are sold :&mdash; jQ s d.&lt;br /&gt;
250 copies at 2s. 6d. ... 3150&lt;br /&gt;
194 &raquo; &amp;gt;, 3* 29 2 o&lt;br /&gt;
Press, 5&deg; &amp;quot;I _&lt;br /&gt;
Author, 6 J&lt;br /&gt;
&pound;60 7 o&lt;br /&gt;
So that for all his labour the author may, on the&lt;br /&gt;
most favourable circumstances, get a profit of 7*.!&lt;br /&gt;
What does the publisher get also under the most&lt;br /&gt;
favourable circumstances?&lt;br /&gt;
Here is the account:&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&pound; s- d.&lt;br /&gt;
Paid by author ... ... 60 o o&lt;br /&gt;
444 copies at 6s. a copy ... 133 4 o&lt;br /&gt;
&pound;i93 4 o&lt;br /&gt;
Whole cost of production, &pound; s. d.&lt;br /&gt;
including advertising, say 60 o o&lt;br /&gt;
Royalties to author... ... 60 7 o&lt;br /&gt;
Profit to publisher ... ... 7217 o&lt;br /&gt;
&pound;i93 4 o&lt;br /&gt;
So that if the book sells 500 copies, the publisher&lt;br /&gt;
will make a profit of j&pound;j2s. to 7*., or a proportion&lt;br /&gt;
of more than 200 : 1!!!!&lt;br /&gt;
But, it will be urged, he is taking a great risk;&lt;br /&gt;
he does not know how many he will sell. Why, it&lt;br /&gt;
is all profit to him, whether he sells few or many.&lt;br /&gt;
Let us suppose that he only sells 250. How&lt;br /&gt;
does the account stand then? It will be found&lt;br /&gt;
that the publisher has made a profit of &pound;41 odd&lt;br /&gt;
to the author&amp;#039;s loss of &pound;28 15^. Corrections are&lt;br /&gt;
here neglected, because there is a clause by which&lt;br /&gt;
the author is to be liable for all corrections above a&lt;br /&gt;
certain amount.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 154 (#190) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
154&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
A HARD CASE.&lt;br /&gt;
V.&lt;br /&gt;
Through a Literary Agent.&lt;br /&gt;
IN this hard case an author agreed to publish&lt;br /&gt;
a novel upon the following &amp;quot;advantageous&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
terms :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
a. The publisher was to take &amp;quot;all &amp;quot; the risk.&lt;br /&gt;
(3. The author was to pay him the trifling sum&lt;br /&gt;
of &pound;50 to help him support the same.&lt;br /&gt;
7. The author was to pay .&pound;21 as a reader&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
honorarium! Happy reader!&lt;br /&gt;
8. The clear profits were to be divided into&lt;br /&gt;
three equal shares, one of which was to accrue to&lt;br /&gt;
the author and the other two to the publisher.&lt;br /&gt;
c. The publisher was to take the copyright.&lt;br /&gt;
A literary agent, who also had to be paid by&lt;br /&gt;
somebody, introduced the author to the publisher.&lt;br /&gt;
Then the bill came in. Every item was ex-&lt;br /&gt;
cessive. The total cost of production as rendered&lt;br /&gt;
was .&pound;181 us. nd., inclusive of the enormous&lt;br /&gt;
reader&amp;#039;s fee, and an independent estimate shows&lt;br /&gt;
that 3,000 copies of the book could have been&lt;br /&gt;
produced and advertised for under &pound;100. The&lt;br /&gt;
work was stereotyped. About 800 copies seem to&lt;br /&gt;
have been sold, and these are set down as having&lt;br /&gt;
realized &pound;44 14^. 1 id., or 125a&amp;#039;. a copy. The sum&lt;br /&gt;
is arrived at in this way. The book was published&lt;br /&gt;
at 2s., but copies are accdunted for at trade price (in&lt;br /&gt;
accordance with the agreement), but 15 per cent,&lt;br /&gt;
of all receipts has been deducted by the publisher,&lt;br /&gt;
to justify which there is not a word in the agree-&lt;br /&gt;
ment.&lt;br /&gt;
The probability is that at this period matters&lt;br /&gt;
stood thus. The publisher had spent dn the pro-&lt;br /&gt;
duction of the book; if he produced 3,000 copies,&lt;br /&gt;
from &pound;90 to j&pound;loo. If he printed a smaller&lt;br /&gt;
edition, it would have cost rriuch less He had&lt;br /&gt;
received from the author &pound;50 towards the cost of&lt;br /&gt;
production, and from the public ^52 odd by sales.&lt;br /&gt;
He certainly was already not out of pocket. The&lt;br /&gt;
author was ,&pound;50 to the bad, and his chance of&lt;br /&gt;
obtaining his share of the clear profits is made&lt;br /&gt;
smaller by the fact that although the sales have&lt;br /&gt;
realized &pound;52, the publisher has pocketed 15 per&lt;br /&gt;
cent, of this unlawfully. The account, as rendered,&lt;br /&gt;
shows a loss on the transaction of &pound;86 17*., and&lt;br /&gt;
probably there has been really a gain of &pound;10.&lt;br /&gt;
It must be noted that if the whole edition&lt;br /&gt;
of 3,000 copies were sold at the ordinary trade&lt;br /&gt;
terms of 13 as 12 less 10 per cent, and the pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lisher then deducted 15 per cent, from the result,&lt;br /&gt;
there would only be about ^142 to place to the&lt;br /&gt;
credit of the book. Allowing that the book really&lt;br /&gt;
cost ,&pound;100 to produce, there would then only be&lt;br /&gt;
&pound;42 to divide between author and publisher. This&lt;br /&gt;
profit, according to the astounding terms of the&lt;br /&gt;
agreement, would be divided in the proportion&lt;br /&gt;
of three to one, the author taking the smaller share.&lt;br /&gt;
The most then that the author could possibly gain is&lt;br /&gt;
one-third of &pound;42&mdash;or &pound;14, if the whole edition sold.&lt;br /&gt;
Yet he is asked to pay &pound;50, any or all of which he&lt;br /&gt;
may lose.&lt;br /&gt;
This seems to us a particularly hard case, because&lt;br /&gt;
the author, so far from being careless, seems to have&lt;br /&gt;
made a very proper attempt to get good advice.&lt;br /&gt;
Feeling himself unable to understand the business&lt;br /&gt;
side of the transaction he employed an agent. But&lt;br /&gt;
what are we to say of the agent?&lt;br /&gt;
Imagine a man, whose business it is to know&lt;br /&gt;
what a publishing transaction really means, sanction-&lt;br /&gt;
ing for his client such downright enormities.&lt;br /&gt;
First, he allows the author to get one-third only&lt;br /&gt;
of the profits&mdash;that is disgraceful. Secondly, he&lt;br /&gt;
makes him risk jQ^o on the chance of winning&lt;br /&gt;
&pound;14, which is surely odds that no one expects a&lt;br /&gt;
comparatively unknown novelist to lay on&lt;br /&gt;
himself. Thirdly, he has so little idea of the proper&lt;br /&gt;
way to word an agreement that he allows the pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lisher to appropriate percentages to which he has no&lt;br /&gt;
shadow of right. Fourthly, he sanctions the swelling&lt;br /&gt;
of the cost of production by a monstrous fee of&lt;br /&gt;
twenty guineas, as a reader&amp;#039;s honorarium. Fifthly,&lt;br /&gt;
he is so satisfied with his handiwork that he assigns&lt;br /&gt;
the copyright to the publisher, so that in case the&lt;br /&gt;
book should be a success the wretched position&lt;br /&gt;
of the author throughout the first edition might&lt;br /&gt;
be maintained during the whole period of sale.&lt;br /&gt;
This is not the first occasion on which it has&lt;br /&gt;
been forcibly brought home to us that a literary&lt;br /&gt;
agent is not always the author&amp;#039;s best friend. Some-&lt;br /&gt;
times we think the agent has simply been an ass,&lt;br /&gt;
which is bad: but sometimes we think that he has&lt;br /&gt;
deliberately handed over the author for slaughter,&lt;br /&gt;
which is very bad indeed, seeing that he is occupy-&lt;br /&gt;
ing in the author&amp;#039;s mind the position of guide and&lt;br /&gt;
counsellor. Let authors understand that just as&lt;br /&gt;
there are doctors and doctors, lawyers and lawyers,&lt;br /&gt;
honest men and knaves, wise men and fools, com-&lt;br /&gt;
petent men and incompetent, so there may be&lt;br /&gt;
literary agents and literary agents&mdash;some competent&lt;br /&gt;
and some incompetent, some honest men and some&lt;br /&gt;
knaves. In the search for a Literary Agent it may&lt;br /&gt;
save some trouble to ask counsel of the Society.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 155 (#191) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
155&lt;br /&gt;
INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT.&lt;br /&gt;
WHATEVER may be the fate of the&lt;br /&gt;
Copyright Bill in Congress, it is plain&lt;br /&gt;
that the copyright cause has gained&lt;br /&gt;
greatly by the discussion of the last year. The&lt;br /&gt;
essential question was never so generally and&lt;br /&gt;
so well understood as now, and in its recent dis-&lt;br /&gt;
cussion there has been a refreshing persistence.&lt;br /&gt;
The old argument&mdash;the most ancient, if not the&lt;br /&gt;
most honourable veteran in a bad cause&mdash;that&lt;br /&gt;
there can be no property in an idea, has been&lt;br /&gt;
effectually disposed of. He appeared in Congress&lt;br /&gt;
with his familiar air of conclusiveness and the what-&lt;br /&gt;
do-you-say-to-that aspect with which he has bullied&lt;br /&gt;
his way through the debate for many a year. But&lt;br /&gt;
he has been neatly tripped and floored by Judge&lt;br /&gt;
Shipman, and will be henceforth only a crippled&lt;br /&gt;
pensioner upon good nature.&lt;br /&gt;
Nobody can say whether there can be property&lt;br /&gt;
in an idea; but whether there can be or not, an&lt;br /&gt;
idea can be made available only in a way in which&lt;br /&gt;
there can be property. The good cause has never&lt;br /&gt;
alleged any other kind of property, and that is the&lt;br /&gt;
form which the law concedes. Whether the law&lt;br /&gt;
concedes it as fairly and fully as it should is a&lt;br /&gt;
question, but there is rio question that it concedes&lt;br /&gt;
it.&lt;br /&gt;
The American law having granted to Americans&lt;br /&gt;
that kind of right, the right is not weakened or lost&lt;br /&gt;
by mixing it with different things. My diamond&lt;br /&gt;
does not cease to be mine and valuable to me&lt;br /&gt;
because you throw it among a heap of pebbles that&lt;br /&gt;
may be common property. The law says that the&lt;br /&gt;
form which I give an idea is my property, and it&lt;br /&gt;
does not cease to be so because the law does not&lt;br /&gt;
say that something else is property. It may in-&lt;br /&gt;
evitably follow that by acknowledging my right,&lt;br /&gt;
the law logically concedes that right in general.&lt;br /&gt;
But whether this follows or not, the law protects&lt;br /&gt;
my property in the form of my idea, and lays its&lt;br /&gt;
hand upon you if you do not respect my right.&lt;br /&gt;
You cannot take my diamond and make it yours&lt;br /&gt;
by placing it between two pebbles which the law&lt;br /&gt;
ought to say, but does not say, belongs to Others.&lt;br /&gt;
Even if the law gives you a pound of flesh, it gives&lt;br /&gt;
you no more and no less. Above all, not a single&lt;br /&gt;
drop of blood. Judge Shipman came evidently&lt;br /&gt;
from the School of Bellario. My diamond is mine,&lt;br /&gt;
says the law; and whoever takes it without my&lt;br /&gt;
permission is a-&mdash;conveyor, says the law, and the&lt;br /&gt;
judgment of the law is ratified in the higher court&lt;br /&gt;
of conscience and common sense.&lt;br /&gt;
The great present gain of the cause is that it has&lt;br /&gt;
been transferred to that higher court whose juris-&lt;br /&gt;
diction takes cognizance of moral convictions. A&lt;br /&gt;
moral right exists independent of law. Such, also,&lt;br /&gt;
is the quality of what is called natural rights.&lt;br /&gt;
Alexander Hamilton was the chief of pur practical&lt;br /&gt;
statesmen. But it was Hamilton who said that the&lt;br /&gt;
rights of human nature are written as with a sun-&lt;br /&gt;
beam on human consciousness. Among all lovers&lt;br /&gt;
of justice those rights exist, whether with law or&lt;br /&gt;
without it, and those lovers do not justify an evi-&lt;br /&gt;
dent wrong by the plea that no law forbids it. But&lt;br /&gt;
in truth the highest law forbids it. The absence&lt;br /&gt;
of good laws from the statute-book is as sig-&lt;br /&gt;
nificant as the presence of bad laws. Good sir,&lt;br /&gt;
do you justify the King of the Cannibal Islands for&lt;br /&gt;
dining upon your lamented grandfather because&lt;br /&gt;
there was no law of the islands that forbade it?&lt;br /&gt;
G. W. Curtis {Harpers)&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;SING A SONG FOR SIXPENCE.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
THE jackal sat up in a garret bare&lt;br /&gt;
And wrote in the midnight cold;&lt;br /&gt;
Undaunted though hunger and sickness&lt;br /&gt;
were&lt;br /&gt;
Sapping his spirit bold.&lt;br /&gt;
He penn&amp;#039;d for libeity, knowledge, and right&lt;br /&gt;
A song that will live for aye,&lt;br /&gt;
To be to the world a beacon of light&lt;br /&gt;
Until the perfect day.&lt;br /&gt;
The lion reclined in his easy chair,&lt;br /&gt;
And drain&amp;#039;d a bumper of wine,&lt;br /&gt;
As he read with cautious critical air&lt;br /&gt;
Each bright and burning line.&lt;br /&gt;
He read and shouted &amp;quot; A triumph I see!&lt;br /&gt;
I can easily make it go;&lt;br /&gt;
The fellow&amp;#039;s starving; he&amp;#039;ll sell it to me&lt;br /&gt;
For an odd pound or so.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
The poem came forth and the people read,&lt;br /&gt;
By thousands editions ran,&lt;br /&gt;
Till the hearts of all were stirr&amp;#039;d, and they said,&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Tell us who is this man;&lt;br /&gt;
Where dwelleth the poet that we may crown&lt;br /&gt;
With a world&amp;#039;s honour his head,&lt;br /&gt;
The people&amp;#039;s idol from monarch to clown?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Leo replied, &amp;quot; He is dead.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
W. R. Colles.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 156 (#192) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
156&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR&lt;br /&gt;
CORRESPONDENCE.&lt;br /&gt;
I&lt;br /&gt;
The following is from a well-known American&lt;br /&gt;
woman of letters. Her name is not appended&lt;br /&gt;
because she has not given permission to use it.&lt;br /&gt;
For the same reason the title of her work is sup-&lt;br /&gt;
pressed :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I have just finished reading a sketch of your&lt;br /&gt;
Society of Authors, and I feel such a deep and per-&lt;br /&gt;
sonal interest in it that I must write to you at once.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I have tried in vain to arouse our women to&lt;br /&gt;
action in the very line which you have so success-&lt;br /&gt;
fully adopted. Three years since, we proposed&lt;br /&gt;
an Authors&amp;#039; Club of Women, similar to the one my&lt;br /&gt;
life-long friend, Dr. Holmes, has presided over,&lt;br /&gt;
but the women did not respond with enthusiasm.&lt;br /&gt;
I have worked for years quietly and almost alone,&lt;br /&gt;
hoping some day to have leisure to do what you&lt;br /&gt;
have done. I have been defrauded and insulted&lt;br /&gt;
by publishers, and calmly told that they had made&lt;br /&gt;
thousands of dollars out of my work, and it is in&lt;br /&gt;
constant demand. Last Christmas a Boston firm&lt;br /&gt;
published a book with my name on the ewer with-&lt;br /&gt;
out my knowledge or consent. It was sold far and&lt;br /&gt;
wide to my own friends, and liberally advertised with&lt;br /&gt;
my name. When I called upon them for redress&lt;br /&gt;
they denied having injured me, and I had no money&lt;br /&gt;
with which to bring a suit.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Other publishers said it was shameful, &amp;#039;but the&lt;br /&gt;
firm was rich, and would fight me cruelly if I at-&lt;br /&gt;
tempted to obtain justice.&amp;#039; You can never under-&lt;br /&gt;
stand the burning indignation with which I listened&lt;br /&gt;
to the robber who said, &amp;#039;Oh! yes, I used your&lt;br /&gt;
name because it was the strongest to carry the&lt;br /&gt;
book, you know.&amp;#039; Had I belonged to a Society,&lt;br /&gt;
then, which would stand behind me, he would not&lt;br /&gt;
have dared so to insult and to rob me.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
No&mdash;he certainly would not. In this country&lt;br /&gt;
things pretty bad are attempted, and very often&lt;br /&gt;
carried out, but to advertise a book as by a certain&lt;br /&gt;
well-known author, and to sell it anywhere with&lt;br /&gt;
that pretence, would be very soon set right. But&lt;br /&gt;
why does not the Authors&amp;#039; Club of New York take&lt;br /&gt;
up a thing of this kind? Is there no sense of&lt;br /&gt;
justice in the States at all? Will honourable men&lt;br /&gt;
sit down and suffer such a thing to be done? This&lt;br /&gt;
rascally firm of liars and robbers would fight the&lt;br /&gt;
poor lady &amp;quot; cruelly &amp;quot; if she dared to bring an action.&lt;br /&gt;
Are there no good men and true who will band&lt;br /&gt;
together and fight the firm &amp;quot;cruelly&amp;quot;? We are&lt;br /&gt;
accustomed to be robbed in the States; we are&lt;br /&gt;
aliens there; we have no rights; but here is an&lt;br /&gt;
American lady &mdash;she is foully injured by having a&lt;br /&gt;
Thing labelled with her name and sold as her work,&lt;br /&gt;
and she can get no redress!&lt;br /&gt;
II&lt;br /&gt;
An Authors&amp;#039; Club.&lt;br /&gt;
Sir,&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
In your September number the question is asked&lt;br /&gt;
whether it would be possible for us or better for us&lt;br /&gt;
to meet in any other way than at an annual dinner.&lt;br /&gt;
As one of your original members, who has attended&lt;br /&gt;
all its functions, may I be permitted to remark that&lt;br /&gt;
they are not satisfying&mdash;at least to the soul?&lt;br /&gt;
Like Oliver Twist, one feels a desperate desire to&lt;br /&gt;
get up and &amp;quot;ask for more.&amp;quot; And, sir, I doubt&lt;br /&gt;
whether a conversazione would satisfy this craving&lt;br /&gt;
for professional companionship. These occasions&lt;br /&gt;
would, no doubt, be useful, from a disciplinary&lt;br /&gt;
point of view, but so far as my experience of&lt;br /&gt;
gatherings of the kind extends, one always finds&lt;br /&gt;
those one wanted to meet, &amp;quot;unavoidably absent.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
A proposal was made in your pages some time ago&lt;br /&gt;
of founding an &amp;quot;Authors&amp;#039; Club,&amp;quot; and I hope that it&lt;br /&gt;
will not be allowed to drop, for it seems to me that&lt;br /&gt;
it would meet the want which is admitted to exist.&lt;br /&gt;
VVill it be believed, that in days when we hear&lt;br /&gt;
so much of &amp;quot;Literary London,&amp;quot; there is not a&lt;br /&gt;
single institution which encourages social inter-&lt;br /&gt;
course between men and women of letters? There&lt;br /&gt;
are more or less literary clubs enough and to spare,&lt;br /&gt;
but I am not aware that ladies are admitted to&lt;br /&gt;
any of these. Considerable financial difficulties are&lt;br /&gt;
generally encountered in starting a club on tra-&lt;br /&gt;
ditional lines, but if we began modestly with only&lt;br /&gt;
a few rooms, it would be better than nothing, and&lt;br /&gt;
would give people who only meet at &amp;quot; crushes &amp;quot; and&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;functions &amp;quot; an opportunity of seeing one another&lt;br /&gt;
informally and of exchanging ideas. If such an&lt;br /&gt;
attempt met with a reasonable amount of support&lt;br /&gt;
it would be a comparatively simple matter to develop&lt;br /&gt;
it to any extent.&lt;br /&gt;
A Member.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
QUERIES.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I find among certain books which have come&lt;br /&gt;
into my possession one entitled &amp;#039;The Life and&lt;br /&gt;
Entertaining Adventures of Mr. Cleveland, Natural&lt;br /&gt;
Son of Oliver Cromwell, written by himself.&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
My copy is the second edition in three volumes,&lt;br /&gt;
printed for T. Astley at the Rose in St. I&amp;#039;aul&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
Churchyard, 1741. The first edition, as stajgd&lt;br /&gt;
on the title-page, was in five volumes. Can anyone&lt;br /&gt;
tell me whether there is any foundation in fact for&lt;br /&gt;
this work? Was there a natural son of Oliver&lt;br /&gt;
Cromwell?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The Author is not a mathematical paper, but&lt;br /&gt;
I venture to send it a kind of mathematical&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 157 (#193) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
157&lt;br /&gt;
question. It was suggested by a remark in the&lt;br /&gt;
Saturday Review. How did they carry on the&lt;br /&gt;
processes of multiplication, division, addition, and&lt;br /&gt;
subtraction with Roman numerals? For instance,&lt;br /&gt;
how did they multiply mdcccxc by lvh? And&lt;br /&gt;
how did they divide mcxlviii by vm?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Can you tell me who wrote [the following&lt;br /&gt;
lines, and where the rest of the poem may be&lt;br /&gt;
found? My husband has had the lines in his&lt;br /&gt;
possession for nearly fifty years. He believes them&lt;br /&gt;
to be modern Latin&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Siderum claros imitata vultus&lt;br /&gt;
Quid lates dudum, Rosa? Delicatum&lt;br /&gt;
Effer e terris caput, O tepentis&lt;br /&gt;
Filia cceli!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
The same lady suggests that in cases where a&lt;br /&gt;
lady is a Professor, a Doctor, or any other profes-&lt;br /&gt;
sion, the German termination&mdash;inn&mdash;might save a&lt;br /&gt;
good deal of awkwardness. For instance, instead&lt;br /&gt;
of saying Mrs. Doctor Garratt Anderson, we should&lt;br /&gt;
say Doctorinn Garratt Anderson. Perhaps the&lt;br /&gt;
suggestion is worth taking up.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Was Browning&amp;#039;s Poem, &amp;#039;How they brought the&lt;br /&gt;
good news to Ghent,&amp;#039; inspired by Turpin&amp;#039;s Ride?&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Browning once told me in conversation that he&lt;br /&gt;
frequently received letters asking him on what&lt;br /&gt;
incident or event in Flemish History the Ride was&lt;br /&gt;
founded, and declared that it was not based on&lt;br /&gt;
any.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;A monk made a bargain with the Devil.&lt;br /&gt;
The latter was to pay all the former&amp;#039;s debts,&lt;br /&gt;
in return for which he was to have the monk&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
soul. The Devil duly fulfilled his part of the&lt;br /&gt;
bargain, paid off every liability to the last far-&lt;br /&gt;
thing, and came to claim the other part. &amp;#039;Not so&lt;br /&gt;
fast,&amp;#039; said the monk. &amp;#039;You were first to pay off&lt;br /&gt;
all my debts. You now say that I owe you my&lt;br /&gt;
soul. I cannot allow your claim, because, if I am&lt;br /&gt;
indebted to you for my soul, I am not yet clear&lt;br /&gt;
from debt, and you have no claim.&amp;#039;&amp;quot; Where does&lt;br /&gt;
this story occur?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
DREAMS AND THE IMAGINATION.&lt;br /&gt;
THE following questions have been drawn up&lt;br /&gt;
by Mr. James Sully (author of &amp;quot;Pes-&lt;br /&gt;
simism,&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Outlines of Psychology,&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Illusions,&amp;quot; &amp;amp;c, &amp;amp;c.) and sent by him to writers,&lt;br /&gt;
especially those who deal with imaginative and&lt;br /&gt;
creative work. The collection of trustworthy infor-&lt;br /&gt;
mation on this subject is of the greatest import-&lt;br /&gt;
ance, and therefore all our members are invited to&lt;br /&gt;
reply to the circular, even though they have not&lt;br /&gt;
received one from Mr. Sully direct. His address&lt;br /&gt;
is East Heath Road, Hampstead. All the replies&lt;br /&gt;
will be received and treated as confidential; they&lt;br /&gt;
will, however, be used as materials by him in the&lt;br /&gt;
scientific work in which he is engaged.&lt;br /&gt;
1. Do you frequently dream?&lt;br /&gt;
2. How would you describe your dreams? Are&lt;br /&gt;
they distinct and elaborate, or shadowy and&lt;br /&gt;
incohate? Do visual imagery and language&lt;br /&gt;
(whether heard merely or spoken) play an equally&lt;br /&gt;
prominent part in your dreams? Are they in&lt;br /&gt;
general characterized by some particular emotional&lt;br /&gt;
effect, as terrifying, romantically lovely, humorous,&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;amp;c?&lt;br /&gt;
3. Are you able to exert any volitional control&lt;br /&gt;
over your dreams? More particularly can you&lt;br /&gt;
prolong a dream when you wish to do so, and can&lt;br /&gt;
you afterwards pick up the thread of a dream and&lt;br /&gt;
continue it?&lt;br /&gt;
4. Besides dreams proper during sleep (com-&lt;br /&gt;
plete or partial) are you in the habit of developing&lt;br /&gt;
visions in your waking hours by gazing into the fire,&lt;br /&gt;
closing your eyes, or otherwise?&lt;br /&gt;
5. Have you for longer or for shorter periods&lt;br /&gt;
been subject to illusions of sight or of hearing?&lt;br /&gt;
If so, can you point out the circumstances which&lt;br /&gt;
appear to favour their appearance?&lt;br /&gt;
6. When intently occupied with imaginative&lt;br /&gt;
work, are you aware of a muffling of the senses as&lt;br /&gt;
during the visionary state? Do the pictures that&lt;br /&gt;
come before you at such a time resemble in their&lt;br /&gt;
distinctness, vividness, and suddenness of presenta-&lt;br /&gt;
tion, dreams and visions?&lt;br /&gt;
7. Can you trace in your case any connection&lt;br /&gt;
between the process of dreaming and that of&lt;br /&gt;
artistic creation? For example&mdash;(a) Do you find&lt;br /&gt;
that you dream more (or less) when busily occupied&lt;br /&gt;
in some imaginative work? (fi) Has the habit of&lt;br /&gt;
dreaming increased since you took to fiction?&lt;br /&gt;
(c) Did the faculty of weaving stories grow out of&lt;br /&gt;
the childish habit of conjuring up faces in the fire&lt;br /&gt;
or other form of day-dreaming? (d) Have you&lt;br /&gt;
made any use of dreams or visions in inventing&lt;br /&gt;
your stories?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 158 (#194) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
153&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;THE AUTHORS&amp;#039; MANUAL.&amp;quot;*&lt;br /&gt;
THIS book is noticed here in order to em-&lt;br /&gt;
phasize the fact that the Society has had&lt;br /&gt;
nothing to do with it. Let our readers&lt;br /&gt;
make a note of this fact. Let them next make a&lt;br /&gt;
note of the fact that, although there is in this&lt;br /&gt;
small volume information&mdash;various and mostly use-&lt;br /&gt;
less&mdash;concerning musical criticism, Volupuk (sic),&lt;br /&gt;
the comic papers, Appuleins (sic), deipnosophy, and&lt;br /&gt;
the works of Mr. John Dawson, there is nothing in&lt;br /&gt;
it discoverable that seems likely to be of any real&lt;br /&gt;
service to authors. Indeed, it seems that the book&lt;br /&gt;
might as well have been called a manual for wire-&lt;br /&gt;
drawers, or arch-dukes, so little practical good cap&lt;br /&gt;
it be to the real author.&lt;br /&gt;
To Mr. Percy Russell, who, it must be added, is&lt;br /&gt;
the author of &amp;quot;King Alfred,&amp;quot; &amp;quot;After this Life,&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;A Journey to Lake Taupo,&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Australian Tales&lt;br /&gt;
and Sketches,&amp;quot; and of &amp;quot;A Manual of Litera-&lt;br /&gt;
ture,&amp;quot; published by the defunct London Literary&lt;br /&gt;
Society, &amp;quot;it has always seemed that the whole&lt;br /&gt;
art of right reviewing lies in this little formula&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
find out what the book says and how it says it.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Now his book, like the walrus, talks of many&lt;br /&gt;
things. In it the reporter is encouraged to attempt&lt;br /&gt;
to master &amp;quot;a reportorial style,&amp;quot; which &amp;quot;cannot be&lt;br /&gt;
acquired in a few months&amp;quot;; the paragraphist is&lt;br /&gt;
exhorted to his own self to be true; and an&lt;br /&gt;
example of style and truth is given in a paragraph&lt;br /&gt;
from the pen of Mr. Percy Russell, which appeared&lt;br /&gt;
in, and was paid for by The North Times, and was&lt;br /&gt;
derived from Whittaker&amp;#039;s Almanac and an Ency-&lt;br /&gt;
clopedia.&lt;br /&gt;
The aspirant to leader-writing obtains more&lt;br /&gt;
practical aid, for he is presented, presumably from&lt;br /&gt;
the author&amp;#039;s Commonplace Book, with some pithy&lt;br /&gt;
sayings with which to begin his leader. And here&lt;br /&gt;
they are, &amp;quot;As Lucian says in one of his famous&lt;br /&gt;
dialogues&mdash;The beginning is indeed half of the&lt;br /&gt;
whole.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Voltaire in one of his most satirical&lt;br /&gt;
moods asserts,&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;Sydney Smith has a story.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
An aspirant thus armed with apt reference to the&lt;br /&gt;
classics, to French, and to Sydney Smith ought,&lt;br /&gt;
certainly, to go far.&lt;br /&gt;
The Editor and the Sub-Editor, who receive&lt;br /&gt;
counsel, as well as the journalist and the author,&lt;br /&gt;
arc urged to make their copy fit their columns, a&lt;br /&gt;
thing which it is obvious was not likely to have&lt;br /&gt;
occurred to them, until they saw its convenience&lt;br /&gt;
recommended in a Manual. Mr. Percy Russell&lt;br /&gt;
calls attention to &amp;quot;the complete parallelism that&lt;br /&gt;
* &amp;quot;The Authors&amp;#039; Manual,&amp;quot; a complete and practical guide&lt;br /&gt;
to all branches of literary work, by Percy Russell. London,&lt;br /&gt;
Digby and Long, Publishers, l8, Bouverie Street, Fleet&lt;br /&gt;
Street, E.C.&lt;br /&gt;
exists between the advice given,&amp;quot; in his Manuali&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;and the things to be done.&amp;quot; This appears to&lt;br /&gt;
mean that when he has presented the reader with&lt;br /&gt;
a precept, he will follow it with an example. Here&lt;br /&gt;
is the example, given by him for the use of editors,&lt;br /&gt;
to illustrate the right way to make copy fit. The&lt;br /&gt;
original sentence runs thus :&mdash;&amp;quot; There are poems&lt;br /&gt;
which the world will not willingly let die, and which&lt;br /&gt;
will endure long after the dismal caterwaulings of&lt;br /&gt;
the &amp;#039;life-not-worth-living&amp;#039; school are buried in&lt;br /&gt;
oblivion.&amp;quot; This, we are told, should, if necessary,&lt;br /&gt;
and exasperating&lt;br /&gt;
V .&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
be edited into &amp;quot;long after the dismal ^ caterwaul-&lt;br /&gt;
palpably insincere and childish&lt;br /&gt;
1 ,&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
ings of the X &amp;#039;life-not-worth-living&amp;#039; school of&lt;br /&gt;
contemporary pessimist well-merited&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;gt; , 1 1 ^ 1&lt;br /&gt;
X are buried in oblivion.&amp;quot; When Mr.&lt;br /&gt;
Russell says this is not a very good example, no&lt;br /&gt;
one is likely to contradict him.&lt;br /&gt;
The second part of &amp;quot;The Authors&amp;#039; Manual &amp;quot; is&lt;br /&gt;
concerned with book-literature, and tells us of&lt;br /&gt;
ballads (&amp;quot;not to be confounded with ballades&amp;quot;)&lt;br /&gt;
of blank verse, as distinguished from poetry and&lt;br /&gt;
the &amp;quot; Iliad,&amp;quot; of punctuation, and of making a name&lt;br /&gt;
in Literature. This last heading seems to make it&lt;br /&gt;
clear that for &amp;quot;The Authors&amp;#039; Manual &amp;quot;we should&lt;br /&gt;
read &amp;quot;The Aspirants&amp;#039; Manual,&amp;quot; and in a chapter&lt;br /&gt;
on &amp;quot;Proof-reading&amp;quot; we find a really sensible piece&lt;br /&gt;
of advice to the aspirant. It is &amp;quot; If you want to be&lt;br /&gt;
paid, say so.&amp;quot; It only remains for Mr. Russell to&lt;br /&gt;
inform the aspirant what he is to do when he has&lt;br /&gt;
said it, and when he cannot get the money. Of&lt;br /&gt;
course authors who are no longer aspirants con-&lt;br /&gt;
tinue on the rare occasions where they take money&lt;br /&gt;
for their works, to warn these publishers before-&lt;br /&gt;
hand. Many people used to say it to the &amp;quot;London&lt;br /&gt;
Literary Society&amp;quot; constantly, with the result that&lt;br /&gt;
they don&amp;#039;t get it, and they keep on saying it with&lt;br /&gt;
the same result to those upon whom the mantle of&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Playster Steeds has fallen.&lt;br /&gt;
S. S. Sprigge.&lt;br /&gt;
AT WORK.&lt;br /&gt;
This column is reserved entirely for Members of the Society,&lt;br /&gt;
who are invited to ktvp the Editor acquainted with their&lt;br /&gt;
work and engagements.&lt;br /&gt;
MISS ESME STUART&amp;#039;S novel, &amp;quot;Kestell of Grey-&lt;br /&gt;
stone,&amp;quot; 3 vols., which has been running through&lt;br /&gt;
All the YearHound, will be published immediately&lt;br /&gt;
by Hurst and Blackett.&lt;br /&gt;
Professor Max Miiller is preparing a new and completely&lt;br /&gt;
revised edition of his &amp;quot;Lectures on the Science of Language.&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
This new edition, the fifteenth in England, will have a new&lt;br /&gt;
title, &amp;quot; Science of Language, founded on Lectures delivered&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 159 (#195) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
159&lt;br /&gt;
at the Royal Institution in 1861 and 1863.&amp;quot; The stereotype&lt;br /&gt;
plates from which the later editions were printed have been&lt;br /&gt;
broken up. Large portions have been omitted, new chapters&lt;br /&gt;
have been added, and much has been rewritten. The new&lt;br /&gt;
work will contain 400 pages more than the last edition of&lt;br /&gt;
the Lectures. A German translation of it will be published&lt;br /&gt;
by Engelmann, at Leipzig.&lt;br /&gt;
The editor of Ruskin&amp;#039;s poems is Mr. W. G. Collinwood.&lt;br /&gt;
It is expected that the poems, which include a great many&lt;br /&gt;
hitherto unpublished, will take three volumes.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Thoth,&amp;quot; Prof. Nicholson&amp;#039;s romance, the predecessor of&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Toxar,&amp;quot; has been translated into German.&lt;br /&gt;
The authorised life of Ibsen, by Henrik Jager, will ap])ear&lt;br /&gt;
shortly in an English version. The poetical quotations have&lt;br /&gt;
been translated from the Norwegian by Mr. Edmund&lt;br /&gt;
Gosse.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Douglas Sladen, having spent six months in Japan, is&lt;br /&gt;
contributing a series of illustrated articles on that country to&lt;br /&gt;
the San Francisco Chronicle.&lt;br /&gt;
One of our members, who modestly hides himself under&lt;br /&gt;
the initials of X. L.&mdash;perhaps a certain story called Aiit&lt;br /&gt;
Diabolus aul nullus may be renienbered in Blackivood with&lt;br /&gt;
these letters appended&mdash;has written a one act comedy drama,&lt;br /&gt;
which he calls &amp;quot; It was a Dream.&amp;quot; It was originally written&lt;br /&gt;
in French, and under the name of &amp;quot; La Fin du Bonheur&amp;quot; was&lt;br /&gt;
actually accepted by the Comtdie Francaisc. It has been&lt;br /&gt;
produced with great success by Mr. Kendal at Birmingham,&lt;br /&gt;
and is intended for his strongest piece in his American tour.&lt;br /&gt;
Dr. W. H. Besant has in the press a new edition&mdash;the fifth&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
of &amp;quot;Hydromechanics,&amp;quot; Part I, and also solutions of the&lt;br /&gt;
examples in his &amp;quot;Elementary Hydrostatics.&amp;quot; These books&lt;br /&gt;
will be ready about the end of the year.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Hume Nisbet will publish shortly, &amp;quot; The Black Drop&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
(Trischler and Co.), &amp;quot;A Colonial Tramp&amp;quot; (Ward and&lt;br /&gt;
Downey), and &amp;quot;Bail up; a Romance of Bushrangers and&lt;br /&gt;
Blacks &amp;quot; (Chatto and Windus). The second of these works&lt;br /&gt;
is illustrated by the author.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. P. H. Emerson, author of &amp;quot; Pictures of East Anglian&lt;br /&gt;
Life,&amp;quot; &amp;quot;English Idyls,&amp;quot; &amp;quot; Idyls of the Norfolk Broads,&amp;quot; &amp;amp;c,&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;amp;c, announces &amp;quot;Wild Life on a Tidal Water&amp;quot; (Messrs.&lt;br /&gt;
Sampson Low and Co.), with 30 Photo-Etchings by the&lt;br /&gt;
author and T. F. Goodall, joint authors of &amp;quot;Life and&lt;br /&gt;
Landscape on the Norfolk Broads.&amp;quot; The price to Sub&lt;br /&gt;
scribers of the Edition de Luxe will be &pound;2 12s. 6d., and&lt;br /&gt;
after publication the price will be raised to &pound;i y. The&lt;br /&gt;
ordinary edition is limited to 1,000 num!&amp;gt;ered opies for&lt;br /&gt;
Great Britain, and 250 for America. The price to sub-&lt;br /&gt;
scribers will be ,&pound; I is., and after publication the price will&lt;br /&gt;
be raised to &pound;1 $s.&lt;br /&gt;
Mrs. Lovett Cameron&amp;#039;s new novel, entitled &amp;quot;Jack&amp;#039;s Secret,&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
which has been running as a serial in Belgrama, will l&amp;gt;e pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lished early in November. The same author announces to&lt;br /&gt;
appear soon, one of the short-long stories which form the&lt;br /&gt;
principal feature of Lifpincott&amp;#039;s Magazine.&lt;br /&gt;
A new volume by Mr. J. E. Gore, F.R.A.S., entitled&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Astronomical Lessons, or Chapters on the Elementary&lt;br /&gt;
Principles and Facts of Astronomy,&amp;quot; is in the Press, and will&lt;br /&gt;
shortly be published by Messrs. Roper and Drowley, of II,&lt;br /&gt;
Ludgate Hill.&lt;br /&gt;
Mrs. E. M. Edmonds will contribute an English edition&lt;br /&gt;
of the &amp;quot;Autobiography of Kolokotrenes,&amp;quot; with an historical&lt;br /&gt;
introduction on the Klephts for Mr. Fisher Unwin&amp;#039;s &amp;quot;Adven-&lt;br /&gt;
ture Series.&amp;quot; A biography of Rhigas, the Protomartyr of&lt;br /&gt;
Greece (Longman), has already shown the author&amp;#039;s know-&lt;br /&gt;
ledge of kindred subjects. [We regret that when this book&lt;br /&gt;
was first announced the title should have been misprinted.]&lt;br /&gt;
I. H. Leney has just issued &amp;quot;Shadowland in Elian Vannin;&lt;br /&gt;
or, Folk Tales of the Isle of Man.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Professor Skeat has completed his shilling edition of&lt;br /&gt;
Chaucer&amp;#039;s &amp;quot;Prologue to the Canterbury Tales&amp;quot; for the&lt;br /&gt;
Clarendon Press.&lt;br /&gt;
The second volume of Professor Skeat&amp;#039;s &amp;quot;Principles of&lt;br /&gt;
English Etymology &amp;quot; is far advanced, and will shortly appear.&lt;br /&gt;
It deals with the &amp;quot;foreign element&amp;quot; of English, especially&lt;br /&gt;
with words of Anglo-French origin, and such as are borrow ed&lt;br /&gt;
from various modern languages.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
NEW BOOKS AND NEW EDITIONS.&lt;br /&gt;
Allen, Grant. This Mortal Coil: A Novel. New Edi-&lt;br /&gt;
tion. 2S.&lt;br /&gt;
Besant, Walter. The Demoniac. Arrowsmith. is.&lt;br /&gt;
Immediately.&lt;br /&gt;
Birrell, Augustine, M. P. Obiter Dicta. Third Edition.&lt;br /&gt;
1 vol. $s.&lt;br /&gt;
Cresswell, Henry. Sliding Sands. 3 vols. 31.1. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
Green, Anna Katharine. A Matter of Millions. 2s.&lt;br /&gt;
Haggard, H. Rider. Dawn. 1 vol. y. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
Hardy, Thomas. A Laodicean; or, the Castle of the De&lt;br /&gt;
Stancys: A Story. New Edition. I vol. 2s. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
Hoey, Mrs. Cashel. Falsely True: A Novel. 1 vol.&lt;br /&gt;
fir.&lt;br /&gt;
Hume, Fergus. The Gentleman who Vanished, is. and&lt;br /&gt;
is. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
Karsland, Veva and Collis. The Witness-box ; or, The&lt;br /&gt;
Murder of Mr. A. B. C. I vol. Is.&lt;br /&gt;
Kipling, Rudyard. Departmental Ditties. Fifth Edition.&lt;br /&gt;
I vol. i6mo. 5*. In Black and White. IS.&lt;br /&gt;
Linton, E. Lynn. The True History of Joshua Davidson,&lt;br /&gt;
Christian and Communist. Tenth Edition, is.&lt;br /&gt;
Momerie, Rev. A. W., D.D. Preaching and Hearing.&lt;br /&gt;
Third Edition. I vol. y.&lt;br /&gt;
Murray, D. Christie. John Vale&amp;#039;s Guardian: A Novel.&lt;br /&gt;
1 vol. y. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
Murray, David Christie and Henry Herman. One&lt;br /&gt;
Traveller Returns: A Novel. New Edition. 2s.&lt;br /&gt;
Pollock, Sir Frederick. An Introduction to the History&lt;br /&gt;
of the Science of Politics. 2s. td.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Rita.&amp;quot; Edelweiss: A Romance. I vol. is.&lt;br /&gt;
Rohin&amp;#039;Son, F. W. A Very Strange Family: A Novel.&lt;br /&gt;
Second Edition, y 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
SlME, William. The Rajah and the Rosebud: A Novel.&lt;br /&gt;
is. and is. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
Sims, G. R. The Case of George Candlemas: A Novel.&lt;br /&gt;
is. and is. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
Stevenson, R. L. Father Damien: An Open Letter to&lt;br /&gt;
the Reverend Doctor Hyde, of Honolulu, from. u.&lt;br /&gt;
Tytler, Sarah. A Voung Oxford Maid in the Days of&lt;br /&gt;
the King and the Parliament. Illustrated, y. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
Warden, Florence. City and Surburban: A Novel.&lt;br /&gt;
is. and is. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
Nurse Revel s Mistake: A Novel. Fifth Edition, is.&lt;br /&gt;
Westall, William. Two Pinches of Snuff: A Novel&lt;br /&gt;
New Edition. 2s. and 2s. td.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 160 (#196) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
]6o&lt;br /&gt;
AD VERTISEMENTS.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;THE LITERARY HAJYDJHAID OF THE&lt;br /&gt;
CHURCH-&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
HENRY GLAISHER, 95, STRAND. Price ONE SHILLING.&lt;br /&gt;
NOW READY.&lt;br /&gt;
This pamphlet is a reply to the invitation issued by the Publication Committee of the Society for&lt;br /&gt;
the Promotion of Christian Knowledge in their Report of last year, for any suggestions, which they &amp;quot;will&lt;br /&gt;
gladly receive,&amp;quot; on the best way of making &amp;quot;the Venerable Society the most efficient literary handmaid&lt;br /&gt;
of the Church of England throughout the world.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
The suggestions offered in these pages contain, first, some of the elementary principles which guide&lt;br /&gt;
honourable men in the administration of literary property. The writer next advances three cases, as&lt;br /&gt;
illustrating the methods adopted by the Society. A copy of this pamphlet will be sent to any member of&lt;br /&gt;
the Society by application to the Office, including two postage stamps.&lt;br /&gt;
THE METHODS OF PUBLICATION.&lt;br /&gt;
BY S. S. SPRIGGE, B.A.&lt;br /&gt;
NOW READY.&lt;br /&gt;
This book, compiled mainly from documents in the office of the Society of Authors, is intended to&lt;br /&gt;
show a complete conspectus of all the various methods of publication with the meaning of each; that is to&lt;br /&gt;
say, the exact concessions to publishers and the reservation of the owner and author of the work. The&lt;br /&gt;
different frauds which arise out of these methods form a necessary part of the book. Nothing is advanced&lt;br /&gt;
which has not been proved by the experience of the Society.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 161 (#197) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The Society of Authors (Jncorporated).&lt;br /&gt;
PRESIDENT&lt;br /&gt;
The Right Ilon. THE LORD TENNYSON, D.C.L.&lt;br /&gt;
SIR EDWIN ARNOLD, K.C.S.I.&lt;br /&gt;
ALFRED AUSTIN,&lt;br /&gt;
ROBERT BATEMAN.&lt;br /&gt;
SIR HENRY BERGNE.&lt;br /&gt;
WALTER BESANT.&lt;br /&gt;
R. D. BLACKMORE.&lt;br /&gt;
Rev. Prof. BONNEY, F.R.S.&lt;br /&gt;
LORD BRABOURNE.&lt;br /&gt;
JAMES BRYCE.&lt;br /&gt;
P. W. CLAYDEN.&lt;br /&gt;
J. Comexs Carr.&lt;br /&gt;
EDWARD CLODD.&lt;br /&gt;
W. MARTIN CONWAY.&lt;br /&gt;
MARION CRAWFORD.&lt;br /&gt;
Oswald CRAWFURD.&lt;br /&gt;
THE EARL OF DESART.&lt;br /&gt;
A. W. DUBOURG.&lt;br /&gt;
ERIC ERICHSEN, F.R.S.&lt;br /&gt;
Prof. MICHAEL Foster, F.R.S.&lt;br /&gt;
HERBERT Gardner, M.P.&lt;br /&gt;
Richard GARNETT, LL.D.&lt;br /&gt;
COUNCIL.&lt;br /&gt;
EDMUND GOSSE.&lt;br /&gt;
H. RIDER HAGGARD.&lt;br /&gt;
THOMAS HARDY.&lt;br /&gt;
PROF. E. RAY LANKESTER, F.R.S.&lt;br /&gt;
Rev. W. J. LOFTIE, F.S.A.&lt;br /&gt;
GEORGE MEREDITH.&lt;br /&gt;
HERMAN C. MERIVALE.&lt;br /&gt;
1. C. PARKINSON.&lt;br /&gt;
The EARL OF PEMBROKE AND MONTGOMERY.&lt;br /&gt;
Sir FREDERICK POLLOCK, Bart., LL.D.&lt;br /&gt;
WALTER HERRIES POLLOCK.&lt;br /&gt;
A. G. Ross.&lt;br /&gt;
George AUGUSTUS Sala.&lt;br /&gt;
W. BAPTISTE SCOONES.&lt;br /&gt;
G. R. Sims.&lt;br /&gt;
J. J. STEVENSON.&lt;br /&gt;
JAS. SULLY.&lt;br /&gt;
William MoY THOMAS.&lt;br /&gt;
H. D. TRAILL, D.C.L.&lt;br /&gt;
EDMUND YATES.&lt;br /&gt;
Hon. Counsel-E. M. UNDERDOWN, Q.C.&lt;br /&gt;
Auditor-Rev. C. H. MIDDLETON-Wake, F.L.S.&lt;br /&gt;
COMMITTEE OF MANAGEMENT.&lt;br /&gt;
Robert BATEMAN.&lt;br /&gt;
W. MARTIN CONWAY.&lt;br /&gt;
I EL MUND GO&lt;br /&gt;
Chairman-WALTER BESANT.&lt;br /&gt;
EDMUND Gosse.&lt;br /&gt;
H. RIDER HAGGARD.&lt;br /&gt;
A. G. Ross.&lt;br /&gt;
J. M. Lely.&lt;br /&gt;
SIR FREDERICK POLLOCK.&lt;br /&gt;
Solicitors.&lt;br /&gt;
Messrs. Field, Roscoe &amp;amp; Co., Lincoln&amp;#039;s Inn Fields.&lt;br /&gt;
Secretary--S. SQUIRE SPRIGGE.&lt;br /&gt;
OFFICES.&lt;br /&gt;
4, Portugal Street, LINCOLN&amp;#039;s Inn Fields, W.C.&lt;br /&gt;
VOL. I.&lt;br /&gt;
M&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 162 (#198) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
162&lt;br /&gt;
ADVERTISEMENTS.&lt;br /&gt;
TYPE-WRITING.&lt;br /&gt;
MISS ETHEL DICKENS,&lt;br /&gt;
TYPE-WRITING OFFICE,&lt;br /&gt;
AUTHORS&amp;#039; MSS. CAREFULLY TRANSCRIBED.&lt;br /&gt;
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(Over the Ofhce of &amp;quot; All the Year Round&amp;quot;).&lt;br /&gt;
SCIENTIFIC &amp;amp; MEDICAL PAPERS A SPECIALITY.&lt;br /&gt;
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MISS GILL,&lt;br /&gt;
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(carbon) supplied free of charge.&lt;br /&gt;
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| JO, DARKE, M.T.S.,&lt;br /&gt;
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The advantages of Type-written Manuscript are LEGIBILITY,&lt;br /&gt;
NEATNESS, RAPIDITY, and Ease of Manifolding.&lt;br /&gt;
DR. ANDREW WILSON, F.R.S.E.&lt;br /&gt;
Now is the time to subscribe.&lt;br /&gt;
| AUTHORS MANUSCRIPTS, &amp;amp;c., prepared for the&lt;br /&gt;
A New Vol. commenced&lt;br /&gt;
Publisher.&lt;br /&gt;
4th April, 1890.&lt;br /&gt;
Companies* Reports and patent @gentot&lt;br /&gt;
Send&lt;br /&gt;
Specifications Dritten up and&lt;br /&gt;
Post-card for&lt;br /&gt;
Specimen Copy.&lt;br /&gt;
Manifolded.&lt;br /&gt;
LITHOGRAPHY froin TYPING done in the best&lt;br /&gt;
To be had at all Railway Bookstalls and&lt;br /&gt;
Style.&lt;br /&gt;
Newsagents, or direct from the Publisher-&lt;br /&gt;
MEMORY LESSONS IN TYPING GIVEN BY&lt;br /&gt;
2, PATERNOSTER SQUARE, LONDON, E.C.&lt;br /&gt;
POST. WRITE FOR TERMS.&lt;br /&gt;
ESTABLISHED 1851.&lt;br /&gt;
BIRKB E C K B A N K ,&lt;br /&gt;
SOUTHAMPTON BUILDINGS, CHANCERY LANE.&lt;br /&gt;
THREE per CENT. INTEREST allowed on DEPOSITS, repayable on demand.&lt;br /&gt;
TWO per CENT. INTEREST on CURRENT ACCOUNTS when not drawn below &pound;100.&lt;br /&gt;
STOCKS, SHARES, and ANNUITIES purchased and sold.&lt;br /&gt;
SAVINGS DEPARTMENT.&lt;br /&gt;
For the encouragement of Thrift the Bank receives small sums on deposit, and allows interest, at the rate of THREE&lt;br /&gt;
per CENT. per Annum, on each completed ki. The Interest is added to the principal on the 31st March annually.&lt;br /&gt;
FRANCIS RAVENSCROFT, Manager.&lt;br /&gt;
EDITED BY&lt;br /&gt;
HE ALT H.&lt;br /&gt;
A WEEKLY JOURNAL OF SANITARY AND DOMESTIC SCIENCE.&lt;br /&gt;
HOW TO PURCHASE A HOUSE FOR TWO GUINEAS PER MONTH, OR&lt;br /&gt;
A PLOT OF LAND FOR FIVE SHILLINGS PER MONTH, with immediate&lt;br /&gt;
possession. Apply at Office of the BirKBECK FREEHOLD LAND SOCIETY.&lt;br /&gt;
THE BIRKBECK ALMANACK, with full particulars post free on application.&lt;br /&gt;
FRANCIS RAVENSCROFT, Manager.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 162 (#199) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
ADVERTISEMENTS.&lt;br /&gt;
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THIS VIEW IS REPRODUCED FROM A PHOTOGRAPH OFAN OPERATOR &amp;amp;&lt;br /&gt;
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The writing of the BAR-LOCK TYPE-WRITER is equal to&lt;br /&gt;
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Type-Writing Taught by Experts. Author&amp;#039;s MSS. Copied at is. 3d. per 1,000 Words at all Our Offices.&lt;br /&gt;
PUBLICATIONS OF THE SOCIETY.&lt;br /&gt;
1. The Annual Report. That for January, 1890, can be had on application to the Secretary.&lt;br /&gt;
2. The Author. A Monthly Journal devoted especially to the protection and maintenance of&lt;br /&gt;
Literary Property. Issued to all members.&lt;br /&gt;
3. The Grievances of Authors. (Field &amp;amp; Tuer.) 25. The Report of three Meetings on the&lt;br /&gt;
general subject of Literature and its defence, held at Willis&amp;#039;s Rooms, March, 1887.&lt;br /&gt;
4. Literature and the Pension List. By W. MORRIS COLLES, Barrister-at-Law. (Henry&lt;br /&gt;
Glaisher, 95, Strand, W.C.) 45. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
5. The History of the Soci&eacute;t&eacute; des Gens de Lettres. By S. SQUIRE Sprigge, Secretary to the&lt;br /&gt;
Society. 15.&lt;br /&gt;
6. The Cost of Production. In this work specimens are given of the most important forms of&lt;br /&gt;
type, size of page, &amp;amp;c., with estimates showing what it costs to produce the more common kinds&lt;br /&gt;
of books. The work is printed for members of the Society only. 25. 6d. (A new Edition&lt;br /&gt;
preparing.)&lt;br /&gt;
7. The Various Methods of Publication. By S. SQUIRE SPRIGGE. In this work, compiled&lt;br /&gt;
from the papers in the Society&amp;#039;s offices, the various kinds of agreements proposed by Publishers&lt;br /&gt;
to Authors are examined, and their meaning carefully explained, with an account of the various&lt;br /&gt;
kinds of fraud which have been made possible by the different clauses in their agreements. The&lt;br /&gt;
book is nearly ready, and will be issued as soon as possible.&lt;br /&gt;
Other works bearing on the Literary Profession will follow.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 162 (#200) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
iv.&lt;br /&gt;
ADVERTISEMENTS.&lt;br /&gt;
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STANDARD TYPEWRITER.&lt;br /&gt;
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(CORNER OF LEADENHALL STREET).&lt;br /&gt;
Branch Offices--&lt;br /&gt;
LIVERPOOL: CENTRAL BUILDINGS, NORTH JOHN STREET.&lt;br /&gt;
BIRMINGHAM: 88, COLMORE ROW.&lt;br /&gt;
MANCHESTER : 8, MOULT STREET.&lt;br /&gt;
Printed for the Society, by HARRISON &amp;amp; SONS, 45, 46, and 47, St. Martin&amp;#039;s Lane, in the Parish of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, in the City&lt;br /&gt;
of Westeninster,</td><td>https://historysoa.com/files/original/5/244/1890-10-15-The-Author-1-6.pdf</td><td>publications, The Author</td></tr><tr><td>245</td><td>https://historysoa.com/items/show/245</td><td>The Author, Vol. 01 Issue 07 (November 1890)</td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=%3Cem%3EThe+Author%3C%2Fem%3E%2C+Vol.+01+Issue+07+%28November+1890%29&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;The Author&lt;/em&gt;, Vol. 01 Issue 07 (November 1890)&lt;/a&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015031017927&amp;amp;view=1up&amp;amp;seq=20&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; rel=&quot;noopener&quot;&gt;https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015031017927&lt;/a&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Publication&quot;&gt;Publication&lt;/a&gt;</td><td>1890-11-15-The-Author-1-7</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>163&ndash;198</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=89&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1&quot;&gt;1&lt;/a&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=76&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1890-11-15&quot;&gt;1890-11-15&lt;/a&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>7</td><td></td><td></td><td>18901115</td><td>Vol. I.-No. 7.].&lt;br /&gt;
NOVEMBER 15, 1890.&lt;br /&gt;
[Price, Sixpence.&lt;br /&gt;
The Author.&lt;br /&gt;
THE ORGAN OF THE SOCIETY OF AUTHORS&lt;br /&gt;
(INCORPORATED).&lt;br /&gt;
CONDUCTED BY&lt;br /&gt;
WALTER BESANT.&lt;br /&gt;
Published for the Society be&lt;br /&gt;
ALEXANDER P. WATT, 2, PATERNOSTER SQUARE,&lt;br /&gt;
LONDON, E.C.&lt;br /&gt;
1890.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 162 (#202) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 163 (#203) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
(The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly)&lt;br /&gt;
CONDUCTED BY WALTER BESANT.&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;No. 7.] &amp;#039;NOVEMBER 15, 1890. [Price Sixpence.&lt;br /&gt;
Vol. I.&lt;br /&gt;
C O N T&lt;br /&gt;
PAGE&lt;br /&gt;
News and Notes 163&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Blaikie&amp;#039;s New Poems 170&lt;br /&gt;
In Grub Street 170&lt;br /&gt;
Canadian Copyright. By \V. Oliver Hodges 175&lt;br /&gt;
Fin de Siccle ... 177&lt;br /&gt;
Literature as a Trade. By Edmund Gosse 178&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The Farrar-Cassell Case&amp;quot; (from the AWw York Tribune). By&lt;br /&gt;
G. W. S 180&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Brander Mathews* &amp;quot;American Authors and British Pirates&amp;quot; 182&lt;br /&gt;
The German Association of Authors 183&lt;br /&gt;
NEWS AND NOTES.&lt;br /&gt;
READERS of The Author are most seriously&lt;br /&gt;
warned not to forward MSS. to persons&lt;br /&gt;
advertising for them, even though these&lt;br /&gt;
advertisements appear in the most respectable&lt;br /&gt;
papers. The practice is to advertise for MSS. on&lt;br /&gt;
various pretexts&mdash;for descriptive articles, fiction,&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;amp;c, and to promise payment. The MSS. are&lt;br /&gt;
sent and are heard of no more. No respectable&lt;br /&gt;
firm ever advertises for MSS. In a recent case a&lt;br /&gt;
MS. sent in answer to such an advertisement, has&lt;br /&gt;
been retained. No answer can be obtained by the&lt;br /&gt;
victim, and the name of the advertiser is not given&lt;br /&gt;
up at the office of the paper.&lt;br /&gt;
The Syndicate Branch of the Society has been&lt;br /&gt;
undertaken by Mr. W. Morris Colles, author of&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Literature and the Civil Pension List,&amp;quot; &amp;amp;c, as&lt;br /&gt;
Honorary Secretary. All communications on this&lt;br /&gt;
subject should be made to him at the address of the&lt;br /&gt;
Society&amp;#039;s office.&lt;br /&gt;
In the Churches a very useful custom obtains of&lt;br /&gt;
hanging up the Ten Commandments, so that first&lt;br /&gt;
principles in the Conduct of Life should always&lt;br /&gt;
be presented to the eyes of the congregation.&lt;br /&gt;
Sunday after Sunday they have to read and to&lt;br /&gt;
vol. 1.&lt;br /&gt;
E N T S.&lt;br /&gt;
PACE&lt;br /&gt;
The International Literary Congress&lt;br /&gt;
... 186&lt;br /&gt;
A Curious Case&lt;br /&gt;
... 188&lt;br /&gt;
The American Tongue&lt;br /&gt;
... 190&lt;br /&gt;
An English Academy&lt;br /&gt;
... 190&lt;br /&gt;
An Encouraging Experience&lt;br /&gt;
... 192&lt;br /&gt;
Queries and Answers&lt;br /&gt;
... 193&lt;br /&gt;
The Late, Rev. Henry White. By Rev. W. J. Loftie&lt;br /&gt;
... 195&lt;br /&gt;
At Work&lt;br /&gt;
... 195&lt;br /&gt;
New Books and New Editions&lt;br /&gt;
... .96&lt;br /&gt;
Advertisements&lt;br /&gt;
... 198&lt;br /&gt;
hear these first principles, whether they like it or&lt;br /&gt;
not. It is reported, by those who have oppor-&lt;br /&gt;
tunities of knowing, to be a custom favourable to&lt;br /&gt;
morality. In the same way we must, from time&lt;br /&gt;
to time, advance the elements, the rudimentary&lt;br /&gt;
laws, on which we rest every cause. Therefore we&lt;br /&gt;
may be excused for setting forth, in this number,&lt;br /&gt;
two or three truisms. They are as follows.&lt;br /&gt;
Literature, in all times, has had two sides&mdash;the&lt;br /&gt;
artistic and the commercial kind. The singer&lt;br /&gt;
expects to be paid, the poet is rejoiced at solid&lt;br /&gt;
recognition of his genius. What is more, the&lt;br /&gt;
artistic work of the highest genius in no way&lt;br /&gt;
suffers from a careful attention to its material&lt;br /&gt;
interests. Does anyone in his senses pretend that&lt;br /&gt;
the work of Byron, Scott, Dickens, Thackeray,&lt;br /&gt;
George Eliot, Wilkie Collins, Charles Reade, lost&lt;br /&gt;
anything in Art because these writers were good&lt;br /&gt;
and careful men of business?&lt;br /&gt;
Let us not confuse these two sides of the literary&lt;br /&gt;
profession. They are equally important, because&lt;br /&gt;
unless the latter is looked after, the artist perishes.&lt;br /&gt;
Both must be guarded jealously, the one because&lt;br /&gt;
Literature is Art, and the other because the artist&lt;br /&gt;
must be a free man&mdash;not the slave of the man who&lt;br /&gt;
has the money, nor a hack, nor one who drives his&lt;br /&gt;
N&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 164 (#204) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
164&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
pen all day long for a daily pittance, nor a man&lt;br /&gt;
continually fretted by a sense of wrong and&lt;br /&gt;
injustice, real or fancied. When, therefore, we&lt;br /&gt;
insist continually upon the necessity of safe-&lt;br /&gt;
guarding literary property, of understanding what&lt;br /&gt;
is meant by an agreement before we sign it, we are&lt;br /&gt;
working in the highest and best interests of litera-&lt;br /&gt;
ture.&lt;br /&gt;
Consider, again. In no other branch of Art is&lt;br /&gt;
a voice ever raised against those who fight for its&lt;br /&gt;
material interests. The sculptor, the actor, the&lt;br /&gt;
singer, the musician, the painter&mdash;all alike are&lt;br /&gt;
understood to be working honestly at their art,&lt;br /&gt;
even though at the same time they are watching&lt;br /&gt;
carefully over their material interests. No one&lt;br /&gt;
accuses Meissonnier of bad workmanship because&lt;br /&gt;
his pictures are worth a pyramid of gold. Yet,&lt;br /&gt;
directly a serious attempt is made to put these&lt;br /&gt;
interests on a proper basis as regards letters, there&lt;br /&gt;
is raised at once an outcry about degrading Art,&lt;br /&gt;
taking all the joy out of Art, destroying the nobility&lt;br /&gt;
of Art, and the rest of it. To which, in the words&lt;br /&gt;
of Mr. Burchell&mdash;Fudge! To be sure, these&lt;br /&gt;
charges are always preferred by the writers whose&lt;br /&gt;
works do not possess any pecuniary value, or by&lt;br /&gt;
those who dabble and play with literature, content&lt;br /&gt;
to issue, now and then, a critical essay or a volume&lt;br /&gt;
of critical essays. To them, but not to the men&lt;br /&gt;
and women whom the world loves, it seems a degra-&lt;br /&gt;
dation of Art to insist upon the rights of property,&lt;br /&gt;
and they pretend to regard a great writer as deprived&lt;br /&gt;
of the joy and nobility of his work because he looks&lt;br /&gt;
after his own interests. Again, in the words of&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Burchell&mdash;Fudge!&lt;br /&gt;
We mix up these two sides of literature. It is&lt;br /&gt;
absurd to suppose that George Eliot was thinking&lt;br /&gt;
of her commercial value when she wrote &amp;quot;Romola.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Yet she thought very much of it afterwards. That&lt;br /&gt;
is the way of it. The true artist thinks about&lt;br /&gt;
nothing but his work while he is engaged upon it.&lt;br /&gt;
The man who is not an artist cannot understand how&lt;br /&gt;
he can ever think about the business side of his&lt;br /&gt;
work at all. Yet he always can, and does, as soon&lt;br /&gt;
as he is satisfied that there is a business side to his&lt;br /&gt;
work. And to some minds&mdash;to most minds&mdash;the&lt;br /&gt;
knowledge that there is this commercial value in it&lt;br /&gt;
acts as a constant stimulus&mdash;a wholesome incen-&lt;br /&gt;
tive; it gives the writer confidence and courage&lt;br /&gt;
and selfrespect; it makes him watch over his work&lt;br /&gt;
with jealousy, lest its artistic standard be lowered.&lt;br /&gt;
He takes this recognition, this popularity, this de-&lt;br /&gt;
mand, as a proof that his work is good and artistic.&lt;br /&gt;
I have printed, in another part of this number, an&lt;br /&gt;
article written for an evening paper by Mr. Edmund&lt;br /&gt;
Gosse on a cognate subject, by his permission.&lt;br /&gt;
Indeed, whatever Mr. Gosse writes on the subject&lt;br /&gt;
of the literary life commands attention by itself,&lt;br /&gt;
apart from the fact that he is one of ourselves, of&lt;br /&gt;
our inner ring, one who has spoken for us, and&lt;br /&gt;
will again, one is assured, become, if necessary,&lt;br /&gt;
our champion. Therefore I would not willingly&lt;br /&gt;
differ from him in any particular, and in this paper&lt;br /&gt;
of his, which is mainly a protest against the&lt;br /&gt;
wretched gossip about authors&amp;#039; prices which is con-&lt;br /&gt;
stantly published in certain journals I wholly and&lt;br /&gt;
entirely agree with him. To observe the extrava-&lt;br /&gt;
gant curiosity about money realized in literature&lt;br /&gt;
and art disgusts one. And it is not only true, but&lt;br /&gt;
most opportune, to point out that &amp;quot;such curiosity&lt;br /&gt;
about literary prices is unwholesome, and because&lt;br /&gt;
it tends to make money the standard in a species&lt;br /&gt;
of labour where the rewards are in no degree&lt;br /&gt;
analogous to the deserts.&amp;quot; Nothing is more true;&lt;br /&gt;
some of the finest work produced has wholly&lt;br /&gt;
failed from the commercial point of view. Again,&lt;br /&gt;
it is most true &amp;quot;that no great work was ever com-&lt;br /&gt;
posed primarily for the purpose of making as much&lt;br /&gt;
money as possible.&amp;quot; Yet, in my judgment, he&lt;br /&gt;
overstates a very good case when he arraigns&lt;br /&gt;
authors with a want of modesty in the pursuit of&lt;br /&gt;
guineas. It is not greed that actuates the author,&lt;br /&gt;
it is an instinctive yearning for justice and fair&lt;br /&gt;
play. Let us be fair to our own motives: once&lt;br /&gt;
secure this justice and all will be secured. We ask&lt;br /&gt;
for nothing more. But let us, above all things, keep&lt;br /&gt;
separate the two sides of the literary life, the side of&lt;br /&gt;
Art and the side of affairs&mdash;the soul that animates&lt;br /&gt;
and the body in which the soul must live.&lt;br /&gt;
There is a certain sorrowful significance about&lt;br /&gt;
this incessant and prying curiosity into literary&lt;br /&gt;
prices which should not be overlooked. It is a time&lt;br /&gt;
when the difficulties of getting on in any calling or&lt;br /&gt;
profession are increasing daily. But it is not a&lt;br /&gt;
time when simplicity of living is also increasing.&lt;br /&gt;
Further, it is a time when women are longing for&lt;br /&gt;
their independence, and rushing into every kind of&lt;br /&gt;
work by which money may be made. Especially&lt;br /&gt;
they long to enter the literary profession. It seems&lt;br /&gt;
so easy. Anybody could write like&mdash;say Mrs.&lt;br /&gt;
Gaskell&mdash;the thing is so simple, and there seem to&lt;br /&gt;
be such splendid prizes. Think of a book like this&lt;br /&gt;
or like that being worth thousands! Or, again, since&lt;br /&gt;
journalism is itself a branch of the literary profession,&lt;br /&gt;
the young country journalist is always dreaming&lt;br /&gt;
of an exchange from his hard work and scanty pay&lt;br /&gt;
to the splendour and ease of a successful novelist.&lt;br /&gt;
Therefore he collects assiduously all the scraps&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
most of them pure inventions&mdash;about the prices&lt;br /&gt;
obtained by this man and by that man, and dangles&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 165 (#205) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
them before his own eyes, and sticks them in his&lt;br /&gt;
paper for all the world to read. In this curiosity&lt;br /&gt;
I discern that of yearning after the impossible,&lt;br /&gt;
which makes the literary aspirations of ninety and&lt;br /&gt;
nine out of every hundred tragic and mournful.&lt;br /&gt;
There has been a special utterance on the subject&lt;br /&gt;
by Mr. Andrew Lang. It contains one or two ser-&lt;br /&gt;
viceable statements. Thus, he says, quite truly, &amp;quot;the&lt;br /&gt;
author must conquer his casual disposition.&amp;quot; It&lt;br /&gt;
is what the Society insists upon in every paper and&lt;br /&gt;
every report. Let the author bring to his literary&lt;br /&gt;
business the same common sense that he brings to&lt;br /&gt;
other business, and half the trouble will vanish.&lt;br /&gt;
Again he says, &amp;quot;one has very little sympathy with&lt;br /&gt;
authors who grumble at the publishers getting their&lt;br /&gt;
share.&amp;quot; No sympathy whatever. Let us only&lt;br /&gt;
agree upon what should be the publisher&amp;#039;s share.&lt;br /&gt;
That settled, the whole of the trouble would vanish.&lt;br /&gt;
One thing he says which seems to me mis-&lt;br /&gt;
chievous, because everything is mischievous which&lt;br /&gt;
is not based upon a knowledge of facts. It is&lt;br /&gt;
this. &amp;quot;The publisher, I think, in spite of Mr.&lt;br /&gt;
Besant, does incur a good deal of risk, not per-&lt;br /&gt;
haps on one book or two, but on the general result&lt;br /&gt;
of his business.&amp;quot; Exactly the reverse is the truth.&lt;br /&gt;
The publisher, who very, very seldom knowingly&lt;br /&gt;
runs any risk at all, may lose&mdash;because in all trades&lt;br /&gt;
there are mistakes made&mdash;on one or two books,&lt;br /&gt;
but as the general result of a large business he&lt;br /&gt;
is certain, as his business is now conducted, not&lt;br /&gt;
to lose. This is a very delightful result, and&lt;br /&gt;
one does not grudge the honourable House its&lt;br /&gt;
income however great it may become. May&lt;br /&gt;
such a House increase and continue in prosperity&lt;br /&gt;
as in honour! Another point to which he takes&lt;br /&gt;
exception is the assumption that the Society is&lt;br /&gt;
inimical to publishers. This is an unwarranted&lt;br /&gt;
assumption, calculated to injure the Society, and&lt;br /&gt;
contradicted by every utterance of the Society.&lt;br /&gt;
Suppose a novelist draws the character of a&lt;br /&gt;
scoundrel attorney, is he therefore hostile to all&lt;br /&gt;
lawyers? Is it fair to call his attention to the fact&lt;br /&gt;
that some gentlemen have friends among solicitors?&lt;br /&gt;
Yet this is what Mr. Andrew Lang does. He says,&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;extraordinary as it may appear, there are even&lt;br /&gt;
cases of friendship between authors and publishers.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
I suppose there is not one upon the Committee of&lt;br /&gt;
this Society who is not proud to number a publisher&lt;br /&gt;
among his friends.&lt;br /&gt;
lastly, I have had many letters from ladies&lt;br /&gt;
calling indignant attention to one clause which I&lt;br /&gt;
regret to see at the close of the paper. &amp;quot;As far&lt;br /&gt;
as I can see, the authors who do suffer are those&lt;br /&gt;
who should receive ioj. 6d. and only get&lt;br /&gt;
■js. . . . Their work is worth very little,&lt;br /&gt;
VOL. I.&lt;br /&gt;
and they get even less. . . . Generally, they&lt;br /&gt;
are women easily &amp;#039; put upon&amp;#039; and rather unreason-&lt;br /&gt;
able.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Why,&amp;quot; ask my correspondents, &amp;quot;should&lt;br /&gt;
not even a woman demand and receive justice?&lt;br /&gt;
Why should she take &amp;quot;js. $d. when 10s. 6d. is&lt;br /&gt;
due to her?&amp;quot; Really, one cannot give any reason.&lt;br /&gt;
And considering that the poor wretch who steals&lt;br /&gt;
a handkerchief worth twopence is sent to prison as&lt;br /&gt;
much as the bold burglar who robs a bank, there&lt;br /&gt;
does seem no reply to this question.&lt;br /&gt;
We must maintain the sacredness of the contract,&lt;br /&gt;
because that underlies every kind of trade, exchange,&lt;br /&gt;
or service rendered. Without the keeping of agree-&lt;br /&gt;
ments nothing could be done. All that can be done&lt;br /&gt;
is to implore authors not to sign away their property,&lt;br /&gt;
and to hope that sweating by certain publishers will&lt;br /&gt;
speedily become as disgraceful as any other form of&lt;br /&gt;
dishonesty. When, however, one reads of certain&lt;br /&gt;
cases, it is difficult not to wish that a contract, obtained&lt;br /&gt;
by studiously withholding the facts of the case from&lt;br /&gt;
one party, should be set aside. For instance, here&lt;br /&gt;
is one. A certain specialist, a very popular writer,&lt;br /&gt;
was asked by a firm to undertake a book on his&lt;br /&gt;
own subject. They named a price. He took it.&lt;br /&gt;
Therefore he had no right to complain. The book&lt;br /&gt;
proved an immediate and very great success. The&lt;br /&gt;
publishers then asked him to produce another.&lt;br /&gt;
Remember&mdash;they knew that the first had been an&lt;br /&gt;
enormous success. They knew that the second&lt;br /&gt;
would prove equally successful. It is said that&lt;br /&gt;
they began, in fact, with an edition of 100,000 copies&lt;br /&gt;
of the second book. This seems incredible, and&lt;br /&gt;
perhaps is an exaggerated statement. Edition has&lt;br /&gt;
followed edition. It is still, after many years, a&lt;br /&gt;
living book. The author received ^30 for the first&lt;br /&gt;
book; and in spite of the full knowledge possessed&lt;br /&gt;
by the publishers of what they had done with the first,&lt;br /&gt;
and would do with the second, they gave him the&lt;br /&gt;
same sum, ^30, for the second. What is to be&lt;br /&gt;
said of such a contract? That the author was a&lt;br /&gt;
fool? Perhaps. But what were the publishers?&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;&laquo;&lt;br /&gt;
Piracy, with mutilation, is even more intolerable&lt;br /&gt;
than piracy pure and simple. Indeed, as will be seen&lt;br /&gt;
in another page, I think we should give up the use of&lt;br /&gt;
the word piracy and write publishing-as-permitted-&lt;br /&gt;
by-the-law. It is a long word, but at present there&lt;br /&gt;
is no short equivalent. Here is a case of publish-&lt;br /&gt;
ing-as-permitted-by-the-law, with mutilation :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;A few months ago I published a book on&lt;br /&gt;
Bronchitis here in London, and made an arrange-&lt;br /&gt;
ment with a publisher of Philadelphia for the&lt;br /&gt;
production of an American edition. It appeared&lt;br /&gt;
and was selling well when Wood and Co., of New&lt;br /&gt;
n 2&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 166 (#206) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
York, reprinted it entirely without a word of com-&lt;br /&gt;
munication with me or my real publishers. This&lt;br /&gt;
firm has, within the last year or so, published some&lt;br /&gt;
fifty medical and surgical works or monographs;&lt;br /&gt;
and, as far as I can learn, they have in every case&lt;br /&gt;
been taken without permission. I have quite a&lt;br /&gt;
collection of letters from men who have suffered&lt;br /&gt;
in this way. We have no legal redress, but our&lt;br /&gt;
Medical Associations on both sides of the Atlantic&lt;br /&gt;
have promised to take up the matter, and will go&lt;br /&gt;
to work pretty energetically.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Louis Stevenson has been interviewed by the&lt;br /&gt;
Melbourne Argus. &amp;#039;Tis the common lot. He is&lt;br /&gt;
reported to have said a good many things of which&lt;br /&gt;
one, at least, is important, as a contribution to the&lt;br /&gt;
vexed question of plagiarism. Everybody knows how&lt;br /&gt;
novelists are perpetually charged with plagiarism.&lt;br /&gt;
It is, indeed, a difficult thing to refute such a charge.&lt;br /&gt;
Given the facts, given the absolute coincidence,&lt;br /&gt;
character for character, incident for incident&mdash;how&lt;br /&gt;
could they occur, one asks, in the later work unless&lt;br /&gt;
they had been copied from the earlier? To speak&lt;br /&gt;
only of one who can speak no more. I once dis-&lt;br /&gt;
covered an extraordinary resemblance between an&lt;br /&gt;
incident in one of Charles Reade&amp;#039;s books and an&lt;br /&gt;
exactly similar incident in a book published some&lt;br /&gt;
forty years ago before. The resemblance was so&lt;br /&gt;
striking, the events were so exactly the same, that&lt;br /&gt;
I at once, in my ignorance, set it down to inten-&lt;br /&gt;
tional plagiarism. I am now convinced that I&lt;br /&gt;
did Charles Reade a grievous wrong. How then&lt;br /&gt;
did he contrive to reproduce so exactly that&lt;br /&gt;
part of the earlier work? The following illustra-&lt;br /&gt;
tions supplied in the course of this interview pro-&lt;br /&gt;
vide an answer. This is what Mr. Stevenson is&lt;br /&gt;
reported to have said :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I suspect most of our inventions are docu-&lt;br /&gt;
mentary enough, and taken out of the note-book&lt;br /&gt;
of the memory. I will give you a couple of&lt;br /&gt;
examples from my own case. Some five or six&lt;br /&gt;
years after I had written &amp;#039;Treasure Island,&amp;#039; I picked&lt;br /&gt;
up Washington Irving&amp;#039;s &amp;#039;Tales of a Traveller,&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
and there I find Billy Bones, with his voice, his&lt;br /&gt;
manners, his talk, his sabre-cut, his sea-chest, and&lt;br /&gt;
all that is Billy Bones&amp;#039;s. I had read it long ago,&lt;br /&gt;
and, if you will allow me a bull, I had forgotten,&lt;br /&gt;
but my memory had remembered. Again, I fondly&lt;br /&gt;
supposed I had invented a scene when Alan Breck&lt;br /&gt;
quarrels with one of the M&amp;#039;Gregors in a house in&lt;br /&gt;
Balquidder. Here, in Sydney, not two days ago,&lt;br /&gt;
a gentleman informs me that I had read the out-&lt;br /&gt;
lines of that scene, even to the names of the three&lt;br /&gt;
principal characters engaged, in Pitcairn&amp;#039;s &amp;#039; Criminal&lt;br /&gt;
Trials.&amp;#039; I do not remember. I do not suppose&lt;br /&gt;
there is a copy of Pitcairn in the Colonies, so that&lt;br /&gt;
I cannot make sure, but I have not the least doubt&lt;br /&gt;
that it is so. We all, idealists and realists alike,&lt;br /&gt;
rearrange that matter of observed life with which&lt;br /&gt;
our memories are charged, and the most we can&lt;br /&gt;
mean by the word invention is some happy con-&lt;br /&gt;
gruity or surprise in the method of arranging it.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
This is a novel but a sufficient explanation to&lt;br /&gt;
those who know that the accused is a man of&lt;br /&gt;
honour.&lt;br /&gt;
The mind forgets but the memory remembers.&lt;br /&gt;
In the last number of The Author the arts and&lt;br /&gt;
wiles of the gentry who seek to catch the literary flats&lt;br /&gt;
were exposed in some detail. I have now before me&lt;br /&gt;
the prospectus of an enterprise whose object is to&lt;br /&gt;
advance the interests of Rising Authors (with a&lt;br /&gt;
capital &amp;quot;r &amp;quot;). Every effort of this kind, particularly&lt;br /&gt;
when conducted in a disinterested spirit and with-&lt;br /&gt;
out the least consideration of sordid gains, com-&lt;br /&gt;
mands our sympathy. Here is the scheme, then.&lt;br /&gt;
A new monthly magazine is to be started. It will&lt;br /&gt;
be called by a most attractive title, viz., &amp;quot;Literary&lt;br /&gt;
Fame.&amp;quot; Literary Fame! The words cause the&lt;br /&gt;
eyes of the Rising Author to glisten and his lip to&lt;br /&gt;
tremble. Literary Fame! Nothing short of this.&lt;br /&gt;
The magazine has no other objects in view&mdash;the&lt;br /&gt;
prospectus, which cannot lie, says so indeed,]in plain&lt;br /&gt;
words&mdash;than the true interests of English Litera-&lt;br /&gt;
ture. It is designed to introduce to the great&lt;br /&gt;
British Public that large class of writers who feel&lt;br /&gt;
that they have a Message to convey to the world&lt;br /&gt;
at large. To these&mdash;as the candid prospectus says&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;&amp;quot; Literary Fame&amp;quot; offers an unexampled, nay,&lt;br /&gt;
an unparalleled opportunity. I should think so&lt;br /&gt;
indeed. The Rising Author has only to send in&lt;br /&gt;
his contribution. It will be read for nothing&mdash;it is&lt;br /&gt;
well-known that in all other magazines the editor has&lt;br /&gt;
to be bribed before he will read anything. Each&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;suitable&amp;quot; contribution&mdash;here a note of discord&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
are not all contributions from Rising Authors, who&lt;br /&gt;
have a Message for the world, suitable ?&mdash;will be&lt;br /&gt;
accepted and printed, signed with the author&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
name. Why, what could be more disinterested?&lt;br /&gt;
The only condition&mdash;a ridiculous one&mdash;is that the&lt;br /&gt;
author shall pay beforehand for fifteen copies of&lt;br /&gt;
the magazine for every column of his paper. Thus,&lt;br /&gt;
suppose he has a paper of twelve pages, or twenty-&lt;br /&gt;
four columns, and a Message to the world can&lt;br /&gt;
hardly be delivered in less, he will only take 180&lt;br /&gt;
copies, which will cost him the sum of j&pound;g. Who&lt;br /&gt;
would not gladly pay j&pound;g for the privilege ot&lt;br /&gt;
delivering a Message? Should he run a serial&lt;br /&gt;
story for a twelvemonth, taking twenty-four pages&lt;br /&gt;
each number, he will only pay ^216 for the year!&lt;br /&gt;
Of course, thousands will jump at the offer.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 167 (#207) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
167&lt;br /&gt;
In other words, how great must be the belief in&lt;br /&gt;
the credulity of writers when they are calmly&lt;br /&gt;
invited to consider such a proposal? Let us&lt;br /&gt;
see how it works out. An ordinary magazine con-&lt;br /&gt;
tains about 120 pages or 240 columns. This if&lt;br /&gt;
paid for at the rate of 15 copies a column, pro-&lt;br /&gt;
duces ^90. To this must be added the advertise-&lt;br /&gt;
ments and the sale, if any. And after paying for&lt;br /&gt;
printing and paper, there will remain a very com-&lt;br /&gt;
fortable little property indeed. But I observe that&lt;br /&gt;
in case of novels a higher charge will be made.&lt;br /&gt;
Excellent, enterprising, benevolent editor!&lt;br /&gt;
When Germans undertake to found and to manage&lt;br /&gt;
a society, there are no half measures. The pro-&lt;br /&gt;
gramme of their yearly meeting, a somewhat&lt;br /&gt;
bulky document, is so thorough that I have had&lt;br /&gt;
it translated and published for our own instruction.&lt;br /&gt;
When one considers the infinite trouble we have in&lt;br /&gt;
inducing our own brethren to unite, it is refreshing&lt;br /&gt;
to read of such enthusiasm and belief among the&lt;br /&gt;
Germans in the cause. One lives in the hope that&lt;br /&gt;
we are really succeeding little by little in bringing&lt;br /&gt;
literary men and women to make common cause.&lt;br /&gt;
The difficulty is being illustrated at the present&lt;br /&gt;
moment by a series of papers in the Daily Graphic&lt;br /&gt;
on the proposed National Academy of Letters.&lt;br /&gt;
First the scheme was proposed in general terms by&lt;br /&gt;
an anonymous correspondent. It has been fol-&lt;br /&gt;
lowed by a succession of papers from men of letters&lt;br /&gt;
invited by the Editor. My own paper, which&lt;br /&gt;
happened to be the first, was taken hold of as a peg&lt;br /&gt;
by all who came afterwards, and the scheme has&lt;br /&gt;
been everywhere attributed to me. It is not mine&lt;br /&gt;
at all. I was only asked what I thought of it Now&lt;br /&gt;
observe, I began by a most serious warning, as&lt;br /&gt;
follows:&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The influence of the English Academy would&lt;br /&gt;
depend entirely upon the position and reputation&lt;br /&gt;
which it might obtain in the estimation of the world&lt;br /&gt;
at large, and of litterateurs in particular. If every-&lt;br /&gt;
body was agreed that to be a R.A. in Letters was&lt;br /&gt;
as great a thing as to be a R.A. in Arts oraF.R.S.&lt;br /&gt;
in Science, then the distinction would be an object&lt;br /&gt;
of ambition, and the voice of the Academy would&lt;br /&gt;
be potent and authoritative. If it failed to command&lt;br /&gt;
this respect; if the true leaders refused to enter&lt;br /&gt;
its walls; if it was considered to be under Court&lt;br /&gt;
favouritism or to be involved in party interests, or&lt;br /&gt;
to be the home of the second rate, it never would&lt;br /&gt;
acquire any influence at all. Therefore it is&lt;br /&gt;
absolutely necessary that it should, from the very&lt;br /&gt;
outset, number in its body all the leaders of the&lt;br /&gt;
day in every department of literature.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Supposing,&amp;quot; I added, &amp;quot;this extremely difficult&lt;br /&gt;
preliminary accomplished, what could the Academy&lt;br /&gt;
effect?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
I then proceeded to show what, in my opinion,&lt;br /&gt;
such an Academy might accomplish.&lt;br /&gt;
Most of the letters, beginning with that of Mr.&lt;br /&gt;
Leslie Stephen, have proved that it is utterly impos-&lt;br /&gt;
sible in the present condition of things for men of&lt;br /&gt;
letters to work together as an Academy&mdash;a National&lt;br /&gt;
Institution.&lt;br /&gt;
They have nearly all written as if union was a thing&lt;br /&gt;
impossible, and practical aims were out of the ques-&lt;br /&gt;
tion.&lt;br /&gt;
Why cannot men of letters act together? First,&lt;br /&gt;
I believe, because they have got into the habit of&lt;br /&gt;
speaking and writing about each other as men of&lt;br /&gt;
no other profession would be allowed to do. A&lt;br /&gt;
barrister would be disbarred who should dare to&lt;br /&gt;
speak of another barrister in terms that are con-&lt;br /&gt;
stantly and without censure used by one man of&lt;br /&gt;
letters concerning another. Now were there exist-&lt;br /&gt;
ing a great critical body, a controlling power, pos-&lt;br /&gt;
sessing the power of leadership, the power of wealth,&lt;br /&gt;
jhe power of bestowing distinction, the power of&lt;br /&gt;
reprimand&mdash;this curse of literature, this license&lt;br /&gt;
which fills the history of authorship with con-&lt;br /&gt;
temptible quarrels and fish-wife recriminations,&lt;br /&gt;
would instantly cease.&lt;br /&gt;
An Academy, however, after the manner of the&lt;br /&gt;
French would be absurd in this country. It is&lt;br /&gt;
obsolete in Paris. It survives, but it has ceased to&lt;br /&gt;
be a great power. Such an Academy as I should&lt;br /&gt;
like to see founded in this country would deal with&lt;br /&gt;
everything connected with literature. Mr. Leslie&lt;br /&gt;
Stephen, whose name and work I hold in as much&lt;br /&gt;
respect as those of any living writer, says dis-&lt;br /&gt;
tinctly that such a body could not deal with prac-&lt;br /&gt;
tical things. Why not? One does not expect the&lt;br /&gt;
individual academician to become at once a&lt;br /&gt;
steward in the House of Literature: not at all.&lt;br /&gt;
We engage officers and pay them for such services.&lt;br /&gt;
Every day the profession of letters is becoming&lt;br /&gt;
larger; every day the dangers which threaten litera-&lt;br /&gt;
ture, because its followers are a scattered crowd&lt;br /&gt;
with no leaders, no authority over them, no guides,&lt;br /&gt;
and no advisers, are growing greater and greater.&lt;br /&gt;
Farther on, in this number, will be found a paper&lt;br /&gt;
showing the views of another writer on the subject.&lt;br /&gt;
Let me therefore only repeat what I advanced in&lt;br /&gt;
this paper of mine in the Daily Graphic.&lt;br /&gt;
1. Such an Academy must have the support of&lt;br /&gt;
all the leaders in literature of every depart-&lt;br /&gt;
ment, or it will be ridiculous.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 168 (#208) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
2. It should recognize and honour good work by&lt;br /&gt;
public recognition, and by distinction of&lt;br /&gt;
some kind.&lt;br /&gt;
3. It should regulate and control the production&lt;br /&gt;
of literature on principles which would,&lt;br /&gt;
once for all, destroy the present friction&lt;br /&gt;
between authors and publishers, and would&lt;br /&gt;
make the present widespread frauds and&lt;br /&gt;
sweatings disgraceful, if not impossible.&lt;br /&gt;
4. It should contain the official register of every&lt;br /&gt;
book published.&lt;br /&gt;
5. It should take over and administrate the&lt;br /&gt;
annual grant for Literature.&lt;br /&gt;
6. It should concern itself with every question&lt;br /&gt;
that may arise in any one of the numerous&lt;br /&gt;
interests of Literature.&lt;br /&gt;
These were the principles which I laid down in&lt;br /&gt;
my paper. The longer I consider them, the more&lt;br /&gt;
I am convinced that such a body, so constituted,&lt;br /&gt;
with such work before it, might confer the greatest&lt;br /&gt;
benefits upon letters. Some of the work has been&lt;br /&gt;
attempted, not without success, by this Society.&lt;br /&gt;
But it would come with more authority from an&lt;br /&gt;
Academy.&lt;br /&gt;
The last few weeks have also been enlivened by&lt;br /&gt;
a correspondence in the Times. Whenever the&lt;br /&gt;
Society has been publicly proving its existence and&lt;br /&gt;
its activity in some way which makes certain of its&lt;br /&gt;
friends wriggle, there is sure to occur such a corres-&lt;br /&gt;
pondence. Then we have the old, old things&mdash;the&lt;br /&gt;
bogey of risk; the awful losses in publishing; the&lt;br /&gt;
misstatements; the trail across the scent; the&lt;br /&gt;
misleading suggestions&mdash;everything to keep the&lt;br /&gt;
public in the dark. Newspapers either in the&lt;br /&gt;
interests of dishonourable houses, or in ignorance,&lt;br /&gt;
take up the cry, and with paragraphs, letters, and&lt;br /&gt;
leading articles repeat the misstatements. Then&lt;br /&gt;
we repeat the truth again&mdash;and they are silenced&lt;br /&gt;
for awhile. Meantime the Society advances.&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;&diams;&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
The controversy was conducted on the usual&lt;br /&gt;
lines. Hardly any of the writers seemed able to&lt;br /&gt;
conceive that there were any principles of justice&lt;br /&gt;
underlying the question. There was misrepresen-&lt;br /&gt;
tation, there was misstatement, and there was&lt;br /&gt;
deliberate falsehood&mdash;there was no attempt at&lt;br /&gt;
reasoning. The worst letter of all&mdash;the most silly&lt;br /&gt;
and the most spiteful&mdash;was written by an &amp;quot;Author.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
It illustrated exactly what was advanced in the last&lt;br /&gt;
number of this Journal on the ill-bred malice&lt;br /&gt;
which some writers permit themselves to use&lt;br /&gt;
towards others. This person, who says that he has&lt;br /&gt;
been treated with fairness&mdash;very likely&mdash;but he does&lt;br /&gt;
not understand what is meant by fairness&mdash;states that&lt;br /&gt;
he received a bigger cheque than he expected, and&lt;br /&gt;
was afterwards told by the publisher that his book&lt;br /&gt;
had been a loss of so much. &amp;quot;Hit or miss,&amp;quot; said&lt;br /&gt;
this airy speculator&mdash;&amp;quot; Hit or miss.&amp;quot; He saw no&lt;br /&gt;
accounts, and asked for none. He took the man&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
word. In no other business transaction known&lt;br /&gt;
would he have taken the man&amp;#039;s word There is a&lt;br /&gt;
sweet simplicity about this author which seems to&lt;br /&gt;
point to the country clergyman. He is often an&lt;br /&gt;
excellent person, but it is his foible to believe that&lt;br /&gt;
he is a good man of business. This person, so&lt;br /&gt;
skilled in matters of business, goes on to call a&lt;br /&gt;
scholar, a gentleman, a dignitary of the Church&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
the author in fact of the work under discussion&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
a publisher&amp;#039;s &amp;quot; paid clerk.&amp;quot; A clerk copies, casts&lt;br /&gt;
up accounts, and writes letters to order. A clerk&lt;br /&gt;
does not, as clerk, produce a work of art, genius,&lt;br /&gt;
and learning. This is the first time that one has&lt;br /&gt;
heard an author called a publisher&amp;#039;s paid clerk.&lt;br /&gt;
Now that the thing has been started it will not&lt;br /&gt;
doubtless be the last we shall hear of it.&lt;br /&gt;
The main point of the recent controversy in the&lt;br /&gt;
Times was, of course, ignored from the outset. It is&lt;br /&gt;
this: A. B. engages C. D. to do a piece of literary&lt;br /&gt;
work on a subject in which he is a specialist. He&lt;br /&gt;
is certain to do it well, and to produce a popular&lt;br /&gt;
book. C. D., not knowing the extent of his own&lt;br /&gt;
popularity, which A. B. does, produces this work,&lt;br /&gt;
and receives a sum of money. A. B., in order to&lt;br /&gt;
secure this popular writer for another work, after-&lt;br /&gt;
wards gives him four times what was bargained.&lt;br /&gt;
Now what is the profit of A. B.? He will not say&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;nor, of course, can he be expected to confess.&lt;br /&gt;
But it can be guessed by experts, and it is variously&lt;br /&gt;
reckoned at sixtyfold and a hundredfold what he&lt;br /&gt;
originally gave C. D. Yet C. D. has no right to&lt;br /&gt;
complain, because an agreement must be kept.&lt;br /&gt;
But when A. B. asks C. D. to write another book,&lt;br /&gt;
knowing that he is certain to make again an enor-&lt;br /&gt;
mous sum, how far is he justified in offering the&lt;br /&gt;
writer a sum equivalent to about one-fiftieth of&lt;br /&gt;
what he himself reasonably expects to make?&lt;br /&gt;
That is the question. We shall have no answer&lt;br /&gt;
to it from the other side; but the question itself&lt;br /&gt;
should be laid to heart by every writer. Sooner or&lt;br /&gt;
later it will be laid to heart, and then such an&lt;br /&gt;
agreement will become impossible.&lt;br /&gt;
The deadly rancour shown towards the Society&lt;br /&gt;
in most of the letters showed the mind of the writer.&lt;br /&gt;
It is a most healthy sign. The revelations made&lt;br /&gt;
in our publications have begun at last to make the&lt;br /&gt;
author want to understand his agreements, what it&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 169 (#209) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
is he gives, and what he gets in return. An end&lt;br /&gt;
of the good old days, when the author would sign&lt;br /&gt;
anything that was put before him, is seen to be&lt;br /&gt;
approaching. He now understands, or can easily&lt;br /&gt;
learn, what it costs to produce a book, and what is&lt;br /&gt;
meant by a royalty of ten, fifteen or twenty per cent.&lt;br /&gt;
Therefore the gentry who have been accustomed in&lt;br /&gt;
every account they make up, to overcharge on&lt;br /&gt;
every item, find that they can no longer do so with&lt;br /&gt;
impunity. Also those who have been fattening on&lt;br /&gt;
ten per cent, royalties find that their gains are now&lt;br /&gt;
discovered. In order to divert public attention from&lt;br /&gt;
the real point at issue, of course side issues have&lt;br /&gt;
to be found. This has been done chiefly by mis-&lt;br /&gt;
stating or wilfully misunderstanding what has been&lt;br /&gt;
advanced by the Society. Especially, and as a&lt;br /&gt;
matter of course, the old bogey of great risk and&lt;br /&gt;
enormous losses is trotted out. Let us again affirm&lt;br /&gt;
very seriously that publishers very, very seldom&lt;br /&gt;
take any book at all about which there is any risk.&lt;br /&gt;
They may make mistakes, of course. This is the&lt;br /&gt;
rule, even with the great houses. Indeed, they&lt;br /&gt;
would not be men of business if they did not avoid&lt;br /&gt;
risks. As to the smaller houses, they never take&lt;br /&gt;
any risk at all. Of course they cannot afford to&lt;br /&gt;
do so. They have discovered a better plan&mdash;to&lt;br /&gt;
make the author pay.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
For instance, this is the busiest time of the year.&lt;br /&gt;
The publishers&amp;#039; advertisements are now the longest.&lt;br /&gt;
I take up a paper and examine the publishers&amp;#039; lists&lt;br /&gt;
in its columns. The following is an analysis :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
a. A firm of the first rank. Eighteen books&lt;br /&gt;
advertised. Nine of these are new editions.&lt;br /&gt;
Seven are new books. Of the seven five&lt;br /&gt;
are absolutely without risk, unless of course,&lt;br /&gt;
they were over-printed or under-priced. Two&lt;br /&gt;
are novels of which we can only say that&lt;br /&gt;
this firm has always been careful to produce&lt;br /&gt;
none but good work, and therefore that it&lt;br /&gt;
is probably well advised that there is no risk&lt;br /&gt;
in producing them.&lt;br /&gt;
B. A small firm. Seven books. Six certainly&lt;br /&gt;
paid for by the authors. The seventh&lt;br /&gt;
presents no risk.&lt;br /&gt;
c A small firm. Four books, all by popular&lt;br /&gt;
authors. No risk.&lt;br /&gt;
D. An old established firm. Six books, of which&lt;br /&gt;
three are new editions. The other three&lt;br /&gt;
carry no risk whatever.&lt;br /&gt;
E. Another great firm. Sixteen books advertised.&lt;br /&gt;
Ten are by authors whose names command&lt;br /&gt;
a large sale. Five are educational, of the&lt;br /&gt;
better kind. Of the whole lot one only&lt;br /&gt;
appears doubtful.&lt;br /&gt;
f. A new firm. Fourteen books. Four belong&lt;br /&gt;
to well established series. One is a standard&lt;br /&gt;
book. Three have names which command&lt;br /&gt;
success. Of the remaining six, four are cer-&lt;br /&gt;
tainly paid for by their authors, and&lt;br /&gt;
probably the other two.&lt;br /&gt;
G. A firm of high standing. Fifteen books.&lt;br /&gt;
Eleven are by popular and well-known&lt;br /&gt;
authors. Three are reprints. One is a&lt;br /&gt;
work whose subject commands success.&lt;br /&gt;
H. Another high class firm. Seven works only&lt;br /&gt;
advertised out of their longer list. Three of&lt;br /&gt;
these books will command a certain success,&lt;br /&gt;
that kind of success which remunerates the&lt;br /&gt;
publisher, but does not enrich the author.&lt;br /&gt;
Four are by popular authors.&lt;br /&gt;
This is the kind of illustration that might be&lt;br /&gt;
followed up every week. I have taken eight&lt;br /&gt;
houses at random in the order in which they&lt;br /&gt;
advertised out of the whole list. I can find but&lt;br /&gt;
three books out of eighty-seven which appear to&lt;br /&gt;
me doubtful. Of the three I strongly suspect that&lt;br /&gt;
two are paid for by the authors.&lt;br /&gt;
We shall have in course of time, a good deal&lt;br /&gt;
more to say on the general questions of publishers&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
contracts, unexpected and enormous profits, alleged&lt;br /&gt;
losses and so forth.&lt;br /&gt;
Meantime, here is an instance of what we re-&lt;br /&gt;
commend to the consideration of Messrs. Cassell&lt;br /&gt;
and Co., the Literary Handmaid of the Church,&lt;br /&gt;
and other firms like-minded. In the year 1884 a&lt;br /&gt;
certain author produced with a certain provincial&lt;br /&gt;
publisher a little work which both believed would&lt;br /&gt;
prove a modest success. It obtained, however, an&lt;br /&gt;
enormous run. The publisher, meantime, had&lt;br /&gt;
bought his modest venture for a modest sum.&lt;br /&gt;
When the success of the book became known, he&lt;br /&gt;
voluntarily, unsolicited, tore up the agreement and&lt;br /&gt;
made another, based on the success of the book.&lt;br /&gt;
What can be said of such an act? It was spon-&lt;br /&gt;
taneous, and it was based upon the honourable&lt;br /&gt;
feeling that, agreement or no agreement, the&lt;br /&gt;
author should share in this unexpected good&lt;br /&gt;
fortune. The publisher was Mr. Arrowsmith, of&lt;br /&gt;
Bristol, the author was Mr. Fargus.&lt;br /&gt;
The Editor of the Critic (New York) invites his&lt;br /&gt;
readers to select twenty American literary women&lt;br /&gt;
as Immortelles. In order to assist the reader, he&lt;br /&gt;
gives a list of 139 living writers &amp;quot; not unknown to&lt;br /&gt;
the reading public.&amp;quot; In looking through this list&lt;br /&gt;
one is struck with a profound sense of ignorance,&lt;br /&gt;
because one knows so few of these names. Sixteen&lt;br /&gt;
only are known to me. Can there be a rising liter-&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 170 (#210) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
170&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
ature in the Slates wholly apart from, and unknown&lt;br /&gt;
to, ourselves? Yet it seems as if every good book&lt;br /&gt;
which appears in the States is welcomed here.&lt;br /&gt;
Are there, again, 139 English women of letters all&lt;br /&gt;
known to our own reading public, of whom no&lt;br /&gt;
more than sixteen are known across the Atlantic?&lt;br /&gt;
Literature has many branches, but these ladies&lt;br /&gt;
represent fiction almost entirely, and fiction is the&lt;br /&gt;
most popular of all the branches of literature,&lt;br /&gt;
and as Mr. Brander Mathews explains later on,&lt;br /&gt;
American novelists are here published&mdash;by per-&lt;br /&gt;
mission of the law&mdash;in great numbers.&lt;br /&gt;
Walter Besant.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
MR. BLAIKIE&amp;#039;S NEW POEMS.&lt;br /&gt;
IT is now a good many years since a little volume&lt;br /&gt;
of verse, the first work of two very young&lt;br /&gt;
writers, made its modest appearance. The&lt;br /&gt;
book was perceived at the outset to possess far more&lt;br /&gt;
promise than is usually shown in first essays at&lt;br /&gt;
verse. It is now among the very scarce books, and&lt;br /&gt;
is worth its weight in silver. One of these writers&lt;br /&gt;
has gone on producing poetry and is now read and&lt;br /&gt;
known wherever the English language is spoken.&lt;br /&gt;
The other has remained silent until now. He is&lt;br /&gt;
about to publish a new volume which will appear&lt;br /&gt;
immediately. The name of the former is Edmund&lt;br /&gt;
Gosse&mdash;of the latter, J. A. Blaikie. The following&lt;br /&gt;
are taken, by his permission, from his new volume&lt;br /&gt;
(Percival &amp;amp; Co.).&lt;br /&gt;
r.&lt;br /&gt;
Love, like a bird, with gladsome wings did fly,&lt;br /&gt;
In jocund springtide&amp;#039;s first delicious hour,&lt;br /&gt;
Unto my heart&amp;#039;s forlorn and wintry bower,&lt;br /&gt;
And rested there, and sang, till suddenly&lt;br /&gt;
It opened flowerwise that was like to die;&lt;br /&gt;
And all the winds his singing, as a shower,&lt;br /&gt;
Took, and outpoured on tree and herb and flower,&lt;br /&gt;
And life was light, and warmth, and ecstasy,&lt;br /&gt;
Until the first rude breath of winter&amp;#039;s power;&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
Then Love, a bird of passage, winged the sky.&lt;br /&gt;
II.&lt;br /&gt;
As when a weary troop doth eastward file&lt;br /&gt;
Through many a dreary league of Lybian sand&lt;br /&gt;
By wind unwinnow&amp;#039;d, and a listless band&lt;br /&gt;
Doth struggle, hopelessly, depress&amp;#039;d the while;&lt;br /&gt;
Till keen the cry of one doth them beguile,&lt;br /&gt;
Who, catching the first breeze from Nilus fann&amp;#039;d,&lt;br /&gt;
Scents the faint odours of that verdurous land,&lt;br /&gt;
Syene&amp;#039;s height and Philx&amp;#039;s palm-set isle;&lt;br /&gt;
So I when, mid the city&amp;#039;s grinding roar,&lt;br /&gt;
Thy presence fills the vacancy of eyes,&lt;br /&gt;
Work-wearied, with thy grace beneficent;&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
That antique Garden view I where of yore&lt;br /&gt;
Tu live and love were one, and paradise;&lt;br /&gt;
And the twain trees in Beauty&amp;#039;s vine are blent.&lt;br /&gt;
IN GRUB STREET.&lt;br /&gt;
THE most attractive volume that has lately&lt;br /&gt;
been issued is undoubtedly Mr. Frederic&lt;br /&gt;
Tennyson&amp;#039;s &amp;quot;Isles of Greece&amp;quot; (Macmillan.)&lt;br /&gt;
Anything coming from a member of the Laureate&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
family will have an interest for Englishmen in all&lt;br /&gt;
parts of the world. But Mr. Tennyson&amp;#039;s volume&lt;br /&gt;
can well rest on its own merits. A writer in the&lt;br /&gt;
Saturday Review says, &amp;quot; Whatever poetic fruits the&lt;br /&gt;
present season may yet bring forth, be they notable&lt;br /&gt;
or the reverse, Mr. Frederic Tennyson&amp;#039;s new poem&lt;br /&gt;
is alone sufficient to make the season memorable.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Lecky has completed his monumental&lt;br /&gt;
work, &amp;quot;The History of England in the Eighteenth&lt;br /&gt;
Century.&amp;quot; Those portions of it which deal with&lt;br /&gt;
the Irish Question have of course a peculiar interest&lt;br /&gt;
in the present time. It is a great tribute to Mr.&lt;br /&gt;
Lecky as an historian, that even those who differ&lt;br /&gt;
from him are agreed as to the good taste, modera-&lt;br /&gt;
tion, and judgment he has shown in dealing with&lt;br /&gt;
a very vexed question. Prejudice and bias are said&lt;br /&gt;
to be an ornament of history, but restraint is even&lt;br /&gt;
a greater gift. The work is worthy of Mr. Lecky&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
already considerable reputation. Both political&lt;br /&gt;
parties are promising to quote from him in support&lt;br /&gt;
of their own views.&lt;br /&gt;
&raquo;&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
Dr. Verrall&amp;#039;s edition of the &amp;quot;Ion of Euripides,&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
witha translation into English verse, an introduction,&lt;br /&gt;
and notes, comes very opportunely at the present&lt;br /&gt;
time in view of the forthcoming representation of&lt;br /&gt;
the drama at Cambridge. He certainly throws a&lt;br /&gt;
great deal of new light on the play, and takes up a&lt;br /&gt;
very original position on the plot as it is usually&lt;br /&gt;
received. That a general acceptance of his theory&lt;br /&gt;
will be adopted cannot, of course, be expected.&lt;br /&gt;
Commentaries on the classics are not, as a rule,&lt;br /&gt;
exhilarating to the ordinary public, but Dr. Verrall&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
introduction should find readers beyond the sphere&lt;br /&gt;
of scholarship. From the same centre of learning&lt;br /&gt;
comes Professor Jebb&amp;#039;s &amp;quot;Philoctetes,&amp;quot; welcome to&lt;br /&gt;
all lovers of the classics. Such able scholars give&lt;br /&gt;
the lie to the old charge, &amp;quot; What could Cambridge&lt;br /&gt;
do but quote?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;&diams;&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Froude&amp;#039;s life of Lord Beaconsfield has been&lt;br /&gt;
of course a disappointment to those who relish&lt;br /&gt;
back-kitchen biography. One would think that&lt;br /&gt;
the public craving for that sort of thing had been&lt;br /&gt;
more than satisfied. Someone discovered not&lt;br /&gt;
long ago an unpaid washing bill of Shelley&amp;#039;s,&lt;br /&gt;
which was considered an important contribution to&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 171 (#211) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
171&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Shelley&amp;#039;s Biographia.&amp;quot; It is, no doubt, the&lt;br /&gt;
absence of a similar item in Lord Beaconsfield&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
recent biography that is the &amp;quot;felt want.&amp;quot; Those,&lt;br /&gt;
however, who considered Mr. Froude&amp;#039;s &amp;quot;Carlyle &amp;quot; a&lt;br /&gt;
little too circumstantial will not regret any omission&lt;br /&gt;
of a similar nature.&lt;br /&gt;
The death of Simonides, the forger, will awaken&lt;br /&gt;
painful memories among those persons who are&lt;br /&gt;
wise after the event. Simonides was in many&lt;br /&gt;
ways a great genius, and he had also indefatigable&lt;br /&gt;
industry wherewith to apply his art. Some years&lt;br /&gt;
ago he gave out that he had died of typhoid in&lt;br /&gt;
the East, and sceptics may still refuse to believe in&lt;br /&gt;
his demise. There is an amusing story of his&lt;br /&gt;
which is characteristic of his amazing audacity.&lt;br /&gt;
After his MSS. and letters of introduction had been&lt;br /&gt;
exposed by Tischendorff and Mr. Aldis Wright,&lt;br /&gt;
he revenged himself by admitting the forgery and&lt;br /&gt;
volunteering the information that he had also&lt;br /&gt;
written the authentic MS. of the Gospel which&lt;br /&gt;
Tischendorff himself had unearthed.&lt;br /&gt;
In these days of popular series, when English&lt;br /&gt;
Men of Letters, English Men of Action, Remarkable&lt;br /&gt;
Women, and Talented Journalists have been so&lt;br /&gt;
successful, why should we not have a Criminal&lt;br /&gt;
Series? It of course must not be a vulgar reprint&lt;br /&gt;
of Newgate Calendar heroes, but lives of such&lt;br /&gt;
men as Chatterton, Samuel Ireland, Shapira,&lt;br /&gt;
and Simonides. Some enterprising publisher has&lt;br /&gt;
already, I believe, commissioned the &amp;quot;Buccaneers&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
and the &amp;quot;Highwaymen&amp;quot;; and &amp;quot;Forgers&amp;quot; would&lt;br /&gt;
make a very entertaining third volume. Neo-&lt;br /&gt;
Christians have their Elsmere House and Oxford&lt;br /&gt;
culture its Toynbee Hall, but the criminal classes&lt;br /&gt;
have been overlooked, that is, from their own&lt;br /&gt;
point of view. They have had no vehicle wherein&lt;br /&gt;
to express themselves hitherto.&lt;br /&gt;
The Times of November 5th has an interesting&lt;br /&gt;
reprint from the North China Herald on the subject&lt;br /&gt;
of &amp;quot; Celestial&amp;quot; novels. The latest expounders of&lt;br /&gt;
Confucian philosophy have condemned the art of&lt;br /&gt;
fiction, and one Shih, emulating Savanarola, estab-&lt;br /&gt;
lished a pyramid of vanities, where all immoral&lt;br /&gt;
novels were burnt. If this condemned literature&lt;br /&gt;
was of the &amp;quot;Sweeney Todd &amp;quot; and &amp;quot;Cheeky Charlie&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
order which the respectable Quarterly Review has&lt;br /&gt;
been denouncing lately, no one will regret the con-&lt;br /&gt;
flagration. But pedagogues and philosophers have&lt;br /&gt;
not always been the best judges of an art for which&lt;br /&gt;
they have had no sympathy. Roger Ascham, who,&lt;br /&gt;
if he was the first schoolmaster, was also the first of&lt;br /&gt;
prigs, denounced as harmful to youthful morals the&lt;br /&gt;
delightful Morte d&amp;#039;Arthur, the gay stories of Cynthio&lt;br /&gt;
and Bandello, and Mr. Herbert Spencer has&lt;br /&gt;
announced that literature nauseates him.&lt;br /&gt;
Apropos of conflagrations it is very satisfactory&lt;br /&gt;
to know that the famous library of Siena Cathedral&lt;br /&gt;
with its magnificent frescoes and illuminated missals&lt;br /&gt;
has been spared in the recent fire. A correspondent&lt;br /&gt;
in the Times the other day drew attention to the&lt;br /&gt;
very careless way in which the library of St. Mark&lt;br /&gt;
in the Ducal Palace at Venice was exposed to&lt;br /&gt;
danger. All this does not reflect much credit on&lt;br /&gt;
the municipalities of modern Italy, who are always&lt;br /&gt;
throwing stones at the religious bodies who have&lt;br /&gt;
any works of art in their keeping. The Liberals&lt;br /&gt;
are ever looking with envious eyes on the Vatican&lt;br /&gt;
Library, but until they can prove themselves better&lt;br /&gt;
curators, the longer the collection remains with its&lt;br /&gt;
present owners the better.&lt;br /&gt;
It is pleasant to see that some of the shorter&lt;br /&gt;
stories of Balzac have been issued by Walter Scott,&lt;br /&gt;
under the title of &amp;quot; Don Juan,&amp;#039;or the Elixir of Life.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Those who are unable to read French have hitherto&lt;br /&gt;
only been acquainted with the longer and more&lt;br /&gt;
famous portions of the Com&pound;die Humaine as the&lt;br /&gt;
Peau de Chagrin and the Pere Goriot. Mr. Saints-&lt;br /&gt;
bury says, &amp;quot;he is happiest when his subject has a&lt;br /&gt;
strong touch of the fantastic,&amp;quot; and in this collection&lt;br /&gt;
the fantastic is remarkably well represented.&lt;br /&gt;
With regard to the correspondence on the&lt;br /&gt;
English Academy in the Daily Graphic, and which&lt;br /&gt;
is discussed elsewhere in these pages, it may&lt;br /&gt;
interestpeopleto see again the 40 immortals selected&lt;br /&gt;
by a plebiscite in 1887, which by the courtesy of&lt;br /&gt;
the Pall Mall Gazette is here reprinted.&lt;br /&gt;
W. E. Gladstone. Cardinal Newman.&lt;br /&gt;
Tennyson. Walter Besant.&lt;br /&gt;
Matthew Arnold. Leslie Stephen.&lt;br /&gt;
Professor Huxley. Benjamin Jowett.&lt;br /&gt;
Herbert Spencer. John Bright.&lt;br /&gt;
John Ruskin. Frederic Harrison.&lt;br /&gt;
J. H. Froude. William Black.&lt;br /&gt;
Robert Browning. Justin Macarthy.&lt;br /&gt;
John Morley. Lord Salisbury.&lt;br /&gt;
Professor Tyndall. Sir Theodore Martin.&lt;br /&gt;
Professor Freeman. Henry Irving.&lt;br /&gt;
A. C. Swinburne. George Meredith&lt;br /&gt;
Archdeacon Farrar. Wilkie Collins.&lt;br /&gt;
Professor Max Miiller. Canon Liddon.&lt;br /&gt;
Sir John Lubbock.&amp;#039; Duke of Argyle.&lt;br /&gt;
William Morris. R. D. Blackmore.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 172 (#212) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
172&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
W. E. H. Lecky. Andrew Lang.&lt;br /&gt;
G. A. Sala. Bishop Stubbs.&lt;br /&gt;
R. L. Stevenson. Cardinal Manning.&lt;br /&gt;
Sir Frederic Leighton. Professor J. R. Seeley.&lt;br /&gt;
Six of this forty are now unhappily dead. There&lt;br /&gt;
are many names one would have included, as there&lt;br /&gt;
are others one would have excluded, not because&lt;br /&gt;
they lacked greatness, but because their connection&lt;br /&gt;
with literature is remote. The list is a remarkable&lt;br /&gt;
one in many ways; for instance, there are only three&lt;br /&gt;
Anglican clergymen, the present Bishop of Oxford&lt;br /&gt;
and Archdeacon Farrar,and the late Canon Liddon.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Sala, about the same time, gave an academy of&lt;br /&gt;
his own contriving in &amp;quot;Echoes of the Week,&amp;quot; then&lt;br /&gt;
in the Illustrated London News. Among his im-&lt;br /&gt;
mortals not included in the above were Mr. Lewis&lt;br /&gt;
Morris, Mr. Alfred Austin, and Sir Edwin Arnold.&lt;br /&gt;
I believe it is considered very vulgar now to talk&lt;br /&gt;
about the price of a book, and when one speaks of&lt;br /&gt;
the value of any particular volume, the aesthetic&lt;br /&gt;
value is meant&mdash;the value of the binding, the type,&lt;br /&gt;
the paper, and the contents. Sordid commercialism&lt;br /&gt;
must not enter into the sacred profession of letters.&lt;br /&gt;
Booksellers no doubt will soon be giving away first&lt;br /&gt;
editions and luxe editions for the pure love of pro-&lt;br /&gt;
pagating these new ideas. One advantage of an&lt;br /&gt;
academy would be that it could decide on such&lt;br /&gt;
niceties of language.&lt;br /&gt;
&diams;&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
The interest which was aroused by the publica-&lt;br /&gt;
tion of &amp;quot;Lux Mundi&amp;quot; has of course begun to&lt;br /&gt;
subside, and Churchmen are turning their attention&lt;br /&gt;
to the Lincoln and St. Paul&amp;#039;s Reredos and reconci-&lt;br /&gt;
liation cases. But its success has been phenomenal;&lt;br /&gt;
no book of the kind has had such a sale since&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Tracts for the Times,&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;Essaysand Reviews.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
The controversy still continues in seme of the&lt;br /&gt;
Church papers, and the &amp;quot; Luces Mundi &amp;quot; have been&lt;br /&gt;
explaining doubtful points to remove any suspicion&lt;br /&gt;
of heterodoxy that has attached to their remarkable&lt;br /&gt;
essays.&lt;br /&gt;
Someone has taken the trouble to collect all the&lt;br /&gt;
grammatical solecisms in the late Cardinal Newman&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
works, and confided the result of his labours to&lt;br /&gt;
one of the Scotch weeklies, and has refused to ac-&lt;br /&gt;
cept the Cardinal as a stylist in consequence.&lt;br /&gt;
Such attempts remind one of those theologians who,&lt;br /&gt;
having added up all the animals in the Ark and&lt;br /&gt;
worked out other mathematical problems from&lt;br /&gt;
Genesis, reject Christianity because they cannot&lt;br /&gt;
find a satisfactory answer. How many great&lt;br /&gt;
authors could one not put to a similar test? and&lt;br /&gt;
how many would come out unscathed? Thackeray,&lt;br /&gt;
above all &amp;#039;things a stylist, often made slips in&lt;br /&gt;
grammar, but are we to reject him as well? When&lt;br /&gt;
Sir John Everett Millais was asked by him to write&lt;br /&gt;
something for the Cornhill and the painter ex-&lt;br /&gt;
pressed doubts as to his grammatical proficiency,&lt;br /&gt;
Thackeray replied, &amp;quot; D n the grammar!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
No one that I know of has as yet criticised the&lt;br /&gt;
fifty-copies-on-large-paper-system&mdash;of which twenty-&lt;br /&gt;
five are sent to America, wherever that is, five are&lt;br /&gt;
reserved for the author&amp;#039;s friends, and the next ten&lt;br /&gt;
are destroyed. We hear of the republic of letters,&lt;br /&gt;
but this is surely the plutocracy of letters. There&lt;br /&gt;
are a number of books that could only be printed&lt;br /&gt;
or published by subscription, and it is but fair to&lt;br /&gt;
the subscribers that only a limited number should&lt;br /&gt;
be issued. Such are expensive catalogues, Art&lt;br /&gt;
books, or works like Burton&amp;#039;s &amp;quot;Arabian Nights&amp;quot;;&lt;br /&gt;
but why should a work, already well printed and&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;got up,&amp;quot; have a sort of extra special edition for&lt;br /&gt;
the benefit of wealthy people who very often never&lt;br /&gt;
read it? It only gives a book an artificial value,&lt;br /&gt;
except in the cases I have mentioned. Very often&lt;br /&gt;
it takes a very selfish form, and ordinary purchasers&lt;br /&gt;
are deprived of a good deal of matter, to which they&lt;br /&gt;
are fully entitled, because they are unable to pay&lt;br /&gt;
two guineas, instead of &amp;quot;\s. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
On the propriety of publishing Sir Walter Scott&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
journal a good many people will differ. From the&lt;br /&gt;
review in the Times it does not appear that it tends&lt;br /&gt;
to shatter an idol, and only confirms the prevalent&lt;br /&gt;
belief in the nobility and integrity of his character&lt;br /&gt;
It will raise, however, the old questions of how&lt;br /&gt;
much a public has a right to know of a writer&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
private life, and how much private life a public man&lt;br /&gt;
is permitted to have. It depends, one would think,&lt;br /&gt;
on the author himself. Mr. Browning, a few years&lt;br /&gt;
before his death, destroyed boxes full of letters, so&lt;br /&gt;
fearful was he of the biographers, while writers like&lt;br /&gt;
St. Augustine, Rousseau, Maria Bashkirtseff, and Sir&lt;br /&gt;
Austin Feverel, all gave their &amp;quot; bruised heart to the&lt;br /&gt;
world.&amp;quot; It is quite impossible to dogmatize on&lt;br /&gt;
the subject.&lt;br /&gt;
How far has the popularity of Scott waned?&lt;br /&gt;
Some people get very angry at the bare idea of it.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Swinburne, in one of his essays, says, &amp;quot; His pop-&lt;br /&gt;
ularity may fluctuate now and then with olderreaders&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;so much the worse for them . . . but when&lt;br /&gt;
it comes among English boys and girls, a dooms-&lt;br /&gt;
day will be dawning of which as yet there are most&lt;br /&gt;
assuredly no signs orpresages perceptible.&amp;quot; Now it is&lt;br /&gt;
reported that among boys his popularity has waned.&lt;br /&gt;
Older readers who knew him in their youth, read&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 173 (#213) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
173&lt;br /&gt;
him again and again, and like him better each time.&lt;br /&gt;
Boys prefer the more flashy novels of the elder&lt;br /&gt;
Dumas. Scott&amp;#039;s position in literature is as firm as&lt;br /&gt;
Shakespeare&amp;#039;s, but as a novelist for boys par excel-&lt;br /&gt;
lence he has been succeeded.&lt;br /&gt;
In the same way Byron is no longer the poet of&lt;br /&gt;
young men, or Moore of young ladies. Thackeray,&lt;br /&gt;
with very natural dislike of affectation, killed&lt;br /&gt;
Byron the man&mdash;the hero of society, and the same&lt;br /&gt;
able critic quoted before has no doubt influenced&lt;br /&gt;
popular feeling as to Byron&amp;#039;s rank on Parnassus.&lt;br /&gt;
By a curious irony of fate it is Mr. Swinburne&lt;br /&gt;
himself, the poet of his early volumes, who has&lt;br /&gt;
taken Byron&amp;#039;s place. It is &amp;quot; Faustine, Fragolletta,&lt;br /&gt;
Dolores,&amp;quot; who occupy in youthful minds the place of&lt;br /&gt;
the &amp;quot; Bride of Abydos,&amp;quot; the &amp;quot; Maid of Athens,&amp;quot; and&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Donna Julia.&amp;quot; Not very long ago there existed at&lt;br /&gt;
Oxford and Cambridge a Dolores Society, and as&lt;br /&gt;
a well-known man of letters once said, &amp;quot;Swinburne&lt;br /&gt;
set us on fire at Oxford.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
To appreciate Byron we must talk to foreigners.&lt;br /&gt;
They seem to regard him with unflagging admira-&lt;br /&gt;
tion. Wherever he went he left the stamp of his&lt;br /&gt;
wonderful personality, and cities which he has&lt;br /&gt;
celebrated in &amp;quot;Childe Harold&amp;quot; (now irreverently&lt;br /&gt;
called the &amp;quot;Rhyming Baedeker&amp;quot;), remember him&lt;br /&gt;
with&amp;#039;gratitude. The Greek colony in London cele-&lt;br /&gt;
brated his centenary with great pomp two or three&lt;br /&gt;
years ago, and after a memorial service in the&lt;br /&gt;
Orthodox Church in Moscow Road, and an address&lt;br /&gt;
in modern Greek on the services Byron had&lt;br /&gt;
rendered to their country, they marched to his&lt;br /&gt;
image in Hyde Park and placed a wreath there.&lt;br /&gt;
But the centenary was quite ignored by the English&lt;br /&gt;
people. The two English names which are most&lt;br /&gt;
familiar in Italy to-day are those of John&lt;br /&gt;
Ruskin and Lord Byron. The guides will always&lt;br /&gt;
tell you what &amp;quot;Rusconi&amp;quot; has said of a particular&lt;br /&gt;
building, and the street Arabs point out the palace&lt;br /&gt;
where Byron lived.&lt;br /&gt;
The publication of &amp;quot;Major Barttelot&amp;#039;s Diaries&lt;br /&gt;
and Letters&amp;quot; has been speedily followed by Mr.&lt;br /&gt;
Rose Troup&amp;#039;s &amp;quot;With Stanley&amp;#039;s Rear Column,&amp;quot; and&lt;br /&gt;
the Jameson Diaries are promised shortly. This&lt;br /&gt;
literature of recrimination which has sprung up is&lt;br /&gt;
not very edifying, the more so as it seems to be&lt;br /&gt;
the only tangible outcome of the ill-considered&lt;br /&gt;
Emin Relief Expedition. It would not be surpris-&lt;br /&gt;
ing, after the criminal nature of the charge which&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Stanley has preferred against the] unfortunate&lt;br /&gt;
commander of the rear column, to hear Mr. Stanley&lt;br /&gt;
himself and the advance column accused in turn&lt;br /&gt;
of subsisting on pigmy in the wilderness.&lt;br /&gt;
The French genius for delineating character was&lt;br /&gt;
never more highly displayed than in the &amp;quot;De&lt;br /&gt;
Goncourt Journals,&amp;quot; of which the third volume has&lt;br /&gt;
just been published. Although it professes to be&lt;br /&gt;
a memoir of the literary coteries of the period, it&lt;br /&gt;
is really little more than a description of the&lt;br /&gt;
nightly dinners at Brebants, and it is the figure of&lt;br /&gt;
Renan which is the most vividly drawn. Half&lt;br /&gt;
philosophic, half mystic, Renan certainly values&lt;br /&gt;
himself hugely. &amp;quot;I should have made an indul-&lt;br /&gt;
gent paternal charitable priest,&amp;quot; he has said of&lt;br /&gt;
himself. As a rule humility is also an advantage&lt;br /&gt;
in an ecclesiastic. A writer in the current&lt;br /&gt;
Quarterly errs when he describes him as a second&lt;br /&gt;
Voltaire, who had a keen sense of humour,&lt;br /&gt;
while Renan, if he is to be judged by his own&lt;br /&gt;
words, apparently has none.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;London City,&amp;quot; by Mr. Loftie, bids fair to be&lt;br /&gt;
the book of the month. It will be enriched with&lt;br /&gt;
vivid illustrations of London city as it is to-day,&lt;br /&gt;
engraved from original drawings by Mr. William&lt;br /&gt;
Luker, and every possible care has been taken to&lt;br /&gt;
make the book a model of artistic and skilled pro-&lt;br /&gt;
duction. Mr. Loftie is to the nineteenth century&lt;br /&gt;
what Stow was to the sixteenth&mdash;he is this and a&lt;br /&gt;
great deal more besides.&lt;br /&gt;
I believe the fashion of writing confessions in&lt;br /&gt;
ladies&amp;#039; albums exists no longer, but if anyone was&lt;br /&gt;
asked now who was their favourite writer, after&lt;br /&gt;
the favourite novelist and favourite poet had been&lt;br /&gt;
decided on, the favourite writer would be Mr.&lt;br /&gt;
Andrew Lang. But Mr. Lang is a poet as well,&lt;br /&gt;
and this month in collaboration with Mr.&amp;#039;Haggard,&lt;br /&gt;
he has become a novelist too, &amp;quot;The World&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
Desire&amp;quot; having been just issued in one volume.&lt;br /&gt;
His fairy book (red this time) gives a number of&lt;br /&gt;
stories which will be new to a great many of us.&lt;br /&gt;
There are two from the Russian. Has Mr. Lang&lt;br /&gt;
reconsidered his strictures on the Russian novelists?&lt;br /&gt;
He has written a preface to a translation of Langisms&lt;br /&gt;
which has given occasion for the Scotch to make&lt;br /&gt;
a bad joke. Homer sometimes nods, but Mr. Lang&lt;br /&gt;
never seems even to wink.&lt;br /&gt;
&raquo;&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. George W. Smalley, the London correspon-&lt;br /&gt;
dent of the New York Tribune, has collected his&lt;br /&gt;
famous letters to that journal in two volumes, en-&lt;br /&gt;
titled &amp;quot;London Letters and Others&amp;quot; (Macmillan).&lt;br /&gt;
They are certainly the best things of their kind&lt;br /&gt;
that have appeared, and were well worth republish-&lt;br /&gt;
ing in book form. The stories or anecdotes are&lt;br /&gt;
many and excellent.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 174 (#214) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
174&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR&lt;br /&gt;
A new work is announced by Ralph Iron, the&lt;br /&gt;
talented authoress of &amp;quot;The African Farm.&amp;quot; And&lt;br /&gt;
Messrs. Methuen have just published a second&lt;br /&gt;
series of Mr. Baring Gould&amp;#039;s fascinating &amp;quot; Historic&lt;br /&gt;
Oddities.&amp;quot; In his last volume Mr. Baring Gould&lt;br /&gt;
certainly succeeded in raising history to the level of&lt;br /&gt;
romance, which should be the first duty of a con-&lt;br /&gt;
scientious historian.&lt;br /&gt;
The new edition of Matthew Arnold&amp;#039;s complete&lt;br /&gt;
poems, lately issued by Messrs. Macmillan, as a&lt;br /&gt;
companion to Lord Tennyson&amp;#039;s, will be welcome&lt;br /&gt;
to the increasing admirers of the poet. Those&lt;br /&gt;
who prefer Arnold the poet, to Arnold the essayist,&lt;br /&gt;
will regret his unfortunate excursions into theology.&lt;br /&gt;
His keen critical ability no doubt hampered&lt;br /&gt;
his poetical achievement&mdash;for thorough criticism,&lt;br /&gt;
if rightly considered, is a creative faculty. The&lt;br /&gt;
greatest poets are not, as a rule, great critics.&lt;br /&gt;
Theirs is the magnificent endowment of bias and&lt;br /&gt;
enthusiasm, and though their opinions are always&lt;br /&gt;
interesting, the critical power is not infrequently&lt;br /&gt;
developed at the expense of their poetic gifts.&lt;br /&gt;
Matthew Arnold is one of those who are pointed&lt;br /&gt;
to as an example of a man who excelled in many&lt;br /&gt;
things at once&mdash;poetry, criticism, and theology.&lt;br /&gt;
Censuring Bishop Colenso he said, &amp;quot;Let us have&lt;br /&gt;
all the science there is from men of science; from&lt;br /&gt;
the men of religion let us have religion.&amp;quot; As a poet,&lt;br /&gt;
and as some think as a critic, Mr. Arnold excelled,&lt;br /&gt;
but what about his theology? From theologians&lt;br /&gt;
let us have theology! Rossetti, on the other hand,&lt;br /&gt;
is given in support of the other view, that a man&lt;br /&gt;
cannot excel in two different arts. To say this&lt;br /&gt;
is like saying that a person must not be able to&lt;br /&gt;
talk two languages, or that if you are a good&lt;br /&gt;
runner you must not be a good walker, or a good&lt;br /&gt;
rider. But if the quantity of Rossetti&amp;#039;s produc-&lt;br /&gt;
tions is meant, the remark becomes a platitude.&lt;br /&gt;
It is entirely a different thing when science and art&lt;br /&gt;
get mixed up, as science and religion are sometimes.&lt;br /&gt;
It is terribly old-fashioned to say so, but I believe&lt;br /&gt;
literature and art are nearer to one another than&lt;br /&gt;
we think; at any rate, they are not so distant as&lt;br /&gt;
the brand-new critics tell us.&lt;br /&gt;
A paper on the &amp;quot; Drift of Religious Thought in&lt;br /&gt;
England&amp;quot; will shortly appear in the Forum&mdash;where&lt;br /&gt;
a good many excellent papers have lately appeared.&lt;br /&gt;
It is by the Rev. Prof. Momerie, author of &amp;quot; Church&lt;br /&gt;
and Creed.&amp;quot; Mr. Moinerie is one of the very few&lt;br /&gt;
men in the Church of England to whom the posi-&lt;br /&gt;
tive and negative aspects of truth (positive in the&lt;br /&gt;
metaphysical foundation, and negative in his con-&lt;br /&gt;
tempt for ecclesiasticism) have equal attractions.&lt;br /&gt;
In his forthcoming article he will show how, in&lt;br /&gt;
spite of its tendency to retrograde, the Church of&lt;br /&gt;
England is being forced by circumstances towards&lt;br /&gt;
Rationalism, the goal which all Churches must, in&lt;br /&gt;
his opinion, reach or perish.&lt;br /&gt;
Another novel of Egypt&mdash;or partly of Egypt&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
not an imitation of &amp;quot; She.&amp;quot; It is by Clive Holland,&lt;br /&gt;
whose name is becoming better known, and appears&lt;br /&gt;
at the end of the year.&lt;br /&gt;
I also note &amp;quot;Mademoiselle,&amp;quot; by Frances Mary&lt;br /&gt;
Peard, to be published immediately by Messrs.&lt;br /&gt;
Walter Smith and Innes.&lt;br /&gt;
The following is from a publisher. Of course&lt;br /&gt;
we all agree with him in his claim that the&lt;br /&gt;
purchase outright of a book releases the purchaser&lt;br /&gt;
from any further payment unless he chooses. The&lt;br /&gt;
other points are also in substantial accord with the&lt;br /&gt;
views of the Society.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I am much obliged by your note. I am myself&lt;br /&gt;
most anxious to offer fair terms to authors.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The one broad principle on which I prefer to&lt;br /&gt;
take my stand, is that the author should share in&lt;br /&gt;
the success of the book up to the sale of the last&lt;br /&gt;
copy; and this can only be attained by the use of&lt;br /&gt;
the royalty system in one form or another. The&lt;br /&gt;
difficulty is when authors cannot afford to wait and&lt;br /&gt;
demand a sum down. This at once increases the&lt;br /&gt;
risk and forces the publisher to provide for&lt;br /&gt;
emergencies at the cost of the author. The ideal&lt;br /&gt;
method is to pay a sum down in advance of&lt;br /&gt;
royalties, and to pay the royalties after that sum&lt;br /&gt;
has been reached in the sales.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The recent developments of the quarrel between&lt;br /&gt;
authors and publishers are evidently due to those&lt;br /&gt;
new and more generous views on social and&lt;br /&gt;
economic problems which are forcing their way to&lt;br /&gt;
the front. Political economy is rapidly becoming&lt;br /&gt;
less a cold science treating solely of the distribu-&lt;br /&gt;
tion and nature of wealth, and more an inquiry into&lt;br /&gt;
the means available for improving the condition of&lt;br /&gt;
the producer, and for discovering an equitable&lt;br /&gt;
method of distributing profits. Authors are pro-&lt;br /&gt;
ducers, and though there may be something repug-&lt;br /&gt;
nant to a sensitive mind in the publicity given to&lt;br /&gt;
details of literary commerce, we must allow that&lt;br /&gt;
literature, which has now to be reckoned with as&lt;br /&gt;
one of the great wealth-producing limbs of com-&lt;br /&gt;
merce, has every claim to be paid in accordance&lt;br /&gt;
with recognised principles.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The proportion of divided profit is a delicate&lt;br /&gt;
question. Where an author has a sure audience,&lt;br /&gt;
he may claim two-thirds to the publisher&amp;#039;s one-third.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 175 (#215) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
175&lt;br /&gt;
But when the publisher is working out an idea of&lt;br /&gt;
his own with trouble and thought, he may justly&lt;br /&gt;
claim a higher proportion. I think that the royalty&lt;br /&gt;
paid to an author should be increased in case of a&lt;br /&gt;
largely increased sale.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The half profit system is an abomination. If&lt;br /&gt;
resorted to, the sums charged against the book&lt;br /&gt;
should be those really paid. But of course the&lt;br /&gt;
publisher may charge a preliminary fee for his&lt;br /&gt;
trouble.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;When a publisher issues a book at the expense&lt;br /&gt;
of the author, he should charge a reasonable sum,&lt;br /&gt;
but he has a right to say &amp;#039;I will produce the&lt;br /&gt;
book at such a sum; whether you can get the&lt;br /&gt;
book produced more cheaply elsewhere is not to&lt;br /&gt;
the point&mdash;my charge is so and so.&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;When a publisher agrees to give a fixed price&lt;br /&gt;
for the copyright of a book, the author&amp;#039;s claim&lt;br /&gt;
vanishes with the payment of that sum. The&lt;br /&gt;
publisher pays for his bargain and has a right to&lt;br /&gt;
any profits which may accrue. If I buy a plot of&lt;br /&gt;
ground and find coal on it, the seller could hardly&lt;br /&gt;
claim an additional share of the profits. Per-&lt;br /&gt;
sonally, I would give the author a share of any&lt;br /&gt;
such profits if they were large. But this is hardly&lt;br /&gt;
a matter of honesty. At the same time such&lt;br /&gt;
bargains should not degenerate into sweating.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;These remarks are crude and written hastily,&lt;br /&gt;
but I think they are in the main just.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I fear you will never be able to stop the depre-&lt;br /&gt;
dations of those who infest the shady places of&lt;br /&gt;
publishing. At the same time your Society has&lt;br /&gt;
done a vast amount of good, and has, I should&lt;br /&gt;
say, greatly increased the safety and profits of&lt;br /&gt;
literary folk.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;&diams;&lt;br /&gt;
It is pleasant to announce that Mr. Sprigge&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Methods of Publication &amp;quot; has already run through&lt;br /&gt;
one edition, and that another is in preparation and&lt;br /&gt;
will be out in a few days. Contrary to reasonable&lt;br /&gt;
expectation, the greater part of the edition has&lt;br /&gt;
been taken by the general public, and not by the&lt;br /&gt;
members of the Society. Now the book is written&lt;br /&gt;
especially for the benefit of the members, and&lt;br /&gt;
could not have been written but for their support&lt;br /&gt;
in maintaining the Society. It throws a flood of&lt;br /&gt;
light upon the meaning of the various methods&lt;br /&gt;
pursued in this chaotic business, and upon the&lt;br /&gt;
frauds which are often perpetrated under cover of&lt;br /&gt;
these methods by unscrupulous men. The book&lt;br /&gt;
ought to be on the shelf of every literary man.&lt;br /&gt;
Some, perhaps, will not trouble to &amp;quot;do the sums.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
They may take the general conclusions and note&lt;br /&gt;
the warnings. With this book should go the&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Cost of Production,&amp;quot; published only for mem-&lt;br /&gt;
bers. A new edition of this is in preparation.&lt;br /&gt;
Messrs. Clowes and Son, of Fleet Street, have in&lt;br /&gt;
the press, and will publish very shortly &amp;quot;The Law of&lt;br /&gt;
the Press,&amp;quot; by Mr. J. R. Fisher, of The Standard,&lt;br /&gt;
and Mr. J. A. Strahan, LL.B., Regius Professor of&lt;br /&gt;
Law, Queen&amp;#039;s College, Belfast. The object of the&lt;br /&gt;
authors has been to present in handy form a com-&lt;br /&gt;
plete digest of all the laws affecting the Periodical&lt;br /&gt;
Press, whether from the point of view of editors,&lt;br /&gt;
contributors, or proprietors.&lt;br /&gt;
There has of late been growing up a consider-&lt;br /&gt;
able body of statute and case law of the utmost&lt;br /&gt;
importance to the literary profession, but although&lt;br /&gt;
we have excellent works on libel, copyright, and&lt;br /&gt;
other branches of the subject, there is no book&lt;br /&gt;
covering the whole ground, and written expressly&lt;br /&gt;
with a view to the interests of the journalist.&lt;br /&gt;
For purposes of comparison a chapter is added&lt;br /&gt;
giving a full account of the Press Laws of France&lt;br /&gt;
and Germany.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
CANADIAN COPYRIGHT.&lt;br /&gt;
THIS is a subject which has been much dis-&lt;br /&gt;
cussed during the year by those interested&lt;br /&gt;
in the Copyright question.&lt;br /&gt;
Canada, it is well known, occupies a peculiar&lt;br /&gt;
position with regard to copyright legislation. On&lt;br /&gt;
the one hand, as one of our colonies, literary pro-&lt;br /&gt;
perty receives there the same attention and protec-&lt;br /&gt;
tion as in any other Imperial Colony. On the other&lt;br /&gt;
hand, such legislation is very little use to author&lt;br /&gt;
or publisher. A long and easily crossed frontier&lt;br /&gt;
between Canada and America renders payment for&lt;br /&gt;
and publication of copyrighted works a thankless&lt;br /&gt;
task in Canada; the unshackled American can do&lt;br /&gt;
the job so much cheaper.&lt;br /&gt;
Canada has for many years designed to obtain&lt;br /&gt;
leave from Imperial Parliament to regulate copy-&lt;br /&gt;
right in the colony by domestic legislation, and the&lt;br /&gt;
idea has met with varying and various support from&lt;br /&gt;
ministers of all ways of thinking. The position is&lt;br /&gt;
now as follows :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
In 1889, the Government of Canada passed an&lt;br /&gt;
Act (entitled 52 Vic, cap. 29) relating to the law&lt;br /&gt;
of copyright in Canada, and this Act is now awaiting&lt;br /&gt;
the Royal Assent&mdash;or was awaiting it in the spring&lt;br /&gt;
of this year. But since that date the Ministers of&lt;br /&gt;
the Ciown, whilst regretting the fact, have been&lt;br /&gt;
unable to authorize the Governor-General of&lt;br /&gt;
Canada to issue a Proclamation to bring the Act&lt;br /&gt;
into force.&lt;br /&gt;
The principal provisions of the Canadian Copy-&lt;br /&gt;
right Act, 52 Vic, cap. 29, are briefly these :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
i. Sec. 1 enacts that the conditions for obtaining&lt;br /&gt;
copyright in a work in Canada, shall be that&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 176 (#216) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
176&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
the work shall, before publication or pro-&lt;br /&gt;
duction elsewhere, or simultaneously with&lt;br /&gt;
the first publication or production thereof&lt;br /&gt;
elsewhere, be registered in the office of the&lt;br /&gt;
Minister of Agriculture, by the author or&lt;br /&gt;
his legal representatives, and further that&lt;br /&gt;
such work shall be printed, published, or&lt;br /&gt;
produced in Canada, or reprinted, repub-&lt;br /&gt;
lished, or reproduced in Canada, within&lt;br /&gt;
one month after publication or production&lt;br /&gt;
elsewhere.&lt;br /&gt;
ii. Sec. 3 (i) enables the Minister of Agriculture,&lt;br /&gt;
in the event of the person entitled to copy-&lt;br /&gt;
right failing to reprint or republish as pro-&lt;br /&gt;
vided in Sec. 1, to grant licenses to persons&lt;br /&gt;
domiciled in Canada to print and publish&lt;br /&gt;
the work, for which copyright, but for such&lt;br /&gt;
neglect or failure mi&amp;quot;ht have been obtained;&lt;br /&gt;
but no such license shall convey exclusive&lt;br /&gt;
rights to print and publish or produce any&lt;br /&gt;
work.&lt;br /&gt;
Sec. 3 (ii) provides that a license shall be&lt;br /&gt;
granted to any applicant agreeing to pay the&lt;br /&gt;
author or his legal representative a royalty&lt;br /&gt;
of ten per cent, on the retail price of each&lt;br /&gt;
copy or reproduction issued of the work;&lt;br /&gt;
and he shall also give security for such&lt;br /&gt;
payment to the satisfaction of the Minister.&lt;br /&gt;
Sec. 4 enacts that the royalty shall be collected&lt;br /&gt;
by the officers of the Department of Inland&lt;br /&gt;
Revenue, and paid over to the persons en-&lt;br /&gt;
titled thereto, but the Government shall not&lt;br /&gt;
be liable to account for any such royalty&lt;br /&gt;
not actually collected.&lt;br /&gt;
Sec. 5 provides that if a license has been granted&lt;br /&gt;
for the publication of any work, and evidence&lt;br /&gt;
has been adduced to the satisfaction of the&lt;br /&gt;
Governor in Council that such work is being&lt;br /&gt;
printed and published or produced in such&lt;br /&gt;
a manner as to meet the demand therefoi&lt;br /&gt;
in Canada, the Governor-General may by&lt;br /&gt;
proclamation prohibit the importation, while&lt;br /&gt;
the author&amp;#039;s copyright or that of his assignors&lt;br /&gt;
is in force, of any copies or reproductions&lt;br /&gt;
of the work to which such license relates.&lt;br /&gt;
Sec. 6 enacts that no such prohibition as last&lt;br /&gt;
mentioned shall apply to the importation of&lt;br /&gt;
copies of such works from the United&lt;br /&gt;
Kingdom.&lt;br /&gt;
In June last the above-mentioned Act was&lt;br /&gt;
brought under the notice of the Sub-Committee&lt;br /&gt;
on Copyright, as was also an announcement in the&lt;br /&gt;
press that Sir John Thompson, the Canadian&lt;br /&gt;
Minister of Justice, was on his way from Canada&lt;br /&gt;
to confer with the Colonial Office authorities&lt;br /&gt;
relative to the Canadian Copyright Act.&lt;br /&gt;
In consequence of this announcement, Sir&lt;br /&gt;
Fredk. Pollock, the Chairman of the Sub-Com-&lt;br /&gt;
mittee, communicated with the Colonial Office in&lt;br /&gt;
July last, drawing attention to the fact that the&lt;br /&gt;
Canadian Copyright Act was ultra vires, as being&lt;br /&gt;
inconsistent with and repugnant to the Imperial&lt;br /&gt;
Copyright Act of 1842.&lt;br /&gt;
The receipt of Sir Fredk. Pollock&amp;#039;s letter was&lt;br /&gt;
duly acknowledged by the Colonial Office, and&lt;br /&gt;
then for a time nothing more was heard of the&lt;br /&gt;
matter.&lt;br /&gt;
On the 17th September, a letter was written by&lt;br /&gt;
the direction of Ixird Knutsford, from the Colonial&lt;br /&gt;
Office to the Incorporated Society of Authors,&lt;br /&gt;
but owing to a mistake of the Post Office autho-&lt;br /&gt;
rities the letter was delivered to a wrong address,&lt;br /&gt;
and was not received by the Society until some&lt;br /&gt;
weeks afterwards.&lt;br /&gt;
The purport of the letter was to the effect that&lt;br /&gt;
Lord Knutsford had directed Sir John Thompson&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
report on the Canadian Copyright Act, together&lt;br /&gt;
with other official documents, to be forwarded to&lt;br /&gt;
the Society of Authors, and ended by saying that&lt;br /&gt;
his Lordship would be glad to be favoured with&lt;br /&gt;
any observations which the Society might desire to&lt;br /&gt;
make upon the questions raised in the report and&lt;br /&gt;
other documents.&lt;br /&gt;
Sir J. Thompson&amp;#039;s report really consists of a&lt;br /&gt;
very powerful argument as to why either the&lt;br /&gt;
Canadian Copyright Act should receive the Royal&lt;br /&gt;
Assent; or, if the Crown cannot properly give its&lt;br /&gt;
assent to the Bill on account of its being in conflict&lt;br /&gt;
with the Imperial Act, that the Government should&lt;br /&gt;
promote legislation in the Parliament of Great&lt;br /&gt;
Britain to remove any doubt which may exist as to&lt;br /&gt;
the power of the Parliament of Canada to deal&lt;br /&gt;
with the question fully and effectually.&lt;br /&gt;
The main points upon which this demand is&lt;br /&gt;
based may be shortly summarized thus :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
1. The Imperial Government has, during the&lt;br /&gt;
last 40 years, on several occasions promised&lt;br /&gt;
to pass a Bill whereby the Canadian Parlia-&lt;br /&gt;
ment might legislate upon the subject of&lt;br /&gt;
copyright in Canada, although such legis-&lt;br /&gt;
lation might be repugnant to or inconsistent&lt;br /&gt;
with the copyright law of this country.&lt;br /&gt;
This is proved by reference to various despatches&lt;br /&gt;
from the Colonial Office to the Governor-General&lt;br /&gt;
of Canada, which are set out at length in Sir J.&lt;br /&gt;
Thompson&amp;#039;s report.&lt;br /&gt;
2. The rights which British authors and pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lishers have under the Imperial Copyright&lt;br /&gt;
Act have been greatly abused by the sale of&lt;br /&gt;
their copyright privileges to American&lt;br /&gt;
publishers and by their refusal to sell to&lt;br /&gt;
Canadian publishers on like terms.&lt;br /&gt;
3. The prices of American prints are so low&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 177 (#217) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
177&lt;br /&gt;
that British publications have no chance&lt;br /&gt;
of competing with them in Canada&mdash;the&lt;br /&gt;
price of British publications exceeding by&lt;br /&gt;
four to tenfold that for which reprints are&lt;br /&gt;
purchased in America; the result being&lt;br /&gt;
that the business of publishing British&lt;br /&gt;
literature for the Canadian market is done&lt;br /&gt;
almost exclusively in the United States.&lt;br /&gt;
4. The American publisher is free to reprint&lt;br /&gt;
any British work and to supply it to the&lt;br /&gt;
Canadian public, while the Canadian pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lisher is restrained from publishing such&lt;br /&gt;
work on any terms, except with the per-&lt;br /&gt;
mission of the copyright holder in Great&lt;br /&gt;
Britain.&lt;br /&gt;
5. On account of the facts mentioned in para-&lt;br /&gt;
graph 4, publishing establishments have&lt;br /&gt;
been transferred from Canada to the United&lt;br /&gt;
States.&lt;br /&gt;
6. The peculiar position in which Canada is&lt;br /&gt;
placed on account of her proximity to the&lt;br /&gt;
United States, and the copyright policy of&lt;br /&gt;
the United States demand peculiar treat-&lt;br /&gt;
ment in legislation.&lt;br /&gt;
7. The royalty provision of the Act is reason-&lt;br /&gt;
able, and affords ample facilities for collec-&lt;br /&gt;
tion.&lt;br /&gt;
8. The royalty system was recommended by&lt;br /&gt;
the Royal Commission on Copyright in&lt;br /&gt;
their report of 1876.&lt;br /&gt;
Sir J. Thompson also adds that any suggestions&lt;br /&gt;
as to details which the Colonial Office may think&lt;br /&gt;
proper to make, will receive the earnest and re-&lt;br /&gt;
spectful attention of the Governor-General.&lt;br /&gt;
On October the 23rd a meeting was held at the&lt;br /&gt;
Society&amp;#039;s offices, to discuss the answer which the&lt;br /&gt;
Society should return to Lord Knutsford&amp;#039;s flatter-&lt;br /&gt;
ing letter.&lt;br /&gt;
The purport of Sir J. Thompson&amp;#039;s report having&lt;br /&gt;
been explained, the following reply was sent to the&lt;br /&gt;
Colonial Office :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;In answer to the letter from Mr. Robert Herbert&lt;br /&gt;
of the 17th September, 1890, I have the honour to&lt;br /&gt;
inform your Lordship that a meeting of the General&lt;br /&gt;
Committee of the Incorporated Society of Authors,&lt;br /&gt;
including the Sub-Committee on Copyright, has&lt;br /&gt;
been held to consider the questions raised by Sir&lt;br /&gt;
J. Thompson in his report to your Lordship of&lt;br /&gt;
July 14th, 1890. I am directed by the Committee&lt;br /&gt;
to inform your Lordship as follows:&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
1. &amp;quot;They can express no opinion on the question&lt;br /&gt;
of the general policy which Her Majesty&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
Government may think fit to adopt towards&lt;br /&gt;
Canada with regard to the question of&lt;br /&gt;
copyright.&lt;br /&gt;
2 &amp;quot;They hope, however, that if Her Majesty&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
Government think fit to undertake legisla-&lt;br /&gt;
tion in order to give effect to the principles&lt;br /&gt;
of the Canadian Copyright Act, such legis-&lt;br /&gt;
lation will embody due precautions for&lt;br /&gt;
making &amp;quot;the collections of royalty charges&lt;br /&gt;
really efficient.&lt;br /&gt;
3. &amp;quot;They submit that the clauses relating to the&lt;br /&gt;
collection of royalty charges as drafted in&lt;br /&gt;
the Canadian Copyright Act, 52 Vic, cap.&lt;br /&gt;
29, are not sufficient for the proper collec-&lt;br /&gt;
tion thereof; and&lt;br /&gt;
4. &amp;quot;It appears to the Committee doubtful whether&lt;br /&gt;
the Canadian Copyright Act, 52 Vic, cap.&lt;br /&gt;
29, does not purport to abolish copyright&lt;br /&gt;
altogether, unless the person entitled thereto&lt;br /&gt;
reprints or republishes in Canada within&lt;br /&gt;
one month after printing or publishing&lt;br /&gt;
elsewhere. At best, the language of the&lt;br /&gt;
Act is ambiguous on this point.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
It must be remembered, though I hope I may&lt;br /&gt;
be pardoned for pointing out anything so obvious,&lt;br /&gt;
that these views of the copyright question in&lt;br /&gt;
Canada have been forced upon us by the enterprise&lt;br /&gt;
of America. It is hard on the English author to&lt;br /&gt;
lose his problematical rights in the colony, but&lt;br /&gt;
the blow is tempered by the remembrance that&lt;br /&gt;
America has taken due care that he should lose&lt;br /&gt;
his real rights.&lt;br /&gt;
W. Oliver Hodges.&lt;br /&gt;
Hon. Sec. Copyright Committee.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
FIN DE SIECLE.&lt;br /&gt;
THERE is much talk about the fin de stick&lt;br /&gt;
or decadent writers at the present moment.&lt;br /&gt;
Most of it, however, springs from an entire&lt;br /&gt;
misconception of the true application of the phrase&lt;br /&gt;
when literature is in question. As applied to social&lt;br /&gt;
manners or morals, it is the merest affectation to use&lt;br /&gt;
the term to describe anything but what has&lt;br /&gt;
become at least jejune, if not absolutely decayed.&lt;br /&gt;
When applied to literature, on the other hand, the&lt;br /&gt;
phrase does not necessarily bear any such interpre-&lt;br /&gt;
tation. Quite the contrary. An author may be&lt;br /&gt;
described at once as the typical decadent and the&lt;br /&gt;
greatest living writer with perfect propriety. It&lt;br /&gt;
may not be out of place at the same time to&lt;br /&gt;
remind some persons that the decadent spirit is not&lt;br /&gt;
absolutely dissociated from the vilest writing. The&lt;br /&gt;
school, however, is honourably d stinguished by&lt;br /&gt;
great technical excellence. It may fairly be asked&lt;br /&gt;
then, &amp;quot;What is a decadent}&amp;quot; A complete&lt;br /&gt;
definition is at all times difficult to obtain, and we&lt;br /&gt;
do not pretend to offer anything of the kind; but&lt;br /&gt;
a writer is rightly described as a decadent when his&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 178 (#218) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
178&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
work reflects decay, or even triviality, in any shape.&lt;br /&gt;
The true decadent never really cares to handle any&lt;br /&gt;
subject when those elements are wholly absent;&lt;br /&gt;
he is always a literary voluptuary and generally&lt;br /&gt;
dabbles in psychology.&lt;br /&gt;
M. Jules Lemaitre, speaking of the decadence&lt;br /&gt;
literature, goes so far as to say that it should perhaps&lt;br /&gt;
be regarded rather as the dawn of a new era than&lt;br /&gt;
the decay of an old. If this be so the term &amp;quot;Neo-&lt;br /&gt;
Romantic&amp;quot; even might not be considered as a&lt;br /&gt;
misnomer as applied to the school. Again, M. Jules&lt;br /&gt;
Lemaitre in reviewing a piece by M. Catulle Mendes,&lt;br /&gt;
hails its author as &amp;quot;the true decadent, the decadent&lt;br /&gt;
of the classical period, the Grasco-Latin decadent full&lt;br /&gt;
of knowledge and dexterity.&amp;quot; M. Catulle Mendes,&lt;br /&gt;
he says, is like Callimachus, Claudius, Ausonius, and&lt;br /&gt;
then further on, &amp;quot;M. Catulle Mendes loves literature&lt;br /&gt;
with the ardour of a voluptuary who is never&lt;br /&gt;
glutted . . and this debauchee is an artist with the&lt;br /&gt;
most tender conscience, whose style is immaculate.&lt;br /&gt;
I am sure that he would rather lose his head than&lt;br /&gt;
write an ill-turned sentence.&amp;quot; And finally in regard&lt;br /&gt;
to his subjects, &amp;quot;I am obliged to recognise that&lt;br /&gt;
he has written much on the details of psychology less&lt;br /&gt;
with the avowed object of satisfying his own&lt;br /&gt;
sensuality and exciting that of his readers. He&lt;br /&gt;
has offended in the same way as did his I&amp;gt;atin name-&lt;br /&gt;
sake, Ovid, Martial, and nearly all the poets of the&lt;br /&gt;
Renaissance, in the same way as Montesquieu,&lt;br /&gt;
Crebillon fils, Voltaire, Gentil-Bernard, Parny, &amp;amp;c.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
In fact, we may say that the decadent may be&lt;br /&gt;
generally recognized by his unsavoury subject and&lt;br /&gt;
his superb style. Many excellent persons, believing&lt;br /&gt;
themselves to be lovers of literature,condemn decadent&lt;br /&gt;
literature on this ground alone, and hold the hetero-&lt;br /&gt;
dox view that no literature can be truly great which is&lt;br /&gt;
not also truly good. There is a wide margin of taste&lt;br /&gt;
in letters as in other things; but those persons&lt;br /&gt;
who really hold this veiw do not care about literature&lt;br /&gt;
at all&mdash;what they like is a popular treatise on moral&lt;br /&gt;
philosophy written on the anecdotal method.&lt;br /&gt;
With the exception of Mr. Pater and Mr.&lt;br /&gt;
Symonds, we have no decadents, though Mr.&lt;br /&gt;
Henry James is spoken of as a novelist fin de siecle,&lt;br /&gt;
and there is one story about which there has been&lt;br /&gt;
a great controversy lately; it is the only work of&lt;br /&gt;
fiction a Frenchman would recognise as the work&lt;br /&gt;
of a true decadent. But the spirit is here, and in&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Pater&amp;#039;s postscript to his delightful Renaissance&lt;br /&gt;
will be found a system of ethics that has a large&lt;br /&gt;
following in England. Mr. Pater, it may be said, is&lt;br /&gt;
among the greatest of our stylists. A writer to the&lt;br /&gt;
St. James&amp;#039;s Gazette once spoke of an infatuation for&lt;br /&gt;
a certain painter, and fin de siecle is an &amp;quot;infatuation&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
for all forms of art and all things with form. But&lt;br /&gt;
we have as yet no one to correspond to Pierre-&lt;br /&gt;
Zoti, Huissmans and Paul Verlain.&lt;br /&gt;
LITERATURE AS A TRADE.&lt;br /&gt;
{Reprinted from the Sr. James&amp;#039;s Gazette by permission&lt;br /&gt;
of the author.)&lt;br /&gt;
THE day is long past when the Muses lived&lt;br /&gt;
in retired and modest seclusion, in a place&lt;br /&gt;
that smelt &amp;quot;sweet as the vestry of the&lt;br /&gt;
oracles.&amp;quot; Those ladies came up to town many&lt;br /&gt;
years ago, and are well known to have cultivated&lt;br /&gt;
business habits. They are no more afraid of its&lt;br /&gt;
being understood that they work for money than&lt;br /&gt;
a reduced viscountess blushes to have it said that&lt;br /&gt;
she sells bonnets under a pseudonym. But the&lt;br /&gt;
importance which they attach to the commercial&lt;br /&gt;
aspect of their duties, and their extreme anxiety to&lt;br /&gt;
take care of the pence, have never been insisted&lt;br /&gt;
upon as they have quite lately. Literature, which&lt;br /&gt;
was still looked upon in 1889 as a sort of pro-&lt;br /&gt;
fession, is treated in 1890 as a mere trade; and it&lt;br /&gt;
seems worth while to note this curious change of&lt;br /&gt;
sentiment, and to gauge the effect which it will&lt;br /&gt;
produce. The signs of the new position are too&lt;br /&gt;
numerous to be overlooked. Mr. John Morley&lt;br /&gt;
and Mr. Walter Besant wrangle about the number&lt;br /&gt;
of literary persons in Britain who earn a thousand&lt;br /&gt;
a year&mdash;that very princely sum. A congress of&lt;br /&gt;
unfortunate foreigners of dubious distinction, in-&lt;br /&gt;
vited by nobody knows whom, meet in the golden&lt;br /&gt;
recesses of the Mansion House, and talk in French&lt;br /&gt;
for a week, about the way in which more francs&lt;br /&gt;
may be secured in this way, and that way, and the&lt;br /&gt;
other. And, finally, the columns of the Times&lt;br /&gt;
reverberate for many successive days with angry&lt;br /&gt;
voices discussing whether or no the chromo-litho-&lt;br /&gt;
graphy of a certain &amp;quot; Palestinian&amp;quot; divine (as they&lt;br /&gt;
say in America) is properly paid with eight, or&lt;br /&gt;
eight thousand, or eight hundred thousand&lt;br /&gt;
guineas.&lt;br /&gt;
That literary work, like all other work, should&lt;br /&gt;
be honestly and sufficiently rewarded, is so obvious&lt;br /&gt;
that it seems hardly necessary to go on repeating&lt;br /&gt;
it. What appears to a mere child of nature ex-&lt;br /&gt;
traordinary is that so great a wrangle and a chatter&lt;br /&gt;
should be made about the returns of this one&lt;br /&gt;
particular kind of employment. It cannot be on&lt;br /&gt;
account of the huge sums involved. A maker of&lt;br /&gt;
agricultural machinery or of ordnance, the pro-&lt;br /&gt;
prietor of a large mill or of a successful patent&lt;br /&gt;
medicine, would scoff at the figures which are&lt;br /&gt;
bandied to and fro in the existing discussion. If&lt;br /&gt;
money-making is the first object, and if it needs&lt;br /&gt;
transcendent gifts to make ,&pound;8,000 in twenty years,&lt;br /&gt;
those gifts might surely with advantage be diverted&lt;br /&gt;
to the selling of dairy produce. In spite of all&lt;br /&gt;
that is said about its profits, literature remains, and&lt;br /&gt;
is likely to remain, the only profession in which the&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 179 (#219) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
179&lt;br /&gt;
most genuinely successful man cannot make a&lt;br /&gt;
comfortable living. Not all the optimism of Mr.&lt;br /&gt;
Walter Besant is likely to rob it of this unique&lt;br /&gt;
distinction. Why, then, are the modest emolu-&lt;br /&gt;
ments of such a poor trade the object of keen&lt;br /&gt;
public curiosity? This is a conundrum to which&lt;br /&gt;
I cannot even suggest an answer.&lt;br /&gt;
It may be asked whether I think there are no&lt;br /&gt;
abuses in the publishing trade, and whether 1&lt;br /&gt;
ignore or depreciate the service of the Society of&lt;br /&gt;
Authors. Neither the one nor the other. I am&lt;br /&gt;
afraid that there have been, and perhaps even still&lt;br /&gt;
are, irregularities and injustices which require to&lt;br /&gt;
be remedied. I have been admitted to the debates&lt;br /&gt;
of the Society of Authors, and have been proud to&lt;br /&gt;
think that I was allowed to share in work so&lt;br /&gt;
obviously useful. But I fancy that there are&lt;br /&gt;
dangers even in the necessary process of reform;&lt;br /&gt;
and I dread that the personal interests of authors&lt;br /&gt;
may be given a prominence which will be injurious&lt;br /&gt;
to the development of literature. The present&lt;br /&gt;
extravagant curiosity about &amp;quot;royalties &amp;quot; and &amp;quot;intel-&lt;br /&gt;
lectual property&amp;quot; and the like, goes far beyond the&lt;br /&gt;
circle of those who are disinterested trying to&lt;br /&gt;
remove certain trading anomalies. It begins to&lt;br /&gt;
supersede all other curiosity about literature. This&lt;br /&gt;
species of talk pervades what is styled &amp;quot;literary&lt;br /&gt;
gossip.&amp;quot; Do you know that Orpheus has published&lt;br /&gt;
a new volume of his &amp;quot;Argonautics &amp;quot;? Ah 1 that&lt;br /&gt;
magnificent passage about the Sirens and the&lt;br /&gt;
sunset! And are you aware that he insisted on&lt;br /&gt;
being paid five pounds a line for it? You have&lt;br /&gt;
seen, of course, the new Nemaean ode that Pindar&lt;br /&gt;
has written in honour of young Adrastus, who&lt;br /&gt;
won the glove fight at the Cormorant Club?&lt;br /&gt;
Oh ! such a splendid stanza about the sunlight&lt;br /&gt;
flashing oft* his left elbow; and they say that the&lt;br /&gt;
father&mdash;the great soap boiler, you know&mdash;is so&lt;br /&gt;
pleased that he has sent Pindar a cheque for a&lt;br /&gt;
thousand pounds! Pindar, very properly, would&lt;br /&gt;
not cash it till the old fellow had altered it to&lt;br /&gt;
guineas. I venture to ask whether all the columns&lt;br /&gt;
of correspondence in last week&amp;#039;s Times amounted&lt;br /&gt;
to much more than this?&lt;br /&gt;
Why such curiosity about literary prices is un-&lt;br /&gt;
wholesome is, that it tends to make money the&lt;br /&gt;
standard in a species of labour where the rewards&lt;br /&gt;
are in no degree analogous to the deserts. It&lt;br /&gt;
directly encourages the measurement of intellectual&lt;br /&gt;
prestige by the amount which an intellectual pro-&lt;br /&gt;
duct fetches in the market. It leads at once to&lt;br /&gt;
deadly errors of taste. If gaudy &amp;quot; Lives of Christ&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
are valued at ,&pound;4,000 apiece, what is the price of&lt;br /&gt;
divinity by a Lightfoot or a Westcott? Four&lt;br /&gt;
millions might perhaps be taken as an average&lt;br /&gt;
answer, if this is to be a simple sum in the rule of&lt;br /&gt;
three. But the retailer of gossip pursues his in-&lt;br /&gt;
vol. 1&lt;br /&gt;
quiries, and discovers that theology, as it was and&lt;br /&gt;
is understood at Durham, is practically not rewarded&lt;br /&gt;
at this rate. The concentration of his attention&lt;br /&gt;
on price immediately thereupon produces its effect&lt;br /&gt;
on his taste. The direct result is that he makes&lt;br /&gt;
up his mind to regard the famous Bishops as&lt;br /&gt;
persons of very much smaller literary importance&lt;br /&gt;
than he had vaguely believed them to be. They&lt;br /&gt;
are weighed in the golden balances and found&lt;br /&gt;
wanting. They are looked upon as two small&lt;br /&gt;
hosiers might be measured by the magnitude of Mr.&lt;br /&gt;
Whiteley.&lt;br /&gt;
How far we have diverged, in these last days,&lt;br /&gt;
from the ambition of Keats, who desired to live&lt;br /&gt;
like those primitive Sicilian bards,&lt;br /&gt;
who died content on pleasant sward,&lt;br /&gt;
Leaving great verse unto a little clan?&lt;br /&gt;
O, give me their old vigour, and unheard&lt;br /&gt;
Save of the quiet primrose, and the span&lt;br /&gt;
Of Heaven and few ears ....&lt;br /&gt;
.... my song should die away&lt;br /&gt;
Content as theirs,&lt;br /&gt;
Rich in the simple worship of a day.&lt;br /&gt;
That is the last thing that our modern authors&lt;br /&gt;
are expected to be content with. Yet sooner or&lt;br /&gt;
later, unless literature is doomed to pass into a&lt;br /&gt;
mechanism and disappear, the spirit that actuated&lt;br /&gt;
the noble and poor masters of our language must&lt;br /&gt;
be revived. It may safely be said that no great&lt;br /&gt;
work in prose or verse was ever yet composed&lt;br /&gt;
primarily for the purpose of making as much&lt;br /&gt;
money as possible. The very spontaneity of the&lt;br /&gt;
art would disappear in so gross a fume. Nor will&lt;br /&gt;
those men and women who are led by the current&lt;br /&gt;
gossip to &amp;quot;take up&amp;quot; literature as a trade, and to&lt;br /&gt;
write novels, theology, or criticism, for the sake of&lt;br /&gt;
competing successfully with the best-paid favourites&lt;br /&gt;
of the hasty public, add anything at all to the&lt;br /&gt;
riches of our language. The tendency of the&lt;br /&gt;
moment is to reverse the natural order of things.&lt;br /&gt;
The principle nowadays is not to write because we&lt;br /&gt;
must, and then, if necessary, to sell the product,&lt;br /&gt;
but to write for money mainly, and to get praise&lt;br /&gt;
and pleasure, if possible, into the bargain.&lt;br /&gt;
There should be a little modesty, one feels, in&lt;br /&gt;
this pursuit of the guineas. It looks as though&lt;br /&gt;
authors were such a hungry set that the mere jingle&lt;br /&gt;
of gold intoxicated them. A measure of dignity&lt;br /&gt;
must surely be aimed at, even by novelists, or we&lt;br /&gt;
shall refuse to be interested in plots that are sold&lt;br /&gt;
across the counter like cheese, or love-passages&lt;br /&gt;
that are plainly ticketed as &amp;quot;very cheap at 31. i\d.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
No one wants to return to the old hypocrisy about&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;obliging the town &amp;quot; or &amp;quot; publishing at the earnest&lt;br /&gt;
request of friends.&amp;quot; There need be no mock&lt;br /&gt;
modesty about the processes of literary business.&lt;br /&gt;
Manuscripts must be sold, agreements entered into,&lt;br /&gt;
0&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 180 (#220) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
i8o&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
and a proper care taken that the author does not&lt;br /&gt;
let himself be defrauded. But these functions&lt;br /&gt;
should be performed in private, not flaunted before&lt;br /&gt;
the public. I no more desire to know what my&lt;br /&gt;
neighbour the poet makes by his verses than I&lt;br /&gt;
crave to see the account books of my other&lt;br /&gt;
neighbour the lawyer. I am anxious that each of&lt;br /&gt;
them should make the best of both worlds&mdash;the&lt;br /&gt;
world of praise and the world of profit; but I am&lt;br /&gt;
not listening at either wall to hear the clink of the&lt;br /&gt;
money-bags. It is time that literary people should&lt;br /&gt;
be requested to show the same decent reserve&lt;br /&gt;
about their money matters which is shown by&lt;br /&gt;
doctors and stockbrokers, and shopkeepers.&lt;br /&gt;
Edmund Gosse. *&lt;br /&gt;
THE FARRAR-CASSELL CASE.&lt;br /&gt;
(From the New York Tribune by permission of the&lt;br /&gt;
author.)&lt;br /&gt;
London, October 13M.&lt;br /&gt;
The Farrar-Cassell correspondence has taken, as&lt;br /&gt;
such correspondence is apt to, a wide range. The&lt;br /&gt;
personal issue between the particular author and par-&lt;br /&gt;
ticular publisher gave place, after awhile, to a general&lt;br /&gt;
discussion of the relations that exist and of the other&lt;br /&gt;
relations that ought to exist between these two in-&lt;br /&gt;
teresting classes of the community. Various sorts of&lt;br /&gt;
people have taken a hand in it, and their contribu-&lt;br /&gt;
tions fillaltogetherrathermore than twelve columns of&lt;br /&gt;
The Times. They would make a respectable volume;&lt;br /&gt;
very amusing and instructive, too. If any American&lt;br /&gt;
publisher likes to act on this hint he may do so&lt;br /&gt;
without fear of copyright, or royalty, or any demand&lt;br /&gt;
for payment from any author whomsoever; least&lt;br /&gt;
of all from the author of the hint. But he should,&lt;br /&gt;
I think, have the courage to reprint all, and not&lt;br /&gt;
a part merely. Some of the letters, for example,&lt;br /&gt;
may not seem to him, or to anybody, intrinsically&lt;br /&gt;
valuable, but they are all so connected as to make&lt;br /&gt;
one whole.&lt;br /&gt;
It might not be easy to say what the impression&lt;br /&gt;
of the whole is on the general public. The Times&lt;br /&gt;
itself is not a safe guide in such matters. In any&lt;br /&gt;
controversy where the interests of trade are con-&lt;br /&gt;
cerned, this very commercial journal is prone to&lt;br /&gt;
take the trade side. It does so in this case.&lt;br /&gt;
There is a plausible case, though not a real case,&lt;br /&gt;
for Messrs. Cassell, and the great organ of the&lt;br /&gt;
great nation of shopkeepers makes the most of it.&lt;br /&gt;
Messrs. Cassell gave Archdeacon Farrar some&lt;br /&gt;
thousands of dollars more than they were bound&lt;br /&gt;
to give him; therefore they were generous to him;&lt;br /&gt;
therefore he ought not to complain. Such is, in&lt;br /&gt;
substance, the view of this journal; a view which&lt;br /&gt;
ignores nearly everything that has been said from&lt;br /&gt;
the other point of view, and takes no account of&lt;br /&gt;
the fact that it was Messrs. Cassell, not the Arch-&lt;br /&gt;
deacon, who published the figures on one side&lt;br /&gt;
only of the transaction, and on the strength of this&lt;br /&gt;
one-sided statement appealed to the public to say&lt;br /&gt;
whether they had not behaved equitably. The&lt;br /&gt;
challenge to set forth the facts on the other side&lt;br /&gt;
remains unanswered. We know what Messrs.&lt;br /&gt;
Cassell paid Archdeacon Farrar for the &amp;quot;Life of&lt;br /&gt;
Christ&amp;quot;; some $10,000 in all. We do not know,&lt;br /&gt;
and they stubbornly refuse to tell, what their own&lt;br /&gt;
profits were, and their silence leaves us nothing&lt;br /&gt;
better than the conjecture of my last letter to go&lt;br /&gt;
upon. They are supposed to have made at least&lt;br /&gt;
a quarter of a million. Is it, then, an equitable&lt;br /&gt;
transaction by which the author of a book makes&lt;br /&gt;
$10,000, and the publisher $250,000?&lt;br /&gt;
Some of the letters printed during the last week&lt;br /&gt;
are written by publishers; not the least interesting,&lt;br /&gt;
by any means. It is well when the publisher&lt;br /&gt;
unbosoms himself, and states his claim nakedly.&lt;br /&gt;
One of them thinks the notion that the division&lt;br /&gt;
of profits in this case may have been inequitable&lt;br /&gt;
an &amp;quot;impudent&amp;quot; notion. &amp;quot;The creation of the&lt;br /&gt;
property was in a very large measure due to the&lt;br /&gt;
publishers, and the author was paid all he asked,&lt;br /&gt;
and, presumably, all he wanted.&amp;quot; Mr. Andrew&lt;br /&gt;
W. Tuer, whose view is less extreme than those&lt;br /&gt;
of most of his colleagues, says: &amp;quot;If an author is&lt;br /&gt;
to share profits with the publisher he must in&lt;br /&gt;
equity be made a partner in the business, and then&lt;br /&gt;
he shares losses also.&amp;quot; This is one of those&lt;br /&gt;
arguments which proves too much. Every author&lt;br /&gt;
who is paid by a royalty is, in the sense Mr.&lt;br /&gt;
Tuer means, a sharer in profits. He is paid in&lt;br /&gt;
proportion to the sale of the book. But he does&lt;br /&gt;
not share losses on other books. The partner-&lt;br /&gt;
ship between him and the publisher, so far as it&lt;br /&gt;
exists at all, is confined to the particular book of&lt;br /&gt;
which he is the author. If Messrs. Cassell had&lt;br /&gt;
agreed to pay Canon Farrar a fair royalty on&lt;br /&gt;
every copy sold, his share of the profits might&lt;br /&gt;
still have been much less than theirs, but it would&lt;br /&gt;
have been a share of the profits.&lt;br /&gt;
Among the most cynical of these correspondents&lt;br /&gt;
are a firm who sign themselves contentedly&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;West End Publishers.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;It is believed,&amp;quot; say these&lt;br /&gt;
gentlemen, &amp;quot;that the &amp;#039;Life of Christ&amp;#039; was judiciously&lt;br /&gt;
advertised, and the work being made well known&lt;br /&gt;
by that means in our opinion, made Archdeacon&lt;br /&gt;
Farrar as an author.&amp;quot; And they ask&mdash;the question&lt;br /&gt;
is a favourite one with the letter-writing pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lisher: &amp;quot;Would the reverend gentleman have re&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 181 (#221) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
181&lt;br /&gt;
couped Messrs. Cassell for their large outlay if the&lt;br /&gt;
work had been a failure?&amp;quot; Probably not, but&lt;br /&gt;
whether he would or not the question frequently&lt;br /&gt;
and triumphantly as it is put, has absolutely&lt;br /&gt;
nothing to do with the point under discussion.&lt;br /&gt;
The point is not whether Messrs. Cassell paid all&lt;br /&gt;
they agreed to, and more besides. It is admitted&lt;br /&gt;
they did, They point is simply whether upon a&lt;br /&gt;
voluntary statement by Messrs. Cassell of what&lt;br /&gt;
they paid Archdeacon Farrar, and a continuing&lt;br /&gt;
concealment of what they themselves made, they&lt;br /&gt;
are in a position to ask the public to say that&lt;br /&gt;
the adjustment and distribution of the profits&lt;br /&gt;
derived from the &amp;quot; Life of Christ&amp;quot; was or was not&lt;br /&gt;
equitable.&lt;br /&gt;
A publisher asks a similar question: &amp;quot;If I paid&lt;br /&gt;
an author 820,000 and lost 810,000 by the book,&lt;br /&gt;
would he repay me the difference? If not, why&lt;br /&gt;
should I share profits with him if I make 850,000?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Such is the question, stripped of circumlo-&lt;br /&gt;
cutions, and put, I hope, not less pointedly&lt;br /&gt;
and not less strongly for the publisher than he&lt;br /&gt;
puts it. Leaving the dispute between Messrs.&lt;br /&gt;
Cassell and Farrar on one side, the question is&lt;br /&gt;
one which a publisher is entitled to ask, though&lt;br /&gt;
I do not imagine he will be satisfied with the&lt;br /&gt;
answer. For the true answer can only be given&lt;br /&gt;
by referring once more to the relations that have&lt;br /&gt;
in times past existed, and to some extent do still&lt;br /&gt;
exist, between the publisher and the author. It&lt;br /&gt;
is, in fact, a question of circumstances. I can&lt;br /&gt;
imagine a case in which I should answer yes to&lt;br /&gt;
the first part of the question, and say the author&lt;br /&gt;
ought to make good the publisher&amp;#039;s loss. But&lt;br /&gt;
such cases would be infrequent, for this reason.&lt;br /&gt;
Nineteen times out of twenty the publisher is a&lt;br /&gt;
man of business, and the author is not. A con-&lt;br /&gt;
tract is entered into between two parties, one of&lt;br /&gt;
whom knows all about the business side of it and&lt;br /&gt;
the other knows nothing. The publisher draws&lt;br /&gt;
the contract, fills it full of technical clauses&lt;br /&gt;
designed to protect his own interest, each one&lt;br /&gt;
of them or many of them covering a &amp;quot;custom of&lt;br /&gt;
the trade&amp;quot; of which no warning is given the&lt;br /&gt;
author. The publisher not only draws the con-&lt;br /&gt;
tract for his own advantage, but interprets it by&lt;br /&gt;
a code known to himself only. Nineteen times&lt;br /&gt;
out of twenty such a contract, in which every&lt;br /&gt;
right is safeguarded on one side and none on the&lt;br /&gt;
other, is put before an author to take or to leave.&lt;br /&gt;
It is perhaps the only transaction among all the&lt;br /&gt;
millions of commercial transactions in which one&lt;br /&gt;
party has everything to say, and the other nothing.&lt;br /&gt;
If the author refuses to sign and goes elsewhere,&lt;br /&gt;
he may or may not get better terms, but he will be&lt;br /&gt;
in precisely the same position with reference to the&lt;br /&gt;
one publisher as to the other. He must, as a rule,&lt;br /&gt;
VOL. I.&lt;br /&gt;
publish upon the terms of the trade or not at all&lt;br /&gt;
Is it then probable that the publisher will have an&lt;br /&gt;
equitable claim on the author outside of and&lt;br /&gt;
beyond the terms of the contract which the&lt;br /&gt;
publisher himself has framed in his own interest?&lt;br /&gt;
Is it not, on the other hand, extremely probable&lt;br /&gt;
that the author may have an equitable claim against&lt;br /&gt;
the publisher?&lt;br /&gt;
That is one answer. There are others, but&lt;br /&gt;
this is not a treatise on the general question, and&lt;br /&gt;
I pass on. It will be time enough to produce the&lt;br /&gt;
other answers when a sufficient reply has been&lt;br /&gt;
offered to this first. I add only on this point&lt;br /&gt;
that I make no accusation. I state what I believe&lt;br /&gt;
to be facts. I assume that the publisher acts&lt;br /&gt;
after his kind, and up to the standard of his pro-&lt;br /&gt;
fession. &amp;quot;Business men,&amp;quot; writes another of these&lt;br /&gt;
numerous correspondents, rather forcibly, &amp;quot;are&lt;br /&gt;
largely colour-blind when any higher standard than&lt;br /&gt;
that of their particular trade is concerned. Every-&lt;br /&gt;
thing shady in their respective callings has its&lt;br /&gt;
ready defence.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
I will, however, instead of going on to another&lt;br /&gt;
branch of the subject, as I meant to, and adding&lt;br /&gt;
other testimony from other publishers, turn to a&lt;br /&gt;
letter which illustrates what I have just been&lt;br /&gt;
saying-&mdash;a letter which I have read since I wrote&lt;br /&gt;
the foregoing. The letter appeared in The Times of&lt;br /&gt;
Monday, over or under, the curious signature&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Ellbee and Eebee&amp;quot;; which perhaps might at a&lt;br /&gt;
guess be read L. B. and E. B. Some seven years&lt;br /&gt;
ago, say these writers, they issued as joint authors&lt;br /&gt;
a book on terms which are known as &amp;quot;Agreement&lt;br /&gt;
for publishing on commission.&amp;quot; They do not name&lt;br /&gt;
the publishers. They conveyed to them the right&lt;br /&gt;
to act as publishers and wholesale vendors for&lt;br /&gt;
Great Britain, the rest of Europe, and the United&lt;br /&gt;
States. The authors were to bear all cost and&lt;br /&gt;
risk; the publishers receiving a commission of 15&lt;br /&gt;
per cent, on net sales, and taking the risk of bad&lt;br /&gt;
debts. They add: &amp;quot;This 15 per cent, was subject&lt;br /&gt;
to the trade reduction of one-third from the pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lished price (thirteen copies being considered as&lt;br /&gt;
twelve), with an additional embargo on special sales,&lt;br /&gt;
the number of which we had no power to check or&lt;br /&gt;
control, at a reduced price. But we were still&lt;br /&gt;
further charged the full retail, or, at any rate, the&lt;br /&gt;
estimated price on all outlays, of printing, binding,&lt;br /&gt;
advertisements, &amp;amp;c.&mdash;items on which it is not&lt;br /&gt;
unreasonable to suppose the publishers received&lt;br /&gt;
discount from the firms they employed.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
This book thus published ran into six editions&lt;br /&gt;
at $3 75 a copy. A popular edition was then&lt;br /&gt;
issued at $1 25, for which the type was not reset,&lt;br /&gt;
but two pages condensed into one by taking out&lt;br /&gt;
the leads and omitting photographs. Eight editions&lt;br /&gt;
were thus disposed of. It was a successful book.&lt;br /&gt;
o 2&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 182 (#222) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
l82&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
How much do you suppose the share of the&lt;br /&gt;
authors came to? They shall say.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;We were debited with a considerable sum,&lt;br /&gt;
almost double the amount of the original deposit,&lt;br /&gt;
and so sick were we of the whole transaction that&lt;br /&gt;
we were glad to compromise it by surrendering all&lt;br /&gt;
our rights&mdash;save the mark! The book is now in&lt;br /&gt;
its twelfth edition&mdash;it may be even in a still more&lt;br /&gt;
advanced issue.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Will some publisher who is fond of letter-writing&lt;br /&gt;
tell us how much he supposes the publishers made&lt;br /&gt;
out of this transaction? No comment on it or&lt;br /&gt;
explanation of it has yet appeared, and I venture&lt;br /&gt;
to predict that none will. Yet the publishers&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
story would be extremely interesting. Any paper&lt;br /&gt;
would print it with alacrity. Or, if the firm with&lt;br /&gt;
whom these unlucky authors dealt do not care for&lt;br /&gt;
publicity, another publisher&amp;#039;s view of the case would&lt;br /&gt;
be welcome.&lt;br /&gt;
G. W. S.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;AMERICAN AUTHORS AND&lt;br /&gt;
BRITISH PIRATES.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
ATU QUOQUE retort is, in popular minds,&lt;br /&gt;
considered as an excellent and most&lt;br /&gt;
effective argument. And in fact it has its&lt;br /&gt;
advantages, because, if it is true, it convicts the&lt;br /&gt;
accuser of hypocrisy. With what face, for instance,&lt;br /&gt;
can we charge the Americans with wholesale literary&lt;br /&gt;
piracy, when they can round upon us with the&lt;br /&gt;
statement that we are doing just exactly the same&lt;br /&gt;
thing ourselves?&lt;br /&gt;
Everybody knows that we do practise literary&lt;br /&gt;
piracy. But we have hitherto been under the&lt;br /&gt;
comfortable delusion that it was only on a small&lt;br /&gt;
scale, and in the case of small and unknown&lt;br /&gt;
authors. Mr. Brander Mathews, in a pamphlet&lt;br /&gt;
issued by the American Copyright League, for the&lt;br /&gt;
first time enables us to realize the extent of the&lt;br /&gt;
injury and loss inflicted upon American authors by&lt;br /&gt;
British pirates. As the pamphlet will not probably&lt;br /&gt;
be published here it will be well for us, before we&lt;br /&gt;
bring our own charges of piracy, to illustrate the&lt;br /&gt;
American case by the actual cases and figures&lt;br /&gt;
ascertained by Mr. Brander Mathews. In Novem-&lt;br /&gt;
ber, 1874, Longfellow wrote to a lady in England,&lt;br /&gt;
whose works had been republished in America&lt;br /&gt;
without permission or compensation, &amp;quot; I have had&lt;br /&gt;
twenty-two publishers in England and Scotland,&lt;br /&gt;
and only four of them ever took the slightest notice&lt;br /&gt;
of my existence, even so far as to send me a copy&lt;br /&gt;
of the books.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Hawthorne has long been among the most&lt;br /&gt;
popular novelists of the time. It would be diffi-&lt;br /&gt;
cult, now, to number all the British editions of&lt;br /&gt;
Hawthorne.&lt;br /&gt;
Emerson, Lowell, and Holmes are also among&lt;br /&gt;
the popular writers of the time. How have they&lt;br /&gt;
been treated?&lt;br /&gt;
As everybody knows, there are a great many&lt;br /&gt;
collection of books called &amp;quot;Series&amp;quot; in libraries.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Brander Mathews examines some of these with&lt;br /&gt;
the following results :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
(1) Series A.&lt;br /&gt;
(*)&lt;br /&gt;
(3)&lt;br /&gt;
(4)&lt;br /&gt;
(5)&lt;br /&gt;
(6)&lt;br /&gt;
(7)&lt;br /&gt;
\8}&lt;br /&gt;
9&lt;br /&gt;
10)&lt;br /&gt;
11)&lt;br /&gt;
12)&lt;br /&gt;
B.&lt;br /&gt;
C.&lt;br /&gt;
D.&lt;br /&gt;
E.&lt;br /&gt;
F.&lt;br /&gt;
G.&lt;br /&gt;
H.&lt;br /&gt;
I.&lt;br /&gt;
J-&lt;br /&gt;
K.&lt;br /&gt;
L.&lt;br /&gt;
No. of books in the No. of American&lt;br /&gt;
collection. books.&lt;br /&gt;
91 ... 36&lt;br /&gt;
19 ... 17&lt;br /&gt;
.. not given ... 4&lt;br /&gt;
38 ... 30&lt;br /&gt;
.. not given ... 7&lt;br /&gt;
20 ... 17&lt;br /&gt;
27 ... 7&lt;br /&gt;
.. 400 ... 30&lt;br /&gt;
100 ... 20&lt;br /&gt;
79 ... 60&lt;br /&gt;
80 ... 65&lt;br /&gt;
52 ... all&lt;br /&gt;
This is instructive. It is clear, to begin with,&lt;br /&gt;
that we must give up using the word pirate in con-&lt;br /&gt;
nection with either New York or London publishers.&lt;br /&gt;
Henceforth we shall speak of books thus issued&lt;br /&gt;
as published-by-permission-of-the-law.&lt;br /&gt;
Let us descend to special cases. The following&lt;br /&gt;
are some of the little stories told by Mr. Brander&lt;br /&gt;
Mathews concerning these publishers-by-permission-&lt;br /&gt;
of-the-law.&lt;br /&gt;
First, they alter titles. Mr. Bret Harte&amp;#039;s name&lt;br /&gt;
is affixed to a work called &amp;quot;Tid Bits &amp;quot;; Mr. John&lt;br /&gt;
Habberton is made to call a book of his &amp;quot;Rich&lt;br /&gt;
Sells and Horrid Hoaxes&amp;quot;; Mr. J. G. Saxe writes&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Fie, Fie, you Flirt&amp;quot;; and Dr. Oliver Wendell&lt;br /&gt;
Holmes is made to produce a book called &amp;quot;Yankee&lt;br /&gt;
Ticklers&amp;quot;!&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Noah Brooks&amp;#039;s &amp;quot; Boy Emigrants&amp;quot; was pro-&lt;br /&gt;
duced in England by the &amp;quot;Religious Publishing&lt;br /&gt;
Society,&amp;quot; which gave the author a trifling sum for a&lt;br /&gt;
preface and nothing for the book. Here we are a&lt;br /&gt;
little in doubt. There is no &amp;quot; Religious Publishing&lt;br /&gt;
Society &amp;quot; so called, though there are three or four&lt;br /&gt;
religious societies which publish books. Which&lt;br /&gt;
Society was it? Not the S.P.C.K. They would&lt;br /&gt;
not give the author a trifling sum for the preface&lt;br /&gt;
and nothing for the book. They would have given&lt;br /&gt;
him the trifling sum for the preface and the book.&lt;br /&gt;
They are nothing at all if they are not just and&lt;br /&gt;
generous.&lt;br /&gt;
Of Mr. O B. Bunce&amp;#039;s ingenious little manual of&lt;br /&gt;
manners &amp;quot;Don&amp;#039;t,&amp;quot; three editions were issued in&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 183 (#223) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
183&lt;br /&gt;
England. One of the publishers sent the author a&lt;br /&gt;
five pound note. &amp;quot;Helen&amp;#039;s Babies &amp;quot; was reprinted&lt;br /&gt;
by nine houses here&mdash;the author received something&lt;br /&gt;
from three of them.&lt;br /&gt;
Dr. Holland thought to protect his &amp;quot;Arthur&lt;br /&gt;
Bonnicastle,&amp;quot; by causing the number of Scribner&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
Monthly which contained the last part, to appear&lt;br /&gt;
first in London. It was reprinted, however, with&lt;br /&gt;
the last part altered and garb&amp;#039;ed.&lt;br /&gt;
On mutilation, indeed, which is even worse than&lt;br /&gt;
piracy, Mr. Brander Mathews has a great deal to&lt;br /&gt;
say.&lt;br /&gt;
Professor William Mathews, for instance, has&lt;br /&gt;
written two popular and successful works. Both&lt;br /&gt;
of these have been republished in this country,&lt;br /&gt;
cut to pieces and garbled.&lt;br /&gt;
Mrs. Champney&amp;#039;s tale, &amp;quot;The Bubbling Teapot,&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
is actually printed here with the word &amp;quot;England&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
substituted for &amp;quot;America&amp;quot; all through.&lt;br /&gt;
Finally, to make an end, Mr. Brander Mathews&lt;br /&gt;
states that his own book, &amp;quot;Common Sense about&lt;br /&gt;
Women,&amp;quot; published in 1881 at Boston, was re-&lt;br /&gt;
printed here with a whole third part bodily cut out!&lt;br /&gt;
Now Mr. Brander Mathews frankly and readily&lt;br /&gt;
admits that the wrongs of English authors in&lt;br /&gt;
America are and have been very great. But it is&lt;br /&gt;
clear that Americans have also suffered much.&lt;br /&gt;
He acknowledges that far greater protection is&lt;br /&gt;
afforded by English than by American law. But&lt;br /&gt;
before our hands are quite clean, before we can&lt;br /&gt;
raise the cry of pirate with clear conscience, we&lt;br /&gt;
must purge ourselves of our own piracy. &amp;quot;What we&lt;br /&gt;
desire,&amp;quot; says Mr. Mathews, &amp;quot;from Great Britain, is&lt;br /&gt;
the enactment of a law which will give full copy-&lt;br /&gt;
right to every American book exactly as if its&lt;br /&gt;
author were a British subject.&amp;quot; Exactly. This is&lt;br /&gt;
what we must do as soon as we can. Not retalia-&lt;br /&gt;
tion in wrong-doing&mdash;but an example in right&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
is most likely to bring about the understanding we&lt;br /&gt;
all desire.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
THE GERMAN ASSOCIATION OF&lt;br /&gt;
AUTHORS.&lt;br /&gt;
MEETING AT BRESLAU, AUGUST, 1890.&lt;br /&gt;
Saturday, 16th August.&lt;br /&gt;
3 p.m. Meeting of the General Management at&lt;br /&gt;
Gebauer&amp;#039;s Hotel, 13, Tauenzienplatz.&lt;br /&gt;
8 p.m. Reception of the Members and Guests&lt;br /&gt;
by the Management of the Second District Society,&lt;br /&gt;
and by the representatives of the public authorities&lt;br /&gt;
at the Breslau Concert House, 16, Gartenstrasse.&lt;br /&gt;
To conclude with an entertainment, at 10.30,&lt;br /&gt;
provided by the &amp;quot;Breslauer Dichterschule&amp;quot; Club.&lt;br /&gt;
Sunday, \-]th August.&lt;br /&gt;
8 a.m. Visit to the Breslau Town Hall, con-&lt;br /&gt;
ducted by Mr. Maximilian Schlesinger.&lt;br /&gt;
9.30 a.m. Meeting of the Association in the&lt;br /&gt;
small saloon of the Concert House.&lt;br /&gt;
Programme for the Day.&lt;br /&gt;
1. Financial Report of the Executive Com-&lt;br /&gt;
mittee.&lt;br /&gt;
2. Report of the Treasurer and Statement for&lt;br /&gt;
the coming year.&lt;br /&gt;
3. Report of the Auditors.&lt;br /&gt;
4. Election of two Auditors for the year 1890.&lt;br /&gt;
5. Resignation and fresh election of three&lt;br /&gt;
members of the General Management.&lt;br /&gt;
6. Fresh election of the Syndicate&amp;#039;s Committee&lt;br /&gt;
of Experts.&lt;br /&gt;
7. Motion of Dr. Robert Keil:&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;That the General Meeting be pleased to&lt;br /&gt;
resolve: taking into consideration that the regula-&lt;br /&gt;
tion of Copyright in the German Empire is always&lt;br /&gt;
becoming more necessary; taking into considera-&lt;br /&gt;
tion also, that the petition sent to the Chancellor a&lt;br /&gt;
year and a half ago, in accordance with the Munich&lt;br /&gt;
resolution, has up to the present not proved success-&lt;br /&gt;
ful; taking into consideration further, that the&lt;br /&gt;
resolution arrived at on the 4th May of this year&lt;br /&gt;
upon the proposal of Mr. Robert Voigtlander has&lt;br /&gt;
chiefly in view the interest of the book trade, and&lt;br /&gt;
does not satisfy the well-grounded wish of the&lt;br /&gt;
German Association of Authors, as the authoritative&lt;br /&gt;
representative of German literati, to be included in&lt;br /&gt;
the Committee in question; taking into considera-&lt;br /&gt;
tion finally, that the German Association of Authors,&lt;br /&gt;
according to paragraph 1 of their Statutes, has as its&lt;br /&gt;
object the protection and furtherance of the&lt;br /&gt;
interests of the profession of its members :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;(a) That a Committee consisting of six mem-&lt;br /&gt;
bers be elected from the German Association&lt;br /&gt;
of Authors, who, with the assistance of the&lt;br /&gt;
Syndic of the Association, as a qualified&lt;br /&gt;
voting member, shall prepare a draft of&lt;br /&gt;
German copyright.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;(b) That the Committee be allowed to add to&lt;br /&gt;
their number, by their own selection, from&lt;br /&gt;
among the members of the German Associa-&lt;br /&gt;
tion of Authors,&lt;br /&gt;
(c) That the travelling expenses and other&lt;br /&gt;
disbursements of the members of the Com-&lt;br /&gt;
mittee be paid out of the funds of the&lt;br /&gt;
Association.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 184 (#224) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;(d) That the draft when prepared be published&lt;br /&gt;
by the Committee in the Deutsche Presse,&lt;br /&gt;
nnd be submitted for discussion.&lt;br /&gt;
&bull;&amp;#039; (e) That the same be submitted to the General&lt;br /&gt;
Meeting of the Association in the year&lt;br /&gt;
1891, for possible alterations and final&lt;br /&gt;
approval.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;(/) That, after such approval, it be forwarded&lt;br /&gt;
by the Committee of Management to the&lt;br /&gt;
Office of the Imperial Chancellor, with the&lt;br /&gt;
request that, upon the codification of the&lt;br /&gt;
German Copyright, the said draft may be&lt;br /&gt;
favourably considered.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
8. Report of the Committee on the formation of&lt;br /&gt;
a Provident Fund for the Aged.&lt;br /&gt;
9. Report by Dr. Moritz Brasch as to a general&lt;br /&gt;
lottery in aid of the German Association of Authors&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
Provident Fund for the Aged.&lt;br /&gt;
10. Proposal by Dr. Bienemann and Dr. Hans&lt;br /&gt;
Blum.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;That the General Meeting be pleased to&lt;br /&gt;
resolve further:&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I. That a Committee of five members be&lt;br /&gt;
elected to examine the Statutes of the Association,&lt;br /&gt;
in order to thoroughly and minutely investigate&lt;br /&gt;
the following provisions&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;(a) The acquisition and loss of membership.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;(b) The privileges and duties of the Manage-&lt;br /&gt;
ment and its members, of the Executive&lt;br /&gt;
Committee, and of the General Meeting.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;(c) The privileges and duties of the District&lt;br /&gt;
Societies and their respective Committees.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;(d) The sphere of activity and the duties of&lt;br /&gt;
the Literary Bureau and that for controlling&lt;br /&gt;
pirated editions; as also of the Syndicate,&lt;br /&gt;
and of the Court of Arbitration.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;II. That the Chairman of this examining and&lt;br /&gt;
editing Committee be not a member of the&lt;br /&gt;
Executive Committee. In other respects, the&lt;br /&gt;
Committee to be free to elect its Chairman from&lt;br /&gt;
among its members, by means of voting papers, by&lt;br /&gt;
an absolute majority of votes, which may also&lt;br /&gt;
be effected by letter. The preparation and&lt;br /&gt;
conduct of the election to be entrusted to the&lt;br /&gt;
oldest member or to the one whose name stands&lt;br /&gt;
first in alphabetical order at the General Meeting,&lt;br /&gt;
or soon after the close of the same.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;That the elected Chairman appoint the time&lt;br /&gt;
and place of the deliberations of the Committee.&lt;br /&gt;
The members of the Committee not residing at&lt;br /&gt;
the locality where the meeting is held, to receive&lt;br /&gt;
their travelling and daily expenses out of the&lt;br /&gt;
general funds of the Association, in the proportion&lt;br /&gt;
mentioned at paragraph 21 of the Statutes.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;III. That the proposals for changes accepted&lt;br /&gt;
by this Committee, as well as the views of the&lt;br /&gt;
minority, should the proposers consider them of&lt;br /&gt;
sufficient importance, be published by the Chair-&lt;br /&gt;
man in the organ of the Association, and be soon&lt;br /&gt;
afterwards laid for acceptance before an Extra-&lt;br /&gt;
ordinary General Meeting, or, in the case of a&lt;br /&gt;
protracted termination of the business of the&lt;br /&gt;
Committee, before the next Ordinary General&lt;br /&gt;
Meeting.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Breakfast and dinner, a la carte, served in the&lt;br /&gt;
Concert House during the pause in the proceed-&lt;br /&gt;
ings.&lt;br /&gt;
6 p.m.&mdash;Festival of the Town of Breslau, at&lt;br /&gt;
Liebichshohe.&lt;br /&gt;
Monday, i&amp;amp;t/i August.&lt;br /&gt;
9 a.m.&mdash;Meeting of the Association.&lt;br /&gt;
Programme for the Day.&lt;br /&gt;
1. Notice of the allotment of offices among the&lt;br /&gt;
members of the General Management for the&lt;br /&gt;
ensuing year.&lt;br /&gt;
2. Reports of the District Societies as to their&lt;br /&gt;
activity during the past year.&lt;br /&gt;
3. Proposal of Dr. Robert Keil.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;That paragraph 7 of the Statutes, so far as it&lt;br /&gt;
refers to No. 3, be supplemented as follows:&lt;br /&gt;
in the case at 3 on decision of the District&lt;br /&gt;
Management. Against this decision, &amp;#039;which&lt;br /&gt;
is only to be taken after hearing the accused,&lt;br /&gt;
and, in order to be valid, requires a majority&lt;br /&gt;
of two-thirds of the voters and to be com-&lt;br /&gt;
municated to the General Management&lt;br /&gt;
with a statement of the reasons, the accused&lt;br /&gt;
is at liberty within seven days to deposit in&lt;br /&gt;
writing with the District Management an&lt;br /&gt;
appeal to the General Management, which&lt;br /&gt;
is bound to allow the accused, who may be&lt;br /&gt;
represented by counsel, a verbal or written&lt;br /&gt;
defence. The Chairman of the District&lt;br /&gt;
Management is excluded from participation&lt;br /&gt;
in this decision of second existence. It is&lt;br /&gt;
necessary that there should be a majority&lt;br /&gt;
of two-thirds of the voters to confirm the&lt;br /&gt;
decision of the District Management. Only&lt;br /&gt;
after the lapse of the period allowed for appeal,&lt;br /&gt;
and in case of appeal, only after issue of the&lt;br /&gt;
confirmation to the District Management&lt;br /&gt;
and to the accused, can the latter be ejected.&lt;br /&gt;
No appeal to the law against the decisions of&lt;br /&gt;
the Association can be entertained. Should&lt;br /&gt;
a member of a District Society have offended&lt;br /&gt;
against paragraph 7, 3, tlie matter is to be&lt;br /&gt;
transferred from the Chairman of the&lt;br /&gt;
General Management to the Chairman of&lt;br /&gt;
another District Society for treatment and&lt;br /&gt;
dec.&amp;#039;fioi in the first instance&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 185 (#225) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR,&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;#039;85&lt;br /&gt;
4. Proposal of the Eighth District Society, repre-&lt;br /&gt;
sented by Dr. K. von Thaler :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;(a) That the following resolution be added to&lt;br /&gt;
paragraph 5 of the Statutes of the Association,&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;#039;The third part of the contributions of&lt;br /&gt;
members to be retained for the District&lt;br /&gt;
Societies.&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;(b) That paragraph 21 of the Statutes be&lt;br /&gt;
altered as follows: &amp;#039;The members of the&lt;br /&gt;
Executive Committee, as also the remainder&lt;br /&gt;
of the members of the General Manage-&lt;br /&gt;
ment, perform their functions in a honorary&lt;br /&gt;
capacity and gratuitously; nevertheless&lt;br /&gt;
those members of the Executive Committee&lt;br /&gt;
who take part in the General Yearly&lt;br /&gt;
Meetings, are indemnified for their travel-&lt;br /&gt;
ling expenses, at second class railway fare,&lt;br /&gt;
along with a daily allowance of fifteen&lt;br /&gt;
marks.&amp;#039;&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
5. Proposals of the Second District Society,&lt;br /&gt;
represented by Mr. Maximilian Schlesinger:&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;(a) That to paragraph 33, section 1, of the&lt;br /&gt;
Statutes the following resolution be added:&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;#039;The Aid Fund out of its resources renders&lt;br /&gt;
assistance towards the support of members,&lt;br /&gt;
who, through no fault of their own, find&lt;br /&gt;
themselves in straightened circumstances;&lt;br /&gt;
and especially to those who, in consequence&lt;br /&gt;
of illness or bodily infirmities, have become&lt;br /&gt;
unfitted for their avocations.&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;(b) That the highest amount be fixed which&lt;br /&gt;
the District Societies may go in rendering&lt;br /&gt;
aid independently. (Paragraph 34, 3).&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
6. That the apportionment be fixed which is to&lt;br /&gt;
be granted (under paragraph 29, 3) to the District&lt;br /&gt;
Societies out of the proceeds from theatrical per-&lt;br /&gt;
formances, concerts, lectures, &amp;amp;c, given on behalf&lt;br /&gt;
of the Association.&lt;br /&gt;
7. Proposals of the First District Society as&lt;br /&gt;
regards the organ of the Association, the Deutsche&lt;br /&gt;
Presse, represented by Dr. A. von Hanstein.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;(a) That the organ of the Association, the&lt;br /&gt;
Deutsche Presse, introduce for the future&lt;br /&gt;
amongst its articles only those which have&lt;br /&gt;
relation to the social and ethical circum-&lt;br /&gt;
stances connected with German literature&lt;br /&gt;
and the German literary world; all other&lt;br /&gt;
belle lettristic matter, such as novels, &amp;amp;c,&lt;br /&gt;
to be excluded. The newspaper to be&lt;br /&gt;
viewed as an organ for the furtherance of&lt;br /&gt;
the interests of the Association, as an official&lt;br /&gt;
medium of correspondence for the authorities&lt;br /&gt;
of the Association, and as a journal devoted&lt;br /&gt;
specially to the social and ethical efforts at&lt;br /&gt;
reform espoused by the German Associa-&lt;br /&gt;
tion of Authors.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;(b) That the Association undertake the publi-&lt;br /&gt;
cation and sale of the organ of the Associa-&lt;br /&gt;
tion.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;(c) That the organ of the Association, the&lt;br /&gt;
Deutsche Presse, be forwarded gratuitously&lt;br /&gt;
and free of postage to the members, in con-&lt;br /&gt;
sideration of an adequate increase in the&lt;br /&gt;
amount of the yearly subscription.&lt;br /&gt;
Amendment by Dr. J. Riilf:&mdash;&amp;quot; That the organ&lt;br /&gt;
of the Association be delivered free of charge&lt;br /&gt;
to each member by augmenting the amount&lt;br /&gt;
of the quarterly subscription by the addi-&lt;br /&gt;
tional sum of 50 pfennigs.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
8. Proposals by Mr. Ernst Lunge.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;A. I. That the German Association of Authors&lt;br /&gt;
may resolve to appoint an Enquete (Commission&lt;br /&gt;
of Enquiry) upon the business relations of German&lt;br /&gt;
journalism, especially as to the&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;(a) Conditions of engagement and of salary of&lt;br /&gt;
editors.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;lb) Mode of payment, and tariff for assistants.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;(c) Business usages in the treatment of for-&lt;br /&gt;
warded manuscripts.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;II. That the results of the said Enquete be&lt;br /&gt;
brought under the notice of the members in a&lt;br /&gt;
suitable form.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;III. That proper steps be taken to arrange for&lt;br /&gt;
a uniform system in business relations as regards&lt;br /&gt;
assistants and editors, or at least to insure this&lt;br /&gt;
mode of treatment with members of the German&lt;br /&gt;
Association of Authors.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;IV. That the Executive Committee or a Special&lt;br /&gt;
Commission be instructed to see that the resolutions&lt;br /&gt;
of the Enquete be carried out.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;B. I. That the German Association of Authors&lt;br /&gt;
resolve to establish a central station for the distri-&lt;br /&gt;
bution of (actual) news, specially for reports on&lt;br /&gt;
festivities, noteworthy events, &amp;amp;c, which news&lt;br /&gt;
would be afterwards spread by correspondence.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;II. That the German Association of Authors&lt;br /&gt;
take into consideration the erection of a telegraphic&lt;br /&gt;
central station according to the pattern of the&lt;br /&gt;
American &amp;#039;Press Association.&amp;#039;&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
9. Proposals as to the time and place of the&lt;br /&gt;
next General Meeting.&lt;br /&gt;
5 p.m.&mdash;Social Dinner in the Saloon of the Wine&lt;br /&gt;
Tavern of Chr. Hansen, 16, 18, Schweidnitzer-&lt;br /&gt;
strasse.&lt;br /&gt;
7.30 p.m.&mdash;Gala performance in the Lobetheatre&lt;br /&gt;
(Silesian historical comedy, for this evening.)&lt;br /&gt;
After the performance a convivial meeting at the&lt;br /&gt;
Lowenbrau, 36, Schweidnitzerstrasse.&lt;br /&gt;
Tuesday, 19th August.&lt;br /&gt;
Excursion to Fiirstenstein.&mdash;Departure at 8 a.m.&lt;br /&gt;
from the Freiburger Railway Station (Berlinerplatz)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 186 (#226) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
by special train to Sorgau. From thence at 9.45&lt;br /&gt;
a.m. by carriage drive to Fiirstenstein. Ramble&lt;br /&gt;
through the grounds of Fiirstenstein to the old&lt;br /&gt;
Castle. At 11 a.m. a social breakfast in the Castle&lt;br /&gt;
ruins. At 2 p.m. carriage drive to the Baths of&lt;br /&gt;
Salzbounn. Social dinner in the Kursaal. Coffee&lt;br /&gt;
in the gardens. At 8.30 p.m. return to Sorgau and&lt;br /&gt;
arrival at Breslau at 11 p.m.&lt;br /&gt;
For those members who desire to visit the&lt;br /&gt;
Riesengeberge, the County of Glatz, Adersbach,&lt;br /&gt;
Weckelsdorf, and other parts of the Sudeten, it&lt;br /&gt;
may be mentioned that the junction with the&lt;br /&gt;
Gebirgsbahn at Sorgau must be made at 8.30 a.m.&lt;br /&gt;
Those who participate in the meetings will each&lt;br /&gt;
have to pay three marks in order to defray expenses.&lt;br /&gt;
The charge for the Gala Dinner on Monday, 18th&lt;br /&gt;
August, will be four marks each person. Those&lt;br /&gt;
who join in the excursion to Fiirstenstein must&lt;br /&gt;
pay eight marks, which includes railway fares and&lt;br /&gt;
cost of carriage drives, breakfast, and dinner.&lt;br /&gt;
It is requested that all communications be&lt;br /&gt;
addressed to Mr. F. G. A. Weiss, Chairman of the&lt;br /&gt;
Breslau District Society, 6, Kleine Fiirstenstrasse,&lt;br /&gt;
before the 12th August. The Reception Bureau&lt;br /&gt;
will after the 15th August be at Gebauer&amp;#039;s Hotel,&lt;br /&gt;
13, Tauenzienplatz, where members of the Associa-&lt;br /&gt;
tion may obtain rooms at reduced prices. In fact,&lt;br /&gt;
lodgings are amply provided for by the Reception&lt;br /&gt;
Committee.&lt;br /&gt;
Considering the exceptional importance of the&lt;br /&gt;
matters to be discussed, we earnestly request the&lt;br /&gt;
members to participate personally in the General&lt;br /&gt;
Meeting of the Association at Breslau. We submit&lt;br /&gt;
a form of proxy to be filled up by those who are&lt;br /&gt;
unable to attend; as according to paragraph 26 of&lt;br /&gt;
the Statutes, the vote may be transferred to other&lt;br /&gt;
members; we may mention, however, that no&lt;br /&gt;
member is allowed to represent more than ten&lt;br /&gt;
votes.&lt;br /&gt;
With the compliments of the Executive Com-&lt;br /&gt;
mittee.&lt;br /&gt;
Robert Schweichel.&lt;br /&gt;
Berlin, 12/A July, 1890.&lt;br /&gt;
AUTHORIZATION.&lt;br /&gt;
I hereby authorize, in accordance with paragraph 26&lt;br /&gt;
of the -Statutes of the German Association of Authors&lt;br /&gt;
to represent me at the&lt;br /&gt;
deliberations and votings of the General Meeting at&lt;br /&gt;
Breslau on the 17th and 18th August, 1890.&lt;br /&gt;
Place and date.&lt;br /&gt;
Signature.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
INTERNATIONAL LITERARY AND&lt;br /&gt;
ARTISTIC CONGRESS.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
HE Congress met on Saturday, October 4th,&lt;br /&gt;
at 3 o&amp;#039;clock, being received by the Lord&lt;br /&gt;
Mayor and a Reception Committee.&lt;br /&gt;
As already stated it was unfortunately impossible&lt;br /&gt;
for the Society to be officially represented at the&lt;br /&gt;
Congress, and not a single English man of letters&lt;br /&gt;
was present at the Congress.&lt;br /&gt;
On Monday the 6th, a report by M. Eugene&lt;br /&gt;
1&amp;#039;ouillet on the &amp;quot;Convention of Berne&amp;quot; was pre-&lt;br /&gt;
sented to the Congress. It stated that, thanks to&lt;br /&gt;
the initiative of the association, an international&lt;br /&gt;
conference met privately at Berne in 1883, drew&lt;br /&gt;
up a scheme for a convention which seemed likely&lt;br /&gt;
to serve as a basis for official negotiations, and&lt;br /&gt;
asked the Swiss Government to present it at an&lt;br /&gt;
opportune moment to other Governments. Switzer-&lt;br /&gt;
land gave her consent, and, having been assured&lt;br /&gt;
of the favourable inclination of a certain number&lt;br /&gt;
of States to the project, convened a conference,&lt;br /&gt;
this time official, at Berne in 1884. It was from&lt;br /&gt;
that conference and the discussions to which it&lt;br /&gt;
gave rise that the convention had sprung. The&lt;br /&gt;
object pursued by the &amp;quot;Association Litteraire et&lt;br /&gt;
ArtistiqueInternationale,&amp;quot;andalready accomplished&lt;br /&gt;
in some measure by the convention, was the&lt;br /&gt;
protection of the rights of authors in all civilized&lt;br /&gt;
countries, the passing of laws which would assure&lt;br /&gt;
to the author the profits of his work and defend&lt;br /&gt;
him against those who enriched themselves at his&lt;br /&gt;
expense. Such an object could not be effected in&lt;br /&gt;
a day, but only step by step. Intellectual needs&lt;br /&gt;
were not the same among all nations; the degrees&lt;br /&gt;
of literary progress were not everywhere alike.&lt;br /&gt;
The convention of Berne did something to fulfil&lt;br /&gt;
this aspiration. It created a minimum of unifica-&lt;br /&gt;
tion among a few countries. Nevertheless, it was&lt;br /&gt;
of its essence to be revised from time to time,&lt;br /&gt;
and in order to bring about such a revision the&lt;br /&gt;
association organized a new congress every year.&lt;br /&gt;
In regard to the question of translation, a point&lt;br /&gt;
of some difficulty, the convention had made a&lt;br /&gt;
step in advance by fixing at ten years from the&lt;br /&gt;
time of the publication the right of the author to&lt;br /&gt;
prevent unauthorized translations of his work. In&lt;br /&gt;
1884, the Swiss Government went further, since&lt;br /&gt;
it proposed that at the end of ten years the author,&lt;br /&gt;
if he had himself published a translation of his&lt;br /&gt;
work, should be invested with the exclusive right&lt;br /&gt;
of translation during the whole period to which&lt;br /&gt;
his right over the original extended. This pro-&lt;br /&gt;
posal seemed to be logical, but was thought too&lt;br /&gt;
sweeping to be adopted. It was to be hoped&lt;br /&gt;
that at the next revision of the convention the&lt;br /&gt;
idea would be found to have made headway, and&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 187 (#227) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
187&lt;br /&gt;
would be taken up by all the countries which had&lt;br /&gt;
signed the instrument. Translation was to literary&lt;br /&gt;
work what engraving was to painting; it merely&lt;br /&gt;
gave sufficient expression to the same thought.&lt;br /&gt;
M. Pouillet asked the Congress to pass, as before,&lt;br /&gt;
the following resolution :&mdash;&amp;quot; Translation is only a&lt;br /&gt;
mode of reproduction; the right of reproduction&lt;br /&gt;
which constitutes literary property, includes of&lt;br /&gt;
necessity the exclusive right of translation.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
At the second meeting of the Congress, a&lt;br /&gt;
report on copyright in the United States was&lt;br /&gt;
read. It stated that the Association heard with&lt;br /&gt;
deep regret of the issue of the discussion raised in&lt;br /&gt;
the House of Representatives on the Copyright&lt;br /&gt;
Bill. 126 members opposed a third reading, 98&lt;br /&gt;
were favourable to it, and 103 abstained from&lt;br /&gt;
voting. As Mr. Hopkins, of Illinois, proudly&lt;br /&gt;
pointed out, 13 Bills of a similar character had&lt;br /&gt;
already been introduced with the same result&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
namely, the positive rejection of any measure&lt;br /&gt;
designed to extend protection to non-American&lt;br /&gt;
authors. The views endorsed by the definitive vote&lt;br /&gt;
were not of a nature, despite the hopes entertained&lt;br /&gt;
in Europe, to indicate any progress, however slight,&lt;br /&gt;
in the tendencies of the American Parliament;&lt;br /&gt;
indeed, some of the arguments employed tended&lt;br /&gt;
rather to make the situation worse. It was not&lt;br /&gt;
merely the modus vivendi proposed that had been&lt;br /&gt;
the object of violent attack, but the principle of in-&lt;br /&gt;
tellectual property itself. To all impartial observers&lt;br /&gt;
it was evident that the debate was governed by&lt;br /&gt;
considerations quite foreign to that principle. The&lt;br /&gt;
opposition was determined by two particular motives&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;the first, irreconcilable antagonism towards Eng-&lt;br /&gt;
land, a country directly interested in the vote, and&lt;br /&gt;
the second an intestine struggle between the east&lt;br /&gt;
and west of America. The most rancorous&lt;br /&gt;
opponents of the proposed reform belonged to&lt;br /&gt;
regions the least given to reading and study,&lt;br /&gt;
countries purely industrial, where writers and&lt;br /&gt;
publishers were seldom to be found. In the&lt;br /&gt;
constituencies of these representatives, Kansas,&lt;br /&gt;
Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio, and Texas, intellectual&lt;br /&gt;
rights were not tangible and real things. The&lt;br /&gt;
people disregarded alike the security and dignity&lt;br /&gt;
of authors, whom they treated as speculators and&lt;br /&gt;
monopolisers. On the other hand, authors might&lt;br /&gt;
be proud of having been defended by the repre-&lt;br /&gt;
sentatives of States which constituted the intellectual&lt;br /&gt;
elect of the country. New York, New Jersey,&lt;br /&gt;
Boston, and Philadelphia had contended for right&lt;br /&gt;
and justice, and it was to them that the Association&lt;br /&gt;
would owe a crowning victory. It would be of&lt;br /&gt;
interest to glance briefly at the arguments advanced&lt;br /&gt;
by the opponents of the law. The notion that an&lt;br /&gt;
idea once put forth belonged to the whole world had&lt;br /&gt;
long since been exploded. Mr. Hopkins, however,&lt;br /&gt;
had not feared to take up the most untenable&lt;br /&gt;
positions. According to him, authors created&lt;br /&gt;
nothing, but simply gave form to elements with&lt;br /&gt;
which their predecessors had provided them. They&lt;br /&gt;
found their ideas in books, and merely put them in&lt;br /&gt;
circulation again. This was equivalent to saying&lt;br /&gt;
that a man could not create his house, since he&lt;br /&gt;
took his material for it from the earth. Mr.&lt;br /&gt;
Hopkins added that a writer worthy of the name&lt;br /&gt;
would not work for money. He had to be thanked&lt;br /&gt;
for that proof of esteem, but at the same time it&lt;br /&gt;
must be pointed out that even the best of writers&lt;br /&gt;
had a right to live by his work, like every other&lt;br /&gt;
human being. Mr. Hopkins did not seem to think&lt;br /&gt;
that in refusing to an author the right of remunera-&lt;br /&gt;
tion he was closing the door of a literary career to&lt;br /&gt;
every one without fortune and without patrimony.&lt;br /&gt;
It was the doctrine of silencing the poor in all its&lt;br /&gt;
cruelty. Another argument was that the interest&lt;br /&gt;
of an author was opposed to the general interest,&lt;br /&gt;
as the remuneration which he claimed would tend&lt;br /&gt;
to increase the price of books. Mr. Payson, of&lt;br /&gt;
Illinois, desired that even American writers should&lt;br /&gt;
not be protected. An author, it was said, &amp;quot;ought&lt;br /&gt;
to be a devotee, an apostle who sacrificed himself&lt;br /&gt;
to the pleasure of the greatest number. The public&lt;br /&gt;
owed him nothing. He was free not to write. If&lt;br /&gt;
he did write, the delight of expounding his thoughts&lt;br /&gt;
to millions of readers should appear to him a suffi-&lt;br /&gt;
cient recompense for his labours.&amp;quot; Mr. Hopkins&lt;br /&gt;
and his friends said that if they admitted a right in&lt;br /&gt;
the American writer to protection it did not follow&lt;br /&gt;
that they should do the same in regard to the&lt;br /&gt;
foreigner. &amp;quot;What is there in common between us&lt;br /&gt;
and other countries?&amp;quot; Mr. Parson asked; &amp;quot;they&lt;br /&gt;
take interest in us only because we are a source of&lt;br /&gt;
profit to them.&amp;quot; The antipathy against England&lt;br /&gt;
was here shown in the clearest light. It was&lt;br /&gt;
England and England alone that would profit by&lt;br /&gt;
the law. Why should America favour the pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lishers of the land of feudality? As to the&lt;br /&gt;
authors, what good was it to speak of them? They&lt;br /&gt;
made money at home. America owed them nothing.&lt;br /&gt;
The Copyright Bill had no other object than to&lt;br /&gt;
open to foreigners the vast market of the American&lt;br /&gt;
reading public, and that without exacting any re-&lt;br /&gt;
ciprocity on the part of other countries.&amp;quot; One&lt;br /&gt;
speaker added that in order to ensure protection&lt;br /&gt;
to a foreign author in England it was necessary&lt;br /&gt;
that he should live there and take an oath of&lt;br /&gt;
allegiance to the Queen, and no one had replied&lt;br /&gt;
to such fantastic statements. Americans knew&lt;br /&gt;
that in most countries of Europe their rights were&lt;br /&gt;
protected even now. In France, among other&lt;br /&gt;
countries, was not the principle of protection, even&lt;br /&gt;
without reciprocity, embodied in the law? To&lt;br /&gt;
speak only of England, what connection was there&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 188 (#228) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
between a registration at Stationers&amp;#039; Hall and an&lt;br /&gt;
oath of allegiance to the Queen? Had not Eng-&lt;br /&gt;
land always offered a treaty to the United States,&lt;br /&gt;
and had the Association lost the recollection of a&lt;br /&gt;
project submitted for its consideration in 1881 by&lt;br /&gt;
the Board of Trade&mdash;a project which established&lt;br /&gt;
the principle of reciprocity between the two&lt;br /&gt;
countries? Let the United States enter the Con-&lt;br /&gt;
vention of Berne, and they would at once have a&lt;br /&gt;
proof that no condition of a nature to wound their&lt;br /&gt;
sentiments of American loyalty would be imposed&lt;br /&gt;
upon them. The American people were great&lt;br /&gt;
readers, there being scarcely a farm or cabin, even&lt;br /&gt;
in the remotest places in the Rocky Mountains,&lt;br /&gt;
where a book or magazine was not to be found.&lt;br /&gt;
Owing to the present system the works of European&lt;br /&gt;
writers had been published at too cheap a rate.&lt;br /&gt;
What cost 5of. in England, cost 1 sf. or iof. in the&lt;br /&gt;
United States. General Gordon&amp;#039;s &amp;quot;Journal,&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
worth in London 21s., was sold at Chicago for a&lt;br /&gt;
dollar and a half. The protection of the author&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
right, it was maintained, would lead to a for-&lt;br /&gt;
midable increase in the price of books. It was&lt;br /&gt;
singular that in a country which piqued itself upon&lt;br /&gt;
being eminently practical, the representatives of the&lt;br /&gt;
people in Parliament seemed to be so ill provided&lt;br /&gt;
with trustworthy documents bearing on the ques-&lt;br /&gt;
tions which they discussed, for a man having any&lt;br /&gt;
knowledge of what was going on in Europe might&lt;br /&gt;
easily refute that argument. To leave England for&lt;br /&gt;
a moment out of the question&mdash;the price of books&lt;br /&gt;
there, on account of special circumstances, such as&lt;br /&gt;
circulating libraries, being high&mdash;in France, in&lt;br /&gt;
Spain, and in Germany the extreme of cheaphess&lt;br /&gt;
had been reached. Where was the right of authors&lt;br /&gt;
more respected than in those countries? Could&lt;br /&gt;
the Americans cite a single work for which the&lt;br /&gt;
author&amp;#039;s right had not been paid in some form or&lt;br /&gt;
another? And yet, with the exception of some&lt;br /&gt;
editions degrand luxe, the average price was 2f. 50c,&lt;br /&gt;
two marks, or two pesetas and a half. There had&lt;br /&gt;
been published a number of &amp;quot;libraries&amp;quot; at if.&lt;br /&gt;
the volume. The masterpieces of contemporary&lt;br /&gt;
authors were even republished by Marpon at 60c.&lt;br /&gt;
the volume. Was it supposed in America that the&lt;br /&gt;
rights of the author were not paid on all these&lt;br /&gt;
works? Did not Tauchnitz pay English authors&lt;br /&gt;
for permission to bring out cheap editions of their&lt;br /&gt;
works? As a matter of fact, were not contracts&lt;br /&gt;
daily entered into between the publishers of Lon-&lt;br /&gt;
don, Leipsic, and Madrid with European authors?&lt;br /&gt;
This was a proof that respect for the author&amp;#039;s right&lt;br /&gt;
was in no way incompatible with low prices. In&lt;br /&gt;
regard to the special relations between the United&lt;br /&gt;
States and England, it was to be observed that the&lt;br /&gt;
payment to English authors would not be increased&lt;br /&gt;
by the cost of translation, inasmuch as the lan-&lt;br /&gt;
guages were the same. Belgium arranged with&lt;br /&gt;
French authors for the reproduction of their&lt;br /&gt;
works on better conditions than Germany and&lt;br /&gt;
England. The requirements of the author were&lt;br /&gt;
not such that the increase of price would appear so&lt;br /&gt;
formidable. The average rate could be fixed at&lt;br /&gt;
10 per cent, on the price marked. As a conse-&lt;br /&gt;
quence, the book brought out in America for half-&lt;br /&gt;
a-dollar&mdash;that was, about 2s., or 2f. 50c.&mdash;would&lt;br /&gt;
go up to 2f. 75c&mdash;an insignificant increase when it&lt;br /&gt;
was considered that in return for it a great and&lt;br /&gt;
admirable country would be in the paths of probity.&lt;br /&gt;
Should such a sacrifice be thought impossible?&lt;br /&gt;
Let the United States declare themselves ready to&lt;br /&gt;
accept these conditions, and they would have the&lt;br /&gt;
signature of every man who used a pen.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
CURIOUS CASE.&lt;br /&gt;
VI.&lt;br /&gt;
THIS case was only prevented from turning&lt;br /&gt;
out a hard one by the agreeable readiness&lt;br /&gt;
on the part of the publishers to see with&lt;br /&gt;
the author&amp;#039;s eyes.&lt;br /&gt;
The question at issue was a very curious one,&lt;br /&gt;
and one which might often crop up in badly&lt;br /&gt;
worded agreements. It was this: if a publisher&lt;br /&gt;
has covenanted to pay an author a certain sum on&lt;br /&gt;
a certain number of sales of his book, the book&lt;br /&gt;
being originally issued at a certain price, can he&lt;br /&gt;
raise the price of the book legally, no mention of&lt;br /&gt;
the price being made in the agreement and the&lt;br /&gt;
copyright being his? In other words, having in&lt;br /&gt;
the first instance covenanted to pay a larger&lt;br /&gt;
royalty, can he at his discretion pay a smaller&lt;br /&gt;
royalty?&lt;br /&gt;
This is the case.&lt;br /&gt;
An author delivered a course of lectures on a&lt;br /&gt;
technical subject, and their favourable reception&lt;br /&gt;
prompted him to issue them in book form. He&lt;br /&gt;
received a promise of two hundred subscribers for&lt;br /&gt;
the book at five shillings each, and armed with&lt;br /&gt;
this guarantee against total loss he issued the&lt;br /&gt;
book with the best publishers he could have found&lt;br /&gt;
for such a subject.&lt;br /&gt;
He drew up a contract of which the following is&lt;br /&gt;
the abstract:&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
a. The publishers shall print and publish the&lt;br /&gt;
book at their own risk.&lt;br /&gt;
/3. The author shall receive from them five&lt;br /&gt;
pounds for every fifty pages of MSS. he supplies;&lt;br /&gt;
twenty-five pounds, when the first five hundred&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 189 (#229) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR&lt;br /&gt;
copies are sold, twenty-five pounds for the second&lt;br /&gt;
five hundred copies sold, and, in each case, money&lt;br /&gt;
in the same proportion for any less number; and&lt;br /&gt;
thirty-five pounds for each five hundred copies sold&lt;br /&gt;
after the first thousand.&lt;br /&gt;
7. The publishers shall keep accurate accounts,&lt;br /&gt;
accessible to the author or his accredited agent.&lt;br /&gt;
S. The publisher shall have the copyright.&lt;br /&gt;
We have here an admirable agreement in its&lt;br /&gt;
first three clauses. The idea of the sliding scale&lt;br /&gt;
royalty&mdash;the most equitable method of publishing&lt;br /&gt;
if well carried out&mdash;and the demand that both&lt;br /&gt;
parties should have access to the accounts of their&lt;br /&gt;
joint venture, are both most sensible.&lt;br /&gt;
But the author forgot to mention the price at&lt;br /&gt;
which his work was to be issued, and he assigned&lt;br /&gt;
his copyright unreservedly. to the publishers.&lt;br /&gt;
Nothing short of an absolute breach of the agree-&lt;br /&gt;
ment could ever regain for him any power over or&lt;br /&gt;
discretion in the management of the book he had&lt;br /&gt;
written.&lt;br /&gt;
There was an understanding that the book&lt;br /&gt;
should be issued at five shillings. Under this&lt;br /&gt;
agreement, therefore, the author proposes to receive&lt;br /&gt;
a small sum down proportionate to the length of&lt;br /&gt;
his work, and a royalty of 20 per cent, on the first&lt;br /&gt;
thousand copies, and of 28 per cent, on subsequent&lt;br /&gt;
editions, the royalty being, as usual, calculated on&lt;br /&gt;
the nominal or published price. That a nominal&lt;br /&gt;
price of five shillings was throughout in the minds&lt;br /&gt;
of both parties, when the agreement was made, is&lt;br /&gt;
proved practically by the fact that the author&lt;br /&gt;
brought with him to the publisher two hundred&lt;br /&gt;
subscribers at that sum, after which the agreement&lt;br /&gt;
was drawn by the author himself.&lt;br /&gt;
In time two thousand copies were sold.&lt;br /&gt;
The publishers then applied for a reduction of&lt;br /&gt;
the royalties, stating that the book would not bear&lt;br /&gt;
such large payments to the author. This state-&lt;br /&gt;
ment they demonstrated by submitting the accounts.&lt;br /&gt;
Now certainly a very large sale must be effected&lt;br /&gt;
before a book will bear a royalty of 28 per cent.,*&lt;br /&gt;
when it is issued at the publisher&amp;#039;s expense.&lt;br /&gt;
If the sale of the book can be calculated by tens&lt;br /&gt;
of thousands, such payments can be easily made to&lt;br /&gt;
the author, but here we have a book whose sales&lt;br /&gt;
attained only to two thousand copies in two years,&lt;br /&gt;
although it was an extremely successful book, and&lt;br /&gt;
has run into two new editions since. It is easy to&lt;br /&gt;
see that the author had much the best of the&lt;br /&gt;
bargain, although the publisher was not actually at&lt;br /&gt;
a loss.&lt;br /&gt;
The author offered to accept a royalty of 20 per&lt;br /&gt;
cent, throughout, i.e., he was willing to accept is.&lt;br /&gt;
* Compare table in The Author, No. 2&mdash;a leaflet entitled&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Royalties &amp;quot;&mdash;and &amp;quot; Methods of Publishing,&amp;quot; p. 68.&lt;br /&gt;
per copy for every copy sold. The publishers&lt;br /&gt;
wished to reduce his share to gd. per copy. To&lt;br /&gt;
this demand the author refused to accede. When&lt;br /&gt;
the third edition appeared, it was issued at a nominal&lt;br /&gt;
price of 7s. 6d. It will be seen at once that this&lt;br /&gt;
change reduced the author&amp;#039;s royalty at a stroke&lt;br /&gt;
from the 28 per cent, designed in the agreement,&lt;br /&gt;
to under 20 per cent.&lt;br /&gt;
Was the publisher&amp;#039;s action legal?&lt;br /&gt;
The agreement enacted that ^35 should be&lt;br /&gt;
paid for every 500 copies sold over the first 1,000.&lt;br /&gt;
That is all, and that was done. The agreement&lt;br /&gt;
said nothing whatever about the price at which&lt;br /&gt;
these copies were to be sold&mdash;a most foolish&lt;br /&gt;
omission. But there is distinct evidence that the&lt;br /&gt;
agreement was drawn upon the mutually understood&lt;br /&gt;
basis of a nominal price of 5.?. for each copy.&lt;br /&gt;
Did therefore the raising of the price to 7*. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
constitute a breach of agreement, under which&lt;br /&gt;
the author could regain possession of his copyright,&lt;br /&gt;
and make other arrangements for publication?&lt;br /&gt;
We were advised that such a view was tenable.&lt;br /&gt;
The publishers, also advised, did not share this&lt;br /&gt;
view, but expressed themselves willing to enter into&lt;br /&gt;
a new contract, whereby the royalty paid to the&lt;br /&gt;
author should be always 20 per cent, of the nominal&lt;br /&gt;
price of the work, whatever that price might be,&lt;br /&gt;
and an agreement was duly signed upon those&lt;br /&gt;
lines.&lt;br /&gt;
To us it seems that it is a most instructive case.&lt;br /&gt;
We have often been told, and have often read,&lt;br /&gt;
(this is when we are being called grasping), that no&lt;br /&gt;
case is on record where an author has foregone any&lt;br /&gt;
advantages he may have obtained over a publisher,&lt;br /&gt;
and are requested to remember that publishers&lt;br /&gt;
have done this thing scores of times for authors.&lt;br /&gt;
Here is an author, who seeing that his book&lt;br /&gt;
would not bear a royalty of 28 per cent., voluntarily&lt;br /&gt;
consented to its being lowered.&lt;br /&gt;
We have been assured that no publisher who&lt;br /&gt;
respected himself would allow his books to be&lt;br /&gt;
inspected by an author or an author&amp;#039;s agent.&lt;br /&gt;
(This is when we are being called meddlesome.)&lt;br /&gt;
Here is a publisher&mdash;and there are many such&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
who inserts a clause giving this right in his agree-&lt;br /&gt;
ment.&lt;br /&gt;
Once again a badly worded agreement has&lt;br /&gt;
brought trouble. Once again an unreserved assign-&lt;br /&gt;
ment of the copyright to the publisher has made&lt;br /&gt;
the trouble acuter.&lt;br /&gt;
It is very gratifying that the case has been&lt;br /&gt;
brought to an amicable termination.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 190 (#230) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
190&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
THE AMERICAN TONGUE.&lt;br /&gt;
THE New York Herald has sent, through its&lt;br /&gt;
London correspondent, a circular asking&lt;br /&gt;
a few questions. He proposes to write&lt;br /&gt;
an article on &amp;quot;American English,&amp;quot; and desires to&lt;br /&gt;
incorporate in it the views of English men of&lt;br /&gt;
letters. The questions are as follows :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
1. VVhether you think that the English language&lt;br /&gt;
has suffered in its purity and elegance by&lt;br /&gt;
transplantation to American soil?&lt;br /&gt;
2. Whether you regard the &amp;quot;Yankee twang&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
and &amp;quot;Yankee slang&amp;quot; as unfortunate lin-&lt;br /&gt;
guistic developments?&lt;br /&gt;
3. Whether you think that the best classes of&lt;br /&gt;
American men and women speak with less&lt;br /&gt;
refinement than corresponding classes in&lt;br /&gt;
England?&lt;br /&gt;
I lay these questions before the readers of The&lt;br /&gt;
Autlwr. They may perhaps be inclined to answer&lt;br /&gt;
them. The address of the New York Herald is&lt;br /&gt;
no, Strand, W.C.&lt;br /&gt;
The development of the - language on the other&lt;br /&gt;
side of the Atlantic for nearly three hundred years&lt;br /&gt;
for the most part with no influence at all of one&lt;br /&gt;
country upon the other, that is to say, upon the&lt;br /&gt;
language of the common people, requires a philolo-&lt;br /&gt;
gist to investigate and to describe. For a hundred&lt;br /&gt;
and fifty years, that is to say, from the beginning&lt;br /&gt;
of the last century to the middle of this, there was&lt;br /&gt;
hardly any emigration from this country; very few&lt;br /&gt;
Americans ever came here, very few Englishmen&lt;br /&gt;
ever went to America. After the War of Indepen-&lt;br /&gt;
dence, the Americans simply hated England&mdash;one&lt;br /&gt;
can never understand why&mdash;we need only read&lt;br /&gt;
Hawthorne, Thoreau, and other writers of fifty years&lt;br /&gt;
ago to understand the unreasoning and childish&lt;br /&gt;
hatred then nourished towards the mother country, a&lt;br /&gt;
feeling never in the least degree felt by ourselves.&lt;br /&gt;
By reason of this long separation, this hostility,&lt;br /&gt;
this absence of intercourse, and the lack of any&lt;br /&gt;
American literature worth bringing over, changes&lt;br /&gt;
in the language of the Americans produced no&lt;br /&gt;
effect whatever on this country, while the bulk of&lt;br /&gt;
their people, being illiterate, were not influencd by&lt;br /&gt;
our literature. Now that our people read American&lt;br /&gt;
books by the million, our common speech has&lt;br /&gt;
become greatly influenced by theirs. It is from&lt;br /&gt;
them, for instance, that we learned to use the&lt;br /&gt;
substantive for the adjective&mdash;as, a monster bal-&lt;br /&gt;
loon for a large balloon. We have learned most of&lt;br /&gt;
our exaggerations from them: we have received a&lt;br /&gt;
great quantity of new words which are certainly no&lt;br /&gt;
improvement on the old&mdash;as &amp;quot;boss, loafer, boom,&lt;br /&gt;
corner,&amp;quot; and a thousand others. We have caught&lt;br /&gt;
from them that trick of irreverence which runs&lt;br /&gt;
through the whole of American literature. I&lt;br /&gt;
cannot say, for my own part, that I think the&lt;br /&gt;
language has been improved across the Atlantic.&lt;br /&gt;
As regards the second question, the &amp;quot;Yankee&lt;br /&gt;
twang &amp;quot; is a mere accident, to be explained I know&lt;br /&gt;
not how. The Americans remark our English&lt;br /&gt;
twang or brogue, or manner of speech. Formerly,&lt;br /&gt;
every county had its brogue. The Cockney twang&lt;br /&gt;
which says &amp;quot;laidy&amp;quot; for &amp;quot;lady,&amp;quot; &amp;quot;whoy&amp;quot; for&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;why,&amp;quot; is the Essex brogue.&lt;br /&gt;
As for the third question, I am convinced that&lt;br /&gt;
cultivated people in the States talk better than those&lt;br /&gt;
of the same class here. The reason is that they&lt;br /&gt;
think more about their manner of speech. This is&lt;br /&gt;
natural in a country where manners alone prove&lt;br /&gt;
the cultivation and refinement which are here&lt;br /&gt;
taken for granted when one stands on a certain&lt;br /&gt;
social level. For the same reason their manners&lt;br /&gt;
seem to me in one sense better, because they&lt;br /&gt;
think more of manners, yet they are self-conscious,&lt;br /&gt;
simply because they do think of manners, while&lt;br /&gt;
English people who have been well-bred from&lt;br /&gt;
infancy, wear their manners unconsciously as they&lt;br /&gt;
wear themselves.&lt;br /&gt;
W. B.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
AN ENGLISH ACADEMY.&lt;br /&gt;
THE English writer whose letter to the Daily&lt;br /&gt;
Graphic provoked the interesting discus-&lt;br /&gt;
sion on an English Academy of Letters, has&lt;br /&gt;
been so long in Paris admiring French institu-&lt;br /&gt;
tions, that he has had no time to read our&lt;br /&gt;
contemporary literature, of which he seems, like&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Frederic Harrison, to hold a very poor&lt;br /&gt;
opinion. The question was discussed by Matthew&lt;br /&gt;
Arnold in his first series of &amp;quot; Essays in Criticism,&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
and the Pall Mall Gazette, in February, 1887,&lt;br /&gt;
gave a list of forty names elected by the popular&lt;br /&gt;
vote, to form an English equivalent to the French&lt;br /&gt;
Academy.&lt;br /&gt;
The Daily Graphic has already printed the&lt;br /&gt;
opinions of several eminent writers on the subject.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Leslie Stephen, Mr. Lang, and Mr. Swinburne&lt;br /&gt;
have objected to the scheme, and other daily&lt;br /&gt;
papers have been occupied in misunderstanding&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Besant. They say he has been clamouring for&lt;br /&gt;
an academy. If his letter on Friday, October 24th,&lt;br /&gt;
be referred to, it will be found that Mr. Besant&lt;br /&gt;
only pointed out what the advantages of an&lt;br /&gt;
academy might be as compared with the disadvan-&lt;br /&gt;
tages. He did not say that he wished for an&lt;br /&gt;
academy on the French lines, consisting of forty&lt;br /&gt;
immortals, who were to be regarded as the only&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 191 (#231) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
191&lt;br /&gt;
representatives of English writers, all entitled to&lt;br /&gt;
tombs in the Abbey, and statues in Trafalgar&lt;br /&gt;
Square. He sketched out what he considered to&lt;br /&gt;
be the functions of an English academy, and&lt;br /&gt;
he rather invited the opinions of others than dog-&lt;br /&gt;
matised on the subject. Mr. Leslie Stephen was&lt;br /&gt;
among the first to respond, and his name carries&lt;br /&gt;
weight on any subject connected with English&lt;br /&gt;
letters. He dreads the formation of cliques, the&lt;br /&gt;
canvassing that would inevitably come about,&lt;br /&gt;
nepotism, and the creation of a State convention&lt;br /&gt;
inimical to new theories. He only sees in an&lt;br /&gt;
academy a society of greybeards, who resent&lt;br /&gt;
originality and look with suspicion on a coming&lt;br /&gt;
author.&lt;br /&gt;
A letter, signed by Mr. Whibley, shows the&lt;br /&gt;
absurdity of pointing to the Royal Academy of&lt;br /&gt;
Arts as a model. &amp;quot;The English writer&amp;quot; is again&lt;br /&gt;
shown to be entirely ignorant of current opinions&lt;br /&gt;
in England, when he talks of Burlington House&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;as an inducement to do good work, not merely&lt;br /&gt;
saleable work, but epoch-making, with the gloriole&lt;br /&gt;
of the National Gallery, of which I presume the&lt;br /&gt;
Royal Academy is an almost certain ante-chamber.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Imagine our National Gallery, now one of the finest&lt;br /&gt;
collections in Europe, choked in future with works&lt;br /&gt;
of art now exhibited annually at Burlington&lt;br /&gt;
House. The Academy of Arts is a terrible warn-&lt;br /&gt;
ing rather than an inducement to found an Academy&lt;br /&gt;
of Letters. As Mr. Whibley says, it has resolutely&lt;br /&gt;
set its face against new methods and new schools.&lt;br /&gt;
Our younger painters of any eminence go to Paris&lt;br /&gt;
now to study in the ateliers of the leading French&lt;br /&gt;
masters.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Andrew Lang admits that the technique of&lt;br /&gt;
our language might be improved, but at the expense&lt;br /&gt;
of its idiosyncrasies, its individuality, its peculiar&lt;br /&gt;
genius. Now it is the want of technical excellence,&lt;br /&gt;
not only in our art, but in our literature, that the&lt;br /&gt;
French are always throwing in our faces, assisted&lt;br /&gt;
by a chorus of Philo-Gallic Britons. Mr. Arnold&lt;br /&gt;
called this national want a lack of intelligence,&lt;br /&gt;
quick and flexible.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Lang seems to think that professional&lt;br /&gt;
jealousies, intrigue, and personal enmity would be&lt;br /&gt;
the natural result of an academy, and those&lt;br /&gt;
unhappy differences between authors, now, alas!&lt;br /&gt;
too common, would only be aggravated.&lt;br /&gt;
This is a very pessimistic view. One would&lt;br /&gt;
hope that those national virtues of which Mr.&lt;br /&gt;
Lang is so sincere an admirer would overbalance&lt;br /&gt;
any such evil passions latent, as he would have us&lt;br /&gt;
believe, in our philosophers, authors, and historians.&lt;br /&gt;
And Mr. Swinburne animadverts rather on the sins&lt;br /&gt;
of the French Academy than any possible crimes&lt;br /&gt;
or virtues of the unborn English society. He says,&lt;br /&gt;
with great truth, &amp;quot;The mere fact that the names of&lt;br /&gt;
Honors de Balzac and Dumas do not appear on the&lt;br /&gt;
academic register of contemporary distinction, is&lt;br /&gt;
enough to dispose of its claims to our notice as a&lt;br /&gt;
literary institution,&amp;quot; and writing in 1867 he said,&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Does it include one of high and fine genius&lt;br /&gt;
besides MeVimle?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
M. Coppe&amp;quot;e does not take his own academy very&lt;br /&gt;
seriously, but his remarks are of the greatest&lt;br /&gt;
importance. According to his view it has not&lt;br /&gt;
influenced a single writer either for good or bad,&lt;br /&gt;
but it has supplied writers with the words they may&lt;br /&gt;
use without incurring the reproach of using, slang,&lt;br /&gt;
and that in England an Academy would dignify the&lt;br /&gt;
profession of letters.&lt;br /&gt;
M. Coppee has crystalized in a few sentences&lt;br /&gt;
most of the arguments that can be said in favour&lt;br /&gt;
of an academy.&lt;br /&gt;
Slang, whether it be the slang of the Sporting&lt;br /&gt;
Times, of the art critic, or the reviewer, always&lt;br /&gt;
encourages poverty of language and expression.&lt;br /&gt;
All the correspondents have concurred with&lt;br /&gt;
Matthew Arnold that the technique of our&lt;br /&gt;
language requires a guide ; that genius requires a&lt;br /&gt;
rein to direct it; but gentlemen who may be&lt;br /&gt;
regarded as literary experts condemn the formation&lt;br /&gt;
of an academy on the French principles.&lt;br /&gt;
But&mdash;and here is another proposition&mdash;how if we&lt;br /&gt;
were to form an academy, not consisting of our&lt;br /&gt;
great creative or imaginative writers such as poets,&lt;br /&gt;
novelists, essayists, or historians, but of those&lt;br /&gt;
who are universally considered authorities on the&lt;br /&gt;
technique of language, criticism, and style, men&lt;br /&gt;
like Mr. Leslie Stephen, Professor Max Miiller,&lt;br /&gt;
Professor Skeat, Professor Seeley, and Mr. Saints-&lt;br /&gt;
bury? It would avoid those jealousies so feared&lt;br /&gt;
by Mr. Lang and Mr. Leslie Stephen, and the&lt;br /&gt;
exclusion of great names in imaginative literature,&lt;br /&gt;
as Mr. Swinburne anticipates. We should not have&lt;br /&gt;
people writing and saying &amp;quot;A is a greater novelist&lt;br /&gt;
than B; C is a much greater poet than D. Of&lt;br /&gt;
course academies always encouraged mediocrity;&lt;br /&gt;
there has been some jobbery and chicanery some-&lt;br /&gt;
where. B and D to our personal knowledge can-&lt;br /&gt;
vassed and squared the Electing Committee.&amp;quot; No,&lt;br /&gt;
this academy would be an association of scholars&lt;br /&gt;
and philologists; its members would be, if I may&lt;br /&gt;
use such a term, the &amp;quot;nurses&amp;quot; of the language.&lt;br /&gt;
They would encourage the science of letters and&lt;br /&gt;
proficiency in expression; they would encourage&lt;br /&gt;
that intelligence Mr. Arnold extolled. Scholars&lt;br /&gt;
are not made in a day; it would not be in&lt;br /&gt;
obedience to a popular opinion that they elected&lt;br /&gt;
a new member. They could not aggravate the&lt;br /&gt;
populace by rejecting a coming author whose book&lt;br /&gt;
had lately taken the town by storm, whom they&lt;br /&gt;
believed would remain&mdash;promising.&lt;br /&gt;
Admission to its ranks would not be a certificate&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 192 (#232) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
192&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
of immortality, but a certificate of scholarly&lt;br /&gt;
proficiency.&lt;br /&gt;
We might not agree with its conclusions, but it&lt;br /&gt;
would teach us how to arrive at conclusions instead&lt;br /&gt;
of jumping at them&mdash;the methods of criticism,&lt;br /&gt;
construction, and grammar.&lt;br /&gt;
If there had been an academy of the precon-&lt;br /&gt;
ceived type, would Martin Tupper have died a&lt;br /&gt;
member? If he had escaped election how much&lt;br /&gt;
abuse would have been heaped &amp;quot;on the old-&lt;br /&gt;
fashioned conventional fogies who did not know&lt;br /&gt;
what real poetry was.&amp;quot; If it had taken him to its&lt;br /&gt;
bosom, others more discriminating would have&lt;br /&gt;
said, &amp;quot;How very premature! our academy is&lt;br /&gt;
truckling to the vox populi.&amp;quot; Such are some of the&lt;br /&gt;
dangers of an academy founded on the prevailing&lt;br /&gt;
notions of such an institution. Mr. Besant suggests&lt;br /&gt;
other functions as the duty of an English academy,&lt;br /&gt;
but these seem to belong rather to a body like the&lt;br /&gt;
Incorporated Society of Authors, as Mr. Whibley&lt;br /&gt;
pointed out.&lt;br /&gt;
Another point M. Coppee referred to, namely,&lt;br /&gt;
the Dignity of the Profession of Letters. In France,&lt;br /&gt;
he said, the author is considered in a way he is not&lt;br /&gt;
in England. Complaints on this score are often&lt;br /&gt;
made. The Bar, the Church, and Medicine are a&lt;br /&gt;
kind of passport to a social standing. Why should&lt;br /&gt;
not the Arts and Letters be a similar &amp;quot;open sesame.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
An English academy, M. Coppee thinks, would&lt;br /&gt;
have the requisite effect. No doubt, but it would&lt;br /&gt;
create at once an aristocracy in the world of letters&lt;br /&gt;
which in England at any rate has up to now been&lt;br /&gt;
a Republic. It opens up, however, new paths for&lt;br /&gt;
discussion divorced from the immediate question,&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Shall we have an English Academy of Letters?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
R.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
AN ENCOURAGING EXPERIENCE.&lt;br /&gt;
I.&lt;br /&gt;
A. B. entered into an agreement with a firm who&lt;br /&gt;
proposed to publish his book on the half profit&lt;br /&gt;
system &amp;quot; for the first edition.&amp;quot; What was meant&lt;br /&gt;
by that does not appear. Two years later, no&lt;br /&gt;
accounts having been sent in, A. B. found that a&lt;br /&gt;
new edition had been issued, without his consent&lt;br /&gt;
or advice being asked. The publishers then sent&lt;br /&gt;
in their accounts. They stated the cost of pro-&lt;br /&gt;
duction, including a sum of ^17 for illustrations&lt;br /&gt;
and ^10 for advertising, as j&pound;no. This did not&lt;br /&gt;
include stereotyping, and there was a very small&lt;br /&gt;
sum for corrections. Of course every item of this&lt;br /&gt;
bill, which seems monstrous on the face of it,&lt;br /&gt;
should have been examined and audited. They&lt;br /&gt;
had sold the whole edition, producing &pound;io. There&lt;br /&gt;
was therefore a loss of ^30. They offered to take&lt;br /&gt;
over the loss and to buy out the book for &pound;,\o.&lt;br /&gt;
This was done, and the book still lives and is in&lt;br /&gt;
its twentieth edition.&lt;br /&gt;
Moral.&mdash;The author should not have accepted&lt;br /&gt;
the account without an audit.&lt;br /&gt;
II.&lt;br /&gt;
The same author was so unfortunate as to fall a&lt;br /&gt;
victim to the payment-in-advance dodge. He&lt;br /&gt;
paid ^45 down, and was to have two-thirds of the&lt;br /&gt;
proceeds. Some time afterwards he received &pound;8.&lt;br /&gt;
He then suggested that it would be as well to&lt;br /&gt;
spend something in advertising it. The publishers&lt;br /&gt;
did so&mdash;at the author&amp;#039;s expense&mdash;and charged him&lt;br /&gt;
with .&pound;36 on this account. This, together with a&lt;br /&gt;
bill for ^16 for copies taken by the author, made&lt;br /&gt;
up a very pretty account. Thus:&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&pound; s. d.&lt;br /&gt;
Paid by the author... ... 45 o o&lt;br /&gt;
Do. for advertising ... ... 36 5 o&lt;br /&gt;
Do. for copies taken ... 16 2 6&lt;br /&gt;
&pound;97 7 6&lt;br /&gt;
&pound; s. d.&lt;br /&gt;
Received by the author on&lt;br /&gt;
account of sales ... ... 8 o o&lt;br /&gt;
Received from private sales,&lt;br /&gt;
say ... ... ... 20 o o&lt;br /&gt;
&pound;28 o o&lt;br /&gt;
Loss of author by the transaction, ^77 is. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
Moral.&mdash;The only protection which can be&lt;br /&gt;
afforded to writers who fall into such a trap is&lt;br /&gt;
the publication of the figures as above. If they&lt;br /&gt;
will not deter the unwary nothing will.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 193 (#233) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
QUERIES AND ANSWERS.&lt;br /&gt;
By Way of Precaution.&lt;br /&gt;
The following is from the Nation (New York),&lt;br /&gt;
of October 2nd, 1890 :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Two Lost Centuries of Britain,&amp;quot; namely, the&lt;br /&gt;
period immediately following the departure of the&lt;br /&gt;
Romans, is the title of a historical study by William&lt;br /&gt;
H. Babcock, which J. B. Lippincott Company will&lt;br /&gt;
shortly issue.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
I do not know what views and opinions Mr.&lt;br /&gt;
Babcock has formed and is about to publish. But&lt;br /&gt;
it so happens that I have been myself engaged in&lt;br /&gt;
an attempt to restore the lost history of London&lt;br /&gt;
during these two centuries. There is only one&lt;br /&gt;
set of documents open to those who investigate&lt;br /&gt;
this subject, and in case my own opinions should&lt;br /&gt;
also be those of Mr. Babcock, I place on record&lt;br /&gt;
that my paper was handed to the type-writer on&lt;br /&gt;
Monday, October 20th, and has been posted to&lt;br /&gt;
the Editor of Harper&amp;#039;s Magazine, before I have had&lt;br /&gt;
had any opportunity of seeing Mr. Babcock&amp;#039;s paper.&lt;br /&gt;
Walter Besant.&lt;br /&gt;
Hampstead,&lt;br /&gt;
October, 1890.&lt;br /&gt;
On Accepted Papers.&lt;br /&gt;
Will you tell me why writers have to give almost&lt;br /&gt;
unlimited time to the editors of magazines for the&lt;br /&gt;
publication (and payment) of accepted articles?&lt;br /&gt;
To cite from many similar instances. In 1885 a&lt;br /&gt;
story of mine was&mdash;with warm encomium&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
accepted for a magazine &amp;quot;payment on publication.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
That story only appeared in 1889&mdash;rather long&lt;br /&gt;
credit!&lt;br /&gt;
In 1889, also with approval, another story was&lt;br /&gt;
accepted for the same serial, and I presume I may&lt;br /&gt;
look for it in print at some distant period. When&lt;br /&gt;
this happens in all quarters, though perhaps not&lt;br /&gt;
such aggravated cases of delay as in the case of&lt;br /&gt;
the serial I mean, how are writers who are not&lt;br /&gt;
millionaires to get on financially? Why are not&lt;br /&gt;
short articles met with ready money payments, and&lt;br /&gt;
then if the editor chooses to reserve them months&lt;br /&gt;
or years, no one is inconvenienced.&lt;br /&gt;
This is done in America, but, so far as I have&lt;br /&gt;
experienced, not in England, although such short&lt;br /&gt;
papers are looked on in the light of &amp;quot; pot-boilers.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
S.&lt;br /&gt;
An Authors&amp;#039; Club.&lt;br /&gt;
October 1.0th, 1890.&lt;br /&gt;
In the September number of The Author, and&lt;br /&gt;
while referring to the Authors&amp;#039; Dinner, the following&lt;br /&gt;
question is proposed :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Would it be possible, or would it be better for&lt;br /&gt;
us&mdash;in our own interests&mdash;to meet in any other&lt;br /&gt;
way?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Now, although I infer that the Editor had in his&lt;br /&gt;
mind the alternatives of a conference or a con-&lt;br /&gt;
versazione when he put this question, I should&lt;br /&gt;
like to make a reply on another issue. In fact, I&lt;br /&gt;
wish to urge what I have urged before in the pages&lt;br /&gt;
of The Author, and that is the speedy formation of&lt;br /&gt;
an Authors&amp;#039; Club.&lt;br /&gt;
It seems to me almost ridiculous that a city like&lt;br /&gt;
New York can have a flourishing Authors&amp;#039; Club,&lt;br /&gt;
and that London apparently can find no use for&lt;br /&gt;
one. I have no late tidings of the New York Club,&lt;br /&gt;
but when I was a sojourner in the States some&lt;br /&gt;
three years ago, I know that it was not only an&lt;br /&gt;
extremely popular institution, but .hospitable as&lt;br /&gt;
well.&lt;br /&gt;
A. M.&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;*&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
The Colonial Custom House.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I have read the article in the September issue&lt;br /&gt;
of the Authors&amp;#039; Society, entitled &amp;#039;English Authors&lt;br /&gt;
and the Colonial Book Market.&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;All the correspondents quoted in the article&lt;br /&gt;
assume (with you) that Custom House officers have&lt;br /&gt;
both the power and the duty to seize books printed&lt;br /&gt;
abroad, in which there exists a copyright. I&lt;br /&gt;
believe they have no such right. They are officers&lt;br /&gt;
paid a salary exclusively to see that all dutiable&lt;br /&gt;
goods pay their duty. There is no duty on books,&lt;br /&gt;
and a Custom House officer seizing books would do&lt;br /&gt;
so at the risk of an action to which I can see no&lt;br /&gt;
defence.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;How many Custom House officers know of what&lt;br /&gt;
books a copyright exists?&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I have been referring to the law as in England,&lt;br /&gt;
and I assume that Colonial Custom House officers&lt;br /&gt;
have the same power only as here.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;C. A. G.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;&diams;&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
The Distribution and Display of Books.&lt;br /&gt;
How important this subject is, and how singular&lt;br /&gt;
are the ideas of the distributors upon it were forced&lt;br /&gt;
on my notice.&lt;br /&gt;
Some years ago, on the occasion of the death in&lt;br /&gt;
distressed circumstances of Richard Jefferies, the&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 194 (#234) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
194&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
charming, and in common repute, successful writer,&lt;br /&gt;
public attention had been widely drawn to his&lt;br /&gt;
case by correspondence and articles in the press,&lt;br /&gt;
and I concluded that his books would probably,&lt;br /&gt;
therefore, be prominently displayed in the book-&lt;br /&gt;
sellers&amp;#039; shops. I went to several large shops in&lt;br /&gt;
London, but none of his books were exposed either&lt;br /&gt;
in the windows or on the stalls outside.&lt;br /&gt;
Ultimately I entered one where I had been&lt;br /&gt;
accustomed to deal, and made enquiries. After a&lt;br /&gt;
little search copies of some of his books were&lt;br /&gt;
produced, among them being an illustrated edition&lt;br /&gt;
of &amp;quot;The Gamekeeper at Home,&amp;quot; the very thing for&lt;br /&gt;
a gift to a child. I bought the copy, the only one&lt;br /&gt;
in the shop, and expressed my surprise at never&lt;br /&gt;
having seen that edition before. &amp;quot;Oh,&amp;quot; said the&lt;br /&gt;
young man who served me, &amp;quot;very few people have.&lt;br /&gt;
It does not seem to have been pushed. The&lt;br /&gt;
public won&amp;#039;t buy what they don&amp;#039;t see, you know.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Then,&amp;quot; said I, &amp;quot;why didn&amp;#039;t you put it in your&lt;br /&gt;
window?&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Oh, we only put books in the window&lt;br /&gt;
for which there is a demand.&amp;quot; I pointed out the&lt;br /&gt;
contradiction between his preaching and his prac-&lt;br /&gt;
tice, but he cut me short with a &amp;quot;Well, sir, it&amp;#039;s our&lt;br /&gt;
rule, that&amp;#039;s all I know. Besides, it&amp;#039;s an old book&lt;br /&gt;
now.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
C. W. Radcliffe Cooke.&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;&laquo;&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
Query.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;In a collection of Sonnets published many&lt;br /&gt;
years ago&mdash;my copy of which has long been lost&mdash;■&lt;br /&gt;
was a sonnet &amp;#039;by A. Tennyson,&amp;#039; of which I re-&lt;br /&gt;
member so much :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Poland.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Sound ye the trumpet; summon from afar&lt;br /&gt;
The hosts to battle; be not bought and sold;&lt;br /&gt;
Arise, brave Poles, the boldest of the bold!&lt;br /&gt;
O, for the days of Piast, ere the Czar&lt;br /&gt;
Grew to this strength among his mountains cold&lt;br /&gt;
When, even to Moscow&amp;#039;s battlements, were rolled&lt;br /&gt;
The growing murmurs of the Polish war,&lt;br /&gt;
Now must your noble anger blaze out more&lt;br /&gt;
Than when Zamoyski [Zmole ?] the Tartar clan&lt;br /&gt;
&bull; &bull; &bull; &bull; #&lt;br /&gt;
* # &bull; * *&lt;br /&gt;
Or later, when, upon the Baltic shore,&lt;br /&gt;
Boleslas smote the Pomeranian.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;What was the word to which I have affixed a&lt;br /&gt;
note of interrogation, and what were the tenth and&lt;br /&gt;
eleventh lines?&lt;br /&gt;
ib/h October. &amp;quot;H. G. Keene.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Roman Numerals.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The question as to Roman numerals was one&lt;br /&gt;
of the puzzles of my childhood. But did not the&lt;br /&gt;
Romans use an abacus to calculate with? The&lt;br /&gt;
Japanese do, or did a few years back, and their&lt;br /&gt;
numbers do not admit of being added up in&lt;br /&gt;
columns.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;L. M. S.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&laquo;&lt;br /&gt;
The method of multiplication in Roman&lt;br /&gt;
numerals will be understood by considering that&lt;br /&gt;
the rotation is not decimal, but additive.&lt;br /&gt;
Thus&mdash;dcviii x ix. may be effected in the&lt;br /&gt;
following manner:&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
VIII X IX = LXXII.&lt;br /&gt;
C X IX = LCCCC.&lt;br /&gt;
D X IX = MMMML.&lt;br /&gt;
And the total obtained by adding is :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
MMMMLCCCCII.&lt;br /&gt;
DOCTORESS?&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;If it were advisable to add a feminine termina-&lt;br /&gt;
tion to doctor, would it not be better to use &amp;#039;ess,&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
which is generally employed in English, rather than&lt;br /&gt;
the German &amp;#039;inn,&amp;#039; which we only have in a modified&lt;br /&gt;
form in words translated from the German, as &amp;#039; Mar-&lt;br /&gt;
gravine &amp;#039; ?&amp;quot; L. M. S.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Literary Methods.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I have no intention of entering into the&lt;br /&gt;
controversy as to Mr. Bainton&amp;#039;s pamphlet, but&lt;br /&gt;
should like, if you will allow me, to tell an anecdote&lt;br /&gt;
apropos of it, which some who were at Brasenose&lt;br /&gt;
at the time when it occurred, will still remember.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The then Bursar, jealous for the credit of his&lt;br /&gt;
cuisine, desired ardently the receipt for a certain&lt;br /&gt;
fondu, for which another college was famous. He&lt;br /&gt;
therefore, made acquaintance with the rival cook,&lt;br /&gt;
and after much amiable conversation, said cordially,&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;#039;By the way, I daresay you would tell me how you&lt;br /&gt;
make that of fondu yours.&amp;#039; &amp;#039;Well, sir,&amp;#039; answered&lt;br /&gt;
the cook, frankly, &amp;#039;I&amp;#039;ve no objection; I take such&lt;br /&gt;
and such materials.&amp;#039; &amp;#039;So do we. You must do&lt;br /&gt;
something else?&amp;#039; said the Bursar. &amp;#039;No, sir, I only&lt;br /&gt;
use those I mentioned, and then I puts them into&lt;br /&gt;
the fondoo dish and Ifondoos them&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;That was all; he &amp;#039;fondooed them,&amp;#039; but how,&lt;br /&gt;
he could not explain, nor could the Bursar&lt;br /&gt;
discover.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;There are things which may be analysed and&lt;br /&gt;
told, and yet can only be done by the expert, who&lt;br /&gt;
in this case is the author.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The Author of &amp;#039; Mademoiselle Mori. &amp;#039;&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 195 (#235) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
THE LATE REV. HENRY WHITE.&lt;br /&gt;
THE first meeting of the Incorporated Society&lt;br /&gt;
of Authors was held in November, 1883,&lt;br /&gt;
at the offices of the Social Science Society&lt;br /&gt;
at the Adelphi. In the assembly there was no&lt;br /&gt;
figure more conspicuous than that of the Rev.&lt;br /&gt;
Henry White, Chaplain to the Queen, and to the&lt;br /&gt;
Speaker of the House of Commons. He had to&lt;br /&gt;
move a resolution on the occasion, but with charac-&lt;br /&gt;
teristic modesty, was content to do so without&lt;br /&gt;
making a speech. Mr. White&amp;#039;s connexion with&lt;br /&gt;
literature pure and simple was but slender. He&lt;br /&gt;
had published a sermon or two, and had edited a&lt;br /&gt;
volume written by his Curate; but there was no&lt;br /&gt;
preacher in London, with the exception perhaps Of&lt;br /&gt;
Canon Liddon, whom literary men were more de-&lt;br /&gt;
sirous of &amp;quot; sitting under.&amp;quot; He had undergone the&lt;br /&gt;
experience of other literary men, although in a&lt;br /&gt;
modified way, and was well acquainted with the&lt;br /&gt;
necessity which existed among authors for some&lt;br /&gt;
such organization as that offered by the establish-&lt;br /&gt;
ment of this Society. From the first, then, he&lt;br /&gt;
became and remained a sympathetic and indus-&lt;br /&gt;
trious member, and often expressed himself as&lt;br /&gt;
pleased with the share he had taken in promoting&lt;br /&gt;
the movement. Mr. White&amp;#039;s literary tastes were&lt;br /&gt;
unerring, for without being critical in the strict&lt;br /&gt;
sense of the word, his reading traversed an enor-&lt;br /&gt;
mous field, and wasentirelydevoted to theillustration&lt;br /&gt;
of the subjects on which he touched in his sermons.&lt;br /&gt;
He was extremely fond, in the pulpit, of making&lt;br /&gt;
quotations from the thoughts of others, whom he&lt;br /&gt;
esteemed greater than himself, and whom he always&lt;br /&gt;
quoted by name. In this way the newspapers of&lt;br /&gt;
the day came under contribution, and The Times,&lt;br /&gt;
The Saturday Review, even Punch, were frequently&lt;br /&gt;
named in their turn with Fenelon, Hyacinth, Mr.&lt;br /&gt;
Spurgeon, and Cardinal Newman; in fact, the&lt;br /&gt;
skeleton of the sermon was all his own, but it was&lt;br /&gt;
like one of those Egyptian mosaics which so closely&lt;br /&gt;
resemble cloisonnee enamel, where the framework&lt;br /&gt;
is of gold, and the interstices are filled with precious&lt;br /&gt;
stones. He was fastidious, though as we have said,&lt;br /&gt;
not critical, and contrived to keep together for a&lt;br /&gt;
protracted period&mdash;he was thirty years at the&lt;br /&gt;
Chapel Royal, Savoy&mdash;a congregation composed of&lt;br /&gt;
Cabinet Ministers, eminent actors, journalists,&lt;br /&gt;
doctors, lawyers, and artists, ladies of every rank,&lt;br /&gt;
and the tradespeople of the precinct. The most&lt;br /&gt;
striking characteristic, which all now dwell upon&lt;br /&gt;
who cherish his memory, was an unfailing sympathy&lt;br /&gt;
with any who were in trouble. Those who knew&lt;br /&gt;
him best loved him most. He was a man who was&lt;br /&gt;
not to be &amp;quot;found out.&amp;quot; He was as transparent as&lt;br /&gt;
sunshine, except in relation to the secrets of others&lt;br /&gt;
intrusted to him.&lt;br /&gt;
vol. I,&lt;br /&gt;
There is little to say with regard to Mr. White&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
life, except in connexion with the Savoy, to which&lt;br /&gt;
he was appointed soon after taking orders. He&lt;br /&gt;
lived and died at the top storey of 4, Lancaster&lt;br /&gt;
Place, in the precinct. From this modest centre he&lt;br /&gt;
wove a web which seemed to embrace, and we may&lt;br /&gt;
confidently say, largely influenced, London Society.&lt;br /&gt;
This influence did not come from money or ex-&lt;br /&gt;
ceptional talent, or even position. It was the&lt;br /&gt;
result of that charity that hopeth all things, believeth&lt;br /&gt;
all things. By this he forged a chain of love which&lt;br /&gt;
even death has not been able to break&mdash;for, being&lt;br /&gt;
dead, he yet speaketh.&lt;br /&gt;
W. J. I.OFT1E.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
AT WORK.&lt;br /&gt;
This column is reserved entirely for Members of the Society^&lt;br /&gt;
who are invited to keep the Editor acquainted with their&lt;br /&gt;
work and engagements.&lt;br /&gt;
THE Christmas Numlier of Tinsley&amp;#039;s Magazine con-&lt;br /&gt;
tains contributions from Miss Mary C. Rowsell,&lt;br /&gt;
Austin Dobson, James Stanley Little, and John&lt;br /&gt;
Coleman.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. T. Bailey Saunders will bring out immediately a fourth&lt;br /&gt;
volume of his selections from the Essays of Schopenhauer.&lt;br /&gt;
Mrs. Price&amp;#039;s last story, &amp;quot;Hamilton of King&amp;#039;s,&amp;quot; which&lt;br /&gt;
appeared as a serial in one of Messrs. Partridge&amp;#039;s Magazines,&lt;br /&gt;
has just been reissued by that firm in one vol., 2s. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
The concluding volume of the &amp;quot;Henry Irving Shake-&lt;br /&gt;
speare&amp;quot; has made its appearance, with an introduction from&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Edward Dowden and a preface from Mr. Henry&lt;br /&gt;
Irving.&lt;br /&gt;
Mrs. A. Phillips, author of &amp;quot; Benedicta,&amp;quot; &amp;amp;c., is writing a&lt;br /&gt;
series of articles on Social Bath in the last Century, for&lt;br /&gt;
Murray&amp;#039;s Magazine.&lt;br /&gt;
Miss Mary C. Rowsell publishes with Mr. French (89,&lt;br /&gt;
Strand), two Fairy Extravaganzas for amateur [icrformance.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. W. M. Rossetti edits the poetical works of William&lt;br /&gt;
Blake for the &amp;quot;Aldine Editions&amp;quot; of the British Poets&lt;br /&gt;
(G. Bell and Sons). Mr. Rossetti writes the biographical&lt;br /&gt;
introduction. ^&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Augustine Birrell is responsible for the lieauliful&lt;br /&gt;
edition of the &amp;quot;Essays of Elia&amp;quot; just issued by Messrs.&lt;br /&gt;
J. M. Dent and Co. Mr. Andrew Tuer edits &amp;quot;■ Prince&lt;br /&gt;
Dorvs,&amp;quot; also by Charles Lamb. The edition is in facsimile of&lt;br /&gt;
the original form in which the book was published, and is&lt;br /&gt;
issued by the Leadenhall Press.&lt;br /&gt;
Eleanor Stredder is engaged in writing a series of colonial&lt;br /&gt;
and foreign stories for children for Messrs. Nelson and Sons.&lt;br /&gt;
The first, &amp;quot;Jack and his Ostrich,&amp;quot; appeared last Christmas.&lt;br /&gt;
The second, &amp;quot;Archie&amp;#039;s Find: A Story of Australian Life,&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
is just ready.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. J. A. Blaikie&amp;#039;s volume of Poems will lie issued&lt;br /&gt;
immediately by Messrs. Percival and Co., Covent Garden.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Walter Besant is writing a series of papers on London&lt;br /&gt;
at various periods, for Harper&amp;#039;s Magazine. They will&lt;br /&gt;
probably be published in the course of next year.&lt;br /&gt;
?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 196 (#236) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
196&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Loftic&amp;#039;s &amp;quot;London City&amp;quot; (Tuer and Co.) is very&lt;br /&gt;
nearly ready.&lt;br /&gt;
William Westall has written, specially for the Manchester&lt;br /&gt;
JVeeily Times, a Christmas story, entitled &amp;quot; In Queer Street.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
The same author and Stepniak, encouraged by the success&lt;br /&gt;
of &amp;quot;The Blind Musician,&amp;quot; are translating, in collalx&amp;gt;ration,&lt;br /&gt;
another of Korolenko&amp;#039;s Russian stories.&lt;br /&gt;
NEW BOOKS AND NEW EDITIONS.&lt;br /&gt;
Armstrong, Frances. The Fortunes of Ruby, Paul and&lt;br /&gt;
Diamond. Hogg. Is.&lt;br /&gt;
Besant, Wai ter. Armorcl of Lyonnesse. 3 vols.&lt;br /&gt;
Chatto and Windus. &pound;1 lis. 6V/.&lt;br /&gt;
Birrell, Augustine. Obiter Dicta. Second scries.&lt;br /&gt;
Third edition. Elliot Stock. $s. and 6s.&lt;br /&gt;
Bramston, M. Dangerous Jewels. National Society.&lt;br /&gt;
Buchanan, Robert. The Moment After: A Tale of the&lt;br /&gt;
Unseen. Heinemann. 10s. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
Buckton, 0. B., F.R.S. British Cicada:. Illustrated.&lt;br /&gt;
Vol. I. Macmillan and Co. &pound;1 13*. 61/.&lt;br /&gt;
Cressweli , Henry. Sliding Sands. 3 vols. Hurst and&lt;br /&gt;
Blackett. ,&pound;1 nr. 6&amp;lt;l.&lt;br /&gt;
Croker, B. M. Two Masters: A Novel. 3 vols. F. V.&lt;br /&gt;
White. &pound;1 lis. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
Daudet, Ai.phonse. Kings in Exile. Routledge. 2s-&lt;br /&gt;
Haggard, H. Rider. Dawn. New edition. S. Blackett.&lt;br /&gt;
3*. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
Hardy, Thomas. A Laodicean; or, The Castle of the&lt;br /&gt;
De Stanleys: A Story of To-day. New edition. Low.&lt;br /&gt;
2s. and 2.(. 61/.&lt;br /&gt;
IIarte. Bret. The Heritage of Dedlow Marsh, and other&lt;br /&gt;
Tales. Macmillan. 3*. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
IIoey, Mrs. Cashel. Falsely True: A Novel. New and&lt;br /&gt;
revised edition. Ward and Downey. 6s.&lt;br /&gt;
Kipling, Rl&amp;#039;DVARD. Departmental Ditties, and other&lt;br /&gt;
Verses. Fifth edition. Thacker. 5*.&lt;br /&gt;
Soldiers Three; The Story of the Gadsbys; In Black&lt;br /&gt;
and White. I vol. Low. 31. 6&amp;lt;/.&lt;br /&gt;
Wee Willie Winkie, and other Stories. Low. If.&lt;br /&gt;
Langbridge, Rev. F. What to Read. Sunday Readings&lt;br /&gt;
in Prose, is. 6d. Religious Tract Society.&lt;br /&gt;
LYALL, Edna. Derrick Vaughan. I vol. New edition.&lt;br /&gt;
Methuen and Co.&lt;br /&gt;
Momf.rie, A. Wm. Treadling and Hearing, and other&lt;br /&gt;
Sermons: Delivered in the Chapel of the Foundling.&lt;br /&gt;
Third edition. Blackwood and Sons. 5*.&lt;br /&gt;
Murray, D. Christie. John Vale&amp;#039;s Guardian. 1 vol-&lt;br /&gt;
Macmillan and Co.&lt;br /&gt;
OLiritANT, Mrs. Sons and Daughters: A Novel. Black-&lt;br /&gt;
wood and Sons. 3s. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
Peard, Frances M. The Locked Desk. National Society&lt;br /&gt;
I&amp;#039;raf.d, Mrs. Campbell. Under the Gum Tree. Trisch-&lt;br /&gt;
ler and Co.&lt;br /&gt;
St. Aubyn, A., and Wheeler, W. A Fellow of Trinity.&lt;br /&gt;
3 vols. Chatto and Windus. &pound;1 iu. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
Stuart, Esmk. The Vicar&amp;#039;s Trio. 1 vol. National&lt;br /&gt;
Society.&lt;br /&gt;
Suter, Julie. Luther and the Cardinal: An Historical&lt;br /&gt;
and Biographical Tale of the Reformation in Germany.&lt;br /&gt;
New half-crown series. Religious Tract Society.&lt;br /&gt;
is. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
Tytt.er. Sarah. A Voung Oxford Maid. Religious&lt;br /&gt;
Tract Society.&lt;br /&gt;
Nobody&amp;#039;s Girls. Sunday School Union.&lt;br /&gt;
Footprints: Nature seen on its Human Side. Fourth&lt;br /&gt;
edition. Fisher Unwin. 3*. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
Underbill, G. F. The Hand of Vengeance. Trischler&lt;br /&gt;
and Co.&lt;br /&gt;
Wills, C. J., and Philips, F. C. A Maiden Fair to Sec.&lt;br /&gt;
13 illustrations by G. A. Storey, A.R.A. Trischler.&lt;br /&gt;
Wills, C. J. In the Sunny South of France. 12 monthly&lt;br /&gt;
illustrated articles. Atalanta.&lt;br /&gt;
Jardine&amp;#039;s Wife. Trischler and Co. 3 vols.&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;&mdash; John Squire&amp;#039;s Secret. 3 vols. Ward and Downey.&lt;br /&gt;
New 3 vol. novel. Gardner and Co.&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;&mdash; Pit Town Coronet. Cheap edition. Trischler and Co.&lt;br /&gt;
Vonge, Charlotte M. The Slaves of Sabinus. National&lt;br /&gt;
Society.&lt;br /&gt;
OBJECTS OF THE SOCIETY.&lt;br /&gt;
1. The maintenance, definition, and defence of&lt;br /&gt;
literary property.&lt;br /&gt;
2. The consolidation and amendment of the laws&lt;br /&gt;
of Domestic Copyright.&lt;br /&gt;
3. The promotion of International Copyright.&lt;br /&gt;
The first of these objects requires explanation. In&lt;br /&gt;
order to defend Literary Property, the Society&lt;br /&gt;
acts as follows :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
(i. It aims at defining and establishing the&lt;br /&gt;
principles which should rule the methods&lt;br /&gt;
of publishing.&lt;br /&gt;
ft. It examines agreements submitted to&lt;br /&gt;
authors, and points out to them the&lt;br /&gt;
clauses which are injurious to their in-&lt;br /&gt;
terests.&lt;br /&gt;
7. It advises authors as to the best publishers&lt;br /&gt;
for their purpose, and keeps them out of&lt;br /&gt;
the hands of unscrupulous traders.&lt;br /&gt;
c. It publishes from time to time, books&lt;br /&gt;
papers, &amp;amp;c, on the subjects which fall&lt;br /&gt;
within its province.&lt;br /&gt;
e. In every other way possible the Society&lt;br /&gt;
protects, warns, and informs its members&lt;br /&gt;
as to the pecuniary interest of their works.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 197 (#237) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Zhe Society of Hutbors (Jncotporateb).&lt;br /&gt;
PRESIDENT.&lt;br /&gt;
The Right Hon. the LORD TENNYSON, D.C.L.&lt;br /&gt;
COUNCIL.&lt;br /&gt;
Sir Edwin Arnold, K.C.S.I.&lt;br /&gt;
H. Rider Haggard.&lt;br /&gt;
Alfred Austin.&lt;br /&gt;
Thomas Hardy.&lt;br /&gt;
Robert Bateman.&lt;br /&gt;
Prof. E. Ray Lankester, F.R.S.&lt;br /&gt;
Sir Henry Bergne, K.C.M.G.&lt;br /&gt;
J. M. Lely.&lt;br /&gt;
Walter Besant.&lt;br /&gt;
Rev. W. J. Loftie, F.S.A.&lt;br /&gt;
Augustine Birrell, M.P.&lt;br /&gt;
F. Max-Muller, LL.D.&lt;br /&gt;
R. D. Blackmorr.&lt;br /&gt;
George Meredith.&lt;br /&gt;
Rev. Prof. Bonney, F.R.S.&lt;br /&gt;
Herman C. Merivale.&lt;br /&gt;
Lord Brabourne.&lt;br /&gt;
J. C. Parkinson.&lt;br /&gt;
James Bryce, M.P.&lt;br /&gt;
The Earl of Pembroke and Montgomery.&lt;br /&gt;
P. W. Clayden.&lt;br /&gt;
Sir Frederick Pollock, Bart., LL.D.&lt;br /&gt;
Edward Clodd.&lt;br /&gt;
Walter Herries Pollock.&lt;br /&gt;
W. Martin Conway.&lt;br /&gt;
A. G. Ross.&lt;br /&gt;
Marion Crawford.&lt;br /&gt;
George Augustus Sala.&lt;br /&gt;
Oswald Crawfurd, C.M.G.&lt;br /&gt;
W. Baptiste Scoones.&lt;br /&gt;
The Earl of Desart.&lt;br /&gt;
G. R. Sims.&lt;br /&gt;
A. W. Dubourg.&lt;br /&gt;
J. J. Stevenson.&lt;br /&gt;
John Eric Erichsen, F.R.S.&lt;br /&gt;
Jas. Sully.&lt;br /&gt;
Trof. Michael Foster, F.R.S.&lt;br /&gt;
William Moy Thomas.&lt;br /&gt;
Herbert Gardner, M.P.&lt;br /&gt;
H. D. Traill, D.C.L.&lt;br /&gt;
Richard Garnett, LL.D.&lt;br /&gt;
Edmund Yates.&lt;br /&gt;
Edmund Gosse.&lt;br /&gt;
Bon. Counsel&mdash;Y,. M. Underdown, Q.C.&lt;br /&gt;
Auditor&mdash;Rev. C. H. Middleton-Wake, F.L.S.&lt;br /&gt;
COMMITTEE OF MANAGEMENT.&lt;br /&gt;
Chairman&mdash;Walter Besant.&lt;br /&gt;
Robert Bateman. I Edmund Gosse.&lt;br /&gt;
W. Martin Conway. I IL Rider Haggard.&lt;br /&gt;
A. G. Ross.&lt;br /&gt;
Solicitors.&lt;br /&gt;
Messrs. Field, Roscoe &amp;amp; Co., Lincoln&amp;#039;s Inn Fields.&lt;br /&gt;
Secretary&mdash;S. Squire Sprigge.&lt;br /&gt;
J. M. Lei.y.&lt;br /&gt;
Sir Frederick Pollock.&lt;br /&gt;
OFFICE&amp;amp;&lt;br /&gt;
4, Portugal Street, Lincoln&amp;#039;s Inn Fields, W.C.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 198 (#238) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
198&lt;br /&gt;
ADVERTISEMENTS.&lt;br /&gt;
TYPE-WRITING. I MISS ETHEL DICKENS,&lt;br /&gt;
TYPE-WRITING OFFICE,&lt;br /&gt;
AUTHORS&amp;#039; MSS. CAREFULLY TRANSCRIBED,&lt;br /&gt;
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Writings by Post receive prompt attention.&lt;br /&gt;
(Over the Office of &ldquo; All the Year Round&rdquo;).&lt;br /&gt;
SCIENTIFIC &amp;amp; MEDICAL PAPERS A SPECIALITY.&lt;br /&gt;
MSS. copied. Price List on application.&lt;br /&gt;
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I/- per 1,000 words. One additional copy&lt;br /&gt;
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Now is the time to subscribe.&lt;br /&gt;
AUTHORS&amp;#039; MANUSCRIPTS, &amp;amp;c., prepared for the&lt;br /&gt;
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Publisher.&lt;br /&gt;
4th April, 1890.&lt;br /&gt;
Companies Reports and patent @gento*&lt;br /&gt;
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ESTABLISHED 1851.&lt;br /&gt;
BIRKBE C K B A N K ,&lt;br /&gt;
SOUTHAMPTON BUILDINGS, CHANCERY LANE.&lt;br /&gt;
THREE per CENT. INTEREST allowed on DEPOSITS, repayable on demand.&lt;br /&gt;
TWO per CENT. INTEREST on CURRENT ACCOUNTS, calculated on minimum monthly balances, when not drawn&lt;br /&gt;
below &pound;100.&lt;br /&gt;
STOCKS, SHARES, and ANNUITIES purchased and sold.&lt;br /&gt;
SAVINGS DEPARTMENT.&lt;br /&gt;
For the encouragement of Thrift the Bank receives small sums on deposit, and allows Interest, at the rate of THREE&lt;br /&gt;
per CENT. per Annum, on each completed &pound;1. Accounts are balanced and Interest added on the zist March annually.&lt;br /&gt;
FRANCIS RAVENSCROFT, Manager.&lt;br /&gt;
OW TO PURCHASE A HOUSE FOR TWO GUINEAS PER MONTH, OR&lt;br /&gt;
A PLOT OF LAND FOR FIVE SHILLINGS PER MONTH, with immediate&lt;br /&gt;
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THE BIRKBECK ALMANACK, with full particulars, post free on application.&lt;br /&gt;
FRANCIS RAVENSCROFT, Manager.&lt;br /&gt;
A WEEKLY JOURNAL OF SANITARY AND DOMESTIC SCIENCE.&lt;br /&gt;
How&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 198 (#239) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A D VER TISEMENTS.&lt;br /&gt;
iii.&lt;br /&gt;
THE BAR-LOCK TYPE-WRITER saves the eyesight.&lt;br /&gt;
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Type-Writing Taught by Experts. Author&amp;#039;s AfSS. Copied at is. $J. per 1,000 Words at all Our Offices.&lt;br /&gt;
PUBLICATIONS OF THE SOCIETY.&lt;br /&gt;
1. The Annual Report. That for January, 1890, can be had on application to the Secretary.&lt;br /&gt;
2. The Author. A Monthly Journal devoted especially to the protection and maintenance of&lt;br /&gt;
Literary Property. Issued to all members.&lt;br /&gt;
3. The Grievances of Authors. (Field &amp;amp; Tuer.^ 2s. The Report of three Meetings on the&lt;br /&gt;
general subject of Literature and its defence, held at Willis&amp;#039;s Rooms, March, 1887.&lt;br /&gt;
4. Literature and the Pension List. By W.. Morris Colles, Barrister-at-Law. (Henry&lt;br /&gt;
Glaisher, 95, Strand, W.C.) 3-r.&lt;br /&gt;
5. The History of the Socidte&amp;quot; des Gens de Lettres. By S. Squire Sprigge, Secretary to the&lt;br /&gt;
Society, is.&lt;br /&gt;
6. The Cost of Production. In this work specimens are given of the most important forms ot&lt;br /&gt;
type, size of page, &amp;amp;c, with estimates showing what it costs to produce the more common kinds&lt;br /&gt;
of books. The work is printed for members of the Society only. 2s. 6d. (A new Edition&lt;br /&gt;
preparing.)&lt;br /&gt;
7. The Various Methods of Publication. By S. Squire Sprigge. In this work, compiled&lt;br /&gt;
from the papers in the Society&amp;#039;s offices, the various kinds of agreements proposed by Publishers&lt;br /&gt;
to Authors are examined, and their meaning carefully explained, with an account of the various&lt;br /&gt;
kinds of fraud which have been made possible by the different clauses in their agreements.&lt;br /&gt;
Price 3-r. (A new Edition in the Press.)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Other works bearing on the Literary Profession will follow.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 198 (#240) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
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MANCHESTER : 8, MOULT STREET.&lt;br /&gt;
Printed for the Society, by HARRISON &amp;amp; SONS, 45, 46, and 47, St. Martin&amp;#039;s Lane, in the Parish of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, in the City&lt;br /&gt;
of Westminster.</td><td>https://historysoa.com/files/original/5/245/1890-11-15-The-Author-1-7.pdf</td><td>publications, The Author</td></tr><tr><td>246</td><td>https://historysoa.com/items/show/246</td><td>The Author, Vol. 01 Issue 08 (December 1890)</td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=%3Cem%3EThe+Author%3C%2Fem%3E%2C+Vol.+01+Issue+08+%28December+1890%29&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;The Author&lt;/em&gt;, Vol. 01 Issue 08 (December 1890)&lt;/a&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015031017927&amp;amp;view=1up&amp;amp;seq=20&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; rel=&quot;noopener&quot;&gt;https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015031017927&lt;/a&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Publication&quot;&gt;Publication&lt;/a&gt;</td><td>1890-12-15-The-Author-1-8</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>199&ndash;222</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=89&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1&quot;&gt;1&lt;/a&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=76&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1890-12-15&quot;&gt;1890-12-15&lt;/a&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>8</td><td></td><td></td><td>18901215</td><td>Vol. I.&mdash;No. 8.]&lt;br /&gt;
DECEMBER 15, 1890.&lt;br /&gt;
[Price, Sixpence.&lt;br /&gt;
The Author.&lt;br /&gt;
THE ORGAN OF THE SOCIETY OF AUTHORS&lt;br /&gt;
(INCORPORATED).&lt;br /&gt;
CONDUCTED BY&lt;br /&gt;
WALTER BESANT&lt;br /&gt;
Published for the Society be&lt;br /&gt;
ALEXANDER P. WATT, 2, PATERNOSTER SQUARE,&lt;br /&gt;
LONDON, E.C.&lt;br /&gt;
1890.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 198 (#242) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
| ADVERTISEMENTS.&lt;br /&gt;
Berton, Sept ly* 1878 .&lt;br /&gt;
Men. Marie, Todd &amp;amp; Co.&lt;br /&gt;
Gentlema.&lt;br /&gt;
I have seus me of your&lt;br /&gt;
Reus, to have a haina mended&lt;br /&gt;
trough Men. Horhu, leurs&lt;br /&gt;
Ito. of the city.&lt;br /&gt;
You may like to know that&lt;br /&gt;
I have ned this feu constantly&lt;br /&gt;
formue han twenty years,&lt;br /&gt;
time the days of a book of men&lt;br /&gt;
called &amp;quot; The Autonakap the&lt;br /&gt;
Breckford tere &amp;quot;1857-8 muić&lt;br /&gt;
last Friday without repair and&lt;br /&gt;
always with herfect satisfaction&lt;br /&gt;
I have written with is halfa.&lt;br /&gt;
doseer or more volumes, a&lt;br /&gt;
lange neember and Enugs ete .&lt;br /&gt;
ause thousands of letters...&lt;br /&gt;
Fue to it as &amp;amp; an ole.&lt;br /&gt;
rence and I hohe que ance&lt;br /&gt;
do the beach you can for it&lt;br /&gt;
. Though I hare in the mean&lt;br /&gt;
en boeght another of qui...&lt;br /&gt;
mate&amp;#039;s corrugażd - marked C.&lt;br /&gt;
I do not know whether&lt;br /&gt;
que cu fir this testimonial&lt;br /&gt;
har I fue as if the her which&lt;br /&gt;
has Canied out to much of&lt;br /&gt;
Buy Thought and brought back&lt;br /&gt;
. To much in barones forms in&lt;br /&gt;
return was entitled to this&lt;br /&gt;
Certificat of himnaha kecerca&lt;br /&gt;
. Sau, Ceuthen times turly&lt;br /&gt;
Diva Wendell Remmer.&lt;br /&gt;
.&lt;br /&gt;
.&lt;br /&gt;
. .&lt;br /&gt;
ILLUSTRATED Price List of Gold Pens will be sent, free and post paid, on application to MABIE, TODD &amp;amp; BARD, 93, CHEAPSIDE, LONDON.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 199 (#243) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Jtttthttr.&lt;br /&gt;
(The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly.)&lt;br /&gt;
CONDUCTED BY WALTER BESANT.&lt;br /&gt;
Vol. I.&mdash;No. 8.] DECEMBER 15, 1890. [Price Sixpence.&lt;br /&gt;
C O N T&lt;br /&gt;
PAGE&lt;br /&gt;
Conditions of Membership 199&lt;br /&gt;
News and Notes 199&lt;br /&gt;
On Committee 203&lt;br /&gt;
Our Copyright liill 203&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Father Francis,&amp;quot; by Walter H. Pollock 205&lt;br /&gt;
Reasonable Ladies :&mdash; I, by Andrew Lang 206&lt;br /&gt;
II, by Walter Bcsant 207&lt;br /&gt;
Consolation ; or, the Romance of a Sea-side Library 209&lt;br /&gt;
E N T S.&lt;br /&gt;
PAGE&lt;br /&gt;
An English Academy :&mdash; I, by H. G. Keene 212&lt;br /&gt;
II, by J. Stanley Little 213&lt;br /&gt;
A Reminder 213&lt;br /&gt;
A Hard Case 213&lt;br /&gt;
In Grub Street 215&lt;br /&gt;
Points and Cases 218&lt;br /&gt;
1 New Books and New Editions ... 221&lt;br /&gt;
I Advertisements ... ... ..- 222&lt;br /&gt;
CONDITIONS OF MEMBERSHIP.&lt;br /&gt;
The Subscription is One Guinea annually, payable on the&lt;br /&gt;
1st of January of each year. The sum of Ten Guineas for&lt;br /&gt;
life memljership entitles the subscriber to full membership of&lt;br /&gt;
the Society. Authors only are eligible.&lt;br /&gt;
Cheques and Postal Outers should be crossed &amp;quot;The Im-&lt;br /&gt;
perial Bank, Limited, Westminster Branch.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Names of those who wish to be proposed as members may&lt;br /&gt;
be sent at any time to the Secretary at the Society&amp;#039;s Offices.&lt;br /&gt;
Subscriptions entered after the 1st of October will cover the&lt;br /&gt;
next year.&lt;br /&gt;
The Secretary may be personally consulted between the&lt;br /&gt;
hours of 1 p.m. and 5, except on Saturdays. It is preferable&lt;br /&gt;
that an appointment should be made by letter.&lt;br /&gt;
The Author, the Organ of the Society, can be procured&lt;br /&gt;
through all newsagents, or from the publisher, A. P. Watt,&lt;br /&gt;
2, Paternoster Square, E.G.&lt;br /&gt;
A copy will be sent free to any member of the Society for&lt;br /&gt;
one twelvemonth, dating from May, 1889. It is hoped,&lt;br /&gt;
however, that most members will subscribe to the paper.&lt;br /&gt;
The yearly subscription is 6s. 6d.t including post.ige, which&lt;br /&gt;
may be sent to the Secretary, 4, Portugal Street, VV.G.&lt;br /&gt;
With regard to the reading of MSS., the fee for this&lt;br /&gt;
service is one guinea. MSS. will be read and reported upon&lt;br /&gt;
for others than members, but members cannot have their&lt;br /&gt;
works read for nothing.&lt;br /&gt;
In all cases where an opinion is desired upon a manuscript,&lt;br /&gt;
the author should send With it a table of contents. A type-&lt;br /&gt;
written scenario is also of very great assistance, for it must&lt;br /&gt;
be clearly understood that a practised reader does not require&lt;br /&gt;
to read the whole of an author&amp;#039;s work before being perfectly&lt;br /&gt;
able to give a just opinion on its merits. If by the help of a&lt;br /&gt;
scenario the reader can grasp at once the story, he is so much&lt;br /&gt;
the more able readily to point out any errors of construction,&lt;br /&gt;
and to devote more time to examination of style and other&lt;br /&gt;
technical points.&lt;br /&gt;
It must be understood that such a reader&amp;#039;s report, even if&lt;br /&gt;
favourable, does not assist the author towards publication.&lt;br /&gt;
NEWS AND NOTES.&lt;br /&gt;
r I HE American House of Representatives, on&lt;br /&gt;
I Wednesday, December 3rd, passed the&lt;br /&gt;
International Copyright Bill. It has now&lt;br /&gt;
to be passed by the Senate and by the President.&lt;br /&gt;
As it has already passed the former, and as the&lt;br /&gt;
latter makes no secret of his intentions about it, we&lt;br /&gt;
may consider that the passing of the Bill is nearly&lt;br /&gt;
certain, and that it will come into operation in July&lt;br /&gt;
next.&lt;br /&gt;
It is too early to discuss the possible results&lt;br /&gt;
from this Bill. We must first get the Act itself&lt;br /&gt;
in our hands. We have written to the American&lt;br /&gt;
Copyright League asking for a copy, and we hope&lt;br /&gt;
to have it in time for our next number. Mean-&lt;br /&gt;
time there is no harm in warning everybody to&lt;br /&gt;
refuse signing any agreement which surrenders&lt;br /&gt;
possible American rights. One thing is quite&lt;br /&gt;
certain, that many English authors are popular in&lt;br /&gt;
the States; hut no one knows how far their popu-&lt;br /&gt;
larity extends, or who are included. Almost every&lt;br /&gt;
living English novelist is included in the cheap&lt;br /&gt;
American reprints, even those who seem least&lt;br /&gt;
worth reproducing. But then nobody knows who&lt;br /&gt;
buys these works when they are reproduced.&lt;br /&gt;
Now if one of the pirates&mdash;whom we are agreed&lt;br /&gt;
to call publishers-by-permission-of-the-law&mdash;would&lt;br /&gt;
only favour the world with a few figures, these&lt;br /&gt;
might be destructive to the vanity of some, but&lt;br /&gt;
vol. 1.&lt;br /&gt;
Q&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 200 (#244) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
200&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
would prove a factor of great importance in&lt;br /&gt;
obtaining a forecast of the future.&lt;br /&gt;
As to American writers and copyright in this&lt;br /&gt;
country, a correspondent writes as follows:&mdash;&amp;quot;I find&lt;br /&gt;
that it is an everyday occurrence for an English&lt;br /&gt;
publisher to secure copyright for an American&lt;br /&gt;
author by the simple process of registration at&lt;br /&gt;
Stationers&amp;#039; Hall, depositing one copy of the book&lt;br /&gt;
in the British Museum, and selling two copies.&lt;br /&gt;
These are all the formalities that are required: the&lt;br /&gt;
residence on English soil is never exacted, and&lt;br /&gt;
hardly ever practised. If, as certain Anglophobes&lt;br /&gt;
complain, American authors are pirated in this&lt;br /&gt;
country, then these latter have their own ignorance&lt;br /&gt;
or carelessness to thank for it: English law affords&lt;br /&gt;
them ample protection, if they choose to avail&lt;br /&gt;
themselves of its provisions.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&laquo;&lt;br /&gt;
Our own Bill for the Consolidating and Amend-&lt;br /&gt;
ing the Copyright Laws has been introduced by&lt;br /&gt;
Lord Monkswell in the House of Lords, and was&lt;br /&gt;
read by him for the first time on November 26th.&lt;br /&gt;
The preamble of the Bill will be found on p. 203.&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;&diams;&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
Are we to have a Club of Authors? A good&lt;br /&gt;
many letters have been addressed to the Editor on&lt;br /&gt;
this subject, since the appearance of the last number.&lt;br /&gt;
It is pointed out that the Authors&amp;#039; Club of New York&lt;br /&gt;
is a flourishing institution, though there are not in&lt;br /&gt;
New York one-tenth the number of authors who live&lt;br /&gt;
in London, not to speak of the country generally.&lt;br /&gt;
It is also urged that such a club would serve the&lt;br /&gt;
useful purpose of a central place for consultation&lt;br /&gt;
about all matters connected with the literary life and&lt;br /&gt;
profession; that it would greatly assist in bringing&lt;br /&gt;
authors to a corporate sense; that it would help to&lt;br /&gt;
clear away the darkness in which literary affairs&lt;br /&gt;
have been designedly kept: that it would be a&lt;br /&gt;
powerful aid in bringing about that respect for&lt;br /&gt;
each other and for themselves in which authors&lt;br /&gt;
have always been lamentably deficient, so that they&lt;br /&gt;
may perhaps be persuaded to cease exercising their&lt;br /&gt;
wit in epigrams and criticisms on each other, while&lt;br /&gt;
there remain so many other excellent subjects in&lt;br /&gt;
the outside world. Also, for country members, it&lt;br /&gt;
would be useful to have a place where they could&lt;br /&gt;
find a small library of reference, writing rooms,&lt;br /&gt;
reading rooms, and luncheon rooms. On the&lt;br /&gt;
other hand, it is argued that authors do not want a&lt;br /&gt;
club any more than barristers or solicitors&mdash;but&lt;br /&gt;
barristers have their Inns of Court, and solicitors&lt;br /&gt;
their Law Institute; that the older authors would not&lt;br /&gt;
come in&mdash;but some of them would, and it must be&lt;br /&gt;
remembered, that the older men are much more&lt;br /&gt;
difficult to persuade out of their old ways than the&lt;br /&gt;
younger; that there are already clubs enough&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
with other objections.&lt;br /&gt;
For my own part I am always prepared to wel-&lt;br /&gt;
come and to advocate anything in the direction of&lt;br /&gt;
union. Once persuaded that the greatest advan-&lt;br /&gt;
tages of independence, self-respect, and assistance&lt;br /&gt;
in the conduct of affairs are certain to result from&lt;br /&gt;
increased union, those who follow the literary pro-&lt;br /&gt;
fession will no longer hesitate to press for union in&lt;br /&gt;
every possible way. The advance and increase of&lt;br /&gt;
the Society is one way, and the best way of all;&lt;br /&gt;
the advance of this Journal is another way; a&lt;br /&gt;
Club may be&mdash;I do not go so far as to say that it&lt;br /&gt;
must be&mdash;another way. For there certainly are&lt;br /&gt;
difficulties. It would have to be a club of men&lt;br /&gt;
and women; but the Albemarle Club has shown how&lt;br /&gt;
the difficulties of making a club equally comfortable&lt;br /&gt;
for both sexes may be met and overcome. Then&lt;br /&gt;
it must be remembered that merely to be an author&lt;br /&gt;
would not by itself make one eligible for such a&lt;br /&gt;
club. A candidate must be admissible on other&lt;br /&gt;
grounds. And it must not be an expensive club;&lt;br /&gt;
yet to run a club at all, requires an income of at&lt;br /&gt;
least a couple of thousand. It would require a&lt;br /&gt;
considerable sum at the outset for furniture&mdash;yet&lt;br /&gt;
the difficulty has been experienced elsewhere and&lt;br /&gt;
successfully met. I think that the best wa/, before&lt;br /&gt;
any further steps are taken, will be to submit the&lt;br /&gt;
question to the members of the Society, and to ask&lt;br /&gt;
those who think thatsuch a club would be a good and&lt;br /&gt;
useful institution, having regard to all the interests&lt;br /&gt;
of literature and especially to those persons who&lt;br /&gt;
have to work alone, in ignorance of affairs, and&lt;br /&gt;
without the encouragement of the friendships which&lt;br /&gt;
it is not unreasonable to hope would be formed in&lt;br /&gt;
such a club. I have therefore drawn up an&lt;br /&gt;
alternative scheme. One is for a club pure and&lt;br /&gt;
simple. The other is for an &amp;quot;Authors&amp;#039; House,&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
the nature of which I have sketched out.&lt;br /&gt;
First&mdash;The Club.&lt;br /&gt;
The Club of Authors would consist of as many&lt;br /&gt;
members as the House could conveniently accom-&lt;br /&gt;
modate. Perhaps, following the example of the&lt;br /&gt;
Press Club, this club could be formed into a&lt;br /&gt;
Limited Liability Company, every member becom-&lt;br /&gt;
ing a shareholder to the extent of one guinea share&lt;br /&gt;
at least. With 500 members at an annual sub-&lt;br /&gt;
scription of four guineas each the club could be&lt;br /&gt;
efficiently conducted. Perhaps a subscription of&lt;br /&gt;
three guineas each would be found sufficient.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 201 (#245) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
201&lt;br /&gt;
The club should not attempt to become an&lt;br /&gt;
expensive or luxurious dining club, but it should&lt;br /&gt;
be possible, as at the Burlington Fine Arts Club,&lt;br /&gt;
to order a simple dinner, while luncheon and after-&lt;br /&gt;
noon tea should be always provided.&lt;br /&gt;
It would contain writing rooms, reading rooms,&lt;br /&gt;
a library of reference, a smoking room for men, a&lt;br /&gt;
drawing room, a coffee room, a conversation room&lt;br /&gt;
for ladies only, and a billiard room, though this is&lt;br /&gt;
not absolutely necessary.&lt;br /&gt;
It would also be very desirable that the Society&lt;br /&gt;
should have its own roams on the same premises.&lt;br /&gt;
Everybody would be eligible for election who&lt;br /&gt;
was connected professionally with any branch of&lt;br /&gt;
literature. Journalists, for instance, would be eligible.&lt;br /&gt;
Also every man or woman who writes books.&lt;br /&gt;
But no one could claim the right of admission.&lt;br /&gt;
The election would be in the hands of the Com-&lt;br /&gt;
mittee.&lt;br /&gt;
It would be desirable to fix the prices of&lt;br /&gt;
refreshments and meals at as low a figure as&lt;br /&gt;
possible.&lt;br /&gt;
Second&mdash;The Authors&amp;#039; House.&lt;br /&gt;
I propose the following as an alternative plan:&lt;br /&gt;
That a house be taken in the immediate vicinity&lt;br /&gt;
of the Museum. Here the rent of houses is&lt;br /&gt;
moderate, the houses themselves are good and&lt;br /&gt;
spacious, and the situation, though not central,&lt;br /&gt;
is not much out of the way, and, for those who work&lt;br /&gt;
at the Museum, very convenient.&lt;br /&gt;
That the ground floor (or the first floor) be&lt;br /&gt;
allotted to the Society for the offices.&lt;br /&gt;
That the first floor (or the ground floor), be set&lt;br /&gt;
apart, one room for a luncheon or tea room, and&lt;br /&gt;
the other, if there are only two, for a reference&lt;br /&gt;
library and writing tables.&lt;br /&gt;
That the rooms on the second floor, and third,&lt;br /&gt;
if possible, be let as private offices or working&lt;br /&gt;
rooms. There are many who live outside London,&lt;br /&gt;
and would willingly pay a small rent for a room of&lt;br /&gt;
their own, where they could work in complete quiet,&lt;br /&gt;
undisturbed by anybody.&lt;br /&gt;
Let us see how this scheme would work out.&lt;br /&gt;
The rent and taxes would cost ^250 a year.&lt;br /&gt;
The service, including a housekeeper, would come&lt;br /&gt;
to about ^250 more. The lighting, fire, &amp;amp;c,&lt;br /&gt;
another ^100. The furniture would cost about&lt;br /&gt;
&pound;400. The coffee room would support itself.&lt;br /&gt;
Therefore the Authors&amp;#039; House would cost ^600&lt;br /&gt;
a year.&lt;br /&gt;
If the Society paid &pound;100 towards this for its&lt;br /&gt;
own rent, if four rooms were sub-let at &pound;30 each,&lt;br /&gt;
there would remain ^380 a year to be found.&lt;br /&gt;
Members to the number of 350 at a guinea a year&lt;br /&gt;
VOL. I.&lt;br /&gt;
each would make the House possible, or if the&lt;br /&gt;
subscription were a guinea and a half, 250 mem-&lt;br /&gt;
bers would be enough.&lt;br /&gt;
In the case of the House every member would&lt;br /&gt;
have to be a member of the Society as well. In&lt;br /&gt;
the case of the Club that would not be necessary.&lt;br /&gt;
When the Society advances so far as to number,&lt;br /&gt;
say 1,500 members, such an Authors&amp;#039; House would&lt;br /&gt;
be possible without any additional subscription.&lt;br /&gt;
With this scheme before them will those mem-&lt;br /&gt;
bers who feel willing to assist in founding either&lt;br /&gt;
an Authors&amp;#039; Club or Authors&amp;#039; House communicate&lt;br /&gt;
with me? I enclose a form for suggestions. And&lt;br /&gt;
should either scheme approve itself to a suffi-&lt;br /&gt;
cient number, a meeting might be called for the&lt;br /&gt;
further discussion of the business. One would&lt;br /&gt;
like it considered first as regards the general&lt;br /&gt;
question&mdash;the best interests of Letters; next from&lt;br /&gt;
the private point of view, how it would benefit the&lt;br /&gt;
individual.&lt;br /&gt;
&diams;&lt;br /&gt;
I think it was Sir Arthur Helps who called&lt;br /&gt;
attention in one of his little essays to the diablerie&lt;br /&gt;
of printers&amp;#039; errors. A most exasperating error crept&lt;br /&gt;
into the last number of the Author. It was clearly&lt;br /&gt;
instigated by the printer&amp;#039;s devil, who, at the same&lt;br /&gt;
time, blinded the eyes of all those who passed the&lt;br /&gt;
proofs. The writer was made to state that Mr.&lt;br /&gt;
Andrew Lang had &amp;quot;collected Langisms.&amp;quot; This&lt;br /&gt;
stood for &amp;quot;edited Longinus.&amp;quot; No editor can find&lt;br /&gt;
any excuse for passing such things; he is always to&lt;br /&gt;
blame for negligence; and yet they do get passed.&lt;br /&gt;
I suppose everybody can tell of maddening&lt;br /&gt;
blunders of this kind. In a certain printed book&lt;br /&gt;
for which I am half responsible, one of the charac-&lt;br /&gt;
ters was represented by the authors as walking along&lt;br /&gt;
the street while meditating a great revenge, and&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;smiling all the way.&amp;quot; The fiend of a printer&lt;br /&gt;
changed it to &amp;quot;smoking all the way&amp;quot;! And this&lt;br /&gt;
passed without being seen. In the same book refer-&lt;br /&gt;
ence was made to sorrows as evanescent as child-&lt;br /&gt;
hood&amp;#039;s earache. In the first edition this appeared as&lt;br /&gt;
earache, simply by a mistake of the first letter.&lt;br /&gt;
The error passed unobserved. In the cheap edition&lt;br /&gt;
the printer had, I suppose, a tincture of foreign&lt;br /&gt;
languages, and thought the word should be in&lt;br /&gt;
italics. It now stands earache, and looks almost&lt;br /&gt;
French. There is another book for which I am&lt;br /&gt;
also half responsible. The other day an industrious&lt;br /&gt;
person sent me a list of about twenty bad printer&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
mistakes in this one book, not one of which had&lt;br /&gt;
been suspected or discovered. This person claimed&lt;br /&gt;
payment for his trouble&mdash;which he has not yet&lt;br /&gt;
received.&lt;br /&gt;
Q 2&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 202 (#246) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
202&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
I have not yet read Mr. Wemyss Reid&amp;#039;s &amp;quot;Life&lt;br /&gt;
Lord Houghton.&amp;quot; I hope, however, that the&lt;br /&gt;
biographer has not passed over the sympathy shown&lt;br /&gt;
by Lord Houghton towards the Society at its foun-&lt;br /&gt;
dation. He belonged to the older generation which&lt;br /&gt;
believed that literature would be advanced by the&lt;br /&gt;
union of living writers. He saw the failure of more&lt;br /&gt;
than one attempt at such an union. Yet he wel-&lt;br /&gt;
comed with generous sympathy and ardour the&lt;br /&gt;
renewed attempt, and he spoke in its defence at the&lt;br /&gt;
first Function at which the Society was recognized&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
the banquet given by Sir Robert Fowler, Lord&lt;br /&gt;
Mayor, in 1884. I think, had he been living, he&lt;br /&gt;
would have owned that by this time the new Society&lt;br /&gt;
has done enough not only to justify its existence,&lt;br /&gt;
but also to lead its supporters to look hopefully&lt;br /&gt;
into the future. We are no longer making tenta-&lt;br /&gt;
tive efforts here and there; we know what is wanted.&lt;br /&gt;
First of all&mdash;light. Then&mdash;more light. We cannot&lt;br /&gt;
have too much light. Next, the suppression of&lt;br /&gt;
those who will still be talking ignorant nonsense&lt;br /&gt;
about literary affairs; on this point enough was&lt;br /&gt;
said in the last number. Thirdly, the rescue of those&lt;br /&gt;
unfortunates who lie in the hell of the sweating&lt;br /&gt;
publisher. Alas! there are many of these poor&lt;br /&gt;
creatures. Their relief can only be accomplished&lt;br /&gt;
by making the methods of the sweaters known, and&lt;br /&gt;
proclaiming their iniquitous gains.&lt;br /&gt;
More: we have not only to destroy but to build&lt;br /&gt;
up. We have to arrive at an understanding with&lt;br /&gt;
the honourable houses as to honourable methods,&lt;br /&gt;
conceding what is right to either party, and early&lt;br /&gt;
next year we propose taking a first step in this&lt;br /&gt;
direction.&lt;br /&gt;
We have been hearing from various quarters&lt;br /&gt;
that the French Academy of Letters is an effete&lt;br /&gt;
institution regarded by nobody, having done its&lt;br /&gt;
work, and of no further influence in literature. It&lt;br /&gt;
is a curious comment on these assurances that the&lt;br /&gt;
papers have been full of the vacancy in this unre-&lt;br /&gt;
garded body, and of the chances of the candidates&lt;br /&gt;
who desire to fill it. Why all this excitement and&lt;br /&gt;
interest about an institution which is moribund?&lt;br /&gt;
A letter is going the rounds of authorland. It&lt;br /&gt;
begins with a charming simplicity. &amp;quot;I am ex-&lt;br /&gt;
tremely fond of getting presents of books from&lt;br /&gt;
their authors. May I hope you will kindly give&lt;br /&gt;
me one of yours, and add to its value, in my eyes,&lt;br /&gt;
by writing my name in it?&amp;quot; The writer sends this&lt;br /&gt;
letter, I believe, in perfect good faith, and certainly&lt;br /&gt;
does not seem to understand that he is doing any-&lt;br /&gt;
thing unusual. Why should not authors give copies&lt;br /&gt;
of their works to every stranger who asks? Why&lt;br /&gt;
should not the manager of a theatre fill his house&lt;br /&gt;
with orders? Why should not a singer sing for&lt;br /&gt;
nothing in any village choir? Why should not&lt;br /&gt;
drapers present their silk neck ties to strangers&lt;br /&gt;
across the counter? And why should not all the&lt;br /&gt;
world ask to have everything for nothing?&lt;br /&gt;
This is how it is done in America. A corres-&lt;br /&gt;
pondent writes :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Some months since, a so-called American&lt;br /&gt;
Publishing Association wrote, asking permission&lt;br /&gt;
to use one or two of my poems in a book to be&lt;br /&gt;
called &amp;#039;The Poets of America.&amp;#039; 1 hesitated, as no&lt;br /&gt;
reasons were given, and I had been &amp;#039;written up&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
in &amp;#039;The Poets of New Enghnd,&amp;#039; &amp;#039;Distinguished&lt;br /&gt;
Women of America,&amp;#039; &amp;amp;c. My secretary sent two&lt;br /&gt;
poems after a third request came. Then followed&lt;br /&gt;
a request for a photograph. One was sent. Soon&lt;br /&gt;
followed a demand for &sect;5 to have the photograph&lt;br /&gt;
engraved. I replied, &amp;#039; Not a penny. I have been&lt;br /&gt;
caricatured too often.&amp;#039; The demand for money&lt;br /&gt;
was repeated, and by advice of my publishers no&lt;br /&gt;
notice was taken of it. Some three or four weeks&lt;br /&gt;
since, an Express brought to my door a package of&lt;br /&gt;
books with a C. O. 1). bill of $20. I declined to&lt;br /&gt;
receive them. A few days later came a letter with&lt;br /&gt;
a printed circular asking me &amp;#039;to write a few lines&lt;br /&gt;
to advertise the book, as most of the authors had&lt;br /&gt;
done so.&amp;#039; This I declined to do, giving my&lt;br /&gt;
reasons. Yesterday, on reaching home, I find a&lt;br /&gt;
letter telling me that a package of books for me&lt;br /&gt;
are here in the Express Office. If I cannot pay&lt;br /&gt;
the full amount on them now, I can pay part and&lt;br /&gt;
send the rest when convenient. I have sent the&lt;br /&gt;
letter to a Chicago lawyer to deal with as he thinks&lt;br /&gt;
best.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
We have no Express Office in this country and&lt;br /&gt;
no C. O. D. (Cash On Delivery ?) system. When&lt;br /&gt;
we have these blessings no doubt the same kind&lt;br /&gt;
of game will be introduced among us.&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;&laquo;&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
The following address has been drawn up by&lt;br /&gt;
a few Californians. It is an address to the United&lt;br /&gt;
States Senators and the Representatives in Con-&lt;br /&gt;
gress, from the State of California. At the time&lt;br /&gt;
when it was sent off to us the document was in&lt;br /&gt;
course of receiving signatures at the University of&lt;br /&gt;
California, the Mercantile Library, the Free Public&lt;br /&gt;
Library, and certain leading establishments.&lt;br /&gt;
Gentlemen,&lt;br /&gt;
We, the undersigned, urge you to vote for and&lt;br /&gt;
work for the International Copyright Bill, as&lt;br /&gt;
prepared by the American Copyright League.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 203 (#247) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
203&lt;br /&gt;
We urge it because the present law is legalized&lt;br /&gt;
robbery and a national disgrace.&lt;br /&gt;
We especially urge it because the better elements&lt;br /&gt;
of American literature are being overwhelmed with&lt;br /&gt;
foreign sensationalism, and American enterprises&lt;br /&gt;
are being destroyed. The works of our own writers,&lt;br /&gt;
many of them Californians, are published without&lt;br /&gt;
compensation in other countries. Gresham&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
currency law works in respect to literature:&lt;br /&gt;
the debased currency drives out the pure metal.&lt;br /&gt;
Shall the whole warp and woof of the literature&lt;br /&gt;
offered to Americans be un-American&mdash;and stolen&lt;br /&gt;
besides?&lt;br /&gt;
We believe that every candid investigator of the&lt;br /&gt;
subject will come to the conclusion that an&lt;br /&gt;
International Copyright must benefit the American&lt;br /&gt;
printer, type-setter, founder, publisher, editor, writer&lt;br /&gt;
and illustrator, and finally, and most of all, the&lt;br /&gt;
purchaser of books, pamphlets and magazines.&lt;br /&gt;
It is simply the recognition of a property right,&lt;br /&gt;
which no one denies, or can deny. It will build&lt;br /&gt;
up still greater publishing houses, and will ultimately&lt;br /&gt;
move the intellectual centre of the English-speaking&lt;br /&gt;
people from England to America.&lt;br /&gt;
We acknowledge, gentlemen, that we expect&lt;br /&gt;
much from you in this matter. You are the&lt;br /&gt;
keepers of the honour of the Commonwealth of&lt;br /&gt;
California. It becomes you, as statesmen of&lt;br /&gt;
liberal education and broad ideas, to represent the&lt;br /&gt;
higher interests of the Pacific Coast community.&lt;br /&gt;
Believe us, all Californians desire justice to be&lt;br /&gt;
done; all Californians desire the development of&lt;br /&gt;
American literature. We hope for a united vote&lt;br /&gt;
from our delegation for International Copyright.&lt;br /&gt;
Since this was sent to press, the news of victory&lt;br /&gt;
has arrived. Let the above stand as a record of&lt;br /&gt;
the very last effort made in America in the cause&lt;br /&gt;
of national honour.&lt;br /&gt;
Walter Besant. *&lt;br /&gt;
ON COMMITTEE.&lt;br /&gt;
THE following Bye law has been passed :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Should anyone desire to consult the&lt;br /&gt;
Society as to literary work, without having&lt;br /&gt;
as yet qualified for membership, the Secretary may&lt;br /&gt;
then and there&mdash;reporting the case at the next&lt;br /&gt;
meeting of Committee&mdash;admit him or her as an&lt;br /&gt;
Associate only, on payment of a guinea. His&lt;br /&gt;
privileges to consist of the right to advice from&lt;br /&gt;
the office, and to terminate at the end of the&lt;br /&gt;
current year. Such an Associate to have no right&lt;br /&gt;
to take part in the administration of the Society.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Members may be reminded that &amp;quot;Associates&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
can always be received who desire, by joining the&lt;br /&gt;
Society, to assist in its objects, though they are not&lt;br /&gt;
persons engaged in literary pursuits. They cannot&lt;br /&gt;
be members, nor can they have voice or part in&lt;br /&gt;
administering the Society. Two were elected at&lt;br /&gt;
a recent Committee meeting, and have become&lt;br /&gt;
Life Associates by payment of ten guineas each.&lt;br /&gt;
The Report of the Copyright Committee, which&lt;br /&gt;
formed the substance of a paper in the November&lt;br /&gt;
number of the Author, has been laid before the&lt;br /&gt;
Committee of Management.&lt;br /&gt;
The Committee have been in correspondence&lt;br /&gt;
with the London Chamber of Commerce on the&lt;br /&gt;
subject of the Society&amp;#039;s Bill for the Consolidation&lt;br /&gt;
of the Copyright Law. And as was stated by Mr.&lt;br /&gt;
Hodges in the Author for November, there has&lt;br /&gt;
been an important correspondence with Lord&lt;br /&gt;
Knutsford on the subject of Canadian copyright.&lt;br /&gt;
Opinion on American rights in England has been&lt;br /&gt;
obtained from Counsel.&lt;br /&gt;
At the November meeting, the Secretary sub&lt;br /&gt;
mitted a statement of recent cases which the&lt;br /&gt;
Society had taken up and carried through, in every&lt;br /&gt;
case, with a satisfactory result. In two of them&lt;br /&gt;
the Society compelled the return of the work to&lt;br /&gt;
the author with the surrender of all rights.&lt;br /&gt;
One hundred and six new members were elected&lt;br /&gt;
between June 26th and December 4th, 1890.&lt;br /&gt;
The news of the passing of the International&lt;br /&gt;
Copyright Bill was received at the meeting of&lt;br /&gt;
Committee of December 4th. A telegram of&lt;br /&gt;
congratulation was sent to the Copyright League&lt;br /&gt;
of New York, which has done so much for the&lt;br /&gt;
promotion of the Bill. Its President is Mr.&lt;br /&gt;
Russell Lowell.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
OUR COPYRIGHT BILL.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
HIS bill was introduced by Lord Monkswell&lt;br /&gt;
and read for the first time in the House of&lt;br /&gt;
Lords on November 26th last.&lt;br /&gt;
The following Memorandum sets out its contents,&lt;br /&gt;
and shows the various authorities for the changes&lt;br /&gt;
in present legislation suggested by the Bill.&lt;br /&gt;
Memorandum.&lt;br /&gt;
This Bill is intended to consolidate and amend&lt;br /&gt;
the Law of Copyright other than copyright in&lt;br /&gt;
designs.&lt;br /&gt;
The existing law on the subject consists of no&lt;br /&gt;
less than 18 Acts of Parliament, besides common&lt;br /&gt;
law principles, which are to be found only by search&lt;br /&gt;
ing the Law Reports. Owing to the manner in which&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 204 (#248) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
204&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
these Acts have been drawn, the law is in many&lt;br /&gt;
cases hardly intelligible, and is full of arbitrary&lt;br /&gt;
distinctions for which it is impossible to find a&lt;br /&gt;
reason. (See paragraphs 9 to 13 of the Report of&lt;br /&gt;
the Royal Commission oh Copyright of 1878.)&lt;br /&gt;
For instance, the term of copyright in books is&lt;br /&gt;
the life of the author and 7 years, or 42 years from&lt;br /&gt;
publication, whichever period is the longer; in&lt;br /&gt;
lectures, when printed and published, the term is&lt;br /&gt;
probably the life of the author or 28 years; in&lt;br /&gt;
engravings, 28 years; and in sculpture, 14 years,&lt;br /&gt;
with a possible further extension for another 14&lt;br /&gt;
years; while the term of copyright in music and&lt;br /&gt;
lectures which have been publicly performed or&lt;br /&gt;
delivered but not printed is wholly uncertain.&lt;br /&gt;
Again the necessity for and effect of registration&lt;br /&gt;
is entirely different with regard to (1) books, (2)&lt;br /&gt;
painting, (3) dramatic works.&lt;br /&gt;
In consolidating these enactments (all of which&lt;br /&gt;
it is proposed to repeal) it has been thought&lt;br /&gt;
advisable to deal separately with the various subjects&lt;br /&gt;
of copyright, viz., (1) Literature, (2) Music and&lt;br /&gt;
Dramatic Works, and (3) Works of Art, and to&lt;br /&gt;
make the part of the Bill dealing with each of these&lt;br /&gt;
as far as possible complete in itself. This will&lt;br /&gt;
account for certain repetitions which might other-&lt;br /&gt;
wise seem unnecessary.&lt;br /&gt;
The alterations proposed to be made in the law&lt;br /&gt;
are for the most part those suggested in the Report&lt;br /&gt;
of the Royal Commission on Copyright of 1878, and&lt;br /&gt;
einbodied in a Bill introduced at the end of the&lt;br /&gt;
Session of 1879 by Lord John Manners, Viscount&lt;br /&gt;
Sandon, and the Attorney-General on behalf of the&lt;br /&gt;
then Government. References will be found in&lt;br /&gt;
the margin of the present Bill both to the Report&lt;br /&gt;
of the Commission and the Bill of 1879.&lt;br /&gt;
The most important of these alterations may be&lt;br /&gt;
summarised as follows :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
1. A uniform term of copyright is introduced for&lt;br /&gt;
all classes of work, consisting of the life of the&lt;br /&gt;
author and 30 years after his death. The only&lt;br /&gt;
exceptions are in the cases of engravings and&lt;br /&gt;
photographs, and anonymous and pseudonymous&lt;br /&gt;
works for which, owing to the difficulty or impossi-&lt;br /&gt;
bility of identifying the author, the term is to be 30&lt;br /&gt;
years only, with power for the author of an anony-&lt;br /&gt;
mous or pseudonymous work at any time during&lt;br /&gt;
such 30 years to declare his true name and acquire&lt;br /&gt;
the full term of copyright.&lt;br /&gt;
2. The period after which the author of an&lt;br /&gt;
article or essay in a collective work (other than an&lt;br /&gt;
encyclopedia) is to be entitled to the right of&lt;br /&gt;
separate publication, is reduced from 28 years to 3&lt;br /&gt;
years.&lt;br /&gt;
3. The right to make an abridgment of a work&lt;br /&gt;
is for the first time expressly recognised as part of&lt;br /&gt;
the copyright, and an abridgment by a person other&lt;br /&gt;
than the copyright owner is made an infringement&lt;br /&gt;
of copyright.&lt;br /&gt;
4. The authors of works of fiction are given the&lt;br /&gt;
exclusive right of dramatizing the same as part of&lt;br /&gt;
their copyright, and the converse right is conferred&lt;br /&gt;
on authors of dramatic works.&lt;br /&gt;
5. The exhibition of photographs taken on com-&lt;br /&gt;
mission, except with the consent of the person for&lt;br /&gt;
whom they are taken, is rendered illegal.*&lt;br /&gt;
6. Registration is made compulsory for all&lt;br /&gt;
classes of work in which copyright exists, except&lt;br /&gt;
painting and sculpture; that is to say, no proceed-&lt;br /&gt;
ings for infringement or otherwise can be taken&lt;br /&gt;
before registration, nor can any proceedings be&lt;br /&gt;
taken after registration in respect of anything done&lt;br /&gt;
before the date of registration, except on payment&lt;br /&gt;
of a penalty. This penally, it should be mentioned,&lt;br /&gt;
was not recommended by the Royal Commission,&lt;br /&gt;
but is introduced in order that an accidental&lt;br /&gt;
omission to register may not entirely deprive the&lt;br /&gt;
copyright owner of his remedies. Registration of&lt;br /&gt;
paintings and sculpture is made optional owing to&lt;br /&gt;
their being so frequently subject to alteration, that&lt;br /&gt;
it is practically impossible to say when they are&lt;br /&gt;
completed, so as to be capable of registration.&lt;br /&gt;
7. Provision is made (in Clause 89) for the seizure&lt;br /&gt;
of piratical copies of copyright works which are&lt;br /&gt;
being hawked about or offered for sale. Some&lt;br /&gt;
such provision is required particularly for the pro-&lt;br /&gt;
tection of works of Art, and was recommended by&lt;br /&gt;
the Royal Commission.&lt;br /&gt;
The part of the Bill which relates to the fine&lt;br /&gt;
arts and photography is taken, almost without&lt;br /&gt;
alteration, from the Copyright (Works of Fine Art)&lt;br /&gt;
Bill which was introduced into the House of&lt;br /&gt;
Commons in the session of 1886 by Mr. Hastings,&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Gregory, and Mr. Agnew. That Bill received&lt;br /&gt;
the general approval of those interested in the&lt;br /&gt;
fine arts; and although it does not altogether&lt;br /&gt;
follow the recommendations of the Royal Com-&lt;br /&gt;
mission, there does not appear to be any serious&lt;br /&gt;
reason against adopting its provisions.&lt;br /&gt;
The part of the Bill which relates to Foreign&lt;br /&gt;
and Colonial Copyright is practically a re-enact-&lt;br /&gt;
ment of the provisions of the International Copy-&lt;br /&gt;
right Act, 1886, which was passed in order to&lt;br /&gt;
carry into effect the &amp;quot;Berne Convention&amp;quot; for&lt;br /&gt;
giving to authors of literary and artistic works&lt;br /&gt;
first published in one of the countries, parties to&lt;br /&gt;
the Convention, copyright in such works through-&lt;br /&gt;
out the other countries parties to the Convention.&lt;br /&gt;
By the earlier parts of the Bill, the same rights&lt;br /&gt;
are given to Colonial as to British authors; while&lt;br /&gt;
* At present it seems to be merely a matter of implied&lt;br /&gt;
contract (see Pollard v. The Photographic Co., 40 Ch. D.,&lt;br /&gt;
345)-&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 205 (#249) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
205&lt;br /&gt;
the right of the Colonial Legislatures to deal with&lt;br /&gt;
the subject is expressly recognised and preserved.&lt;br /&gt;
The Foreign Reprints Act of 1847 (10 and n&lt;br /&gt;
Vic. c. 95) is re-enacted in the form adopted in&lt;br /&gt;
the Bill of 1879, but it has not been found&lt;br /&gt;
possible to frame provisions for the introduction&lt;br /&gt;
of any such licensing system of republication in&lt;br /&gt;
the Colonies as that suggested by the Royal&lt;br /&gt;
Commission. There appear to be great difficulties&lt;br /&gt;
in providing for the practical working of any such&lt;br /&gt;
system, and even if they could be overcome, it is&lt;br /&gt;
felt that while it is more than doubtful whether the&lt;br /&gt;
colonial reader would benefit to any great extent,&lt;br /&gt;
the British copyright owner must suffer con-&lt;br /&gt;
siderable loss.&lt;br /&gt;
With regard to Registration, the Bill (as was&lt;br /&gt;
recommended by the Royal Commission) provides&lt;br /&gt;
for the establishment of a Copyright Registration&lt;br /&gt;
Office, under the control of Government, in lieu of&lt;br /&gt;
the present office at Stationers&amp;#039; Hall, established&lt;br /&gt;
under 5 and 6 Vict. c. 45. This office has even&lt;br /&gt;
under the present law been found inadequate, and&lt;br /&gt;
would be still more so upon the introduction of&lt;br /&gt;
compulsory registration in all cases.&lt;br /&gt;
It is felt, however, that the details and form-&lt;br /&gt;
alities of any scheme of registration can only be&lt;br /&gt;
satisfactorily settled by Government officials, and&lt;br /&gt;
the provisions of Part V of the Bill are put forward&lt;br /&gt;
rather by way of suggestion than as a definitely&lt;br /&gt;
settled scheme. It will probably be found desir-&lt;br /&gt;
able either now or hereafter to combine the Copy-&lt;br /&gt;
right Registration Office with the Registry of&lt;br /&gt;
Designs and Trade Marks, and this part of the&lt;br /&gt;
Bill has, therefore, as far as possible, been modelled&lt;br /&gt;
on the corresponding provisions of the Patents&lt;br /&gt;
Designs and Trade Marks Act, 1883.&lt;br /&gt;
The chief points on which the recommendations&lt;br /&gt;
of the Royal Commission are departed from in the&lt;br /&gt;
present Bill are as follows :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
1. The Commissioners recommended that the&lt;br /&gt;
universities and libraries (other than the&lt;br /&gt;
British Museum) which are now entitled to&lt;br /&gt;
receive a copy of every book published in&lt;br /&gt;
the United Kingdom, should be left to&lt;br /&gt;
purchase the books they required in the&lt;br /&gt;
market, and that their present privilege&lt;br /&gt;
should be taken away. But from com-&lt;br /&gt;
munications which have been received from&lt;br /&gt;
the librarians, it appears that they are most&lt;br /&gt;
anxious to retain their present privilege;&lt;br /&gt;
that the libraries could not be properly&lt;br /&gt;
supplied if it was abolished, and that the&lt;br /&gt;
cases in which it can cause any real hard-&lt;br /&gt;
ship are very few. The Bill, therefore,&lt;br /&gt;
provides for the continuance of the supply&lt;br /&gt;
to these institutions.&lt;br /&gt;
2. With regard to the Fine Arts, the Com&lt;br /&gt;
missioners were of Opinion that the copy-&lt;br /&gt;
right in paintings, &amp;amp;c, should pass to the&lt;br /&gt;
purchaser unless specially reserved to the&lt;br /&gt;
artist. Under-the Bill, however, the copy-&lt;br /&gt;
right will remain in the artist, unless ex-&lt;br /&gt;
pressly assigned to the purchaser. This, it&lt;br /&gt;
is believed, is in accordance with the general&lt;br /&gt;
wish of artists, and as no replica can be&lt;br /&gt;
produced without the consent of the owner&lt;br /&gt;
of the original painting, no injury will be&lt;br /&gt;
inflicted on purchasers, who will moreover&lt;br /&gt;
have the right (under section 46) of pre-&lt;br /&gt;
venting unauthorised reproductions, even&lt;br /&gt;
though they have not (as of course it will&lt;br /&gt;
be open to them to do) taken an express&lt;br /&gt;
assignment of the copyright. Practically&lt;br /&gt;
the only effect of the artist retaining the&lt;br /&gt;
copyright after parting with the picture,&lt;br /&gt;
will be to give him a control over its re-&lt;br /&gt;
production by engraving or otherwise, and&lt;br /&gt;
this control it seems proper that he should&lt;br /&gt;
have.&lt;br /&gt;
3. The exception made in the Act, 5 and 6 Will.&lt;br /&gt;
IV c. 65, with respect to lectures delivered&lt;br /&gt;
in universities and elsewhere, is not pro-&lt;br /&gt;
posed to be re-enacted in the present Bill.&lt;br /&gt;
What the exact meaning and effect of that&lt;br /&gt;
exception may be seems to be far from&lt;br /&gt;
clear (see the observations of the Lords in&lt;br /&gt;
Caird v. Sime, L.R. 12 App. Ca. 326),&lt;br /&gt;
and moreover, it does not by any means&lt;br /&gt;
seem to follow that because a lecture is&lt;br /&gt;
delivered in a university, or in virtue&lt;br /&gt;
of an endowment or foundation, the&lt;br /&gt;
lecturer should be deprived of rights con-&lt;br /&gt;
ferred on all other lecturers whether they&lt;br /&gt;
are paid for their services or not.&lt;br /&gt;
4. The omission of any provisions for the&lt;br /&gt;
.introduction of a licensing system into the&lt;br /&gt;
Colonies; and&lt;br /&gt;
5. The right given to a copyright owner of&lt;br /&gt;
taking proceedings in respect of infringe-&lt;br /&gt;
ments, committed before he registers his&lt;br /&gt;
title on payment of a penalty, have been&lt;br /&gt;
already noticed and explained.&lt;br /&gt;
FATHER FRANCIS.&lt;br /&gt;
ICOME your sin-rid souls to shrive&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
Is this the way wherein ye live?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
We lightly think of virtue,&lt;br /&gt;
Enjoyment cannot hurt you.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 206 (#250) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
206&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Ye love. Hear then of chivalry,&lt;br /&gt;
Of gallant truth and constancy.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
We find new loves the meetest,&lt;br /&gt;
And stolen kisses sweetest.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Voices ye have. Then should ye sing&lt;br /&gt;
In praise of heaven&amp;#039;s mighty king.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
We deem it is our duty&lt;br /&gt;
To chant our darlings&amp;#039; beauty.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Strait are the gates of worldly pleasure,&lt;br /&gt;
The joy beyond no soul can measure.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Alas! we are but mortal,&lt;br /&gt;
And much prefer the portal.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Nay, sons, then must I leave ye so,&lt;br /&gt;
But lost will be your souls, I trow.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Nay, father, make you merry;&lt;br /&gt;
Come, drawer, bring some sherry.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Me drink? Old birds are not unwary,&lt;br /&gt;
Still less&mdash;ha !&mdash;well, &amp;#039;tis fine canary.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Mark how his old blood prances&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
A stoup for Father Francis!&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Your wine, my sons, is wondrous good,&lt;br /&gt;
And hath been long time in the wood.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Mark how his old eye dances&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
More wine for Father Francis!&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;A man, my sons&mdash;a man, I say,&lt;br /&gt;
Might well drink here till judgment day.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Now for soft words and glances&lt;br /&gt;
But where is Father Francis?&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Heed me, my sons, I pray, no more;&lt;br /&gt;
I always sleep upon the floor.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Alas! for old wine&amp;#039;s chances,&lt;br /&gt;
A shutter for Father Francis!&lt;br /&gt;
(From &amp;quot;OLD and New.&amp;quot; By Walter /ferries Pollock.&lt;br /&gt;
Eden, Remington &amp;amp;&bull; Co.)&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
REASONABLE LADIES.&lt;br /&gt;
I.&lt;br /&gt;
In commenting on some remarks of mine about&lt;br /&gt;
literature as a profession, you write thus :&mdash;&bull;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Lastly, I have had many letters from ladies&lt;br /&gt;
calling indignant attention to one clause which I&lt;br /&gt;
regret to see at the close of the paper. &amp;#039;As far&lt;br /&gt;
as I can see, the authors who do suffer are those&lt;br /&gt;
who should receive .&pound;3 10s. 6d. and only get&lt;br /&gt;
js. 41/. . . . Their work is worth very little,&lt;br /&gt;
and they get even less. . . . Generally, they&lt;br /&gt;
are women easily &amp;quot;put upon&amp;quot; and rather unreason-&lt;br /&gt;
able.&amp;#039; &amp;#039;Why,&amp;#039; ask my correspondents, &amp;#039;should&lt;br /&gt;
not even a woman demand and receive justice?&lt;br /&gt;
Why should she take 7-f. ii,d. when \os. Gd. is&lt;br /&gt;
due to her?&amp;#039; Really one cannot give any reason.&lt;br /&gt;
And considering that the poor wretch who steals&lt;br /&gt;
a handkerchief worth twopence is sent to prison as&lt;br /&gt;
much as the bold burglar who robs a bank, there&lt;br /&gt;
does seem no reply to this question.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
But, may I ask, are the many ladies who write&lt;br /&gt;
these letters reasonable themselves on this occasion?&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Why should not even a woman demand and re-&lt;br /&gt;
ceive justice?&amp;quot; cry these correspondents. Why not,&lt;br /&gt;
indeed? These ladies argue as if I had said that a&lt;br /&gt;
woman who deserved ^3 \os. 6d. might justifiably&lt;br /&gt;
be put off with 7*. t\d. But I never, never said&lt;br /&gt;
anything of the kind. It is the favourite feminine&lt;br /&gt;
fallacy, Ignoratio clenchi, that these nymphs em-&lt;br /&gt;
ploy. I said that writers of little pecuniar}&amp;#039; value,&lt;br /&gt;
so to speak, are the writers who suffer. I did not&lt;br /&gt;
say that they ought to suffer, nor that it did not&lt;br /&gt;
matter if they did suffer. Very far from it. My&lt;br /&gt;
article is not here, but dimly I remember observing&lt;br /&gt;
that the Society of Authors found most of its work&lt;br /&gt;
in looking after these cases. I may be wrong&lt;br /&gt;
about that, I only judge by what I read in your&lt;br /&gt;
agreeable serial. In any case to look after the&lt;br /&gt;
authors who are defrauded of some two or three&lt;br /&gt;
pounds is a chivalrous and necessary task. My&lt;br /&gt;
point was that it is those writers, not the authors&lt;br /&gt;
of more successful, possibly of better work, who&lt;br /&gt;
need to be protected. You do not agree with me;&lt;br /&gt;
however, that is my opinion. I sincerely believe&lt;br /&gt;
that men and women who have brains enough to&lt;br /&gt;
write moderately profitable works, have also brains&lt;br /&gt;
enough to make proper arrangements with their&lt;br /&gt;
publishers if they are not too indifferent. In&lt;br /&gt;
that case they are like the man wrho fishes with&lt;br /&gt;
rotten tackle, and gets broken by his salmon. It&lt;br /&gt;
is their own fault. It is, I repeat, the others who&lt;br /&gt;
need assistance and advice, and I consider that&lt;br /&gt;
the Society is doing a kind work in helping them.&lt;br /&gt;
If the Society would only induce myriads of them&lt;br /&gt;
not to write huge worthless novels, the Society&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
action would be still more valuable. But is it&lt;br /&gt;
reasonable, now, for ladies to argue as if I had said&lt;br /&gt;
that women should not receive justice? That&lt;br /&gt;
is exactly the way in which many women argue.&lt;br /&gt;
They don&amp;#039;t reply to your contention, but they&lt;br /&gt;
invent something else which they erect as your&lt;br /&gt;
position, and then they attack that airy fortress of&lt;br /&gt;
their fancy. Sir, you know the heart of woman a&lt;br /&gt;
deal better than I do, and you are well aware that&lt;br /&gt;
it is infinitely better than her head. She jumps at&lt;br /&gt;
the notion that I said something cruel, and she is&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;indignant&amp;quot; with me, for what I never said at all.&lt;br /&gt;
By all means secure their rights for authors, male&lt;br /&gt;
or female, whose rights are not great, reckoned in&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 207 (#251) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
207&lt;br /&gt;
money. These, in my poor opinion, are almost&lt;br /&gt;
the only kind of authors who get much less than&lt;br /&gt;
their dues, and, in a literary sense, their work is&lt;br /&gt;
generally unimportant. Justice to them is not&lt;br /&gt;
unimportant.&lt;br /&gt;
Of course I do not mean that only women are&lt;br /&gt;
unreasonable. Any author, of whatever sex, is&lt;br /&gt;
unreasonable who, having covenanted to do a job&lt;br /&gt;
for a given sum, grumbles because he did not get&lt;br /&gt;
more than he bargained for. Like most penmen,&lt;br /&gt;
I have done jobs out of which the publisher&lt;br /&gt;
probably made a much greater profit than the sum&lt;br /&gt;
which he offered, and which I took. Rut then one&lt;br /&gt;
has done other jobs out of which the publisher&lt;br /&gt;
made no profit at all, by which, indeed, he lost&lt;br /&gt;
money. Should I have returned him his fees?&lt;br /&gt;
To tell the truth I did twt return them; and I&lt;br /&gt;
fancy that he would not have permitted me to do&lt;br /&gt;
so. We never have a reasonable right to grumble,&lt;br /&gt;
after getting all we asked for, unless we also return&lt;br /&gt;
our fees when the speculation is unsuccessful. I&lt;br /&gt;
believe Collins did this: the example was unusual.&lt;br /&gt;
By the way, to relieve one&amp;#039;s mind, is the&lt;br /&gt;
Religious Society&mdash;the S.P.C.K.&mdash;which pays its&lt;br /&gt;
authors so small a proportion of its profits, as you&lt;br /&gt;
say, so beyond all language vile, after all? How&lt;br /&gt;
much do many of those authors contribute to the&lt;br /&gt;
success of their own books? They have a huge&lt;br /&gt;
sale, let us put it, but if the authors command a&lt;br /&gt;
huge sale, why should they not, if dissatisfied, carry&lt;br /&gt;
their MSS. to Bacon or to Bungay, who will treat&lt;br /&gt;
them moderately well?&lt;br /&gt;
Why should they remain under the rod of bishops&lt;br /&gt;
and other pious malefactors? Is it possible that&lt;br /&gt;
the Society, not the authors, provides the public,&lt;br /&gt;
that the Society can vend any quantity of wares&lt;br /&gt;
which would lie for ever unsold on the shelves of&lt;br /&gt;
Bungay or of Bacon? I only ask for information.&lt;br /&gt;
May it not be that the Society can sell bales and&lt;br /&gt;
tons of twaddle which any man, womar, or child&lt;br /&gt;
could write, &amp;quot; if he abandoned his mind to it,&amp;quot; but&lt;br /&gt;
which the public will only accept from the Society?&lt;br /&gt;
If not, why, once more, do not the Society&amp;#039;s authors&lt;br /&gt;
revolt, and secede to Paternoster Row? If it is&lt;br /&gt;
their books that the public desires, the public will&lt;br /&gt;
as readily purchase from Bungay as from the&lt;br /&gt;
Society. But if all that this very peculiar public&lt;br /&gt;
wants is a book with S.P.C.K. on the title-page,&lt;br /&gt;
then the book may be worth no more, as work,&lt;br /&gt;
than the author gets for it. This view of the case&lt;br /&gt;
is, at least, worth considering. There may be&lt;br /&gt;
some mystery in the matter which one cannot&lt;br /&gt;
fathom. But I still do not understand if Miss&lt;br /&gt;
Bunnion&amp;#039;s &amp;quot; Little Totty,&amp;quot; published by the S.P.C.K.&lt;br /&gt;
sells 40,000 copies, why Miss B., if unsatisfied with&lt;br /&gt;
her reward, does not simply take her next work,&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Billy Boy,&amp;quot; to a more righteous bookseller. There&lt;br /&gt;
must be competition for the work of so popular an&lt;br /&gt;
author, unless, indeed, the popularity is given merely&lt;br /&gt;
by the magic letters S.P.C.K. If that be the case,&lt;br /&gt;
don&amp;#039;t you see that the S.P.C.K is the proprietor of&lt;br /&gt;
its own charm, that the genius of Miss Bunnion&lt;br /&gt;
has nothing to do with it, that anyone with a pen&lt;br /&gt;
and a vein of mild narrative would suit the Society&lt;br /&gt;
just as well?&lt;br /&gt;
It is not that I grudge Miss Bunnion her fair&lt;br /&gt;
share of the profits, say two-thirds. I wish with all&lt;br /&gt;
my heart that she got them. But I can see what&lt;br /&gt;
sort of explanation of its behaviour the S.P.C.K.&lt;br /&gt;
might make, if the circumstances are really those&lt;br /&gt;
set forth in this hypothesis. The Society may say,&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;the value of these works is a value of our creation.&lt;br /&gt;
We, and we alone, have made this funny public,&lt;br /&gt;
have created this queer demand. From us the&lt;br /&gt;
public will buy Miss Bunnion&amp;#039;s artless legends as&lt;br /&gt;
readily as if she had the genius of Scott or Fielding,&lt;br /&gt;
whereas, except from us, nobody will buy Miss&lt;br /&gt;
Bunnion at all.&amp;quot; It is a curious state of the literary&lt;br /&gt;
market; perhaps it is a fanciful state, a mere myth.&lt;br /&gt;
But if it isamyth,why ah! why, do not the S.P.C.K.&lt;br /&gt;
authors go to other publishers, all of them pining for&lt;br /&gt;
popular copyrights? These remarks, of course, apply&lt;br /&gt;
only to one of the charges against the S.P.C.K., if&lt;br /&gt;
they apply to that even, which is just what I want&lt;br /&gt;
to know. A popular author can strike without any&lt;br /&gt;
union, without injuring trade, without making a&lt;br /&gt;
disturbance. He merely carries his wares across&lt;br /&gt;
the Row, to the other firm of publishers. But if it&lt;br /&gt;
is the publishers who are popular, not the author,&lt;br /&gt;
then the case is very different; then the question of&lt;br /&gt;
raising the author&amp;#039;s wages becomes one, not of&lt;br /&gt;
trade, but of honourable feeling&mdash;a scarce article.&lt;br /&gt;
A. Lang.&lt;br /&gt;
II.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Andrew Lang&amp;#039;s letter, like everything that&lt;br /&gt;
he writes, will be read with great interest.&lt;br /&gt;
He takes, however, the line that may be ex-&lt;br /&gt;
pected of those who have not had the advantage&lt;br /&gt;
of being able to ascertain the facts. His view is,&lt;br /&gt;
briefly, as follows :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
1. The writers who suffer are those only whose&lt;br /&gt;
books possess little pecuniary value.&lt;br /&gt;
2. Anyone who contracts to do a piece of&lt;br /&gt;
work for a certain sum must keep to his&lt;br /&gt;
agreement, and has no right to grumble.&lt;br /&gt;
3. The S.P.C.K. publishes nothing but goody&lt;br /&gt;
goody rubbish, beneath the contempt of&lt;br /&gt;
reasoning beings, and has a large market&lt;br /&gt;
for their trash because the letters S.P.C.K.&lt;br /&gt;
are on the title-page. Therefore the value&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 208 (#252) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
208&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
of this stuff is not in the producer or the&lt;br /&gt;
production, but in the publisher.&lt;br /&gt;
4. If the writers for the S.P C.K. are discon-&lt;br /&gt;
tented, they can carry their MSS. elsewhere.&lt;br /&gt;
5. Men and women who have brains enough&lt;br /&gt;
to write profitable work, have also brains&lt;br /&gt;
enough to make proper arrangements with&lt;br /&gt;
their publishers, if they are not too in-&lt;br /&gt;
different.&lt;br /&gt;
I think that this is a fair resume of the above.&lt;br /&gt;
(1.) Clauses 1 and 5 may be answered together.&lt;br /&gt;
Not only those whose work is of little value, but&lt;br /&gt;
all who write books have hitherto suffered from&lt;br /&gt;
the disadvantage of being called upon to sign&lt;br /&gt;
agreements in which the meaning of the clauses&lt;br /&gt;
as they affect the other party has been carefully&lt;br /&gt;
concealed from the author.&lt;br /&gt;
For instance, when a royalty was offered, what&lt;br /&gt;
data, before our publications, had the author to&lt;br /&gt;
go upon in arriving at what he conceded and what&lt;br /&gt;
he received?&lt;br /&gt;
Those, in fact, have suffered most whose writings&lt;br /&gt;
have commanded the greatest amount of success.&lt;br /&gt;
Take, however, the case in Mr. Lang&amp;#039;s mind of&lt;br /&gt;
the ladies whose work he thinks possess little&lt;br /&gt;
value. The words &amp;quot;little&amp;quot; and &amp;quot; great&amp;quot; are elastic.&lt;br /&gt;
To a modest gentlewoman whose wants are&lt;br /&gt;
covered by a hundred pounds a year, that amount&lt;br /&gt;
is not little. Now there are scores of ladies whose&lt;br /&gt;
works produce&mdash;but not to them&mdash;a great deal&lt;br /&gt;
more than that amount.&lt;br /&gt;
There is no risk in producing their books; the&lt;br /&gt;
publisher knows very well the minimum that he&lt;br /&gt;
can depend upon. What are we to say, then, of&lt;br /&gt;
people who, knmving this minimum, which they&lt;br /&gt;
carefully hide from the author, give her a tenth, or&lt;br /&gt;
a twentieth, of that amount?&lt;br /&gt;
Apply to this business the rules of any other.&lt;br /&gt;
What would be said of a shopkeeper who bought,&lt;br /&gt;
say, a desk, at a tenth part of the retail price?&lt;br /&gt;
What is said daily of a shirtmaker&amp;#039;s sweater? and&lt;br /&gt;
how do these differ from the sweating publisher?&lt;br /&gt;
(2.) On the subject of agreements the Society is&lt;br /&gt;
at one with Mr. Lang. It has always proclaimed that&lt;br /&gt;
agreements must be kept.&lt;br /&gt;
At the same time, when agreements are imposed&lt;br /&gt;
upon writers, carrying clauses which they cannot&lt;br /&gt;
understand, whose meaning is concealed, we have&lt;br /&gt;
a very good right to raise a cry of warning, and a&lt;br /&gt;
warning is not a grumble.&lt;br /&gt;
(3.) The assumption that the S.P.C.K. publishes&lt;br /&gt;
nothing but goody books of no literary value cannot&lt;br /&gt;
for a moment be allowed. No one who has studied&lt;br /&gt;
their lists could possibly allow it. Their fiction is&lt;br /&gt;
for the most part written by ladies,&amp;#039;and contains a&lt;br /&gt;
great deal of work that is dainty and delicate, and of&lt;br /&gt;
artistic value. And it is not the case that their sale&lt;br /&gt;
depends wholly on the name of the S.P.C.K. Of&lt;br /&gt;
course, that goes for much&mdash;so does the name of&lt;br /&gt;
Longman. If the S.P.C.K. put their name to a&lt;br /&gt;
book, that is a reasonable guarantee that the book&lt;br /&gt;
is not at variance with a certain set of doctrines&lt;br /&gt;
which some people prize very highly. If the name&lt;br /&gt;
of Longman is on a title-page, that is a reasonable&lt;br /&gt;
guarantee of good literary work. But if the&lt;br /&gt;
customers of the S.P.C.K. do not like a book they&lt;br /&gt;
will not buy it, whether those initials are on it or&lt;br /&gt;
not. And I have never yet heard of a great house&lt;br /&gt;
exacting from its authors all the profits on the&lt;br /&gt;
ground that it provided the public.&lt;br /&gt;
As a proof that the S.P.C.K. cannot sell tons of&lt;br /&gt;
trash it may be remarked that twenty years ago&lt;br /&gt;
the then Committee tried to carry out this opera-&lt;br /&gt;
tion. They had tons and tons of rubbish on sale.&lt;br /&gt;
No one would buy the stuff, and the Society lost&lt;br /&gt;
heavily. In the end they made a new start,and sold&lt;br /&gt;
the trash for waste paper. They are now wiser.&lt;br /&gt;
I think we have in this part of the letter the&lt;br /&gt;
same confusion of ideas between literary worth and&lt;br /&gt;
commercial worth t^at has already been noticed in&lt;br /&gt;
these pages.&lt;br /&gt;
Thus, if a person writes trash which commands a&lt;br /&gt;
wide sale, he has a property. That property is his&lt;br /&gt;
own. He has as much right to protection in the&lt;br /&gt;
sale and management of his property as if it were&lt;br /&gt;
a barrowful of whelks.&lt;br /&gt;
Now a great deal of trash is written, and some of&lt;br /&gt;
it is very saleable indeed. And if a religious&lt;br /&gt;
Society or any firm of publishers takes this saleable&lt;br /&gt;
trash, which is genuine property, as much as silks&lt;br /&gt;
or gloves or chairs, and sells it for its own profit;&lt;br /&gt;
or if it hides from the possessor its value, and pays&lt;br /&gt;
a wretched sum for it; or if it sweats and grinds&lt;br /&gt;
the possessor and fattens on the sale of that pro-&lt;br /&gt;
perty&mdash;then that body or that publisher should be&lt;br /&gt;
informed of his iniquity, and it should be made&lt;br /&gt;
disagreeable for him to continue in the paths of&lt;br /&gt;
unrighteousness.&lt;br /&gt;
(4.) But why do not its authors go elsewhere?&lt;br /&gt;
Those who can, do. One lady, deeply aggrieved&lt;br /&gt;
at her treatment, went elsewhere and got at once,&lt;br /&gt;
not only the honorarium which her former truly&lt;br /&gt;
Christian employers had given her, but a good&lt;br /&gt;
royalty as well. But all cannot. First, they have&lt;br /&gt;
got into the habit of writing for the Church of&lt;br /&gt;
England, with its doctrines and holy days always in&lt;br /&gt;
their mind. They have learned what is wanted, and&lt;br /&gt;
they have fallen into a certain style and language&lt;br /&gt;
which suit the Society. This practically determines&lt;br /&gt;
their market. Next, the so-called religious pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lishers to whom they might go naturally take their&lt;br /&gt;
cue from a Society whose President and Vice-&lt;br /&gt;
Presidents are all the Archbishops and Bishops, and&lt;br /&gt;
behave accordingly. Thirdly, ladies do not like to&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 209 (#253) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
209&lt;br /&gt;
go hawking about their things, subject to snubs and&lt;br /&gt;
refusals. Lastly, they do not know their own value.&lt;br /&gt;
This eminently religious Society carefully avoids&lt;br /&gt;
telling them the minimum profit certain to be made&lt;br /&gt;
on their work, and so they take their ^30 meekly&lt;br /&gt;
and go home to write another dainty little book&lt;br /&gt;
for school girls on the bread and butter which their&lt;br /&gt;
pay affords.&lt;br /&gt;
(5.) Lastly, that men who have brains enough&lt;br /&gt;
to write profitable work, have brains enough to&lt;br /&gt;
make proper terms.&lt;br /&gt;
This is already answered. It is not a question&lt;br /&gt;
of brains, but of power to get at the facts. And&lt;br /&gt;
this power has hitherto been very carefully with-&lt;br /&gt;
held. Until the Society ascertained and published&lt;br /&gt;
the facts no one knew them.&lt;br /&gt;
There is only one more point, that of losses.&lt;br /&gt;
In every business there must be losses. It is&lt;br /&gt;
essential to trade that accidents cause losses, even to&lt;br /&gt;
the most prudent. In no trade need there be fewer&lt;br /&gt;
losses than in the publishers&amp;#039; trade. They very&lt;br /&gt;
seldom&mdash;-it cannot be repeated too often, or be too&lt;br /&gt;
strongly asserted&mdash;they very seldom take any risk&lt;br /&gt;
whatever. That is to say, as good men of business,&lt;br /&gt;
they will not spend money on what they cannot&lt;br /&gt;
sell for at least what it cost. They constantly, I&lt;br /&gt;
daresay, fail to make as much as they hoped. But&lt;br /&gt;
even granting an occasional and unavoidable loss,&lt;br /&gt;
why, in the name of Heaven, should this trade be&lt;br /&gt;
so different from all other trades, that the man&lt;br /&gt;
who sells the thing he has made should refund&lt;br /&gt;
what the purchaser has paid him, so as to make&lt;br /&gt;
up losses caused by bad management? And&lt;br /&gt;
if anything more need be said, there are now very&lt;br /&gt;
few nouses indeed which ever do buy anything.&lt;br /&gt;
They remunerate the author with a royalty&mdash;which&lt;br /&gt;
most of them make as small as possible.&lt;br /&gt;
Walter Besant.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
CONSOLATION; OR, THE ROMANCE&lt;br /&gt;
OF A SEA-SIDE LIBRARY.&lt;br /&gt;
THE library was contained in the back room of&lt;br /&gt;
a shop&mdash;&amp;quot; place of business&amp;quot; the lady pro-&lt;br /&gt;
prietor preferred to call it&mdash;where the articles&lt;br /&gt;
peculiar to the sea-side were sold: spades, buckets,&lt;br /&gt;
shrimping nets, shell work, photographs of the local&lt;br /&gt;
views, inkstands, paper knives, postage stamp boxes,&lt;br /&gt;
and all the trifles which nobody buys except at the&lt;br /&gt;
sea-side. There were also in the shop the London&lt;br /&gt;
papers on sale, and a case full of gaudily bound&lt;br /&gt;
religious books, warranted to soften the brains of the&lt;br /&gt;
unfortunate children for whom they were written,&lt;br /&gt;
and to whom they were presented. The subscribers&lt;br /&gt;
to the library passed through the place of business&lt;br /&gt;
and found themselves in a large room to which&lt;br /&gt;
their subscriptions gave them the right of admission.&lt;br /&gt;
There was a table covered with papers, there were&lt;br /&gt;
chairs, and on two sides of the room the walls were&lt;br /&gt;
lined with bookshelves, half filled with volumes.&lt;br /&gt;
The half which was empty represented the books&lt;br /&gt;
which were out. The books were all&mdash;to a book&mdash;■&lt;br /&gt;
three volume novels, and to him who inspected&lt;br /&gt;
their titles for the first time, the impression pro-&lt;br /&gt;
duced was one of bewilderment and surprise that&lt;br /&gt;
so many works&mdash;so many rows of works&mdash;so many&lt;br /&gt;
hundreds of works&mdash;could be published of which&lt;br /&gt;
the ordinary visitor, himself probably a reader of&lt;br /&gt;
novels, should never have heard. Row upon row,&lt;br /&gt;
shelf after shelf, the new subscriber looked along the&lt;br /&gt;
backs in vain searching for a name that was known,&lt;br /&gt;
and for a title that was familiar. Tempted by won-&lt;br /&gt;
der and curiosity he took down one. After a hasty&lt;br /&gt;
glance at a page or two he replaced it quickly and&lt;br /&gt;
decidedly. Another; this he put back with as&lt;br /&gt;
little hesitation ; a third and a fourth. Then the&lt;br /&gt;
new subscriber turned away, and came no more to&lt;br /&gt;
the library unless to read the morning papers&lt;br /&gt;
which lay upon the table, and if he wanted any-&lt;br /&gt;
thing to read during the rest of his stay at that&lt;br /&gt;
watering place, he bought it or ordered it at the rail-&lt;br /&gt;
way bookstall. For the library consisted of nothing&lt;br /&gt;
but the works of the Great Obscure. Strange&lt;br /&gt;
perversity of choice! With all the Victorian litera-&lt;br /&gt;
ture before them, the founders of this Institution&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
half-a-crown a month, or a penny a volume&mdash;selected&lt;br /&gt;
nothing but the works of those whom nobody knew,&lt;br /&gt;
even by name, except the critics. Moreover, these&lt;br /&gt;
gentlemen had said nothing of these works that was&lt;br /&gt;
not contemptuous and scornful. Thereupon the&lt;br /&gt;
new subscriber, who was not unacquainted with the&lt;br /&gt;
ways of critics, marvelled greatly.&lt;br /&gt;
Now one morning, the sun being hot upon the&lt;br /&gt;
sands, and the glow of the water intolerable to the&lt;br /&gt;
eyes, this new subscriber sat at the open window, the&lt;br /&gt;
Times in his hand, looking sleepily now at-the&lt;br /&gt;
dazzling waters and the ships which passed to and&lt;br /&gt;
fro in the far distance; now at those bookshelves&lt;br /&gt;
filled with the works of the Unknown: and his mind&lt;br /&gt;
returned&mdash;but lazily&mdash;to the questionsand the doubts&lt;br /&gt;
which haunted him. Why, why did they furnish the&lt;br /&gt;
library with none but books which had been trampled&lt;br /&gt;
upon and derided, and had sunk into obscurity as&lt;br /&gt;
soon as they were born? Was it from benevolent&lt;br /&gt;
motives, in order to promote the somnolence which&lt;br /&gt;
is so sovereign a cure for overwork and nervous&lt;br /&gt;
worry? Was it the deliberate elevation and assertion&lt;br /&gt;
of another literary standard difficult at first to&lt;br /&gt;
understand, but perhaps higher than that of the&lt;br /&gt;
ordinary critic? Was there to be a revolution in style&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 210 (#254) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2 IO&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
and in art&amp;#039;? Was he in the m idst of a newly founded&lt;br /&gt;
school? Did these books preach some social or&lt;br /&gt;
religious doctrines? Was he, perhaps, in a Home&lt;br /&gt;
of Occult Mystery? Was there a literature, popular,&lt;br /&gt;
widespread, read by thousands, of which he and his&lt;br /&gt;
friends knew nothing except that it had been made&lt;br /&gt;
the subject of scorn and derision?&lt;br /&gt;
He was alone in the room. He laid down the&lt;br /&gt;
paper, and he began again curiously to turn over&lt;br /&gt;
the pages of the volumes on the shelves. He&lt;br /&gt;
looked at twenty, one after the other. &amp;quot;Why,&amp;quot; he&lt;br /&gt;
murmured, &amp;quot;they are all alike. They are all&lt;br /&gt;
feeble, wishy washy, weak, all alike, and the library&lt;br /&gt;
holds nothing else. What can it mean?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
He returned to his chair, because it was too hot&lt;br /&gt;
to walk back to his lodgings, and sat down ponder-&lt;br /&gt;
ing over this marvel. He pondered so deeply that&lt;br /&gt;
his eyelids dropped.&lt;br /&gt;
Presently, two girls came in. They ran along&lt;br /&gt;
the shelves, trying to make a choice. &amp;quot;Here is a&lt;br /&gt;
pretty title,&amp;quot; cried one of them. &amp;quot;&amp;#039; Daisyletta&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
Romance.&amp;#039; I think I will have this.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;And I will take this,&amp;#039; Queenie Leenie; or, the&lt;br /&gt;
Pet of the Cherubims.&amp;#039; That&amp;#039;s sure to be nice. I do&lt;br /&gt;
like to read about officers. Besides,&amp;quot; she glanced&lt;br /&gt;
at the man in the chair who seemed to be asleep,&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;the dear creatures are always saying and doing&lt;br /&gt;
something&mdash;not quite&mdash;you know, and you wonder&lt;br /&gt;
what&amp;#039;s coming next.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
They took their books and vanished.&lt;br /&gt;
Five minutes passed. Then there came stump-&lt;br /&gt;
ing into the room with footsteps of resolution which&lt;br /&gt;
awakened the sleeper so that he opened his eyes&lt;br /&gt;
and looked round, two ladies of more mature age.&lt;br /&gt;
They were both dressed alike, in garments of a brown&lt;br /&gt;
hue; they both wore spectacles; both were gaunt&lt;br /&gt;
and spare; they were certainly sisters. They had&lt;br /&gt;
sharp and prominent features, thin lips and pale&lt;br /&gt;
faces. They turned to the books, but they did not,&lt;br /&gt;
like the two girls, hover lightly in butterfly fashion&lt;br /&gt;
over the shelves. Not at all. They took each one&lt;br /&gt;
end of the room and, mounting on chairs, began in a&lt;br /&gt;
systematic manner to search for something. &amp;quot;Like&lt;br /&gt;
looking for a good man in the ancient city,&amp;quot; thought&lt;br /&gt;
the new subscriber. &amp;quot;You will find nothing, ma&amp;#039;am&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;buthe spoke notthisaloud&mdash;&amp;quot;Volumes&mdash;volumes&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;everywhere, and not a book to read. Most&lt;br /&gt;
remarkable library in the world!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
They continued their search. They took down&lt;br /&gt;
nothing: they only examined the titles. Presently,&lt;br /&gt;
however, one gave a little cry and pounced upon&lt;br /&gt;
three volumes which presented as battered and tat-&lt;br /&gt;
tered an appearance as any of the company. She&lt;br /&gt;
took them out, descended from her chair, and&lt;br /&gt;
showed them to her sister.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;My dear,&amp;quot; she said, holding out the books.&lt;br /&gt;
Her lips closed with a snap, and she said no more.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;As usual,&amp;quot; said the other, getting down and&lt;br /&gt;
looking at the volumes curiously. They had there-&lt;br /&gt;
fore found what they wanted.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Read to rags,&amp;quot; said the first.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Almost torn to pieces,&amp;quot; said the second.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Gratifying!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Falling apart from excessive popularity,&amp;quot; said&lt;br /&gt;
the first.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Ah !&amp;quot; said the second. &amp;quot;What more could one&lt;br /&gt;
wish?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Yes,&amp;quot; said the first, &amp;quot;and it is always the&lt;br /&gt;
same. At Margate, at Broadstairs, at Ilfracombe,&lt;br /&gt;
at Penmaenmawr, at Whitby. Always the same.&lt;br /&gt;
You ought at last to be satisfied, my dear. What&lt;br /&gt;
more could you desire?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;No. Yet&mdash;poor human nature!&amp;quot; said the&lt;br /&gt;
second.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Envy&mdash;black Envy&mdash;Spite&mdash;Malice !&amp;quot; said the&lt;br /&gt;
first.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;We can now afford to laugh at them,&amp;quot; said the&lt;br /&gt;
second. &amp;quot;What has their malice effected?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;We can now laugh,&amp;quot; said the first, but without&lt;br /&gt;
any hilarity of manner. &amp;quot;Ho! yes, I should think&lt;br /&gt;
so. Those laugh who win. If popularity such as&lt;br /&gt;
this&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Thepopular voice is the Highest Court of Appeal,&lt;br /&gt;
certainly,&amp;quot; said the second.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Then, my dear, there can be no doubt what-&lt;br /&gt;
ever. You are one of the most popular authors of&lt;br /&gt;
the age. Wherever the English language is spoken&lt;br /&gt;
you are eagerly read. You are a great power.&lt;br /&gt;
How glad I am that you allowed no scruples of&lt;br /&gt;
false modesty to stand in your way, but boldly&lt;br /&gt;
placed your name upon the title-page!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
The other lady purred. She purred with her&lt;br /&gt;
nose, and she inclined her head backward.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I thought, at church yesterday,&amp;quot; continued the&lt;br /&gt;
first, &amp;quot;that the people looked at you strangely. No&lt;br /&gt;
doubt they were saying, &amp;#039;That is Lucretia&lt;br /&gt;
Crumbell, author of &amp;#039;&amp;quot;The Family Vault;&amp;quot;&amp;#039; of&lt;br /&gt;
course I know, now. My dear, we must remember&lt;br /&gt;
that you are recognized. You shall not make&lt;br /&gt;
yourself too cheap. I will myself go to the&lt;br /&gt;
butcher and the greengrocer. You shall only&lt;br /&gt;
go abroad to take the air in the morning and&lt;br /&gt;
the evening.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
They replaced the volumes, and went out ambling&lt;br /&gt;
and bridling.&lt;br /&gt;
Then the subscriber got up and looked at the&lt;br /&gt;
work of such uncommon popularity. It was, in&lt;br /&gt;
fact, that great romance called &amp;quot;The Family&lt;br /&gt;
Vault,&amp;quot; by Lucretia Crumbell, and it was published&lt;br /&gt;
by one of those benevolent houses which issue any-&lt;br /&gt;
thing if the author will only pay for it. He turned&lt;br /&gt;
over the pages. Could there, bethought, be found&lt;br /&gt;
anywhere even a school girl capable of reading this&lt;br /&gt;
windy, wordy, nerveless, boneless stuff! Is there,&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 211 (#255) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
21 I&lt;br /&gt;
somewhere, a stratum of society where drivel&mdash;he&lt;br /&gt;
called it drivel&mdash;can be received as literature? As&lt;br /&gt;
he asked the question he looked out of window.&lt;br /&gt;
At his feet on the sands the girls sat in rows. They&lt;br /&gt;
had done their bathing; they had to get through&lt;br /&gt;
the morning; and they sat on the sands reading.&lt;br /&gt;
They were all reading, with one consent. The&lt;br /&gt;
young men were listening to the nigger minstrels&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
the girls were reading&mdash;they were reading the books&lt;br /&gt;
provided at this Circulating Library. &amp;quot;Here,&amp;quot; said&lt;br /&gt;
the subscriber, &amp;quot;is, I perceive, nothing less than&lt;br /&gt;
the hitherto unknown Literature of the Sea-side.&lt;br /&gt;
I have now discovered for whom these books are&lt;br /&gt;
written, and for what purpose. At the sea-side,&lt;br /&gt;
girls put on another mind. It is a great discovery.&lt;br /&gt;
I must follow it up.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
He did follow it up. At half-past eight in the&lt;br /&gt;
evening, when the band was playing and the people&lt;br /&gt;
were all out on the cliff, he met these two ladies.&lt;br /&gt;
One of them was walking bolt upright with looks&lt;br /&gt;
of importance. The other&mdash;who was the author&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
walked with a little amble and a smile. She was&lt;br /&gt;
conscious of being observed. &bull; It is not every day&lt;br /&gt;
that a sea-side place gets a live author to gaze upon.&lt;br /&gt;
The new subscriber boldly took off his hat and&lt;br /&gt;
begged permission to introduce himself to the author&lt;br /&gt;
of the &amp;quot;Family Vault.&amp;quot; Both ladies bowed and&lt;br /&gt;
smiled sweetly. He said that he had long wished&lt;br /&gt;
for an opportunity of expressing, in person, his&lt;br /&gt;
sense of the Subtle Art&mdash;he called it Subtle Art&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
and of the romantic setting of the work; the&lt;br /&gt;
strength&mdash;he said this without a blush; the origin-&lt;br /&gt;
ality&mdash;he said this without a quivering of the eyelid;&lt;br /&gt;
the dramatic character of the situations, and the&lt;br /&gt;
profound knowledge of the heart which the work&lt;br /&gt;
betrayed in every page.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;All this, sir,&amp;quot; said the first sister, &amp;quot;is quite true,&lt;br /&gt;
but we are not, of course, accustomed to hear it&lt;br /&gt;
said openly. The only public appreciation my&lt;br /&gt;
sister has ever received is the proof at all the&lt;br /&gt;
libraries that the work is eagerly read by the mass&lt;br /&gt;
of people for whom it was intended.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Oh! then,&amp;quot; said the subscriber, &amp;quot;you wrote it&lt;br /&gt;
intentionally for the sea-side.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Sea-side as well as land-side,&amp;quot; replied the&lt;br /&gt;
author. &amp;quot;I wrote it for the whole world.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Yes, of course,&amp;quot; he said, thinking of his dis-&lt;br /&gt;
covery. &amp;quot;But don&amp;#039;t you think&mdash;perhaps&mdash;that&lt;br /&gt;
one form of literature&mdash;yours&mdash;the romantic&mdash;the&lt;br /&gt;
absorbing&mdash;the exciting, suits the sea-side better&lt;br /&gt;
than that which is quiet and meditative?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;My sister&amp;#039;s work,&amp;quot; said the first speaker, &amp;quot;con-&lt;br /&gt;
tains passages for every mood. We cannot suppose&lt;br /&gt;
that there is only one kind of reader here or else-&lt;br /&gt;
where. It is the quality of a great book to be loved&lt;br /&gt;
by all readers. Witness the condition of the book&lt;br /&gt;
in the library.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;You are doubtless engaged upon another work?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
asked the subscriber, a little disappointed.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Perhaps. But I am not certain when&mdash;or&lt;br /&gt;
whether&mdash;I shall publish.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Oh! But to write and not to publish is treason&lt;br /&gt;
against the Muse.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;There were painful things connected with the&lt;br /&gt;
publication of my book.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Very painful. Very shameful!&amp;quot; said her sister.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;But now we have our revenge. What do the critics&lt;br /&gt;
say now?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Let me explain. You are not yourself a&lt;br /&gt;
novelist?&amp;quot; asked the author.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I am not, indeed. I sometimes wish I was.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Should you become one, you will learn by your&lt;br /&gt;
own experience what I have suffered.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Envy&mdash;Hatred&mdash;Malice,&amp;quot; said the sister.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I do not quite understand.&amp;quot; Yet he was&lt;br /&gt;
beginning to understand. And the perception only&lt;br /&gt;
made him wonder all the more how these books&lt;br /&gt;
came to the library.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;That is because you do not understand the&lt;br /&gt;
literary world. There is, sir,&amp;quot; she added, with&lt;br /&gt;
solemnity, &amp;quot;a Ring.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Oh!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;A Ring. It contains authors, publishers,&lt;br /&gt;
editors, critics, and booksellers. A Ring. First&lt;br /&gt;
of all, if you do not belong to the Ring, you find&lt;br /&gt;
that you have to pay for the production of your&lt;br /&gt;
book. A hundred and eighty pounds I paid for&lt;br /&gt;
mine.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;At least eighty pounds too much.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Then, when it comes out, the Ring which has&lt;br /&gt;
first fined you, proceeds to destroy you. Every-&lt;br /&gt;
body is in league&mdash;editors, critics, publishers,&lt;br /&gt;
and booksellers. The papers take your money for&lt;br /&gt;
advertising you, but the editors make the critics cut&lt;br /&gt;
you up. Shameful things they wrote about my&lt;br /&gt;
book.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Shameful &mdash; wicked &mdash; things!&amp;quot; echoed the&lt;br /&gt;
sister.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Yet you have read the work&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The beautiful work,&amp;quot; murmured the new sub-&lt;br /&gt;
scriber.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;And you know how good it is. Well, the&lt;br /&gt;
great libraries, also in the Ring, refused it. All&lt;br /&gt;
the booksellers, who are in the Ring, refused it.&lt;br /&gt;
Of course this check to the success of the book&lt;br /&gt;
destroyed its commercial value. I never got back&lt;br /&gt;
any part of the money which I had advanced. No-&lt;br /&gt;
body bought any copies at all. Yet you see the&lt;br /&gt;
book, after seven short years, torn to pieces by the&lt;br /&gt;
eagerness of its admirers. We find it so in every&lt;br /&gt;
library round the whole of England. In every&lt;br /&gt;
sea-side circulating library.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Strange,&amp;quot; said her admirer.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;It is Fame,&amp;quot; said the sister.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 212 (#256) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
212&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;It is,&amp;quot; said the admirer. &amp;quot;And Consolation.&lt;br /&gt;
And Compensation.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The artist,&amp;quot; continued the author, &amp;quot;must not&lt;br /&gt;
put money considerations first. At the same time&lt;br /&gt;
I did hope to get some of the hundred and eighty&lt;br /&gt;
pounds back again. We could ill afford to lose&lt;br /&gt;
the money, I assure you.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;It was very hard.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Very hard. And in the end the publisher sold&lt;br /&gt;
off the whole as a remainder stock at two shillings&lt;br /&gt;
a set, and said the money belonged to him.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Yes, he would do that, I daresay. Remainder&lt;br /&gt;
stock!&amp;quot; He started. For now he perceived that his&lt;br /&gt;
first discovery was imaginary, but that another was&lt;br /&gt;
in full view. &amp;quot;Remainder stock! Now I under-&lt;br /&gt;
stand it all. My dear lady, your Fame is assured.&lt;br /&gt;
That is the first thing to think of. You have full&lt;br /&gt;
Consolation. Remainder stock! Yes&mdash;yes. Those&lt;br /&gt;
empty wind bags&mdash;the men of the Ring&mdash;the so-&lt;br /&gt;
called leaders&mdash;they never have any remainder&lt;br /&gt;
stock to sell&mdash;the humbugs! Therefore&mdash;oh! I&lt;br /&gt;
quite understand. Stupid not to have thought of&lt;br /&gt;
that before. Remainder stock! Madam, you have&lt;br /&gt;
your Consolation. Rich and full, it is. Rich and&lt;br /&gt;
full.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
AN ENGLISH ACADEMY.&lt;br /&gt;
I.&lt;br /&gt;
IN reading the November number of the Author&lt;br /&gt;
I have been struck by the two papers on pp.&lt;br /&gt;
190-192, which, though bearing different&lt;br /&gt;
signatures, appear to be happily printed one after&lt;br /&gt;
the other. I venture to think that, so read, they&lt;br /&gt;
go far to show that the following points ought to&lt;br /&gt;
be taken as essential:&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
1. If we are to have an Academy it must be&lt;br /&gt;
made, from the first, and above all else, an&lt;br /&gt;
organ of English philology; and,&lt;br /&gt;
2. It should contain English scholars from the&lt;br /&gt;
United States no less than English scholars&lt;br /&gt;
from Great Britain (not necessarily popular&lt;br /&gt;
authors).&lt;br /&gt;
1. On the first point, it is well said by &amp;quot;R.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
that Matthew Arnold is to be accepted as showing&lt;br /&gt;
that the technique of our language requires a guide.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;French principles&amp;quot; are objected to; and it is&lt;br /&gt;
elsewhere observed that some of the greatest French&lt;br /&gt;
authors were not members of the Academy. But&lt;br /&gt;
what were the principles of the French Academy,&lt;br /&gt;
as originally constituted? They were dictionarial,&lt;br /&gt;
grammatical, conservative; and it was natural that&lt;br /&gt;
Balzac, Vaugelas, and Boileau should be members,&lt;br /&gt;
rather than Moliere or I^a Bruyere: the former&lt;br /&gt;
were experts in the French language, the latter&lt;br /&gt;
mere successful artists. Let me quote Mr. Saints-&lt;br /&gt;
bury on the change that has taken place since the&lt;br /&gt;
Revolution :&mdash;■&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The language and literature have been flooded&lt;br /&gt;
with new words, new forms of speech, new ideas,&lt;br /&gt;
new models. ... At present it may be said,&lt;br /&gt;
and not without truth, that, putting the work of&lt;br /&gt;
extraordinary writers aside, ordinary French prose&lt;br /&gt;
has lost some of its former graces, its lucidity, its&lt;br /&gt;
proportion, its easy march.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
That this is not overstated maybe seen by setting&lt;br /&gt;
down the names of a few of those writers who are&lt;br /&gt;
the literary glory of France; Boileau, Racine, the&lt;br /&gt;
Preachers (Bossuet, F^nelon), &amp;amp;c, with, among&lt;br /&gt;
later but still Academical authors, Voltaire, Rous-&lt;br /&gt;
seau, Chateaubriand.&lt;br /&gt;
The English language has been, to a less degree,&lt;br /&gt;
fixed by the unwritten canons of educated people,&lt;br /&gt;
and by the practice of those who contributed to&lt;br /&gt;
their literary pleasure. Now that everyone can&lt;br /&gt;
read, and literature has to be produced for multi-&lt;br /&gt;
tudes who, for the most part, are without the means&lt;br /&gt;
of criticism, there does seem to be, at least, as&lt;br /&gt;
much need for an antiseptic power in literary art&lt;br /&gt;
as there was in France in the time of Richelieu.&lt;br /&gt;
2. But, besides the dangers to which our language&lt;br /&gt;
is exposed by the unlettered condition of the great&lt;br /&gt;
majority of readers on this side of the Atlantic,&lt;br /&gt;
there is the further illimitable peril from a public&lt;br /&gt;
like that of the Western part of the United States.&lt;br /&gt;
That &amp;quot;cultivated people in the United States talk&lt;br /&gt;
better than those of the same class here&amp;quot; is pointed&lt;br /&gt;
out by &amp;quot; W. B.,&amp;quot; and the true reason is doubtless&lt;br /&gt;
assigned by him. But books are not written,&lt;br /&gt;
chiefly or at all, for the use of the select few of&lt;br /&gt;
Boston or New York. There was a time when it&lt;br /&gt;
was so, and the fact is no less true than instructive&lt;br /&gt;
that the American writers who have become classic&lt;br /&gt;
are all remarkable as stylists. One need only to&lt;br /&gt;
name Washington Irving, Longfellow, Hawthorne,&lt;br /&gt;
Emerson, Wendell Holmes, and Russell Lowell.&lt;br /&gt;
All these&mdash;and their like&mdash;are surely among the&lt;br /&gt;
Immortals, not merely by virtue of their sincerity&lt;br /&gt;
or depth of thought, but also by virtue of their&lt;br /&gt;
purity of diction and the manly urbanity of their&lt;br /&gt;
style. Nevertheless, there are some among their&lt;br /&gt;
later followers who have not shown the same tender&lt;br /&gt;
reverence for their mother-tongue, and many&lt;br /&gt;
modern writers among ourselves have been no&lt;br /&gt;
better. The great evils against which writers of&lt;br /&gt;
English, however able, have now- to be guarded&lt;br /&gt;
are&mdash;abridgment of phrase and neologism. The&lt;br /&gt;
first arises from every one being in a hurry; the&lt;br /&gt;
second, the desire to attract by smartness and by&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 213 (#257) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
213&lt;br /&gt;
using new locutions where words of excellence and&lt;br /&gt;
sufficiency already exist.&lt;br /&gt;
If an Academy of philological experts could&lt;br /&gt;
really do anything to provide against these practices,&lt;br /&gt;
it would surely render valuable service to the cause&lt;br /&gt;
that we must all have at heart.&lt;br /&gt;
H. G. Keene.&lt;br /&gt;
II.&lt;br /&gt;
In this matter why instance the French Academy?&lt;br /&gt;
The French are an academic people; we are not.&lt;br /&gt;
In their judgments of works of art, Frenchmen are&lt;br /&gt;
directed by artistic impulses; we are not so directed.&lt;br /&gt;
The Royal Academy of Arts should he, to us, &amp;quot;a&lt;br /&gt;
solemn warning.&amp;quot; This august body does not and&lt;br /&gt;
never did represent British art, and yet, until quite&lt;br /&gt;
recently, the letters &amp;quot;R.A.&amp;quot; after a painter&amp;#039;s name&lt;br /&gt;
were as dust in the eyes of the ordinary English-&lt;br /&gt;
man.&lt;br /&gt;
The Royal Academy of Arts is in its decadence,&lt;br /&gt;
as any art dealer or any Academician, were he to&lt;br /&gt;
speak the truth, would admit. In founding an&lt;br /&gt;
Academy of Letters we shall bring into being, on&lt;br /&gt;
parallel lines, all the abuses and foibles which the&lt;br /&gt;
critics have so valiantly combated in the case of&lt;br /&gt;
the existing institution. The R.A.&amp;#039;s are the&lt;br /&gt;
carriage folk of art; why should we not also have,&lt;br /&gt;
it is asked, the carriage folk of literature? Un-&lt;br /&gt;
doubtedly the prospect has attractions. It would&lt;br /&gt;
be pleasant to know what authors were really great,&lt;br /&gt;
really entitled to respect; what authors might be&lt;br /&gt;
freely and openly received. The British Philistine&lt;br /&gt;
wants names with which he may safely conjure.&lt;br /&gt;
But surely we can do without ribbons and medals.&lt;br /&gt;
Art is the highest end to which a man can devote&lt;br /&gt;
his energies, and when the silent recognition of his&lt;br /&gt;
fellow workers is vouchsafed, the artist should feel,&lt;br /&gt;
if he be anything of a man, that he has gained a&lt;br /&gt;
distinction which neither kings nor heralds, nor&lt;br /&gt;
bodies collegiate, nor societies inchoate can give&lt;br /&gt;
him&mdash;a distinction, moreover, readily granted to&lt;br /&gt;
him by so much of society generally as he need&lt;br /&gt;
trouble himself about.&lt;br /&gt;
An Academy of Letters would, without doubt,&lt;br /&gt;
ignore the original and sincere workers. The men&lt;br /&gt;
who concern themselves with the training, perfecting&lt;br /&gt;
and accentuating of their own individuality would be&lt;br /&gt;
left hopelessly in the cold, as the Royal Academy-&lt;br /&gt;
has left in the cold the painters who have worked&lt;br /&gt;
to a like end. Such an Academy would, in the&lt;br /&gt;
nature of things, be mainly formed of men who&lt;br /&gt;
had successfully tickled the palate of the ground-&lt;br /&gt;
lings, or mildly reflected classic models.&lt;br /&gt;
I am convinced that there is not an evil of&lt;br /&gt;
over production, nor of gold or notoriety hunting&lt;br /&gt;
which the institution of an Academy of Letters&lt;br /&gt;
would not increase tenfold. As for the standards&lt;br /&gt;
of language and style, they are not to be obtained&lt;br /&gt;
or preserved by such means. Again I instance the&lt;br /&gt;
Royal Academy, which has done nothing for&lt;br /&gt;
English art in the concrete sense, and in regard to&lt;br /&gt;
individual artists of the highest distinction, has&lt;br /&gt;
done all it&amp;#039;could to crush them out of existence.&lt;br /&gt;
The things actually desired by men seeking&lt;br /&gt;
election would be the purple and fine linen.&lt;br /&gt;
Literature would go into competition with shoddy&lt;br /&gt;
men, the brewers and bankers, the newly-rich&lt;br /&gt;
generally, and hang about the Court for title and&lt;br /&gt;
preferment. Membership of such an institution,&lt;br /&gt;
although it would seem a great thing to the ordinary&lt;br /&gt;
British trader, would make a man contemptible in&lt;br /&gt;
the eyes of his fellow workers. To found an&lt;br /&gt;
Academy of Letters would be to institute, open-&lt;br /&gt;
eyed, another crying evil.&lt;br /&gt;
J. Stanley Little.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
A REMINDER.&lt;br /&gt;
WILL you allow me to remind the writers of&lt;br /&gt;
magazine articles, and journalists, what&lt;br /&gt;
injury they may inflict on their fellow-&lt;br /&gt;
workers byofferingtheir contributions &amp;quot;for nothing&amp;quot;;&lt;br /&gt;
or on &amp;quot;low,&amp;quot; &amp;quot;moderate,&amp;quot; or &amp;quot;nominal&amp;quot; terms.&lt;br /&gt;
Perhaps they share the apparently prevalent idea&lt;br /&gt;
that authors live on nectar and ambrosia, with a&lt;br /&gt;
drink of the water of Helicon for a change. Authors&lt;br /&gt;
do not, and the bread-winners among them are&lt;br /&gt;
finding to their cost that remuneration is being&lt;br /&gt;
lowered, and that if they ask a fair price for their&lt;br /&gt;
work, it is rejected in favour of the &amp;quot;low priced&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
or &amp;quot;gratuitous &amp;quot; article. If literary work is worth&lt;br /&gt;
publishing, it is worth paying for.&lt;br /&gt;
A Sufferer.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
A HARD CASE.&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;&diams;&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
VII.&lt;br /&gt;
THIS case, like all those previously selected&lt;br /&gt;
from the Society&amp;#039;s archives for comment,&lt;br /&gt;
illustrates in a typical way the disadvan-&lt;br /&gt;
tages under which the author labours in his business&lt;br /&gt;
arrangements with publishers, when he does not&lt;br /&gt;
quite understand his agreement, or at any rate&lt;br /&gt;
does not quite see the position in which it places&lt;br /&gt;
him.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 214 (#258) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
214&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
The book in question was published on the half&lt;br /&gt;
profit system, the following being the terms of&lt;br /&gt;
the agreement:&mdash;The publishers were to take all&lt;br /&gt;
the risk and expense, subject to a payment to&lt;br /&gt;
them by the author of ^40. They were to debit&lt;br /&gt;
the book with the invoice amounts paid for printing,&lt;br /&gt;
paper, binding, and advertisements, together with&lt;br /&gt;
10 per cent, on all sums expended. This last was&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;to defray the cost of establishment.&amp;quot; The pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lishers were to retain as profit any discount they&lt;br /&gt;
might receive on the accounts for printing, paper,&lt;br /&gt;
binding, and advertisement. Author&amp;#039;s corrections&lt;br /&gt;
were allowed gratis, to the extent of 15X. per&lt;br /&gt;
sheet of 32 pages. The author was to have a&lt;br /&gt;
dozen copies for nothing: otherwise he was to&lt;br /&gt;
pay trade price for them. Accounts were to be&lt;br /&gt;
made out half-yearly. Arrangements for remainder&lt;br /&gt;
sales were to be left to the publishers. Profits were&lt;br /&gt;
to be shared, and one would have thought it&lt;br /&gt;
reasonable that the cost of the publishers&amp;#039; estab-&lt;br /&gt;
lishment should be defrayed out of their half of&lt;br /&gt;
the profits. The author&amp;#039;s establishment costs will&lt;br /&gt;
have to be defrayed by his share.&lt;br /&gt;
Here is an agreement that has in it almost every&lt;br /&gt;
fault, from the author&amp;#039;s point of view, that is possible.&lt;br /&gt;
It is all the more objectionable a document because&lt;br /&gt;
it has upon its surface an appearance of fairness&lt;br /&gt;
and candour. &amp;quot;We will bear all the expense,&amp;quot; say&lt;br /&gt;
the publishers, &amp;quot;and you shall give us ^40.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
There are here no petty details, no hair-splitting&lt;br /&gt;
reasons given for requesting ^40 from the author,&lt;br /&gt;
as well as his brain-work. It is quite conceivable&lt;br /&gt;
that the payment by the author of .&pound;40 was a&lt;br /&gt;
very reasonable proceeding, but one cannot know&lt;br /&gt;
that, until one knows what the publishers&amp;#039; risk&lt;br /&gt;
actually was.&lt;br /&gt;
However, letting that point go, we come to the&lt;br /&gt;
fact that the author is not to receive payment&lt;br /&gt;
until the cost of production is covered&mdash;that is,&lt;br /&gt;
until there are profits to be halved&mdash;and this&lt;br /&gt;
happy result the publishers can indefinitely post-&lt;br /&gt;
pone by increasing the cost of production, left&lt;br /&gt;
entirely to their discretion 1&lt;br /&gt;
Of course the situation is a very common one,&lt;br /&gt;
but it is none the less a very extraordinary one, and&lt;br /&gt;
one for which no parallel could be found in other&lt;br /&gt;
business transactions.&lt;br /&gt;
The publishers are to debit the work with the&lt;br /&gt;
invoice amounts for the various items of production,&lt;br /&gt;
advertisements, &amp;amp;c. Excellent! But, firstly, they&lt;br /&gt;
receive 10 per cent, of all sums so spent, which&lt;br /&gt;
is hardly an inducement to keep the cost low; and,&lt;br /&gt;
secondly, though it is an admirable thing to know&lt;br /&gt;
exactly where the money spent on advertising has&lt;br /&gt;
gone, the author would often be much better off&lt;br /&gt;
by being placed in a position to prevent its going&lt;br /&gt;
The author has a direct interest in keeping the&lt;br /&gt;
cost of advertisement low, for he then comes&lt;br /&gt;
nearer to his profits; the publishers&amp;quot; have a direct&lt;br /&gt;
interest in making it high, and so increasing their&lt;br /&gt;
percentages.&lt;br /&gt;
The publishers are again to receive all discounts&lt;br /&gt;
for ready-money payment. Well, if they really&lt;br /&gt;
were at all the risk and expense of publication, in&lt;br /&gt;
accordance with the first clause of their agreement,&lt;br /&gt;
this would be quite fair&mdash;though again hardly an&lt;br /&gt;
inducement to keep the prices low; but the author&lt;br /&gt;
is asked to contribute &pound;40 ready money. Why&lt;br /&gt;
then should not he share in the discounts? At&lt;br /&gt;
the same time the allusion to the existence of&lt;br /&gt;
such a source of profit is commendable. In many&lt;br /&gt;
instances these discounts are secretly pocketed.&lt;br /&gt;
The author is allowed to correct gratis to the&lt;br /&gt;
extent of 1$s. for 32 pages. To what extent is this?&lt;br /&gt;
How is the author to know when he is above, and&lt;br /&gt;
when he is below an average of fifteen shillingsworth&lt;br /&gt;
of corrections for each double-sheet. The clause&lt;br /&gt;
sounds all right; it is a very common one, though&lt;br /&gt;
a larger amount of correction is generally allowed&lt;br /&gt;
gratis; but as far as the author is concerned it is&lt;br /&gt;
nonsense. Under this agreement the publishers&lt;br /&gt;
could arbitrarily charge any sum against the book&lt;br /&gt;
as author&amp;#039;s corrections. No item in the cost of&lt;br /&gt;
production should thus be left to the caprice of&lt;br /&gt;
the publishers, when the author&amp;#039;s chance of&lt;br /&gt;
remuneration depends upon the cost being low,&lt;br /&gt;
and the publishers&amp;#039; best opportunity of &amp;quot;defraying&lt;br /&gt;
the cost of their establishment&amp;quot; is to make the&lt;br /&gt;
same as high as possible.&lt;br /&gt;
The following was the result of the transaction :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
The cost of production was returned as &pound;202,&lt;br /&gt;
inclusive of advertisements, returned as &pound;50. The&lt;br /&gt;
sales amounted to ^199. The author got back his&lt;br /&gt;
^40, and there were no profits to divide. He lost&lt;br /&gt;
no money, but all the labour expended over his book&lt;br /&gt;
went for exactly nothing. The publishers received&lt;br /&gt;
certain percentages and discounts, and cannot be&lt;br /&gt;
said to have made a good thing out of the trans-&lt;br /&gt;
action. But it appears that they made as much&lt;br /&gt;
as they expected to make, and that they made it&lt;br /&gt;
in the way they intended to make it; for, firstly,&lt;br /&gt;
the book was not moulded, so that a larger demand&lt;br /&gt;
could only have been met by incurring all the&lt;br /&gt;
original heavy expenditure of setting up the type,&lt;br /&gt;
and, secondly, the results of the sale of the first&lt;br /&gt;
edition were minimised by a remainder sale in&lt;br /&gt;
November of a book published for the first time&lt;br /&gt;
in March of the same year. This proceeding seems&lt;br /&gt;
to us, unless it can otherwise be explained, an&lt;br /&gt;
abuse of the discretion given to them by the last&lt;br /&gt;
clause of the agreement.&lt;br /&gt;
There is no special hardness about this case,&lt;br /&gt;
which is a very good illustration of all the faults&lt;br /&gt;
of the old half-profit method of publishing. There&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 215 (#259) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR&lt;br /&gt;
215&lt;br /&gt;
was a possible profit of say ^50 on this book, i.e.,&lt;br /&gt;
the production and advertisement could have been&lt;br /&gt;
done for ^&pound;150. In a fair half-profit agreement&lt;br /&gt;
^25 of this would have come to the author and&lt;br /&gt;
^25 to the publisher as shares of the profit.&lt;br /&gt;
Under this rubbishy contract ^25 or more has&lt;br /&gt;
gone to the publisher as discounts and percentages,&lt;br /&gt;
and the rest has been wasted in over-expensive pro-&lt;br /&gt;
duction : and to make the vicious circle complete,&lt;br /&gt;
the more the cost of production is raised, the&lt;br /&gt;
larger will become the publishers&amp;#039; perquisites.&lt;br /&gt;
The author wrote the book, and backed its&lt;br /&gt;
chances to the extent of /I40 ready money. He&lt;br /&gt;
is glad to have got the money back, but he got&lt;br /&gt;
nothing more.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
IN GRUB STREET.&lt;br /&gt;
EMIN PASHA literature, if we may so call&lt;br /&gt;
the Stanley, Barttellot, and Jameson con-&lt;br /&gt;
troversy, hasundergonetemporary cessation,&lt;br /&gt;
and society is going into committee over the subject,&lt;br /&gt;
seeing no prospect of a commission of inquiry. One&lt;br /&gt;
does not like to deprive Assad Farranofhis origin-&lt;br /&gt;
ality, but much of his story is, I fear, borrowed from&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Haggard&amp;#039;s &amp;quot; She.&amp;quot; There are plenty of parallel&lt;br /&gt;
passages that might be printed to prove this. It&lt;br /&gt;
is certainly pleasanter to read Mr. Haggard on&lt;br /&gt;
Africa, for his heroes behave much better. It&lt;br /&gt;
would be nice to think that Assad Farran is only&lt;br /&gt;
one of Mr. Haggard&amp;#039;s imitators who has misunder-&lt;br /&gt;
stood the art of the master.&lt;br /&gt;
If anyone has not read by this time Mr.&lt;br /&gt;
Haggard&amp;#039;s latest novel in collaboration with Mr.&lt;br /&gt;
Lang, let him do so at once. It should be read&lt;br /&gt;
for several reasons; firstly, because everything that&lt;br /&gt;
comes from these authors is interesting; and&lt;br /&gt;
secondly, because it is the best book of its kind&lt;br /&gt;
that has appeared for some time. The &amp;quot;young&lt;br /&gt;
men&amp;quot; who &amp;quot;do the books&amp;quot; for the evening papers&lt;br /&gt;
have been very critical indeed. It has afforded&lt;br /&gt;
them a splendid opportunity of airing their slight&lt;br /&gt;
acquaintance with Egyptology and the classics they&lt;br /&gt;
happen not to have forgotten since they left school.&lt;br /&gt;
In these days, when Heliodorus, Achilles, Tatius,&lt;br /&gt;
and Longus are household words, surely some-&lt;br /&gt;
one could find that Mr. I^ng or Mr. Haggard&lt;br /&gt;
had been plagiarising. It would not matter in the&lt;br /&gt;
least if all Mr. Haggard&amp;#039;s ideas were taken from&lt;br /&gt;
some other author; as Lord Houghton would have&lt;br /&gt;
said, it rather enhanced their value. It is said&lt;br /&gt;
when someone asked him who was the first plagi-&lt;br /&gt;
arist, he replied, &amp;quot;God, who made man after His&lt;br /&gt;
own image.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
VOL. I.&lt;br /&gt;
The &amp;quot;World&amp;#039;s Desire &amp;quot; seems to be a complete&lt;br /&gt;
answer to those who object to novels of prehistoric&lt;br /&gt;
times or the antique world. Historians, of course,&lt;br /&gt;
are jealous. Anything that soars above the level&lt;br /&gt;
of a &amp;quot;chronicle &amp;quot; is to thera distasteful. And the&lt;br /&gt;
archaeologist regards it as poaching. Flaubert&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Salambo&amp;quot; and Mr. Pater&amp;#039;s &amp;quot;Marius,&amp;quot; though of&lt;br /&gt;
course not on the same platform, have been objected&lt;br /&gt;
to for similar reasons. I think the &amp;quot;World&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
Djsire &amp;quot; is as successful in its own line as &amp;quot;Salambo&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
and &amp;quot; Marius &amp;quot; are in theirs. Mr. Lang, who has&lt;br /&gt;
rescued so many classics from the school room,&lt;br /&gt;
might give us a version (of his own) of Heliodorus,&lt;br /&gt;
the Rider Haggard of the fifth century. Mr.&lt;br /&gt;
Haggard might be tempted to try the &amp;quot;Middle&lt;br /&gt;
Ages &amp;#039;&bull; after his recent successes. &amp;#039;&amp;#039; Ivanhoe &amp;quot; and&lt;br /&gt;
the &amp;quot;Cloister and the Heath&amp;quot; are the two suc-&lt;br /&gt;
cessful mediaeval novels in English. Will Mr.&lt;br /&gt;
Haggard give us a rival? k&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Wemyss Reid&amp;#039;s &amp;quot;Life of Lord Houghton,&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
about which everyone is talking and will talk for&lt;br /&gt;
some lime to come, differs from the ordinary&lt;br /&gt;
memoirs of an ephemeral value that come out every&lt;br /&gt;
year, for it will always be an excellent book of&lt;br /&gt;
reference. Mr. Reid is to be felicitated on his&lt;br /&gt;
performance. He has allowed the letters to and&lt;br /&gt;
from Lord Houghton to tell their own story, and&lt;br /&gt;
has filled up the gaps with his own writing only&lt;br /&gt;
when necessary.&lt;br /&gt;
He has shown no want of taste in publishing&lt;br /&gt;
letters prematurely calculated to wound the feelings&lt;br /&gt;
of those who are living. It is hardly paradoxical&lt;br /&gt;
to say that the merit of these two volumes consist&lt;br /&gt;
not merely on their contents as on their judicious&lt;br /&gt;
omissions.&lt;br /&gt;
Among Lord Houghton&amp;#039;s many and great merits&lt;br /&gt;
was his appreciation of the times he lived in. He&lt;br /&gt;
never brayed about the past. He was not one of&lt;br /&gt;
those who thought that because a book was old,&lt;br /&gt;
it must be also good. The present day has per-&lt;br /&gt;
haps gone into the other extreme&mdash;we think things&lt;br /&gt;
good merely because they are new. Lord Houghton&lt;br /&gt;
was always the first to recognize genius, to mark&lt;br /&gt;
the coming man; his ducklings were generally&lt;br /&gt;
swans. Genius hunting is a dangerous game, but&lt;br /&gt;
he played it very well. The story of David Grey&lt;br /&gt;
has been likened to that of Chatterton, who also&lt;br /&gt;
came up to London to gain a literary reputation,&lt;br /&gt;
and Lord Houghton&amp;#039;s generosity certainly compares&lt;br /&gt;
favourably with Horace Walpole&amp;#039;s treatment of the&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Marvellous Boy.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
The difference between a paradox and a truism is&lt;br /&gt;
said to be, &amp;quot;that while the former is usually true,&lt;br /&gt;
the latter is always false.&amp;quot; Lord Houghton&amp;#039;s para-&lt;br /&gt;
dox on perpetual copyright had far more truth in it&lt;br /&gt;
R&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 216 (#260) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2l6&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
than Mr Gladstone or Mr. Wemyss Reid seem to&lt;br /&gt;
imagine. Everyone is now occupied in relating&lt;br /&gt;
all the anecdotes and bon mots not included in&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Reid&amp;#039;s pages. There is one against Lord&lt;br /&gt;
Houghton not told in the life. &amp;quot;Why is Lord&lt;br /&gt;
Houghton like St. Jerome?&amp;quot; was a riddle going&lt;br /&gt;
about at one time. It is so obvious to anyone&lt;br /&gt;
who has looked at old pictures that readers may&lt;br /&gt;
guess the answer for themselves.&lt;br /&gt;
The Scots Observer is now to be known as the&lt;br /&gt;
National Observer, and there are rumours of the&lt;br /&gt;
offices being removed to London. To change a&lt;br /&gt;
paper&amp;#039;s name is not unattended with risk, but there&lt;br /&gt;
was every reason for the alteration in this case.&lt;br /&gt;
The Scotch element was very small indeed, but&lt;br /&gt;
there was enough of it to bore a great many-&lt;br /&gt;
English readers. And it is said by some that its&lt;br /&gt;
views are not always convincing. Some of Mr.&lt;br /&gt;
Kipling&amp;#039;s most delightful ballads have appeared in&lt;br /&gt;
its pages, and the editor&amp;#039;s poems are found there&lt;br /&gt;
occasionally. Under ihe new title it will, doubt-&lt;br /&gt;
less, appeal to a larger audience no less apprecia-&lt;br /&gt;
tive. The old literary traditions of Edinburgh&lt;br /&gt;
have passed away, and the Edinburgh Review will&lt;br /&gt;
have all its own way in the north if the National&lt;br /&gt;
Obsei ver comes to town.&lt;br /&gt;
Dr. Verrall&amp;#039;s new theory of the &amp;quot;Ion&amp;quot; has, as&lt;br /&gt;
was anticipated in last month&amp;#039;s Author, met with a&lt;br /&gt;
great deal of opposition. He believes Euripides&lt;br /&gt;
to have written the play with a profound didactic&lt;br /&gt;
intention, namely, that of exposing the Delphic&lt;br /&gt;
oracle. Those who are interested, however, must&lt;br /&gt;
get Dr. Verrall&amp;#039;s edition, which is published by the&lt;br /&gt;
University Press.&lt;br /&gt;
The performance of the &amp;quot;Ion&amp;quot; was a great&lt;br /&gt;
success, and all the credit must be given to Mr. J.&lt;br /&gt;
W. Clarke. The difficulties, though enormous,&lt;br /&gt;
were completely overcome. The leading part of&lt;br /&gt;
Creusa was very ably sustained by Mr. E. A.&lt;br /&gt;
Neston, of King&amp;#039;s College, who showed great power&lt;br /&gt;
and a wonderful appreciation of the part. He,&lt;br /&gt;
with Mr. Palk, of Trinity, as the old slave, rather&lt;br /&gt;
eclipsed the acting of the others, who were pains-&lt;br /&gt;
taking, but hardly satisfactory. Greek plays are&lt;br /&gt;
very entertaining experiments, and if everyone was&lt;br /&gt;
as capable as the two actors mentioned, the&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Ion&amp;quot; would have been favourably received in&lt;br /&gt;
London with a larger and less generous audience.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Booth must be congratulated on having at&lt;br /&gt;
last got the audience he has longed for. Polite&lt;br /&gt;
society has been like the adder of Scripture&mdash;deaf&lt;br /&gt;
to the voice of the charmer; though Sir. Booth&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
own music has largely contributed to the physical,&lt;br /&gt;
if not moral, deafness of the community. The&lt;br /&gt;
outside of his book is certainly sensational and the&lt;br /&gt;
name was clever, so it deserves success. Philan-&lt;br /&gt;
thropists and economists must judge as to the sound-&lt;br /&gt;
ness of his scheme. I cannot see the alleged&lt;br /&gt;
resemblance between the General and St. Francis&lt;br /&gt;
of Assisi, nor did Professor Huxley institute&lt;br /&gt;
such a comparison. Contradicting statements that&lt;br /&gt;
have not been made is a journalistic trick becoming&lt;br /&gt;
too common. He compared the two move-&lt;br /&gt;
ments, not the two men; and pointed out that&lt;br /&gt;
what wrecked the Franciscans might also prove&lt;br /&gt;
fatal to the schemes propounded in &amp;quot;Darkest&lt;br /&gt;
England.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
The boom in De Quincey&amp;#039;s works has subsided.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Some Unpublished Letters of the Opium&lt;br /&gt;
Eater&amp;quot; threatened to become to the magazines&lt;br /&gt;
what the sea serpent and big gooseberry are to the&lt;br /&gt;
daily papers in the silly season. Still there is a&lt;br /&gt;
continual shower, however, of new editions and&lt;br /&gt;
complete works. Mr. Saintsbury, with great&lt;br /&gt;
felicity, speaks of him as a man &amp;quot;of great though&lt;br /&gt;
capricious critical power.&amp;quot; No one now is frightened&lt;br /&gt;
by the perusal of the &amp;quot;opium eater,&amp;quot; and the&lt;br /&gt;
immoral tendencies it is said to have produced&lt;br /&gt;
have been grossly exaggerated. The bogies of one&lt;br /&gt;
age become the bores of the next, to adapt a very&lt;br /&gt;
old proverb, and De Quincey is open to the&lt;br /&gt;
charge of writing to &amp;quot;shock the great middle&lt;br /&gt;
classes of England.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Oscar Wilde has collected his brilliant&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Dialogues and Essays,&amp;quot; and they will be issued&lt;br /&gt;
by Osgood and Macllvain, of Albemarle Street,&lt;br /&gt;
shortly after Christmas. No one will have for-&lt;br /&gt;
gotten the &amp;#039;&bull; Decay of Lying,&amp;quot; in the Nineteenth&lt;br /&gt;
Century, some time ago the article of the month,&lt;br /&gt;
in the opinion of many the best thing he has ever&lt;br /&gt;
done. Hut as he never does anything like anything&lt;br /&gt;
he has done before, best might be applied to all of&lt;br /&gt;
them. Mr. Wilde will live to hear many of his&lt;br /&gt;
aphorisms and paradoxes attributed to Sydnev&lt;br /&gt;
Smith, who is constantly being found out and&lt;br /&gt;
exposed in memoirs, and the book of Proverbs too&lt;br /&gt;
will share the spoil. The dead prey too much on&lt;br /&gt;
the living in these days.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Wilde once said that an unbiassed opinion&lt;br /&gt;
was absolutely valueless. And those who find&lt;br /&gt;
fault with Mr. Meynell&amp;#039;s Neivman (Kegan Paul)&lt;br /&gt;
would do well to remember this. The duty of a&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 217 (#261) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
217&lt;br /&gt;
biographer is to be prejudiced in favour of his&lt;br /&gt;
subject, or the reverse, and to endeavour to convert&lt;br /&gt;
his audience. None of us know how Boswell over-&lt;br /&gt;
estimated Johnson; he fulfilled his task. We are&lt;br /&gt;
of his opinion now. Mr. Traill&amp;#039;s Strafford was&lt;br /&gt;
another example of a prejudiced and successful&lt;br /&gt;
biography.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Pater&amp;#039;s lecture on &amp;quot;Merimee,&amp;quot; which he&lt;br /&gt;
delivered in Oxford and repeated in London, was&lt;br /&gt;
everything that one has a right to expect from this&lt;br /&gt;
distinguished critic, whom we hear too seldom.&lt;br /&gt;
His many admirers will look forward to its publica-&lt;br /&gt;
tion in his next volume of essays.&lt;br /&gt;
M. Taine is on the side of the angels; with Mr.&lt;br /&gt;
Frederic Harrison, he thinks little enough of&lt;br /&gt;
English fiction. Miss Rhoda Broughton, however,&lt;br /&gt;
must be sensible of the high compliment paid her&lt;br /&gt;
by the French Academician, who declares she is&lt;br /&gt;
the only novelist who has enriched our fiction&lt;br /&gt;
since George Eliot&amp;#039;s death. It is not derogatory&lt;br /&gt;
to Miss Broughton&amp;#039;s high position among English&lt;br /&gt;
novelists to say that she has been ably assisted by&lt;br /&gt;
authors with whom M. Taine is unacquainted.&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;*&lt;br /&gt;
A new work on &amp;quot; The Engraved Gems of Classical&lt;br /&gt;
Times,&amp;quot; by Professor Middleton, published by the&lt;br /&gt;
Cambridge University Press, will be ready by&lt;br /&gt;
Christmas. Jt is no exaggeration to say that Pro-&lt;br /&gt;
fessor Middleton is one of the greatest living&lt;br /&gt;
authorities on classic and mediaeval art. In an&lt;br /&gt;
age when so much nonsense is talked on art&lt;br /&gt;
questions, which English people treat as they&lt;br /&gt;
would politics, anything Professor Middleton has&lt;br /&gt;
to say will be especially welcome. Gems are&lt;br /&gt;
things, however, which have not yet become the&lt;br /&gt;
babble of the charlatans. So let us hope they&lt;br /&gt;
will keep a discreet silence, until they know at&lt;br /&gt;
least as half as much as Professor Middleton.&lt;br /&gt;
One of the most pleasing of new books is the&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Life and Letters of Philip Henry Gosse,&lt;br /&gt;
F.R.S.&amp;quot;; it is the record of a patient and useful&lt;br /&gt;
life, not without pathos of a kind. Not only was&lt;br /&gt;
he an enthusiastic student of science, but he&lt;br /&gt;
retained throughout it all what many of us will&lt;br /&gt;
envy, his faith. The task of a biographer, at all&lt;br /&gt;
times difficult, becomes very arduous for the son&lt;br /&gt;
who must treat of his father&amp;#039;s life with fulness&lt;br /&gt;
tempered by discretion. Mr. Gosse has fulfilled&lt;br /&gt;
his task with his accustomed felicity.&lt;br /&gt;
&diams;&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Frank Harbut is finishing a novel dealing&lt;br /&gt;
with the genesis of an American millionaire. It&lt;br /&gt;
VOL. I.&lt;br /&gt;
will appear in three vols, early next year. M.&lt;br /&gt;
Tessand Maissonneuve has obtained leave from the&lt;br /&gt;
same author to translate his novel, &amp;quot;The Con-&lt;br /&gt;
spirator,&amp;quot; into French.&lt;br /&gt;
A new novel by Scott Graham (author of &amp;quot; The&lt;br /&gt;
Golden Milestone,&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Sandcliffe Mystery,&amp;quot; &amp;amp;c),&lt;br /&gt;
entitled &amp;quot;A Bolt from the Blue,&amp;quot; will be ready-&lt;br /&gt;
shortly. It is published by Sampson Low and&lt;br /&gt;
Co.&lt;br /&gt;
A tale of the 15th century, entitled &amp;quot;The&lt;br /&gt;
Goldsmith&amp;#039;s Ward,&amp;quot; by Mrs. P. H. Reade, will be&lt;br /&gt;
published immediately by Messrs. Chapman and&lt;br /&gt;
Hall.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. William Toynbee is engaged on a transla-&lt;br /&gt;
tion of Beranger&amp;#039;s songs for Mr. Walter Scott&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
Canterbury Poet Series.&lt;br /&gt;
Among novels already published this season is&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Kestell of Greystoke,&amp;quot; by Esme Stuart (Hurst&lt;br /&gt;
and Blackett).&lt;br /&gt;
The sixth volume of the &amp;quot; International Library&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
(W. Heinemann) will be a new book by the&lt;br /&gt;
eminent Spanish novelist, A. Palacio Valdis,&lt;br /&gt;
entitled &amp;quot;La Espuma&amp;quot; (Frott). It has been&lt;br /&gt;
translated by Mrs. Bell (that admirable translator&lt;br /&gt;
whom the critics persist in describing as Miss Clara&lt;br /&gt;
Bell).&lt;br /&gt;
The Norwegian poet, Ibsen, has given all rights&lt;br /&gt;
in his forthcoming drama, for England and America,&lt;br /&gt;
to Mr. Gosse, whose translation of it will appear&lt;br /&gt;
simultaneously in both countries. The English&lt;br /&gt;
edition will be issued by Mr. Heinemann, the&lt;br /&gt;
American by Mr. Lovell, of New York. The&lt;br /&gt;
drama is understood to deal with a modern social&lt;br /&gt;
problem not less interesting than that treated in&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;A Doll&amp;#039;s House.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Volumes I, II, and VI of Mr. Alfred H. Miles&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Poets and Poetry of the Century,&amp;quot; are about to&lt;br /&gt;
be issued by Messrs. Hutchinson and Co. Among&lt;br /&gt;
the contributors are Mr. Austin Dobson, Dr.&lt;br /&gt;
Garnett, and other well-known critics. Mr.&lt;br /&gt;
Mackenzie Bell has written the critical and&lt;br /&gt;
biographical articles on Sir Aubrey de Vere and&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Theodore Watts.&lt;br /&gt;
Messrs. Eden and Remington have just issued the&lt;br /&gt;
third volume of the Rosslyn series &amp;quot;Old and New,&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
by Walter Herries Pollock. Some of these poems&lt;br /&gt;
r 2&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 218 (#262) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
218&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
have been published previously, and have been&lt;br /&gt;
appreciated by a circle of readers that should be&lt;br /&gt;
wider. It is unfortunate that the publishers have&lt;br /&gt;
seen fit to clothe this often exquisite verse in such&lt;br /&gt;
unattractive guise. The quality of paper, print,&lt;br /&gt;
and binding may almost be said to be in inverse&lt;br /&gt;
ratio to that of the verse. Mr. Pollock&amp;#039;s masterly&lt;br /&gt;
rendering of Musset&amp;#039;s &amp;quot;Nights&amp;quot; has been included&lt;br /&gt;
in this volume, and will satisfy the most fastidious&lt;br /&gt;
admirers of the French poet. And the little&lt;br /&gt;
poem quoted on page 205 is a masterpiece in its&lt;br /&gt;
way.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;In the Land of the Lion and Sun,&amp;quot; Dr.&lt;br /&gt;
Wills&amp;#039;s popular book about Persia, will appear in&lt;br /&gt;
the Minerva Series (Ward and Lock) shortly. This&lt;br /&gt;
edition will be illustrated.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
The scheme for providing comfortable residential&lt;br /&gt;
chambers, combined with a restaurant and attend-&lt;br /&gt;
ance, for educated women of limited means, earning&lt;br /&gt;
their own livelihood, may now be spoken of as an&lt;br /&gt;
assured success. The first block of buildings in&lt;br /&gt;
Chenies Street, Bloomsbury, was opened last summer,&lt;br /&gt;
and the applications for rooms was much greater&lt;br /&gt;
than could be satisfied. The Company pays 5 per&lt;br /&gt;
cent, to the shareholders, and the Directors feel&lt;br /&gt;
justified in extending their operations. A site&lt;br /&gt;
for another block has been leased from Lord&lt;br /&gt;
Portman in Yoik Street, Bryanston Square. Every&lt;br /&gt;
literary woman knows what a help it is to have the&lt;br /&gt;
worries of housekeeping taken off her shoulders.&lt;br /&gt;
Merely to have a dinner provided without having&lt;br /&gt;
to think about it is no small assistance to the&lt;br /&gt;
busy worker. The proposed new buildings will&lt;br /&gt;
contain about 60 sets of rooms. Miss Agnes&lt;br /&gt;
Garrett is one of the Directors, and the Company&lt;br /&gt;
owes much to Miss Anne Townshend&amp;#039;s untiring&lt;br /&gt;
exertions on its behalf.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
POINTS AND CASES.&lt;br /&gt;
I.&lt;br /&gt;
A Pictorial Paper.&lt;br /&gt;
TWO months ago, on the occasion of a royal&lt;br /&gt;
visit to my native town, I forwarded a&lt;br /&gt;
description of the place to a well-known&lt;br /&gt;
pictorial paper, and offered, if my article was&lt;br /&gt;
ac cepted, to get some views to illustrate it. My&lt;br /&gt;
offer was accepted, and the Editor wished to know&lt;br /&gt;
whether any sketches would be taken of the cere-&lt;br /&gt;
monial itself. On the 16th September I procured&lt;br /&gt;
seve.al views of the town, and sent them off as I&lt;br /&gt;
had promised, and asked in what issue my article&lt;br /&gt;
would appear. My question was not noticed, but&lt;br /&gt;
on the 16th I made enquiries, and found I could&lt;br /&gt;
get sketches of the Duke&amp;#039;s reception the following&lt;br /&gt;
week. I wrote accordingly to the , and I&lt;br /&gt;
also asked for some remuneration. Much to my&lt;br /&gt;
surprise, I received a letter, some days later,&lt;br /&gt;
thanking me for my trouble, but saying that as&lt;br /&gt;
the sketches could not appear till the issue of the&lt;br /&gt;
4th October, it was useless for me to send any.&lt;br /&gt;
and that he had forwarded me a paper of the&lt;br /&gt;
18th September. In this I found three views, but&lt;br /&gt;
no article, and that, with the rest of the views,&lt;br /&gt;
remains at the &amp;#039;s office, unless, indeed,&lt;br /&gt;
they appeared in an issue prior to the 18th Sep-&lt;br /&gt;
tember. Another letter in which I again urged&lt;br /&gt;
my claims to remuneration, having purchased the&lt;br /&gt;
views and supplied him with an article, the Editor&lt;br /&gt;
hits not noticed.&lt;br /&gt;
So, as it stands at present, I have had all my&lt;br /&gt;
trouble for nothing, have had an article accepted,&lt;br /&gt;
but neither printed nor paid for, and am out of&lt;br /&gt;
pocket.&lt;br /&gt;
I must add that one magazine, to which I sent&lt;br /&gt;
an article, inserted it without my knowledge and&lt;br /&gt;
without my signature, but on my writing to ask for&lt;br /&gt;
payment, the Editor honestly sent me a cheque.&lt;br /&gt;
II.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The Author.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
What costs nothing is worth nothing, and is&lt;br /&gt;
thought nothing of! This is the rough principle&lt;br /&gt;
underlying an author&amp;#039;s business claims, and the&lt;br /&gt;
standpoint of the Society, as I read it. What is&lt;br /&gt;
gifted to the public is paid for by their magnani-&lt;br /&gt;
mously reading it&mdash;well paid for, they think. Now,&lt;br /&gt;
while there are numerous exceptions, I hold this&lt;br /&gt;
principle to be a wholesome one, and not lightly&lt;br /&gt;
to be parted from.&lt;br /&gt;
Judge, therefore, how you are supporting this&lt;br /&gt;
principle, when you yourself act in the style of the&lt;br /&gt;
cabman who leaves it to &amp;quot;yourself, sir&amp;quot;! If the&lt;br /&gt;
Author-is worth reading, it is worth paying for. If&lt;br /&gt;
not definitely and positively charged for, it is either&lt;br /&gt;
looked upon as an adverti&amp;#039;ement or a means of&lt;br /&gt;
disseminating unsaleable material.&lt;br /&gt;
I look upon it as really valuable to all who live&lt;br /&gt;
or attempt to live by the produce of their pens,&lt;br /&gt;
but my mind is influenced (through my pocket)&lt;br /&gt;
by the fact that the owners themselves question its&lt;br /&gt;
value. Do you not think you are breaking through&lt;br /&gt;
your own admirable rule, in supplying good&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 219 (#263) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
219&lt;br /&gt;
literature without a proper agreement, and that&lt;br /&gt;
authors of mediocre talents and unbusiness habits&lt;br /&gt;
will do to you as they are so constantly done by,&lt;br /&gt;
and pay you by &amp;quot;magnanimously perusing your&lt;br /&gt;
lucubrations.&amp;quot; Have the courage of your con-&lt;br /&gt;
victions, and supply the Author only on payment.&lt;br /&gt;
It is the flood of unpaid productions that lowers&lt;br /&gt;
the standard of payment of others.&lt;br /&gt;
W. A. S.&lt;br /&gt;
2ind November, 1890.&lt;br /&gt;
III.&lt;br /&gt;
A Lost Chance.&lt;br /&gt;
While in Australia, I wrote a farcical comedy.&lt;br /&gt;
It was stolen from me, and brought out in London&lt;br /&gt;
at a high class theatre by the &amp;quot;conveyor.&amp;quot; It&lt;br /&gt;
proved a great success, though the man rewrote&lt;br /&gt;
the third act, and so spoiled the piece. The sup-&lt;br /&gt;
posed author was called before the curtain and&lt;br /&gt;
received the congratulations of the house smilingly.&lt;br /&gt;
Afterwards he received with equal smiles the fees&lt;br /&gt;
of the play. As soon as I read in the London&lt;br /&gt;
papers about this &amp;quot;clever young dramatist&amp;quot; and&lt;br /&gt;
his play, I sent home and stopped it at once, so&lt;br /&gt;
the play was taken off the boards without delay.&lt;br /&gt;
Meantime he has completely ruined my chance&lt;br /&gt;
of doing anything with the comedy, as the London&lt;br /&gt;
managers, though they like the piece, say that its&lt;br /&gt;
removal from the stage counts for failure.&lt;br /&gt;
F. H.&lt;br /&gt;
IV.&lt;br /&gt;
An Experience.&lt;br /&gt;
In the first place perhaps the writer of &amp;quot;The&lt;br /&gt;
Troubles of a Beginner,&amp;quot; might like to know&lt;br /&gt;
what would have been the sequel, had he per-&lt;br /&gt;
severed in his dealings with &amp;quot;The Southampton&lt;br /&gt;
Association.&amp;quot; I received from that august body a&lt;br /&gt;
most flattering letter stating that my MSS. were&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;admirably suited to their requirements&amp;quot;; and so&lt;br /&gt;
indeed they were: that statement I can now accept&lt;br /&gt;
without the slightest hesitation. I was also informed&lt;br /&gt;
that they would appear in an early number.&lt;br /&gt;
I paid my guinea, and 6s. 6d. for &amp;quot; Pen and Ink,&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
and awaited the many benefits which were to accrue&lt;br /&gt;
to me from joining so excellent a Society. What&lt;br /&gt;
did I receive? About nine very trashy magazines,&lt;br /&gt;
of which I have never seen a single copy except&lt;br /&gt;
those which I myself received.&lt;br /&gt;
I was told in the coolest manner, after about&lt;br /&gt;
nine months had elapsed, that the magazine &amp;quot;would&lt;br /&gt;
be discontinued for a time,&amp;quot; but that &amp;quot;the business&lt;br /&gt;
would go on as usual.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
I never received any report on MSS. sent to the&lt;br /&gt;
Association except the letter to which I have&lt;br /&gt;
already alluded.&lt;br /&gt;
I was addressed by the editor as Rev. A. B.,&lt;br /&gt;
M.S.A. (Member of the Southampton Associa-&lt;br /&gt;
tion), a style which I requested (with some&lt;br /&gt;
asperity) might be discontinued. Moreover, I was&lt;br /&gt;
informed that the rate of remuneration was 5*. per&lt;br /&gt;
printed page; now the pages were so large that I&lt;br /&gt;
assessed my little poems, judging by the space they&lt;br /&gt;
would take, at about $d. each. I should be indeed&lt;br /&gt;
sorry for myself if I had to depend for my livelihood&lt;br /&gt;
on the good offices of such a Society as the South-&lt;br /&gt;
ampton Association. You will not wonder that I&lt;br /&gt;
gave the required three months&amp;#039; notice and sent in&lt;br /&gt;
my resignation.&lt;br /&gt;
About three months after I received a post card&lt;br /&gt;
to the following effect:&mdash;&amp;quot;Your MSS., left in charge&lt;br /&gt;
of the late Southampton Association, will be for-&lt;br /&gt;
warded on receipt of postage.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Now I should like to tell you of my dealings&lt;br /&gt;
with the Church of England Temperance Society,&lt;br /&gt;
a sore subject with me. To the C.E. T.S. Chronicle&lt;br /&gt;
I have contributed in all some ten or a dozen&lt;br /&gt;
pieces in prose and verse. After this had been&lt;br /&gt;
going on some time, I wrote a letter to the editor,&lt;br /&gt;
the gist of which was that if none of the writers&lt;br /&gt;
were paid I would not press the matter, but if they&lt;br /&gt;
were paid of course I should like some acknow-&lt;br /&gt;
ledgment of my work. I saw the Editor a few days&lt;br /&gt;
afterwards, when he told me that &amp;quot;All their writers&lt;br /&gt;
were paid.&amp;quot; I did get two guineas for a little Christ-&lt;br /&gt;
mas comedietta, entitled &amp;quot;TheConspiracy,&amp;quot; but with&lt;br /&gt;
regard to any of the others I have got nothing but&lt;br /&gt;
a few copies, compliments, and the acknowledg-&lt;br /&gt;
ment &amp;quot;that I ought to be paid.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Most of these temperance pieces, with one or&lt;br /&gt;
two new ones, I sent in to the S.P.C.K. office, now&lt;br /&gt;
nearly two years ago; but I cannot get any answer.&lt;br /&gt;
Now for, perhaps, &amp;quot;the unkindest cut of all.&amp;quot; I&lt;br /&gt;
published at my own expense in 1887 a very small&lt;br /&gt;
volume of poems, which was most kindly reviewed.&lt;br /&gt;
Shortly alterwards I discovered, by accident, that one&lt;br /&gt;
of my pieces under an altered name, but still attri-&lt;br /&gt;
buted to me, was occupying the first page of a&lt;br /&gt;
certain Christmas Annual. I had written previously&lt;br /&gt;
to Mr. on one or two occasions, but received&lt;br /&gt;
no reply. I did not wonder so much at this,&lt;br /&gt;
though even as a boy at school I have been treated&lt;br /&gt;
with courtesy by editors declining MSS., but I&lt;br /&gt;
thought that the kind review, which I attributed&lt;br /&gt;
to him, demanded a word of thanks, and also that&lt;br /&gt;
the insertion of my poem gave me the entree. I&lt;br /&gt;
wrote saying how glad I was that he had given me&lt;br /&gt;
such a lift, and asking whether I might send some&lt;br /&gt;
other small articles, since I was naturally anxious&lt;br /&gt;
to add to my income by my pen. To this letter I&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 220 (#264) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
220&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
received no reply. It is due to Mr. to say&lt;br /&gt;
that he may never have received my letter. But&lt;br /&gt;
still he traded on my brains. I am easily accessible,&lt;br /&gt;
and I think I ought to have had some acknow-&lt;br /&gt;
ledgment.&lt;br /&gt;
A. B.&lt;br /&gt;
V.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The American Tongue.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
I would rather reply to the Autlior than to&lt;br /&gt;
the Neiv York Herald, whilst, as one who has&lt;br /&gt;
visited America, and admires the Americans&lt;br /&gt;
■&mdash;without considering them perfect, any more&lt;br /&gt;
than ourselves&mdash;I wish to tabulate certain proposi-&lt;br /&gt;
tions :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
1. No country, more than any individual, can&lt;br /&gt;
be an impartial judge in a comparison of its own&lt;br /&gt;
accent, language, intonation, and refinement with&lt;br /&gt;
those of another. It is a mere vain contest of&lt;br /&gt;
rival conceits.&lt;br /&gt;
2. In view of the glaring but cherished imper-&lt;br /&gt;
fections of the home brewed English, even in its&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;purity,&amp;quot; we should be careful in throwing stones&lt;br /&gt;
at the Americans.&lt;br /&gt;
3. Many &amp;quot;Americanisms&amp;quot; are only common&lt;br /&gt;
colonialisms; due to the aboriginal illiteracy of&lt;br /&gt;
immigrants, to isolation, to necessity or convenience,&lt;br /&gt;
and to the admixture of other foreign tongues.&lt;br /&gt;
Others are mere relics of more conservative English,&lt;br /&gt;
such as survives in remote districts of the home&lt;br /&gt;
country, in the Bible, Shakespeare, &amp;amp;c, e.g., &amp;quot;sick&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
is Anglo-Indian, and Biblical as well as American.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Boss &amp;quot; and &amp;quot; loafer&amp;quot; appear to be Anglo-Dutch;&lt;br /&gt;
whilst the American pronunciation of such words&lt;br /&gt;
as &amp;quot;half&amp;quot; is simply the transported Irish pronun-&lt;br /&gt;
ciation. Moreover, I have heard a Canadian assert&lt;br /&gt;
that &amp;quot; the skin of the teeth&amp;quot; was a vulgar Ameri-&lt;br /&gt;
canism.&lt;br /&gt;
4. The English tongue being of entirely foreign&lt;br /&gt;
origin, its development is continuous in spite of&lt;br /&gt;
rival lexicographers, and there must result differen-&lt;br /&gt;
tiation according to variation of habilat. Each&lt;br /&gt;
heir has an equal right to alter his share of the&lt;br /&gt;
inheritance, as his stay-at-home kinsman does.&lt;br /&gt;
Perhaps it might be better to nominally as well as&lt;br /&gt;
actually differentiate American from Essexual,&lt;br /&gt;
Australian from Oxfordian, English.&lt;br /&gt;
5. The American &amp;quot;twang&amp;quot; is partly climatic, as&lt;br /&gt;
in Canada and New South Wales, but it is also&lt;br /&gt;
partly due to previous isolation, and now largely to&lt;br /&gt;
imitation. A species of &amp;quot;chronic catarrh &amp;quot; seems&lt;br /&gt;
to afflict the residents of countries possessing such&lt;br /&gt;
anti-English extremes of climate, so that the nasal&lt;br /&gt;
accent is neither peculiar to, nor universal in, the&lt;br /&gt;
United States. A visible nasal strcture is one&lt;br /&gt;
physiological result; and this is just as clearly&lt;br /&gt;
observable in some British-born Canadians, whilst,&lt;br /&gt;
as far as this &laquo;&amp;lt;?&laquo;-employment of the nose in speech&lt;br /&gt;
is concerned, the lower Cockney is not so very far&lt;br /&gt;
removed from the Yankee.&lt;br /&gt;
6. There is no intonational standard of English&lt;br /&gt;
accent, nor ever was. Anyone with a fair ear&lt;br /&gt;
may perceive that scarcely two members of our&lt;br /&gt;
own Houses of Legislature pronounce quite alike.&lt;br /&gt;
There may be a certain or uncertain fashionably&lt;br /&gt;
fickle standard of &amp;quot;good society,&amp;quot; which each one&lt;br /&gt;
makes or takes for himself; but it results only in a&lt;br /&gt;
chronic contest between imitation and affectation.&lt;br /&gt;
Concentred conceit is, so far, the sole criterion&lt;br /&gt;
of linguistic culture. Even in the &amp;quot;highest circles&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
of our land the abuses of the r and the h are&lt;br /&gt;
outrageous.&lt;br /&gt;
7. Any genuine hatred towards this country was,&lt;br /&gt;
and is, due to several fluctuating causes, such as&lt;br /&gt;
international jealousy, which is somewhat flattering&lt;br /&gt;
to our national vanity; ignorance, which we all&lt;br /&gt;
share from lack of intercommunication; a just&lt;br /&gt;
resentment felt at the contempt which the average&lt;br /&gt;
Briton so often manifests, even unconsciously,&lt;br /&gt;
towards other nationalities; and, too often, a re-&lt;br /&gt;
gretable inheritance of the hate of our Irish&lt;br /&gt;
brethren transplanted to American soil.&lt;br /&gt;
8. Self-consciousness in the cultured American&lt;br /&gt;
is not, it seems to me, a wholly satisfactory reason&lt;br /&gt;
for his superior refinement; but still, the social&lt;br /&gt;
absence of demarcated classes may make the&lt;br /&gt;
better-class American more careful to act up to his&lt;br /&gt;
assumed or inherited position, or noblesse oblige.&lt;br /&gt;
Phinlay Glenelg.&lt;br /&gt;
VI.&lt;br /&gt;
Who is the Author?&lt;br /&gt;
21 st November, 1890.&lt;br /&gt;
In reply to query by &amp;quot;H. G. Keene,&amp;quot; on p.&lt;br /&gt;
194 of the Author, I give below the sonnet by&lt;br /&gt;
Tennyson, of which he is desirous to learn the&lt;br /&gt;
tenth and eleventh lines. As the poem differs&lt;br /&gt;
considerably from the version given by the querist,&lt;br /&gt;
I have concluded that I had better transcribe ihe&lt;br /&gt;
whole fourteen lines. This sonnet appeared&lt;br /&gt;
in an edition of Tennyson&amp;#039;s poems in 1833, and&lt;br /&gt;
has not since been reprinted in any save pirated&lt;br /&gt;
editions of the poet&amp;#039;s works.&lt;br /&gt;
Ramsay Colles.&lt;br /&gt;
Sonnet.&lt;br /&gt;
Written on hearing of the outbreak of the Polish Insurrection.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Blow ye the trumpet; gather from afar,&lt;br /&gt;
The hosts to battle: be not bought and sold.&lt;br /&gt;
Arise, brave Poles, the boldest of the bold;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 221 (#265) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
22 r&lt;br /&gt;
Break through your iron shackles&mdash;fling them far.&lt;br /&gt;
O for those days of Piast, ere the Czar&lt;br /&gt;
Grew to his strength among his deserts cold;&lt;br /&gt;
When even to Moscow&amp;#039;s cupolas were rolled&lt;br /&gt;
The growing murmurs of the Polish war!&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Now must your noble anger blaze out more&lt;br /&gt;
Than when from Sobieski, clan by clan,&lt;br /&gt;
The Moslem myriads fell, and fled before&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
Than when Zamoysky smote the Tartar Khan;&lt;br /&gt;
Than earlier, when on the Baltic shore&lt;br /&gt;
Boleslas drove the Pomeranian.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
[The word that you printed (Zmole?) in line nine&lt;br /&gt;
should have been &amp;quot;smote.&amp;quot; One sees reasons of&lt;br /&gt;
technique which explain to us the reason why our&lt;br /&gt;
noble President should have dropped his sonnet&lt;br /&gt;
out of his works; but I think there is fire in it,&lt;br /&gt;
and a genuine sincerity of expression.]&lt;br /&gt;
H. G. K.&lt;br /&gt;
[Several correspondents, including Mr. Ramsay&lt;br /&gt;
Colles, have replied giving the sonnet as above.&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
Ed.]&lt;br /&gt;
VII.&lt;br /&gt;
Query.&lt;br /&gt;
Who wrote the following?&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I never yet could see that face&lt;br /&gt;
Which had no dart for me:&lt;br /&gt;
From fifteen years to fifty&amp;#039;s space,&lt;br /&gt;
They all victorious be.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
VIII.&lt;br /&gt;
A case has been submitted for consideration.&lt;br /&gt;
It illustrates very well the maxim&mdash;a well-known&lt;br /&gt;
trading maxim&mdash;that there is no friendship in&lt;br /&gt;
business.&lt;br /&gt;
The author gave a MS. to certain publishers,&lt;br /&gt;
personal friends of her own. They undertook to&lt;br /&gt;
publish the work, saying that they would give half&lt;br /&gt;
profits after 1,000 copies were sold. This nobly&lt;br /&gt;
generous offer was not put into writing. Hitherto&lt;br /&gt;
the author has had no accounts and no profits.&lt;br /&gt;
Asks what he should do, and whether the copyright&lt;br /&gt;
remains with him or is lost.&lt;br /&gt;
Our experience in previous cases of this descrip-&lt;br /&gt;
tion is that there never are any profits. There&lt;br /&gt;
never are any accounts. And the cost of produc-&lt;br /&gt;
tion has been so great as to swallow everything,&lt;br /&gt;
leaving the poor publishers with a heavy loss.&lt;br /&gt;
The sensible procedure would be to demand an&lt;br /&gt;
account and to sink, for the time being, the&lt;br /&gt;
personal friendship. When the accounts are forth-&lt;br /&gt;
coming, further advice should be taken.&lt;br /&gt;
NEW BOOKS AND NEW EDITIONS.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Albert of E*bach.&amp;quot; Translated from the German by&lt;br /&gt;
H.R.H. Bea&amp;#039;rice, Princess Henry of Batlenburg.&lt;br /&gt;
Allen, Grant. The Great Taboo.&lt;br /&gt;
Ali.inoham, Edward. New and Original Poems.&lt;br /&gt;
Arnold, Sir Edwin. Light of Asia. Elisions edition.&lt;br /&gt;
Artemus Ward&amp;#039;s Works.&lt;br /&gt;
Austin, A. Tower of Babel: A Celestial Love Drama.&lt;br /&gt;
Beddoes, Thomas Lovell. Complete Works. Edited&lt;br /&gt;
by Edmund Gosse. 2 vols. Dent and Co. los. 6J.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Blackwood&amp;#039;s Tales.&amp;quot; Third series.&lt;br /&gt;
Boisgobev, F. DU. An Ocean Knight.&lt;br /&gt;
Child, Theodore. Young People and Old Pictures.&lt;br /&gt;
Coleridge, S. T. Political Works.&lt;br /&gt;
Crawfurd, Oswald, C.M.G. Round the Calendar in&lt;br /&gt;
Portugal.&lt;br /&gt;
Dean Stanley. Sermons, &amp;amp;c.&lt;br /&gt;
D &amp;gt;nsoN, Austin. Four French Women.&lt;br /&gt;
Fitzgerald, Percy, F.S.A. Music-hall Land.&lt;br /&gt;
Froude, J. A. Earl of Beaconsfield.&lt;br /&gt;
Gilbert, W. S. Songs of a Savoyard.&lt;br /&gt;
Gladstone, Rt. Hon. W. E. The Impregnable Rock of&lt;br /&gt;
Holy Scripture.&lt;br /&gt;
Goodchild, J. A., M.D. My Friends at St. Ampelio.&lt;br /&gt;
Gosse, Edmund. Life of Philip Henry Gosse, F.R.S&lt;br /&gt;
Kegan Paul, Trench and Co. I$s.&lt;br /&gt;
Gould, Baring. In Troubadour Land.&lt;br /&gt;
Gunter, A. C. Miss Nobody.&lt;br /&gt;
Haggard (Rider) and Lang (A). The World&amp;#039;s Desire.&lt;br /&gt;
Hetherington (H. F.) and Burton (Rev. H. D.). Paul&lt;br /&gt;
Nugent, Materialist. New edition.&lt;br /&gt;
Ingelow, Jean. Very Young, and Quite Another Story.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Ion &amp;quot; (Euripides). Translated by Dr. Verrall.&lt;br /&gt;
Jekferies, Richard. Bevis: The Story of a Boy.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Journal of Sir Walter Scott.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Lady Baker&amp;#039;s Letters.&lt;br /&gt;
Morris, Lewis. A Vision of Saints.&lt;br /&gt;
Morris, William. The Earthly Paradise. New edition.&lt;br /&gt;
Nisret, Hume. Bail-up: A Romance.&lt;br /&gt;
Norris, W. E. Miss Shafto.&lt;br /&gt;
Pollock, Sir Frederick. Oxford Lectures, and other&lt;br /&gt;
Discourses.&lt;br /&gt;
Pollock, W. H. Old and New.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Red Fairy Book.&amp;quot; Edited by Andrew Lang.&lt;br /&gt;
Rossetti, D. G. Poems.&lt;br /&gt;
Serao, Matildf. Fantasy: A Novel. Translated h) If.&lt;br /&gt;
Harland (Sidney Luska). Heinemann&amp;#039;s Internntion.il&lt;br /&gt;
Library. Edited by Edmund Gosse. Vol. V. W.&lt;br /&gt;
Heinemann. y. 6J.&lt;br /&gt;
Smalley, G. W. London Letters.&lt;br /&gt;
Steps&amp;#039;I ak. Career of a Nihilist.&lt;br /&gt;
T. de Quincey&amp;#039;s Works.&lt;br /&gt;
Tolstoi, Count. Work while ye have the Light.&lt;br /&gt;
Troup, J. Rose. With Stanley&amp;#039;s Rear Column.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 222 (#266) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
222&lt;br /&gt;
ADVERTISEMENTS.&lt;br /&gt;
TYPE-WRITING. I MISS ETHEL DICKENS,&lt;br /&gt;
AUTHORS&amp;#039; MSS. CAREFULLY TRANSCRIBED,&lt;br /&gt;
TYPE-WRITING OFFICE,&lt;br /&gt;
26, WELLINGTON STREET, STRAND&lt;br /&gt;
Writings by Post receive prompt attention.&lt;br /&gt;
(Over the Office of &amp;quot; All the l&amp;#039;ear Round&amp;quot;).&lt;br /&gt;
SCIENTIFIC &amp;amp; MEDICAL PAPERS A SPECIALITY.&lt;br /&gt;
MSS. copied. Price List on application.&lt;br /&gt;
MRS. GILL,&lt;br /&gt;
MISSES ERWIN,&lt;br /&gt;
TYPE-WRITING OFFICE,&lt;br /&gt;
13, DORSET STREET, PORTMAN SQUARE, W. ST. PAUL&amp;#039;S CHAMBERS, 19, LUDGATE HILL, E.C.&lt;br /&gt;
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Authors&amp;#039; MSS. carefully copied from&lt;br /&gt;
1/- per 1,000 words. One additional copy&lt;br /&gt;
(carbon) supplied free of charge.&lt;br /&gt;
References kindly permitted to many&lt;br /&gt;
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Further particulars on application.&lt;br /&gt;
TYPE-WRITING OFFICES,&lt;br /&gt;
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Dr. ANDREW WILSON, F.R.S.E.&lt;br /&gt;
Now is the time to subscribe.&lt;br /&gt;
A New Vol. commenced&lt;br /&gt;
4th April, 1890.&lt;br /&gt;
Send&lt;br /&gt;
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STOCKS, SHARES, and ANNUITIES purchased and sold.&lt;br /&gt;
SAVINGS DEPARTMENT.&lt;br /&gt;
For the encouragement of Thrift the Bank receives small sums on deposit, and allows Interest, at the rate of THREE&lt;br /&gt;
per CENT. per Annum, on each completed &pound;1. Accounts are balanced and Interest added on the 31st March annually.&lt;br /&gt;
FRANCIS RAVENSCROFT, Manager.&lt;br /&gt;
HOW TO PURCHASE A HOUSE FOR TWO GUINEAS PER MONTH, OR&lt;br /&gt;
A PLOT OF LAND FOR FIVE SHILLINGS PER MONTH, with immediate&lt;br /&gt;
possession. Apply at Office of the BIRKBECK FREEHOLD Land Society.&lt;br /&gt;
THE BIRKBECK ALMANACK, with full particulars, post free on application.&lt;br /&gt;
FRANCIS RAVENSCROFT, Mana er.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 222 (#267) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
AD VER TISEMENTS.&lt;br /&gt;
iii.&lt;br /&gt;
THE BAR-LOCK TYPE-WRITER saves the eyesight.&lt;br /&gt;
THE BAR-LOCK TYPE-WRITER prevents writer&amp;#039;s cramp.&lt;br /&gt;
THE BAR-LOCK TYPE-WRITER prevents round shoulders.&lt;br /&gt;
THE BAR-LOCK TYPE-WRITER enables you to keep pace with your&lt;br /&gt;
thoughts, the operation requires less mental effort than the use of&lt;br /&gt;
a pen, allowing yon to concentrate your mind more fully on the&lt;br /&gt;
matter you are writing on.&lt;br /&gt;
The writing of the BAR-LOCK TYPE-WRITER is equal to a printed&lt;br /&gt;
proof, and can be used as such for corrections, thus saving large printer&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
charges which are sufficient in many books to defray the cost of a Bar-Lock.&lt;br /&gt;
Supplied for Cash, or on Our Easy Payment System by Twelve Monthly Payments&lt;br /&gt;
of &pound;1 19s., or on Hire at &pound;2 2s. per Month.&lt;br /&gt;
CORRESPONDENCE AND INSPECTION INVITED.&lt;br /&gt;
THE TYPE-WRITER COMPANY, Limited,&lt;br /&gt;
12 &amp;amp; 14, QUEEN VICTORIA STREET, E.C.&lt;br /&gt;
40, North John Street, Liverpool; 22, Renfield Street, Glasgow; 25, Market Street,&lt;br /&gt;
Manchester; Exchange Building, Cardiff; 385, Little Collins Street, Melbourne.&lt;br /&gt;
Type-Writing Taught by Experts. Author&amp;#039;s MSS. Copied at is. $d. per 1,000 Words at all Our Offices.&lt;br /&gt;
PUBLICATIONS OF THE SOCIETY.&lt;br /&gt;
1. The Annual Report. That for January, 1890, can be had on application to the Secretary.&lt;br /&gt;
2. The Author. A Monthly Journal devoted especially to the protection and maintenance of&lt;br /&gt;
Literary Property. Issued to all members.&lt;br /&gt;
3. The Grievances of Authors. (Field &amp;amp; Tuer.} is. The Report of three Meetings on the&lt;br /&gt;
general subject of Literature and its defence, held at Willis&amp;#039;s Rooms, March, 1887.&lt;br /&gt;
4. Literature and the Pension List. By W. Morris Colles, Barrister-at-Law. (Henry&lt;br /&gt;
Glaisher, 95, Strand, W.C.) 3s.&lt;br /&gt;
5. The History of the Soctete&amp;quot; des Gens de Lettres. By S. Squire Sprigge, Secretary to the&lt;br /&gt;
Society, is.&lt;br /&gt;
6. The Cost of Production. In this work specimens are given of the most important forms ot&lt;br /&gt;
type, size of page, &amp;amp;c, with estimates showing what it costs to produce the more common kinds&lt;br /&gt;
of books. The work is printed for members of the Society only. 2s. 6d. (A new Edition&lt;br /&gt;
preparing.)&lt;br /&gt;
7. The Various Methods of Publication. By S. Squire Sprigge. In this work, compiled&lt;br /&gt;
from the papers in the Society&amp;#039;s offices, the various kinds of agreements proposed by Publishers&lt;br /&gt;
to Authors are examined, and their meaning carefully explained, with an account of the various&lt;br /&gt;
kinds of fraud which have been made possible by the different clauses in their agreements.&lt;br /&gt;
Price 3-r. (A new Edition in the Press.)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Other works bearing on tlte Literary Profession will follow.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 222 (#268) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
iv.&lt;br /&gt;
. ADVERTISEMENTS.&lt;br /&gt;
NEW MODEL REMINGTON&lt;br /&gt;
STANDARD TYPEWRITER.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
WA&lt;br /&gt;
He&lt;br /&gt;
SNO&lt;br /&gt;
IL&lt;br /&gt;
For Fifteen Years the Standard,&lt;br /&gt;
and to-day the most perfect&lt;br /&gt;
development of the writing&lt;br /&gt;
machine, embodying the latest&lt;br /&gt;
and highest achievements of&lt;br /&gt;
inventive and mechanical skill.&lt;br /&gt;
We add to the Remington every&lt;br /&gt;
improvement that study and&lt;br /&gt;
capital can secure.&lt;br /&gt;
AED&lt;br /&gt;
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VIS&lt;br /&gt;
.&lt;br /&gt;
INT&lt;br /&gt;
TON STANDARD TYPEWRITERNO&lt;br /&gt;
WYCKOFF, SEAMANS &amp;amp; BENEDICT,&lt;br /&gt;
Principal Office-&lt;br /&gt;
LONDON: 100, GRACECHURCH STREET, E.C.&lt;br /&gt;
(CORNER OF LEADENHALL STREET).&lt;br /&gt;
Branch Offices-&lt;br /&gt;
LIVERPOOL: CENTRAL BUILDINGS, NORTH JOHN STREET.&lt;br /&gt;
BIRMINGHAM : 88, COLMORE ROW.&lt;br /&gt;
MANCHESTER : 8, MOULT STREET.&lt;br /&gt;
Printed for the Society, by HARRISON &amp;amp; SONS, 45, 46, and 47, St. Martin&amp;#039;s Lane, in the Parish of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, in the City&lt;br /&gt;
of Westminster.</td><td>https://historysoa.com/files/original/5/246/1890-12-15-The-Author-1-8.pdf</td><td>publications, The Author</td></tr><tr><td>247</td><td>https://historysoa.com/items/show/247</td><td>The Author, Vol. 01 Issue 09 (January 1891)</td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=%3Cem%3EThe+Author%3C%2Fem%3E%2C+Vol.+01+Issue+09+%28January+1891%29&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;The Author&lt;/em&gt;, Vol. 01 Issue 09 (January 1891)&lt;/a&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015031017927&amp;amp;view=1up&amp;amp;seq=20&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; rel=&quot;noopener&quot;&gt;https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015031017927&lt;/a&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Publication&quot;&gt;Publication&lt;/a&gt;</td><td>1891-01-15-The-Author-1-9</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>223&ndash;250</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=89&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1&quot;&gt;1&lt;/a&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=76&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1891-01-15&quot;&gt;1891-01-15&lt;/a&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>9</td><td></td><td></td><td>18910115</td><td>Vol. I.&ndash;No. 9]&lt;br /&gt;
-&lt;br /&gt;
JANUARY 15, 1891.&lt;br /&gt;
[Price, Sixpence.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The Author.&lt;br /&gt;
THE ORGAN OF THE SOCIETY OF AUTHORS&lt;br /&gt;
(INCORPORATED).&lt;br /&gt;
CONDUCTED BY&lt;br /&gt;
WALTER BESANT.&lt;br /&gt;
Qublished for the Society by&lt;br /&gt;
ALEXANDER P. WATT, 2, PATERNOSTER SQUARE,&lt;br /&gt;
LONDON, E.C.&lt;br /&gt;
1891.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 222 (#270) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
ii. ADVERTISEMENTS.&lt;br /&gt;
Messrs. METHTJEN&amp;#039;S NEW BOOKS.&lt;br /&gt;
By S. BARING GOULD.&lt;br /&gt;
URITH : A Story of Dartmoor. By S. Baring Goui.d,&lt;br /&gt;
Author of &amp;quot; Mchalah,&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Arminell,&amp;quot; &amp;amp;c. 3 vols. \Xearly Ready.&lt;br /&gt;
By HANNAH LYNCH.&lt;br /&gt;
PRINCE OF THE GLADES. By Hannah Lynch.&lt;br /&gt;
2 vols. [Ifmrfy Ready.&lt;br /&gt;
By W. CLARK RUSSELL.&lt;br /&gt;
A MARRIAGE AT SEA. By W. Clark Russell,&lt;br /&gt;
Author of **&amp;#039;l&amp;#039;hc Wreck of the Grosvenor,&amp;quot; &amp;amp;c. 2 vols.&lt;br /&gt;
[Nearly Ready.&lt;br /&gt;
THE LIFE OF ADMIRAL LORD COLLINGWOOD.&lt;br /&gt;
By W. Clark Russell, Author of &amp;quot;The Wreck of ihe Grosvenor.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
With Illustrations by K. Brangwyn. 8vo. [Nearly Heady.&lt;br /&gt;
By W. H. POLLOCK.&lt;br /&gt;
FERDINAND&amp;#039;S DEVICE. By Walticr Hkrriks&lt;br /&gt;
Pollock. Post 8vo. is. {February.&lt;br /&gt;
By R. PRYCE.&lt;br /&gt;
THE QUIET MRS. FLEMING. By Richard Pryce.&lt;br /&gt;
Crown 8v0. 3*. 6d. [February.&lt;br /&gt;
By J. B. BURNE, M.A.&lt;br /&gt;
PARSON AND PEASANT: Chapters of their Natural&lt;br /&gt;
History. By J. B. Bl rne, M.A., Rector of Wasing. Crown 8vo.&lt;br /&gt;
$s. [Ready,&lt;br /&gt;
By E. LYNN LINTON.&lt;br /&gt;
THE TRUE HISTORY OF JOSHUA DAVIDSON,&lt;br /&gt;
Christian and Communist. By E. Lynn Linton. Tenth and&lt;br /&gt;
Cheaper Edition. Post Svo. is. [Ready.&lt;br /&gt;
Works by S. BARING GOULD,&lt;br /&gt;
Author of 11 Mchalah&amp;quot; &amp;amp;c.&lt;br /&gt;
OLD COUNTRY LIFE. By S. Baring Gould. With&lt;br /&gt;
Sixty&mdash;even Illustrations by W. Parkinson, F. D. Bkoi okd, and&lt;br /&gt;
P. Masey. I-arge Crown 8vo, cloth super extra, top edge gilt,&lt;br /&gt;
tcu. 6d. Second Edition.&lt;br /&gt;
l* Old Country Life, as healthy wholesome reading, full of breezy&lt;br /&gt;
life and movement, full of quaint stories vigorously told, will not be&lt;br /&gt;
excelled by any book to be published throughout the year. Sound,&lt;br /&gt;
hearty, and Englt*.h to the core.&amp;quot;&mdash; World.&lt;br /&gt;
HISTORIC ODDITIES AND STRANGE EVENTS.&lt;br /&gt;
By S. Baking Gould. First Series. Demy 8vo, 10s. 6&amp;lt;/.&lt;br /&gt;
Seeond Edition.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;A collection of exciting and entertaining chapters. The whole&lt;br /&gt;
volume is delightful reading.&amp;quot;&mdash; Times.&lt;br /&gt;
SECOND SERIES.&lt;br /&gt;
HISTORIC ODDITIES AND STRANGE EVENTS.&lt;br /&gt;
Second Series. By S. Baking Gould, Author of &amp;quot; Mehalah.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Demy 8vo. 10s. 6d. [Ready.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;A fascinating book.&amp;quot;&mdash;Leeds Mercury.&lt;br /&gt;
SONGS OF THE WEST: Traditional Ballads and Songs&lt;br /&gt;
of the West of England, with their Traditional Melodies. Collected&lt;br /&gt;
by S. Baring Gould, M.A., and H. Fleetwood Shki&amp;#039;i aru, M.A.&lt;br /&gt;
Arranged for Voice and Piano. In 4 Parts (containing 25 Songs&lt;br /&gt;
each), 3*. each nett. Part /., Third Edition. Part //., Second&lt;br /&gt;
Edition. Part ///., ready. Pari IV., in preparation.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;A rich and varied collection of humour, pathos, grace, and poetic&lt;br /&gt;
fancy.&amp;quot;&mdash;Saturday Review.&lt;br /&gt;
YORKSHIRE ODDITIES AND STRANGE EVENTS.&lt;br /&gt;
By S. Baring Gould. New and Cheaper Edition. Crown 8vo, 6s.&lt;br /&gt;
[Noio Ready.&lt;br /&gt;
TWO BOOKS FOR BOYS. Cr. Svo. $s.&lt;br /&gt;
MASTER ROCKAFELLAR&amp;#039;S VOYAGE. By W.&lt;br /&gt;
Clark Russki.i., Author of &amp;quot;The Wreck of the Grosvenor,&amp;quot; &amp;amp;c.&lt;br /&gt;
Illustrated by Gordon Browne.&lt;br /&gt;
SVD BELTON ; or, The Boy who would not go to Sea.&lt;br /&gt;
fly G. Manville Fenn, Author of &amp;quot;In the King&amp;#039;s Name,&amp;quot; &amp;amp;c.&lt;br /&gt;
Illustrated by Gordon Browne.&lt;br /&gt;
TWO BOOKS FOR GIRLS. Cr. Svo. 3s. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
DUMPS. By Mrs. Tarr, Author of &amp;quot;Adam and Eve,&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Dorothy Fox,&amp;quot; &amp;amp;c. Illustrated by W. Parkinson.&lt;br /&gt;
A GIRL OF THE PEOPLE. By L. T. Meade, Author&lt;br /&gt;
of &amp;quot;Scamp and I,&amp;quot; &amp;amp;c. Illustrated by R. Barnes.&lt;br /&gt;
METHUEN&amp;#039;S NOYEL SERIES.&lt;br /&gt;
Three Shillings and Sixpence.&lt;br /&gt;
Messrs. METHUEN will issue from time to time a Series&lt;br /&gt;
of copyright Novels, by well-known Authors, handsomely&lt;br /&gt;
bound, at the above popular price. The first volumes (now&lt;br /&gt;
ready) are:&lt;br /&gt;
F. MABEL ROBINSON.&lt;br /&gt;
1. THE PLAN OF CAMPAIGN.&lt;br /&gt;
S. BARING GOULD. Author of &amp;quot; Mehalah;&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
2. JACQUETTA.&lt;br /&gt;
Mrs. LEITH ADAMS (mrs. de courcy i.aifan).&lt;br /&gt;
3. MY LAND OF BEULAH.&lt;br /&gt;
G. MANVILLE FENN.&lt;br /&gt;
4. ELI&amp;#039;S CHILDREN.&lt;br /&gt;
S. BARING GOULD. Auihor of &amp;quot;Mchalah,&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
5. ARMINELL : A Social Romance.&lt;br /&gt;
EDNA LYALL. Author of &amp;quot; Donovan,&amp;quot; &amp;amp;*c.&lt;br /&gt;
6. DERRICK VAUGHAN, NOVELIST.&lt;br /&gt;
With portrait of Author.&lt;br /&gt;
F. MABEL ROBINSON.&lt;br /&gt;
7. DISENCHANTMENT.&lt;br /&gt;
Other Volumes will be announced in due course.&lt;br /&gt;
j&pound;noltsb Xcaoevs of IReligion.&lt;br /&gt;
Edited by A. M. M. STEDMAN, M.A.&lt;br /&gt;
Crown 8vo. 2s. od.&lt;br /&gt;
A series of short biographies, five from party bias, of the&lt;br /&gt;
most prominent leaders of religious life and thought in this&lt;br /&gt;
and the last century.&lt;br /&gt;
CARDINAL NEWMAN. R. //. Huttott. [Ready.&lt;br /&gt;
! JOHN WESLEY. /. H. Overton. [Nearly Ready.&lt;br /&gt;
UNIVERSITY EXTENSION SERIES.&lt;br /&gt;
Crown 8vo. 2s. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
Under the above title Messrs. METHUEK have commenced&lt;br /&gt;
the publication of a series of books on historical, literary,&lt;br /&gt;
and economic subjects, suitable for extension students and&lt;br /&gt;
home-reading circles.&lt;br /&gt;
THE INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND. By&lt;br /&gt;
H. de B. GntniNS, M.A., late Scholar of Wadham College, Oson.,&lt;br /&gt;
Cobden Prizeman. With Maps and Plans. [Ready-&lt;br /&gt;
A HISTORY OF ENGLISH POLITICAL ECONOMY.&lt;br /&gt;
By L. L. Price, M.A., Fellow of Oriel College, Oxon., Extension&lt;br /&gt;
Lecturer in Political Economy. [A&amp;#039;ear/y Ready.&lt;br /&gt;
VICTORIAN POETS. By A. Sharp. [Nearly RcaJv.&lt;br /&gt;
PROBLEMS OF POVERTY: An Inquiry into the&lt;br /&gt;
Industrial Conditions of the Poor. By J. A. Hoiisotf, M.A., late&lt;br /&gt;
Scholar of Lincoln College, Oxon., U. E. Lecturer in Economics.&lt;br /&gt;
\Ncarty Ready.&lt;br /&gt;
THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. By J. E. Symbs, M.A.,&lt;br /&gt;
Principal of University College, Nottingham. \Ktarly Ready.&lt;br /&gt;
SOCIAL QUESTIONS OF TQ-DAY.&lt;br /&gt;
A series of volumes upon the most important topics of social,&lt;br /&gt;
economic, and industrial interest&mdash;written by the highest&lt;br /&gt;
authorities on the various subjects. The first two volumes&lt;br /&gt;
will be&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
TRADES UNIONISM-New and Old. By G. Howell,&lt;br /&gt;
M.P. XFebruary.&lt;br /&gt;
POVERTY AND PAUPERISM. By Rer. L. R. Phelps,&lt;br /&gt;
M.A., Fellow of Oriel College, Oxon. {March-&lt;br /&gt;
METHUEN &amp;amp; Co., 18, Bury Street, W.C.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 223 (#271) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
(The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly?)&lt;br /&gt;
CONDUCTED BY WALTER BESANT.&lt;br /&gt;
Vol. I.&mdash;No. 9.]&lt;br /&gt;
JANUARY 15, 1891.&lt;br /&gt;
[Price Sixpence.&lt;br /&gt;
CONTENT S;&lt;br /&gt;
PAGE&lt;br /&gt;
PACK&lt;br /&gt;
Conditions of Membership&lt;br /&gt;
223&lt;br /&gt;
Balzac and his English Critics&lt;br /&gt;
24&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Warnings&lt;br /&gt;
223&lt;br /&gt;
Tarstow, Denver &amp;amp; Co., Limited&lt;br /&gt;
&raquo;43&lt;br /&gt;
News and Notes&lt;br /&gt;
224&lt;br /&gt;
Ah English Academy&lt;br /&gt;
244&lt;br /&gt;
International Copyright&lt;br /&gt;
■ &raquo;9&lt;br /&gt;
The Exchange of Books&lt;br /&gt;
&bull; &bull; 245&lt;br /&gt;
The American Copyright Act&lt;br /&gt;
333&lt;br /&gt;
In Grub Street&lt;br /&gt;
=45&lt;br /&gt;
A Proprietor-Editor&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;35&lt;br /&gt;
Cases&lt;br /&gt;
*&raquo;7&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The Kinds of Criticism&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
■&bull; &amp;quot;38&lt;br /&gt;
New Books and New Editions :..&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;#039;48&lt;br /&gt;
On some Parallel Passages&lt;br /&gt;
240&lt;br /&gt;
Advertisements ...&lt;br /&gt;
250&lt;br /&gt;
CONDITIONS OF MEMBERSHIP.&lt;br /&gt;
WARNINGS;&lt;br /&gt;
The Subscription is One Guinea anriually, payable on the&lt;br /&gt;
1st of January of each year. The sum of Ten Guineas for&lt;br /&gt;
life membership entitles the subscriber to full membership of&lt;br /&gt;
the Society.&lt;br /&gt;
Authors of published works alone are eligible for member-&lt;br /&gt;
ship.&lt;br /&gt;
Those who desire to assist the Society but are not authors&lt;br /&gt;
are admitted as Associates, on the same subscription; but&lt;br /&gt;
have no voice in the government of the Society.&lt;br /&gt;
Cheques and Postal Oiders should be crossed &amp;quot;The Im-&lt;br /&gt;
perial Bank, Limited, Westminster Branch.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Those who Wish to be proposed as members may serlH&lt;br /&gt;
their names at any time to the Secretary at the Society&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
Offices, when they will receive a form for the enumeration&lt;br /&gt;
of their works. Subscriptions entered after the 1st of&lt;br /&gt;
Oc&amp;#039;ober will cover the next year.&lt;br /&gt;
The Secretary may be personally consulted between the&lt;br /&gt;
hours of I p.m. and 5. except on Saturdays. It is preferable&lt;br /&gt;
that an appointment should be made by letter.&lt;br /&gt;
The Author, the Organ of the Society, can be procured&lt;br /&gt;
through all newsagents, or from the publisher, A. P. Walt,&lt;br /&gt;
2, Paternoster Square, E.C.&lt;br /&gt;
A copy will l)c sent free to any member of the Society fo.r&lt;br /&gt;
one twelvemonth, dating from May, 1889. It is hoped,&lt;br /&gt;
however, that most members will subscribe to the paper.&lt;br /&gt;
The yearly subscription is 6s. 6it., including postage, which&lt;br /&gt;
may be sent to the Secretory, 4, Portugal Street, W.C.&lt;br /&gt;
With regard to the reading of MSS. for young writers,&lt;br /&gt;
the fee for this service is one guinea. MSS. will be read&lt;br /&gt;
and reported upon for others than members, but members&lt;br /&gt;
cannot have their works read for nothing.&lt;br /&gt;
In all cases where an opinion is desired upon a manuscript,&lt;br /&gt;
the author should send with it a table of contents. A type-&lt;br /&gt;
written scenario is also of very great assistance.&lt;br /&gt;
It must be understood that such a reader&amp;#039;s report, however&lt;br /&gt;
favourable, does not assist the author towards publication.&lt;br /&gt;
VOL. I.&lt;br /&gt;
Readers of the Author are earnestly desired to make the&lt;br /&gt;
following warnings as widely known as possible. They are&lt;br /&gt;
based on the experience of six years&amp;#039; work upon the dangers&lt;br /&gt;
to which literary property is exposed :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
(1) Never to sign any agreement of which the alleged cost&lt;br /&gt;
of production forms an integral part, unless an&lt;br /&gt;
opportuniiy of proving the correctness of the figures&lt;br /&gt;
is given them.&lt;br /&gt;
(2) Never to enter into any correspondence with publishers,&lt;br /&gt;
especially wiih advertising publishers, who are not&lt;br /&gt;
recommended by experienced friends, or by this&lt;br /&gt;
Society.&lt;br /&gt;
(3) Never; on any account whatever, to bind themselves&lt;br /&gt;
down for future work to any one firm of publishers.&lt;br /&gt;
(4) Never to accept any proposal of royalty without con-&lt;br /&gt;
sultation with the Socie&amp;#039;y, or, at least, ascertaining&lt;br /&gt;
exactly what the agreement gives to the author and&lt;br /&gt;
what to ihe publisher.&lt;br /&gt;
(5) Never to accept any offer of money for MSS., with-&lt;br /&gt;
out previously taking advice of the Society.&lt;br /&gt;
(6) Never to accept any pecuniary risk or responsibility&lt;br /&gt;
without advice.&lt;br /&gt;
(7) Never, when a MS. has been refused by respectable&lt;br /&gt;
houses, to pay others, whatever promises they may&lt;br /&gt;
put forward, for the production of the work.&lt;br /&gt;
(8) Never to sign away American or foreign rights.&lt;br /&gt;
Keep them. Refuse to sign an agreement containing&lt;br /&gt;
a clause which reserves them for the publisher. If&lt;br /&gt;
the publisher insists, take away the MS. and offer it&lt;br /&gt;
to another.&lt;br /&gt;
(9) Never forget that publishing is a business, like any-&lt;br /&gt;
other business, totally unconnected with philanthropy,&lt;br /&gt;
charity, or pure love of literature. You have to do&lt;br /&gt;
with business men.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 224 (#272) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
224&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
NEWS AND NOTES.&lt;br /&gt;
THE New York Nation, speaking of the Copy-&lt;br /&gt;
right Bill, remarks on the curious ideas&lt;br /&gt;
which have been shown to prevail as to&lt;br /&gt;
literary property. &amp;quot;They are ideas which one&lt;br /&gt;
naturally expects to meet with among those who&lt;br /&gt;
have never known anybody who possessed literary&lt;br /&gt;
property, or made any money out of it. The notion&lt;br /&gt;
that there can be property in the expression of&lt;br /&gt;
ideas, has owed its acceptance in every country to&lt;br /&gt;
familiarity with the spectacle of authors receiving&lt;br /&gt;
money from publishers.&amp;quot; Exactly the same ignor-&lt;br /&gt;
ance has long prevailed in this country. People&lt;br /&gt;
understand property in a book: but property in&lt;br /&gt;
what makes a book, the soul of the book, they&lt;br /&gt;
cannot understand. Nor, too often, can he who&lt;br /&gt;
infused that soul into paper and press understand&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
it. There are many, very many, still who are&lt;br /&gt;
willing to take whatever is offered, in absolute&lt;br /&gt;
disregard of what the honest merchant who buys&lt;br /&gt;
it is going to make out of it. The spectacle which&lt;br /&gt;
we desire to present to the world is not that of&lt;br /&gt;
authors &amp;quot; receiving money,&amp;quot; like a dole, and greedily&lt;br /&gt;
stipulating and sticking out for more, but that of&lt;br /&gt;
authors negotiating, on business principles, for the&lt;br /&gt;
transfer, or arranging for the management of&lt;br /&gt;
property as real as a mine or an estate.&lt;br /&gt;
The proposed memorial to the late Rev. Henry&lt;br /&gt;
White has met with a ready response. The sum&lt;br /&gt;
of &pound;goo has been collected. A stained glass&lt;br /&gt;
window is to be placed in the Savoy Chapel and&lt;br /&gt;
a mosaic in the Chapel of King&amp;#039;s College, London.&lt;br /&gt;
The rest of the money will be expended in the en-&lt;br /&gt;
dowment of cots in the children&amp;#039;s ward of King&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
College Hospital. The memory of such a man as&lt;br /&gt;
Henry White, who wrote but little, necessarily&lt;br /&gt;
passes away when his friends are dead. It is&lt;br /&gt;
well that something should survive to show that&lt;br /&gt;
there once lived this man whom all men loved.&lt;br /&gt;
I have received a good many letters concerning&lt;br /&gt;
the suggested Authors&amp;#039; Club or Authors&amp;#039; House,&lt;br /&gt;
but I want more, and I keep the question open for&lt;br /&gt;
another month. Meantime will those who have&lt;br /&gt;
as yet expressed no opinion be good enough to let&lt;br /&gt;
me have their views? The case is now fairly&lt;br /&gt;
before us. We understand what such an institution&lt;br /&gt;
may do for the cause of literature, and what may&lt;br /&gt;
be its dangers and difficulties. If either is resolved&lt;br /&gt;
upon there will be wanted a volunteer Committee&lt;br /&gt;
of management or, at least, s&amp;lt; me who are ready&lt;br /&gt;
to do the work of starting the preliminary&lt;br /&gt;
organization. Will those who are willing to help&lt;br /&gt;
in this way send in their names?&lt;br /&gt;
The Spectator offers certain facts of interest to&lt;br /&gt;
some of our readers. They concern the produc-&lt;br /&gt;
tion of Christmas gift-books. Twenty years ago,&lt;br /&gt;
the writer states, that paper noticed eighty volumes&lt;br /&gt;
of the kind, and devoted seven columns to the task.&lt;br /&gt;
Ten years ago a hundred and eight were reviewed&lt;br /&gt;
in thirteen columns. This year there are more&lt;br /&gt;
than a hundred and fifty brought out by fifty pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lishers. In twenty years, therefore, the output of&lt;br /&gt;
gift-books at Christmas has been doubled. The&lt;br /&gt;
population has increased by twenty per cent, in&lt;br /&gt;
the same time, which accounts for some of the in-&lt;br /&gt;
crease. Education, not only of the Board School&lt;br /&gt;
kind, but of the more liberal kind, has been enor-&lt;br /&gt;
mously extended, so that the sons of that class&lt;br /&gt;
which formerly attended wretched private schools&lt;br /&gt;
now go to great schools like St. Paul&amp;#039;s or the City&lt;br /&gt;
of London, where they get as good an education&lt;br /&gt;
as if they were at Harrow or Rugby. And the&lt;br /&gt;
education of girls has widened even more astonish-&lt;br /&gt;
ingly. This accounts for another part of the in-&lt;br /&gt;
crease. The Spectator thinks that the middle-class&lt;br /&gt;
Englishman never buys books except to give away,&lt;br /&gt;
and that the increase in the number of Christmas&lt;br /&gt;
gift-books shows the increase of the custom of giving&lt;br /&gt;
books which are cheap and pretty, and look costly.&lt;br /&gt;
Well, there is something in the theory. But it is not&lt;br /&gt;
completely true. The ordinary professional man&lt;br /&gt;
does not buy books. That is true. Why? Be-&lt;br /&gt;
cause he doesn&amp;#039;t want to read. When he is not at&lt;br /&gt;
work it is after dinner, when he talks or he takes&lt;br /&gt;
his pipe. Very often he works every evening,&lt;br /&gt;
and has no time at all for reading. A doctor&lt;br /&gt;
in practice, for instance, has very little time in-&lt;br /&gt;
deed for reading. But his household have; and&lt;br /&gt;
his boys and girls buy as many books as they can&lt;br /&gt;
afford. In fact, this common belief that books are not&lt;br /&gt;
bought by English people is based on nothing more&lt;br /&gt;
than the two facts that men in active work have&lt;br /&gt;
very little time for reading, and that their means&lt;br /&gt;
are too slender to admit of doing much more than&lt;br /&gt;
subscribe to the library. But, by hook or by&lt;br /&gt;
crook, the younger ones do get books. Look at a&lt;br /&gt;
school-boy&amp;#039;s shelves. And see the people buying&lt;br /&gt;
books at the stalls. I will try to get some statistics,&lt;br /&gt;
if I can, on the people who buy books as a contri-&lt;br /&gt;
bution to social manners.&lt;br /&gt;
The Spectator has likewise in purblind fashion&lt;br /&gt;
begun to teach us what Christmas books ought to&lt;br /&gt;
be. Now Christmas books mean books printed&lt;br /&gt;
and published about Christmas time. Five and&lt;br /&gt;
twenty years ago they meant books or stories con-&lt;br /&gt;
nected, in some way or other, with the Festival of&lt;br /&gt;
Joy and Good Tidings and Gargantuan Feeding.&lt;br /&gt;
That time has gone by. He who writes a tale tq&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 225 (#273) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
225&lt;br /&gt;
be published for Christmas no longer troubles&lt;br /&gt;
himself the least about Yule Tide and the feasting.&lt;br /&gt;
In fact, I think the feasting itself is decreasing&lt;br /&gt;
every year. For my own part I have had a hand&lt;br /&gt;
in about fifteen Christmas stories. They have been&lt;br /&gt;
published in October, and they have no more to do&lt;br /&gt;
with the Feast of Christmas than with the Feast of&lt;br /&gt;
Lanterns. The better the story, the more highly&lt;br /&gt;
finished as a work of art, the better Christmas&lt;br /&gt;
book it makes.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. George Saintsbury&amp;#039;s book, or rather the first&lt;br /&gt;
chapter of it, has been considered in another place.&lt;br /&gt;
Here is a remark somewhat after the comparative&lt;br /&gt;
method which he advocates. He has treated not of&lt;br /&gt;
the greatest men&mdash;Scott, Coleridge, Wordsworth,&lt;br /&gt;
Byron, find no place in his book&mdash;but of those who&lt;br /&gt;
standnextto the greatest. Among them, forinstance,&lt;br /&gt;
are Crabbe, Hogg, Sydney Smith, Hazlitt, Moore,&lt;br /&gt;
Leigh Hunt, Peacock, De Quincey, Praed, Lock-&lt;br /&gt;
hart, and Borrow. These are all very respectable&lt;br /&gt;
names; they stand very nearly in the first line;&lt;br /&gt;
one doubts whether we could now find, taking&lt;br /&gt;
England and America together, a living eleven&lt;br /&gt;
capable of standing up to this dead eleven. Yet,&lt;br /&gt;
though we seem to know so much about them,&lt;br /&gt;
how little do we really know of their work and their&lt;br /&gt;
personality? Who now regardeth Crabbe? who&lt;br /&gt;
readeth Hogg? A few lines from the former,&lt;br /&gt;
a few verses from the latter, are all we know.&lt;br /&gt;
Moore is read no longer. Leigh Hunt is fading&lt;br /&gt;
into oblivion surely and swiftly; De Quincey, for&lt;br /&gt;
a few things that he did, still lives; Praed, for the&lt;br /&gt;
same reason, still lives; Hazlitt no longer lives in&lt;br /&gt;
the common mind; Peacock belongs to the library&lt;br /&gt;
of the student; Borrow has a few lovers here and&lt;br /&gt;
there; Lockhart, save for his Life of Scott&mdash;a large&lt;br /&gt;
saving&mdash;is no more than a name. In fact, the list&lt;br /&gt;
teaches that a very limited immortality is the in-&lt;br /&gt;
evitable lot of all but one or two. He, however,&lt;br /&gt;
who has succeeded in catching the ear of the&lt;br /&gt;
world and pleasing or helping along his own genera-&lt;br /&gt;
tion just for his own life, ought to be contented,&lt;br /&gt;
because he has really achieved a great thing. He&lt;br /&gt;
who, like Praed, succeeds in getting the world to&lt;br /&gt;
put one single poem in that Treasury of Literature,&lt;br /&gt;
which will last so long as the present speech is&lt;br /&gt;
maintained, has accomplished a most wonderful&lt;br /&gt;
feat. He is truly blessed of the gods. But for&lt;br /&gt;
most writers, even of those who seem well to the&lt;br /&gt;
front in their generation, a strictly limited immor-&lt;br /&gt;
tality is their portion. And this we should do&lt;br /&gt;
well to remember.&lt;br /&gt;
The death of M. Octave Feuillet removes one&lt;br /&gt;
of the foremost figures in French literature. I&lt;br /&gt;
VOL. I.&lt;br /&gt;
suppose that everybody has read the &amp;quot;Vicomte de&lt;br /&gt;
Camors&amp;quot; and the &amp;quot;Roman d&amp;#039;un jeune homme&lt;br /&gt;
pauvre.&amp;quot; Not so many have read his &amp;quot;Honneur&lt;br /&gt;
d&amp;#039;artiste,&amp;quot; the &amp;quot;Histoire de Sibylle,&amp;quot; or &amp;quot;La&lt;br /&gt;
Morte.&amp;quot; But there is hardly any artist in fiction&lt;br /&gt;
of whom a young writer could learn more. A&lt;br /&gt;
careful study of his methods should be a liberal&lt;br /&gt;
education in the art. May we venture to recom-&lt;br /&gt;
mend it to some of our young writers?&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;&diams;&lt;br /&gt;
Another death, that of Kinglake, removes a&lt;br /&gt;
veteran of letters. I suppose his &amp;quot; History of the&lt;br /&gt;
Crimean War&amp;quot; is a great work, but I have never&lt;br /&gt;
read it. The reason is that as a lad I suffered,&lt;br /&gt;
. with all the other young men of the time, such&lt;br /&gt;
agonies of impotent rage at the sufferings of our&lt;br /&gt;
soldiers in that terrible Crimean winter, when they&lt;br /&gt;
were mocked with green coffee berries, boots made&lt;br /&gt;
of brown paper, putrid tins of beef, and all the rest&lt;br /&gt;
of it, that I have never ventured to open the book&lt;br /&gt;
or to read over again the dismal and maddening&lt;br /&gt;
story. Kinglake to me was always Eothen King-&lt;br /&gt;
lake.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Louis Stevenson (see Author, November,&lt;br /&gt;
1890, p. 166) furnished good and sufficient reasons&lt;br /&gt;
why one must not too hastily bring charges of&lt;br /&gt;
plagiarism against a novelist. Mr. Hall Caine, in&lt;br /&gt;
a story given in the PallMall Gazette oi December&lt;br /&gt;
22nd, 1890, gives another warning against hasty&lt;br /&gt;
charges of this kind. He tells how, when a boy,&lt;br /&gt;
he saw, sitting in a chamber of an Infirmary, a&lt;br /&gt;
young woman with bandaged eyes waiting for some&lt;br /&gt;
one. She had recently been operated upon for&lt;br /&gt;
cataract; she was ordered to keep on her bandages&lt;br /&gt;
for a fortnight under penalty of permanent blind-&lt;br /&gt;
ness; she was waiting for her child, born before&lt;br /&gt;
the operation, whom she had, therefore, not yet&lt;br /&gt;
seen. Twenty years later, he wrote a novel with&lt;br /&gt;
exactly that situation. But he made the mother&lt;br /&gt;
brave the consequences. In order to see her child&lt;br /&gt;
she tears off the bandage. Now exactly the same&lt;br /&gt;
situation was used by the French novelist, Leon&lt;br /&gt;
Lespes, in a novel written sometime in the thirties&lt;br /&gt;
or the forties. At the first discovery every one&lt;br /&gt;
holds up his hands. Plain plagiarism! Shame!&lt;br /&gt;
Yet with what a plain tale is the resemblance&lt;br /&gt;
proved to be no plagiarism at all!&lt;br /&gt;
This was pure accident. Such a thing might&lt;br /&gt;
happen to anyone who observes a fact and makes&lt;br /&gt;
it into a dramatic situation. Another danger is&lt;br /&gt;
that of using the same materials and authorities as&lt;br /&gt;
another novelist. Suppose, for instance, that two&lt;br /&gt;
s a&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 226 (#274) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
226&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
men were at the same time engaged upon separate&lt;br /&gt;
works, turning on the manners and customs of the&lt;br /&gt;
early sixteenth century. They would both go to&lt;br /&gt;
Erasmus&mdash;they must. Once there were two&lt;br /&gt;
novelists engaged jointly upon a romance of the&lt;br /&gt;
middle of the last century. They agreed upon&lt;br /&gt;
sending their heroine to Tunbridge Wells. It was&lt;br /&gt;
not until they had paid a longish visit to the place,&lt;br /&gt;
and after all the contemporary literature and gossip&lt;br /&gt;
about Tunbridge had been studied, that they&lt;br /&gt;
remembered that Thackeray had already made&lt;br /&gt;
Tunbridge Wells his own. They therefore re-&lt;br /&gt;
treated and found another place, and began&amp;#039; again.&lt;br /&gt;
But suppose it had not beeri Thackeray, but&lt;br /&gt;
another and sbme obscure and unsuccessfiil writer&lt;br /&gt;
who had thus treated of the place&mdash;there would&lt;br /&gt;
have beeri a fine opportunity for a cry of plagiar-&lt;br /&gt;
ism. BecaiiSe, you see, there is only one &amp;quot;crib,&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
or set of cribs, for Tunbridge Wells in 1750, and&lt;br /&gt;
whether it is Thdckeray or Ignotus who wants to&lt;br /&gt;
use that place at that tinie, he must Use that set&lt;br /&gt;
Of cribs and ndrie other.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;AUTHORS.&mdash;Introductionstopublishersand&lt;br /&gt;
editors, by journalist of standing; commis-&lt;br /&gt;
sion only on MS. sold; exceptional chance;&lt;br /&gt;
_H. D. F., Office.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
The above advertisement has appeared in an&lt;br /&gt;
evening paper. A member of the Society answered&lt;br /&gt;
it, stating that he was a writer of some success, but&lt;br /&gt;
would be pleased to extend his connection among&lt;br /&gt;
editors of magazines. He received no reply. It&lt;br /&gt;
is difficult to understand what the advertiser means.&lt;br /&gt;
As everyone knows perfectly well, an introduction&lt;br /&gt;
to editors and publishers is never wanted and is of&lt;br /&gt;
no use. They are almost the only people in the&lt;br /&gt;
world who want no introduction: Any respectable&lt;br /&gt;
solicitor requires one with a new client. The best&lt;br /&gt;
editor in the world wants none. A perfect stranger&lt;br /&gt;
may go to him and will be received with cordiality&lt;br /&gt;
if he has anything good to offer. Hdw, then, can a&lt;br /&gt;
writer be benefited by the &amp;quot;journalist of standing&amp;quot;?&lt;br /&gt;
Considering this question and waiting for an answer&lt;br /&gt;
from the advertiser, we advise readers to send their&lt;br /&gt;
MSS. themselves to editors until they get a satis-&lt;br /&gt;
factory reply&lt;br /&gt;
Another advertisement inviting authors to send&lt;br /&gt;
MSS. to the advertiser which appeared in a leading&lt;br /&gt;
paper early in October, attracted many. The&lt;br /&gt;
advertiser called once only, a few days after the&lt;br /&gt;
insertion of his invitation. He took away a bundle&lt;br /&gt;
of MSS. and returned no more. Meantime one of&lt;br /&gt;
those who answered the advertisement, after writing&lt;br /&gt;
again and again to the advertiser, and failing to get&lt;br /&gt;
any reply, appealed to the Society. Other com-&lt;br /&gt;
plaints reaching the Secretary of MSS. having been&lt;br /&gt;
sent and kept without any reply, the case was laid&lt;br /&gt;
before the manager of the paper, who delivered up&lt;br /&gt;
to the office all the MSS. lying in his office. These&lt;br /&gt;
have been returned to the authors. The others&lt;br /&gt;
which had been carried away, have since been&lt;br /&gt;
returned, and an explanation has been offered.&lt;br /&gt;
From a correspondent:&mdash;&amp;quot;Talking of misprints&lt;br /&gt;
the following occurred to me in my journalistic&lt;br /&gt;
experience. I had written the familiar proverb,&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;#039;Take care of the pence, and the pounds will take&lt;br /&gt;
care of themselves.&amp;#039; The sporting compositor&lt;br /&gt;
turned it out&mdash;&amp;#039; Take care of the fence, and the&lt;br /&gt;
hounds will take care of themselves.&amp;#039; It is not only&lt;br /&gt;
smart, but true.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
The Times arindunces that the Handbook to the&lt;br /&gt;
Public Records, upon which Mr. Scargill Bird, the&lt;br /&gt;
Superintendent to the Search Department at the&lt;br /&gt;
Public Record Office; has been engaged for some&lt;br /&gt;
years in compiling, is now finally revised and ready&lt;br /&gt;
for press, and may be expected shortly. The work&lt;br /&gt;
is an elaborate catalogue raisonnec of the Public&lt;br /&gt;
Records:&lt;br /&gt;
The &amp;quot;National Cyclopaedia of American Bio-&lt;br /&gt;
graphy &amp;quot; is published by James T. White and Co.&lt;br /&gt;
It contains the autobiographies of &amp;quot;prominent&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
citizens of the big Republic, such as mayors and&lt;br /&gt;
other great men, authors included. Each notice&lt;br /&gt;
contains a portrait and an autograph; and, in some&lt;br /&gt;
cases, a picture of the great man&amp;#039;s residence: The&lt;br /&gt;
portraits are little things, costing two or three dollars&lt;br /&gt;
a-piece. The following is an extract from a letter&lt;br /&gt;
addressed by the enterprising publishers to an&lt;br /&gt;
American author, who has forwarded it to us. It&lt;br /&gt;
will, perhaps, furnish a hint to other enterprising&lt;br /&gt;
gentlemen on this side the ocean. Every sug-&lt;br /&gt;
gestion by which authors may be tricked is gladly&lt;br /&gt;
welcomed by British, as well as by American,&lt;br /&gt;
enterprise.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;We are asked to embellish these biographies&lt;br /&gt;
with vignette portraits, like those shown ; and they&lt;br /&gt;
are in such request, we are obliged to restrict them&lt;br /&gt;
to only the more prominent persons.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;We feel that your position and work in the&lt;br /&gt;
world entitles you to this portrait. There are 6,000&lt;br /&gt;
representative persons living who should have&lt;br /&gt;
portraits, which would require an outlay that no&lt;br /&gt;
publisher would be justified in assuming. This&lt;br /&gt;
expense, however, distributed pro rata is so small&lt;br /&gt;
and we feel that its addition to the biography is so&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 227 (#275) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
227&lt;br /&gt;
great, that no one can afford to have it omitted.&lt;br /&gt;
They cost $70 each. A photo process plate, such&lt;br /&gt;
as can only be printed on special coated paper,&lt;br /&gt;
cannot be used. This is an etching drawn by a&lt;br /&gt;
portrait artist of the highest ability, and engraved,&lt;br /&gt;
so as to retain its vigour and delicacy through large&lt;br /&gt;
editions. This is what gives the life to the portrait,&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;amp;c.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Such an appeal to vanity, patriotism, justice, and&lt;br /&gt;
cheapness all combined must be irresistible. There&lt;br /&gt;
are actually 6,000 &amp;quot;representative&amp;quot; Americans&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
happy country to possess 6,000great men!&mdash;one in&lt;br /&gt;
every 10,000 souls, one in every 6,oco adults, one&lt;br /&gt;
in every 3.000 men, one in every 1,000 educated&lt;br /&gt;
men! If all these, except a remnant, pay up the&lt;br /&gt;
S70 for what costs $2, there is a little trifle of&lt;br /&gt;
$400,000 profit for the enterprising publisher.&lt;br /&gt;
Well, we give it away. Millions in it. But the&lt;br /&gt;
Author only lives to benefit his fellow creatures.&lt;br /&gt;
A paper calling itself an agreement has just been&lt;br /&gt;
placed in my hands by one of the parties concerned.&lt;br /&gt;
It is a lady. She did not sign the document until&lt;br /&gt;
she had asked the advice of her bankers, who jhem:&lt;br /&gt;
selves, she states, also took advice. This is much&lt;br /&gt;
as if she had asked the opinion of the grocer, who&lt;br /&gt;
had diffidently taken counsel with his friend the&lt;br /&gt;
butcher. The result is pleasing, and reflects the&lt;br /&gt;
highest credit on fhe general intelligence of the&lt;br /&gt;
bankers and their advisers.&lt;br /&gt;
(1.) The author paid ^58 towards the production&lt;br /&gt;
of a work which&amp;#039;would cost about &pound;$0.&lt;br /&gt;
(2.) She agreed to pay whatever the honest pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lisher should please to charge for correc-&lt;br /&gt;
tions.&lt;br /&gt;
(3.) She agreed to give him a free hand to adver-&lt;br /&gt;
tise anywhere&mdash;in his own lists at a pound&lt;br /&gt;
a word if he chooses&mdash;up to &pound;20.&lt;br /&gt;
(4.) She agreed to give the man &amp;quot;half the&lt;br /&gt;
profits.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Half the profits! This is a beautiful example&lt;br /&gt;
of trading on the ignorance of the author. Half&lt;br /&gt;
the profits! For here is the account as it is pretty&lt;br /&gt;
certain to be rendered. It must be remembered&lt;br /&gt;
that, as stated above, the actual cost of prpducing&lt;br /&gt;
the work will be about &pound;$0. The extreme case&lt;br /&gt;
of selling off the whole edition is taken.&lt;br /&gt;
&pound; s. a.&lt;br /&gt;
Cost of production, stated at 58 o o&lt;br /&gt;
Corrections (say) ... &amp;lt;.. 717 6&lt;br /&gt;
Advertising ... ... ... 20 o o&lt;br /&gt;
500 copies&mdash;■&lt;br /&gt;
400 sold, producing&lt;br /&gt;
60 press&lt;br /&gt;
20 author&lt;br /&gt;
20 in stock&lt;br /&gt;
500&lt;br /&gt;
Loss&lt;br /&gt;
&pound; s. d.&lt;br /&gt;
70 o o&lt;br /&gt;
J5 &laquo;?&lt;br /&gt;
&pound;85 17 6&lt;br /&gt;
So that on the most favourable chance there can&lt;br /&gt;
be no profits, and must be a loss.&lt;br /&gt;
But the loss will very likely be a great deal&lt;br /&gt;
more. Probably, an account more like the follow-&lt;br /&gt;
ing will be submitted :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
Cost of production&lt;br /&gt;
Corrections (or any other fancy amount)&lt;br /&gt;
Advertising (or any other fancy amount)&lt;br /&gt;
&pound;&lt;br /&gt;
75&lt;br /&gt;
11&lt;br /&gt;
30&lt;br /&gt;
s. d.&lt;br /&gt;
o o&lt;br /&gt;
IS 8&lt;br /&gt;
6 o&lt;br /&gt;
500 copies&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
20 sold, producing&lt;br /&gt;
60 press&lt;br /&gt;
420 in stock&lt;br /&gt;
500&lt;br /&gt;
Loss...&lt;br /&gt;
&pound;&amp;quot;6 15 8&lt;br /&gt;
&pound; s- d.&lt;br /&gt;
3 10 o&lt;br /&gt;
... 113 5 8&lt;br /&gt;
&pound;&amp;quot;6 &amp;#039;5 8&lt;br /&gt;
This, however, is how the transaction will figure&lt;br /&gt;
up in the publisher&amp;#039;s private book :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&pound; s. d.&lt;br /&gt;
Actual cost of production ... ... 4c o o&lt;br /&gt;
Corrections (say) ... ... ... 1104&lt;br /&gt;
Advertising (say) ... ... ... 5 o o&lt;br /&gt;
Profit to publisher ... ... ... 74 o o&lt;br /&gt;
By payment of author&lt;br /&gt;
Ditto for corrections ...&lt;br /&gt;
Ditto for advertising ...&lt;br /&gt;
By sale of (say 200 copies)&lt;br /&gt;
,&pound;120 10 o&lt;br /&gt;
&pound; s. d.&lt;br /&gt;
... 58 o o&lt;br /&gt;
7 10 o&lt;br /&gt;
20 o o&lt;br /&gt;
&bull;&bull; 35 0 0&lt;br /&gt;
&pound;l20 IO O&lt;br /&gt;
&pound;&raquo;5 17 6&lt;br /&gt;
This is what one gets by taking advice of people&lt;br /&gt;
who know nothing whatever about the subject.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 228 (#276) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
228&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
We are constantly being asked what royalties&lt;br /&gt;
mean when they are offered in agreements. Now,&lt;br /&gt;
in the June number of the Author we gave a&lt;br /&gt;
distinct statement of what is really meant by the&lt;br /&gt;
various kinds of royalties offered; a six shilling&lt;br /&gt;
novel of average length being taken as the basis of&lt;br /&gt;
calculation. Let us repeat what was there proved.&lt;br /&gt;
It was shown that a ten per cent, royalty gives the&lt;br /&gt;
following proportions :&mdash;■&lt;br /&gt;
For the first edition of 1,000 copies&mdash;■&lt;br /&gt;
Publisher: Author : : 3:2;&lt;br /&gt;
For the second edition of 3,000 copies&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
Publisher : Author : : 3:1;&lt;br /&gt;
and so on, for which we refer the reader to that num-&lt;br /&gt;
ber. A practical though rough and imperfect way&lt;br /&gt;
of testing a royalty is this. For a first edition of a&lt;br /&gt;
thousand the cost of production may be taken at&lt;br /&gt;
one-sixth the published price, viz. :&mdash;at is. for a&lt;br /&gt;
6s. book. The retail price may be taken at T7j, or,&lt;br /&gt;
to be very liberal to the publisher, at ^.&lt;br /&gt;
For a second edition of large numbers, the cost&lt;br /&gt;
of production is about ith the published price: the&lt;br /&gt;
retail price remains at -^j.&lt;br /&gt;
These figures can be very easily applied by the&lt;br /&gt;
reader when his next agreement is offered for&lt;br /&gt;
signature.&lt;br /&gt;
After two hundred and fifty years the countrymen&lt;br /&gt;
of Drummond of Hawthornden are about to erect a&lt;br /&gt;
tomb over the neglected grave of their poet. It&lt;br /&gt;
will be the tomb which he himself asked his friend&lt;br /&gt;
the Earl of Stirling, to place over him.&lt;br /&gt;
Alexis, when thou shalt hear wandering Fame,&lt;br /&gt;
Tell, Death hath triumphed o&amp;#039;er my mortal spoils,&lt;br /&gt;
And that on earth I am but a sad name,&lt;br /&gt;
If thou e&amp;#039;er held me dear, by all our love,&lt;br /&gt;
By all that bliss, those joys, Heaven here us gave,&lt;br /&gt;
I conjure thee, and by the Maids of Jove,&lt;br /&gt;
To grave this short remembrance on my grave:&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Here Damon lies, whose songs did sometimes&lt;br /&gt;
grace&lt;br /&gt;
The murmuring Esk. May Hoses shade the&lt;br /&gt;
place I&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
I wonder how many living folk have read&lt;br /&gt;
Drummond. A few of his verses are well known&lt;br /&gt;
because they are preserved in that collection which&lt;br /&gt;
is in most English houses, the &amp;quot;Golden Treasury.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Readers who feel moved&mdash;may many be moved !&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
to contribute to this monument, may note that Mr.&lt;br /&gt;
A. P. Purvis, Esk Town, Lasswade, is the Hon. Sec,&lt;br /&gt;
to whom their tribute may be paid. The Com-&lt;br /&gt;
mittee is entirely composed of Scottish gentlemen.&lt;br /&gt;
Among them I see the name of Mr. Andrew Lang&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;but they will allow the Southron to assist.&lt;br /&gt;
We have read with amazement certain remarks&lt;br /&gt;
made in the English Court of Justice by a certain&lt;br /&gt;
person learned in the law concerning a great&lt;br /&gt;
French writer. The person learned in the law,&lt;br /&gt;
going outside his case, which had nothing to do&lt;br /&gt;
with the works of this great French writer, but&lt;br /&gt;
only with certain pictures professing to illustrate&lt;br /&gt;
these works, called the said great French writer a&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;filthy-minded old monk, who is only considered&lt;br /&gt;
a classic because he has been dead three hundred&lt;br /&gt;
years.&amp;quot; It is not likely that among the readers of&lt;br /&gt;
this paper there can be any who want a defence&lt;br /&gt;
of Rabelais. If to speak words of wisdom for the&lt;br /&gt;
instruction of humanity for all time is the work&lt;br /&gt;
one expects of a filthy-minded monk, then is&lt;br /&gt;
the said person learned in the law a critic who&lt;br /&gt;
may be followed. If it is a decent thing for an&lt;br /&gt;
advocate to go beyond his case in order to throw&lt;br /&gt;
mud at an author whom he.does not understand,&lt;br /&gt;
then is the above-named person learned in the&lt;br /&gt;
law a* model for all advocates. To those who do&lt;br /&gt;
understand this great master, it seems a de-&lt;br /&gt;
plorable thing that such words should be uttered&lt;br /&gt;
of such a man by a member of that profession&lt;br /&gt;
which is generally believed to be not only learned&lt;br /&gt;
in the law, but cultivated above and beyond all&lt;br /&gt;
other professions. As regards the pictures, they&lt;br /&gt;
seem to have been seized with all the zeal which&lt;br /&gt;
might be expected. Eleven of those seized were&lt;br /&gt;
ordered by the magistrate to be returned immedi-&lt;br /&gt;
ately. No one, meantime, has so much as raised&lt;br /&gt;
the question, how far they really illustrate the work.&lt;br /&gt;
I have myself been twice to the Gallery, and I dare&lt;br /&gt;
say I shall go again. Some of the drawings are&lt;br /&gt;
extremely clever, and some, but not many, seem&lt;br /&gt;
really to have caught the spirit of the writer.&lt;br /&gt;
Some clothe his robust pages with pruriency.&lt;br /&gt;
4&lt;br /&gt;
This is the busiest time of the year as regards&lt;br /&gt;
publications. It is therefore a favourable time for&lt;br /&gt;
pursuing our researches into the extent of the&lt;br /&gt;
alleged &amp;quot;risks&amp;quot; run by those whose business it is&lt;br /&gt;
to produce new books. My allegation is that&lt;br /&gt;
publishers very seldom run any risk at all&mdash;in the&lt;br /&gt;
matter of belles lettres, of course. I know very little&lt;br /&gt;
about the risks, if any, incurred in technical,&lt;br /&gt;
scientific, legal, or medical works. These, how-&lt;br /&gt;
ever, are not advertised in the Times.&lt;br /&gt;
The sheet of the Times before me contains four&lt;br /&gt;
columns of advertisements, two of which are&lt;br /&gt;
restricted to books published during the last three&lt;br /&gt;
months. Let us take these two.&lt;br /&gt;
The following is the analysis :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
(1.) Nine books. Of these five are novels by&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 229 (#277) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
229&lt;br /&gt;
tried and proved writers; three are on&lt;br /&gt;
special subjects which appeal to large classss&lt;br /&gt;
and are by writers whose names command&lt;br /&gt;
respect; one is a book of travels in a country&lt;br /&gt;
of which people are never tired of hearing.&lt;br /&gt;
Result: no risk.&lt;br /&gt;
(2.) Five books: one a second edition. One a&lt;br /&gt;
new volume of a successful series. Three&lt;br /&gt;
on subjects and by writers about whom&lt;br /&gt;
there can be no doubt. Result: no risk.&lt;br /&gt;
(3.) Six books. All novels. All by proved&lt;br /&gt;
writers. No risk.&lt;br /&gt;
(4.) Eight books. Two books of travel certain&lt;br /&gt;
to be greatly in demand. Two novels by&lt;br /&gt;
well-known writers. A book of poems with&lt;br /&gt;
a well-known name. A book of essays by&lt;br /&gt;
a name of world-wide celebrity. A large&lt;br /&gt;
and expensive historical book. Result:&lt;br /&gt;
one book&mdash;the last&mdash;which may carry risk&lt;br /&gt;
with it.&lt;br /&gt;
(5.) Seven books. One of biography, certain to&lt;br /&gt;
command an audience. One an addition&lt;br /&gt;
to a greatly successful series. One of&lt;br /&gt;
popular science. One a novel by a proved&lt;br /&gt;
writer. Two books of verse, evidently paid&lt;br /&gt;
for by the authors. One a translation which&lt;br /&gt;
seems also paid for. If not, risky, but of&lt;br /&gt;
little importance.&lt;br /&gt;
(6.) Seven books. All religious. All by well-&lt;br /&gt;
known men. No risk.&lt;br /&gt;
(7.) One book. By a writer of surprising success.&lt;br /&gt;
No risk.&lt;br /&gt;
(8.) Eight books. Six books on Art. Two by&lt;br /&gt;
very well-known writers. No risk.&lt;br /&gt;
(9.) Five books. One, a novel by a new hand;&lt;br /&gt;
might seem risky. But it is a reprint, and&lt;br /&gt;
has already been proved in serial form. No&lt;br /&gt;
risk.&lt;br /&gt;
(10.) Fifteen books. A varied list. The sub-&lt;br /&gt;
ject and writers prove that the books are&lt;br /&gt;
certain to command success. No risk.&lt;br /&gt;
(11.) Seven books. Four of tbem are technical,&lt;br /&gt;
The remaining three are by authors whose&lt;br /&gt;
names stand very high indeed. No risk.&lt;br /&gt;
(12.) Five books. Four by very well-known and&lt;br /&gt;
successful writers. The fifth a well-&lt;br /&gt;
advised venture. Risk, unless the author&lt;br /&gt;
takes it, in one case.&lt;br /&gt;
Thus, out of eighty-three new books and among&lt;br /&gt;
thirteen publishers we can discover two books&lt;br /&gt;
only in which there is any risk. These are those who&lt;br /&gt;
are considered first class publishers. The books&lt;br /&gt;
are published on a half-profit system and a royalty&lt;br /&gt;
system. A few, but very few, are bought. But it&lt;br /&gt;
must be understood that the practice of buying&lt;br /&gt;
books is rapidly going out.&lt;br /&gt;
Let us understand, however, what is meant&lt;br /&gt;
exactly by saying that there is no risk. This: that&lt;br /&gt;
the publisher, being a sensible man of business,&lt;br /&gt;
very seldom pays for producing a book unless he&lt;br /&gt;
sees his way very clearly to at least such a sale as&lt;br /&gt;
will give him back his money with some return for&lt;br /&gt;
his own profit.&lt;br /&gt;
The obituary of the year includes among those&lt;br /&gt;
who attained literary distinction the names of&lt;br /&gt;
Cardinal Newman, of whom 1 am inclined to&lt;br /&gt;
believe that his hymns will give him an abiding&lt;br /&gt;
place in the English memory long after his Apologia&lt;br /&gt;
and other works have been forgotten. His great&lt;br /&gt;
age, his scholarly reputation, his individual&lt;br /&gt;
character and his position in the Church to which&lt;br /&gt;
he seceded, all helped to exaggerate at his death&lt;br /&gt;
his literary rank Dr. Dollinger, Professor Delitsch,&lt;br /&gt;
the Archbishop of York, the Dean of St. Paul&amp;#039;s,&lt;br /&gt;
Dr. Littledale, Canon Liddon, Canon Molesworth,&lt;br /&gt;
the Rev. Henry White, and Dr. Adler, are among&lt;br /&gt;
the divines deceased; Sir Richard Burton, Pro-&lt;br /&gt;
fessor Thorold Rogers, Professor Sellar, Dr. Schlie-&lt;br /&gt;
mann, among the scholars and archaeologists;&lt;br /&gt;
Lord Carnarvon, Lord Rosslyn, Sir Louis Malet,&lt;br /&gt;
Dion Eoucicault, Alphonse Karr, Octave Feuillet,&lt;br /&gt;
Chatrian, Adolphe Belot, Charles Gibbon,&lt;br /&gt;
Gustave Revilliot of Geneva, George Hooper,&lt;br /&gt;
represent the losses in general literature. There&lt;br /&gt;
are also many names of scientific and medical&lt;br /&gt;
writers. No great English writer has passed away&lt;br /&gt;
during the last twelve months.&lt;br /&gt;
The paper of the month is &amp;quot;The Light that&lt;br /&gt;
Failed,&amp;quot; in Lippincott.&lt;br /&gt;
Walter Besant.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT.&lt;br /&gt;
I.&lt;br /&gt;
[The following account of the passage of the&lt;br /&gt;
Copyright Bill by the House was written by the&lt;br /&gt;
Secretary of the American Copyright League for&lt;br /&gt;
the New York Critic.]&lt;br /&gt;
The passage of the International Copyright Bill&lt;br /&gt;
by the House of Representatives on the 3rd inst.&lt;br /&gt;
was by no means wholly unexpected to the Com-&lt;br /&gt;
mittee representing the Leagues, most of whom&lt;br /&gt;
know what laborious work has been done in the&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;campaign of education &amp;quot; that has been carried on&lt;br /&gt;
since the defeat of May 2nd. This campaign,&lt;br /&gt;
which resulted in a change of 72 votes, began on&lt;br /&gt;
the morning after that disaster, when the printed&lt;br /&gt;
arguments of the friends of the bill were placed in&lt;br /&gt;
the boxes of members on the theory that then if&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 230 (#278) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
ever they would be sure to receive attention.&lt;br /&gt;
From that day to this, in the face of the hopeless-&lt;br /&gt;
ness of some of the most prominent friends of the&lt;br /&gt;
cause, there has been no intermission in the effort&lt;br /&gt;
to reach the House with argument, and with&lt;br /&gt;
evidences that the best sentiment of the country&lt;br /&gt;
demands the bill. Time would fail to tell here the&lt;br /&gt;
details of the summer campaign, and of the un-&lt;br /&gt;
expected dangers which had to be guarded against.&lt;br /&gt;
These must be reserved for the official report of&lt;br /&gt;
the year&amp;#039;s work. It is probably unnecessary after&lt;br /&gt;
the vote of December 3rd to apologize to those&lt;br /&gt;
who in August thought that the summons of the&lt;br /&gt;
Secretary to another struggle was only another cry&lt;br /&gt;
of wolf.&lt;br /&gt;
The vote qf last week was to me unexpected&lt;br /&gt;
only to the extent of a week&amp;#039;s margin. It was&lt;br /&gt;
easy to see upon my arrival ip Washington on&lt;br /&gt;
Sunday night that the work of the Committee&lt;br /&gt;
during the recess and especially since the election&lt;br /&gt;
was bearing fruits. Interviews on Sunday night,&lt;br /&gt;
on Monday and on Tuesday morning showed a&lt;br /&gt;
determination on the part of leading friends of the&lt;br /&gt;
bill to put it through promptly. To avoid con-&lt;br /&gt;
sideration of a bill virtually at the head of Com-&lt;br /&gt;
mittee business, would have indicated a hostility on&lt;br /&gt;
the part of the leaders of the majority which did&lt;br /&gt;
not exist. On the contrary, it was evident that&lt;br /&gt;
while the measure was in no sense a partisan one,&lt;br /&gt;
the LI. Congress could not afford to leave as part&lt;br /&gt;
of its record the official license of literary piracy.&lt;br /&gt;
This consideration assured the bill its chance, but&lt;br /&gt;
not its success, which came from an accession of&lt;br /&gt;
individual votes on each side of the Chamber. On&lt;br /&gt;
Tuesday at 11.30, when it was known that the&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;morning hour&amp;quot; was to be restored that day,&lt;br /&gt;
pimphlets and petitions of {he League were placed&lt;br /&gt;
in the boxes of tho^e members whose attitude was&lt;br /&gt;
not known to be fr.endly, all of whom had received&lt;br /&gt;
at their homes since the election the arguments&lt;br /&gt;
issued by the American Copyright League, and&lt;br /&gt;
those of Mr Putnam, the indefatigable Secretary&lt;br /&gt;
of the Publishers&amp;#039; League, together with letters&lt;br /&gt;
supplementing personal appeals. The vote on the&lt;br /&gt;
question of consideration, 132 to 74, though npt a&lt;br /&gt;
test vote, was most encouraging, but, in view of the&lt;br /&gt;
information of the Committee, not surprising. The&lt;br /&gt;
unworthy tactics of the enemy in filibustering&lt;br /&gt;
against the Eighth Commandment were maintained&lt;br /&gt;
with more acerbity than skill or intelligence, and&lt;br /&gt;
in some cases without sincere conviction. (It is&lt;br /&gt;
reported that even Mr. Springer, who added to the&lt;br /&gt;
di-grace of Illinois by leading the opposition, has&lt;br /&gt;
acknowledged since the vote that the bill was a&lt;br /&gt;
good one.) These tactics were, however, a gross&lt;br /&gt;
parliamentary mistake, since they gave Mr. Simonds&lt;br /&gt;
the best of reasons for moving the previous ques-&lt;br /&gt;
tion, which was ordered late in the day in a thin&lt;br /&gt;
house by 106 to 73. This was a test vote and was&lt;br /&gt;
accepted as conclusive proof that the final vote&lt;br /&gt;
would occur on the next day, and that it would be&lt;br /&gt;
largely favourable. It was the opinion of our&lt;br /&gt;
Congressional friends that the fight was won.&lt;br /&gt;
On Wednesday morning Dr. Eggleston, Mr. W.&lt;br /&gt;
W. Appleton and Mr. Scribner arrived, and the&lt;br /&gt;
work of soliciting votes was renewed. Dr. Eggle-&lt;br /&gt;
ston, whose laborious work in the cause at Washing-&lt;br /&gt;
ton two years ago and last year will be remembered,&lt;br /&gt;
and the state of whose health had deprived the&lt;br /&gt;
Committee of his services during the summer&lt;br /&gt;
campaign, though still suffering from illness, could&lt;br /&gt;
not keep out of the fight. Wednesday&amp;#039;s work on&lt;br /&gt;
the floor was like nothing so much as a fine con-&lt;br /&gt;
test at football. The copyright wedge was again&lt;br /&gt;
formed with Captain Simonds in the angle with the&lt;br /&gt;
ball (i.e., the bill), and with a strong rush line, an 1&lt;br /&gt;
with Butterworth as right tackle, and Breckinridge&lt;br /&gt;
as left tackle, the steady and persistent advance&lt;br /&gt;
was continued until the goal was reached&lt;br /&gt;
The great moral victory thus accomplished is&lt;br /&gt;
belittled by attempting to assign personal credits&lt;br /&gt;
for it. It is, first of all, a victory for honest public&lt;br /&gt;
sentiment, and in this part of the contest the press&lt;br /&gt;
of the country, with one notorious exception, has&lt;br /&gt;
done an enormous service, in which the Washing-&lt;br /&gt;
ton correspondents almost without an exception&lt;br /&gt;
have joined. The laborious service in past years&lt;br /&gt;
of a few energetic and devoted men must not be&lt;br /&gt;
forgotten, foremost of whom, for the length and&lt;br /&gt;
efficiency of his pioneer work, was George Parsons&lt;br /&gt;
Lathrop. Secondly, it is a victory for a clean&lt;br /&gt;
campaign of argument, and should inspirit advo-&lt;br /&gt;
cates of other just causes to depend upon frank&lt;br /&gt;
approach to Representatives on that plane rather&lt;br /&gt;
than upon any other. Thirdly, with all the effort&lt;br /&gt;
that has been put forth in various quarters by&lt;br /&gt;
authors, by publishers, by the Typothetae, and&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
others, it would be idle to deny that the chief&lt;br /&gt;
factor in the fight has been the organizations of the&lt;br /&gt;
typographers, who, beginning by working for their&lt;br /&gt;
own interest, have become warm advocates of&lt;br /&gt;
copyright as a principle.&lt;br /&gt;
But, as I write, the bill is not yet through the&lt;br /&gt;
Senate, though it is difficult to entertain the idea&lt;br /&gt;
of its defeat there for any reason. The remem-&lt;br /&gt;
brance of Jonathan Chace&amp;#039;s wise and gentle&lt;br /&gt;
championship of it in that body is itself a tower of&lt;br /&gt;
strength. The calamity it would be to civilization&lt;br /&gt;
were the newspapers of March 4th, 1891, to&lt;br /&gt;
announce that the reform had gone by default,&lt;br /&gt;
ought to stir every reader of these lines to write at&lt;br /&gt;
once to his two Senators to urge upon them right&lt;br /&gt;
of way for the copyright bill.&lt;br /&gt;
Robert Undekwoud Johnson.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 231 (#279) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
231&lt;br /&gt;
n.&lt;br /&gt;
The following is from an American correspon-&lt;br /&gt;
dent, one of the inner ring in the cause of Copy-&lt;br /&gt;
right :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The fight has been short and sharp, and deci-&lt;br /&gt;
sive; and on the lines laid out by the Copyright&lt;br /&gt;
Committee. ... It was important to impress&lt;br /&gt;
on the leaders of the Republican side, who were&lt;br /&gt;
friendly to us, the fact that this was their last chance&lt;br /&gt;
of having the Copyright Bill put to their credit.&lt;br /&gt;
The late elections made them particularly impres-&lt;br /&gt;
sionable on the side of public opinion, and since&lt;br /&gt;
the vote of May 2nd we have poured in upon them&lt;br /&gt;
evidences of the popular strength of the cause. I&lt;br /&gt;
am not saying that their course was dictated wholly&lt;br /&gt;
by policy. I believe the organization of our sup-&lt;br /&gt;
port has been so thorough that had the elections&lt;br /&gt;
been otherwise the Bill would have passed at this&lt;br /&gt;
Session. But the Republicans&amp;#039; calamity was our&lt;br /&gt;
opportunity. Lodge and McKinley have been&lt;br /&gt;
especially helpful in getting a day. ... It&lt;br /&gt;
was a pretty fight&mdash;much like a football fight under&lt;br /&gt;
the Rugby Rules. Our men formed a wedge with&lt;br /&gt;
Simonds with the ball (i.e., the Bill) inside the&lt;br /&gt;
angle, and they moved steadily forward with each&lt;br /&gt;
defeat of the evening&amp;#039;s five dilatory votes, reaching&lt;br /&gt;
the ordering of the question after three hours and&lt;br /&gt;
a-half of filibustering, which gave Simonds the pre-&lt;br /&gt;
text he wanted for that motion. The first day&lt;br /&gt;
ended with the success of that vote, making it sure&lt;br /&gt;
that the Bill would pass the next day. The intermis-&lt;br /&gt;
sion was like the quarter-hour before the second half&lt;br /&gt;
at football. After twenty minutes&amp;#039; debate on either&lt;br /&gt;
side, our wedge again began its advance, un-&lt;br /&gt;
checked by five dilatory motions, with the result,&lt;br /&gt;
as you know, of the passage of the Bill by 139 to&lt;br /&gt;
95.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Ill&lt;br /&gt;
The American Copyright Act is already producing&lt;br /&gt;
a shower of letters and articles, which one watches,&lt;br /&gt;
day by day, hoping for instruction and dreading&lt;br /&gt;
mischief. Nothing more mischievous and dan-&lt;br /&gt;
gerous could have been devised than this rushing&lt;br /&gt;
into print of terrified printers, self-advertising pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lishers and others, crying out before they are&lt;br /&gt;
hurt. The only word of wisdom was from Professor&lt;br /&gt;
Max Miiller. Said the Professor, &amp;quot;Sit down and&lt;br /&gt;
hold your tongues.&amp;quot; All the writers seemed agreed&lt;br /&gt;
that a deadly blow is about be dealt at English&lt;br /&gt;
printers. For my own part, I do not believe in&lt;br /&gt;
the deadliness of the blow, nor, in fact, in any&lt;br /&gt;
blow at all. At the same time, I think that there&lt;br /&gt;
is some doubt as to the ultimate effect of the Bill,&lt;br /&gt;
whether we are justified in clamouring for a clause&lt;br /&gt;
granting copyright to books in the English lan-&lt;br /&gt;
guage, only on the condition that a copy printed in&lt;br /&gt;
this country is deposited&mdash;not in Stationers&amp;#039; Hall&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;but in a Government office created for this pur-&lt;br /&gt;
pose, is a doubtful question. There are one or two&lt;br /&gt;
points on the general question which I submit for&lt;br /&gt;
consideration.&lt;br /&gt;
1. We read everywhere that the pirates are&lt;br /&gt;
smitten with confusion and dispersed. Are they?&lt;br /&gt;
First of all, they have a stock of hundreds of&lt;br /&gt;
volumes containing all the literature of Great&lt;br /&gt;
Britain from the beginning. It will take a very-&lt;br /&gt;
long time to get through this stock,, and, in fact,&lt;br /&gt;
no living man will see the end of it, because the&lt;br /&gt;
copyright is always expiring of modern literature,&lt;br /&gt;
which then becomes everybody&amp;#039;s property.&lt;br /&gt;
2. Secondly, suppose, as will certainly happen,&lt;br /&gt;
that the people hitherto called pirates want to pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lish new works by British authors. They will not&lt;br /&gt;
be able to get the best new books because they&lt;br /&gt;
cannot afford to pay for them. But they will get&lt;br /&gt;
the second and third-rate books because they will&lt;br /&gt;
offer a five-pound note for the copyright. Now the&lt;br /&gt;
author, if he can get nothing better, will generally&lt;br /&gt;
take a five-pound note. If the history of many&lt;br /&gt;
cheap editions was known, we should find that&lt;br /&gt;
many very well known books had been bought up&lt;br /&gt;
for cheap rights at absurd sums. I once saw a&lt;br /&gt;
little document&mdash;some years ago&mdash;showing such a&lt;br /&gt;
negotiation, between two publishers, over a quantity&lt;br /&gt;
0/ copyrights. Among them the copyright of&lt;br /&gt;
a certain work by a very popular novelist, now&lt;br /&gt;
deceased, was actually disposed of for five pounds.&lt;br /&gt;
Therefore, the cheap libraries will have little diffi-&lt;br /&gt;
culty in keeping up, and the Americans will go on&lt;br /&gt;
having their cheap literature.&lt;br /&gt;
3. Will our own books be printed in the first&lt;br /&gt;
place in America? I think not. When a book is&lt;br /&gt;
going to be successful why trouble about the cost&lt;br /&gt;
of composition? It is a trifle; so many sheets&lt;br /&gt;
at three-and-twenty shillings&mdash;say&mdash;it is nothing&lt;br /&gt;
compared with the manifest advantages of double&lt;br /&gt;
printing.&lt;br /&gt;
4. Then there is the spelling. Lives there a&lt;br /&gt;
caitiff Briton so vile as to allow, if he can prevent&lt;br /&gt;
it, his work to appear in his own country, in the&lt;br /&gt;
vulgar and debased spelling which they have adopted&lt;br /&gt;
in the States? Let us remember that this is a&lt;br /&gt;
spelling which destroys the history of our language&lt;br /&gt;
as told by the growth of our words; that it ruins&lt;br /&gt;
the familiar appearance of our classics; and that&lt;br /&gt;
it was only adopted in a spirit of spitefulness against&lt;br /&gt;
Great Britain. In small things as well as in great,&lt;br /&gt;
the magnanimous great Republic lias always, it&lt;br /&gt;
seems to me, been spiteful against the Mother&lt;br /&gt;
Country. Are we prepared to adopt traveler,&lt;br /&gt;
theater, favor, and the 01 her abominations? Never.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 232 (#280) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
232&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
5. &amp;quot;But,&amp;quot; it is argued, &amp;quot;we must not treat America&lt;br /&gt;
as we treat France. This is not a question of free&lt;br /&gt;
trade or protection. We must consider the&lt;br /&gt;
absolute mischief which may be done to us by the&lt;br /&gt;
free importation to our shores of printed sheets with&lt;br /&gt;
their bad spelling and ugly type, and the loss ihey&lt;br /&gt;
will cause to the printers. They are afraid of us.&lt;br /&gt;
If they wish to preserve their trade and their&lt;br /&gt;
spelling they are right, because we print and we&lt;br /&gt;
spell better and more cheaply than they do.&lt;br /&gt;
They cannot complain if we guard ourselves. It&lt;br /&gt;
is not retaliation&mdash;it is simple self-defence if we&lt;br /&gt;
grant copyright only to books in the English&lt;br /&gt;
language, composed in this country, and registered&lt;br /&gt;
at a Government office provided for the purpose.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
This is what is said: The danger is said to be two-&lt;br /&gt;
fold (1) that American editions will be printed by&lt;br /&gt;
American printers. Well, if so we are no worse off&lt;br /&gt;
than before. (2) That American printed books&lt;br /&gt;
will flood our market. They cannot, I believe, for&lt;br /&gt;
the reasons above stated. Still, no one knows&lt;br /&gt;
exactly what is going to happen, and we had better&lt;br /&gt;
wait and look on awhile, and not suffer ourselves&lt;br /&gt;
to be excited about possibilities.&lt;br /&gt;
6. The letters all pretend to treat the question&lt;br /&gt;
as an authors&amp;#039; question. This is very humorous.&lt;br /&gt;
How long will it be before authors will be per-&lt;br /&gt;
suaded into signing away their American rights as&lt;br /&gt;
well as all their other rights? And even in cases&lt;br /&gt;
when a royalty is the basis of agreement. How&lt;br /&gt;
much more is it a publishers&amp;#039; than an authors&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
question? Yet Mr. Arnold Forster, who is&lt;br /&gt;
Secretary, I believe, of Cassell&amp;#039;s Company, talks&lt;br /&gt;
without&amp;#039;a smile of authors foregoing some of their&lt;br /&gt;
profits as if&mdash;poor wretches !&mdash;they had much to&lt;br /&gt;
forego. The recent Farrar-Cassell case let a little&lt;br /&gt;
daylight into many things. Let us, however, endea-&lt;br /&gt;
vour to make this an authors&amp;#039; question by keeping&lt;br /&gt;
American rights in our own hands. Let us do all we&lt;br /&gt;
can in this direction; but in many cases&mdash;perhaps&lt;br /&gt;
in most&mdash;it will become a publishers&amp;#039; question.&lt;br /&gt;
W. B.&lt;br /&gt;
IV.&lt;br /&gt;
The following from a correspondent. &amp;quot;What&lt;br /&gt;
effect will the American Bill produce? In other&lt;br /&gt;
words what kinds of literature will be affected by&lt;br /&gt;
the Bill, and to what extent? First let us con-&lt;br /&gt;
sider what English books are produced in America&lt;br /&gt;
at the present moment. According to the Nation&lt;br /&gt;
of December nth, 1890, the number of books&lt;br /&gt;
produced during the preceding week was seventy-&lt;br /&gt;
two. Of these, twenty-eight seem&mdash;because one is&lt;br /&gt;
not sure about two or three&mdash;to be written or&lt;br /&gt;
compiled by Americans. The rest, forty-four in&lt;br /&gt;
number, are of &amp;quot;foreign,&amp;quot; i.e., chiefly English&lt;br /&gt;
origin. Of these, twenty-one are works of fiction,&lt;br /&gt;
but three are French or German, and four are&lt;br /&gt;
reprints. Remain, out of seventy-two books, four-&lt;br /&gt;
teen&mdash;or about one in five&mdash;novels written by&lt;br /&gt;
living English writers. Twenty-three remain to be&lt;br /&gt;
accounted for. Books of religion, travel, Greek&lt;br /&gt;
and Roman literature, and general literature, fill&lt;br /&gt;
up the list. Now, ten of the novels are published&lt;br /&gt;
at 25 or 50 cents. This price will certainly&lt;br /&gt;
become impossible unless the reign of the penny&lt;br /&gt;
novelette is to begin in America. Therefore, out&lt;br /&gt;
of the ten, only those authors who enjoy any&lt;br /&gt;
popularity in America will profit by the Bill.&lt;br /&gt;
In other words, it will only be worth while to&lt;br /&gt;
produce those works for which there is certain to&lt;br /&gt;
be some demand. It has to be proved what English&lt;br /&gt;
authors are in demand. Next, for the first time the&lt;br /&gt;
American author will be enabled to compete for&lt;br /&gt;
popularity with the Englishman. If one may judge&lt;br /&gt;
from certain indications, he will prove a very&lt;br /&gt;
formidable competitor indeed, both in America&lt;br /&gt;
and in the country. Therefore, while the success-&lt;br /&gt;
ful novelist will&mdash;unless he allows his publishers&lt;br /&gt;
to seize the whole increase&mdash;very largely im-&lt;br /&gt;
prove his position, it will become doubly&mdash;trebly,&lt;br /&gt;
nay, ten times as difficult to gain the ear of the&lt;br /&gt;
two worlds. And some of those who believe that&lt;br /&gt;
because they have been reprinted in a cheap&lt;br /&gt;
series, they are therefore popular, will be dis-&lt;br /&gt;
appointed.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Will better work in fiction be produced&mdash;work&lt;br /&gt;
of better and truer art? I am convinced that this&lt;br /&gt;
will be one effect of International Copyright. That&lt;br /&gt;
is to say, those who now rely solely on the strength&lt;br /&gt;
of situations and the interest of a plot will go on&lt;br /&gt;
disregarding style and finish. As for construction&lt;br /&gt;
and dramatic effect they have it already, or they&lt;br /&gt;
could not succeed at all. But those who aim&lt;br /&gt;
higher will meet with encouragement from both&lt;br /&gt;
sides of the Atlantic, wherever there are people&lt;br /&gt;
of culture able to value style and finish. The&lt;br /&gt;
success of those writers&mdash;headed by George Mere-&lt;br /&gt;
dith&mdash;who, an artist in the highest sense, shows&lt;br /&gt;
that there are wide circles open to them wherever&lt;br /&gt;
the common language is spoken.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
V.&lt;br /&gt;
The probable passing of the Bill necessitates an-&lt;br /&gt;
other warning which has been added to the list. No&lt;br /&gt;
one must now sign any agreement which does not&lt;br /&gt;
specially reserve American rights. No one as yet&lt;br /&gt;
knows what these may be worth, but it is at least&lt;br /&gt;
safe to suppose that a successful book on this side&lt;br /&gt;
of the Atlantic will be also successful on the other&lt;br /&gt;
side. Let us, at any rate, assume that it will be&lt;br /&gt;
successful, and safeguard our chances accordingly.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 233 (#281) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
233&lt;br /&gt;
THE AMERICAN COPYRIGHT ACT.&lt;br /&gt;
51s/ Congress, 2nd Session.&lt;br /&gt;
H. R. 10881.&lt;br /&gt;
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED&lt;br /&gt;
STATES.&lt;br /&gt;
December 3, 1890.&lt;br /&gt;
Head twice and ordered to lie on the table.&lt;br /&gt;
AN ACT&lt;br /&gt;
to amend title sixty, chapter three, of&lt;br /&gt;
the Revised Statutes of the United&lt;br /&gt;
States, relating to Copyrights.&lt;br /&gt;
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of&lt;br /&gt;
Representatives of the United Stales of America in&lt;br /&gt;
Congress assembled, That section forty-nine&lt;br /&gt;
hundred and fifty-two of the Revised Statutes be,&lt;br /&gt;
and the same is hereby, amended so as to read as&lt;br /&gt;
follows:&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Sec 4952. The author, inventor, designer,&lt;br /&gt;
or proprietor of any book, map, chart, dramatic&lt;br /&gt;
or musical composition, engraving, cut, print,&lt;br /&gt;
or photograph or negative thereof, or of a&lt;br /&gt;
painting, drawing, chromo, statue, statuary, and&lt;br /&gt;
of models or designs intended to be per-&lt;br /&gt;
fected as works of the fine arts, and the&lt;br /&gt;
executors, administrators, or assigns of any&lt;br /&gt;
such person shall, upon complying with the&lt;br /&gt;
provisions of this chapter, have the sole&lt;br /&gt;
liberty of printing, reprinting, publishing, com-&lt;br /&gt;
pleting, copying, executing, finishing, and&lt;br /&gt;
vending the same; and, in the case of dramatic&lt;br /&gt;
composition, of publicly performing or repre-&lt;br /&gt;
senting it or causing it to be performed or&lt;br /&gt;
represented by others; and authors or their&lt;br /&gt;
assigns shall have exclusive right to dramatise&lt;br /&gt;
and translate any of their works for which&lt;br /&gt;
copyright shall have been obtained under the&lt;br /&gt;
laws of the United States.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Sec 2. That section forty-nine hundred and&lt;br /&gt;
fifty-four of the Revised Statutes be, and the same&lt;br /&gt;
is hereby, amended so as to read as follows:&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Sec. 4954. The author, inventor, or&lt;br /&gt;
designer, if he be still living, or his widow or&lt;br /&gt;
children, if he be dead, shall have the same&lt;br /&gt;
exclusive right continued for the further term&lt;br /&gt;
of fourteen years, upon recording the title of&lt;br /&gt;
the work or description of the article so&lt;br /&gt;
secured a second time, and complying with&lt;br /&gt;
all other regulations in regard to original&lt;br /&gt;
copyrights, within six months before the ex-&lt;br /&gt;
piration of the first term ; and such persons&lt;br /&gt;
shall, within two months from the date of&lt;br /&gt;
said renewal, cause a copy of the record thereof&lt;br /&gt;
to be published in one or more newspapers&lt;br /&gt;
printed in the United States for the space of&lt;br /&gt;
four weeks.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Sec. 3. That section forty-nine hundred and&lt;br /&gt;
fifty-six of the Revised Statutes of the United&lt;br /&gt;
States be, and the same is hereby, amended so&lt;br /&gt;
that it shall read as follows:&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Sec. 4956. No person shall be entitled&lt;br /&gt;
to a copyright unless he shall, on or before&lt;br /&gt;
the day of publication in this or any foreign&lt;br /&gt;
country, deliver at the office of the Librarian&lt;br /&gt;
of Congress, or deposit in the mail within&lt;br /&gt;
the United States, addressed to the Librarian&lt;br /&gt;
of Congress, at Washington, District of&lt;br /&gt;
Columbia, a printed copy of the title of the&lt;br /&gt;
book, map, chart, dramatic or musical com-&lt;br /&gt;
position, engraving, cut, print, photograph, or&lt;br /&gt;
chromo, or a description of the painting,&lt;br /&gt;
drawing, statue, statuary, or a model or&lt;br /&gt;
design for a work of the fine arts for which he&lt;br /&gt;
desires a copyright, nor unless he shall also,&lt;br /&gt;
not later than the day of publication thereof&lt;br /&gt;
in this or any foreign country, deliver at the&lt;br /&gt;
office of the Librarian of Congress, at&lt;br /&gt;
Washington, District of Columbia, or deposit&lt;br /&gt;
in the mail within the United States, addressed&lt;br /&gt;
to the Librarian of Congress, at Washington,&lt;br /&gt;
District of Columbia, two copies of such&lt;br /&gt;
copyright book, map, chart, dramatic or&lt;br /&gt;
musical composition, engraving, chromo, cut,&lt;br /&gt;
print, or photograph, or in case of a painting,&lt;br /&gt;
drawing, statue, statuary, model, or design&lt;br /&gt;
for a work of the fine arts, a photograph of&lt;br /&gt;
same: Provided, That in the case of a book&lt;br /&gt;
the two copies of the same required to be&lt;br /&gt;
delivered or deposited as above shall be&lt;br /&gt;
printed from type set within the limits of the&lt;br /&gt;
United States, or from plates made therefrom.&lt;br /&gt;
During the existence of such copyright the&lt;br /&gt;
importation into the United States of any book&lt;br /&gt;
so copyrighted, or any edition or editions&lt;br /&gt;
thereof, or any plates of the same not made&lt;br /&gt;
from type set within the limits of the United&lt;br /&gt;
States, shall be, and it is hereby, prohibited,&lt;br /&gt;
except in the cases specified in section twenty-&lt;br /&gt;
five hundred and five of the Revised Statutes of&lt;br /&gt;
the United States, and except in the case of&lt;br /&gt;
persons purchasing for use and not for sale,&lt;br /&gt;
who import not more than two copies of such&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 234 (#282) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
234&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
book at any one time in each of which cases&lt;br /&gt;
the written consent of the proprietor of the&lt;br /&gt;
copyright, signed in the presence of two wit-&lt;br /&gt;
nesses, shall be furnished with each impor-&lt;br /&gt;
tation: And provided, That any publisher of&lt;br /&gt;
a newspaper or magazine may, without such&lt;br /&gt;
consent, import for his own use but not for&lt;br /&gt;
sale not more than two copies of any news-&lt;br /&gt;
paper or magazine published in a foreign&lt;br /&gt;
country. Frovided, nevertheless, That in the&lt;br /&gt;
case of books in foreign languages, of which&lt;br /&gt;
only translations in English are copyrighted,&lt;br /&gt;
the prohibition of importation shall apply&lt;br /&gt;
only to the translations of the same, and the&lt;br /&gt;
importation of the books in the original lan-&lt;br /&gt;
guage shall be permitted.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Sec. 4. That section forty-nine hundred and&lt;br /&gt;
fifty-eight of the Revised Statutes be, and the same&lt;br /&gt;
is hereby, amended so that it will read as follows:&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Sec. 4958. The Librarian of Congress&lt;br /&gt;
shall receive from the persons to whom the&lt;br /&gt;
services designated are rendered the following&lt;br /&gt;
fees:&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;First. For recording the title qr descrip-&lt;br /&gt;
tion of any copyright book or pther article,&lt;br /&gt;
fifty cents.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Second. For every copy under seal of such&lt;br /&gt;
record actually given to the person claiming&lt;br /&gt;
the copyright, or his assigns, fifty cents.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Third. For recording and certifying any&lt;br /&gt;
instrument of writing for the assignment of a&lt;br /&gt;
copyright, one dollar.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Fourth. For every copy of an assignment,&lt;br /&gt;
one dollar.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;All fees so received shall be paid into the&lt;br /&gt;
Treasury of the United States: Provided,&lt;br /&gt;
That the charge for recording the title of&lt;br /&gt;
description of any article entered for copyright,&lt;br /&gt;
the production of a person not a citizen or&lt;br /&gt;
resident of the United States, shall be one&lt;br /&gt;
dollar, to be paid as above into the Treasury&lt;br /&gt;
of the United States, to defray the expenses&lt;br /&gt;
of lists of copyrighted articles as hereinafter&lt;br /&gt;
provided for.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;And it is hereby made the duty of the&lt;br /&gt;
Librarian of Congress to furnish to the&lt;br /&gt;
Secretary of the Treasury copies of the entries&lt;br /&gt;
of titles of all books and other articles wherein&lt;br /&gt;
the copyright has been completed by the de-&lt;br /&gt;
posit of two copies of such book printed from&lt;br /&gt;
type set within the limits of the United States,&lt;br /&gt;
in accordance with the provisions of this Act&lt;br /&gt;
and by the deposit of two copies of such other&lt;br /&gt;
article made or produced in the United States;&lt;br /&gt;
and the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby&lt;br /&gt;
directed to prepare and print, at intervals of&lt;br /&gt;
not more than a week, catalogues of such&lt;br /&gt;
title-entries for distribution to the collectors&lt;br /&gt;
of customs of the United States and to the&lt;br /&gt;
postmasters of all post-offices receiving foreign&lt;br /&gt;
mails, and such weekly lists, as they are issued,&lt;br /&gt;
shall be furnished to all parties desiring them,&lt;br /&gt;
at a sum not exceeding five dollars per annum;&lt;br /&gt;
and the Secretary and the Postmaster-General&lt;br /&gt;
are hereby empowered and required to make&lt;br /&gt;
and enforce such rules and regulations as shall&lt;br /&gt;
prevent the importation into the United States,&lt;br /&gt;
except upon the conditions above specified,&lt;br /&gt;
of all articles copyrighted under this Act&lt;br /&gt;
during the term of the copyright.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Sec. 5. That section forty-nine hundred and&lt;br /&gt;
fifty-nine of the Revised Statutes be, and the same&lt;br /&gt;
is hereby, amended so as to read as follows:&lt;br /&gt;
&bull;&amp;#039;Sec. 4959. The proprietor of every copy-&lt;br /&gt;
right book or other article shall deliver at the&lt;br /&gt;
offipe of thp Librarian of Congress, or deposit&lt;br /&gt;
in the mail, addressed to the Librarian of Con&lt;br /&gt;
gress, at Washington, District of Columbia,&lt;br /&gt;
a copy of every subsequent edition wherein&lt;br /&gt;
any substantial changes shall be made: Pro-&lt;br /&gt;
vided, however, That the alterations, revisions,&lt;br /&gt;
and additions made to books by foreign&lt;br /&gt;
authors, heretofore published, of which new&lt;br /&gt;
additions shall appear subsequently to the&lt;br /&gt;
taking effect of this Act, shall be held and&lt;br /&gt;
deemed capable of being popyrighted as above&lt;br /&gt;
provided for in this Act, unless they form a&lt;br /&gt;
part Qf the serjes in cqurse of publication at&lt;br /&gt;
the time this Act shall take effect.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Sec. 6. That section forty-nine hundred and&lt;br /&gt;
sixty-three of the Revised Statutes be, and the&lt;br /&gt;
same is hereby, amended so as to read as follows:&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Sec. 49Q3. Every person who shall insert&lt;br /&gt;
or impress such notice, or words of the same&lt;br /&gt;
purport, in or upon any book, map, chart,&lt;br /&gt;
dramatic or musical composition, print, cut,&lt;br /&gt;
engraving, or photograph, or other article, for&lt;br /&gt;
which he has not obtained a copyright, shall&lt;br /&gt;
be liable to a penalty of one hundred dollars,&lt;br /&gt;
recoverable one-half for the person who shall&lt;br /&gt;
sue fpr such penalty, and one-half to the use&lt;br /&gt;
of the United States.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Sec. 7. That section forty-nine hundred and&lt;br /&gt;
sixty-four of the Revised Statutes be, and the same&lt;br /&gt;
is hereby, amended so as to read as follows:&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Sec. 4964. Every person who, after the&lt;br /&gt;
recording of the title of any book and the&lt;br /&gt;
depositing of two copies of such book, as&lt;br /&gt;
provided by this Act, shall, within the term&lt;br /&gt;
limited, and without the consent of the pro&lt;br /&gt;
prietor of the copyright first obtained in&lt;br /&gt;
writing, signed in presence of two or more&lt;br /&gt;
witnesses, print, publish, dramatise, translate,&lt;br /&gt;
or import, or knowing the same to be so&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 235 (#283) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
235&lt;br /&gt;
printed, published, dramatised, translated, or&lt;br /&gt;
imported, shall sell or expose to sale any copy&lt;br /&gt;
of such book, shall forfeit every copy thereof&lt;br /&gt;
to such proprietor, and shall also forfeit and&lt;br /&gt;
pay such damages as may be recoverad in a&lt;br /&gt;
civil action by such proprietor in any coUrt 6f&lt;br /&gt;
competent jurisdiction.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Sec 8. That section&amp;#039; forty-nine hundred and&lt;br /&gt;
sixty-five of the Revised Statutes be, and the same&lt;br /&gt;
is hereby, so aniended as to read as follows:&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Sec. 4965. If any person, after the record-&lt;br /&gt;
ing of the title of any map, chart, dramatic or&lt;br /&gt;
musical composition, print, cut, engraving, or&lt;br /&gt;
photograph, or chronio, or of the description&lt;br /&gt;
of any painting; drawing, statiie, statuary, or&lt;br /&gt;
model or design intended to be perfected and&lt;br /&gt;
executed as a work of the fine arts, as pro-&lt;br /&gt;
vided by this Act, shall within the term limited,&lt;br /&gt;
and without the consent of the proprietor of&lt;br /&gt;
the copyright first obtained in writing, signed&lt;br /&gt;
in presence of two or more witnesses, engrave,&lt;br /&gt;
etch, work, copy, print, publish, dramatise,&lt;br /&gt;
translate, or import, either in whole or in part,&lt;br /&gt;
or by varying the main design with intent to&lt;br /&gt;
evade the law, or, knowing the same to be so&lt;br /&gt;
printed, published, dramatised, translated, or&lt;br /&gt;
imported, shall sell or expose to sale any copy&lt;br /&gt;
of such map or other article as aforesaid, he&lt;br /&gt;
shall forfeit to the proprietor all the plates on&lt;br /&gt;
which the same shall he copied and every&lt;br /&gt;
sheet thereof, either copied or printed, arid&lt;br /&gt;
shall further forfeit one dollar for every sheet&lt;br /&gt;
of the same found in his possession, either&lt;br /&gt;
printing, printed, copied, published, imported,&lt;br /&gt;
or exposed for sale, and in case of a painting,&lt;br /&gt;
statue, or statuary, he shall forfeit ten dollars&lt;br /&gt;
for every copy of the same in his possession,&lt;br /&gt;
or by him sold or exposed for sale; one-half&lt;br /&gt;
thereof to the proprietor and the other half to&lt;br /&gt;
the use of the United States.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Sec. 9. That section fdrty-niHe hundred arid&lt;br /&gt;
sixty-seven of the Revised Statutes be, arid the&lt;br /&gt;
same is hereby, arhended so as to read as follows:&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Sec: 4967. Every person who shall print&lt;br /&gt;
or publish any rrianUscript whatever without&lt;br /&gt;
the consent of the author or proprietor first&lt;br /&gt;
obtained, shall be liable to the author or pro-&lt;br /&gt;
prietor for all damages occasioned by such&lt;br /&gt;
injury.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Sec. 10. That section forty-nine hundred and&lt;br /&gt;
seventy-one of the Revised Statutes be, and the&lt;br /&gt;
same is hereby, Repealed.&lt;br /&gt;
Sec. 11. That for the purpose of this Act each&lt;br /&gt;
volume of a book in two or more volumes, when&lt;br /&gt;
such volumes are published separately and the first&lt;br /&gt;
one shall not have been issued before this Act shall&lt;br /&gt;
take effect, and each number of a periodical shall&lt;br /&gt;
be considered an independent publication, subject&lt;br /&gt;
to the form of copyrighting as above.&lt;br /&gt;
Sec. 12. That this Act shall go into effect on&lt;br /&gt;
the first day of July, anno domini eighteen&lt;br /&gt;
hundred and ninety-one.&lt;br /&gt;
Sec: 13. That this Act shall only apply to a&lt;br /&gt;
citizen of a foreign state or nation when such&lt;br /&gt;
foreign state or nation permits to citizens of the&lt;br /&gt;
United States of America the benefit of copyright&lt;br /&gt;
on substantially the same basis as its own citizens;&lt;br /&gt;
or when such foreign state or nation permits to&lt;br /&gt;
citizens of the United States of Arherica copyright&lt;br /&gt;
privileges substaritially similar to those provided&lt;br /&gt;
for in this Act; or when such foreign state or&lt;br /&gt;
nation is a party to ah international agreement&lt;br /&gt;
which provides for reciprocity in the grant of&lt;br /&gt;
copyright, by the terms of which agreement the&lt;br /&gt;
United States of America may at its pleasure&lt;br /&gt;
become a party to such agreement. The existence&lt;br /&gt;
of either of these conditions shall be determined&lt;br /&gt;
by the opinion of the Attofney;General of the&lt;br /&gt;
United States, whenever ah occasion for such a&lt;br /&gt;
determination arises.&lt;br /&gt;
Passed the House of Representatives December&lt;br /&gt;
3. &amp;#039;890-&lt;br /&gt;
Attest: Ebwii. McPherson, Clerk.&lt;br /&gt;
A PROPRIETOR-EDITOR.&lt;br /&gt;
HIS methods of gaining a livelihood were&lt;br /&gt;
simple enough in conception, though&lt;br /&gt;
somewhat tortuous in their working. He&lt;br /&gt;
did not seem rich, or even to have escaped far&lt;br /&gt;
from the clutch of actual poverty, yet, alter his way,&lt;br /&gt;
He had solved the problem of &amp;#039;&amp;quot;the struggle for&lt;br /&gt;
life,&amp;quot; and had learned how to pass easelul days&lt;br /&gt;
supported by other folks&amp;#039; weaknesses.&lt;br /&gt;
He was the Proprietor-Editor of a Society&lt;br /&gt;
journal, printed on the finest hand-woven paper,&lt;br /&gt;
and embellished with occasional illustrations. It&lt;br /&gt;
was, according to its own head-lines (which ought&lt;br /&gt;
to have known), the chosen organ of &amp;quot;haul ton&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
yet had but a limited sale, and I was not the only&lt;br /&gt;
one of the Proprietor-Editor&amp;#039;s acquaintances who&lt;br /&gt;
had vaguely wondered how such an expensively&lt;br /&gt;
produced and vilely written paper could possibly&lt;br /&gt;
be made to produce any profits for anybody.&lt;br /&gt;
And now I know, and the gorgeous simplicity of&lt;br /&gt;
it all fills me with admiration.&lt;br /&gt;
The Proprietor-Editor and I were fellow-members&lt;br /&gt;
of a small club, where the food was excellent and&lt;br /&gt;
the conditions of membership lax, and it was in&lt;br /&gt;
the smoking room of this institution, and under the&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 236 (#284) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
236&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
stimulus of his afternoon whiskey, that he made the&lt;br /&gt;
following proposal to me.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I see,&amp;quot; said he, &amp;quot;that you come here a great&lt;br /&gt;
deal. You are not busy? Looking for a job,&lt;br /&gt;
perhaps? How would Babylon suit you? I&amp;#039;m&lt;br /&gt;
giving it up.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
I inquired why: also how much the post was&lt;br /&gt;
worth: and thirdly in whose gift it lay.&lt;br /&gt;
It may have been that the Proprietor-Editor&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
whiskey was more potent than usual, it may have&lt;br /&gt;
been that I seemed to him a complacent, nay,&lt;br /&gt;
almost an unscrupulous sort of person ; it may have&lt;br /&gt;
been that he held in light esteem the morals of all&lt;br /&gt;
the members of our club, but&mdash;for this reason or&lt;br /&gt;
for that&mdash;he unbosomed himself to me.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;My dear fellow&mdash;to answer your questions&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
the post is in my gift, as you call it. I am not&lt;br /&gt;
giving it away, however, but I&amp;#039;ll sell it to you. It&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
worth whatever you like to make it worth. I call it&lt;br /&gt;
a thousand a year. I&amp;#039;m leaving because I want&lt;br /&gt;
peace. The thing is getting a bit blown on. But&lt;br /&gt;
you&amp;#039;ll be fresh, and you&amp;#039;re younger, and it won&amp;#039;t&lt;br /&gt;
worry you. I&amp;#039;ve got a brother-in-law in the City, a&lt;br /&gt;
biggish man at the wholesale furnishing game, who&lt;br /&gt;
wants a partner, and I&amp;#039;m going to him. He thinks&lt;br /&gt;
my literary attainments will be useful in the&lt;br /&gt;
catalogues. You know! Calling a little cup-&lt;br /&gt;
board &amp;#039;a rose-wood cabinet with inlaid top and&lt;br /&gt;
claw pedestal (Empire),&amp;#039; &amp;amp;c. I&amp;#039;m getting an old&lt;br /&gt;
man and I want peace&mdash;and literary people are such&lt;br /&gt;
quarrelsome folk. Now I&amp;#039;ll sell you the property&lt;br /&gt;
right out&mdash;prospects and liabilities, copyrights, and&lt;br /&gt;
office furniture&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Inlaid, with claw pedestal (Empire),&amp;quot; I mur-&lt;br /&gt;
mured.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;And accepted MSS.,&amp;quot; he continued, dis-&lt;br /&gt;
regarding the interruption, &amp;quot;for the totally&lt;br /&gt;
inadequate sum of five hundred pounds. Say the&lt;br /&gt;
word, and your fortune&amp;#039;s made, and we&amp;#039;ll have a&lt;br /&gt;
split whiskey in honour of the event.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
I begged for details.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I have always thought,&amp;quot; he went on unctuously,&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;that those for whose chief benefit and amuse-&lt;br /&gt;
ment a paper is carried on, should be the people&lt;br /&gt;
who should pay for it. Now the people for whose&lt;br /&gt;
chief benefit my magazine has been circulated are&lt;br /&gt;
the advertisers; this is obvious, and I have always&lt;br /&gt;
taken steps, therefore, to ensure that they should&lt;br /&gt;
be practically grateful. Again, those who derive&lt;br /&gt;
the greatest pleasure from reading my journal are&lt;br /&gt;
the people who write it, therefore I leave my con-&lt;br /&gt;
tributors to take their pay out in pure, healthy&lt;br /&gt;
pleasure. I allow no sordid money question to&lt;br /&gt;
come between me and those whom I am anxious&lt;br /&gt;
to serve.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;You do not pay for contributions, you mean.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Young fellow,&amp;quot; he responded, perhaps a little&lt;br /&gt;
thickly, &amp;quot;I pay nobody. But I like you. There&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
no literary rot about you, and I&amp;#039;ll show you how to&lt;br /&gt;
be an editor like me.&amp;quot; Here he settled himself&lt;br /&gt;
luxuriously in his chair, and let his admiring eyes&lt;br /&gt;
rove up and down his podgey little person, from&lt;br /&gt;
the heavy gold chain across his waistcoat to the&lt;br /&gt;
new patent toe on the fender. He was not a proud&lt;br /&gt;
man, but he felt that I must be consumed with&lt;br /&gt;
envy at his distinguished position in the world of&lt;br /&gt;
letters.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I pay nobody,&amp;quot; he repeated, &amp;quot;but printers are&lt;br /&gt;
not so easily to be got over; they are generally one&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
chief trouble. I have had three since I started the&lt;br /&gt;
paper. The first man I paid, regularly. That was for&lt;br /&gt;
a very little time, for I had very little money, and I&lt;br /&gt;
didn&amp;#039;t know the ropes as I do now. Then I printed&lt;br /&gt;
on the nod for two or three months&mdash;till he began&lt;br /&gt;
to get anxious. Then I sent him a cheque for the&lt;br /&gt;
whole and a bit over. And that&amp;#039;s the last that I&lt;br /&gt;
ever paid him. He allowed me a year&amp;#039;s credit after&lt;br /&gt;
that, as my behaviour seemed so handsome, and at&lt;br /&gt;
the end of that time he got nasty, so I left him.&lt;br /&gt;
He came round to me and talked big. He said&lt;br /&gt;
he should make it warm for me in the court.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;#039;Stop,&amp;#039; says I, &amp;#039;what&amp;#039;s your game? My blood or&lt;br /&gt;
my money?&amp;#039; &amp;#039;Why, your money, you little&lt;br /&gt;
brute,&amp;#039; says he&mdash;he was a very violent man.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;#039;Then you&amp;#039;d better sit down,&amp;#039; said I, &amp;#039;and have a&lt;br /&gt;
whiskey and soda and talk it over. You might be&lt;br /&gt;
able to help me get it for you.&amp;#039; He was agreeable,&lt;br /&gt;
and I put it to him that he must do nothing to&lt;br /&gt;
spoil my credit, as I could not undertake to pay&lt;br /&gt;
two printers at once. But I promised to pay him,&lt;br /&gt;
if he would give me such an introduction to some&lt;br /&gt;
other printer that I could again get credit. He&lt;br /&gt;
thought for a bit and then he said, &amp;#039;Well, you&lt;br /&gt;
might do worse, and I&amp;#039;ll give you a line of&lt;br /&gt;
introduction,&amp;#039; and would you believe it, the fool&lt;br /&gt;
sent me to my own brother. Of course that was&lt;br /&gt;
sheer luck, and you mustn&amp;#039;t expect to have that sort&lt;br /&gt;
of luck often. He said, &amp;#039;I&amp;#039;m sending you to another&lt;br /&gt;
confounded Israelite, and I wish him joy of you,&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
and he wrote a flaming letter about my commercial&lt;br /&gt;
habits, integrity, and the rest, and directed it to&lt;br /&gt;
Messrs. Silverton and Co., my brother Isaac&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
trading name. And I stopped with my brother for&lt;br /&gt;
one year, and paid him every week ready money&lt;br /&gt;
for printing. I couldn&amp;#039;t even get a week&amp;#039;s credit out&lt;br /&gt;
of him. &amp;#039;The first day your money isn&amp;#039;t here on&lt;br /&gt;
Tuesday morning by twelve, I stop work on the&lt;br /&gt;
paper,&amp;#039; said he, &amp;#039;and it won&amp;#039;t come out. If you&amp;#039;re&lt;br /&gt;
ten minutes late with the money, I stop the job.&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
He&amp;#039;s a hard man is Isaac, and he had all this down&lt;br /&gt;
on paper. One day I was half-an-hour late, I&lt;br /&gt;
think. &amp;#039;I won&amp;#039;t go to press,&amp;#039; says he, &amp;#039;unless you&lt;br /&gt;
give me a five pound note as a bonus.&amp;#039; To his&lt;br /&gt;
own brother! I had to give it him though. I&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 237 (#285) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
237&lt;br /&gt;
could not afford to break with him just then. But&lt;br /&gt;
he&amp;#039;s a hard man is Isaac. Don&amp;#039;t you print with&lt;br /&gt;
him.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;In the course of a month or so my old printer&lt;br /&gt;
began to ask. about his account. I was pretty&lt;br /&gt;
civil with him. I told him I thought it best to&lt;br /&gt;
pay a bit in ready money at first, so as to establish&lt;br /&gt;
a credit and get the work done cheaply. He&lt;br /&gt;
agreed, for he remembered how he had been done&lt;br /&gt;
clean that way himself. At last he got savage;&lt;br /&gt;
then he got threatening; then he sent trie a&lt;br /&gt;
lawyer&amp;#039;s letter, and then a writ. I paid no atten-&lt;br /&gt;
tion till it got to terra-cotta, and then I spoke to&lt;br /&gt;
my brother Isaac, and he took a hand. &amp;#039;Did&lt;br /&gt;
you write this here introduction to me?&amp;#039; says he&lt;br /&gt;
to the poor chap. &amp;#039;Yes,&amp;#039; says the man. &amp;#039;I&lt;br /&gt;
have always found Mr. Reuben a most satisfactory&lt;br /&gt;
and punctual man to deal with,&amp;#039; quoted my&lt;br /&gt;
brother. &amp;#039;Here, you bring ) our action, and I&amp;#039;ll&lt;br /&gt;
bring mine at the same time.&amp;#039; We heard no more&lt;br /&gt;
of him.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Then my brother says, &amp;#039;This is too warm.&lt;br /&gt;
I&amp;#039;ll give you a letter of introduction to the beast&lt;br /&gt;
who undersold me about the Penny Pilferer.&lt;br /&gt;
He can come to see by my books what regular&lt;br /&gt;
pay you are, and I&amp;#039;ll show him the good recom-&lt;br /&gt;
mendation you brought with you to me. It&amp;#039;s a&lt;br /&gt;
pity that such a document should not be used&lt;br /&gt;
somewhere outside the family circle. You ought to&lt;br /&gt;
get a year&amp;#039;s credit at least out of him&mdash;and that&amp;#039;s all&lt;br /&gt;
I can do for you.&amp;#039; I&amp;#039;ve been with that chap ever&lt;br /&gt;
since; I haven&amp;#039;t paid him a cent yet. But I shall&lt;br /&gt;
have to do so soon, and that&amp;#039;s why I&amp;#039;m leaving.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
He paused.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Splendid!&amp;quot; said I. &amp;quot;Now about the contri-&lt;br /&gt;
butors.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Oh, them!&amp;quot; he continued, slightingly, &amp;quot;we&lt;br /&gt;
generally go in for women, you know. Their&lt;br /&gt;
cackle is much neater than men&amp;#039;s, and their writing&lt;br /&gt;
is much better. They don&amp;#039;t want so much tnone),&lt;br /&gt;
and it&amp;#039;s easier to get them for nothing at all.&lt;br /&gt;
Most of my magazine is done by my staff&mdash;er&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
my sub-editor does it with scissors and paste. A&lt;br /&gt;
lady clerk runs about and takes notes of functions;&lt;br /&gt;
she bribes pew-openers and makes up to house-&lt;br /&gt;
maids, and so we get our original matter. I&mdash;er&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
write the city article. An outside broker gives me&lt;br /&gt;
the information, and one of his clerks answers the&lt;br /&gt;
financial correspondence. I don&amp;#039;t pay them; they&lt;br /&gt;
do it for love of letters, I suppose, and it&amp;#039;s nothing&lt;br /&gt;
to me if their sisters, and their cousins, and their&lt;br /&gt;
aunts unload on my public. There remains the&lt;br /&gt;
feuilleton. I advertise for this. One three-and-&lt;br /&gt;
sixpenny advertisement will generally bring in over&lt;br /&gt;
fifty MSS., and the stamps which accompany them&lt;br /&gt;
are always handy for the office.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;But how about returning the MSS.?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I never return MSS. I may want &amp;#039;em.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;But,&amp;quot; said I, in my innocence, &amp;quot;you&amp;#039;ll have to&lt;br /&gt;
pay for them, if you obtain contributions like&lt;br /&gt;
that.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Oh ! shall I ?&amp;quot; said he, finely contemptuous at&lt;br /&gt;
the idea. &amp;quot;Oh! shall I? I pay nobody, as I began&lt;br /&gt;
by informing you, until I cannot help it, and there&lt;br /&gt;
are not many of these people who force me to&lt;br /&gt;
extremes. Some wait on for months without&lt;br /&gt;
saying anything. Some begin writing letters to me&lt;br /&gt;
from the first. Some are polite, some are more&lt;br /&gt;
threatening; but I answer none, at any rate for&lt;br /&gt;
months. That alone chokes off two-thirds of them.&lt;br /&gt;
It almost always finishes the women. I write to a&lt;br /&gt;
few of the men, under certain circumstances, and&lt;br /&gt;
tell them that their previous communication was&lt;br /&gt;
mislaid, that the Proprietor-Editor is now out of&lt;br /&gt;
town, but that he will certainly write to them&lt;br /&gt;
immediately on his return. That keeps them&lt;br /&gt;
going for another two months. Then, if they still&lt;br /&gt;
keep bothering, I say the paper will shortly change&lt;br /&gt;
hands, when definite conclusions concerning the&lt;br /&gt;
return or retention of MSS. will be come to in&lt;br /&gt;
every case. You would hardly believe it, but that&lt;br /&gt;
chokes off a good half of the few that remain.&lt;br /&gt;
This is how it works out. Say forty-five people&lt;br /&gt;
answer the advertisement, which brings in 30^&lt;br /&gt;
worth of stamps at once, and that goes a long way&lt;br /&gt;
in an office where you don&amp;#039;t answer letters till&lt;br /&gt;
you&amp;#039;ve got to. Of these two or three people never&lt;br /&gt;
write at all about the matter, and we never hear&lt;br /&gt;
of them again. They are the totally inexperienced,&lt;br /&gt;
and become subscribers to my paper for years, so&lt;br /&gt;
as to watch the columns for their contributions.&lt;br /&gt;
They believe that to be the usual method of pro&lt;br /&gt;
cedure. All the rest will write once or twice at&lt;br /&gt;
least, and thirty or so will write regularly once a&lt;br /&gt;
week for two or three months, sometimes, I am glad&lt;br /&gt;
to say, enclosing more stamps for replies; a dozen&lt;br /&gt;
of these will still keep on writing after the patience&lt;br /&gt;
of the rest has been exhausted, and these are the&lt;br /&gt;
people who may have to be told about the con-&lt;br /&gt;
templated sale of the property, or the absence of&lt;br /&gt;
the Proprietor-Editor, before they get thoroughly&lt;br /&gt;
tired. With the remaining six or so I have to deal&lt;br /&gt;
further. They will generally call and talk about&lt;br /&gt;
law, and want to know what I am going to do.&lt;br /&gt;
They are usually men with sticks. I look at those&lt;br /&gt;
MSS. They are in all likelihood the only ones&lt;br /&gt;
by practised hands, being written by authors who&lt;br /&gt;
have experience of the silly way in which other&lt;br /&gt;
journals are worked, and expect me to behave&lt;br /&gt;
likewise. If any of these stories suit my purpose&lt;br /&gt;
I have them printed, and that&amp;#039;s a very practical&lt;br /&gt;
answer to any questionings about what I am going&lt;br /&gt;
to do. When they write for payment I say nothing.&lt;br /&gt;
Then they write urgently, and I say, &amp;#039;At the end&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 238 (#286) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
238&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
of our financial quarter, we shall have the pleasure&lt;br /&gt;
of sending you our cheque in payment of your con-&lt;br /&gt;
tributions to Babylon at scale prices.&amp;#039; The date&lt;br /&gt;
you see is pretty vague, and that keeps them quiet&lt;br /&gt;
for another three months. It is probably now&lt;br /&gt;
over a year since they answered my advertisement.&lt;br /&gt;
If they continue to worry I pay them at the rate&lt;br /&gt;
of half-a-crown a column, and that terminates the&lt;br /&gt;
transaction, fori can always swear that is my &amp;#039;scale&lt;br /&gt;
price.&amp;#039; And that&amp;#039;s how to get original contribu-&lt;br /&gt;
tions. It&amp;#039;s simple, certain and cheap, and if you&lt;br /&gt;
don&amp;#039;t mind abu ive letters (I don&amp;#039;t) there&amp;#039;s not a&lt;br /&gt;
word to be said against it. But it is easier to&lt;br /&gt;
work the oracle with women than with men.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;And suppose they call and kick up a row?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;My dear sir, I use the strong arm&amp;#039; of the law.&lt;br /&gt;
I send for a policeman, and have them turned out.&lt;br /&gt;
Of course my methods occasionally lead to un-&lt;br /&gt;
pleasantness. For instance, I wouldn&amp;#039;t go to the&lt;br /&gt;
Aborigines Club, even if I could get a story from&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Rudyard Kipling for nothing, by doing so. I&lt;br /&gt;
daren&amp;#039;t; I should be kicked. But then I don&amp;#039;t&lt;br /&gt;
want to go. The whiskey&amp;#039;s better here, and I hate&lt;br /&gt;
literary people. Sometimes, when things are very&lt;br /&gt;
stormy in the office, I take a trip until the storm has&lt;br /&gt;
blown over. I find such a change very pleasant&lt;br /&gt;
and by no means expensive.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;And now I&amp;#039;ll tell you how I work the adver-&lt;br /&gt;
tisers. I mark out a little tour, and then I write&lt;br /&gt;
to the best hotels in the places, and inform the&lt;br /&gt;
owners that the editor and owner of Babylon, &amp;#039;an&lt;br /&gt;
influential weekly journal of fact, fiction, society,&lt;br /&gt;
sport, and finance,&amp;#039; proposes to stay a few days at&lt;br /&gt;
their hotel, and will feel better able to recommend&lt;br /&gt;
the establishment if a liberal reduction in the tariff&lt;br /&gt;
is extended to him. Nearly all the answers I&lt;br /&gt;
receive are favourable. I go, and I am treated&lt;br /&gt;
en prince. When I leave I suggest to the pro-&lt;br /&gt;
prietor that his bill, &amp;#039;really a small one consider-&lt;br /&gt;
ing the admirable character of the service and&lt;br /&gt;
the luxury of the appointments,&amp;#039; should be met&lt;br /&gt;
by a column or so of advertisement in my valu-&lt;br /&gt;
able paper. The proprietor almost always ac-&lt;br /&gt;
quiesces, in which case we part the best of&lt;br /&gt;
friends. If he doesn&amp;#039;t, well, 1 have to pay, and&lt;br /&gt;
then I don&amp;#039;t say anything about his rubbishing&lt;br /&gt;
public-house in Babylon. He daren&amp;#039;t ask me why,&lt;br /&gt;
for of course I should come the honest, and say&lt;br /&gt;
that I found nothing in his establishment worth&lt;br /&gt;
noticing. It would look at once as if he had tried&lt;br /&gt;
to nobble a fine and independent editor. Oh! it&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
quite cheap. Before I start I go round among the&lt;br /&gt;
general advertisers, and get any little thing I want&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;an umbrella, a Gladstone bag, a travelling lamp,&lt;br /&gt;
or a rug; these generous fellows are always ready&lt;br /&gt;
to supply me, knowing that if they do not some one&lt;br /&gt;
else will, and will get the gratuitous puffs. This&lt;br /&gt;
kind of thing, you know :&mdash;&amp;#039; If any of my readers&lt;br /&gt;
think of going north in this bitter weather I would&lt;br /&gt;
advise them to pay a visit to Messrs. So-and-So&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
stores, and inspect their admirable stock of travel-&lt;br /&gt;
ling rugs, with patent lined pockets, and reversible&lt;br /&gt;
india-rubber covering.&amp;#039; It&amp;#039;s quite easy to do, and&lt;br /&gt;
I daresay you could learn to write them quite&lt;br /&gt;
quickly if you gave your mind to it. The plan,&lt;br /&gt;
you see, supplies me with subject for paragraphs&lt;br /&gt;
as well as creature comforts. Quite cheap, as I&lt;br /&gt;
say, and also quite simple. I believe it&amp;#039;s what they&lt;br /&gt;
call the new journalism. I don&amp;#039;t read much my-&lt;br /&gt;
self, but I see that expression cropping up now and&lt;br /&gt;
then, and I fancy that&amp;#039;s what must be meant by&lt;br /&gt;
it Well, sir, what do you say to becoming the&lt;br /&gt;
new editor of Babylon?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
He stopped, with closing eyes.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I don&amp;#039;t think it&amp;#039;s a deal,&amp;quot; said I.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Well,&amp;quot; he said slowly and sleepily, as he put his&lt;br /&gt;
glass down empty for the last time before he dozed&lt;br /&gt;
off, &amp;quot;you know your own business best, but it seems&lt;br /&gt;
to me that I am selling you a valuable position,&lt;br /&gt;
and business enough to support it, for a ridicu-&lt;br /&gt;
lously small sum. I have also told you how to work&lt;br /&gt;
it, instead of leaving you to find out for yourself.&lt;br /&gt;
But I daresay you feel you are not fitted for the&lt;br /&gt;
post.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;THE KINDS OF CRITICISM.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;■ &amp;quot;HE full and proper office of the critic can&lt;br /&gt;
I never be discharged except by those&lt;br /&gt;
-*- who remember that &amp;#039;critic&amp;#039; means judge.&lt;br /&gt;
Expressions of personal liking, though they can&lt;br /&gt;
hardly be kept but of criticism, are not by them-&lt;br /&gt;
selves judgment. The famous &amp;#039;J&amp;#039;aime mieux&lt;br /&gt;
Alfred de Mussei,&amp;#039; is not criticism . . . There&lt;br /&gt;
must be, at least, some attempt to take in and&lt;br /&gt;
render the whole virtue of the subjects considered,&lt;br /&gt;
some effort to compare them with their likes in&lt;br /&gt;
other as well as the same languages, some en-&lt;br /&gt;
deavour to class and value them. And as a con-&lt;br /&gt;
dition preliminary, there must, I think, be a not&lt;br /&gt;
inconsiderable study of widely differing periods,&lt;br /&gt;
forms, manners, of litera&amp;#039;ure itself. The test&lt;br /&gt;
question, as I should put it of the value of criticism&lt;br /&gt;
is, &amp;#039;What idea of the original could this critic give&lt;br /&gt;
to a tolerahly instructed person who did not know&lt;br /&gt;
that original?&amp;#039; And again, how far has this critic&lt;br /&gt;
seen steadily and seen whole, the subject which&lt;br /&gt;
he has set himself to consider? How far has he&lt;br /&gt;
referred the main peculiarities of that subject to&lt;br /&gt;
their proximate causes and effects? How far has&lt;br /&gt;
he attempted to place, and succeeded in placing,&lt;br /&gt;
the subject in the general history of literature, i&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 239 (#287) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
239&lt;br /&gt;
the particular history of his own language, in the&lt;br /&gt;
collection of authors of its own department?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
These excellent and weighty words form part of&lt;br /&gt;
an introduction to a book which, in its own depart-&lt;br /&gt;
ment, that of pure criticism, promises to be the&lt;br /&gt;
book of the year&mdash;Mr. George Saintsbury&amp;#039;s &amp;quot;Essays&lt;br /&gt;
in English Literature, 1780-1860&amp;quot; (Percival and&lt;br /&gt;
Co.)- This introduction is called &amp;quot;The Kinds of&lt;br /&gt;
Criticism.&amp;quot; It is, in itself, a short Treatise on the&lt;br /&gt;
Art of Criticism, and it should be printed separately&lt;br /&gt;
and placed in the hands of everyone who pretends&lt;br /&gt;
to become a reviewer. It may be, as Mr. Andrew&lt;br /&gt;
Lang suggests, that critics and reviewers have&lt;br /&gt;
nothing to do with each other essentially, though&lt;br /&gt;
accidentally the discharge of their functions may&lt;br /&gt;
he combined in the same person. Yet even a&lt;br /&gt;
reviewer can do himself no harm in learning the&lt;br /&gt;
functions of a critic.&lt;br /&gt;
How then shall the young man become a critic?&lt;br /&gt;
First, Mr. Saintsbury tells him, by reading; by&lt;br /&gt;
wide and careful reading. Not that reading will&lt;br /&gt;
make a critic, but few are the critics who can be&lt;br /&gt;
made without it. &amp;quot;For my part,&amp;quot; says the author,&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I should not dare to continue criticising so much&lt;br /&gt;
as a circulating library novel&amp;quot;&mdash;but there are novels&lt;br /&gt;
and novels&mdash;a man may do worse than criticise a&lt;br /&gt;
Meredith, and he, too, is &amp;quot;circulated &amp;quot;&mdash;&amp;quot; if I did&lt;br /&gt;
not perpetually pay my respects to the classics of&lt;br /&gt;
many literatures.&amp;quot; In short, the critic, truly&lt;br /&gt;
equipped, must start from a wide comparative&lt;br /&gt;
study of different languages and literatures. This is&lt;br /&gt;
the first principle, the only road to criticism. If&lt;br /&gt;
we accept it, we understand at once the reason,&lt;br /&gt;
first, why there are so few critics, and secondly,&lt;br /&gt;
why women are seldom good critics. For the&lt;br /&gt;
different literatures must include Greek, Latin,&lt;br /&gt;
French, and should include German and Italian&lt;br /&gt;
as well, not to speak of the Hebrew literature,&lt;br /&gt;
which even Mr. Saintsbury&amp;#039;s critic must be gener-&lt;br /&gt;
ally content to have in translation. Very well, thus&lt;br /&gt;
prepared, the critic &amp;quot;must constantly refer back&lt;br /&gt;
his sensations of agreement and disagreement, of&lt;br /&gt;
liking arid disliking, in the comparative fashion.&lt;br /&gt;
Let Englishmen be compared with&lt;br /&gt;
Englishmen of other times to bring out this set of&lt;br /&gt;
differences, with foreigners of modern tiroes to&lt;br /&gt;
bring out that, with Greeks and Romans to bring&lt;br /&gt;
out the other. Let poets of old days be compared&lt;br /&gt;
with poets of new, classics with romantics, rhymed&lt;br /&gt;
with unrhymed. . . . &amp;#039;Compare, always com-&lt;br /&gt;
pare,&amp;#039; is the first axiom of criticism.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
After these rules follows another equally useful.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Always make sure, as far as you possibly can,&lt;br /&gt;
that what you like and dislike is the literary, and&lt;br /&gt;
not the extra-literary character, of the matter under&lt;br /&gt;
examination.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
And yet another. &amp;quot;Never be content without&lt;br /&gt;
VOL. I.&lt;br /&gt;
at least endeavouring to connect cause and effect-&lt;br /&gt;
in some way, without giving something like a reason&lt;br /&gt;
for the faith that is in you.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
The readers of the Author are, one and all,&lt;br /&gt;
deeply interested in the elevation and maintenance&lt;br /&gt;
of the standard of criticism. The literature of every&lt;br /&gt;
age, in fact, in great measure depends upon the&lt;br /&gt;
standard set up by the critics. Where criticism is&lt;br /&gt;
low and ignorant of better things, unable even to&lt;br /&gt;
appreciate effort in the true direction, the writers&lt;br /&gt;
sink with their judges. For true criticism, a point not&lt;br /&gt;
insisted by Mr. Saintsbury, does not destroy, but&lt;br /&gt;
builds up: it does not deride ; it instructs. Why is&lt;br /&gt;
it, for instance, that the modern taste for the best and&lt;br /&gt;
highest poetry is so much belter than their taste for&lt;br /&gt;
the higher work in fiction or in the drama? That&lt;br /&gt;
it is so is proved, first by the excellent critical work&lt;br /&gt;
on poetry, which is given to the world in the&lt;br /&gt;
magazines of the day; next by the Browning&lt;br /&gt;
Societies, which show, if they show nothing else,&lt;br /&gt;
an intense and widespread love for great verse.&lt;br /&gt;
One reason lies, one is tempted to believe, in the&lt;br /&gt;
ineffable incompetence of the ordinary reviews of&lt;br /&gt;
fiction. The young writer finds no instruction in the&lt;br /&gt;
reviews which he reads. He never even looks for any;&lt;br /&gt;
he is content if he gets off without a contemptuous&lt;br /&gt;
jeer. He knows that he is making an essay towards&lt;br /&gt;
a fine Art, but he has no guides; those who should&lt;br /&gt;
lead him are dumb; they do not even understand&lt;br /&gt;
that they have a fine Art to deal with; his judges&lt;br /&gt;
do not know the rules of the Art; they do not&lt;br /&gt;
know that there are any rules; nay, too often they&lt;br /&gt;
cannot understand that there is any artistic work&lt;br /&gt;
at all to be reviewed. As a natural consequence&lt;br /&gt;
the great mass of the fiction put forth is without&lt;br /&gt;
form and void. Of the ordinary criticism as applied&lt;br /&gt;
to fiction we will perhaps speak on a future occasion.&lt;br /&gt;
It is enough here to claim for criticism at its best&lt;br /&gt;
its educational importance.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Saintsbury&amp;#039;s views of the ordinary reviewer&lt;br /&gt;
are stated with great clearness. &amp;quot;That a very&lt;br /&gt;
large amount of reviewing is determined by doubt-&lt;br /&gt;
less well-meaning incompetence, there is no doubt&lt;br /&gt;
whatever. It is, on the whole, the most difficult&lt;br /&gt;
kind of newspaper writing, and it is, on the whole,&lt;br /&gt;
the most lightly assigned and the most irresponsibly&lt;br /&gt;
performed. I have heard of newspapers where the&lt;br /&gt;
reviews depended almost wholly on the accident of&lt;br /&gt;
some of the staff taking a holiday, or being laid up&lt;br /&gt;
for a time on the shelf, or being considered not up&lt;br /&gt;
to other work; of others&mdash;though this, I own, is&lt;br /&gt;
scarcely credible&mdash;when the whole reviewing was&lt;br /&gt;
farmed out to a manager, to be allotted to devils as&lt;br /&gt;
good to him seemed; of many where the reviews&lt;br /&gt;
were a sort of exercising ground on which novices&lt;br /&gt;
were trained, broken down hacks turned out to&lt;br /&gt;
grass, and invalids allowed a little gentle exercise.&lt;br /&gt;
I&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 240 (#288) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
240&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
&bull; . . . Of common mistakes on the subject&lt;br /&gt;
which are not merely silly crazes, such as the log&lt;br /&gt;
rolling craze and the five-pound note craze, and the&lt;br /&gt;
like; the worst known to him, though it is shared&lt;br /&gt;
by some who should know better, is that a specialist&lt;br /&gt;
is the best reviewer. I do not say that he is always&lt;br /&gt;
the worst, but that is about as far as my charity,&lt;br /&gt;
informed by much experience, can go.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
The present writer has also heard of newspapers&lt;br /&gt;
when the books are all bundled off together to one&lt;br /&gt;
man, who turns them off in little paragraphs of&lt;br /&gt;
half-a-dozen lines each at eighteenpence a book.&lt;br /&gt;
And yet authors and publishers are such fools as&lt;br /&gt;
to send their books to such a paper and to expose&lt;br /&gt;
themselves to such treatment.&lt;br /&gt;
For one thing, let us take comfort. Books are&lt;br /&gt;
abused by many reviewers for many reasons. They&lt;br /&gt;
are never abused&mdash;Mr. Saintsbury maintains&mdash;for&lt;br /&gt;
the good things in them.&lt;br /&gt;
This brief resume of a highly important and op-&lt;br /&gt;
portune paper must not be supposed to be tendered&lt;br /&gt;
as an adequate criticism. It is tendered as an&lt;br /&gt;
introduction and as an invitation. The former is&lt;br /&gt;
likely to make readers of the Author uneasy on the&lt;br /&gt;
subject of criticism&mdash;perhaps to awaken their con-&lt;br /&gt;
sciences as to their own sins, because we have&lt;br /&gt;
reviewers, if not critics among us: the latter as&lt;br /&gt;
an invitation to get the book for themselves and&lt;br /&gt;
to read carefully point by point what a good critic&lt;br /&gt;
should be.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
ON SOME PARALLEL PASSAGES.&lt;br /&gt;
IT has for many years been to me a source of&lt;br /&gt;
wonder that the many annotators of the text&lt;br /&gt;
of Shelley&amp;#039;s poems should not have noticed&lt;br /&gt;
that in the fifth song of &amp;quot;St. Irvyne&amp;quot; the poet&lt;br /&gt;
appropriates, with the alteration of but two insig-&lt;br /&gt;
nificant words, a complete line from Beattie&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Minstrel,&amp;quot; viz.:&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;O when shall it dawn on the night of the grave.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
This line, familiar to all readers of poetry, Shelley&lt;br /&gt;
transferred bodily to the song above mentioned,&lt;br /&gt;
where it appears as&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Ah ! when shall day dawn on the night of the grave.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
A new edition of Shelley&amp;#039;s poems is daily expected,&lt;br /&gt;
annotated by one of his ablest biographers, and it&lt;br /&gt;
may be that this edition will contain a note on this&lt;br /&gt;
passage, but no such note is to be found in any&lt;br /&gt;
existing edition.&lt;br /&gt;
Readers of Mr. W. M. Rossctti&amp;#039;s exhaustive&lt;br /&gt;
memoir of Blake will doubtless remember that&lt;br /&gt;
Milton frequently appeared in Blake&amp;#039;s visions, and&lt;br /&gt;
held converse on matters celestial and terrestrial&lt;br /&gt;
with the imaginative poet-painter. On one occasion,&lt;br /&gt;
Blake said, speaking of these visits, &amp;quot;He came to&lt;br /&gt;
ask a favour of me; said he had committed an&lt;br /&gt;
error in &amp;#039; Paradise Lost,&amp;#039; which he wanted me to&lt;br /&gt;
correct in a poem or picture. But I declined; I&lt;br /&gt;
said I had my own duties to perform.&amp;quot; Other&lt;br /&gt;
remarks made by Milton during these visitations&lt;br /&gt;
have not been recorded by Blake, but a student of&lt;br /&gt;
both poets may be forgiven for fancying that Milton&lt;br /&gt;
would have been justified in asking Blake in what&lt;br /&gt;
moment of forgetfulness he had written in &amp;quot;The&lt;br /&gt;
Keys of the Gates of Paradise,&amp;quot; the lines&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;On the shadows of the moon&lt;br /&gt;
Climbing through night&amp;#039;s highest noon,&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
lines so closely akin to&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;To behold the wandering moon&lt;br /&gt;
Riding near her highest noon,&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
which form one of the many beauties of &amp;quot;II&lt;br /&gt;
Penseroso&amp;quot;; or why, when penning &amp;quot; King Edward&lt;br /&gt;
III,&amp;quot; he had put into the mouth of his bishop the&lt;br /&gt;
words&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;... the arts of peace are great,&lt;br /&gt;
And no less glorious than those of war,&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
thereby making him echo sentiments to be found&lt;br /&gt;
in a celebrated sonnet addressed to the Lord&lt;br /&gt;
General Cromwell, May, 1652, in which the writer&lt;br /&gt;
declares that&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Peace hath her victories&lt;br /&gt;
No less renowned than War.&amp;quot;*&lt;br /&gt;
Landor occasionally complained of the manner in&lt;br /&gt;
which his poems were treated, and certainly in one&lt;br /&gt;
remarkable instance two brother bards attempted&lt;br /&gt;
to beautify their work with a sea-shell stolen from&lt;br /&gt;
his grottos; a shell which lost all its murmurous&lt;br /&gt;
melody and glimmering beauty in their hands, and&lt;br /&gt;
justified his remarks upon their action. But Landor&lt;br /&gt;
was himself on one occasion a defaulter. The&lt;br /&gt;
reader of his poem &amp;quot;The Phocceans,&amp;quot; a poem&lt;br /&gt;
published with others in 1802, will find the follow-&lt;br /&gt;
ing lines&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;In his own image the Creator made,&lt;br /&gt;
His own pure sunbeam quicken&amp;#039;d thee, O man!&lt;br /&gt;
Thou breathing dial! since thy day began&lt;br /&gt;
The present hour was always tiiarht with shade!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
* Were Landor alive, not the least delightful of his&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Imaginary Conversations &amp;quot; would be a dialogue between&lt;br /&gt;
these two great poets. We learn from that priceless l&amp;gt;ook,&lt;br /&gt;
Forster&amp;#039;s &amp;quot; Life of Landor,&amp;quot; that the old lion in his declining&lt;br /&gt;
days, &amp;quot;picked up some of the writings of Blake, and was&lt;br /&gt;
strangely fascinated by them,&amp;quot; and had this conversation&lt;br /&gt;
been added to the long list of treasures received from the&lt;br /&gt;
same hand, the anachronism of making the dead and living&lt;br /&gt;
]X&amp;gt;et meet would have been as justifiable as was that which&lt;br /&gt;
was justified for all time in the poem wherein Landor made&lt;br /&gt;
Laertes and Homer meet, and bade Homer sing once more.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 241 (#289) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
241&lt;br /&gt;
and if iie turns to Wordsworth&amp;#039;s &amp;quot;An Evening&lt;br /&gt;
Walk,&amp;quot; written 1789, published 1793, he will&lt;br /&gt;
find the same imagery&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Alas! the idle tale of man is found&lt;br /&gt;
Depicted in the dial&amp;#039;s moral round;&lt;br /&gt;
Hope with reflection blends her social rays&lt;br /&gt;
, To gild the golden tablet of his days;&lt;br /&gt;
Vet still, the sport of some malignant power,&lt;br /&gt;
He knows but from its shade the present hour.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
I.andor&amp;#039;s version is undeniably the finer both in&lt;br /&gt;
composition and sentiment.&lt;br /&gt;
Blanco White&amp;#039;s sonnet, &amp;quot;Mysterious Night,&amp;quot; first&lt;br /&gt;
printed in 1828, has recently been paraphrased in&lt;br /&gt;
one of Walt Whitman&amp;#039;s prose poems. In his&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Night on the Prairies,&amp;quot; he says&mdash;■&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I was thinking the day most splendid till I saw what the&lt;br /&gt;
not-day exhibited,&lt;br /&gt;
I was thinking the globe enough till there sprang out so&lt;br /&gt;
noiseless around me myriads of other globes.&lt;br /&gt;
And he adds after quiet contemplation of the stars&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;0 I see noiv that life cannot exhibit all to me, as the day&lt;br /&gt;
cannot,&lt;br /&gt;
I see that I am to &amp;quot;wait for &amp;quot;what will be exhibited by deith.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
The &amp;quot;rawest as well as the ripest student&amp;quot; of&lt;br /&gt;
English literature will at once recognise in these&lt;br /&gt;
lines the sentiments expressed in White&amp;#039;s solitary&lt;br /&gt;
sonnet of which the concluding lines are&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Who could have thought such darkness lay concealed&lt;br /&gt;
Within thy beams, O Sun ! or who could find,&lt;br /&gt;
Whilst flow&amp;#039;r and leaf and insect stood revealed,&lt;br /&gt;
7&amp;#039;hat to such countless orbs thou mad*st us blind!&lt;br /&gt;
Why do vie then shun Death with anxious strife?&lt;br /&gt;
If Light can thus deceive, wherefore not Life?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
In that glorious poem, Charles Wells&amp;#039;s &amp;quot;Joseph&lt;br /&gt;
and his Brethren,&amp;quot; which owes its rescue from &amp;quot; the&lt;br /&gt;
waste-paper basket of forgetfulness,&amp;quot; to the energetic&lt;br /&gt;
action of Mr. Swinburne, will be found lines bearing&lt;br /&gt;
a perilous resemblance to familiar verses by Words-&lt;br /&gt;
worth, viz.&mdash;&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;To me a simple flower is cloth&amp;#039;d with thoughts&lt;br /&gt;
That lead the mind to Heaven.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
words which at once recall the concluding lines of&lt;br /&gt;
the great &amp;quot;Ode &amp;quot;&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;To me the meanest flower that blows can give&lt;br /&gt;
Thoughts that do often lie too deep for tears.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Wells&amp;#039;s drama did not appear until twenty years&lt;br /&gt;
after the publication of \\ ordsworth&amp;#039;s &amp;quot;Ode.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
At the risk of multiplying examples ad nauseam&lt;br /&gt;
I may add that in Mr. Alfred Austin&amp;#039;s &amp;quot;Tower of&lt;br /&gt;
Babel,&amp;quot; Act ii, scene 1, a philosopher named Sidon&lt;br /&gt;
gives expression to sentiments closely resembling&lt;br /&gt;
those of King Lear. The gods say Sidon deals&lt;br /&gt;
hardly with men&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
vol I&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;. . . . they make sport of us,&lt;br /&gt;
Treating us much as boys treat cockroaches&lt;br /&gt;
They prick us just to see what we will do.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Lear, it will be remembered, exclaimed&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;As flies to wanton boys are we to the gods;&lt;br /&gt;
They kill us for their sport.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
A much more grim reflection upon &amp;quot;the unjust&lt;br /&gt;
justice of omnipotence.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Richard W. Colles.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
BALZAC AND HIS ENGLISH&lt;br /&gt;
CRITICS.&lt;br /&gt;
THE primacy of Balzac in French fiction has&lt;br /&gt;
at length been acknowledged by English -&lt;br /&gt;
speaking critics. The recognition of his&lt;br /&gt;
universal supremacy is approaching, but it seems&lt;br /&gt;
that it will be long before his proper place as a&lt;br /&gt;
philosopher and a seer of rare inspiration will be&lt;br /&gt;
allowed him. It is, however, an encouraging sign&lt;br /&gt;
that his critics agree on one point, that any attempt&lt;br /&gt;
at general criticism of his whole work and especially&lt;br /&gt;
of La Com^die Humaine, is futile, and that any&lt;br /&gt;
review must be but the slightest sketch. Each&lt;br /&gt;
new attempt confirms the opinion that we must&lt;br /&gt;
confine ourselves to commentary alone.&lt;br /&gt;
It is well for us that Balzac counts among his&lt;br /&gt;
critics some of the most eminent living writers of&lt;br /&gt;
English. I cannot, however, consider the clever&lt;br /&gt;
essays of Mr. Henry James and Mr. Leslie Stephen&lt;br /&gt;
nor yet of the gifted author of a recent article in&lt;br /&gt;
the Quarterly, as representing him with great&lt;br /&gt;
fidelity. Mr. W. S. Lilly unfortunately spoils an&lt;br /&gt;
otherwise appreciative notice by a most irrelevant&lt;br /&gt;
inquiry into Balzac&amp;#039;s interior religion. Mr. Parsons&lt;br /&gt;
has written a very trustworthy general review in the&lt;br /&gt;
Atlantic Monthly, careful and accurate, and free&lt;br /&gt;
from obtrusive originality. Mr. Thomas Hake&lt;br /&gt;
has a trustworthy article, &amp;quot;A Realist at Work,&amp;quot; in&lt;br /&gt;
Belgravia. Of more particular articles Mr. Philip&lt;br /&gt;
Kent&amp;#039;s &amp;quot;Balzac&amp;#039;s views of the Artistic Tempera-&lt;br /&gt;
ment,&amp;quot; is excellent, and Mr. George Moore&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Some of Balzac&amp;#039;s Minor Pieces,&amp;quot; if a little dis-&lt;br /&gt;
connected, is interesting and enthusiastic. The&lt;br /&gt;
criticisms which I know in English are usually to&lt;br /&gt;
be relied on for justice of criticism, in inverse ratio&lt;br /&gt;
to the cleverness with which they are written. It&lt;br /&gt;
is a remarkable tribute to the breadth and depth&lt;br /&gt;
of Balzac&amp;#039;s intellect that his critics can always find&lt;br /&gt;
predominant in his works those traits which they&lt;br /&gt;
are individually disposed to notice. In this he is&lt;br /&gt;
like the Bible, to which every sect which has arisen&lt;br /&gt;
since the canon was formed appeals for confirmation&lt;br /&gt;
T 2&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 242 (#290) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
242&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
of its peculiar doctrines. On these controverted&lt;br /&gt;
points I believe his critics misrepresent him most.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Leslie Stephen denies that Balzac possessed&lt;br /&gt;
a knowledge of the human heart, on the ground&lt;br /&gt;
that such knowledge does not exist. He considers&lt;br /&gt;
individuality so strong in every man that it prevents&lt;br /&gt;
a writer from embodying feeling outside his own&lt;br /&gt;
potential experience. He explains Balzac&amp;#039;s thou-&lt;br /&gt;
sand creations as the reflection of the thousand&lt;br /&gt;
facets of his many-sided self. On the other hand,&lt;br /&gt;
an evident altruist writing lately in Lippincotfs&lt;br /&gt;
Magazine, considers that there is no such thing as&lt;br /&gt;
individuality, and implies that Mr. Leslie Stephen&lt;br /&gt;
lacked experience because he recognizes it.&lt;br /&gt;
The fact that Balzac has been largely introduced&lt;br /&gt;
into England by the school which claims him as&lt;br /&gt;
their founder&mdash;the realistic school divided between&lt;br /&gt;
M. Zola and M. Bourget&mdash;is misleading. He is&lt;br /&gt;
accredited with the philosophy, as well as the&lt;br /&gt;
method, of his followers. He is deprived of one&lt;br /&gt;
of his strongest claims to supremacy in his art, the&lt;br /&gt;
union of idealism in conception with extraordinary&lt;br /&gt;
realism in expression.&lt;br /&gt;
Sheer realism is incompatible with art; it must&lt;br /&gt;
logically lead to the gross bad taste which disfigures&lt;br /&gt;
M. Zola&amp;#039;s powerful work, the monotonous vivisection&lt;br /&gt;
of M. Bourget, or the intolerable dulness of their&lt;br /&gt;
lesser pupils.&lt;br /&gt;
Literature is limited in its possible subjects; to&lt;br /&gt;
pass these limitations is to fail as M. Zola has&lt;br /&gt;
failed, by excess in one direction, and less gifted&lt;br /&gt;
followers of Mr. Henry James may fail in another.&lt;br /&gt;
The idealist, misled by Balzac&amp;#039;s minuteness, pre-&lt;br /&gt;
judges that his philosophy is materialistic. The&lt;br /&gt;
realist has an evident undercurrent of distrust for&lt;br /&gt;
the idealism which to him is antipathetic and&lt;br /&gt;
spiritualises his master&amp;#039;s creations. The optimist&lt;br /&gt;
objects to La Comedie Humaine as a wicked&lt;br /&gt;
parody of the world he reveres. Mr. Leslie Stephen&lt;br /&gt;
has said, &amp;quot;We don&amp;#039;t often catch sight in his pages&lt;br /&gt;
of God frowning or the devil grinning; his world&lt;br /&gt;
seems to be pretty well forgotten by the one, and&lt;br /&gt;
its inhabitants quite able to dispense with the&lt;br /&gt;
services of the other.&amp;quot; The same may be said with&lt;br /&gt;
equal truth of English society at the present time,&lt;br /&gt;
for even if the morality of romantic fiction requires&lt;br /&gt;
it, in actual life at least, a god has no need to&lt;br /&gt;
advertise, and a devil is too discreet to display his&lt;br /&gt;
tail. The immorality ascribed to Balzac is in&lt;br /&gt;
reality that subtlest and most powerful form of&lt;br /&gt;
morality which teaches by suggestion without di-&lt;br /&gt;
dacticism. It is strange that his Christian critics&lt;br /&gt;
should be shocked because he represents evil as&lt;br /&gt;
apparently getting the best of the bargain of life,&lt;br /&gt;
and the children of this world, in their generation,&lt;br /&gt;
wiser than the children of Light. It is also strange&lt;br /&gt;
that idealists should accuse him of realism when&lt;br /&gt;
the actor he so often brings to the stake is the&lt;br /&gt;
perfect wise man. But, on the other hand, it has&lt;br /&gt;
been more truly said that Balzac is so moral as to&lt;br /&gt;
be sometimes untrue. In this cross fire of criticism&lt;br /&gt;
one position has not, I think, been taken, that the&lt;br /&gt;
object Balzac set before him was itself immoral,&lt;br /&gt;
that a detailed history of contemporary society is&lt;br /&gt;
a story too horrible to be told. On this point he&lt;br /&gt;
might possibly be held to fail as a moralist. Perfect&lt;br /&gt;
attainment of an end in view is recognized as so&lt;br /&gt;
high an excellence in art, and Balzac has achieved&lt;br /&gt;
so much that the morality of his aim is little&lt;br /&gt;
questioned The historical nature of his work is&lt;br /&gt;
accepted at the outset, but there are very few&lt;br /&gt;
critics who do not forget it in the course of their&lt;br /&gt;
arguments. To keep this steadily in view is&lt;br /&gt;
essential to rendering him justice, and to obtaining&lt;br /&gt;
a full appreciation of his marvellous work. It is&lt;br /&gt;
noticeable that he calls the subdivisions of the&lt;br /&gt;
scenes not &amp;quot;romans&amp;quot; or &amp;quot;contes,&amp;quot; but &amp;quot;e&amp;#039;tudes.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
The truth of his characters has been attacked,&lt;br /&gt;
contemporaries adverse to him confirm it, and it&lt;br /&gt;
would not be difficult to surpass his most terrible&lt;br /&gt;
examples of iniquity by quoting actual events&lt;br /&gt;
occurring daily in London. It is quite true that&lt;br /&gt;
the abnormal is not the ideal. But considering that&lt;br /&gt;
romance deals with the less rather than the more&lt;br /&gt;
usual event&mdash;with the marriape or murder of its&lt;br /&gt;
heroes rather than with their downsitting and up-&lt;br /&gt;
rising. And considering the greater effect that&lt;br /&gt;
dramatic situations leave upon the mind and&lt;br /&gt;
memory, it will be found that the proportion borne&lt;br /&gt;
by the abnormal in La Comedie Humaine is none&lt;br /&gt;
too great for artistic effect, and establishes no&lt;br /&gt;
presumption that Balzac misunderstood the nature&lt;br /&gt;
of the ideal.&lt;br /&gt;
There is a tendency among brilliant critics to&lt;br /&gt;
criticise adversely separate studies of the Comedie&lt;br /&gt;
Humaine, and to apply their criticism to the whole.&lt;br /&gt;
In this way Balzac is censured for long and elabo-&lt;br /&gt;
rate details concerning characters of &amp;quot;minor impor-&lt;br /&gt;
tance. There is truth in the censure; no doubt&lt;br /&gt;
the artistic value of some of the studies is lessened&lt;br /&gt;
by digressions, but it must be remembered that the&lt;br /&gt;
minor character so minutely described in one is&lt;br /&gt;
usually destined to be the hero of another. To&lt;br /&gt;
appreciate this arrangement the studies should be&lt;br /&gt;
read in their internal chronological order, beginning&lt;br /&gt;
with &amp;quot;Le Martyr Calviniste,&amp;quot; and ending with&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Comedians sans le savoir.&amp;quot; It is impossible to&lt;br /&gt;
criticise one study rightly without a knowledge of&lt;br /&gt;
the rest.&lt;br /&gt;
To discuss the morality of Balzac in detail would&lt;br /&gt;
require a volume. Mr. Swinburne alone, in a note&lt;br /&gt;
to his Essay on William Blake, fully appreciates his&lt;br /&gt;
power as a &amp;quot;master of morals.&amp;quot; I believe that he&lt;br /&gt;
exercises this power at least equally with Shakes-&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 243 (#291) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
243&lt;br /&gt;
peare, not by interpretation, but as a pure artist by&lt;br /&gt;
implication; this question the high authority of&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Swinburne has decided to the contrary.&lt;br /&gt;
One study by Balzac is so well known and has&lt;br /&gt;
been so much criticised that I may perhaps notice&lt;br /&gt;
a very common misapprehension concerning it.&lt;br /&gt;
The blind devotion of Pere Goriot is almost always&lt;br /&gt;
regarded as ignoble, and Pere Goriot as a libel on&lt;br /&gt;
the heroic character of King Lear. But the short&lt;br /&gt;
account of his life before the drama begins, gives&lt;br /&gt;
a clue not sufficiently considered. Pere Goriot is&lt;br /&gt;
a man of vile character; he has practised the most&lt;br /&gt;
despicable trade; he has grown rich by usurious&lt;br /&gt;
corn-dealing in time of famine. He has fattened&lt;br /&gt;
on the starvation of the poor. He is not a Jew&lt;br /&gt;
spoiling the Egyptians, but a Frenchman of the&lt;br /&gt;
people preying on the keen hunger of his own&lt;br /&gt;
brothers. He has no religion, no education, no&lt;br /&gt;
morality. But in him is one&mdash;instinct perhaps&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
not wholly evil, his utter devotion to his daughters.&lt;br /&gt;
(If this had been Shakespeare&amp;#039;s work this point&lt;br /&gt;
would long ago have been seized on and&lt;br /&gt;
belauded as &amp;quot;a touch of nature &amp;quot; of extraordinary&lt;br /&gt;
beauty.) Le Pere Goriot&amp;#039;s nature is too contracted,&lt;br /&gt;
too frozen into its separate cells by long habit, for&lt;br /&gt;
the good to leaven it perceptibly. He is a low&lt;br /&gt;
type of nature incapable of rising (as all nature&lt;br /&gt;
is incapable) above its own sphere, but the one&lt;br /&gt;
good quality does raise him to the extreme bounds&lt;br /&gt;
of his sphere, and he dies by so cruel a martyrdom&lt;br /&gt;
that we are ready to forget his infamous greed.&lt;br /&gt;
He is a character with one talent, and he uses it.&lt;br /&gt;
Pere Goriot is not likely to attract the optimist;&lt;br /&gt;
however, there is nature and idealism in the sketch&lt;br /&gt;
of him all the same.&lt;br /&gt;
A certain &amp;quot;snobbishness&amp;quot; and want of taste has&lt;br /&gt;
been charged against Balzac, because his leaders&lt;br /&gt;
of society are guilty of impertinences and want of&lt;br /&gt;
refined feeling. The usually adverse Sainte Beuve&lt;br /&gt;
testifies that these characters are extraordinarily&lt;br /&gt;
like contemporary life at the time, and then Balzac&lt;br /&gt;
does not necessarily approve of what he describes.&lt;br /&gt;
In many of the cases specially noticed, his critics&lt;br /&gt;
are deceived by his power of concealment. It is&lt;br /&gt;
to fall into the error of which he is accused, to&lt;br /&gt;
imagine that perfection in etiquette or a prominent&lt;br /&gt;
position in society ensure perfect gentleness of&lt;br /&gt;
mind.&lt;br /&gt;
Lastly, the monarchismand Catholicism of Balzac&lt;br /&gt;
are said to be mere affectations. Passages are&lt;br /&gt;
quoted to prove this. The Abbe, tutor to de Marsay&lt;br /&gt;
in &amp;quot;Ferragus,&amp;quot; is even regarded as a type of&lt;br /&gt;
Balzac&amp;#039;s priest. Even that most brilliant and&lt;br /&gt;
convincing of critics, Mr. Henry James, cannot&lt;br /&gt;
make us consider this quite fair. Balzac has&lt;br /&gt;
explicitly declared that he wrote as a monarchist&lt;br /&gt;
and a Catholic. There are strong expressions of&lt;br /&gt;
reverence in his writing for both the throne and the&lt;br /&gt;
Church; no word is found disrespectful to religion&lt;br /&gt;
or the family. If the philosophy of Louis Lambert&lt;br /&gt;
is incompatible with Christian Philosophy, which&lt;br /&gt;
I am not prepared to maintain, it is purely specu-&lt;br /&gt;
lative, and has not the evidential value of distinct&lt;br /&gt;
purpose.&lt;br /&gt;
As a race devoted to licence in politics and&lt;br /&gt;
religion, we may regret the lack of it in so compre-&lt;br /&gt;
hensivea mind as Balzac&amp;#039;s; but by isolating passages&lt;br /&gt;
in his writing and reading in our own meanings at&lt;br /&gt;
variance with his expressed purpose, we shall neither&lt;br /&gt;
do justice to their artistic merit nor arrive at a&lt;br /&gt;
true knowledge of their philosophy.&lt;br /&gt;
William Wilson.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
TARSTOW, DENVER AND COM-&lt;br /&gt;
PANY, LIMITED.&lt;br /&gt;
THE author is getting on. Here we have&lt;br /&gt;
before us the most practical realisation of&lt;br /&gt;
our statements that literary property is&lt;br /&gt;
real, and should meet with the same business-like&lt;br /&gt;
treatment that other forms of property meet with&lt;br /&gt;
as a matter of course. For is not Tarstow, Denver&lt;br /&gt;
and Company, Limited, a business-like affair with&lt;br /&gt;
a business-like prospectus, and a capital of&lt;br /&gt;
jQ 10,000 to be divided in orthodox manner into&lt;br /&gt;
Deferred, Preferred, and Founders&amp;#039; Shares, and&lt;br /&gt;
are not its objects the publication of the works of&lt;br /&gt;
one novelist and the arrangement of a literary&lt;br /&gt;
syndicate for the supply to newspapers and maga-&lt;br /&gt;
zines of novels and other material?&lt;br /&gt;
When we look back upon our own earlier circu-&lt;br /&gt;
lars and remember how hopeless, in days gone by,&lt;br /&gt;
it would have seemed to us to attempt to persuade&lt;br /&gt;
anyone that there might be as much money in a&lt;br /&gt;
good novel as in a good pill, and that the business&lt;br /&gt;
treatment of each might, with advantage, be made&lt;br /&gt;
more similar; when we recall our own interest in&lt;br /&gt;
a syndicate for the supply of newspapers, and our&lt;br /&gt;
own idea&mdash;still present to us&mdash;of some profit-&lt;br /&gt;
sharing scheme for the benefit of our members, it&lt;br /&gt;
seems almost cantankerous to reflect upon Tarstow,&lt;br /&gt;
Denver and Company, Limited, in terms of anything&lt;br /&gt;
short of praise.&lt;br /&gt;
Yet, from the perusal of the prospectus, we are&lt;br /&gt;
constrained to prophesy badly for the future of this&lt;br /&gt;
concern.&lt;br /&gt;
The following are the chief advantages offered&lt;br /&gt;
to the shareholders :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
(1) The copyrights of the &amp;quot;J.E.M.&amp;quot; guide-&lt;br /&gt;
books.&lt;br /&gt;
(2) The profits of a syndicate for the supply of&lt;br /&gt;
novels and other literary matter by well&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 244 (#292) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
244&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
known authors to newspapers and maga-&lt;br /&gt;
zines.&lt;br /&gt;
(3) The copyrights of twelve romances.&lt;br /&gt;
We should like to say a few words about each.&lt;br /&gt;
(1) The money value of the copyrights of the&lt;br /&gt;
J.E.M. guide-books has been estimated by a&lt;br /&gt;
person of experience, and we are bound to presume&lt;br /&gt;
that he had before him all the necessary data, but&lt;br /&gt;
we do not find that a statement made in the&lt;br /&gt;
prospectus is borne out either by the literary&lt;br /&gt;
agent&amp;#039;s estimate or our own personal experience as&lt;br /&gt;
to the value of different forms of literary property.&lt;br /&gt;
It is said in the prospectus that guide-books pay&lt;br /&gt;
almost better than any other class of books. On&lt;br /&gt;
this we have to remark first, that in some cases the&lt;br /&gt;
receipts obtained from the sale of guide-books are&lt;br /&gt;
1 irge, these are the cases where the expense to be&lt;br /&gt;
incurred to make the production accurate and up&lt;br /&gt;
to date, will be proportionately large; and secondly,&lt;br /&gt;
that the number of guide-books which achieve&lt;br /&gt;
substantial success is very small in comparison&lt;br /&gt;
with the numbers issued. For each of which&lt;br /&gt;
reasons we demur at the statement that they form&lt;br /&gt;
a valuable class of books. If anyone has private&lt;br /&gt;
information concerning the sale of the J.E.M.&lt;br /&gt;
guide-books, such a person can act on his&lt;br /&gt;
judgment, but to the ordinary public this would&lt;br /&gt;
not be a safe guide on this subject.&lt;br /&gt;
(2) There are large profits to be made by the&lt;br /&gt;
syndicating of the works of certain authors, but&lt;br /&gt;
not by the syndicating of the works of the writer in&lt;br /&gt;
general. Now Tarstow, Denver and Company,&lt;br /&gt;
Limited, has, we gather from the prospectus, arisen&lt;br /&gt;
from the ashes of &amp;quot; The Authors&amp;#039; Co-operative Pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lishing Company, Limited,&amp;quot; and this latter Company&lt;br /&gt;
published a list of certain of their clients whose&lt;br /&gt;
work was available for syndicating purposes. In&lt;br /&gt;
the absence from Tarstow, Denver and Company&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
prospectus of all mention of the well-known names&lt;br /&gt;
upon whom it is proposed to rely, it is difficult not&lt;br /&gt;
to come to the conclusion that the authors whose&lt;br /&gt;
works are to be syndicated are those mentioned in&lt;br /&gt;
the Authors&amp;#039; Co-operative Publishing Company,&lt;br /&gt;
Limited&amp;#039;s list. Now this list did not consist of&lt;br /&gt;
well-known authors. There were in it one or two&lt;br /&gt;
good names and one or two more or less familiar&lt;br /&gt;
names, but, as a whole, the gentlemen and ladies&lt;br /&gt;
who were ready to supply work in serial form&lt;br /&gt;
through the agency of the Authors&amp;#039; Co-operative&lt;br /&gt;
Publishing Company, Limited, were not well-&lt;br /&gt;
known authors. If it is to these authors that the&lt;br /&gt;
prospectus of Tarstow, Denver and Company,&lt;br /&gt;
Limited, refers, then, having recollection of the&lt;br /&gt;
great practical difficulty in finding a serial market&lt;br /&gt;
for any but the work of the very best known&lt;br /&gt;
people, we respectfully submit that the chances&lt;br /&gt;
of large profits to the shareholders are very poor.&lt;br /&gt;
(3) The Company are to acquire the copy-&lt;br /&gt;
rights of twelve romances by a certain author.&lt;br /&gt;
Here we are face to face with a difficulty.&lt;br /&gt;
Romances are a valuable property, and do not&lt;br /&gt;
require either the accurate attention or the careful&lt;br /&gt;
revision, editing, and bringing up to date which&lt;br /&gt;
must be so annoying to the author of a guide-book;&lt;br /&gt;
but it is with romances as it is with guide-books&mdash;if&lt;br /&gt;
they are not good the public won&amp;#039;t have them, and&lt;br /&gt;
if they are not by a well-known name the public&lt;br /&gt;
won&amp;#039;t look at them.&lt;br /&gt;
To which class do these twelve romances&lt;br /&gt;
belong :&mdash;to either? to neither? to both?&lt;br /&gt;
We do not speak in the least bit other than&lt;br /&gt;
most courteously, but if the author writes under&lt;br /&gt;
the name given in the circular he has not a&lt;br /&gt;
well-known name; and to the best of our belief&lt;br /&gt;
has not under that name given to the public as yet&lt;br /&gt;
a good book. If, however, he writes under a&lt;br /&gt;
nom-de-plume it is a different case entirely, and he&lt;br /&gt;
may be the popular author of admirable romances;&lt;br /&gt;
but then how does he come to have twelve on&lt;br /&gt;
hand? We make bold to say that Miss Braddon&lt;br /&gt;
and Mrs. Oliphant never yet got so far ahead of&lt;br /&gt;
their market and their printer. The directors&lt;br /&gt;
ought to take the investor more into their confi-&lt;br /&gt;
dence, but in the absence of information on the&lt;br /&gt;
subject we must examine this matter for ourselves.&lt;br /&gt;
Either this author has tried to dispose of these&lt;br /&gt;
romances in book form, and has not met with&lt;br /&gt;
encouragement from the purblind publisher, and&lt;br /&gt;
in that case we make bold to say that these&lt;br /&gt;
copyrights are not worth buying or he has pur-&lt;br /&gt;
posely kept his work back from a large and eager&lt;br /&gt;
public, so that its value might be enhanced by&lt;br /&gt;
the delay. In this latter case it would seem that&lt;br /&gt;
he might be disposing of his copyrights cheaply,&lt;br /&gt;
and that his best method of repaying himself for&lt;br /&gt;
his work would be to take his payment in shares.&lt;br /&gt;
If he has not wanted the publishers&amp;#039; money why&lt;br /&gt;
should he want the money of Tarstow, Denver and&lt;br /&gt;
Company, Limited?&lt;br /&gt;
But, after all, these matters would become clear&lt;br /&gt;
if we knew the names of the twelve romances&lt;br /&gt;
and the places where they could be read in serial&lt;br /&gt;
form. The investor is left too much in the dark.&lt;br /&gt;
The Society of Authors would only too gladly&lt;br /&gt;
recognize with cordiality the success of any scheme&lt;br /&gt;
of any sort whereby authors, their agents, their&lt;br /&gt;
employers, and their public could be brought to&lt;br /&gt;
look upon literary work as property to be dealt with&lt;br /&gt;
according to the usual rules prevalent in the&lt;br /&gt;
disposal of other forms of property, but it cannot&lt;br /&gt;
be conceded that Tarstow, Denver and Company&lt;br /&gt;
Limited, hold forth&mdash;on examination of their&lt;br /&gt;
prospectus&mdash;much chance of pecuniary benefit to&lt;br /&gt;
the investor.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 245 (#293) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
245&lt;br /&gt;
AN ENGLISH ACADEMY.&lt;br /&gt;
THE pressure on our space does not allow of&lt;br /&gt;
a long letter from Mr. J. McGrigor Allan&lt;br /&gt;
being printed in full. He quotes Bulwer&lt;br /&gt;
Lytton on the Royal Society; but the Royal Society&lt;br /&gt;
of 1891 is a very different institution from that of&lt;br /&gt;
1827. Also the same authority on the French&lt;br /&gt;
Academy and on the Royal Academy. He con-&lt;br /&gt;
cludes :&mdash;&amp;quot; Human nature and English character&lt;br /&gt;
have not changed since Bulwer wrote. We know&lt;br /&gt;
exactly what to expect, if an Academy of Letters&lt;br /&gt;
should be established. It would be powerfully&lt;br /&gt;
influenced&mdash;if not leavened, and actually governed&lt;br /&gt;
by Royalty, Aristocracy, and the Clergy. The&lt;br /&gt;
Republic of Letters would be heavily handicapped.&lt;br /&gt;
A British Forty of Bishops, Historians, Poets,&lt;br /&gt;
Essayists, Moral Philosophers, Philologists, and&lt;br /&gt;
Scientists might not deign to recognise even a first-&lt;br /&gt;
rate novelist as a man, or woman of letters. To&lt;br /&gt;
many such, a popular novelist would hardly be&lt;br /&gt;
known by report. Horace Walpole relates that&lt;br /&gt;
Bishop Warburton recommended &amp;#039;Tristram&lt;br /&gt;
Shandy&amp;#039; to the Bench of Bishops, saying that the&lt;br /&gt;
author was the English Rabelais. They had never&lt;br /&gt;
heard of such a writer! An Oxford Professor&lt;br /&gt;
thought Thackeray&amp;#039;s &amp;#039;Vanity Fair&amp;#039; a religious&lt;br /&gt;
work! In a Literary Academy, Clerical influence&lt;br /&gt;
would be against novelists. Novels are denounced&lt;br /&gt;
from the pulpit. Yet wise preachers recommended&lt;br /&gt;
Richardson&amp;#039;s novels. The most philosophical of&lt;br /&gt;
French novelists, Balzac, was not a member of the&lt;br /&gt;
Academy. If I am correct in thinking that an&lt;br /&gt;
English Literary Academy (while welcoming&lt;br /&gt;
princes and dukes) would hardly admit a Walter&lt;br /&gt;
Scott, Literature would lose far more than it&lt;br /&gt;
would gain, by establishing an English Academy of&lt;br /&gt;
Letters.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
THE EXCHANGE OF BOOKS.&lt;br /&gt;
IN the Author tor June of last year, a suggestion&lt;br /&gt;
was made that we might organize a kind of&lt;br /&gt;
Book Exchange. It was there pointed out&lt;br /&gt;
that some men are constantly obliged to buy books&lt;br /&gt;
for some special purpose which they do not want&lt;br /&gt;
any more, and would be glad to exchange. Others&lt;br /&gt;
there are who are always wanting to complete their&lt;br /&gt;
sets, improve their collections, get first editions,&lt;br /&gt;
all kinds of things.&lt;br /&gt;
Why, it was asked, cannot the Author give us&lt;br /&gt;
space to advertise these wants and wares? Why&lt;br /&gt;
not? If the idea seems practical, and one which&lt;br /&gt;
might be taken up with advantage, let it be carried&lt;br /&gt;
out. Will those who are ready to make trial send&lt;br /&gt;
me their lists? They should be two-fold, thus&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
c. Books wanted.&lt;br /&gt;
2. Books to exchange or to sell. The price&lt;br /&gt;
should be stated.&lt;br /&gt;
Names, but not for publication, should accom-&lt;br /&gt;
pany the list.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
IN GRUB STREET.&lt;br /&gt;
AUTHORS may be interested to know that&lt;br /&gt;
the movement set on foot at Mr. Henry&lt;br /&gt;
Blackburn&amp;#039;s Art School in Victoria Street,&lt;br /&gt;
to give information as to the best way to draw for&lt;br /&gt;
reproduction in the press, is now thoroughly estab-&lt;br /&gt;
lished. A considerable number of students have&lt;br /&gt;
qualified themselves according to their ability, for&lt;br /&gt;
drawing for the press, and more than one author of&lt;br /&gt;
note has mastered the technique of book illustration.&lt;br /&gt;
But Mr. Henry Blackburn&amp;#039;s greatest prize in his&lt;br /&gt;
school is a real life &amp;quot;art-critic.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;At last,&amp;quot; he&lt;br /&gt;
says, &amp;quot;there will be one reviewer capable of&lt;br /&gt;
speaking of the modern &amp;#039;processes&amp;#039; from personal&lt;br /&gt;
knowledge.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
The firm of Field and Tuer is dissolved, Mr.&lt;br /&gt;
Field retiring. Mr. Andrew W. Tuer will continue&lt;br /&gt;
the publishing and printing businesses, &amp;amp;c, undo&lt;br /&gt;
the style of the Leadenhall Press.&lt;br /&gt;
Messrs. Bentley have just issued a novel by Mr.&lt;br /&gt;
Egerton Castle, under the title of &amp;quot;Consequences.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Castle is well-known as a skilful swordsman&lt;br /&gt;
and also as a writer on swordsmanship. His&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Masters of Fence&amp;quot; is highly thought of by the&lt;br /&gt;
comparatively small circle of readers competent to&lt;br /&gt;
express an opinion; such a work and his biblio-&lt;br /&gt;
graphy of fencing appended to Mr. W. H. Pollock&lt;br /&gt;
and Mr. Grove&amp;#039;s &amp;quot; Fencing&amp;quot; volume of the Bad-&lt;br /&gt;
minton Library showed that a master of fence&lt;br /&gt;
may be at the same time an antiquarian and a&lt;br /&gt;
scholar. Readers who had the good fortune to&lt;br /&gt;
light on a short story which Mr. Castle contributed&lt;br /&gt;
some time ago to the Cornhill will not be&lt;br /&gt;
surprised if he wins laurels on a larger field.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Lockwood, speaking the other day on&lt;br /&gt;
literature at the Graphic dinner, expressed himself&lt;br /&gt;
profoundly sensible of the truth of the proverb,&lt;br /&gt;
that &amp;quot; the pen is mightier than the sword.&amp;quot; His&lt;br /&gt;
experience of the sword, however, he went on to&lt;br /&gt;
confess, was limited. It seems he had to wear one&lt;br /&gt;
once at a Mansion House Dinner.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 246 (#294) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
It would be invidious to inquire as regards :he&lt;br /&gt;
obituary of the rear 18^0. &amp;#039;whether the year has&lt;br /&gt;
given us as much as it has taken away. Half-a-&lt;br /&gt;
dozen future geniuses may have been bom. and&lt;br /&gt;
it would be premature to prophesy irr.rnGruiliry cr&lt;br /&gt;
oblivion for this or that work. Many may have&lt;br /&gt;
h/een overestimated, many great bocks may have&lt;br /&gt;
been passed over. Even ailowir.g for this, however,&lt;br /&gt;
it cannot be said to have been an annus miraiuis.&lt;br /&gt;
Of course everyone has been occupied with mere&lt;br /&gt;
important subjects than literature. Cannibalism,&lt;br /&gt;
libel actions, divorce suits, ecclesiastical persecu-&lt;br /&gt;
tion, and a thousand other burning topics have taken&lt;br /&gt;
up everyone&amp;#039;s time. Curiously enough poetry has&lt;br /&gt;
come out the best Setting aside the work of those&lt;br /&gt;
already famous, there has been some excellent&lt;br /&gt;
verses from recent hands this last year. Much of it&lt;br /&gt;
should find a place in some future England&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
Helicon.&lt;br /&gt;
To find the annus mirabilis of English literature&lt;br /&gt;
one must go back to the fifties. Take 1855. In&lt;br /&gt;
tliat excellent catalogue of Mr. Henry Morley&amp;#039;s,&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;A Sketch of English Literature,&amp;#039;&amp;#039; he gives, among&lt;br /&gt;
others, the following as all issued in this remarkable&lt;br /&gt;
year: Robert Browning, &amp;quot;Men and Women&amp;quot;;&lt;br /&gt;
Alfred Tennyson, &amp;quot;Maud&amp;quot;; Dickens, &amp;quot;Little&lt;br /&gt;
Dorrit&amp;quot;; Thackeray, &amp;quot;The Rose and the Ring&amp;quot;;&lt;br /&gt;
Charles Kingsley, &amp;quot;Westward Hoi&amp;quot;; George&lt;br /&gt;
Meredith, &amp;quot;shaving of Shagpat&amp;quot;; Leigh Hunt,&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Old Court Suburb&amp;quot;; Anthony Trollope, &amp;quot;The&lt;br /&gt;
Warden&amp;quot;; Matthew Arnold. &amp;quot;Poems&amp;quot;; and the&lt;br /&gt;
Saturday Review was established. &amp;#039;58, &amp;#039;59, &amp;#039;62, &amp;#039;64,&lt;br /&gt;
wctc also extraordinary for the number and excel-&lt;br /&gt;
lence of great works. The Saturday Review was&lt;br /&gt;
a contribution to literature no less than journalism.&lt;br /&gt;
As a Radical remarked the other day, the Times&lt;br /&gt;
and the Saturday Review are the two best papers&lt;br /&gt;
in the world.&lt;br /&gt;
The public have a right, perhaps, to expect some-&lt;br /&gt;
thing ever new and delightful from the author of&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;A Daughter of Heth&amp;quot;; yet the most sanguine&lt;br /&gt;
may well be enthusiastic over Mr. Black&amp;#039;s latest&lt;br /&gt;
novel, &amp;quot; Stand Fast, Craig Royston.&amp;quot; Though pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lished at the end of the year, it is rather the book&lt;br /&gt;
of the New Year. It will be admitted that even&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Black has never achieved such a masterly&lt;br /&gt;
piece of characterisation as that of old George&lt;br /&gt;
Bethune. One of the great merits of the book is&lt;br /&gt;
its modernity. You feel you have met the sort of&lt;br /&gt;
people Mr. Black describes; they are not stuffed&lt;br /&gt;
dolls dressed in nineteenth century clothes, with&lt;br /&gt;
conversation culled from primaeval Ollendorf. Mr.&lt;br /&gt;
Harris, the millionaire socialist, is highly humorous,&lt;br /&gt;
hut of minor characters the best is Mr. Courtney&lt;br /&gt;
Fox, London Correspondent of the Edinburgh&lt;br /&gt;
Chrcnidt. whose sentiments about the nor.hem&lt;br /&gt;
capital I must confess to sharing.&lt;br /&gt;
Messrs. Macmillan have just issued a pocket&lt;br /&gt;
volume of the complete works of Lord Tennyson.&lt;br /&gt;
Of course the double co&amp;#039;amn was a necessity, but&lt;br /&gt;
why should the exterior be made to resemble a&lt;br /&gt;
prayer bock? Surely it was not an intentional&lt;br /&gt;
resemblance to defy detection when the Idylls of&lt;br /&gt;
the King are preferable to a dull sermon. I&lt;br /&gt;
su: 70-e there are people who carry favourite&lt;br /&gt;
books about in their pockets wherever they go, but&lt;br /&gt;
one only hears of them in romance. Except on a&lt;br /&gt;
railway jcumey it is the last place I should put a&lt;br /&gt;
bock. For the prevailing passion of compressing&lt;br /&gt;
great authors into the smallest space I have very&lt;br /&gt;
little sympathy, unless it is to take them to church.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Walter Scott, by the way, is to be congratulated&lt;br /&gt;
on having erased the hideous red border on the&lt;br /&gt;
pages of his Canterbury Poets, which disfigured the&lt;br /&gt;
early volumes; it gave a very Common Prayer Book&lt;br /&gt;
air to a number of not very religious bards.&lt;br /&gt;
The new edition of the &amp;quot;Earthly Paradise&amp;quot; in&lt;br /&gt;
one volume has long been among the traditional&lt;br /&gt;
felt wants. Mr. William Morris is certainly the&lt;br /&gt;
third among the sons of light now living. His many&lt;br /&gt;
admirers cannot but regret his desertion of the&lt;br /&gt;
Muses for very ephemeral socialistic literature,&lt;br /&gt;
whose chief object is to promote an earthly other&lt;br /&gt;
place. Once I was talking to a follower and&lt;br /&gt;
admirer of Mr. William Morris, who was deeply&lt;br /&gt;
read in the master&amp;#039;s works; but he objected to the&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Earthly Paradise&amp;quot; for two reasons. One was&lt;br /&gt;
that there was too much about kings, the other,&lt;br /&gt;
a certain passage in which farm labourers were&lt;br /&gt;
called by what he thought an offensive name. It&lt;br /&gt;
is in one of those beautiful interludes for each&lt;br /&gt;
month. I believe it refers to the Roman earth-&lt;br /&gt;
works at Dorchester, near Oxford, cut up by the&lt;br /&gt;
plough :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Across the gap made by our English kinds,&lt;br /&gt;
Ami(l&amp;gt;t the Roman&amp;#039;s handiwork, behold&lt;br /&gt;
Far oft the long roofed church.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
If my friend had only read Mr. Freeman&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
works, he would have known all about hinds, and&lt;br /&gt;
moots, and gemots, which to the uninitiated do&lt;br /&gt;
sound offensive.&lt;br /&gt;
The Daily News of the 5th inst. devoted an&lt;br /&gt;
interesting leader to one of the most interesting of&lt;br /&gt;
new reprints. Etonians and Cambridge men, as&lt;br /&gt;
well as book collectors, have long treasured the two&lt;br /&gt;
small thin volumes of &amp;quot;Ionica,&amp;quot; by Mr. William&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 247 (#295) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
Cory, and fortunate possessors of these have always&lt;br /&gt;
recognised in him one of the most original of&lt;br /&gt;
modern poets, as indeed he was the most rare.&lt;br /&gt;
At the sale of the late Provost of King&amp;#039;s Library a&lt;br /&gt;
copy went for as much as three guineas. In the&lt;br /&gt;
anthology of &amp;quot; Living English Poets,&amp;quot; the author&lt;br /&gt;
was represented by &amp;quot; Mimnermus in Church,&amp;quot; but&lt;br /&gt;
until Mr. George Allen&amp;#039;s republication there has&lt;br /&gt;
been no second edition. The wonderful rendering&lt;br /&gt;
of the lines of Callimachus from the Greek&lt;br /&gt;
Anthology has long been in verbal circulation, but&lt;br /&gt;
I do not think it has ever been reprinted. There&lt;br /&gt;
are many poems that are new in this volume, but&lt;br /&gt;
this will not detract from the first edition, so that&lt;br /&gt;
bibliophils need not despair. I believe a first&lt;br /&gt;
edition only becomes precious when a second has&lt;br /&gt;
been issued. There was more of fulfilment than&lt;br /&gt;
promise in &amp;quot;Ionica,&amp;quot; and the new poems show&lt;br /&gt;
no sign of falling off.&lt;br /&gt;
Some American, I hear, is buying up all the&lt;br /&gt;
edition de luxe of the Henry Irving Shakespeare;&lt;br /&gt;
as a speculation, I suppose. It has not gone very&lt;br /&gt;
well so far, but this should make it valuable, and&lt;br /&gt;
would please political economists if no one else.&lt;br /&gt;
Among many other reprints is the &amp;quot; Hypnoto-&lt;br /&gt;
machia Poliphili,&amp;quot; which comes out under the&lt;br /&gt;
auspices of Mr. Andrew Lang, in the &amp;quot;Tudor&lt;br /&gt;
Library,&amp;quot; and therefore everyone who is able will&lt;br /&gt;
purchase; those who are unable will sell all they&lt;br /&gt;
have to do so.&lt;br /&gt;
Does the study of Greek, even of the most&lt;br /&gt;
superficial nature, benefit a man? Those schools&lt;br /&gt;
with modern and classic sides surely will meet the&lt;br /&gt;
views of the cheap science and Stratford-atte-&lt;br /&gt;
P.owe-French advocates. John Bright is always&lt;br /&gt;
held up as a master of English, as one who&lt;br /&gt;
knew no Greek, who preferred Thucydides in&lt;br /&gt;
translation to the original (with which he was un-&lt;br /&gt;
acquainted). But it is not by selecting individual&lt;br /&gt;
exceptions that the case is proved. Everyone can-&lt;br /&gt;
not know Greek, but if it becomes a speciality it&lt;br /&gt;
will not have the influence it has had hitherto.&lt;br /&gt;
As Mr. Oscar Wilde said, Bohn&amp;#039;s cribs would be a&lt;br /&gt;
much better instance than john Bright against the&lt;br /&gt;
retention of Greek as a compulsory subject. It&lt;br /&gt;
might be a case for an academy to decide.&lt;br /&gt;
A new novel by John Strange Winter will be&lt;br /&gt;
commenced in Lloyd&amp;#039;s weekly newspaper, on&lt;br /&gt;
February ist. It is a tale of the Divorce Court.&lt;br /&gt;
VOL. I.&lt;br /&gt;
A new novel by Bertram Mitford, author of &amp;quot; The&lt;br /&gt;
Fire Trumpet,&amp;quot; is announced by Messrs. Sutton&lt;br /&gt;
and Drowley, under the terrific title of &amp;quot;The&lt;br /&gt;
Weird of Murderer&amp;#039;s Hollow.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
CASES.&lt;br /&gt;
I.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;T&amp;quot; AST January a certain artistic journal was&lt;br /&gt;
I taken over by a well-known London pub-&lt;br /&gt;
■*&mdash;&amp;#039; lisher, re-named, and re-issued with a&lt;br /&gt;
flourish of trumpets in the shape of a list of contri-&lt;br /&gt;
butors, containing some of our best known writers&lt;br /&gt;
and artists. Thinking this a sufficient guarantee,&lt;br /&gt;
I sent a MS. with ten or twelve tone drawings (I&lt;br /&gt;
had already contributed to the journal under its&lt;br /&gt;
old name). Some time in the early days of 1890&lt;br /&gt;
I heard unpleasant rumours, and to make sure&lt;br /&gt;
I wrote to the editor, and stating my price, asked&lt;br /&gt;
for its return, if unavailable. In May he replied&lt;br /&gt;
that the sum was too high, that he did not wish&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;#039;to beat me down&amp;#039; if I could place it elsewhere,&lt;br /&gt;
but that if &amp;#039;you care to let me have it, I shall be&lt;br /&gt;
glad to hear your lowest price, and perhaps we&lt;br /&gt;
may come to terms.&amp;#039; My price being at the&lt;br /&gt;
usual rate, I replied that as I could not take less,&lt;br /&gt;
I should be glad to have the MS. back. Sum-&lt;br /&gt;
mer came; I went abroad, and only in October&lt;br /&gt;
did I hear that the review had collapsed. I there-&lt;br /&gt;
upon wrote to the publisher for my MS. (a friend&lt;br /&gt;
had received hers), and he replied that my letter&lt;br /&gt;
had been sent on to the late editor. Hearing&lt;br /&gt;
nothing, I wrote again with the same results.&lt;br /&gt;
What is to be done? Is the publisher liable?&lt;br /&gt;
MSS. may get mislaid, but drawings do not easily,&lt;br /&gt;
and they make pretty scrap books.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
II.&lt;br /&gt;
Another case. &amp;quot;MS. accepted and price stated&lt;br /&gt;
by letter. Review ceases to exist. Editor wishes&lt;br /&gt;
to return them because they are no longer of any&lt;br /&gt;
use (one was waiting eighteen months before the&lt;br /&gt;
crash came, for its turn). Is this just? Supposing&lt;br /&gt;
I order coals in June, and in December I take to&lt;br /&gt;
gas stoves, am I honest in refusing to pay for the&lt;br /&gt;
coals, and will the merchant come and fetch them&lt;br /&gt;
if I say I have no longer any use for them?&lt;br /&gt;
Probably I should be marched to the County&lt;br /&gt;
Court under such conditions. Why then should&lt;br /&gt;
not editors and publishers be made to pay for&lt;br /&gt;
goods they have distinctly bought at a specified&lt;br /&gt;
u&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 248 (#296) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
248&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
price? In the discussion which took place in&lt;br /&gt;
the Times touching publishers and authors,&lt;br /&gt;
we were told that as the former bore the losses,&lt;br /&gt;
they were entitled to the profits. But here are&lt;br /&gt;
cases in which the publishers and proprietors&lt;br /&gt;
take the profits, and the authors bear the loss,&lt;br /&gt;
pecuniary and otherwise, as well as of their&lt;br /&gt;
absolute property. It is not the author&amp;#039;s fault&lt;br /&gt;
if an editor accepts more MSS. than he can use&lt;br /&gt;
before the smash comes; and they seem to me&lt;br /&gt;
to be the only sort of dry goods which a purchaser&lt;br /&gt;
can send back after eighteen months&amp;#039; possession.&lt;br /&gt;
In the discussion referred to, one of the writers&lt;br /&gt;
spoke of its being &amp;quot;charity&amp;quot; to give an author&lt;br /&gt;
more money than he agreed to take, supposing&lt;br /&gt;
his work prove a success; but he omitted to state&lt;br /&gt;
whether he considered it to be mean, to say the&lt;br /&gt;
least, to refuse to pay what had been arranged,&lt;br /&gt;
because the periodical comes to an end. It is no&lt;br /&gt;
question of extra payment under certain conditions,&lt;br /&gt;
but of the sum promised months ago. We hear a&lt;br /&gt;
great deal of abuse of American procedure; I can&lt;br /&gt;
only say, that in my limited experience, I have&lt;br /&gt;
always been treated justly, and in a gentlemanly&lt;br /&gt;
manner, by Americans. The cases I have cited&lt;br /&gt;
are purely British.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
X. Y. Z.&lt;br /&gt;
NEW BOOKS AND NEW EDITIONS.&lt;br /&gt;
Theology.&lt;br /&gt;
III.&lt;br /&gt;
We have at different times received numerous&lt;br /&gt;
complaints from our members, and from authors&lt;br /&gt;
outside our ranks, that the behaviour of the pro-&lt;br /&gt;
prietors or editors of certain magazines is not only&lt;br /&gt;
wanting in courtesy&mdash;which may be nothing in&lt;br /&gt;
business, but in honesty&mdash;which is a great deal.&lt;br /&gt;
We have before us information as to the pay-&lt;br /&gt;
ments usually made by all sorts of serials, daily,&lt;br /&gt;
weekly, and monthly, high-class, middle and low,&lt;br /&gt;
to their contributors, and the result has been that&lt;br /&gt;
we know which are the just and courteous, which&lt;br /&gt;
are the grave offenders, and which are the merely&lt;br /&gt;
unmannerly and unbusinesslike. If anybody is&lt;br /&gt;
anxious to know what his or her chance may be of&lt;br /&gt;
getting paid for contributions to any particular&lt;br /&gt;
paper, and how long they may have to wait for&lt;br /&gt;
the money, the information can in most cases be&lt;br /&gt;
obtained from our Secretary, whose communications&lt;br /&gt;
will in all necessary cases be of a strictly libellous&lt;br /&gt;
character.&lt;br /&gt;
BETTANV, G. T. The World&amp;#039;s Religions. 7s. 6J.&lt;br /&gt;
Carlyle, Rev. G. Moses and the Profits, 2s. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
DlMOCK, Rev. N. The Doctrine of the Death of Christ in&lt;br /&gt;
Relation to the Sin of Man. 7s. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
Dixon, R. W. History of Church of England. Vol. IV.&lt;br /&gt;
16 j.&lt;br /&gt;
Fouard (Abbe Constant). The Christ the Son of God.&lt;br /&gt;
Translated by Griffith. Introduction by Cardinal&lt;br /&gt;
Manning. 2 vols. 14*.&lt;br /&gt;
Girdleston, R. B. Foundations of the Bible, Studies in&lt;br /&gt;
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Freytag, G. Reminiscences of my Life. 2 vols. i8j.&lt;br /&gt;
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Library.) 2/. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
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MaZZINI, J. Life and Writings. Vol. III. 4.1-. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
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Js. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
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Macmillan. 21s.&lt;br /&gt;
STEPHEN, L.,and Lee, S. Dictionary of National Biography.&lt;br /&gt;
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Wrights, H. C. Stories in American History. 3*. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
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London, Simpkin, Marshall and Co. 6s.&lt;br /&gt;
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6s.&lt;br /&gt;
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tions by A. Forestier. Chatto and Windus. 3*. 6t(.&lt;br /&gt;
Black, William. Stand Fast, Craig Royston! Sampson&lt;br /&gt;
Low and Co. 3 vols. y. 6&amp;lt;/.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 249 (#297) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
249&lt;br /&gt;
BRAMSTON, M. Dangerous Jewels. National Society.&lt;br /&gt;
V-&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 250 (#298) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
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WE USE&lt;br /&gt;
SPIRIT OF THE AGU&lt;br /&gt;
(PROGRESS IS THE e&lt;br /&gt;
The&lt;br /&gt;
BAR-LOCK&lt;br /&gt;
TYPE&lt;br /&gt;
MARTIN&lt;br /&gt;
WRITER.&lt;br /&gt;
THE BAR-LOCK&amp;#039; TYPE-WRITER&lt;br /&gt;
1. Is the ONLY Machine combining the following Advantages&lt;br /&gt;
PERFECT AND PERMANENT ALIGNMENT.&lt;br /&gt;
i AUTOMATIC LINE SPACING. A DUPLICATE KEY-BOARD.&lt;br /&gt;
ADJUSTABLE BALL BEARINGS TO THE TYPE-BAR JOINTS.&lt;br /&gt;
And it is the ONLY Type Writer&lt;br /&gt;
HAVING ABSOLUTELY VISIBLE WRITING,&lt;br /&gt;
Some Type-Writers may have one or two of these Advantages, but no other combines them all.&lt;br /&gt;
SOLD FOR CASH ; ALSO ON THE EASY PAYMENT SYSTEM.&lt;br /&gt;
THE TYPE-WRITER CO., LTD.,&lt;br /&gt;
12, QUEEN VICTORIA STREET, LONDON, E.C.&lt;br /&gt;
MANCHESTER : 25, Market Street. LIVERPOOL: 40, North John St. CARDIFF : Exchange Building.&lt;br /&gt;
GLASGOW : 22, Renfield St. SHEFFIELD: 39, Norfolk St. MELBOURNE: 385, Little Collins St.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 250 (#300) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
ADVERTISEMENTS.&lt;br /&gt;
-&lt;br /&gt;
NEW MODEL REMINGTON&lt;br /&gt;
STANDARD TYPEWRITER&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
V&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
w&lt;br /&gt;
ONS&lt;br /&gt;
SSN&lt;br /&gt;
WN&lt;br /&gt;
For Fifteen Years the Standard,&lt;br /&gt;
and to - day the most perfect&lt;br /&gt;
development of the writing&lt;br /&gt;
machine, embodying the latest&lt;br /&gt;
and highest achievements of&lt;br /&gt;
inventive and mechanical skill.&lt;br /&gt;
We add to the Remington every&lt;br /&gt;
improvement that study and&lt;br /&gt;
capital can secure.&lt;br /&gt;
TER&lt;br /&gt;
TE&lt;br /&gt;
REXINGTON STANDARD TYPEWRITEEN&lt;br /&gt;
WYCKOFF, SEAMANS &amp;amp; BENEDICT,&lt;br /&gt;
Principal Office-&lt;br /&gt;
LONDON: 100, GRACECHURCH STREET, E.C.&lt;br /&gt;
(CORNER OF LEADENHALL STREET).&lt;br /&gt;
Branch Offices-&lt;br /&gt;
LIVERPOOL: CENTRAL BUILDINGS, NORTH JOHN STREET.&lt;br /&gt;
BIRMINGHAM: 23, MARTINEAU STREET,&lt;br /&gt;
MANCHESTER: 8, MOULT STREET.&lt;br /&gt;
Printed for the Society, by HARRISON &amp;amp; SONS, 45, 46, and 47, St. Martin&amp;#039;s Lane, in the Parish of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, in the City&lt;br /&gt;
of Westminster.</td><td>https://historysoa.com/files/original/5/247/1891-01-15-The-Author-1-9.pdf</td><td>publications, The Author</td></tr><tr><td>248</td><td>https://historysoa.com/items/show/248</td><td>The Author, Vol. 01 Issue 10 (February 1891)</td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=%3Cem%3EThe+Author%3C%2Fem%3E%2C+Vol.+01+Issue+10+%28February+1891%29&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;The Author&lt;/em&gt;, Vol. 01 Issue 10 (February 1891)&lt;/a&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015031017927&amp;amp;view=1up&amp;amp;seq=20&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; rel=&quot;noopener&quot;&gt;https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015031017927&lt;/a&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Publication&quot;&gt;Publication&lt;/a&gt;</td><td>1891-02-16-The-Author-1-10</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>251&ndash;280</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=89&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1&quot;&gt;1&lt;/a&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=76&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1891-02-16&quot;&gt;1891-02-16&lt;/a&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>10</td><td></td><td></td><td>18910216</td><td>Vol. 1.- No. 10)&lt;br /&gt;
FEBRUARY 16, 1891.&lt;br /&gt;
[Price, Sixpence.&lt;br /&gt;
The Author.&lt;br /&gt;
THE ORGAN OF THE SOCIETY OF AUTHORS&lt;br /&gt;
(INCORPORATED).&lt;br /&gt;
CONDUCTED BY&lt;br /&gt;
.: WALTER BESANT&lt;br /&gt;
Published for the Society by&lt;br /&gt;
ALEXANDER P. WATT, 2, PATERNOSTER SQUARE,&lt;br /&gt;
LONDON, E.C.&lt;br /&gt;
1891.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 250 (#302) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
ADVERTISEMENTS.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I&lt;br /&gt;
IS&lt;br /&gt;
KUKUN&lt;br /&gt;
I&lt;br /&gt;
IN&lt;br /&gt;
HABERLLONGERPREGLERGIU&lt;br /&gt;
HUMU&lt;br /&gt;
PROGRESS&lt;br /&gt;
SH&lt;br /&gt;
an&lt;br /&gt;
SPIRIT OF THE AGU&lt;br /&gt;
The&lt;br /&gt;
.ES&lt;br /&gt;
WE USE&lt;br /&gt;
BAR-LOCK&lt;br /&gt;
TYPE&lt;br /&gt;
WRITER.&lt;br /&gt;
PROGRESS IS THE&lt;br /&gt;
0&lt;br /&gt;
THE &amp;#039;BAR-LOCK&amp;#039; TYPE-WRITER&lt;br /&gt;
Is the ONLY Machine combining the following Advantages-&lt;br /&gt;
PERFECT AND PERMANENT ALIGNMENT.&lt;br /&gt;
AUTOMATIC LINE SPACING. A DUPLICATE KEY-BOARD.&lt;br /&gt;
ADJUSTABLE BALL BEARINGS TO THE TYPE-BAR JOINTS.&lt;br /&gt;
And it is the ONLY Type Writer&lt;br /&gt;
HAVING ABSOLUTELY VISIBLE WRITING,&lt;br /&gt;
Sime Type-Writers may have ore or two of these Advantages, but no other combines them all.&lt;br /&gt;
SOLD FOR CASH; ALSO ON THE EASY PAYMENT SYSTEM.&lt;br /&gt;
THE TYPE-WRITER CO., LTD.,&lt;br /&gt;
12, QUEEN VICTORIA STREET, LONDON, E.C.&lt;br /&gt;
MANCHESTER : 25, Market Street. LIVERPOOL: 40, North John St. CARDIFF: Exchange Building.&lt;br /&gt;
GLASGOW : 22, Renfield St. SHEFFIELD: 39, Norfolk St. MELBOURNE: 385, Little Collins St.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 251 (#303) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
(The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly?)&lt;br /&gt;
CONDUCTED BY WALTER BESANT.&lt;br /&gt;
Vol. I.&mdash;No. 10.]&lt;br /&gt;
FEBRUARY 16, 1891.&lt;br /&gt;
[Price Sixpence.&lt;br /&gt;
CONTENTS.&lt;br /&gt;
Conditions of Membership&lt;br /&gt;
Warnings&lt;br /&gt;
News and Notes&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Ionica&lt;br /&gt;
Recent American Literature&lt;br /&gt;
How wc lost the Itook of Jashcr ..&lt;br /&gt;
On Committee&lt;br /&gt;
A Hard Case&lt;br /&gt;
PACK&lt;br /&gt;
I&amp;#039;ACE&lt;br /&gt;
251&lt;br /&gt;
A Note on Ibsen&lt;br /&gt;
268&lt;br /&gt;
251&lt;br /&gt;
In Grub Street ...&lt;br /&gt;
270&lt;br /&gt;
252&lt;br /&gt;
The Cost of Production&lt;br /&gt;
&raquo;7&raquo;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;#039;57&lt;br /&gt;
Correspondence&lt;br /&gt;
274&lt;br /&gt;
257&lt;br /&gt;
The Author&amp;#039;s Hook Stall&lt;br /&gt;
276&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;#039;59&lt;br /&gt;
New Books&lt;br /&gt;
277&lt;br /&gt;
263&lt;br /&gt;
The Reading of MSS&lt;br /&gt;
278&lt;br /&gt;
267&lt;br /&gt;
Advertisements&lt;br /&gt;
279&lt;br /&gt;
CONDITIONS OF MEMBERSHIP.&lt;br /&gt;
The Subscription is One Guinea annually, payable on the&lt;br /&gt;
1st of January of each year. The sum of Ten Guineas for&lt;br /&gt;
life meml&amp;gt;ersnip entitles the subscriber to full membership of&lt;br /&gt;
the Society.&lt;br /&gt;
Authors of published works alone are eligible for member-&lt;br /&gt;
ship.&lt;br /&gt;
Those who desire to assist the Society but are not authors&lt;br /&gt;
are admitted as Associates, on the same suliscription, but&lt;br /&gt;
have no voice in the government of the Society.&lt;br /&gt;
Cheques and Postal Otders should be crossed &amp;quot;The Im-&lt;br /&gt;
perial liank, Limited, Westminster Branch.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Those who wish to be proposed as members may send&lt;br /&gt;
their names at any lime to the Secretary at the Society&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
Offices, when they will receive a form for the enumeration&lt;br /&gt;
of their works. Subscriptions entered after the 1st of&lt;br /&gt;
Ociober w ill cover the next year.&lt;br /&gt;
The Secretary may be personally consulted between the&lt;br /&gt;
hours of I p.m. and 5, except on Saturdays. It is preferable&lt;br /&gt;
that an appointment should be made by letter.&lt;br /&gt;
The Author, the Organ of the Society, can be procured&lt;br /&gt;
through all newsagents, or from the publisher, A. P. Watt,&lt;br /&gt;
2, Paternoster Square, E.G.&lt;br /&gt;
A copy will be sent free to any member of the Society for&lt;br /&gt;
one twelvemonth, dating from May, 1889. It is hoped,&lt;br /&gt;
however, that most members will subscribe to the paper.&lt;br /&gt;
The yearly subscription is 6s. 6d., including postage, which&lt;br /&gt;
may be sent to the Secretary, 4, Portugal Street, W.G.&lt;br /&gt;
With regard to the reading of MSS. for young writers,&lt;br /&gt;
the fee for this service is one guinea. MSS. will be read&lt;br /&gt;
and reported upon for others than menil&amp;gt;ers, but members&lt;br /&gt;
cannot have their works read for nothing.&lt;br /&gt;
In all cases where an opinion is desired upon a manuscript,&lt;br /&gt;
the author should send with it a table of contents. A type-&lt;br /&gt;
written scenario is also of very great assistance.&lt;br /&gt;
It must be understood that such a reader&amp;#039;s report, however&lt;br /&gt;
favourable, does not assist the author towards publication.&lt;br /&gt;
VOL. I.&lt;br /&gt;
WARNINGS.&lt;br /&gt;
Readers of the Author are earnestly desired to make the&lt;br /&gt;
following warnings as widely known as possible. They are&lt;br /&gt;
based on the experience of six years&amp;#039; work upon the dangers&lt;br /&gt;
to which literary property is exposed :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
(1) Never to sign any agreement of which the alleged cost&lt;br /&gt;
of production forms an integral part, unless an&lt;br /&gt;
opportunity of proving the correctness of the figures&lt;br /&gt;
is given them.&lt;br /&gt;
(2) Never to enter into any correspondence with publishers,&lt;br /&gt;
especially with advertising publishers, who are not&lt;br /&gt;
recommended by experienced friends, or by this&lt;br /&gt;
Society.&lt;br /&gt;
(3) Never, on any account whatever, to bind themselves&lt;br /&gt;
down for future work to any one firm of publishers.&lt;br /&gt;
(4) Never to accept any proposal of royalty without con-&lt;br /&gt;
sultation with the Sociely, or, at least, ascertaining&lt;br /&gt;
exactly what the agreement gives to the author and&lt;br /&gt;
w hat to the publisher.&lt;br /&gt;
(5) Never to accept any offer of money for MSS., with-&lt;br /&gt;
out previously taking advice of the Society.&lt;br /&gt;
(6) Never to accept any pecuniary risk or responsibility&lt;br /&gt;
without advice.&lt;br /&gt;
(7) Never, when a MS. has been refused by respectable&lt;br /&gt;
houses, to pay others, whatever promises they may&lt;br /&gt;
put forward, for the production of the work.&lt;br /&gt;
(8) Never to sign away American or foreign rights.&lt;br /&gt;
Keep them. Kefuse to sign an agreement containing&lt;br /&gt;
a clause which reserves them for the publisher. If&lt;br /&gt;
the publisher insists, take away the MS. and ofTer it&lt;br /&gt;
to another.&lt;br /&gt;
(9) Never forget that publishing is a business, like any&lt;br /&gt;
other business, totally unconnected with philanthropy,&lt;br /&gt;
charity, or pure love of literature. You have to do&lt;br /&gt;
with business men.&lt;br /&gt;
Society&amp;#039;s Offices:&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
4, Portugal Street, Lincoln&amp;#039;s Inn Fields.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 252 (#304) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
252&lt;br /&gt;
THE A UTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
NOTES AND NEWS.&lt;br /&gt;
THE International Copyright Act has not&lt;br /&gt;
passed the United States Senate after all.&lt;br /&gt;
So that we have had all our congratula-&lt;br /&gt;
tions over American honesty for nothing. Also&lt;br /&gt;
all our outcry over the deadly injury the Bill was&lt;br /&gt;
going to inflict upon the British printer for nothing.&lt;br /&gt;
Why did it fail to pass? My own ignorant belief&lt;br /&gt;
is that the Senate made a discovery. They learned&lt;br /&gt;
that the Bill w^ould not inflict any injury on any&lt;br /&gt;
Briton at all, but quite the reverse. They, there-&lt;br /&gt;
fore, in their well-established friendship to this&lt;br /&gt;
country, resolved not to pass the Bill. An&lt;br /&gt;
American friend tells me that their action was&lt;br /&gt;
probably due to bribery. Fancy our own feelings&lt;br /&gt;
if Lord Monkswell&amp;#039;s Bill should be defeated through&lt;br /&gt;
the bribery of his brother Peers!&lt;br /&gt;
Is it to be Club or House? A large number of&lt;br /&gt;
replies have been received to the request for&lt;br /&gt;
information as to the advisability of starting one&lt;br /&gt;
or other of these institutions. An analysis of the&lt;br /&gt;
replies gives the following result&mdash;up to this date :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
For the Club, 60 per cent.&lt;br /&gt;
For the House, 30 ,, ,,&lt;br /&gt;
For neither, 8 &bdquo; ,,&lt;br /&gt;
For both, 2 &bdquo; &bdquo;&lt;br /&gt;
More than one-third of those who have voted for&lt;br /&gt;
the House were ladies; more than five-sixths of&lt;br /&gt;
those who have voted for a Club were men. The&lt;br /&gt;
ladies who voted for a Club did not raise a word&lt;br /&gt;
against the admission of men, but many of the&lt;br /&gt;
men, speaking for a club, urged strongly upon us&lt;br /&gt;
the necessity of excluding the ladies.&lt;br /&gt;
The. reasons for giving the preference to the&lt;br /&gt;
House were in each case almost the same: that&lt;br /&gt;
such a place would give an opportunity for quiet&lt;br /&gt;
work not enjoyed at home. Many seemed to&lt;br /&gt;
believe that a Club could be started successfully&lt;br /&gt;
later on, using the organization and machinery&lt;br /&gt;
already in employ for the management of the&lt;br /&gt;
House. Those who have voted in favour of the&lt;br /&gt;
Club haveall been actuated by the ideathat anything&lt;br /&gt;
which promotes good fellowship and unity between&lt;br /&gt;
authors must, if able to work at all, work for good.&lt;br /&gt;
What next? The next thing is to form a Com-&lt;br /&gt;
mittee, to draw up the constitution of the club,&lt;br /&gt;
and to leave the Committee to take all the steps&lt;br /&gt;
necessary. This will be done as quickly as possible,&lt;br /&gt;
and I hope that by next month we shall be able to&lt;br /&gt;
announce that the Club is actually in a fair way to&lt;br /&gt;
be started. One rule will be rigid. No one will be&lt;br /&gt;
admitted who is not author of some book or a&lt;br /&gt;
professional journalist.&lt;br /&gt;
Let us learn how the Americans pay honour to&lt;br /&gt;
their men of letters.&lt;br /&gt;
On Monday last the President issued the&lt;br /&gt;
following order :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Executive Mansion, Washington,&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;■January ig//i, 1891.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The death of George Bancroft, which occurred&lt;br /&gt;
in the City of Washington on Saturday, January&lt;br /&gt;
17, at 3.40 o&amp;#039;clock p.m., removes from among the&lt;br /&gt;
living one of the most distinguished Americans.&lt;br /&gt;
As an expression of the public loss and sorrow, the&lt;br /&gt;
flags of all the executive departments at Washing-&lt;br /&gt;
ton, and of the public buildings in the cities&lt;br /&gt;
through which the funeral party is to pass, will be&lt;br /&gt;
placed at half-mast to-morrow, and until the body&lt;br /&gt;
of this eminent statesman, scholar and historian&lt;br /&gt;
shall rest in the State that gave him to his country&lt;br /&gt;
and to the world.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
The Secretary of the Navy also ordered that&lt;br /&gt;
the Navy Department be draped in mourning for&lt;br /&gt;
thirty days, and that all business be suspended&lt;br /&gt;
therein on the day of the funeral; and, in the&lt;br /&gt;
Senate, Mr. Hoar moved that the adjournment be&lt;br /&gt;
till 12 o&amp;#039;clock on Tuesday, in order to give&lt;br /&gt;
Senators who desired to attend the funeral an&lt;br /&gt;
opportunity to do so. He said that Mr. Bancroft&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
name had been honoured by the Senate in a way&lt;br /&gt;
in which no other name had been, by special&lt;br /&gt;
permission that he should be admitted to the&lt;br /&gt;
floor of the Senate at all times. The motion was&lt;br /&gt;
adopted.&lt;br /&gt;
Of course we do the thing just as well in this&lt;br /&gt;
country, though people forget and grumble.&lt;br /&gt;
Looking back to the Times of December 26th,&lt;br /&gt;
1863, for instance, I read&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The following order has been issued by&lt;br /&gt;
command of the Queen :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;&amp;#039;The death of William Makepeace Thackeray,&lt;br /&gt;
which occurred on the 24th, removes from among&lt;br /&gt;
the living one of the most distinguished English-&lt;br /&gt;
men. His name will for ever be associated with&lt;br /&gt;
the nineteenth century as that of its noblest&lt;br /&gt;
novelist. This great man, cut off at the early age&lt;br /&gt;
of 52, was about to be raised to the highest&lt;br /&gt;
honours of the Peerage as Duke of Kensington&lt;br /&gt;
Gardens. His daughters are authorized to receive&lt;br /&gt;
the rank and courtesy title of a Duke&amp;#039;s daughter.&lt;br /&gt;
As an expression of the public loss and sorrow the&lt;br /&gt;
flags of all the Executive Departments at London,&lt;br /&gt;
and of the public buildings, will be placed at&lt;br /&gt;
half-mast to-morrow until the funeral is over.&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;&amp;#039;All the Departments will be draped in mourn-&lt;br /&gt;
ing for thirty days, and business will be suspended&lt;br /&gt;
on the day of the funeral.&amp;#039; In both Houses a&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 253 (#305) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
253&lt;br /&gt;
resolution was unanimously adopted to adjourn&lt;br /&gt;
over the day of the funeral.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
It is pleasant to be able to prove, though people&lt;br /&gt;
have such short memories, that this country is not&lt;br /&gt;
behind America in the recognition of her great&lt;br /&gt;
men. We may remind our readers also of the&lt;br /&gt;
Court and general mourning ordered through-&lt;br /&gt;
out the country on the lamented death of Carlyle,&lt;br /&gt;
and of the honours which were heaped upon&lt;br /&gt;
Robert Browning, alive and dead. And we must&lt;br /&gt;
not forget the extraordinary care always taken by&lt;br /&gt;
the First Lord of the Treasury, whether it be Mr.&lt;br /&gt;
VV. H. Smith or Mr. W. E. Gladstone, not to allow&lt;br /&gt;
any outsider to have any share in the grant&lt;br /&gt;
annually made for Literature, Science and Art.&lt;br /&gt;
Here, indeed, we do claim superiority over our&lt;br /&gt;
cousins, for they have no Civil List, while we&lt;br /&gt;
grant ^1,200 a year to those whose work advances&lt;br /&gt;
humanity, and we never, r.ever, never suffer one&lt;br /&gt;
penny of this to be jobbed away on any considera-&lt;br /&gt;
tion whatever.&lt;br /&gt;
Is verse in danger? The question was asked by&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Edmund Gosse in the Forum for January. This&lt;br /&gt;
American magazine, which always contains some&lt;br /&gt;
articles of suggestion or instruction, is published&lt;br /&gt;
in this country by Mr. Edward Arnold, of Warwick&lt;br /&gt;
Lane. The question is asked and answered, and&lt;br /&gt;
it ought to cause other answers and yet others,&lt;br /&gt;
because no question is more important in its&lt;br /&gt;
bearings in the future of literature. &amp;quot;Sculptors,&lt;br /&gt;
singers, painters must always exist; but need we&lt;br /&gt;
have poets any longer since the world has dis-&lt;br /&gt;
covered how to say all it wants to say in prose?&lt;br /&gt;
Will anyone who has anything of importance to&lt;br /&gt;
communicate be likely, in the future, to express it&lt;br /&gt;
through the medium of metrical language?&amp;quot; The&lt;br /&gt;
writer points to the reprinting and the reviving of the&lt;br /&gt;
dead and gone poets as an illustration that poetry&lt;br /&gt;
may have done its work. Pope succeeded so well&lt;br /&gt;
because his predecessors were already forgotten;&lt;br /&gt;
but we no longer allow the dead to lie in their&lt;br /&gt;
graves. We drag them out and clothe them with&lt;br /&gt;
new print, and paper, and bindings rich and rare.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;How,&amp;quot; asks the writer, &amp;quot;in this great throng of&lt;br /&gt;
resuscitated souls is the modern poet to exist?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Well, I do not think that the resuscitated souls&lt;br /&gt;
have much to do with the threatened decay in&lt;br /&gt;
poetry. As a fact, we have not a single poet under&lt;br /&gt;
forty. This is very serious, but the same thing&lt;br /&gt;
might have been said before the advent of&lt;br /&gt;
Wordsworth, while Mr. Gosse himself evidently&lt;br /&gt;
feels that it is impossible for the world to be&lt;br /&gt;
carried on without new poetry.&lt;br /&gt;
He indicates the kinds of verse which may be&lt;br /&gt;
expected. &amp;quot;Poetry, if it exists at all, will deal,&lt;br /&gt;
and probably to a greater degree than ever before,&lt;br /&gt;
with those more frail and ephemeral shades of&lt;br /&gt;
emotion which prose scarcely ventures to describe&lt;br /&gt;
. . . . The most realistic novel, the closest&lt;br /&gt;
psychological analysis in prose, does no more than&lt;br /&gt;
skim the surface of the soul; verse has the privi-&lt;br /&gt;
lege of descending into its depths. In the future,&lt;br /&gt;
lyrical poetry will probably grow less musical and&lt;br /&gt;
less conventional at the risk of being less popular.&lt;br /&gt;
It will interpret that prose does not suggest.&amp;quot; And&lt;br /&gt;
further on he predicts that the verse of the future&lt;br /&gt;
will be essentially democratic. It will, perhaps,&lt;br /&gt;
present short and highly finished studies in narra-&lt;br /&gt;
tive like those of Copp&pound;e. It may abandon the&lt;br /&gt;
extreme refinement of its extreme mechanism. It&lt;br /&gt;
will seek to give pleasure less by the manner than&lt;br /&gt;
by the matter. &amp;quot;But,&amp;quot; he concludes, &amp;quot;whatever&lt;br /&gt;
the issue may be we may be confident that the art&lt;br /&gt;
will retain that poignant charm over undeveloped&lt;br /&gt;
minds, and that exquisite fascination which for so&lt;br /&gt;
many successive generations have made poetry the&lt;br /&gt;
wisest and the fairest prose of youth.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&diams;&lt;br /&gt;
Poetry will not willingly be allowed to die in the&lt;br /&gt;
States. This conclusion is drawn, perhaps hastily,&lt;br /&gt;
from the encouragement offered to poets by the&lt;br /&gt;
Charles E. Hires Co., Philadelphia. They offer a&lt;br /&gt;
prize of $50 cash for the best poem on their Beer,&lt;br /&gt;
their Root Beer. It is not stated that English poets&lt;br /&gt;
are excluded from this interesting competition.&lt;br /&gt;
We await the result, the immortal result, the&lt;br /&gt;
Eulogy of Root Beer, with impatience.&lt;br /&gt;
There has been a little controversy in the&lt;br /&gt;
Illustrated London Naus concerning the proposed&lt;br /&gt;
Authors&amp;#039; Club. It consisted of two short papers,&lt;br /&gt;
which may be read by the curious in that excellent&lt;br /&gt;
journal. It has now been supplemented by an&lt;br /&gt;
account of the New York Authors&amp;#039; Club, of which&lt;br /&gt;
I venture to reprint a portion :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;When I first mounted the stairs, I heard the&lt;br /&gt;
comforting rattle of plates and cutlery, and found&lt;br /&gt;
the hungry authors rapidly disposing of a substan-&lt;br /&gt;
tial meal. The operation was so thorough and&lt;br /&gt;
convincing that when an athletic friend of mine,&lt;br /&gt;
with a far-famed appetite, came bounding in an&lt;br /&gt;
hour late, one glance sufficed to prove to him that&lt;br /&gt;
Mother Hubbard&amp;#039;s historic cupboard was not more&lt;br /&gt;
completely bare than the American authors&amp;#039; board.&lt;br /&gt;
During the evening I had an opportunity of&lt;br /&gt;
observing some notable members of the club. I&lt;br /&gt;
was most anxious to see the American humourist&lt;br /&gt;
in undress, so to speak, to find out how much of&lt;br /&gt;
vol. 1.&lt;br /&gt;
X 2&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 254 (#306) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
254&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
him was natural and how much professional, and&lt;br /&gt;
whether the habit of producing everlasting fun had&lt;br /&gt;
left in him any deep furrows of care. Some of the&lt;br /&gt;
best-known humourists in America are rarely heard&lt;br /&gt;
of on this side of the ocean. They write chiefly in&lt;br /&gt;
the newspapers. They take care that the news of&lt;br /&gt;
the day shall not distress you too sorely. The&lt;br /&gt;
American citizen might learn from his morning&lt;br /&gt;
sheet that some awful disaster had happened to&lt;br /&gt;
the nation, but he would be soothed, if not&lt;br /&gt;
consoled, by a piece of sprightly humour in the&lt;br /&gt;
next column. It is this agreeable dispensation,&lt;br /&gt;
I think, which keeps most Americans alive amid&lt;br /&gt;
the rush and the turmoil and the extravagant&lt;br /&gt;
nervous pressure of their existence. One of the&lt;br /&gt;
most distinguished of these newspaper humourists&lt;br /&gt;
is the gentleman who calls himself Bill Nye. I&lt;br /&gt;
had often laughed to the point of suffocation over&lt;br /&gt;
his writings, and I could not help picturing him as&lt;br /&gt;
a small man with a large comical head and a&lt;br /&gt;
perpetual twinkle in a particularly knowing eye,&lt;br /&gt;
and a conversational manner perhaps a little too&lt;br /&gt;
obtrusively merry for the repose which distinguishes&lt;br /&gt;
the library of the Athenaeum Club. I felt ex-&lt;br /&gt;
tremely apologetic when I found that Bill Nye was&lt;br /&gt;
a tall man, perfectly bald, with a quiet pensive&lt;br /&gt;
smile and a pleasant unaffected speech, which&lt;br /&gt;
might have led the stranger to put him down&lt;br /&gt;
as a genial professor who had written a good deal&lt;br /&gt;
for encyclopaedias.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;What struck me chiefly was that, with the&lt;br /&gt;
exception of an excellent man who favoured me in&lt;br /&gt;
a corner and at some length with his theory of&lt;br /&gt;
international copyright, nobody talked about&lt;br /&gt;
hobbies. There were no literary arguments. The&lt;br /&gt;
prophetic sketch in these columns of the people who&lt;br /&gt;
would bore one another in an Authors&amp;#039; Club has no&lt;br /&gt;
counterpart in my remembrances of these American&lt;br /&gt;
authors. They were not pedantic, prosy, or eager&lt;br /&gt;
to carry the talk about shop over their particular&lt;br /&gt;
little counters. I think there is, on the whole, an&lt;br /&gt;
easier current of life in American clubs of all kinds&lt;br /&gt;
than in our own. There is certainly a more genial&lt;br /&gt;
intercourse and a greater disposition to entertain&lt;br /&gt;
the stranger. I have in my mind now one of the&lt;br /&gt;
best storytellers I ever met&mdash;an engineer, a painter,&lt;br /&gt;
a writer, a traveller in many lands. If these lines&lt;br /&gt;
should catch his vision, I hope he will take them&lt;br /&gt;
as an assurance that I still cherish those anecdotes&lt;br /&gt;
of Colonel Carter, of Cartersville, which he used to&lt;br /&gt;
tell me with infinite humour, and which I see he&lt;br /&gt;
has moulded into admirably artistic form in&lt;br /&gt;
Harpers Magazine. I cannot imagine any asso-&lt;br /&gt;
ciation of authors animated by a better esprit de&lt;br /&gt;
corps than I found in this New York club, or freer&lt;br /&gt;
from those angles of the literary character which&lt;br /&gt;
pome of us seem to dread. Perhaps I shall com-&lt;br /&gt;
mend the American authors all the more strongly&lt;br /&gt;
to some English writers when I say that a very&lt;br /&gt;
wealthy man was once blackballed at the Authors&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
Club in New York, because it was held to be no&lt;br /&gt;
place for millionaires.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
A correspondent sends the following suggestion.&lt;br /&gt;
He may be wrong&mdash;if so, one would be glad to&lt;br /&gt;
learn what the advertiser really did intend by his&lt;br /&gt;
proposal to act as an intermediary where none is&lt;br /&gt;
wanted :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;In the January number of the Author, you&lt;br /&gt;
appear to be somewhat puzzled about the following&lt;br /&gt;
advertisement:&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;#039;AUTHORS.&mdash;Introductions to publishers&lt;br /&gt;
and editors, by journalist of standing; com-&lt;br /&gt;
mission only on MS. sold; exceptional&lt;br /&gt;
chance.&mdash;H. D. F., Office.&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I know nothing of the source of the advertise&lt;br /&gt;
ment, but to me it is, on the face of it, clearly a&lt;br /&gt;
dodge of the bogus publisher to get hold of the&lt;br /&gt;
names and addresses of amateur authors.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;A member of your Society who answered it,&lt;br /&gt;
you say, received no reply. Had a score of your&lt;br /&gt;
members answered it, they would not probably&lt;br /&gt;
have received a single reply among them. The&lt;br /&gt;
object&mdash;or rather the immediate object&mdash;of the&lt;br /&gt;
advertiser has been attained when he has secured&lt;br /&gt;
the names and addresses of a large number of&lt;br /&gt;
persons who have literary aspirations, and these&lt;br /&gt;
persons at a later date&mdash;when they have forgotten&lt;br /&gt;
all about the above advertisement&mdash;will, in all&lt;br /&gt;
probability, be bombarded with prospectuses of an&lt;br /&gt;
amateur magazine, or an amateur literary society,&lt;br /&gt;
or polite invitations to send in their &amp;#039;MSS.&amp;#039; of&lt;br /&gt;
novels, tales, poems, and travels&amp;#039; to a bogus&lt;br /&gt;
publisher, who speaks of dazzling things in the&lt;br /&gt;
shape of fame and fortune to be won.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;&amp;#039; However did they get hold of my address?&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
wonders the literary novice when he receives&lt;br /&gt;
such a document, and, perchance, vaguely begins&lt;br /&gt;
to think that he must be getting known in literary&lt;br /&gt;
circles. I fancy I have made it clear how both his&lt;br /&gt;
name and address are procured. Whatever else&lt;br /&gt;
the bogus publisher is, he is not a fool, and he well&lt;br /&gt;
knows the value (wholly spurious, of course) that&lt;br /&gt;
the amateur author attaches to &amp;#039;introductions to&lt;br /&gt;
publishers and editors.&amp;#039;&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
A question asked by Mr. James Baker at the&lt;br /&gt;
meeting of January 15th, raises a difficult and&lt;br /&gt;
interesting point. He asked how far literary&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;notes,&amp;quot; which frequently embody matters of&lt;br /&gt;
lasting value, are to be protected by the new Copy-&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 255 (#307) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
255&lt;br /&gt;
right Bill. That these notes may be, and some- The second prejudice is based on the first. It&lt;br /&gt;
times are, property of considerable value, is shown is the error which we have attacked again and&lt;br /&gt;
by the fact that Mr. James Payn, whose weekly again, that publishing is a highly speculative and&lt;br /&gt;
notes constitute one of the principal attractions of risky business. On the contrary, no publisher&lt;br /&gt;
the paper in which they appear, has thought well to need even run any risk at all; and in point&lt;br /&gt;
reprint them in a volume, which has been eagerly* of fact very few publishers do. I have already&lt;br /&gt;
taken up. It is also proved by the fact that Mr. proved this by an analysis of the advertising&lt;br /&gt;
George Augustus Sala has done the same thing, columns, and I shall continue, from time to time,&lt;br /&gt;
Now such notes ought certainly to be protected, to prove the fact in the same way.&lt;br /&gt;
and I hope this point will be borne in mind when&lt;br /&gt;
the Bill goes into Committee. &raquo;&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Baker also suggests that at the Annual&lt;br /&gt;
Meeting members should discuss points rising out&lt;br /&gt;
of the Report. The Chairman did invite dis-&lt;br /&gt;
cussion at the last meeting&mdash;and there was some,&lt;br /&gt;
but such discussion can be only valuable when&lt;br /&gt;
none are allowed to speak except members who&lt;br /&gt;
have given due notice and have prepared themselves&lt;br /&gt;
beforehand, and have followed the action of the&lt;br /&gt;
committee, and so placed themselves in a position&lt;br /&gt;
to judge the questions from many points of view.&lt;br /&gt;
Such discussions are apt to be desultory and to go&lt;br /&gt;
away from the question before the meeting. For&lt;br /&gt;
instance, at one of our meetings in Willis s Rooms,&lt;br /&gt;
there a few years ago, when Lord Lytton invited&lt;br /&gt;
discussion on the principles which should guide the&lt;br /&gt;
management of literary property, one man got up&lt;br /&gt;
and asked the meeting if his publisher was a liar&lt;br /&gt;
for sending him certain accounts? As if such a&lt;br /&gt;
very important question could be asked without&lt;br /&gt;
examining the accounts! Another got up to say&lt;br /&gt;
that there was no such thing as a 5*. book. And a&lt;br /&gt;
third rose to deny a statement made in the paper&lt;br /&gt;
that had just been read that an ordinary 6s.&lt;br /&gt;
novel could be produced, in numbers, at is. If,&lt;br /&gt;
however, we were to lay down certain definite points&lt;br /&gt;
for discussion, if these were announced before-&lt;br /&gt;
hand, such a conference, it is conceivable, might&lt;br /&gt;
produce great good if only by clearing the air of&lt;br /&gt;
prejudice and error.&lt;br /&gt;
For instance, there are two prejudices which&lt;br /&gt;
seem to defy any amount of argument. The first&lt;br /&gt;
is the belief that the English people are not buyers&lt;br /&gt;
of books, but that they get all their literature from&lt;br /&gt;
the circulating library. I confess to having held&lt;br /&gt;
this view myself until recently. Now, we have&lt;br /&gt;
recently undertaken a little investigation, as yet&lt;br /&gt;
incomplete, into the present condition of the book&lt;br /&gt;
trade, which seems to dissipate this view pretty&lt;br /&gt;
completely. The fact is that within certain limits&lt;br /&gt;
there are no greater buyers of books than the&lt;br /&gt;
inhabitants of Great Britain and her colonies.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. J. M. Lely, Barrister-at-Law, and member&lt;br /&gt;
of our Committee, has completed a popular&lt;br /&gt;
analysis of the new Copyright Bill, with explana-&lt;br /&gt;
tions of the clauses and their bearing. We have&lt;br /&gt;
arranged with him to add this pamphlet to our list&lt;br /&gt;
of publications. It will therefore be accessible to&lt;br /&gt;
members of the Society at the cost of is. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;&diams;&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
The following note may possibly have been sent&lt;br /&gt;
to many other readers of this paper :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Sir,&mdash;I am collecting the opinions of men&lt;br /&gt;
eminent in the various departments of Ait and&lt;br /&gt;
Science on the question, &amp;#039;Is Life Worth Living?&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
and should esteem it a very great favour if you&lt;br /&gt;
would kindly send me a few lines, giving your&lt;br /&gt;
opinion on the matter.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Nobody should take any notice of such com-&lt;br /&gt;
munications as the above. If the writer is really&lt;br /&gt;
desirous of finding out what the person addressed&lt;br /&gt;
thinks on any subject, he should consult the&lt;br /&gt;
published works of that person. If, as is most&lt;br /&gt;
likely, he wants an autograph, or if.he is only&lt;br /&gt;
trying to &amp;quot;draw&amp;quot; the man, he should certainly&lt;br /&gt;
be snubbed with silence.&lt;br /&gt;
&diams;&lt;br /&gt;
People in the literary line mostly know other&lt;br /&gt;
people who are not. They also know young&lt;br /&gt;
people who would like to be. They are, therefore,&lt;br /&gt;
earnestly and urgently entreated and implored to&lt;br /&gt;
spread abroad the following simple truths :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
1. MSS. must not be sent to literary people&lt;br /&gt;
with a request that they will read them and write&lt;br /&gt;
an opinion. They really must not.&lt;br /&gt;
2. Authors must not be asked to &amp;quot;use their&lt;br /&gt;
powerful influence&amp;quot; with publishers. They have no&lt;br /&gt;
influence. If the best author in the world were to&lt;br /&gt;
kneel and supplicate the most friendly publisher in&lt;br /&gt;
the world, he would not persuade that publisher to&lt;br /&gt;
issue unsaleable work.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 256 (#308) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
256&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
In a certain secondhand bookshop where there are&lt;br /&gt;
generally things worth seeing, there is nowtobe seen,&lt;br /&gt;
nearly complete, a collection quite unique of its&lt;br /&gt;
kind. They have had the same book bound by&lt;br /&gt;
all the best bookbinders in Europe, each in his&lt;br /&gt;
own best style. The result is a collection illustra-&lt;br /&gt;
ting the finest kinds of binding procurable at this&lt;br /&gt;
time. When it is complete it will be exhibited&lt;br /&gt;
either in the shop or in some more public place.&lt;br /&gt;
There will be various opinions on the various&lt;br /&gt;
bindings: for my own part, I think that we can&lt;br /&gt;
hold our own in London. The book chosen is the&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Water Babies,&amp;quot; but of course it is not half good&lt;br /&gt;
enough for such binding. One can picture the&lt;br /&gt;
poet gazing in despair upon this work, and&lt;br /&gt;
wondering in sadness whether he will ever be able&lt;br /&gt;
to write up to such a binding.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Rider Haggard on his arrival in New York,&lt;br /&gt;
was interviewed. He cannot escape the common&lt;br /&gt;
lot. But he seems to have suffered more than is usual&lt;br /&gt;
at the hands of his persecutors. Eight or ten news-&lt;br /&gt;
paper men surrounded him and all asked him&lt;br /&gt;
questions at once. The following are selected by&lt;br /&gt;
the Neiv York Times as specimens of the inter-&lt;br /&gt;
rogatory. The interview took place, it must be&lt;br /&gt;
remembered, immediately after landing.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;How do you like New York?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Where are you going to when you leave here,&lt;br /&gt;
and what for?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;How old are you?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;What is your opinion about the elevated rail-&lt;br /&gt;
way?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Were you born in Africa?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Do you consider that you have exhausted&lt;br /&gt;
Africa?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;How about Rudyard Kipling and India?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Do you consider that Kipling has exhausted&lt;br /&gt;
India?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;How do you work? Dictate it? Work&lt;br /&gt;
nights?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Do you make your plots before you write your&lt;br /&gt;
stories, or do you write your stories first?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
The last question reminds one of the inquirer&lt;br /&gt;
who asked the cook whether she made her pud-&lt;br /&gt;
dings first and boiled them afterwards, or whether&lt;br /&gt;
she boiled them first, and made them afterwards.&lt;br /&gt;
It also reminds one of King George the Third&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
difficulty about the apple dumpling.&lt;br /&gt;
Many are the writers who send their MSS. for&lt;br /&gt;
perusal by busy men. Few indeed are so con-&lt;br /&gt;
siderate as the one who sent me the other day a&lt;br /&gt;
letter, asking me to read his work, and in order to&lt;br /&gt;
save trouble, enclosed a letter of refusal for my&lt;br /&gt;
signature. This letter I subjoin as an example to&lt;br /&gt;
all other young men and maidens who want to get&lt;br /&gt;
their MSS. read. May one remind them that&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;#039;one never hears of young students, say in&lt;br /&gt;
mathematics, inviting a mathematician to teach&lt;br /&gt;
them by correspondence? The letter is everything&lt;br /&gt;
that could be desired.&lt;br /&gt;
London, February, 1891.&lt;br /&gt;
Sir,&mdash;I have received your letter, but I must&lt;br /&gt;
decline, though reluctantly, to entertain the appli-&lt;br /&gt;
cation. It would give me great pleasure to assist&lt;br /&gt;
any worthy aspirant to literary honours, but the&lt;br /&gt;
many demands upon my time forbid me to comply&lt;br /&gt;
with all requests of this kind, of which I receive&lt;br /&gt;
many. In fact, I strongly advise you not to sub-&lt;br /&gt;
scribe to a ticket in the literary lottery, for it offers&lt;br /&gt;
few prizes and many blanks, and especially is the&lt;br /&gt;
department of poetry open to this objection. With&lt;br /&gt;
every hope for your success if you should persist&lt;br /&gt;
in your endeavours,&lt;br /&gt;
I beg to remain, yours faithfully,&lt;br /&gt;
&laquo;&lt;br /&gt;
The ten years&amp;#039; Retrospect of American Literature&lt;br /&gt;
noticed below may be supplemented by a reference to&lt;br /&gt;
a new periodical issued by Mr. Edward Arnold, pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lisher, of Warwick Square. It is a monthly list of&lt;br /&gt;
American and French books. The selected list&lt;br /&gt;
of American books published during the last&lt;br /&gt;
quarter is not very attractive. One would suggest&lt;br /&gt;
that such a work as &amp;quot;Our Early Presidents, their&lt;br /&gt;
Wives and Children,&amp;quot; hardly appeals to the&lt;br /&gt;
Englishman, to whom the past Presidents of the&lt;br /&gt;
United States are mere names and shadows. The&lt;br /&gt;
Notes and Notices are very meagre. A list of&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Standard&amp;quot; American Literature includes, like the&lt;br /&gt;
selected list, a great quantity of work that can&lt;br /&gt;
never be popular here, e.g., the biographies of&lt;br /&gt;
American statesmen, books on the Civil War, &amp;amp;c.&lt;br /&gt;
It is curious to note when one passes from&lt;br /&gt;
American to French literature how much broader&lt;br /&gt;
is the field of letters. We do not find Frenchmen&lt;br /&gt;
occupying their time with lives of men or histories&lt;br /&gt;
of places whose interest is purely local and&lt;br /&gt;
ephemeral. There is the note of world-wide and&lt;br /&gt;
human interest in a French list which is strangely&lt;br /&gt;
absent from the American literature&mdash;perhaps also&lt;br /&gt;
though in less degree, from our own. The first&lt;br /&gt;
number of the &amp;quot; List &amp;quot; will doubtless be improved&lt;br /&gt;
upon, as the editor enlarges his experience. It&lt;br /&gt;
should, however, fill a gap in the service of current&lt;br /&gt;
literature.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 257 (#309) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
257&lt;br /&gt;
The death is announced of Alice Bronte, sister&lt;br /&gt;
of Patrick Bronte, and aunt to the three Bronte&lt;br /&gt;
girls. She was ninety-five years of age and was&lt;br /&gt;
never married. I have just seen a photograph of&lt;br /&gt;
her, taken shortly before her death. The face&lt;br /&gt;
singularly reminds one of Charlotte, though Alice&lt;br /&gt;
was, in her youth, a most beautiful girl, which, I&lt;br /&gt;
fear, was never the case with any of her nieces.&lt;br /&gt;
She was six feet high, as strong as any three men.&lt;br /&gt;
and possessed all her faculties to the very end.&lt;br /&gt;
The Rev. Dr. William Wright, of the Bible&lt;br /&gt;
Society, who knew her well, is about to write a&lt;br /&gt;
short account of her. She lived all her years in&lt;br /&gt;
the North of Ireland.&lt;br /&gt;
Who would have dreamed that there would be&lt;br /&gt;
living an ancient lady, the survivor of the&lt;br /&gt;
generation before Charlotte, Emily and Anne?&lt;br /&gt;
The three sisters were born in the years 1816,&lt;br /&gt;
1818 and 1820, respectively. Charlotte died at&lt;br /&gt;
thirty-nine, her two sisters at thirty. They might&lt;br /&gt;
all three be living still, old, but not so very old,&lt;br /&gt;
and youthful, compared with Alice. What sort&lt;br /&gt;
of work would they have done had they lived?&lt;br /&gt;
I think that one remembers &amp;quot;Shirley&amp;quot; with&lt;br /&gt;
greater readiness than any other of the Bronte&lt;br /&gt;
novels. Perhaps their works have been partly&lt;br /&gt;
kept alive by the biography of Mrs. Gaskell,&lt;br /&gt;
certainly one of the best and most life-like portraits&lt;br /&gt;
ever drawn. The world was touched with the&lt;br /&gt;
picture of the three girls in their far-off country&lt;br /&gt;
parsonage close to the wild moor, with neither&lt;br /&gt;
neighbours nor friends, with a morose father and a&lt;br /&gt;
drunken brother. &amp;quot;Jane Eyre &amp;quot; and &amp;quot;Wuthering&lt;br /&gt;
Heights &amp;quot; would have lived, I suppose, whether Mrs.&lt;br /&gt;
Gaskell had written that book or not, but they&lt;br /&gt;
would not have lived with a vitality so intense.&lt;br /&gt;
My opinion as to the fading vitality of certain&lt;br /&gt;
writers mentioned in the last number of the&lt;br /&gt;
Author, has been disputed in various quarters.&lt;br /&gt;
Yet I adhere to my opinion. We may reprint&lt;br /&gt;
Hogg, and we may put him on our shelves, but we&lt;br /&gt;
have ceased to read him in the sense in which we&lt;br /&gt;
read Browning; we look at him sometimes for&lt;br /&gt;
curiosity, or we may seek out favourite pieces, but&lt;br /&gt;
he is no longer a poet of our time, or of all time.&lt;br /&gt;
Scholars and students, of course, will read all the&lt;br /&gt;
writers whom I named&mdash;has not Mr. Saintsbury&lt;br /&gt;
made a book about them? Yet, they no longer&lt;br /&gt;
attract the omnivorous young&mdash;which is a very&lt;br /&gt;
good and fair test of vitality&mdash;and their best things&lt;br /&gt;
are in the Anthologies and Golden Treasuries.&lt;br /&gt;
Walter Besant.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;IONICA.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
THE question whether good verse can still&lt;br /&gt;
become popular might be practically&lt;br /&gt;
answered by the success or the failure of&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Ionica.&amp;quot; Rarely, indeed, does a volume of verses&lt;br /&gt;
appear in which the workmanship is so delicate,&lt;br /&gt;
the thought so refined, the phrases so subtle, the&lt;br /&gt;
flow and ring of the lines so full of music. The&lt;br /&gt;
book, a dainty volume, is published by Mr. George&lt;br /&gt;
Allen of Bell Court, beside the Inns of Court, at&lt;br /&gt;
the Sign of the Ruskin Arms. The song printed&lt;br /&gt;
below, by permission of the author, is written for&lt;br /&gt;
Mendelssohn&amp;#039;s music generally known as &amp;quot; O wert&lt;br /&gt;
thou in the cauld, cauld blast?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
I.&lt;br /&gt;
Oh! earlier shall the rosebuds blow,&lt;br /&gt;
In after years, those happier years,&lt;br /&gt;
And children weep when we lie low,&lt;br /&gt;
Far fewer tears&mdash;far softer tears.&lt;br /&gt;
Oh! true shall boyish laughter ring,&lt;br /&gt;
Like tinkling chimes, in kinder times,&lt;br /&gt;
And merrier shall the maiden sing,&lt;br /&gt;
And I not there&mdash;and I not there.&lt;br /&gt;
in.&lt;br /&gt;
Like lightning in the summer night&lt;br /&gt;
Their mirth shall be, so quick and free,&lt;br /&gt;
And oh! the flash of their delight,&lt;br /&gt;
1 shall not see&mdash;I may not see.&lt;br /&gt;
IV.&lt;br /&gt;
In deeper dream, with wider range,&lt;br /&gt;
Those eyes shall shine, but not on mine,&lt;br /&gt;
Unmoved, unblest by worldly change,&lt;br /&gt;
The dead must rest, the dead shall rest.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
RECENT AMERICAN LITERATURE.&lt;br /&gt;
THE very few Englishmen who read the&lt;br /&gt;
literary papers of the United States have&lt;br /&gt;
long been aware that the output of original&lt;br /&gt;
literature of all kinds has become almost as great&lt;br /&gt;
there as in this country, and that in spite of the&lt;br /&gt;
competition with cheap reprints of British books.&lt;br /&gt;
A short analysis of the last ten years&amp;#039; American&lt;br /&gt;
literature, published in the New York Critic of&lt;br /&gt;
January 17th, presents an instructive and extremely&lt;br /&gt;
interesting view of the whole subject. Death his&lt;br /&gt;
removed the great figures of Emerson, Longfellow,&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 258 (#310) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
and Bancroft, while the surviving leaders, Holmes,&lt;br /&gt;
Whittier, Whitman, and Lowell, have passed into&lt;br /&gt;
more or less complete retirement. The loss of&lt;br /&gt;
leaders has not yet been replaced. In America,&lt;br /&gt;
as everywhere else, there is a lack of acknowledged&lt;br /&gt;
leaders; the general standard has been greatly&lt;br /&gt;
raised; the number of those who write has been&lt;br /&gt;
largely increased&mdash;never have there been so many&lt;br /&gt;
writers able to write well&mdash;but those who used to&lt;br /&gt;
dominate the literary world hardly exist any&lt;br /&gt;
longer.&lt;br /&gt;
In poetry, the total disappearance of the first&lt;br /&gt;
rank is especially deplored. There have been&lt;br /&gt;
published during the last decade, verses from&lt;br /&gt;
Lowell, Holmes, Whittier, Stoddard, W. W. Story,&lt;br /&gt;
William Winter, and Aldrich, names all known to&lt;br /&gt;
English readers. In addition, the names are&lt;br /&gt;
mentioned of Edgar Eawcett, Francis Saltus,&lt;br /&gt;
George Woodberry, Richard Gilder, Mrs. Whitney,&lt;br /&gt;
Mrs. Deland, Edith Thompson, Mrs. Moulton (a&lt;br /&gt;
head and shoulders above most of those enumerated),&lt;br /&gt;
H. B. Carpenter, S. H. Nichol, Mrs. Jackson, E.&lt;br /&gt;
R. Sill, Miss Dickenson, Emma Lazarus, Sydney&lt;br /&gt;
Lanier, H. C. Bunner, Edward Martin, Herbert&lt;br /&gt;
Nurse, F. D. Newman, and Clinton Scollard,&lt;br /&gt;
called the best of the younger men. Now of these&lt;br /&gt;
twenty minor poets there are three names&mdash;Mrs.&lt;br /&gt;
Moulton, Sydney Lanier, and Emma Lazarus&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
whose verses are known in this country. Would&lt;br /&gt;
it not be well if some of our critics would make a&lt;br /&gt;
voyage of discovery in this land of sweet singers&lt;br /&gt;
and bring home some of their songs? And would&lt;br /&gt;
it be possible to make so long a list of minor poets&lt;br /&gt;
in this country?&lt;br /&gt;
It is in fiction, however, that the emotion and&lt;br /&gt;
thought of the time have in America, as every-&lt;br /&gt;
where, found adequate expression. Democracy,&lt;br /&gt;
becoming self-conscious, has felt ever-increasing&lt;br /&gt;
interest in familiar human life. The growth of the&lt;br /&gt;
sentiment of sympathy has stimulated curiosity and&lt;br /&gt;
interest in the daily lives of our neighbours. The&lt;br /&gt;
scientific spirit of the day has popularized the&lt;br /&gt;
love of accurate description. The great Russian&lt;br /&gt;
novelists have moved some and the French school&lt;br /&gt;
has moved others. There is an enormous demand&lt;br /&gt;
for short stories in papers and magazines, par-&lt;br /&gt;
ticularly such stories as those on phases in&lt;br /&gt;
American life. We know the names that come&lt;br /&gt;
first in such a list&mdash;Howells and James. Besides&lt;br /&gt;
these are mentioned as in the same line, Fawcett,&lt;br /&gt;
Mrs. Burnett, and Miss Baylor.&lt;br /&gt;
There has been an especially noteworthy&lt;br /&gt;
development in the direction of local colour and&lt;br /&gt;
local types. Some of the works of this kind we&lt;br /&gt;
know, others are not familiar to us. For instance,&lt;br /&gt;
Louisiana has George Cable; Tennessee, Miss&lt;br /&gt;
Murfill; the hill folk of Virginia, Miss Baylor&lt;br /&gt;
and Edward Eggleston; Georgia, Johnston&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
Dukesborough stories; the negroes, Harris,&lt;br /&gt;
Nelson Page, and Edwards; Kansas, Howe;&lt;br /&gt;
New England, Miss Williams and Miss Jewett;&lt;br /&gt;
the Cape Cod folk, Miss McLean; the Jews of&lt;br /&gt;
New York, Henry Harland; the Western boy,&lt;br /&gt;
Mark Twain. Considering that all this is the&lt;br /&gt;
outcome of ten years, the advance seems very&lt;br /&gt;
remarkable.&lt;br /&gt;
Then there are books which are successful, one&lt;br /&gt;
knows not why, such as Wallace&amp;#039;s &amp;quot;Ben Hur, a Tale&lt;br /&gt;
of the Christ&amp;quot;; which are successful, one does know&lt;br /&gt;
why, such as &amp;quot;Mr. Barnes of New York&amp;quot;; which&lt;br /&gt;
are successful because they deal with questions of&lt;br /&gt;
the day, such as &amp;quot;John Ward, Preacher,&amp;quot; and&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Looking Backward&amp;quot;; which are successful be-&lt;br /&gt;
cause they appeal to serious and common-place&lt;br /&gt;
people who understand nothing but calmly moving&lt;br /&gt;
stories with a happy ending.&lt;br /&gt;
The spirit of Thoreau is continued by John&lt;br /&gt;
Burroughs, Dr. C. C. Abbott, Theodore Roosevelt,&lt;br /&gt;
and Mrs. Custer, while Lufcadic Hearn&amp;#039;s &amp;quot; Two&lt;br /&gt;
Years in the French West Indies&amp;quot; is spoken of&lt;br /&gt;
with the highest praise.&lt;br /&gt;
Reminiscence and biography are plentifully&lt;br /&gt;
represented by the names of Grant, Sheridan, Sher-&lt;br /&gt;
man, Jefferson Davis, Hugh McCullock, Blaine,&lt;br /&gt;
by the lives of Lincoln, Emerson, Longfellow,&lt;br /&gt;
Bryant, Molley, Hawthorne, Poe, Dana, Garrison,&lt;br /&gt;
Agassiz, Ericsen, Henry Ward Beecher, and&lt;br /&gt;
others.&lt;br /&gt;
In history the last ten years show the completion&lt;br /&gt;
of Bancroft-Parkman&amp;#039;s &amp;quot;Montcalm and Wolfe,&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
McMaster&amp;#039;s &amp;quot;History of the People,&amp;quot; and other&lt;br /&gt;
works. Let us pass over political economy, literary&lt;br /&gt;
criticism, art criticism, philosophy, law, education,&lt;br /&gt;
and science. Enough has been said to show&lt;br /&gt;
what we are too ready to forget, or to ignore, that&lt;br /&gt;
there exists across the Atlantic a literature which&lt;br /&gt;
is comparable with our own in every respect. If&lt;br /&gt;
they have no poets who can stand beside Tenny-&lt;br /&gt;
son, Browning, or Swinburne; if they have no&lt;br /&gt;
novelists in the same line with Thackeray, Dickens,&lt;br /&gt;
George Eliot, George Meredith; they have many&lt;br /&gt;
who can meet the novelists who come after these&lt;br /&gt;
great names. If they have no historian who can&lt;br /&gt;
be ranked with Stubbs, Green, or Freeman, they&lt;br /&gt;
have many who are equal to those who stand in&lt;br /&gt;
the second line, while in science and philosophy&lt;br /&gt;
they are rapidly stepping to the front. One branch&lt;br /&gt;
is unnoticed by the reviewer of this decade. It is&lt;br /&gt;
the branch of scholarship. In that department&lt;br /&gt;
Great Britain still seems to hold her own. Mean-&lt;br /&gt;
while, as an unexpected record of unexampled&lt;br /&gt;
development, this little paper in the Critic, from&lt;br /&gt;
which we have taken these remarks, is instructive&lt;br /&gt;
and suggestive.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 259 (#311) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOk.&lt;br /&gt;
259&lt;br /&gt;
It suggests, especially, this very important fact.&lt;br /&gt;
With the enormous development of their own&lt;br /&gt;
literature it will become increasingly rare for the&lt;br /&gt;
Americans to want the new books of our produc-&lt;br /&gt;
tion. When, if ever, an International Copyright&lt;br /&gt;
Bill is passed, those fortunate authors, American or&lt;br /&gt;
British, who are in demand on both sides, will be&lt;br /&gt;
few indeed. It will be mortifying when we have&lt;br /&gt;
got all we have clamoured for to be told that our&lt;br /&gt;
wares are not wanted. But this seems quite likely&lt;br /&gt;
to happen.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
HOW WE LOST THE BOOK OF&lt;br /&gt;
JASHER.&lt;br /&gt;
EVERYONE who knows anything about&lt;br /&gt;
art, archaeology, or science has heard of&lt;br /&gt;
the famous FitzTaylor Museum at Ox-&lt;br /&gt;
bridge. And even outsiders who care for none&lt;br /&gt;
of these things have heard of the quarrels and in-&lt;br /&gt;
ternal dissensions that have, from time to time,&lt;br /&gt;
disturbed that academic calm which ought to&lt;br /&gt;
reign within the walls of a museum. The il-&lt;br /&gt;
lustrious founder, to whose munificence we owe&lt;br /&gt;
this justly famous institution, provided in his will&lt;br /&gt;
for the support of four curators, who were to govern&lt;br /&gt;
the two separate departments of science and art,&lt;br /&gt;
and the University has been in the habit of making&lt;br /&gt;
grants of money from time to time to these separate&lt;br /&gt;
departments for the acquisition of scientific or&lt;br /&gt;
archaeological curiosities and MSS. I suppose&lt;br /&gt;
there was something wrong in the system, but&lt;br /&gt;
whatever it may be it led to those notorious&lt;br /&gt;
jealousies and disputes. At the time I am writing&lt;br /&gt;
the principal curators of the art section were&lt;br /&gt;
Professor Girdelstone and Mr. Monteagle, of&lt;br /&gt;
Princes College, while I myself looked after the&lt;br /&gt;
scientific welfare of the museum with Lowestoft as&lt;br /&gt;
my understudy&mdash;he was practically a nonenity, but&lt;br /&gt;
an authority on lepidoptera. Now whenever a&lt;br /&gt;
grant was made to the left wing of the building, as&lt;br /&gt;
I call it, I always used to say that science was&lt;br /&gt;
being sacrificed to archaeology. I mocked at the&lt;br /&gt;
illuminated MSS. over which Girdelstone grew en-&lt;br /&gt;
thusiastic and the musty theological folios which&lt;br /&gt;
Monteagle had purchased. They heaped abuse&lt;br /&gt;
upon me, of course, when my turn came, and&lt;br /&gt;
cracked many a quip on my splendid skeleton of&lt;br /&gt;
the ichthyosaurus, the only known specimen from&lt;br /&gt;
Greenland. At one time the strife broke into print,&lt;br /&gt;
and the London press animadverted on our&lt;br /&gt;
conduct. It became a positive scandal. We&lt;br /&gt;
were advised, I remember, to wash our dirty linen&lt;br /&gt;
at home, and though I have often wondered&lt;br /&gt;
why the press should act as a voluntary laundress&lt;br /&gt;
on such occasions, I suppose the remark is a just&lt;br /&gt;
one.&lt;br /&gt;
There came a day when we took the advice of&lt;br /&gt;
the press, and from then until now science and&lt;br /&gt;
art have gone hand in hand at the University&lt;br /&gt;
of Oxbridge. How the breach was healed&lt;br /&gt;
forms the subject of the present leaf from my&lt;br /&gt;
memoir.&lt;br /&gt;
America, it has been wisely said, is the great&lt;br /&gt;
land of fraud. It is the Egypt of the modern&lt;br /&gt;
world. From America came spiritualists, from&lt;br /&gt;
America bogus goods, cheap ideas and pirated&lt;br /&gt;
editions, and from America, I have every reason&lt;br /&gt;
to believe, came Dr. Groschen. It is true that&lt;br /&gt;
he spoke American with an English accent at&lt;br /&gt;
times, at others, English with a German. But&lt;br /&gt;
if his ancestors came from the Rhine, that he&lt;br /&gt;
received his education on the other side of the&lt;br /&gt;
Atlantic I have no doubt. Why he came to&lt;br /&gt;
Oxbridge I cannot say. He appeared quite&lt;br /&gt;
suddenly, like a comet. He brought introduc-&lt;br /&gt;
tions from various parts of the world, from the&lt;br /&gt;
English embassy at Constantinople, from the&lt;br /&gt;
British and German Schools of Archaeology at&lt;br /&gt;
Athens, from certain French Egyptologists at&lt;br /&gt;
Alexandria, and a holograph letter from Arch-&lt;br /&gt;
bishop Sarpedon, Patriarch of Hermaphroditopolis,&lt;br /&gt;
Curator of the MSS. in the monastery of St.&lt;br /&gt;
Basil, at Mount Olympus. It was this last that&lt;br /&gt;
endeared him, I believe, to the High Church party&lt;br /&gt;
in Oxbridge. Dr. Groschen was already the talk&lt;br /&gt;
of the University, the lion of the hour, before I&lt;br /&gt;
met him, and there was already a rumour of an&lt;br /&gt;
honorary degree before I even saw him in the&lt;br /&gt;
flesh, at the high table of my college, as guest of&lt;br /&gt;
the Master. If Dr. Groschen did not inspire&lt;br /&gt;
me with any confidence, I cannot say that he&lt;br /&gt;
excited any feeling of distrust. He was a small,&lt;br /&gt;
blond, commonplace looking little man, very neat&lt;br /&gt;
in his attire, without the alchemical look of most&lt;br /&gt;
archaeologists. Had I known then, as I know&lt;br /&gt;
now, that he presented his first credentials to&lt;br /&gt;
Professor Girdelstone, I might have suspected him.&lt;br /&gt;
Of course I took it for granted they were friends.&lt;br /&gt;
When the University was ringing with praises of&lt;br /&gt;
the generosity of Dr. Groschen in transferring his&lt;br /&gt;
splendid collection of Greek inscriptions to the&lt;br /&gt;
FitzTaylor Museum, I rejoiced; the next grant&lt;br /&gt;
would be devoted to science, in consideration of&lt;br /&gt;
the already crowded galleries of the Art and&lt;br /&gt;
Archaeology section. I only pitied the fatuity of&lt;br /&gt;
the authorities for being grateful. Dr. Groschen&lt;br /&gt;
had now wound himself into everybody&amp;#039;s good&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 260 (#312) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
260&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
wishes, and the University degree had been&lt;br /&gt;
conferred. He had been offered a fine set of&lt;br /&gt;
rooms in a college famous for culture. He was a&lt;br /&gt;
well known figure on the Q.P. But he was not&lt;br /&gt;
always with us; he went to Greece or the East&lt;br /&gt;
sometimes, for the purpose, it was said, of adding&lt;br /&gt;
to the Groschen collection, now the glory of the&lt;br /&gt;
FitzTaylor.&lt;br /&gt;
It was after one of these prolonged periods of&lt;br /&gt;
absence that he wrote to Girdelstone privately, that&lt;br /&gt;
he had made a great discovery, and on his return&lt;br /&gt;
brought with him, he said, some MSS. which had&lt;br /&gt;
been unearthed in the monastic library of St. Basil,&lt;br /&gt;
where he bought them for an enormous sum from&lt;br /&gt;
Sarpedon, the Patriarch of Hermaphroditopolis, and&lt;br /&gt;
that he was willing to sell them to &amp;quot;some public&lt;br /&gt;
institution&amp;quot; for very little over the original price.&lt;br /&gt;
Girdelstone told several of us in confidence. It was&lt;br /&gt;
public news next day. Scholars grew excited;&lt;br /&gt;
there had been hints at the recovery of a lost MS.,&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;which was to add to our knowledge of the antique&lt;br /&gt;
world and materially alter accepted views of the&lt;br /&gt;
early state of Roman and Greek society.&amp;quot; On&lt;br /&gt;
hearing the news I smiled. &amp;quot;Someinstitution,&amp;quot;that&lt;br /&gt;
was suspicious&mdash;MSS.&mdash;they meant forgery. It was&lt;br /&gt;
described as a palimpsest MS., consisting of fifty or&lt;br /&gt;
sixty leaves of papyrus. On one side was a portion&lt;br /&gt;
of the last book of Jasher, of a date not later than&lt;br /&gt;
the fourth century, on the other in ancient characters&lt;br /&gt;
that too notorious work of Aulus Gellius, which&lt;br /&gt;
Suetonius tells us that Tiberius ordered to be&lt;br /&gt;
burned&mdash;De moribus Romanorum.&lt;br /&gt;
But why should I go over old history? Every&lt;br /&gt;
one remembers the excitement that the discovery&lt;br /&gt;
caused&mdash;the leaders inthe Times and {he AI hen a urn,&lt;br /&gt;
the doubts of the sceptical, the enthusiasm of the&lt;br /&gt;
archaeologists, the jealousy of the Berlin authorities,&lt;br /&gt;
the offers from all the libraries of Europe, the&lt;br /&gt;
aspersions of the British Museum. &amp;quot;Why,&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
asked indignant critics, &amp;quot;did Dr. Groschen offer his&lt;br /&gt;
MS. to the authorities at Oxbridge?&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Because&lt;br /&gt;
Oxbridge had been the first to recognise his&lt;br /&gt;
genius,&amp;quot; was the crushing reply. And Professor&lt;br /&gt;
Girdelstone said that should the FitzTaylor fail to&lt;br /&gt;
acquire the MS. by any false economy on the part&lt;br /&gt;
of the University authorities, the prestige of the&lt;br /&gt;
museum would be gone. But this is all old&lt;br /&gt;
history. I only remind the reader of what he knows&lt;br /&gt;
already. I had begun to bring all my powers, and&lt;br /&gt;
the force of the scientific world in Oxbridge, to&lt;br /&gt;
bear in opposition to the purchase of the MS. I&lt;br /&gt;
had pulled every wire I knew, and execration was&lt;br /&gt;
heaped on me as a vandal, though I only said&lt;br /&gt;
that the University money should be devoted to&lt;br /&gt;
other channels than the purchase of MSS. I was&lt;br /&gt;
doing all this, when I was startled by the&lt;br /&gt;
intelligence that Dr. Groschen had suddenly come&lt;br /&gt;
to the conclusion that his find was after all only a&lt;br /&gt;
forgery.&lt;br /&gt;
The book of Jasher, he now said, was a four-&lt;br /&gt;
teenth century Byzantine forgery, and heascribed the&lt;br /&gt;
date at the very earliest to the reign of Alexis Com-&lt;br /&gt;
nenus. Theologians became fierce on the subject.&lt;br /&gt;
They had seen the MS. ; they knew it was genuine.&lt;br /&gt;
And when Dr. Groschen began to have doubts&lt;br /&gt;
as to Aulus Gellius, suggesting that this part of&lt;br /&gt;
the MS. was a sixteenth century fabrication, the&lt;br /&gt;
classical world morally and physically rose and&lt;br /&gt;
denounced him. Dr. Groschen, who had some-&lt;br /&gt;
thing of the early Christian in his character, bore&lt;br /&gt;
this shower of opprobrium like a martyr. &amp;quot;I may&lt;br /&gt;
be mistaken,&amp;quot; he said, &amp;quot;but I believe I have been&lt;br /&gt;
deceived. I have been taken in before, and I&lt;br /&gt;
should not like the MS. offered to any library&lt;br /&gt;
until two of the very highest experts had decided&lt;br /&gt;
as to its authenticity.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
People by this time had learnt to regard Dr.&lt;br /&gt;
Groschen himself as quite the highest expert in&lt;br /&gt;
the world. They thought he was out of his&lt;br /&gt;
senses, though the press commended him for his&lt;br /&gt;
honesty, and one journal, which had been loudest&lt;br /&gt;
in declaring its authenticity, said it was glad Dr.&lt;br /&gt;
Groschen had seen the forgery that it had already&lt;br /&gt;
anticipated. Dr. Groschen was furthermore asked&lt;br /&gt;
what experts he would submit his MS. to, and&lt;br /&gt;
by whose decision he would abide. After some&lt;br /&gt;
delay and correspondence, he could think of&lt;br /&gt;
only two&mdash;Professor Girdelstone and Mr. Mont-&lt;br /&gt;
eagle. &amp;quot;They had had great opportunities,&amp;quot; he&lt;br /&gt;
said, &amp;quot;of judging on such matters. Their erudi-&lt;br /&gt;
tion was of a steadier and more solid nature&lt;br /&gt;
than his own.&amp;quot; Then the world and Oxbridge&lt;br /&gt;
joined again in a chorus of praise. What could&lt;br /&gt;
be more honest, more straightforward, than to&lt;br /&gt;
submit the MS. to a final examination at the&lt;br /&gt;
hands of the two curators of the FitzTaylor, who&lt;br /&gt;
were to&amp;#039; have the first refusal of the MS. if it was&lt;br /&gt;
considered authentic? If it was a forgery, and&lt;br /&gt;
they decided on purchasing, they had themselves&lt;br /&gt;
to thank. No museum was ever before given&lt;br /&gt;
such an opportunity. Professor Girdelstone and&lt;br /&gt;
his colleague soon came to a conclusion. They&lt;br /&gt;
decided that there could be no doubt as to the&lt;br /&gt;
authenticity of the Aulus Gellius. In portions it&lt;br /&gt;
was true that between the lines certain Greek&lt;br /&gt;
characters almost obliterated were visible, but this&lt;br /&gt;
threw no slur on the MS. itself. As to the book&lt;br /&gt;
of Jasher they gave no decisive opinion, and it is&lt;br /&gt;
still an open question; but they expressed their&lt;br /&gt;
belief that the Aulus Gellius was alone worth the&lt;br /&gt;
price asked for it by Dr. Groschen. It only&lt;br /&gt;
remained now for the University to advance a sum&lt;br /&gt;
to the FitzTaylor for the purchase of this treasure.&lt;br /&gt;
The curators, rather prematurely perhaps, wrote&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 261 (#313) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
261&lt;br /&gt;
privately to Dr. Groschen making him an offer for&lt;br /&gt;
his MS., and paid him half the amount out of their&lt;br /&gt;
own pockets, so as to close the bargain once and&lt;br /&gt;
for all.&lt;br /&gt;
The delay of the University in making the&lt;br /&gt;
grant caused a good deal of apprehension in the&lt;br /&gt;
hearts of Professor Girdelstone and Mr. Mont-&lt;br /&gt;
eagle, and they feared that the enormous sums&lt;br /&gt;
offered by the Berlin Museum would tempt even&lt;br /&gt;
the single-minded Dr. Groschen, even though&lt;br /&gt;
he had the interests of the FitzTaylor so much&lt;br /&gt;
at heart. These suspicions were unfounded as&lt;br /&gt;
they were ungenerous. The German savant was&lt;br /&gt;
contented with his degree and college rooms, and&lt;br /&gt;
showed no hurry for the remainder of the sum to&lt;br /&gt;
be paid.&lt;br /&gt;
One night when I was seated in my rooms&lt;br /&gt;
beside the fire preparing lectures on the ichthyo-&lt;br /&gt;
saurus, to quote the poet, &amp;quot;I heard a rapping at my&lt;br /&gt;
chamber door.&amp;quot; It was a hurried jerky rap. I&lt;br /&gt;
shouted, &amp;quot;Come in,&amp;quot; the door burst open, and on&lt;br /&gt;
the threshold I saw Monteagle with a white face, on&lt;br /&gt;
which the beads of perspiration glittered. At&lt;br /&gt;
first I thought it was the rain which had drenched&lt;br /&gt;
his cap and gown, but in a moment I saw that the&lt;br /&gt;
perspiration was the result of terror or anxiety (cf.&lt;br /&gt;
my lectures on Mental Equilibrium). Monteagle&lt;br /&gt;
and I in our undergraduate days had been friends,&lt;br /&gt;
but like many University friendships, ours had&lt;br /&gt;
proved evanescent; our paths had lain in different&lt;br /&gt;
directions.&lt;br /&gt;
He had chosen archaeology. We had failed to&lt;br /&gt;
convert one another to each other&amp;#039;s views, and&lt;br /&gt;
when he became a member of &amp;quot; The Disciples,&amp;quot; a&lt;br /&gt;
mystic Oxbridge society, the fissure between us&lt;br /&gt;
widened to a gulf. We nodded when we met, but&lt;br /&gt;
that was all. With Girdelstone I was not on speak-&lt;br /&gt;
ing terms. So when I found Monteagle on my&lt;br /&gt;
threshold I confess I was startled.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;May I come in?&amp;quot; he asked.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Certainly, certainly,&amp;quot; I said, cordially. &amp;quot;But&lt;br /&gt;
what is the matter?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Good God! Newall,&amp;quot; he cried, &amp;quot;that MS.&lt;br /&gt;
after all is a forgery.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
This expression I thought unbecoming in a&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Disciple,&amp;quot; but I only smiled and said, &amp;quot;Really?&lt;br /&gt;
You think so?&amp;quot; Monteagle then made reference to&lt;br /&gt;
our old friendship, our unfortunate dissension. He&lt;br /&gt;
asked for my help, and then really excited my pity.&lt;br /&gt;
He poured into my ear a tale of woe. Some&lt;br /&gt;
member of the High Church party in Oxbridge had&lt;br /&gt;
been to Greece in order to attend a Conference&lt;br /&gt;
at Cyprus on the union of the Greek and Anglican&lt;br /&gt;
Churches. While there he had met Sarpedon,&lt;br /&gt;
Patriarch of Hermaphroditopolis, and in course of&lt;br /&gt;
conversation told him of the renowned Dr. Gros-&lt;br /&gt;
chen. Sarpedon had become distant at mention of&lt;br /&gt;
the doctor&amp;#039;s name. He denied all knowledge of the&lt;br /&gt;
famous letter of introduction, and said the only&lt;br /&gt;
thing he knew of the Professor was that he was&lt;br /&gt;
usually supposed to have been the thief who had&lt;br /&gt;
made off with a large chest of parchments from the&lt;br /&gt;
monastery of St. Basil.&lt;br /&gt;
The Greek Patriarch refused to give any further&lt;br /&gt;
information. The English clergyman had reported&lt;br /&gt;
this privately to Girdelstone.&lt;br /&gt;
Dr. Groschen&amp;#039;s other letters were examined, and&lt;br /&gt;
had been found to be all fabrications. The book&lt;br /&gt;
of Jasher and Aulus Gellius had been submitted to&lt;br /&gt;
a like scrutiny, and Girdelstone and Monteagle had&lt;br /&gt;
reluctantly come to the conclusion that they were&lt;br /&gt;
also vulgar and palpable forgeries. At the end of&lt;br /&gt;
his story Monteagle almost burst into tears. I&lt;br /&gt;
endeavoured to cheer him, although I was shrieking&lt;br /&gt;
with laughter at the whole situation.&lt;br /&gt;
Of course it was dreadful for him. If he exposed&lt;br /&gt;
Dr. Groschen, his own reputation as an expert&lt;br /&gt;
would be gone, and the doctor already had half&lt;br /&gt;
the money, which Girdelstone and he had paid in&lt;br /&gt;
advance. Monteagle was so agitated that it was&lt;br /&gt;
with difficulty I could get his story out of him, and&lt;br /&gt;
to this day I have never quite learned the truth.&lt;br /&gt;
Controlling my laughter, I sent a note round to&lt;br /&gt;
Professor Girdelstone, asking him to come to my&lt;br /&gt;
rooms. In about ten minutes he appeared, looking&lt;br /&gt;
as draggled and sheepish as poor Monteagle. In&lt;br /&gt;
his bosom he carried the fateful MS., which I had&lt;br /&gt;
never seen before. If it was a forgery (and I am&lt;br /&gt;
not sure now that it was) it was certainly a master-&lt;br /&gt;
piece. From what Girdelstone said to me then&lt;br /&gt;
and since, I think that the Aulus Gellius portion&lt;br /&gt;
was genuine enough, and the book of Jasher the&lt;br /&gt;
invention of Groschen; however, it will never be&lt;br /&gt;
discovered if one or neither were genuine. Mont-&lt;br /&gt;
eagle thought the ink that was used was a compound&lt;br /&gt;
of tea and charcoal, but both he and Girdelstone&lt;br /&gt;
were too suspicious to believe even each other by&lt;br /&gt;
this time.&lt;br /&gt;
I tried to console them, and promised all help&lt;br /&gt;
in my power. They were rather startled and&lt;br /&gt;
alarmed when I laid out my basis of operations.&lt;br /&gt;
In the first place, I was to withdraw all opposition&lt;br /&gt;
to the purchase of the MS. Girdelstone and Mont-&lt;br /&gt;
eagle, meanwhile, were to set about having the&lt;br /&gt;
Aulus Gellius printed and facsimiled; for I thought&lt;br /&gt;
it was a pity such work should be lost to the&lt;br /&gt;
world. The facsimile was only to be announced,&lt;br /&gt;
but the publishing by the University press to be&lt;br /&gt;
got in hand at once. The text of Aulus Gellius&lt;br /&gt;
can still be obtained, and a translation of those&lt;br /&gt;
portions which can be rendered into English&lt;br /&gt;
forms a volume of Mr. Bohn&amp;#039;s excellent classical&lt;br /&gt;
library, which will satisfy the curious who are&lt;br /&gt;
unacquainted with Latin. Professor Girdelstone&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 262 (#314) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
262&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
was to write a preface in very guarded terms.&lt;br /&gt;
This will be familiar to all classical scholars.&lt;br /&gt;
It was with great difficulty that I could persuade&lt;br /&gt;
Girdelstone and Monteagle, who had come to me,&lt;br /&gt;
their enemy, and in distress, of the sincerity of my&lt;br /&gt;
actions, but the poor fellows were ready to catch at&lt;br /&gt;
any straw for hope from exposure, and they listened&lt;br /&gt;
to every word I said. As the whole University&lt;br /&gt;
knew I was not on speaking terms with Girdelstone,&lt;br /&gt;
I told him to adopt a Nicodemus-like attitude, and&lt;br /&gt;
to come to me in the night-time, when we could&lt;br /&gt;
hold consultation. To the outer world, during these&lt;br /&gt;
anxious evenings, when my oak was sported, and&lt;br /&gt;
I would see no one, I was supposed to be pre-&lt;br /&gt;
paring my great syllabus of lectures on the ichthyo-&lt;br /&gt;
saurus. I only communicated to my fellow curators&lt;br /&gt;
my plans bit by bit, for I thought it would be better&lt;br /&gt;
for their nerves. I made Monteagle send round&lt;br /&gt;
a notice to the press :&mdash;&amp;quot; That the MS. about to&lt;br /&gt;
become the property of the University Museum&lt;br /&gt;
was being edited and published and facsimiled,&lt;br /&gt;
and at the earliest possible date it would be on&lt;br /&gt;
view in the Galleries where Dr. Groschen&amp;#039;s collec-&lt;br /&gt;
tions are now exhibited.&amp;quot; This was to quiet the&lt;br /&gt;
complaints that already were being made by scholars&lt;br /&gt;
and commentators of the difficulty of examining&lt;br /&gt;
the MSS. The importunities of several religious&lt;br /&gt;
societies to get a sight of the book of Jasher&lt;br /&gt;
became intolerable. The Dean of Boking, an old&lt;br /&gt;
friend of Girdelstone&amp;#039;s, came from the north on&lt;br /&gt;
purpose to examine the new found work. With&lt;br /&gt;
permission he intended, he said, to write a small&lt;br /&gt;
brochure for the S.P.C.K. on the book of Jasher:&lt;br /&gt;
I believe that he also had some curiosity as to&lt;br /&gt;
the Aulus Gellius, but here I may be wronging him.&lt;br /&gt;
The subterfuges, lies, and devices to which we re-&lt;br /&gt;
sorted were not very creditable to ourselves. Girdel-&lt;br /&gt;
stone gave him a dinner, and Monteagle and I&lt;br /&gt;
persuaded the Senate to confer on him an honorary&lt;br /&gt;
degree. We amused him with advance sheets of the&lt;br /&gt;
commentary, and with assurances that he would be&lt;br /&gt;
the first to examine the MS. He was quite a month&lt;br /&gt;
at Oxbridge, but at last was called on business to the&lt;br /&gt;
north by some lucky domestic family bereavement.&lt;br /&gt;
Our next difficulty was the news that Sarpcdon,&lt;br /&gt;
Patriarch of Hermaphroditopolis, was about to visit&lt;br /&gt;
England to attend an Anglican Synod. I thought&lt;br /&gt;
Girdelstone would go off his head, and Monteagle&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
hair had already become grey in the last few days.&lt;br /&gt;
Sarpedon was sure to be invited to Oxbridge.&lt;br /&gt;
He would meet Dr. Groschen, and then expose&lt;br /&gt;
him. Our fears, 1 soon found out, were shared&lt;br /&gt;
by the German saiant, who left shortly after the&lt;br /&gt;
news of the advent of Sarpedon, on one of those&lt;br /&gt;
mysterious visits to the East. I saw that our&lt;br /&gt;
action at once must be prompt, or Girdelstone and&lt;br /&gt;
Monteagle would be lost. They were horrified&lt;br /&gt;
when I told them I proposed placing the MS. to&lt;br /&gt;
public view in the museum on the following day.&lt;br /&gt;
A large plate glass case had been made by my&lt;br /&gt;
orders, and Girdelstone and Monteagle, who obeyed&lt;br /&gt;
me like lambs, deposited their precious burden as&lt;br /&gt;
I told them in the Groschen Hall of the Fitz-&lt;br /&gt;
Taylor. The crush that afternoon was terrible.&lt;br /&gt;
All the University came to peer into the glass case&lt;br /&gt;
at the new acquisition. I must tell you that Dr.&lt;br /&gt;
Groschen&amp;#039;s antiquities had been placed temporarily&lt;br /&gt;
in a fire-proof erection built of wood and tin, at&lt;br /&gt;
the back of the museum, while they were waiting&lt;br /&gt;
for room in the body of the museum. This&lt;br /&gt;
erection was connected with the building by a long&lt;br /&gt;
stone gallery along which were placed plaster&lt;br /&gt;
casts.&lt;br /&gt;
I mingled with the crowd, and heard the remarks,&lt;br /&gt;
but I advised Girdelstone and Monteagle to keep&lt;br /&gt;
out of the way, as it would only upset them.&lt;br /&gt;
Various dons came up and chaffed me about the&lt;br /&gt;
opposition I had made to the MS. being pur-&lt;br /&gt;
chased, and a little man of dark, sallow com-&lt;br /&gt;
plexion came up and asked me if I was Professor&lt;br /&gt;
Girdelstone. I said I had not the honour. He&lt;br /&gt;
was a Bohemian, and wanted to obtain leave to&lt;br /&gt;
examine the MS. I gave him my card, and asked&lt;br /&gt;
him to call on me, when I would arrange a day.&lt;br /&gt;
He told me he was a Lutheran pastor from&lt;br /&gt;
Bohemia.&lt;br /&gt;
I was the last to leave the museum that day. I&lt;br /&gt;
was often kept In the library long after four, when&lt;br /&gt;
the museum usually closed, and so T dismissed&lt;br /&gt;
the attendants when they had locked up everything&lt;br /&gt;
with the exception of a small door in the stone&lt;br /&gt;
gallery which I usually used on such occasions.&lt;br /&gt;
I waited till six in the evening, and as I went out&lt;br /&gt;
I opened near this door a sash window and&lt;br /&gt;
removed the iron shutters. After dinner I went&lt;br /&gt;
round to Monteagle&amp;#039;s rooms. He and Girdelstone&lt;br /&gt;
were sitting in a despondent way on each side of&lt;br /&gt;
the fire, sipping weak coffee and nibbling Albert&lt;br /&gt;
biscuits. They were startled at my entrance.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;What have you decided?&amp;quot; asked Girdelstone,&lt;br /&gt;
hoarsely.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;All is arranged. Monteagle and I will set fire&lt;br /&gt;
to the museum to night,&amp;quot; I said, quietly.&lt;br /&gt;
Girdelstone buried his face in his hands and&lt;br /&gt;
began to sob.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Anything but that&mdash;anything but that!&amp;quot; he&lt;br /&gt;
cried. And Monteagle turned a little pale. At&lt;br /&gt;
first they protested, but I overcame their scruples&lt;br /&gt;
by saying they might get out of the mess how they&lt;br /&gt;
liked. 1 advised Girdelstone to go to bed and&lt;br /&gt;
plead illness for the next few days, for he really&lt;br /&gt;
wanted rest. At eleven o&amp;#039;clock that night Mont-&lt;br /&gt;
eagle and myself crossed the meadows at the back&lt;br /&gt;
of our college, and by a circuitous route reached&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 263 (#315) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR. 263&lt;br /&gt;
r&lt;br /&gt;
the grounds surrounding the museum, which were&lt;br /&gt;
planted with rhododendrons and other shrubs.&lt;br /&gt;
It was pouring with rain, unfortunately not&lt;br /&gt;
favourable for our enterprise. I had brought with&lt;br /&gt;
me a small box of combustibles from the Univer-&lt;br /&gt;
sity Laboratories, and a dark lantern. When we&lt;br /&gt;
climbed over the low wall not far from the stone&lt;br /&gt;
gallery I saw to my horror a light emerging from&lt;br /&gt;
the Groschen Hall. Monteagle, who is fearfully&lt;br /&gt;
superstitious, began chattering his teeth. When we&lt;br /&gt;
reached the small door I saw that it was open. A&lt;br /&gt;
thief had evidently forestalled us. Monteagle sug-&lt;br /&gt;
gested going back, and leaving the thief to make&lt;br /&gt;
off with the MS.; but I would not hear of such a&lt;br /&gt;
proposal.&lt;br /&gt;
The door opening to the Groschen Hall at the&lt;br /&gt;
end of the gallery was open, and beyond, a man&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
who had his back towards us, and who I at once&lt;br /&gt;
recognised as the little Lutheran&mdash;was busily&lt;br /&gt;
engaged in picking the lock of the case where were&lt;br /&gt;
deposited the book of Jasher and Aulus Gellius.&lt;br /&gt;
Telling Monteagle to guard the door, I approached&lt;br /&gt;
very softly, keeping behind the plaster casts. I was&lt;br /&gt;
within a yard of the man before he heard my&lt;br /&gt;
boots creak. Then he turned round, and I found&lt;br /&gt;
myself face to face with Dr. Groschen. I have&lt;br /&gt;
never seen such a look of terror on anyone&amp;#039;s face&lt;br /&gt;
before.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;You scoundrel!&amp;quot; I cried, collecting myself,&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;drop those things at once !&amp;quot; and I made for him&lt;br /&gt;
with my fist. He dodged me. I ran after him;&lt;br /&gt;
but he threaded his way like a rat through the&lt;br /&gt;
statues and cases of antiquities, and bolted down&lt;br /&gt;
the passage out of the door, where he upset&lt;br /&gt;
Monteagle and the lantern, and disappeared in the&lt;br /&gt;
darkness and rain. I then returned to the scene&lt;br /&gt;
of his labours. Monteagle was too frightened, as&lt;br /&gt;
the museum had rather a ghostly appearance by&lt;br /&gt;
the light of the feeble oil lamp. There was some&lt;br /&gt;
dry sacking in a small cupboard. I had deposited&lt;br /&gt;
it there for the purpose. This I ignited along&lt;br /&gt;
with some native curiosities of straw and skin and&lt;br /&gt;
wickerwork.&lt;br /&gt;
There were also some new unpacked cases of&lt;br /&gt;
casts which the attendants had left there in the&lt;br /&gt;
afternoon, which materially assisted the conflagra-&lt;br /&gt;
tion.&lt;br /&gt;
It was an impressive scene as the flames played&lt;br /&gt;
round the pedestals of the torsos, statues, and cases,&lt;br /&gt;
but I only waited for a few moments to see that my&lt;br /&gt;
work was complete. I shut the door between the&lt;br /&gt;
gallery and the hall, so as to avoid the possibility of&lt;br /&gt;
the fire spreading to the rest of the building. I&lt;br /&gt;
seized Monteagle by the arm and hurried him&lt;br /&gt;
through the rhododendrons, over the wall, into the&lt;br /&gt;
meadows stretching down to the river I turned&lt;br /&gt;
back once, and just caught a glimpse of red flame&lt;br /&gt;
bursting through the windows. Having seen Mont-&lt;br /&gt;
eagle half way back to the college, I returned to see&lt;br /&gt;
if any alarm had been given. Some passers by had&lt;br /&gt;
already noticed it, and a small crowd had collected&lt;br /&gt;
in front. A fire engine had been sent for, while a&lt;br /&gt;
local pump had almost been set going. I returned&lt;br /&gt;
to my college gate, where I found the porter was&lt;br /&gt;
standing, believing I had been in Trinity all the&lt;br /&gt;
evening.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The FitzTaylor is burning,&amp;quot; he said. &amp;quot;I have&lt;br /&gt;
been looking out for you, sir.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&bull; * *&lt;br /&gt;
There is nothing more to tell. To this day no&lt;br /&gt;
one suspects but that the fire was the work of an&lt;br /&gt;
incendiary, jealous of Dr. Groschen&amp;#039;s discovery.&lt;br /&gt;
The Professor has returned from the East, but lives&lt;br /&gt;
in great retirement, and his friends say that he has&lt;br /&gt;
never quite recovered the shock occasioned by the&lt;br /&gt;
loss of his collection. The rest of the museum&lt;br /&gt;
was uninjured.&lt;br /&gt;
The death of Sarpedon, Patriarch of Hermaph-&lt;br /&gt;
roditopolis, at Naples, was a sudden and melan-&lt;br /&gt;
choly catastrophe, which people say affected Dr.&lt;br /&gt;
Groschen more than the fire. Strangely enough,&lt;br /&gt;
as he had just been dining with the Doctor the&lt;br /&gt;
evening before, for they had met at Naples pur-&lt;br /&gt;
posely.&lt;br /&gt;
Sometimes I ask myself if I did right in setting&lt;br /&gt;
fire to the museum. It was, you see, for the sake&lt;br /&gt;
of others, not myself, and Monteagle was an old&lt;br /&gt;
friend.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
ON COMMITTEE.&lt;br /&gt;
OUR Copyright Sub-Committee has been&lt;br /&gt;
busy at the close of its successful career.&lt;br /&gt;
On January 29th a meeting was held of&lt;br /&gt;
the General Committee and also of the Copyright&lt;br /&gt;
Sub-Committee to consider the report made by&lt;br /&gt;
the Fine Art Committee of the London Chamber&lt;br /&gt;
of Commerce upon the Fine Art Sections of our&lt;br /&gt;
Bill. The London Chamber of Commerce had&lt;br /&gt;
evidently given every attention to our Bill in detail,&lt;br /&gt;
and their criticism was considered most valuable&lt;br /&gt;
to us. As far as our Sub-Committee considered&lt;br /&gt;
themselves able to do so, without violating the&lt;br /&gt;
spirit of the Bill, or making propositions in&lt;br /&gt;
opposition to the recommendations of the Royal&lt;br /&gt;
Commission of 1878, the practical suggestions of&lt;br /&gt;
the London Chamber of Commerce have been&lt;br /&gt;
adopted. For the information of those of our&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 264 (#316) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
members who possess copies of the Bill, these&lt;br /&gt;
suggestions are appended, with the reply of our&lt;br /&gt;
Committee to them.&lt;br /&gt;
The London Chamber of Commerce&lt;br /&gt;
(Incorporated).&lt;br /&gt;
Fine Art Section.&lt;br /&gt;
Report of the Special Copyright Sub-Committee.&lt;br /&gt;
Your Committee were appointed to examine the&lt;br /&gt;
terms of the Copyright Bill of the Society of Authors,&lt;br /&gt;
and &amp;quot;report to the Section how far it includes, and&lt;br /&gt;
in what way it differs, from the 1885 Bill, intended&lt;br /&gt;
to be supported by the Section.&amp;quot; Your Committee&lt;br /&gt;
have held four meetings, and have carefully con-&lt;br /&gt;
sidered the two Bills with a view to ascertaining&lt;br /&gt;
the difference between them, and submit as an&lt;br /&gt;
appendix an analysis which has been prepared by&lt;br /&gt;
one of their number, Mr. Boydell Graves.&lt;br /&gt;
Speaking generally, the Committee found that&lt;br /&gt;
the Bill of the Society of Authors embraces many&lt;br /&gt;
of the points specially dealt with in the Bill of&lt;br /&gt;
1885 ; but in regard to the Penal clauses, they&lt;br /&gt;
recommend that the Society of Authors Bill should&lt;br /&gt;
be amended in the direction of approximating the&lt;br /&gt;
penalties imposed more nearly to those laid down&lt;br /&gt;
in the Bill of&amp;quot; 1885, which are more stringent in the&lt;br /&gt;
latter than in the former. The Committee, how-&lt;br /&gt;
ever, are of opinion that it should be possible so to&lt;br /&gt;
amend the Bill of the Society of Authors as to&lt;br /&gt;
meet the views of all who are interested in fine art&lt;br /&gt;
copyright, whether as artists or publishers. They&lt;br /&gt;
submit, therefore, the following recommendations&lt;br /&gt;
for acceptance by the Section.&lt;br /&gt;
Taking Part III of the Bill, which deals separately&lt;br /&gt;
with copyright in works of fine art and photographs,&lt;br /&gt;
and following the order in which the Bill is drafted,&lt;br /&gt;
the Committee recommend that the words, &amp;quot;offer&lt;br /&gt;
for sale,&amp;quot; should be omitted from the definition of&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;publication,&amp;quot; on the ground that it is the custom&lt;br /&gt;
among artistic publishers to take subscribers&amp;#039; names&lt;br /&gt;
for an engraving not only during the progress of&lt;br /&gt;
such work, but even prior to its commencement.&lt;br /&gt;
The omission of the words in question would&lt;br /&gt;
prevent the publisher from being made liable for&lt;br /&gt;
publication before the actual issue of the work.&lt;br /&gt;
The definition of &amp;quot; replica&amp;quot; is unsatisfactory, in&lt;br /&gt;
so far as a replica is laid down as a work which&lt;br /&gt;
may be executed by a person other than the artist&lt;br /&gt;
himself. The objection of the Committee would&lt;br /&gt;
be met, however, by the omission of the words&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;caused by him to be executed.&amp;quot; The Committee&lt;br /&gt;
were unanimous in agreeing that a replica must be&lt;br /&gt;
executed by a painter himself, in the same material,&lt;br /&gt;
approximating to the same size as the original, and&lt;br /&gt;
that it should be considered as being an authorized&lt;br /&gt;
copy if not wholly or mainly done by the artist&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
own hand. In other words, it might be desirable&lt;br /&gt;
to define a replica as a work executed by the&lt;br /&gt;
artist himself, or, if commenced by another person,&lt;br /&gt;
completed under his own hand.&lt;br /&gt;
The definition of &amp;quot; sale&amp;quot; was not considered by&lt;br /&gt;
the Committee to sufficiently cover the giving and&lt;br /&gt;
acceptance of a commission to and by the artist.&lt;br /&gt;
They suggest the following addition to the defini-&lt;br /&gt;
tions in Part III: &amp;quot;&amp;#039;Commission,&amp;#039; when used&lt;br /&gt;
with reference to a work of fine art, shall mean an&lt;br /&gt;
order to execute the same for a valuable considera-&lt;br /&gt;
tion.&amp;quot; Sections 36 and 40 of the Society of Authors&lt;br /&gt;
Bill only propose to confer copyright for a period&lt;br /&gt;
of thirty years after the death of the artist. The&lt;br /&gt;
Committee strongly urge that the period should be&lt;br /&gt;
extended to fifty years to paintings (as in the 18S5&lt;br /&gt;
Bill where applicable to engravings), and as pro-&lt;br /&gt;
posed in the case of &amp;quot; books&amp;quot; in the present Society&lt;br /&gt;
of Authors Eill, and as already conferred in&lt;br /&gt;
Germany. In no case, the Committee consider,&lt;br /&gt;
should copyright expire in less than a period of&lt;br /&gt;
fifty years after the first sale or registration of a&lt;br /&gt;
work.&lt;br /&gt;
Respecting Section 38, the Committee suggest&lt;br /&gt;
no amendment, provided the Section is read in&lt;br /&gt;
connection with and governed by the definition of&lt;br /&gt;
replica as proposed by them.&lt;br /&gt;
It was pointed out to the Committee by one of&lt;br /&gt;
its artist members that no fainter would care to&lt;br /&gt;
give up his right to execute a water colour copy of&lt;br /&gt;
an oil painting, and that such water colour copy&lt;br /&gt;
could in no wise be mistaken for the original or a&lt;br /&gt;
replica thereof.&lt;br /&gt;
In Section 48, Sub-Section (3), which deals with&lt;br /&gt;
the delivery of copies to the owners of copyright in&lt;br /&gt;
certain cases of infringement, the Committee&lt;br /&gt;
recommend that the words &amp;quot;or take other pro-&lt;br /&gt;
ceedings&amp;quot; be added after the word &amp;quot;action,&amp;quot; as it&lt;br /&gt;
would not in all cases be necessary to have recourse&lt;br /&gt;
to the law courts.&lt;br /&gt;
As regards the reproduction of copyright works,&lt;br /&gt;
specially dealt with in Section 47, the Committee&lt;br /&gt;
are of opinion that in cases where a picture has&lt;br /&gt;
been bought with the copyright it should, if repro-&lt;br /&gt;
duced, be reproduced in its entirety, and the law&lt;br /&gt;
should not allow of a part being taken out of it, so&lt;br /&gt;
that it could be made into a separate picture, with-&lt;br /&gt;
out the permission of the artist being given. They&lt;br /&gt;
therefore recommend the addition of the following&lt;br /&gt;
or similar provisions to Sub-Section C of Section&lt;br /&gt;
47: &amp;quot;Without the consent in writing of the author&lt;br /&gt;
of the work or his assigns to such alterations, addi-&lt;br /&gt;
tions, or subtractions.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Part IV of the Bill deals with foreign and&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 265 (#317) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
265&lt;br /&gt;
colonial copyright, and, with respect to its pro-&lt;br /&gt;
visions, the Committee offer no remarks.&lt;br /&gt;
The Committee raise no objection to Part V&lt;br /&gt;
as drafted, provided it is made clear that the in-&lt;br /&gt;
clusion of paintings and works of sculpture from&lt;br /&gt;
Section 85 (in which it is laid down that only the&lt;br /&gt;
registered owner of a copyright shall be recognized&lt;br /&gt;
as such), is due to the fact that the registration of&lt;br /&gt;
such works is not compulsory.&lt;br /&gt;
As regards Part VI of the Bill, which relates&lt;br /&gt;
to Penalties and Procedure, the Committee are&lt;br /&gt;
strongly of opinion that the limitation of the time&lt;br /&gt;
during which actions or other proceedings for in-&lt;br /&gt;
fringement of copyright may be maintained, should&lt;br /&gt;
be extended, and that Sub-Section 2 of Section 87&lt;br /&gt;
should be modified, so that an action could be&lt;br /&gt;
brought within twelve months after the offence&lt;br /&gt;
had come to the knowledge of the copyright owner,&lt;br /&gt;
and not twelve months after the same is com-&lt;br /&gt;
mitted, as proposed in the draft.&lt;br /&gt;
The Committee observe that the Society of&lt;br /&gt;
Authors Bill does not contain the stipulation in&lt;br /&gt;
the Bill of 1885 (Section 17),&mdash;that any peace&lt;br /&gt;
officer shall have power to search in the daytime&lt;br /&gt;
any house, shop, or other place where it may&lt;br /&gt;
be reasonably suspected that pirated works are&lt;br /&gt;
kept for sale. They recommend that Section 18&lt;br /&gt;
of the 1885 Bill should be embodied in the present&lt;br /&gt;
measure, subject to verbal alteration of the mar-&lt;br /&gt;
ginal reference, so as to read, &amp;quot;power to search&lt;br /&gt;
premises used for business purposes.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
With reference to Section 89, Sub-Section B,&lt;br /&gt;
governing power to seize unlawful copies when&lt;br /&gt;
hawked about for sale, the Committee recommend&lt;br /&gt;
the introduction of a similar provision to that con-&lt;br /&gt;
tained in the Bill of 1885, Clause 18, so that&lt;br /&gt;
illegal copies could be taken before a Court of&lt;br /&gt;
Summary Jurisdiction, and, upon proof, that any&lt;br /&gt;
such copy, repetition, or imitation was unlawfully&lt;br /&gt;
made, such copy, repetition, or imitation shall be&lt;br /&gt;
forfeited, and delivered up to the owner of the&lt;br /&gt;
copyright as his property. (Clause 17 of the&lt;br /&gt;
1885 Bill.) This additional clause will involve&lt;br /&gt;
the omission from the Bill of the Society of&lt;br /&gt;
Authors of the words, &amp;quot;with a view to obtaining&lt;br /&gt;
an order for its delivery to the proprietor of the&lt;br /&gt;
copyright.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
As regards Section 91, relative to the right of a&lt;br /&gt;
copyright owner to apply in a summary manner in&lt;br /&gt;
cases of infringement to a Court of Summary&lt;br /&gt;
Jurisdiction in that part of the British dominions&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;where the wrong has been committed, or where&lt;br /&gt;
the person who has been guilty of the infringement&lt;br /&gt;
dwells,&amp;quot; the Committee strongly recommend that&lt;br /&gt;
an effort should be made in order that an action&lt;br /&gt;
might also be tried in the place where the aggrieved&lt;br /&gt;
person resides. They further urge that fines should&lt;br /&gt;
be cumulative, and applicable to each separate&lt;br /&gt;
offence, as set forth in the Bill of 1885, inasmuch&lt;br /&gt;
as it would otherwise appear to be possible for a&lt;br /&gt;
person to infringe copyright and produce any num-&lt;br /&gt;
ber of copies, for which he would only be fined&lt;br /&gt;
Five Pounds. ,&lt;br /&gt;
The Committee generally approve of the re-&lt;br /&gt;
maining parts of the Bill, and would draw special&lt;br /&gt;
attention to the method of registration proposed,&lt;br /&gt;
which provides for the gradual transfer from the&lt;br /&gt;
Stationers&amp;#039; Company of the powers and duties at&lt;br /&gt;
present vested in them to a new Government&lt;br /&gt;
Department, in connection with, and probably in&lt;br /&gt;
the same building as, the Registration of Trade&lt;br /&gt;
Marks and Designs, under the control of the Board&lt;br /&gt;
of Trade.&lt;br /&gt;
The Committee, in conclusion, recommend that&lt;br /&gt;
in the event of their functions being continued by&lt;br /&gt;
the Fine Art Section, they should have power to&lt;br /&gt;
arrange with the Society of Authors and the&lt;br /&gt;
draughtsman of the Bill for an interview, to dis-&lt;br /&gt;
cuss some slight verbal modifications which they&lt;br /&gt;
consider necessary to make the meaning of the&lt;br /&gt;
Bill absolutely clear, and otherwise to meet the&lt;br /&gt;
views of copyright owners in fine art as embodied&lt;br /&gt;
in the Bill of 1885.&lt;br /&gt;
Arthur Lucas (Chairman).&lt;br /&gt;
Wyke Bayliss.&lt;br /&gt;
Boydell Graves.&lt;br /&gt;
Heywood Hardy.&lt;br /&gt;
Charles Dowdeswell.&lt;br /&gt;
December, 1890.&lt;br /&gt;
Reply from the Sub-Committee on&lt;br /&gt;
Copyright.&lt;br /&gt;
A Committee Meeting composed of members of&lt;br /&gt;
the General Committee of the Society of Authors,&lt;br /&gt;
and of the Sub-Committee on Copyright, was held&lt;br /&gt;
on the 29th January last, to consider the report and&lt;br /&gt;
the suggestions contained therein of the Fine Art&lt;br /&gt;
Section Committee of the London Chamber of&lt;br /&gt;
Commerce.&lt;br /&gt;
The Committee have instructed me to offer their&lt;br /&gt;
best thanks to the Committee of the Fine Art&lt;br /&gt;
Secjion for the valuable suggestions contained in&lt;br /&gt;
their report, and also for their offer to meet the&lt;br /&gt;
Committee of the Society of Authors to discuss the&lt;br /&gt;
Copyright Bill.&lt;br /&gt;
The Committee having carefully considered in&lt;br /&gt;
detail the suggestions and proposed amendments,&lt;br /&gt;
do not think that any good purpose would be&lt;br /&gt;
served by further discussion of the Bill as a whole,&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 266 (#318) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
266&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
but I am instructed to inform you that my Com-&lt;br /&gt;
mittee have, in consequence of your Report, re-&lt;br /&gt;
commended certain alterations to Lord Monkswell&lt;br /&gt;
(who now has charge of the Bill), and that they&lt;br /&gt;
feel assured that his lordship will consent to&lt;br /&gt;
introduce such alterations into the Bill at the&lt;br /&gt;
proper time.&lt;br /&gt;
As regards the penal clauses suggested in the&lt;br /&gt;
report, my Committee are quite in sympathy with&lt;br /&gt;
your Committee, but from intimations received&lt;br /&gt;
from various sources they are convinced that it&lt;br /&gt;
would not be advisable to introduce the proposed&lt;br /&gt;
clauses, at least at present, as such a course might&lt;br /&gt;
tend to imperil the progress of the Bill.&lt;br /&gt;
It is hardly necessary to add that if, and when&lt;br /&gt;
the Bill reaches the Committee stage, the Society&lt;br /&gt;
will offer no opposition to any such amendments,&lt;br /&gt;
as you suggest, being made.&lt;br /&gt;
I append below somewhat in detail the comments&lt;br /&gt;
made and conclusions arrived at by my Committee&lt;br /&gt;
upon the report of your Committee.&lt;br /&gt;
With regard to :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
Publication.&mdash;It was agreed to amend the&lt;br /&gt;
definition so as to read as follows :&mdash;&amp;quot; The&lt;br /&gt;
first Act of offering, advertising, &amp;amp;c. . . .&lt;br /&gt;
as ready for sale to the public.&amp;quot; This will&lt;br /&gt;
meet the point raised by your report.&lt;br /&gt;
Replica.&mdash;My Committee think that the exi-&lt;br /&gt;
gencies of the case will be sufficiently met&lt;br /&gt;
by adding the words &amp;quot;under his immediate&lt;br /&gt;
supervision&amp;quot; after the word &amp;quot;executed.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Sale.&mdash;The word sale was- not intended to&lt;br /&gt;
cover the giving and acceptance of a com-&lt;br /&gt;
mission to and by the artist. A commission&lt;br /&gt;
is merely an agreement for sale, and the&lt;br /&gt;
word &amp;quot; sale&amp;quot; as defined covers it as soon&lt;br /&gt;
as the work is done.&lt;br /&gt;
The period of copyright in paintings.&mdash;My&lt;br /&gt;
Committee would point out that the period&lt;br /&gt;
of copyright proposed in the case of books&lt;br /&gt;
is for life and thirty years. It is desired to&lt;br /&gt;
give an uniform term for all classes of work,&lt;br /&gt;
and therefore it is proposed to give the same&lt;br /&gt;
period in the case of paintings as in books&lt;br /&gt;
set. The term of life and thirty years was&lt;br /&gt;
expressly adopted by the Royal Commis-&lt;br /&gt;
sioners as being that adopted by Germany&lt;br /&gt;
(see paragraph 40 of their Report).&lt;br /&gt;
The right of an artist to execute a water-colour&lt;br /&gt;
copy of an oil painting.&mdash;Section 38 of the&lt;br /&gt;
Bill does not in any way affect this right.&lt;br /&gt;
(See the definition of Replica.)&lt;br /&gt;
Section 48, Sufi-Section (3).&mdash;My Committee&lt;br /&gt;
would point out that the parties can always&lt;br /&gt;
agree to refer to arbitration if they wish.&lt;br /&gt;
They do not perceive what other proceed-&lt;br /&gt;
ings are referred to.&lt;br /&gt;
Section 47, Sufi-Section (C).&mdash;The objection&lt;br /&gt;
to Section 47 appears to be that it does not&lt;br /&gt;
expressly provide against an original work&lt;br /&gt;
which has been added to or subtracted from&lt;br /&gt;
being sold as unaltered. In order to meet&lt;br /&gt;
this objection it is proposed to add in Sub-&lt;br /&gt;
Section (D), line 21 of paragraph 20, after&lt;br /&gt;
the word &amp;quot;alterations&amp;quot; the words &amp;quot;addi-&lt;br /&gt;
tions or subtractions.&amp;quot; The clause will, of&lt;br /&gt;
course, only apply to cases where the altera-&lt;br /&gt;
tions, &amp;amp;c, are made without the author&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
consent, and it does not seem necessary to&lt;br /&gt;
add the words suggested in your report.&lt;br /&gt;
Section 85.&mdash;The reason given for the omission&lt;br /&gt;
of paintings and sculpture from Section 85&lt;br /&gt;
is that mentioned in the Report, but it&lt;br /&gt;
seems quite unnecessery to refer to it&lt;br /&gt;
specifically in the section.&lt;br /&gt;
Sec/ion 87, Sufi-Section 2.&mdash;The proposed&lt;br /&gt;
amendment would be contrary to the&lt;br /&gt;
general principles of statutes of limitation.&lt;br /&gt;
Section 17, 1885 Bill.&mdash;As originally drafted,&lt;br /&gt;
the Society of Authors Bill had this section&lt;br /&gt;
inserted, but on mature deliberation the&lt;br /&gt;
Committee rejected it as too severe. (See&lt;br /&gt;
also paragraph 175 of the Report of the&lt;br /&gt;
Royal Commissioners as to this section.)&lt;br /&gt;
Section 89, Sub-Section B.&mdash;Sections 88 and&lt;br /&gt;
89, taken together, appear to provide all&lt;br /&gt;
that is necessary with regard to the forfeiture&lt;br /&gt;
of illegal copies.&lt;br /&gt;
Section 91.&mdash;The proposed amendment is con-&lt;br /&gt;
trary to the general principles of procedure.&lt;br /&gt;
Fines being made cumulative, this proce-&lt;br /&gt;
dure is only intended for small and trivial&lt;br /&gt;
offences. Where the offence is more&lt;br /&gt;
serious, the ordinary action for damages&lt;br /&gt;
for infringement can be brought.&lt;br /&gt;
On February 5th a meeting was held to confer&lt;br /&gt;
with representatives of the Copyright Association&lt;br /&gt;
and of the Newspaper Society [informal]. Mr. F.&lt;br /&gt;
R. Daldy, the Honorary Secretary of the Copyright&lt;br /&gt;
Association, and a member of the Royal Com&lt;br /&gt;
mission of 1878, made an exhaustive report to us&lt;br /&gt;
of the views of his body on the Bill. It will be suffi-&lt;br /&gt;
cient here to say that our Sub-Committee recognized&lt;br /&gt;
the great value attaching to his suggestions, and that&lt;br /&gt;
alteration in accordance with them will in some&lt;br /&gt;
cases be made.&lt;br /&gt;
The Secretary will be happy to supply any&lt;br /&gt;
member with a copy of the Bill upon receipt of&lt;br /&gt;
&bull;j^d. in stamps.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 267 (#319) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
267&lt;br /&gt;
A HARD CASE.&lt;br /&gt;
VIII.&lt;br /&gt;
WE have on the last three occasions given&lt;br /&gt;
examples of what may be termed more&lt;br /&gt;
or less constitutional methods of &amp;quot;best-&lt;br /&gt;
ing&amp;quot; the author. But lest anyone should think&lt;br /&gt;
sanguinely that the day of gross malpractice has&lt;br /&gt;
gone by, we recur to the exploits of the &amp;quot; half-profit&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
publisher, and give an account of one of the recent&lt;br /&gt;
cases that has come into the office. It was not a&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;half-profit &amp;quot; case, for the publisher only proposed&lt;br /&gt;
to receive one-third of the profits, but the methods&lt;br /&gt;
employed for obtaining money from the author&lt;br /&gt;
were the old ones, first made familiar to us by the&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;half-profit&amp;quot; practitioner.&lt;br /&gt;
The following were the terms agreed upon&lt;br /&gt;
between author and publisher, and for once in a&lt;br /&gt;
way they were placed upon paper, and correctly&lt;br /&gt;
witnessed and stamped.&lt;br /&gt;
(1) . The first edition was to consist of 1,000&lt;br /&gt;
copies, to be bound up as required, and sold at a&lt;br /&gt;
guinea each.&lt;br /&gt;
(2) . The remainder-stock could not be sold&lt;br /&gt;
without the permission of the author.&lt;br /&gt;
(3) . Author was to pay ^120&mdash;^60 on signing&lt;br /&gt;
agreement, and ^60 on receiving final proofs.&lt;br /&gt;
(4) . Author was to pay for corrections.&lt;br /&gt;
(5) . Author was to pay &pound;10 towards advertise-&lt;br /&gt;
ment.&lt;br /&gt;
(6) . Author was to receive two-thirds, and pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lisher one-third of any profits.&lt;br /&gt;
(7) . Half-yearly accounts were to be rendered.&lt;br /&gt;
To this there was appended a formal authoriza-&lt;br /&gt;
tion to the author to inspect the publisher&amp;#039;s books.&lt;br /&gt;
This seemed at first sight a very satisfactory&lt;br /&gt;
agreement, and by comparison with a great many&lt;br /&gt;
half-profit agreements it must be conceded at once&lt;br /&gt;
that it was satisfactory. By comparison with some&lt;br /&gt;
of this particular firm&amp;#039;s agreements which we have&lt;br /&gt;
had an opportunity of perusing, it was mo3t satis-&lt;br /&gt;
factory. The contract was a formal instrument, duly&lt;br /&gt;
and properly stamped. The expenses of advertise-&lt;br /&gt;
ment were limited, instead of being left unreservedly&lt;br /&gt;
to the prodigality of the agent, while control over&lt;br /&gt;
the destinies of the remainder-stock was very pro-&lt;br /&gt;
perly retained. One omission only was made, but&lt;br /&gt;
that omission was so important that it has ruined an&lt;br /&gt;
otherwise fair and equitable contract. The author&lt;br /&gt;
has omitted to ask for details concerning the cost&lt;br /&gt;
of production, towards which he is to contribute&lt;br /&gt;
,&pound;120, also ^10, and also the cost of &amp;quot;author&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
corrections,&amp;quot; to an unlimited extent. He appears&lt;br /&gt;
never to have asked himself why ^120, more&lt;br /&gt;
than &pound;20 or &pound;220, but simply to have agreed to&lt;br /&gt;
vol. 1.&lt;br /&gt;
pay the sum asked of him. If authors are so&lt;br /&gt;
simple, can it be wondered that the publishing&lt;br /&gt;
trade is here and there, if not everywhere, invaded&lt;br /&gt;
by persons who make it a business to take advan-&lt;br /&gt;
tage of such simplicity.&lt;br /&gt;
It is this extraordinary incapacity for under-&lt;br /&gt;
standing that there is no mystery attached to&lt;br /&gt;
publishing, that creates the class of bogus-pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lishers. In every other sort of business short of&lt;br /&gt;
the confidence trick, if a man&amp;#039;s agent opened the&lt;br /&gt;
proceedings by asking for a sum down, he would&lt;br /&gt;
as a matter course be expected to show why, and&lt;br /&gt;
state what he was going to do with it.&lt;br /&gt;
This curious trustfulness in the integrity of&lt;br /&gt;
strangers who tout for business by advertisement,&lt;br /&gt;
is, we believe, almost peculiar to the relations&lt;br /&gt;
between young authors and dishonest publishers,&lt;br /&gt;
and between the male and female clients of the&lt;br /&gt;
matrimonial journals. However, the point did&lt;br /&gt;
not occur to the author, and the agreement was&lt;br /&gt;
signed.&lt;br /&gt;
The next thing that occurred in the transaction&lt;br /&gt;
could have been foretold by anyone of the least&lt;br /&gt;
experience in these matters. A demand for more&lt;br /&gt;
money was made. The sum asked for was &pound;40,&lt;br /&gt;
and it was demanded for purposes of advertise-&lt;br /&gt;
ment. In our humble opinion, to make this&lt;br /&gt;
demand on the grounds that more money was&lt;br /&gt;
required for advertisement was by no means&lt;br /&gt;
astute, as it was flying so dead in the face of a&lt;br /&gt;
special clause in the agreement that the most easy-&lt;br /&gt;
going of authors might be expected to resent such&lt;br /&gt;
treatment. It is clear that the weak spot in the&lt;br /&gt;
agreement was the fourth clause, under which the&lt;br /&gt;
author expressed his willingness to pay for correc-&lt;br /&gt;
tions, if only the publisher would kindly name the&lt;br /&gt;
price, and it is as a charge for &amp;quot;author&amp;#039;s correc-&lt;br /&gt;
tions &amp;quot; that this further demand should have been&lt;br /&gt;
made. It is to this shortsightedness on the part&lt;br /&gt;
of the publisher that we owe our ability to tell this&lt;br /&gt;
story, for the author proceeded to take advice as&lt;br /&gt;
to the propriety of paying any more money. Of&lt;br /&gt;
course he was not liable in any way, and from the&lt;br /&gt;
first he very properly refused to send it. But&lt;br /&gt;
that proceeding placed him in the usual predica-&lt;br /&gt;
ment, a predicament in which this half-profit pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lisher has doubtless placed others of his clients.&lt;br /&gt;
If the author did send the money he felt himself&lt;br /&gt;
to be swindled&mdash;at any rate he felt that his agree-&lt;br /&gt;
ment specially limiting his liability for advertise-&lt;br /&gt;
ment to ^10 was very little protection to him; if&lt;br /&gt;
he did not send it, the publisher would not&lt;br /&gt;
advertise his book (in a letter they intimated as&lt;br /&gt;
much), and the ,&pound;130 already spent on its produc-&lt;br /&gt;
tion would be lost, or to a great extent lost. Should&lt;br /&gt;
he yield, or should he hold out?&lt;br /&gt;
As for advice that should bring a man peacefully&lt;br /&gt;
Y&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 268 (#320) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
268&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
out of such a predicament&mdash;none could be given.&lt;br /&gt;
He had signed a bad agreement, and if the result&lt;br /&gt;
of doing so proved to be bad for him, he had only&lt;br /&gt;
himself or his advisers to blame. It was too late&lt;br /&gt;
to do anything to remedy the fact that he had&lt;br /&gt;
signed the contract.&lt;br /&gt;
A copy of the book was lent to the Society of&lt;br /&gt;
Authors, and we had a careful estimate of the&lt;br /&gt;
cost of production made. We found that it would&lt;br /&gt;
have cost about &pound;100 to produce 1,000 copies of&lt;br /&gt;
the book and bind 250 of them, but from previous&lt;br /&gt;
experience we were inclined to believe that so large&lt;br /&gt;
a number of copies were not bound. That is to&lt;br /&gt;
say, the publisher, according to our computations,&lt;br /&gt;
made &pound;$0 or so before he started to sell the book.&lt;br /&gt;
Then he proposed to make ^40 more. &amp;quot;Which&lt;br /&gt;
he would have done, we at least believe it,&amp;quot; if he&lt;br /&gt;
had made the demand on the ground of &amp;quot;author&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
corrections.&amp;quot; But his clumsiness lost him the&lt;br /&gt;
money. His proposal not being accepted, he&lt;br /&gt;
decided to remain content with his position, that&lt;br /&gt;
of a small and safe profit duly received.&lt;br /&gt;
The author, on the other hand, had spent ^130.&lt;br /&gt;
Of this sum we have not heard how much has&lt;br /&gt;
been recovered as profits, in accordance with the&lt;br /&gt;
accounts, no doubt rendered half-yearly, as exacted&lt;br /&gt;
from the publisher by the agreement.&lt;br /&gt;
This author has no practical remedy. It seems&lt;br /&gt;
to us impossible that he can ever get back his&lt;br /&gt;
money by the sales of his book, while the pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lisher has very little motive in selling the book.&lt;br /&gt;
Probably there are not many copies bound, and he&lt;br /&gt;
would have to bind them at his own expense&lt;br /&gt;
before he could sell them. He has already made a&lt;br /&gt;
little money, and he is content that things should&lt;br /&gt;
remain as they are, though he probably still regrets&lt;br /&gt;
the loss of that &pound;\o &amp;quot;for advertisement.&amp;quot; And&lt;br /&gt;
in the publisher&amp;#039;s apathy as to the sale of the book&lt;br /&gt;
lies the explanation of all the trouble No doubt&lt;br /&gt;
the author thought that a publisher who proposed&lt;br /&gt;
to receive one-third of the profits was also pro-&lt;br /&gt;
posing to accept at least one-third of the risks.&lt;br /&gt;
No doubt he thought that the publisher would&lt;br /&gt;
work to secure his own third and therefore the&lt;br /&gt;
author&amp;#039;s two-thirds simultaneously. But the pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lisher&mdash;to give him his due&mdash;has nowhere suggested&lt;br /&gt;
that he was advancing a penny out of his own&lt;br /&gt;
pocket. He said he should like ^120, and he&lt;br /&gt;
got it, but he has told no lies about it. He has&lt;br /&gt;
never represented, at least in the papers that have&lt;br /&gt;
reached the Society, that he wanted this sum&lt;br /&gt;
because the whole cost was going to be ^180, of&lt;br /&gt;
which he would pay &pound;,(&amp;gt;o. Nor has he attempted&lt;br /&gt;
to account for the demand of ^r2o by some&lt;br /&gt;
humbugging schedule of &amp;quot;estimated cost,&amp;quot; in&lt;br /&gt;
which all the items are double as expensive as&lt;br /&gt;
they should be. His method has been more&lt;br /&gt;
simple. He said, I want ,&pound;120&mdash;&pound;bo now and&lt;br /&gt;
_^6o later&mdash;and he got it.&lt;br /&gt;
Authors cannot be too strongly advised to have&lt;br /&gt;
nothing todo with advertisingpublishers, unlessafter&lt;br /&gt;
consultation with the Society, to make no money&lt;br /&gt;
payments whatever until they understand what they&lt;br /&gt;
are going to get in return, and to sign no agreements&lt;br /&gt;
save under the advice of those who understand.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
A NOTE ON IBSEN.&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;&diams;&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
MR. GOSSE&amp;#039;S translation of Herr Ibsen&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
last drama will be welcome to his English&lt;br /&gt;
followers and to others interested in&lt;br /&gt;
Scandinavian literature. Herr Ibsen is to be con-&lt;br /&gt;
gratulated both on the ability of his translator and&lt;br /&gt;
on having for once escaped from his professional&lt;br /&gt;
disciples.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Hedda Gabler,&amp;quot; or to call her by her husband&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
scarcely more euphonious name, &amp;quot;Fru Tesman,&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
comes as a relief from Herr Ibsen&amp;#039;s other heroines.&lt;br /&gt;
She descends upon us as a refreshing douche of&lt;br /&gt;
unredeemed criminality. At last we feel quite at&lt;br /&gt;
home after our wanderings up and down the cross&lt;br /&gt;
currents of Ibsenitish morals. I have always hoped&lt;br /&gt;
to find in Herr Ibsen some sort of system after all,&lt;br /&gt;
and now my hope is fortified.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;There is no point to which, I trow,&lt;br /&gt;
Norwegian Bishops cannot go,&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
in the opinion of their illustrious countryman, but&lt;br /&gt;
he surely has a code of morals for the guidance of&lt;br /&gt;
the enlightened sex. In &amp;quot;Hedda Gabler&amp;quot; one&lt;br /&gt;
seems to descry something like a first prohibitory&lt;br /&gt;
commandment. Insolence, desertion, adultery,&lt;br /&gt;
and incest are misfortunes in females attributable,&lt;br /&gt;
no doubt, to &amp;quot;some externally false conditions of&lt;br /&gt;
society which have turned to bitterness that which&lt;br /&gt;
should have been rich and full for its use.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
These indiscretions are feminine perquisites,&lt;br /&gt;
legitimate weapons against the tyranny of natural&lt;br /&gt;
affections; but women should not shed blood.&lt;br /&gt;
We all of us are glad to subscribe to any recom-&lt;br /&gt;
mendation issued by the exiled prophet of Dresden,&lt;br /&gt;
now that we have found one. &amp;quot;Thou shalt&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
except of course in certain cases&mdash;do no murder.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;#039;The new representation of the &amp;quot; Doll&amp;#039;s House&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
does not throw any very great light on the play. The&lt;br /&gt;
character of Fru Linden has been developed, and&lt;br /&gt;
the character of Thorvald is interpreted probably&lt;br /&gt;
more to the liking of those &amp;quot; bearded ladies &amp;quot; who&lt;br /&gt;
form so large a part of the audience. These fair&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 269 (#321) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
269&lt;br /&gt;
creatures&mdash;for we do not allude to their chins&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
will rejoice in any emphasis given to the prejudices&lt;br /&gt;
of their master against his own characters. It is&lt;br /&gt;
just to Herr Ibsen to remark that these prejudices&lt;br /&gt;
exist rather in his followers than in his own&lt;br /&gt;
work. None of his characters have been so mis-&lt;br /&gt;
represented as the unfortunate, kind, conceited,&lt;br /&gt;
natural Thorvald, the only human being in this&lt;br /&gt;
house of moral puppets.&lt;br /&gt;
If a man has a wife and children to support,&lt;br /&gt;
and they are dependant on his reputation, he is&lt;br /&gt;
not necessarily a selfish brute, or a sneaking,&lt;br /&gt;
sententious hypocrite because he is anxious to&lt;br /&gt;
preserve it. An actor who so represents Thorvald&lt;br /&gt;
misses the delicacy of the writer&amp;#039;s characterization.&lt;br /&gt;
Neither is it a mark of gross egotism for a man to&lt;br /&gt;
regard another&amp;#039;s affection for himself as likely to&lt;br /&gt;
be a stronger motive with him, or her, than his own&lt;br /&gt;
fancies, but frequently the contrary.&lt;br /&gt;
It is interesting to note that Herr Ibsen&amp;#039;s minor&lt;br /&gt;
characters and incidents are generally drawn with&lt;br /&gt;
more truth and vividness than those possessing&lt;br /&gt;
more dramatic interest. His pictures of everyday&lt;br /&gt;
life are peculiarly natural, his departures from these&lt;br /&gt;
spheres frequently lead him into the region of&lt;br /&gt;
monstrosities too often trivial and mesguins, like&lt;br /&gt;
Nora, sometimes splendid like Peer Gynt, rarely&lt;br /&gt;
sublime like Brand, but all unreal as dreams.&lt;br /&gt;
The eccentricity of his genius does not, as might&lt;br /&gt;
have been expected, enable him to represent truth&lt;br /&gt;
outside the narrow circle of frequent occurrence.&lt;br /&gt;
Perhaps his floating standard of morality is a sign&lt;br /&gt;
rather than a cause of this weakness. He appears&lt;br /&gt;
not to accept any principle whatever as sufficiently&lt;br /&gt;
certain to serve him as a standard for the creation&lt;br /&gt;
of beings at the same time unusual and natural.&lt;br /&gt;
His skill and observation enable him to describe&lt;br /&gt;
truthfully only what is familiar to him in detail.&lt;br /&gt;
Herr Ibsen has been well called &amp;quot;the Prophet of&lt;br /&gt;
the Eternal Interrogative.&amp;quot; He advocates no&lt;br /&gt;
system of religion, sociology, or morality; he is&lt;br /&gt;
more than neutral; he is neuter ; he seldom trusts&lt;br /&gt;
himself even to deny. It must be remembered&lt;br /&gt;
that it is the Ibsenites, not their master, who are&lt;br /&gt;
responsible for the amalgam of sentiments to&lt;br /&gt;
which they give his name.&lt;br /&gt;
Few comedies have approached nearer to farces&lt;br /&gt;
than the unconscious comedy played by Ibsenism&lt;br /&gt;
in England. But there is matter for regret in this&lt;br /&gt;
fact. The solemnity with which Herr Ibsen&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
disciples here have accepted his queries as oracles&lt;br /&gt;
has nearly ruined the high reputation which he&lt;br /&gt;
deserves. He is best known by his weakest work,&lt;br /&gt;
his prose dramas, but it would be unfair to judge&lt;br /&gt;
the author of &amp;quot;Peer Gynt &amp;quot; and &amp;quot;Brand&amp;quot; until&lt;br /&gt;
these really great creations are better known. The&lt;br /&gt;
exquisite fancy of &amp;quot; Peer Gynt,&amp;quot; its exuberance and&lt;br /&gt;
vol. 1.&lt;br /&gt;
ingenuity, its quaint humour, its bold originality&lt;br /&gt;
and delicate beauty are alone enough to rank its&lt;br /&gt;
author among the greatest geniuses Europe has&lt;br /&gt;
produced this century. The pathos of humour has&lt;br /&gt;
never been carried so far as in the scene at the&lt;br /&gt;
death-bed of Peer&amp;#039;s mother, with so much success.&lt;br /&gt;
The incident of the Strange Passenger represents the&lt;br /&gt;
subtlest moral facts in a peculiarly original form.&lt;br /&gt;
The well known story of the Disguised Angel in the&lt;br /&gt;
Gesta Romanorum is scarcely more remarkable.&lt;br /&gt;
The scenes in Norway, Africa, and on the high seas&lt;br /&gt;
are equally excellent. As far as foreigners can&lt;br /&gt;
judge, the form of the verse is always agreeable&lt;br /&gt;
and in some passages deserves much higher praise.&lt;br /&gt;
If Peer Gynt himself is intended to represents&lt;br /&gt;
young Norway no doubt the drama is all the&lt;br /&gt;
more interesting to Scandinavians on that&lt;br /&gt;
account. The rest of the world may perhaps take&lt;br /&gt;
some interest in young Norway for the sake of&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Peer Gynt.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Brand &amp;quot; is difficult to speak of concisely, its&lt;br /&gt;
faults are so obvious and its meaning so profound.&lt;br /&gt;
It is only too evident that large parts of it had&lt;br /&gt;
better have been omitted or written in prose.&lt;br /&gt;
There is but one character, the giant who gives his&lt;br /&gt;
name to the drama; the Baillie is a mere abstrac-&lt;br /&gt;
tion of the commonplace, and Agnes a foil to&lt;br /&gt;
enhance the characteristics of the hero. Perhaps&lt;br /&gt;
the strongest element in the play is its pathos, but&lt;br /&gt;
it is a pity that the climax in this respect is reached&lt;br /&gt;
too soon. For the incident itself no praise is too&lt;br /&gt;
high. The sorrow of maternity has seldom been&lt;br /&gt;
more tenderly and more tragically represented.&lt;br /&gt;
The character of Brand will probably elicit very&lt;br /&gt;
little sympathy; his enormous faults and his heroic&lt;br /&gt;
virtues are those peculiarly antipathetic to present&lt;br /&gt;
opinion. Can there be anything more terrible in&lt;br /&gt;
its simple directness, its hideous baldness, than the&lt;br /&gt;
story of the disillusion of Brand&amp;#039;s childhood?&lt;br /&gt;
He is almost a baby, his father dies, he creeps into&lt;br /&gt;
the room where he lies dead, he wonders most at&lt;br /&gt;
his hands so thin and pale in the taper light, he&lt;br /&gt;
hears footsteps on the stairs, he hides in a corner;&lt;br /&gt;
a woman enters, she pulls the pillow from the&lt;br /&gt;
dead man&amp;#039;s head, she searches hither and thither,&lt;br /&gt;
gropes about; she rummaages and rifles the dead&lt;br /&gt;
miser of his treasure, she mutters &amp;quot; More, more!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
and gasps, as she can find no more, &amp;quot;It is not&lt;br /&gt;
much!&amp;quot; This woman is his mother, the dead&lt;br /&gt;
man&amp;#039;s wife, she who finds later that her son&amp;#039;s heart&lt;br /&gt;
is flint.&lt;br /&gt;
W. \V.&lt;br /&gt;
Y 2&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 270 (#322) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
270&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
IN GRUB STREET.&lt;br /&gt;
SIR EDWIN ARNOLD&amp;#039;S new poem, &amp;quot;The&lt;br /&gt;
Light of the World; or, the Great&lt;br /&gt;
Consummation,&amp;quot; is published on the 15th&lt;br /&gt;
inst. by Messrs. Longmans. It is a volume of&lt;br /&gt;
about 300 pages, and is dedicated to the Queen.&lt;br /&gt;
It consists of an introduction in rhymed couplets&lt;br /&gt;
entitled &amp;quot;At Bethlehem,&amp;quot; and the rest of the poem&lt;br /&gt;
is for the most part in blank verse, the titles of the&lt;br /&gt;
six books into which it is divided being &amp;quot;Mary&lt;br /&gt;
Magdalene,&amp;quot; &amp;quot;.The Magus,&amp;quot; &amp;quot;The Alabaster Box,&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The Parables at Tyre,&amp;quot; &amp;quot;The Love of God and&lt;br /&gt;
Man,&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;The Great Consummation.&amp;quot; The&lt;br /&gt;
poem tells the story of Christ chiefly through the&lt;br /&gt;
medium of a dialogue between Mary Magdalene&lt;br /&gt;
and one of the Magi, a Buddhist who has returned&lt;br /&gt;
to hear the wondrous tale of which rumours had&lt;br /&gt;
come to his ears. The holy history is invested&lt;br /&gt;
with a peculiar charm by the fancy and vivid word&lt;br /&gt;
painting in which it is here reset, and its moral is&lt;br /&gt;
then conveyed in the words of the Magus.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I &amp;lt;16 perceive&mdash;since Age, which dims the eye,&lt;br /&gt;
Opens the inward vision&mdash;there shall spread&lt;br /&gt;
News of these high &amp;#039;Good Tidings &amp;#039;; growing gleams&lt;br /&gt;
Of this strange Star are followed to the fold.&lt;br /&gt;
I do discern that, forth from this fair Life,&lt;br /&gt;
And this meek Death, and thine arisen Christ,&lt;br /&gt;
Measureless things are wrought; a Thought-Dawn born&lt;br /&gt;
Which shall not cease to broaden, till its beam&lt;br /&gt;
Makes more of knowledge for a gathered World,&lt;br /&gt;
Completing what our Buddha left unsaid;&lt;br /&gt;
Carpeting bright his noble Eight-fold Way&lt;br /&gt;
With fragrant blooms of all-renouncing love,&lt;br /&gt;
And bringing high Nirvana nearer hope,&lt;br /&gt;
Easier and plainer.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
The volume has been in print for several months,&lt;br /&gt;
but its publication has been delayed in order to&lt;br /&gt;
secure the copyright in the United States.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Essays in Little,&amp;quot; by Andrew Lang (Henry and&lt;br /&gt;
Co.) is the first of a series of books whose avowed&lt;br /&gt;
aim is &amp;quot;to smooth the wrinkles from the brow of&lt;br /&gt;
care, and to dislodge the sneer from the cynic&amp;#039;s lip.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
An admirable aim, truly. I cannot say whether&lt;br /&gt;
my own lip has lost its habitual sneer, or my brow&lt;br /&gt;
its care-worn furrow by the perusal of the volume.&lt;br /&gt;
If not, that is my own fault, because the book&lt;br /&gt;
has all the author&amp;#039;s well-known charm of style.&lt;br /&gt;
It is a collection of critical essays on the works&lt;br /&gt;
of a dozen writers. Among these are Louis&lt;br /&gt;
Stevenson and Rudyard Kipling. When Mr. Lang&lt;br /&gt;
makes up his mind to like a man, he likes him&lt;br /&gt;
through and through. And he says so, whether he&lt;br /&gt;
is accused of log-rolling or not. I accept all that&lt;br /&gt;
he says about Rudyard Kipling&mdash;and I would &amp;quot;go&lt;br /&gt;
one better&amp;quot; for that infant phenomenon. I dare&lt;br /&gt;
say I should accept all that he says about Louis&lt;br /&gt;
Stevenson if I were a Scot. But I cannct agree&lt;br /&gt;
with Mr. Lang that the &amp;quot;absence of the petticoats&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
is a thing to be admired in Stevenson&amp;#039;s works. I&lt;br /&gt;
am old-fashioned enough to love the frou-frou, and&lt;br /&gt;
to find the study of a woman much more delightful&lt;br /&gt;
than that of a man.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;London, Past and Present,&amp;quot; by Henry Wheat-&lt;br /&gt;
ley (Murray). This great work, in three large&lt;br /&gt;
volumes, is based upon Peter Cunningham, who&lt;br /&gt;
was based on Strype, who was based on Stow, who&lt;br /&gt;
was the father of all such as write on London. It&lt;br /&gt;
is alphabetical, like Peter Cunningham&amp;#039;s book,&lt;br /&gt;
and it is exactly twice as long. When one has said&lt;br /&gt;
this, and has also added that Mr. Wheatley is well&lt;br /&gt;
known for the carefulness and thoroughness of&lt;br /&gt;
his work, one has said enough to show that no&lt;br /&gt;
library which contains any work on London&lt;br /&gt;
should be without these volumes.&lt;br /&gt;
*&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
An interesting book entitled &amp;quot;Canada First,&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
with an introduction by Mr. Goldwin Smith, has&lt;br /&gt;
just been issued by Hunter and Rose of Toronto.&lt;br /&gt;
The book is especially welcome at this time when&lt;br /&gt;
Canadian politics are occupying everyone&amp;#039;s atten-&lt;br /&gt;
tion. It consists of a number of reprints from&lt;br /&gt;
political articles, contributed to the press by the&lt;br /&gt;
late Mr. William Forster, once a prominent figure&lt;br /&gt;
in the national movement of the Colony. Every&lt;br /&gt;
one interested in the history of &amp;quot;Greater Britain&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
should purchase this excellent little volume.&lt;br /&gt;
Many of Mr. Forster&amp;#039;s opinions will naturally&lt;br /&gt;
challenge a certain amount of discussion, which&lt;br /&gt;
therefore only increases the interest of the work.&lt;br /&gt;
*&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Bailey Saunders will bring out immediately&lt;br /&gt;
with Messrs. Swan, Sonnenschein and Co. the fifth&lt;br /&gt;
volume of his selection from the essays of&lt;br /&gt;
Schopenhauer. It will be entitled &amp;quot;The Art of&lt;br /&gt;
Literature,&amp;quot; and will deal with Authorship,&lt;br /&gt;
Style, Criticism, Reputation, Genius, and kindred&lt;br /&gt;
subjects.&lt;br /&gt;
&bull;&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. James Sully is giving to the public a new&lt;br /&gt;
and cheaper edition of &amp;quot;Pessimism: a History&lt;br /&gt;
and a Criticism.&amp;quot; A review of pessimistic litera-&lt;br /&gt;
ture up to date is appended. The publishers are&lt;br /&gt;
Messrs. Kegan Paul, Trtibner and Co.&lt;br /&gt;
A change has been made in the new edition of&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Alfred Austin&amp;#039;s collected works now being&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 271 (#323) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
271&lt;br /&gt;
issued in monthly parts by Marmillan and Co. The&lt;br /&gt;
volumes will now appear in the following order :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The Tower of Babel.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Savonarola.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Prince Lucifer.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The Human Tragedy.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Lyrical Poems.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Short Narrative Poems.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
The &amp;quot;Satires &amp;quot; will not appear in this edition.&lt;br /&gt;
The &amp;quot;Savonarola,&amp;quot; dedicated to Henry Irving, has&lt;br /&gt;
been out about ten days.&lt;br /&gt;
M. W. A. Gibbs has in the press a work en-&lt;br /&gt;
titled &amp;quot;The Power of Gold.&amp;quot; In the preface, an&lt;br /&gt;
advanced copy of which he forwards us, he shows&lt;br /&gt;
his sympathy with some aspect of socialism, and&lt;br /&gt;
promises to indicate in the pages of his book &amp;quot;the&lt;br /&gt;
splendid powers and possibilities of rightly used&lt;br /&gt;
gold.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
In order to make the short notices of new books&lt;br /&gt;
under the heading of &amp;quot;In Grub Street&amp;quot; more&lt;br /&gt;
complete and effective, it is suggested by one of&lt;br /&gt;
those who contribute these columns that members&lt;br /&gt;
should send their new books to the Society either&lt;br /&gt;
for presentation or to be returned. If this is done&lt;br /&gt;
the book shall be noticed if possible.&lt;br /&gt;
I have long wondered why, in the general&lt;br /&gt;
emancipation and advance of women, no woman,&lt;br /&gt;
or only one here and there, has attempted the&lt;br /&gt;
stage. It is a difficult fortress to besiege, but once&lt;br /&gt;
captured, there is no richer prize either for fame or&lt;br /&gt;
fortune. One more exception is to be made on&lt;br /&gt;
February 20th, when Miss Mary Rowsell will&lt;br /&gt;
produce, at Terry&amp;#039;s Theatre, a comedietta entitled&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Richard&amp;#039;s Play.&amp;quot; Let us hope that it may prove&lt;br /&gt;
successful, if only in order to encourage other&lt;br /&gt;
ladies to follow her example.&lt;br /&gt;
The announcement of the discovery of the lost&lt;br /&gt;
works of Aristotle followed curiously enough on the&lt;br /&gt;
proposal to abolish Greek from our public schools.&lt;br /&gt;
The excitement among scholars of course has been&lt;br /&gt;
great; but if Mr. Weldon ever carries his point,&lt;br /&gt;
fifty years hence the public will care little for such&lt;br /&gt;
things. Should any of the lost works of antiquity&lt;br /&gt;
be recovered then, a small notice of half a dozen&lt;br /&gt;
lines will chronicle the fact, that a &amp;quot;discovery&lt;br /&gt;
which will interest our antiquarian readers, has been&lt;br /&gt;
made, of the Prometheus Unbound of /F.schylus,&lt;br /&gt;
among the ledgers of the British Museum. This&lt;br /&gt;
does not reflect much credit on the authorities, who&lt;br /&gt;
may have mislaid more valuable MSS. in the last&lt;br /&gt;
few years.&amp;quot; And no one will then grudge the Times&lt;br /&gt;
the merit of being first in the field.&lt;br /&gt;
&diams;&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
The discovery has been received with great&lt;br /&gt;
caution and qualified enthusiasm by the press.&lt;br /&gt;
Some papers thought that the very fact of the&lt;br /&gt;
Times standing as godmother to the MS. was alone&lt;br /&gt;
suspicious. Grub Street wits hint that Mr. Haggard&lt;br /&gt;
has been hoaxing again, and that Mr. Andrew Lang&lt;br /&gt;
must have a hand in it. Others cannot conceal&lt;br /&gt;
their disappointment &amp;quot;after a perusal of its con-&lt;br /&gt;
tents.&amp;quot; Before the publication! And one paper&lt;br /&gt;
came to the original conclusion that history&lt;br /&gt;
often repeats itself. Expert journals hint at rank&lt;br /&gt;
forgery; but of course this is to be expected.&lt;br /&gt;
Such deceptions have been numerous, and there&lt;br /&gt;
were some time ago many who believed that the&lt;br /&gt;
annals of Tacitus were a sixteenth century fabrication&lt;br /&gt;
fa whole work has been written to prove it), and&lt;br /&gt;
that the Paston Letters were a latterday forgery.&lt;br /&gt;
Forgery or not, Aristotle will provide new food for&lt;br /&gt;
the commentators.&lt;br /&gt;
In the history of books one marvels not so much&lt;br /&gt;
at the number that have been lost, but the number&lt;br /&gt;
that have been spared or escaped the ravages of&lt;br /&gt;
Puritans, Mohammedans, and early Christians, or&lt;br /&gt;
the achievements of such as Mr. Warburton&amp;#039;s cook.&lt;br /&gt;
England has sinned as no other modern nation has&lt;br /&gt;
done in the official destruction of books. When&lt;br /&gt;
the officers of Henry VIII were destroying the&lt;br /&gt;
splendid monastic libraries, the unenlightened&lt;br /&gt;
Popes and Cardinals in Italy were collecting MSS.&lt;br /&gt;
from all parts of the world, and when the Puritans&lt;br /&gt;
were hashing up the &amp;quot;Popish&amp;quot; works in the Bodleian&lt;br /&gt;
and elsewhere, Mazarin was forming his suptrb&lt;br /&gt;
library. The passion for manuscript hunting now&lt;br /&gt;
of course is confined to a limited few, but it was&lt;br /&gt;
once as general in Europe as the present struggle&lt;br /&gt;
for old masters.&lt;br /&gt;
Black and White and the Anti-Jacobin are the&lt;br /&gt;
two events in the journalistic world of late, and come&lt;br /&gt;
to console us for the death of the Universal Rei&amp;#039;iew.&lt;br /&gt;
People have begun to prophesy evil for the Graphic&lt;br /&gt;
and Illustrated on the ground that there is no room&lt;br /&gt;
for the three sixpenny illustrated weeklies. There&lt;br /&gt;
was a similar prophecy when the Graphic was&lt;br /&gt;
started twenty years ago. Black and White will&lt;br /&gt;
neither affect nor be affected by either of the other&lt;br /&gt;
illustrated papers, but will create its own audience&lt;br /&gt;
and its own clientele. It is on totally different lints.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 272 (#324) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
272&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
Newspapers are not like hotels, and the survival of&lt;br /&gt;
the fittest is a law from which journals are exempt.&lt;br /&gt;
The editor was wise in not bringing out a flashy&lt;br /&gt;
number for the first issue, as then the critics would&lt;br /&gt;
have said &amp;quot;it would be impossible to keep it up&lt;br /&gt;
for long.&amp;#039; So far Black and White has fulfilled its&lt;br /&gt;
promise, while it has left what few new journals&lt;br /&gt;
leave&mdash;room for improvement.&lt;br /&gt;
Members ot the White Rose League will have&lt;br /&gt;
discovered already that the Anli-Jacobin was not&lt;br /&gt;
started to counterblast their tenets or to dance on&lt;br /&gt;
the sleeping Whirlwind. The confusion of Jacob/V&lt;br /&gt;
and Jacob/&amp;#039;/V is as common an error as the confu-&lt;br /&gt;
sion of poor Frankenstein and his monster. Every&lt;br /&gt;
one will wish success to Mr. Greenwood&amp;#039;s new ven-&lt;br /&gt;
ture. To his able editorial management we owe&lt;br /&gt;
the old Pall Mall Gazette and the present St.&lt;br /&gt;
fames&amp;#039;s, and there seems no reason why the Anti-&lt;br /&gt;
Jacobin should not have as long and as glorious a&lt;br /&gt;
career.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Barker has brought out another collection&lt;br /&gt;
of amusing stories about schoolboys and girls. He&lt;br /&gt;
might give our masters a turn next time. There&lt;br /&gt;
are plenty of capital stories against dominies extant.&lt;br /&gt;
I was told the other day that a boy who was always&lt;br /&gt;
censured for his essays on the ground that there&lt;br /&gt;
were no original ideas in them, at last resorted to&lt;br /&gt;
cribbing, and copied George Osborne&amp;#039;s theme from&lt;br /&gt;
Vanity Fair, when the master allowed him to&lt;br /&gt;
choose his subject. He gained the prize at the&lt;br /&gt;
end of the term. One often hears again that&lt;br /&gt;
English Literature at schools is entirely neglected.&lt;br /&gt;
Here is a specimen of what took place at one of&lt;br /&gt;
our seminaries. There was a detestable practice&lt;br /&gt;
apparently of making boys put verse into English&lt;br /&gt;
prose (no verse worth anything is capable of such&lt;br /&gt;
transformation). The master had written up&lt;br /&gt;
Wordsworth&amp;#039;s famous stanzas, &amp;quot;The Solitary&lt;br /&gt;
Reaper,&amp;quot; and after every boy had tried his best&lt;br /&gt;
and failed, he gave them a model version.&lt;br /&gt;
The lines, as every one knows, are as follows :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Will no one tell me what she sings?&lt;br /&gt;
Perhaps the plantive numbers How&lt;br /&gt;
For old, unhappy, far-off things&lt;br /&gt;
And battles long ago.&lt;br /&gt;
Or is it some more humble lay,&lt;br /&gt;
Familiar matter of to-day,&lt;br /&gt;
Some natural sorrow, loss, or pain,&lt;br /&gt;
That has been and may be again?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
They were rendered into the following :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Will no one,&amp;quot; I again inquired, &amp;quot;tell me what&lt;br /&gt;
the girl is singing and the name of the composer&lt;br /&gt;
of the piece?&amp;quot; But no one seemed either able or&lt;br /&gt;
willing to afford me any information. &amp;quot;Perhaps,&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
I ventured to suggest, encouraged by the plaintive&lt;br /&gt;
character of both words and music, &amp;quot;perhaps it is&lt;br /&gt;
an original composition of the fair performer&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
relating I know not what unhappy incident in her&lt;br /&gt;
own past, some strugg&amp;#039;e bravely contested and&lt;br /&gt;
triumphantly concluded. Or is it,&amp;quot; I went on,&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;some misfortune of yesterday, such as comes&lt;br /&gt;
into the life of many of us&mdash;some grief or even some&lt;br /&gt;
advantage likely to recur in the course of a larger&lt;br /&gt;
experience?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
In the first number of Black and White there&lt;br /&gt;
was an amusing, but not a new, anecdote about a&lt;br /&gt;
journalist who asked his fellow craftsmen, before he&lt;br /&gt;
was hanged, not to say that he &amp;#039; was launched into&lt;br /&gt;
eternity.&amp;quot; I remember seeing a very amusing&lt;br /&gt;
specimen of fine writing in an American paper. A&lt;br /&gt;
correspondent from Naples was describing a recently&lt;br /&gt;
uncovered fresco of Europa and the bull. His&lt;br /&gt;
enthusiasm carried him as far as Europa nearly.&lt;br /&gt;
This was his opening description: &amp;quot;Europa, clutch-&lt;br /&gt;
ing with her manual limb the aureated horn of her&lt;br /&gt;
Tauric Jovine lover,&amp;quot; &amp;amp;c.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;THE COST OF PRODUCTION. *&lt;br /&gt;
[Second Edition.]&lt;br /&gt;
AT last this much promised pamphlet is&lt;br /&gt;
ready. The numerous delays in its&lt;br /&gt;
appearance have been unavoidable, which&lt;br /&gt;
means that the compilers have constantly been&lt;br /&gt;
forced by the pressure of work for the Society in&lt;br /&gt;
other directions to lay this aside, even when it was&lt;br /&gt;
quite near completion. We can only hope that our&lt;br /&gt;
members will find the information profitable, now&lt;br /&gt;
that it is placed within their reach. No pains&lt;br /&gt;
have been spared to make it trustworthy.&lt;br /&gt;
The plan of the pamphlet remains the same as&lt;br /&gt;
before, but a preliminary explanation of the terms&lt;br /&gt;
which occur in the book&mdash;and which also occur in&lt;br /&gt;
publishers&amp;#039; bills&mdash;has been added. Thispreliminary&lt;br /&gt;
explanation considers the publishers&amp;#039; charges&lt;br /&gt;
under all the usual heads, i.e., composition,&lt;br /&gt;
printing, paper, stereotyping, binding, and&lt;br /&gt;
advertisement, but it does not include mention&lt;br /&gt;
of the charges for &amp;quot;author&amp;#039;s corrections,&amp;quot; for&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;publisher&amp;#039;s lists,&amp;quot; for &amp;quot;reader&amp;#039;s fee,&amp;quot; for &amp;quot;fees&lt;br /&gt;
for revision,&amp;quot; or &amp;quot;preparation for the press,&amp;quot; or for&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;assurance against fire,&amp;quot; or for &amp;quot;warehousing.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
* &amp;quot;The Cost of Production.&amp;quot; 2nd Edition, enlarged and&lt;br /&gt;
revised. Published by Henry Glaisher, 95, Strand, W.C&lt;br /&gt;
2s. bd.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 273 (#325) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
273&lt;br /&gt;
Of these six last charges there is nothing to be&lt;br /&gt;
said, except that in no way and under no circum-&lt;br /&gt;
stances should the author ever pay them, if they&lt;br /&gt;
are &amp;quot;sprung upon&amp;quot; him. It might be worth&lt;br /&gt;
while for an author to have his book prepared for&lt;br /&gt;
the press for him, or revised in some way&mdash;many&lt;br /&gt;
authors, for instance, have their index made for&lt;br /&gt;
them&mdash;but he should certainly be told about the&lt;br /&gt;
matter beforehand, and allowed to make his own&lt;br /&gt;
arrangements. He might employ the gentleman&lt;br /&gt;
dasignated by the publishers, or he might not,&lt;br /&gt;
but at least he must know who he is paying, and&lt;br /&gt;
what he is getting for his money. It is ridiculous&lt;br /&gt;
to attempt to make the author bear any of the other&lt;br /&gt;
charges. Yet we have in this office seen number-&lt;br /&gt;
less bills and publishers&amp;#039; accounts in which some&lt;br /&gt;
or all of these items have been set down as part of&lt;br /&gt;
the expense of the production of a book. We&lt;br /&gt;
remember in one case, where the author had paid&lt;br /&gt;
&pound;27 separate as half the cost of production of a tiny&lt;br /&gt;
paper-covered book, that we had occasion to take&lt;br /&gt;
l;gal measures to obtain a true account of the cost.&lt;br /&gt;
The composition, printing, paper, and binding&lt;br /&gt;
cime to about &pound;12. There was certain alleged&lt;br /&gt;
expenditure on advertisement, of which no proof&lt;br /&gt;
was offered. But yet the account against the book&lt;br /&gt;
made quite a brave appearance, so swollen was it&lt;br /&gt;
by the irregular items we have just mentioned.&lt;br /&gt;
The actual ,&pound;54 necessary to justify &pound;27 being&lt;br /&gt;
charged as half the cost of production was not&lt;br /&gt;
reached, but quite a bold bid was made for it. Yet&lt;br /&gt;
^12, plus somesmall unknown amount of advertise-&lt;br /&gt;
ment expenditure, was all that had really been spent.&lt;br /&gt;
In all cases where an attempt is made by a half-&lt;br /&gt;
profit publisher to exact payment for &amp;quot;reader&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
fees,&amp;quot; &amp;quot;revision,&amp;quot; &amp;quot;warehousing,&amp;quot; &amp;amp;c, the author&lt;br /&gt;
is advised to refuse, and refuse utterly to sanction&lt;br /&gt;
such charges&mdash;unless of course he has previously&lt;br /&gt;
signed some agreement preventing him from&lt;br /&gt;
objecting.&lt;br /&gt;
The question of &amp;quot;author&amp;#039;s corrections&amp;quot; is&lt;br /&gt;
different. It is undoubted that in some cases a&lt;br /&gt;
charge must be made. It is the practice of many&lt;br /&gt;
authors to cut their proofs about, and make&lt;br /&gt;
alterations and additions or subtractions,&lt;br /&gt;
resulting in a serious increase of labour to the&lt;br /&gt;
printers. This kind of thing must be paid for.&lt;br /&gt;
But the present system of obtaining payment for it&lt;br /&gt;
seems to be to charge all authors, whether they have&lt;br /&gt;
rightly incurred the charge or no, something for&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;corrections,&amp;quot; if it is only for the correction of the&lt;br /&gt;
printer&amp;#039;s own errors. Thus it is secured that&lt;br /&gt;
publishers as a whole shall not lose, because some&lt;br /&gt;
people cannot make up their minds what they are&lt;br /&gt;
going to say, until they have seen it in print.&lt;br /&gt;
This is ridiculous. If an author is in any way&lt;br /&gt;
concerned in the cost of production, he is advised&lt;br /&gt;
to keep by him his first proofs until the publisher&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
bill comes in. If he is then charged a large sum&lt;br /&gt;
for corrections, larger than seems to be warranted&lt;br /&gt;
by the amount of alterations due to his errors or&lt;br /&gt;
changes of mind, he should refuse to pay, until&lt;br /&gt;
he knows how and why it is he asked to pay so&lt;br /&gt;
much. This, again, is supposing that he has not&lt;br /&gt;
agreed beforehand to pay whatever is asked of&lt;br /&gt;
him. &amp;quot;Author&amp;#039;s corrections &amp;quot; is a vexed question.&lt;br /&gt;
Something sometimes ought to be paid, but&lt;br /&gt;
everybody ought not to be made to pay as a&lt;br /&gt;
matter of course.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;One word to those who say that the cost of&lt;br /&gt;
production has nothing to do with them. It has&lt;br /&gt;
to do with all authors under every method of&lt;br /&gt;
publishing, for it must be the one fixed thing&lt;br /&gt;
which dictates equitable terms. An author may&lt;br /&gt;
not care to know it&mdash;that is a very comprehensible&lt;br /&gt;
condition&mdash;but it must, or at any rate it ought to,&lt;br /&gt;
affect his remuneration. It costs as much, and no&lt;br /&gt;
more, to produce a bad book as a good book, a&lt;br /&gt;
popular author&amp;#039;s book or an unknown amateur&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
book. The results of the probable and possible&lt;br /&gt;
variations in sale must be provided for in the&lt;br /&gt;
agreement.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The copyright of a book should only be ceded&lt;br /&gt;
to a publisher for a sum, when the author knows&lt;br /&gt;
how much the publ&amp;#039;sher has yet to spend, and how&lt;br /&gt;
much he will probably obtain.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Its connection with the half-profit system is&lt;br /&gt;
obvious.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;These figures prove its connection with the&lt;br /&gt;
royalty system of publishing. Ten thousand copies&lt;br /&gt;
of a 6s. book will cost ,&pound;400 to produce and adver-&lt;br /&gt;
tise. This is a very liberal estimate indetd (v.&lt;br /&gt;
page 28). They will sell for ,&pound;1,750. There will&lt;br /&gt;
then be .&pound;1,350 for author and publisher to divide.&lt;br /&gt;
Here is how this sum is divided, according to the&lt;br /&gt;
royalty the author gets :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
Per Cent.&lt;br /&gt;
Royally&lt;br /&gt;
5&lt;br /&gt;
.0&lt;br /&gt;
■5&lt;br /&gt;
20 35&lt;br /&gt;
30&lt;br /&gt;
35&lt;br /&gt;
&pound;&lt;br /&gt;
1,050&lt;br /&gt;
300&lt;br /&gt;
&pound;&lt;br /&gt;
&pound; &pound;&lt;br /&gt;
C&lt;br /&gt;
&pound;&lt;br /&gt;
300&lt;br /&gt;
1,050&lt;br /&gt;
Publisher&lt;br /&gt;
1,200&lt;br /&gt;
150&lt;br /&gt;
900&lt;br /&gt;
750 , 600&lt;br /&gt;
600 | 750&lt;br /&gt;
450&lt;br /&gt;
Author&lt;br /&gt;
45&deg;&lt;br /&gt;
900&lt;br /&gt;
The agreement should provide for the fortunate&lt;br /&gt;
issue as much as for the unfortunate.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Of course, the man who is going to publish at&lt;br /&gt;
his own expense should know what that expense&lt;br /&gt;
will be. Equally, the divine and the poet should&lt;br /&gt;
know how much the publisher&amp;#039;s expense is really&lt;br /&gt;
going to be before they guarantee to be respon-&lt;br /&gt;
sible for the sale of a large number of copies&lt;br /&gt;
at the trade price.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 274 (#326) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
274&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR,&lt;br /&gt;
The compilers beg to offer their best thanks to&lt;br /&gt;
the numerous correspondents whose corrections&lt;br /&gt;
and questions have guided them in preparing the&lt;br /&gt;
second edition.&lt;br /&gt;
.&lt;br /&gt;
CORRESPONDENCE.&lt;br /&gt;
I.&lt;br /&gt;
On Plagiarism.&lt;br /&gt;
PLAGIARISM, the most odious, the most&lt;br /&gt;
injurious of charges to which authors are&lt;br /&gt;
exposed, has recently been placed in a novel&lt;br /&gt;
light by Mr. Louis Stevenson and others ; according&lt;br /&gt;
to them to coincidence, and the unconscious&lt;br /&gt;
machination of the mind, must be ascribed much&lt;br /&gt;
of the supposed plagiarism. I believe they are&lt;br /&gt;
right, in the main, in their contentions. But other&lt;br /&gt;
factors, besides the aforementioned, work from time&lt;br /&gt;
to time against authors and with damaging effect.&lt;br /&gt;
The following incident may interest some of your&lt;br /&gt;
readers.&lt;br /&gt;
In 1884, I published, anonymously, a small&lt;br /&gt;
volume on a technical subject. The book was&lt;br /&gt;
written in a spirit of literary pugilism, showing but&lt;br /&gt;
scant regard for persons or Institutions. For these&lt;br /&gt;
reasons I expected no consideration from critics,&lt;br /&gt;
and those attacked. Numerous reviews appeared&lt;br /&gt;
within a few weeks after the publication of the&lt;br /&gt;
book, and much to my surprise all were of a most&lt;br /&gt;
favourable nature.&lt;br /&gt;
The laudatory spell was presently broken by a&lt;br /&gt;
powerfully written letter, emanating from high&lt;br /&gt;
quarters, and addressed to a service paper, of which&lt;br /&gt;
I am an occasional contributor. I replied in a&lt;br /&gt;
leader; the war raged for some time, and contributed&lt;br /&gt;
not a little to the success of my book. This suc-&lt;br /&gt;
cess encouraged me to publish a more ambitious&lt;br /&gt;
work of a similar nature; in fact, an expansion of&lt;br /&gt;
the first.&lt;br /&gt;
Immediately after the appearance of this book a&lt;br /&gt;
scurrilous attack was made upon it in a paper owned&lt;br /&gt;
by my publishers. My critic did not confine himself&lt;br /&gt;
to literary and technical criticisms, in fact he barely&lt;br /&gt;
attempted that feat, and simply charged me with&lt;br /&gt;
barefaced plagiarism. Three or four other papers&lt;br /&gt;
followed in the same strain, and the book was&lt;br /&gt;
promptly killed.&lt;br /&gt;
I complained bitterly to my publishers, and&lt;br /&gt;
insisted upon being confron&amp;#039;ed with my detractor.&lt;br /&gt;
After some delay an interview took place at the&lt;br /&gt;
publishers&amp;#039; office.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I do not complain of your criticism on my&lt;br /&gt;
book, unfair and totally irrelevant as I consider&lt;br /&gt;
most of it, but I should like to know what right&lt;br /&gt;
you think you possess of accusing me of plagiarism,&lt;br /&gt;
without even naming the sources from which I&lt;br /&gt;
plagiarized?&amp;quot; I asked my detractor.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I regret,&amp;quot; said the latter, &amp;quot;that you have com-&lt;br /&gt;
pelled me to perform a very disagreeable_jtask.&lt;br /&gt;
Will you be so good as to read those passages, and&lt;br /&gt;
examine these cuttings from the Service Gazette,&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
handing me a small volume and some newspaper&lt;br /&gt;
cuttings.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Do you think we could see Mr. Brown, the&lt;br /&gt;
senior partner?&amp;quot; I asked.&lt;br /&gt;
Ere long Mr. Brown made his appearance.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Will you kindly tell us who is the author of&lt;br /&gt;
this little work?&amp;quot; handing him the aforementioned&lt;br /&gt;
small volume.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Why you, of course!&amp;quot; Tableau!&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Those articles were written by me,&amp;quot; I said to my&lt;br /&gt;
detractor, who promised to make the amende Iwnour-&lt;br /&gt;
ab/e, but never did.&lt;br /&gt;
I related this incident to the editor of a monthly&lt;br /&gt;
magazine, of which I was a contributor. &amp;quot;Why&lt;br /&gt;
X ... is the man whose articles on the continental&lt;br /&gt;
events of &amp;#039;66 you cut to pieces. Don&amp;#039;t you&lt;br /&gt;
recollect?&amp;quot; observed rny editor friend.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I recollect writing you a couple of private&lt;br /&gt;
letters, not intended for publication, in which I&lt;br /&gt;
drew your attention to numerous historical inac-&lt;br /&gt;
curacies, and other serious blunders, contained in&lt;br /&gt;
those articles, the author of which was till this&lt;br /&gt;
moment unknown to me; in fact, I believed them&lt;br /&gt;
to be from your pen.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Yes, but X . . . saw those letters !&amp;quot; replied the&lt;br /&gt;
editor.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Can you tell me whether X ... is connected&lt;br /&gt;
with ?&amp;quot; naming the other papers in which my&lt;br /&gt;
book had been assailed.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Yes, I think he is,&amp;quot; was the reply.&lt;br /&gt;
So much for plagiarism, and so much for reviewers.&lt;br /&gt;
The indiscretion of an editor, and the vindictiveness&lt;br /&gt;
of a literary hack, exposed me to an odious accusa-&lt;br /&gt;
tion, and to heavy pecuniary losses. Could such&lt;br /&gt;
a dishonourable act have been committed with&lt;br /&gt;
impunity by a member of any other profession? I&lt;br /&gt;
venture to think not. The culprit would have been&lt;br /&gt;
arraigned before a tribune of his brother pro-&lt;br /&gt;
fessionals, and made to answer for his misdeeds.&lt;br /&gt;
Is it too much to hope that the Society of&lt;br /&gt;
Authors will some day wield a similar power, and&lt;br /&gt;
establish something like an esprit de corps amongst&lt;br /&gt;
authors?&lt;br /&gt;
H. N.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 275 (#327) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
2/5&lt;br /&gt;
II.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The Kinds of Criticism.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
To the Editor of the Author.&lt;br /&gt;
Sir,&mdash;I have read with lively interest your admir-&lt;br /&gt;
able article in last month&amp;#039;s Author on reviewing.&lt;br /&gt;
Perhaps all of your readers have suffered some time&lt;br /&gt;
or other from careless, or what is worse, ignorant&lt;br /&gt;
criticism, while many have been misled into getting&lt;br /&gt;
bad books by the puffing notices which are so&lt;br /&gt;
common. On the other hand there is infinitely&lt;br /&gt;
more conscientious reviewing done than either&lt;br /&gt;
authors or the public dream of, while the sensitive&lt;br /&gt;
vanity of some writers is so great that nothing&lt;br /&gt;
short of unmixed eulogium will satisfy them. The&lt;br /&gt;
subject is one which has for many years occupied&lt;br /&gt;
my mind, and I will now set down a few practical&lt;br /&gt;
suggestions upon it.&lt;br /&gt;
1. All books sent for review should be cut.&lt;br /&gt;
2. The reviewer should be helped in his work&lt;br /&gt;
by the preface, which should always be dated.&lt;br /&gt;
3. As far as practicable, the reviewer should be&lt;br /&gt;
unknown to the reviewed.&lt;br /&gt;
4. The number of pages and the price of a book&lt;br /&gt;
should be stated in the review.&lt;br /&gt;
5. In advertisements, extracts from the writer&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
own preface should be preferred to extracts from&lt;br /&gt;
reviews.&lt;br /&gt;
6. A book should either be reviewed within six&lt;br /&gt;
months from its receipt, or returned.&lt;br /&gt;
7. The plot of a novel should never be disclosed&lt;br /&gt;
in the review of it.&lt;br /&gt;
8. Though the reviewer should be set right by&lt;br /&gt;
the author on clear mistakes, the general criticism&lt;br /&gt;
of a review is to be deprecated.&lt;br /&gt;
9. There is something to be said for a practice&lt;br /&gt;
of the author sending with his book a &amp;quot;draft&lt;br /&gt;
review.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
10. There is something to be said for a practice&lt;br /&gt;
of the author sending a small fee.&lt;br /&gt;
I need hardly say that I make the two last&lt;br /&gt;
suggestions with the greatest fear and trembling,&lt;br /&gt;
and hasten to subscribe myself&lt;br /&gt;
A Reviewer and Reviewed&lt;br /&gt;
of nearly twenty years standing.&lt;br /&gt;
[Note.&mdash;One would like to know exactly what there is to&lt;br /&gt;
be said for the last two suggestions.&mdash;Editor.]&lt;br /&gt;
III.&lt;br /&gt;
Prize Competitions.&lt;br /&gt;
May I draw the attention of the Author to the&lt;br /&gt;
recent conduct of a well-known weekly paper with&lt;br /&gt;
regard to its prize competitions? The paper in&lt;br /&gt;
vol. 1.&lt;br /&gt;
question has a large circulation, principally due, I&lt;br /&gt;
should think, to these competitions.&lt;br /&gt;
Some weeks ago it, the , offered a prize&lt;br /&gt;
for the best Sonnet to the New Year, for which&lt;br /&gt;
prize there were some dozen or so of competitors&lt;br /&gt;
Now it is reasonable to suppose that some out of&lt;br /&gt;
this number, however limited their capacity, must&lt;br /&gt;
have been conversant with the rules of this style of&lt;br /&gt;
composition, yet the prize was divided between&lt;br /&gt;
two sets of verses that failed to comply with these&lt;br /&gt;
rules. The first prize-winner made a comparatively&lt;br /&gt;
trivial deviation from them, but at the same time&lt;br /&gt;
one that took away a good deal of the difficulties&lt;br /&gt;
of composition that other competitors were, no&lt;br /&gt;
doubt, handicapped by.&lt;br /&gt;
The verses of the second prize-winner were not&lt;br /&gt;
even limited to fourteen lines, and bore no re-&lt;br /&gt;
semblance to a sonnet in any way. A third sonnet&lt;br /&gt;
was printed, which was correct, but to this no prize&lt;br /&gt;
was given. (I was a competitor myself, but out of&lt;br /&gt;
the running altogether, as my sonnet was not even&lt;br /&gt;
acknowledged with the names of the other com-&lt;br /&gt;
petitors.)&lt;br /&gt;
It did not seem to me fair that a prize which was&lt;br /&gt;
offered for a sonnet should be given to any other&lt;br /&gt;
species of composition, and the fact pointed to igno-&lt;br /&gt;
rance or incompetency on the part of the judges of the&lt;br /&gt;
competition. So I wrote a civil letter to the editor,&lt;br /&gt;
merely pointing out that the prize-winners had not&lt;br /&gt;
complied with the rules, and suggesting that the&lt;br /&gt;
prize should be given to the writer of the third&lt;br /&gt;
poem, which was, strictly speaking, a sonnet.&lt;br /&gt;
I enclosed a stamped envelope for reply, but no&lt;br /&gt;
notice was taken of my letter.&lt;br /&gt;
During the summer I won two prizes in the&lt;br /&gt;
competitions, which I was directed to claim, but&lt;br /&gt;
no notice was taken for some time of my letters&lt;br /&gt;
doing so. Finally, the money was sent to me, but&lt;br /&gt;
not the full amount. I did not remonstrate at the&lt;br /&gt;
time, but now that another competition does not&lt;br /&gt;
seem to have been properly conducted, I wish&lt;br /&gt;
very much to have the Author&amp;#039;s opinion on the&lt;br /&gt;
matter.&lt;br /&gt;
Apparently, the numerous prize competitions&lt;br /&gt;
help to sell the paper, and are looked on by young&lt;br /&gt;
writers as an opening for their efforts; but it seems&lt;br /&gt;
to me that if all reasonable complaints are to be&lt;br /&gt;
suppressed altogether, or treated with contempt,&lt;br /&gt;
the sooner the whole system of prize competitions&lt;br /&gt;
is put a stop to the better.&lt;br /&gt;
X. Y&lt;br /&gt;
[The case is quoted not because prize competitions are a&lt;br /&gt;
very important branch of letters, but to show the trickery&lt;br /&gt;
which goes on unrestrained by any fear of public opinion.&lt;br /&gt;
The winner should have instantly claimed the full amount ol&lt;br /&gt;
his prize, and enforced the claim, if necessary, by legal&lt;br /&gt;
action.&mdash;Editor.]&lt;br /&gt;
z&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 276 (#328) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
276&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR:&lt;br /&gt;
IV.&lt;br /&gt;
An Artistic Journal.&lt;br /&gt;
In 1888 I was asked to become one on the&lt;br /&gt;
staff of presumably the same artistic journal men-&lt;br /&gt;
tioned among cases in last issue. I wrote three&lt;br /&gt;
papers by especial request, and was at some trouble in&lt;br /&gt;
procuring illustrations. The first paper was issued&lt;br /&gt;
in six months after the journal appeared, the&lt;br /&gt;
second after two years, and the third, for which a&lt;br /&gt;
royal lady was solicited for her portrait, which she&lt;br /&gt;
kindly sent ine, has not appeared at all, nor has any&lt;br /&gt;
notice been taken about it, although the journal has&lt;br /&gt;
been &amp;quot;smashed&amp;quot; for some months. As it was&lt;br /&gt;
expressly written for this journal it would be useless&lt;br /&gt;
to me, so I have not written to demand its return;&lt;br /&gt;
but it comes surely under goods bought, but not&lt;br /&gt;
paid for. The American periodicals for which I&lt;br /&gt;
have written are more honourable and satisfactory,&lt;br /&gt;
for they send a cheque the moment the paper is&lt;br /&gt;
accepted.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR&amp;#039;S BOOK STALL.&lt;br /&gt;
[This column is open for lists of books wanted, books&lt;br /&gt;
offered for exchange and books offered for sale. Initials&lt;br /&gt;
must be given for reference, not for publication, and the&lt;br /&gt;
editor will place correspondents in communication with each&lt;br /&gt;
other. Books must not be sent to t/ie office of the Society.&lt;br /&gt;
Letters enclosing list may be addressed &amp;quot; X,&amp;quot; care of the&lt;br /&gt;
Editor. It must be understood that no responsibility rests&lt;br /&gt;
with the Editor or with the officers of the Society.]&lt;br /&gt;
Books for Sale.&lt;br /&gt;
Tennyson&amp;#039;s Poems. Moxon. 1856.&lt;br /&gt;
Keats&amp;#039; Poems. Moxon. 1855.&lt;br /&gt;
Palgrave&amp;#039;s Golden Treasury of Songs and Lyrics. 1S62.&lt;br /&gt;
Uncle Tom&amp;#039;s Cabin, illustrated, with frontispiece, &amp;quot; Phiz.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Massingf.r&amp;#039;s Plays. Edited by Gifford. 1S53.&lt;br /&gt;
Reprint of James I&amp;#039;s Bible. Oxford. 1833.&lt;br /&gt;
Campbell s Pleasures of Hope. Illustrated by Birkct Foster&lt;br /&gt;
and Harrison Weir. 1853.&lt;br /&gt;
Poesies de Marie de France. 1820.&lt;br /&gt;
Delphine, Madame de Stael. 6 vols. 1S09.&lt;br /&gt;
Address &amp;quot;F.Af.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&diams;&lt;br /&gt;
For Exchange.&lt;br /&gt;
Provincial Coins. 12 numbers of plates.&lt;br /&gt;
Lettere e dissertazioni Numismatiche de Dominio Sestini.&lt;br /&gt;
Firenze. 1818. Vols. V, VI, VII, IX.&lt;br /&gt;
Rariora Maximi Moduli Numismatica selecta ex bibliothcca&lt;br /&gt;
Casp. Car. pegnae. Amsterdam. 1686.&lt;br /&gt;
Oct: Falconerii de Nummo Apamensi. Koma. 1667.&lt;br /&gt;
Greek and Roman History illustrated by coins and medals.&lt;br /&gt;
By O. Walker. 1692.&lt;br /&gt;
Delia raritd dellc Medaglic Antiche. N. Scotti. Firenze.&lt;br /&gt;
1819.&lt;br /&gt;
De la rarete et du prix des Medailles romaines. Par Mionnet.&lt;br /&gt;
Paris. 1815.&lt;br /&gt;
An historical account of English money. By Stephen Martin-&lt;br /&gt;
Leake. 2nd Edition. London. 1745.&lt;br /&gt;
An Essay on the Coins of Conobelin. By Samuel Pegge.&lt;br /&gt;
London. 1766.&lt;br /&gt;
Medallic History of Carausius. By William Stukeley. Book&lt;br /&gt;
II. London. 1759.&lt;br /&gt;
Thesaurus Numismatum e Musaeo Caroli Patini. Paris.&lt;br /&gt;
1672.&lt;br /&gt;
Two Dissertations upon the Mint and Coins of the Episcopal&lt;br /&gt;
Palatinate of Durham. By Mark Noble. Birmingham.&lt;br /&gt;
1780.&lt;br /&gt;
Act: Numismat: Imp: Romanorum a Vaillantio edita&lt;br /&gt;
supplementum a Jos: Khell. Vindobona. 1767.&lt;br /&gt;
Numismata Imperatorum Joan Vaillant. Amsterdam. 1700.&lt;br /&gt;
Dissertationes de prcestantia et usu Numismatum nntiquorum,&lt;br /&gt;
2 vols. Ezechiel Spanheim Elzever. Amsterdam.&lt;br /&gt;
1671.&lt;br /&gt;
Dis corso di M. Sebastiano Erizzo sopra le mcdaglie antiche&lt;br /&gt;
in Vinegia. Varisco. 1571.&lt;br /&gt;
Imperatorum Romanorum Numismata a Pompeio Magno ad&lt;br /&gt;
Horaclium ab Adolfo Occonc, exhibita cara F. M.&lt;br /&gt;
Bargi. Mediolani. 1683.&lt;br /&gt;
Copic d&amp;#039;un manuscrit original donne a M. Durau le 23 Juillet,&lt;br /&gt;
1733. Par M. l&amp;#039;escatory qui lui assura pour lors-que&lt;br /&gt;
e&amp;#039;etait le Vade mecum de M. Vaillant. Apparently un-&lt;br /&gt;
finished.&lt;br /&gt;
Byron. Childe Harold. 2nd Edition. 1812.&lt;br /&gt;
Manfred. Paper covers. 1817.&lt;br /&gt;
Works. 6 vols. 1829.&lt;br /&gt;
Vol. VII of Works. 1819.&lt;br /&gt;
Carmina Quadressimalia. 2nd Edition. 174!.&lt;br /&gt;
Lusus Westmonasteriensis. 1730.&lt;br /&gt;
Metastasio Opere seelte. 2 vols. 1S06.&lt;br /&gt;
Southey. Madoc. 1805.&lt;br /&gt;
Curse of Kehama. 1810.&lt;br /&gt;
Tale of Paraguay. 1825.&lt;br /&gt;
Siege of Corinth and Parisina. 1816.&lt;br /&gt;
Works. 2 vols. 3rd Edition. 1799.&lt;br /&gt;
Scott. Doom of Devorgil and Auchindrane. Oiiginal&lt;br /&gt;
boards. 1830.&lt;br /&gt;
Shakespeare. Pope&amp;#039;s. 6 vols. 1728.&lt;br /&gt;
Bell&amp;#039;s. Vol. I. 1774.&lt;br /&gt;
Sharpe&amp;#039;s. 9 vols. 1803.&lt;br /&gt;
Wordsworth. Yarrow re-visited. 1835.&lt;br /&gt;
YOUNG. Complaint. 2 vols. 1743. Night Thoughts. 1787.&lt;br /&gt;
Dickens. Mystery of Edwin Drood. Fragment in 6nio.&lt;br /&gt;
in original paper covers. 1S70.&lt;br /&gt;
Lever. Charles O&amp;#039;Malley. Illustrated by Phiz. Vol. II.&lt;br /&gt;
1841.&lt;br /&gt;
Our Mess. Vol. Ill, i.e., Tom Burke of Ours. Vol.&lt;br /&gt;
II. Illustrated by Phiz. 1S44.&lt;br /&gt;
Scott. (Euvres de. Vols. X, XXV.&lt;br /&gt;
Rise and Progress of Society of Ancient Britons. 1717.&lt;br /&gt;
Mrs. Cockburn&amp;#039;s Works. 2 vols. 1751.&lt;br /&gt;
Scott. Paul&amp;#039;s Letters. 1S1S.&lt;br /&gt;
Senaior. Calrendon&amp;#039;s Parliamentary Chronicle. 10 vols,&lt;br /&gt;
in 9, beginning November, 1790.&lt;br /&gt;
Address&amp;quot; M.A.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Lockyer&amp;#039;s Meteoritic Hypothesis, yfcr Miss Clarke&amp;#039;s System&lt;br /&gt;
of the Star?, or Peck&amp;#039;s Popular Handbook of Astro-&lt;br /&gt;
nomy.&lt;br /&gt;
J. E. Gore&amp;#039;s Astronomical Lessons, for Serviss&amp;#039;s Astronomy&lt;br /&gt;
with an Opera-Glass.&lt;br /&gt;
Glazebrook&amp;#039;s Physical Optics, for Proctor&amp;#039;s Our Place&lt;br /&gt;
among Infinities, or Mysteries of Time and Space.&lt;br /&gt;
Address &amp;quot;A.F.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 277 (#329) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
277&lt;br /&gt;
Books Wanted.&lt;br /&gt;
Poetry for Children (in two i6mo. volumes), by the&lt;br /&gt;
Author of &amp;quot;Mrs. Leicester&amp;#039;s School,&amp;quot; 1809. Also any&lt;br /&gt;
books, tracts, pamphlets, or prints illustrating early&lt;br /&gt;
English railway engines, carriages, &amp;amp;c. Address Andrew&lt;br /&gt;
IV. Tuer, 18, Notling Hill Square, W.&lt;br /&gt;
Scott&amp;#039;s Poems. 12 vols. Uniform with Waverley Novels&lt;br /&gt;
and Prose Works.&lt;br /&gt;
Hallam. Literature of Europe.&lt;br /&gt;
Lacroix. Science et Lettres au Moyen Age. 1st Edition.&lt;br /&gt;
Good copy. Science and Letters, &amp;amp;c. English trans-&lt;br /&gt;
lation. Any edition.&lt;br /&gt;
Gentleman&amp;#039;s Magazine. 1748, 1786, 1787, 1791. Part 2.&lt;br /&gt;
Household Words. Vols. IV, V, VI.&lt;br /&gt;
Nineteenth Century. September, 1878.&lt;br /&gt;
Blackwood. October, 1849 ; July, 1851; February, 1852;&lt;br /&gt;
July, 1864; Octolier, November, December, 1067.&lt;br /&gt;
All the Year Round. September, October, November,&lt;br /&gt;
December, 1867.&lt;br /&gt;
Sidney Smith. Sermons. Vol. I. 1809.&lt;br /&gt;
Disraeli. Tancred. Vol. I. 1847.&lt;br /&gt;
Victor Hugo. L&amp;#039;Homme qui rit. Vol. II. 2nd Edition.&lt;br /&gt;
Heaumont and Fletcher. Vols. I, II, III. 1711.&lt;br /&gt;
Joseph Glanville. Anything.&lt;br /&gt;
Address &amp;quot;M.A.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
NEW BOOKS AND NEW EDITIONS.&lt;br /&gt;
Theology.&lt;br /&gt;
Body, Rev. G. The School of Calvary, a Course of Lent&lt;br /&gt;
Lectures, p. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
Garland, Rev. G. V. Practical Teaching of the Apoca-&lt;br /&gt;
lypse. Longmans and Co. \(&amp;gt;s.&lt;br /&gt;
Hall, N. Gethsemane; or, Leaves of Healing from the&lt;br /&gt;
Garden of Grief, y.&lt;br /&gt;
Hermon, Rev. G. E. Addresses on the Seven Words from&lt;br /&gt;
the Cross. 2s.&lt;br /&gt;
Jeaffreson, H. II. Magnificat: a Course of Sermons.&lt;br /&gt;
2s. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
Liddon, II. P. Advent in St. Paul&amp;#039;s. Cheaper Edition.&lt;br /&gt;
Longmans and Co. 5s. Sermons preached before the University of Oxford.&lt;br /&gt;
Cheaper Edition. y.&lt;br /&gt;
Muller, F. Max. Physical Religion. (Gifford&amp;#039;s Lectures,&lt;br /&gt;
1890.) Longmans and Co. lor. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
Newman, Cardinal. Discussions and Arguments on&lt;br /&gt;
various subjects; An Essay in Aid of a Grammar of&lt;br /&gt;
Assent. Cheap Edition, y. 6d. each. Parochial and&lt;br /&gt;
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LONDON : 100, GRACECHURCH STREET, E.C.&lt;br /&gt;
(CORNER OF LEADENHALL STREET).&lt;br /&gt;
Branch Offices-&lt;br /&gt;
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Printed for the Society, by HARRISON &amp;amp; SONS, 45. 46, and 47, St. Martin&amp;#039;s Lane, in the Parish of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, in the City&lt;br /&gt;
of Westminster.</td><td>https://historysoa.com/files/original/5/248/1891-02-16-The-Author-1-10.pdf</td><td>publications, The Author</td></tr><tr><td>249</td><td>https://historysoa.com/items/show/249</td><td>The Author, Vol. 01 Issue 11 (March 1891)</td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=%3Cem%3EThe+Author%3C%2Fem%3E%2C+Vol.+01+Issue+11+%28March+1891%29&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;The Author&lt;/em&gt;, Vol. 01 Issue 11 (March 1891)&lt;/a&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015031017927&amp;amp;view=1up&amp;amp;seq=20&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; rel=&quot;noopener&quot;&gt;https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015031017927&lt;/a&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Publication&quot;&gt;Publication&lt;/a&gt;</td><td>1891-03-16-The-Author-1-11</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>281&ndash;308</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=89&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1&quot;&gt;1&lt;/a&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=76&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1891-03-16&quot;&gt;1891-03-16&lt;/a&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>11</td><td></td><td></td><td>18910316</td><td>Vol. 1.- No. 11]&lt;br /&gt;
MARCH 16, 1891.&lt;br /&gt;
[Price, Sixpence.&lt;br /&gt;
The Author.&lt;br /&gt;
THE ORGAN OF THE SOCIETY OF AUTHORS&lt;br /&gt;
:: .. (INCORPORATED).&lt;br /&gt;
CONDUCTED BY&lt;br /&gt;
WALTER. BESANT.&lt;br /&gt;
Published for the Society B&euml;&lt;br /&gt;
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LONDON, E.C.&lt;br /&gt;
1891.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 280 (#336) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
ii.&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 280 (#337) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
AD VER TISEMENTS.&lt;br /&gt;
Zhc Society of Butbors (Jncorporateb).&lt;br /&gt;
PRESIDENT.&lt;br /&gt;
The Right Hon. the LORD TENNYSON, D.C.L.&lt;br /&gt;
COUNCIL.&lt;br /&gt;
Sir Edwin Arnold, K.C1.E.&lt;br /&gt;
II. Rider Haggard.&lt;br /&gt;
Alfred Austin.&lt;br /&gt;
Thomas Hardy.&lt;br /&gt;
A. W. k Beckett.&lt;br /&gt;
Prof. E. Ray Lankester, F.R.S.&lt;br /&gt;
Robert Bateman.&lt;br /&gt;
J. M. Lely.&lt;br /&gt;
Sir Henry Bergne, K.C.M.G.&lt;br /&gt;
Rev. W. J. Loftie, F.S.A.&lt;br /&gt;
Walter Besant.&lt;br /&gt;
F. Max-Mullbr, LL.D.&lt;br /&gt;
Augustine Birrell, M.P.&lt;br /&gt;
George Meredith.&lt;br /&gt;
R. D. Blackmore.&lt;br /&gt;
Herman C. Merivale.&lt;br /&gt;
Rev. Prof. Bonney, F.R.S.&lt;br /&gt;
Rev. C. H. Middleton-Wake, F.LS.&lt;br /&gt;
Lord Brabourne.&lt;br /&gt;
J. C. Parkinson.&lt;br /&gt;
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A. W. Dubourg.&lt;br /&gt;
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Jas. Sully.&lt;br /&gt;
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Hon. Counsel&mdash;E. M. Underdown, Q.C.&lt;br /&gt;
COMMITTEE OF MANAGEMENT.&lt;br /&gt;
Chairman&mdash;Walter Besant.&lt;br /&gt;
Robert Bateman. i W. Martin Conway. I H. Rider Haggard. I Sir Frederick Pollock.&lt;br /&gt;
A. W. a Beckett. | Edmund Gosse. | J. M. Lely. I A. G. Ross.&lt;br /&gt;
Solicitors.&lt;br /&gt;
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VOL. I.&lt;br /&gt;
OFFICES.&lt;br /&gt;
4, Portugal Street, Lincoln&amp;#039;s Inn Fields, W.C.&lt;br /&gt;
2 A&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 280 (#338) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
AD VER TISEMENTS.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The &amp;quot;Swan&amp;quot; is a beautiful Gold Pen joined to a rubber reservoir to hold any kind of ink, which it&lt;br /&gt;
supplies to the writing point in a continuous flow. It will hold enough ink for two days&amp;#039; constant work,&lt;br /&gt;
or a week&amp;#039;s ordinary writing, and can be refilled with as little trouble as to wind a watch. With the&lt;br /&gt;
cover over the gold nib it is carried in the pocket like a pencil, to be used anywhere. A purchaser may&lt;br /&gt;
try a pen a few days, and if by chance the writing point does not suit his hand, exchange it for another&lt;br /&gt;
without charge, or his money returned if wanted.&lt;br /&gt;
There are various points to select from, broad, medium, and fine, every handwriting can be suited, and&lt;br /&gt;
the price of the entire instrument, with filler complete, post free, is only 10/6.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The Gold Pens in the &amp;quot; Swan &amp;quot; are Mabie, Todd &amp;amp; Co.&amp;#039;s famous make; they are 14-carat tempered&lt;br /&gt;
gold, very handsome, and positively unaffected by any kind of ink. They are pointed with selected&lt;br /&gt;
polished iridium. The &amp;quot;Encyclopaedia Britannica&amp;quot; says&mdash;&amp;quot;Iridium is a nearly white metal of high&lt;br /&gt;
specific gravity, it is almost indestructible, and a beautifully polished surface can be gained upon it.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
They will not penetrate the paper, and writer&amp;#039;s cramp is unknown among users of Gold Pens; one will&lt;br /&gt;
outwear a gross of steel pens. They are a perfect revelation to those who know nothing about Gold&lt;br /&gt;
Pens.&lt;br /&gt;
Dr. Olives Wbsdell Holmes has used one of Mabie, Todd k Co.&amp;#039;s Gold Pens since 1857, and is using the same&lt;br /&gt;
one (his &amp;quot; old friend &amp;quot;) to-day.&lt;br /&gt;
Sydney Grundy, Esq., says&mdash;&amp;quot; It is a vast improvement on every Stylograph.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Moberly Bell, Esq., Manager, The Times, says&mdash;&amp;quot; One pen lasted me for six years.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
S. D. Waddy, Esq., Q.C., M.P., says&mdash;&amp;quot; I have used them constantly for some years, and, as far as I can remember,&lt;br /&gt;
have never failed me.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Send Postal Card for Free Illustrated List (containing interesting Testimonials from&lt;br /&gt;
the best people, who have used them for years) to&lt;br /&gt;
MABIE, TODD I BARD, 93, CHEAPSIDE, LONDON.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 281 (#339) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
%\it JCtttljar.&lt;br /&gt;
(The Organ oj the Incorporated Society of Authors, Monthly.)&lt;br /&gt;
CONDUCTED BY WALTER BESANT.&lt;br /&gt;
Vol. I.&mdash;No. ii.]&lt;br /&gt;
MARCH 16, 1891.&lt;br /&gt;
[Price Sixpence.&lt;br /&gt;
CONTENTS.&lt;br /&gt;
Conditions of Membership&lt;br /&gt;
Warnings&lt;br /&gt;
Notes and News&lt;br /&gt;
A Note on the New Act&lt;br /&gt;
In the I.ast Ditch&lt;br /&gt;
Do English People Buy Books 1...&lt;br /&gt;
Un Debut Dans La Vie&lt;br /&gt;
The Signed Article&lt;br /&gt;
In Grub Street ... t&lt;br /&gt;
The Parnassus Publishing Company&lt;br /&gt;
Correspondence and Cases&lt;br /&gt;
The Production of Vouchers&lt;br /&gt;
On Advertisements&lt;br /&gt;
fAGE&lt;br /&gt;
. 281&lt;br /&gt;
. 281&lt;br /&gt;
.. 38a&lt;br /&gt;
. 286&lt;br /&gt;
. 287&lt;br /&gt;
. 288&lt;br /&gt;
. 391&lt;br /&gt;
&bull; 293&lt;br /&gt;
&bull; 294&lt;br /&gt;
.. 298&lt;br /&gt;
&bull; =99&lt;br /&gt;
■ 399&lt;br /&gt;
. 300&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Correspondence and Cases&mdash;continued&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
Authors and Reviewers&lt;br /&gt;
Accepted...&lt;br /&gt;
Literary Godchildren&lt;br /&gt;
Gratuitous Contributions&lt;br /&gt;
A Coincidence?&lt;br /&gt;
The Authors&amp;#039; Club&lt;br /&gt;
The Author&amp;#039;s Book Stall&lt;br /&gt;
New Books&lt;br /&gt;
The Reading of MSS&lt;br /&gt;
Publications of the Society&lt;br /&gt;
Advertisements&lt;br /&gt;
300&lt;br /&gt;
301&lt;br /&gt;
301&lt;br /&gt;
301&lt;br /&gt;
303&lt;br /&gt;
303&lt;br /&gt;
303&lt;br /&gt;
304&lt;br /&gt;
3&deg;6&lt;br /&gt;
306&lt;br /&gt;
307&lt;br /&gt;
CONDITIONS OF MEMBERSHIP.&lt;br /&gt;
The Subscription is One Guinea annually, payable on the&lt;br /&gt;
1st of January of each year. The sum of Ten Guineas for&lt;br /&gt;
life memljership entitles the subscriber to full membership of&lt;br /&gt;
the Society.&lt;br /&gt;
Authors of published works alone are eligible for member-&lt;br /&gt;
ship.&lt;br /&gt;
Those who desire to assist the Society but are not authors&lt;br /&gt;
are admitted as Associates, on the same subscription, but&lt;br /&gt;
have no voice in the government of the Society.&lt;br /&gt;
Cheques and Postal Oiders should be crossed &amp;quot;The Im-&lt;br /&gt;
perial Bank, Limited, Westminster Branch.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Those who wish to be proposed as members may send&lt;br /&gt;
their names at any lime to the Secretary at the Society&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
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The Secretary may be personally consulted between the&lt;br /&gt;
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The Author, the Organ of the Society, can be procured&lt;br /&gt;
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2, Paternoster Square, K.C.&lt;br /&gt;
A copy will be sent free to any member of the Society for&lt;br /&gt;
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however, that most members will subscribe to the paper.&lt;br /&gt;
The yearly subscription is 6s. 6d., including postage, which&lt;br /&gt;
may be sent to the Secretary, 4, Portugal Street, W.C.&lt;br /&gt;
With regard to the reading of MSS. for young writers,&lt;br /&gt;
the fee for this service is one guinea. MSS. will be read&lt;br /&gt;
and reported upon for others than members, but members&lt;br /&gt;
cannot have their works read for nothing.&lt;br /&gt;
In all cases where an opinion is desired upon a manuscript,&lt;br /&gt;
the author should send with it a table of contents. A type-&lt;br /&gt;
written scenario is also of very great assistance.&lt;br /&gt;
It must be understood that such a reader&amp;#039;s report, however&lt;br /&gt;
favourable, does not assist the author towards publication.&lt;br /&gt;
WARNINGS.&lt;br /&gt;
Readers of the Author are earnestly desired to make the&lt;br /&gt;
following warnings as widely known as possible. They are&lt;br /&gt;
based on the experience of six years&amp;#039; work upon the dangers&lt;br /&gt;
to which liteiary property is exposed :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
(1) Never to sign any agreement of which the alleged cost&lt;br /&gt;
of production forms an integral part, unless an&lt;br /&gt;
opportunity of proving the correctness of the figures&lt;br /&gt;
is given them.&lt;br /&gt;
(2) Never to enter into any correspondence with publishers,&lt;br /&gt;
especially with advertising publishers, who are not&lt;br /&gt;
recommended by experienced friends, or by this&lt;br /&gt;
Society.&lt;br /&gt;
(3) Never, on any account whatever, to bind themselves&lt;br /&gt;
down for future work to any one firm of publishers.&lt;br /&gt;
(4) Never to accept any proposal of royalty without con-&lt;br /&gt;
sultation with the Society, or, at least, ascertaining&lt;br /&gt;
exactly what the agreement gives to the author and&lt;br /&gt;
what to the publisher.&lt;br /&gt;
(5) Never to accept any offer of money for MSS., with-&lt;br /&gt;
out previously taking advice of the Society.&lt;br /&gt;
(6) Never to accept any pecuniary risk or responsibility&lt;br /&gt;
without advice.&lt;br /&gt;
(7) Never, when a MS. has been refused by respectable&lt;br /&gt;
houses, to pay others, whatever promises they may&lt;br /&gt;
put forward, for the production of the work.&lt;br /&gt;
(8) Never to sign away American or foreign rights.&lt;br /&gt;
Keep them. Refuse to sign an agreement containing&lt;br /&gt;
a clause which reserves them for the publisher. If&lt;br /&gt;
the publisher insists, take away the MS. and offer it&lt;br /&gt;
to another.&lt;br /&gt;
(9) Never forget that publishing is a business, like any&lt;br /&gt;
other business, totally unconnected with philanthropy,&lt;br /&gt;
charity, or pure love of literature. You have to do&lt;br /&gt;
with business men.&lt;br /&gt;
Society&amp;#039;s Offices:&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
4, Portugal Street, Lincoln&amp;#039;s Inn Fields.&lt;br /&gt;
vol. 1.&lt;br /&gt;
2 a 2&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 282 (#340) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
282&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
NOTES AND NEWS.&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;4&lt;br /&gt;
THE American Copyright Bill has passed,&lt;br /&gt;
and unexpectedly. Thus ends, we hope,&lt;br /&gt;
happily for all concerned, the long and&lt;br /&gt;
bitter reproach of English authors and the hard&lt;br /&gt;
battle of American authors. We shall no longer&lt;br /&gt;
pirate and plunder and prey upon each other as&lt;br /&gt;
the law permits. Now we begin to look round&lt;br /&gt;
and to ask&mdash;what next? First, let us carefully&lt;br /&gt;
consider the following question and answer found&lt;br /&gt;
in the Parliamentary Debates on Saturday, March&lt;br /&gt;
7th.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Mr. Vincent asked the following question :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
Bearing in mind the renewed declaration of the&lt;br /&gt;
Prime Minister, on March 4th, to the Associated&lt;br /&gt;
Chambers of Commerce, that English remonstrance&lt;br /&gt;
on foreign commercial policy prejudicial to British&lt;br /&gt;
trade at home or abroad is wholly futile under the&lt;br /&gt;
present fiscal system, as we have no means of sup-&lt;br /&gt;
porting the remonstrance, or giving any advantage&lt;br /&gt;
in return for favourable concessions, what definite&lt;br /&gt;
domestic action, asdistinguished from remonstrance,&lt;br /&gt;
with a foreign power Her Majesty&amp;#039;s Government&lt;br /&gt;
proposes to take to prevent injury being done to&lt;br /&gt;
industry and labour in the United Kingdom, and&lt;br /&gt;
the probable disemployment of many workpeople&lt;br /&gt;
concerned in the book trade, to restrain the transfer&lt;br /&gt;
to America of the productions of the works of&lt;br /&gt;
British authors desirous of securing American copy-&lt;br /&gt;
tight by the use in the United States of American&lt;br /&gt;
type or plates, and simultaneously enjoying copy-&lt;br /&gt;
right in Great Britain and Ireland.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Mr. W. H. Smith.&mdash;We have no official know-&lt;br /&gt;
ledge of the measure, and only know from the&lt;br /&gt;
newspapers that it has been passed. It is quite&lt;br /&gt;
impossible for me to express any opinion respecting&lt;br /&gt;
its provisions until we see them. I do not know&lt;br /&gt;
what changes may have been made in the Bill&lt;br /&gt;
during its passage through Congress, and I am&lt;br /&gt;
therefore quite unable to indicate what would be&lt;br /&gt;
the policy or action of the Government with respect&lt;br /&gt;
to it.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
1&lt;br /&gt;
Quite so. We do hot know exactly what changes&lt;br /&gt;
have been made in the Bill during its passage&lt;br /&gt;
through Congress. Therefore we must wait until&lt;br /&gt;
we do know. Meantime we have telegraphed for&lt;br /&gt;
a copy of the Act.&lt;br /&gt;
A meeting of the Council was called on March&lt;br /&gt;
12th, to consider the situation as changed by the&lt;br /&gt;
passing of the International Copyright Act. The&lt;br /&gt;
chair was taken by Sir Frederick Pollock.&lt;br /&gt;
The following Resolutions were proposed and&lt;br /&gt;
adopted:&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
(1.) That at this stage of the long struggle for&lt;br /&gt;
International Copyright carried on in America&lt;br /&gt;
by the Copyright League and other citizens of&lt;br /&gt;
the United States, to secure copyright to foreign&lt;br /&gt;
authors in the States and td remove the long&lt;br /&gt;
existing hindrance to the natural growth of&lt;br /&gt;
American literature, the congratulations of the&lt;br /&gt;
Society be, and hereby are, expressed by the&lt;br /&gt;
Council now assembled.&lt;br /&gt;
(2.) That the Secretary be instructed on the&lt;br /&gt;
arrival of the Act, to have it printed and to send&lt;br /&gt;
a copy to every member of the Society, inviting&lt;br /&gt;
their advice, suggestions, or criticisms on the&lt;br /&gt;
probable working of the Act.&lt;br /&gt;
(3.) That the Copyright Committee be re-&lt;br /&gt;
quested to receive these criticisms and to draw&lt;br /&gt;
up a report on the subject.&lt;br /&gt;
(4.) That authors be warned meanwhile not&lt;br /&gt;
to sign any agreements giving up their American&lt;br /&gt;
rights , and not to accept any offers whatever&lt;br /&gt;
that may be made until the Act shall be in&lt;br /&gt;
working order.&lt;br /&gt;
(5.) That the Society without delay draw up&lt;br /&gt;
a Petition to the House of Lords, urging the&lt;br /&gt;
immediate consideration of Lord Monkswell&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
Bill.&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;*&lt;br /&gt;
Here are a few points which may be of use to u&amp;amp;&lt;br /&gt;
They certainly will not be affected by any amend-&lt;br /&gt;
ments that may have been carried.&lt;br /&gt;
It will be news to many, as it was to me, to hear&lt;br /&gt;
that in many cases it will be unnecessary to take&lt;br /&gt;
out copyright, and that the practice will still con-&lt;br /&gt;
tinue of sending over a whole edition in sheets and&lt;br /&gt;
paying the duty, twenty-five per cent, on the cost&lt;br /&gt;
of production. Take, for instance, a book which&lt;br /&gt;
appeals to the scholarly and cultured class only,&lt;br /&gt;
and therefore cannot possibly have a large sale.&lt;br /&gt;
An edition of a thousand copies in sheets might&lt;br /&gt;
Cost, say ;&pound;ioo. The American publisher would&lt;br /&gt;
pay .&pound;125 for it. He would then produce it just&lt;br /&gt;
as he does now, on the chance that no one else&lt;br /&gt;
will pirate it. Why should they? It is too small&lt;br /&gt;
a market to be interfered with. Or take a book&lt;br /&gt;
with dainty and beautiful plates. This cannot be&lt;br /&gt;
pirated because the plates cannot be cheaply and&lt;br /&gt;
successfully imitated. It must be remembered&lt;br /&gt;
that in considering whether it would pay to take&lt;br /&gt;
out copyright, the cost of production in America&lt;br /&gt;
is a much larger factor than it is in this country&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
wages are much higher, materials are higher. &diams;&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
To those who expect a magnificent harvest&lt;br /&gt;
immediately&mdash;a warning. Last month there was&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 283 (#341) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
283&lt;br /&gt;
an attempt in the Author to show that America is&lt;br /&gt;
taking rapid strides to the production of nearly all&lt;br /&gt;
her own literature. Hitherto the great mass of her&lt;br /&gt;
books have been of English origin. This is now&lt;br /&gt;
true only of the ten cent novels. These, it is true,&lt;br /&gt;
are English. But who can believe that the American&lt;br /&gt;
will prefer to read of English manners and modes&lt;br /&gt;
depicted in fiction, when he can get his own&lt;br /&gt;
equally well presented and at the same price? At&lt;br /&gt;
the same time, should there be any capable of really&lt;br /&gt;
striking the popular imagination, he will do so in&lt;br /&gt;
all the English-speaking countries alike. For him&mdash;-&lt;br /&gt;
unless he gives himself away to the first offer&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
there is indeed hope. How many are there among&lt;br /&gt;
the living who possess this power? In a few months&lt;br /&gt;
we shall see.&lt;br /&gt;
There is another point to be borne in mind.&lt;br /&gt;
On this a word was said last month. The cheap&lt;br /&gt;
libraries, even if they are not enlarged, will have&lt;br /&gt;
another twenty years&amp;#039; run at least. To compete&lt;br /&gt;
with them is like competing with the works of the&lt;br /&gt;
dead, which can be issued by anybody and at any&lt;br /&gt;
price. But they will continue to be enlarged.&lt;br /&gt;
They will say to the English writers who are not&lt;br /&gt;
so much in demand in America as to call for a&lt;br /&gt;
copyrighted edition, &amp;quot;You will get nothing here&lt;br /&gt;
except from us&mdash;we will give you twenty dollars&lt;br /&gt;
for your rights.&amp;quot; That offer will be accepted, and&lt;br /&gt;
so the ten cent library will be continued. Again,&lt;br /&gt;
even if a writer is popular, people will ask why they&lt;br /&gt;
should give a dollar and a half for his new book&lt;br /&gt;
when they can get all his old books at sixpence.&lt;br /&gt;
The Anti-Jacobin suggests the danger that&lt;br /&gt;
English writers may try to pander to American&lt;br /&gt;
prejudices, manners, and custpms. I do not think&lt;br /&gt;
this is a real danger, first, because no living&lt;br /&gt;
English authors have ever remained long enough&lt;br /&gt;
in the States to learn these prejudices. We know&lt;br /&gt;
the American who travels on the Continent. We&lt;br /&gt;
meet the American gentleman in society. But&lt;br /&gt;
neither the rich American who can travel nor the&lt;br /&gt;
American gentleman represents the great mass of&lt;br /&gt;
the American people, who, again, differ widely&lt;br /&gt;
among each other. There can be little resemblance&lt;br /&gt;
between the prairie farmer and the New England&lt;br /&gt;
lawyer&mdash;nor between the white folk of North&lt;br /&gt;
Carolina and the trader of Chicago. Wp cannot&lt;br /&gt;
pander to ordinary American prejudice, because we&lt;br /&gt;
do not know anything about it.&lt;br /&gt;
Lower down will be found a few notes on the&lt;br /&gt;
practical working of the Bill which will not be&lt;br /&gt;
affected by any amendments that may have been&lt;br /&gt;
added. To these notes we add a very serious&lt;br /&gt;
warning. Let the author be more than commonly&lt;br /&gt;
careful in his agreements. He must reserve&lt;br /&gt;
American rights by a special clause. He must&lt;br /&gt;
take care not to accept the first offer that is made&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;men are already in the field trying to &amp;quot;rush&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
the British author, and, if he is wise, he will refuse&lt;br /&gt;
to treat at all until he has seen how the new Act&lt;br /&gt;
works.&lt;br /&gt;
On the evening of the day when President&lt;br /&gt;
Harrison signed the Bill, he received quite a little&lt;br /&gt;
shower of letters and telegrams. They were lying&lt;br /&gt;
on the Presidental pillow when, at midnight, he was&lt;br /&gt;
about to climb into the gilded tour-poster assigned&lt;br /&gt;
to the Chosen of the Caucus. One of them, from&lt;br /&gt;
the shade of John Milton, began as follows:&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Grandson of my friend the Regicide,&amp;quot; it said,&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I have witnessed with joy thine action of this&lt;br /&gt;
day. Thy Republic at length proves itself a des-&lt;br /&gt;
cendant of my own. Thou hast shaken off&amp;quot; the&lt;br /&gt;
Iniquity of a hundred years. Thou hast set free&lt;br /&gt;
thine own people in doing justice to another nation.&lt;br /&gt;
Lo! I see in my mind a noble and a puissant&lt;br /&gt;
nation rousing herself like a strong man after sleep&lt;br /&gt;
and shaking her invincible locks; a nation npt slow&lt;br /&gt;
and dull, but of a quick, ingenious, and piercing&lt;br /&gt;
spirit; acute to invent, subtile and sinewy to dis-&lt;br /&gt;
course. I see her as an eagle mewing her mighty&lt;br /&gt;
youth, and kindling her undazzled eyes at the ful)&lt;br /&gt;
mid-day beam.&amp;quot; The rest need riot be quoted.&lt;br /&gt;
Another was from Charles Dickens. &amp;quot;Fifty years&lt;br /&gt;
ago,&amp;quot; he said, &amp;quot;I beat the air with my fists, fondly&lt;br /&gt;
thinking that I was fighting an easy battle against&lt;br /&gt;
ignorance and greed. &amp;#039;For fifty years the best of&lt;br /&gt;
your own people have been vainly, until now,&lt;br /&gt;
fighting that easy battle. You have shared with&lt;br /&gt;
us our noble inheritance, the literature of the past;&lt;br /&gt;
but the baser sort among you have stolen the&lt;br /&gt;
literature of the present. It was unworthy of a&lt;br /&gt;
nation desirous to be thought great. The loss you&lt;br /&gt;
have inflicted upon us is that of dollars only.&lt;br /&gt;
Upon yourselves you have inflicted the starvation of&lt;br /&gt;
your own literature. Henceforth, however, what is&lt;br /&gt;
yours is ours, and what is ours is yours. Farewell.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
There were also telegrams from Charles Reade,&lt;br /&gt;
Wilkie Collins, Thackeray, George Eliot, and&lt;br /&gt;
others. They were the same in effect, though the&lt;br /&gt;
words differed. &amp;quot;We complain no longer,&amp;quot; said&lt;br /&gt;
Charles Reade. &amp;quot;Earthly injustice affects us not.&lt;br /&gt;
Its memory has no longer any sting. Yet we&lt;br /&gt;
rejoice that we stood up for honour and equity&lt;br /&gt;
while we lived. And for those who have followed&lt;br /&gt;
us, we are glad that your people have at last chosen&lt;br /&gt;
the better way.&amp;quot; These are noticeable communi-&lt;br /&gt;
cations, and I hear that they are to be preserved&lt;br /&gt;
in the Washington Library.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 284 (#342) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
284&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
I am very pleased to publish the following com-&lt;br /&gt;
munication from Professor Middleton, of King&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
College, Cambridge :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;After the many instructive warnings to authors&lt;br /&gt;
which you have printed, with regard to what might&lt;br /&gt;
politely be called the conventional morality of&lt;br /&gt;
certain publishers, it may be a pleasure to turn to&lt;br /&gt;
the other side of the picture, and receive a state-&lt;br /&gt;
ment which will show that there are publishers in&lt;br /&gt;
Britain whose practice is not only just in the&lt;br /&gt;
highest sense of the word, but even goes beyond&lt;br /&gt;
that, and amounts to real generosity.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I had an agreement with a well-known firm that&lt;br /&gt;
they would publish a book of mine, and pay me&lt;br /&gt;
for it a certain sum of money down, as soon as the&lt;br /&gt;
book was printed.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;This sum I received, expecting nothing further.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Some time after, without any suggestion of&lt;br /&gt;
mine, I was informed by my publishers that they&lt;br /&gt;
proposed to give me half-profits in addition to the&lt;br /&gt;
lump sum they had paid me for the copyright of&lt;br /&gt;
my book&mdash;a quite voluntary piece of generosity cn&lt;br /&gt;
their part. Since then I have received, as half-&lt;br /&gt;
profits, a sum about equal to the original payment&lt;br /&gt;
for which I had bargained.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;That is to say, that in consideration of&lt;br /&gt;
my book being a success, the publishers have paid&lt;br /&gt;
me nearly double of what they were bound to do.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Though I have no authority to do so, it can, I&lt;br /&gt;
hope, offend no one if I mention that the pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lishers referred to are Messrs. A. and C. Black, of&lt;br /&gt;
Edinburgh and Soho Square, London.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
This document should be read prayerfully by&lt;br /&gt;
certain reverend and revered friends of ours.&lt;br /&gt;
Religion, we know, is not a thing of works, which&lt;br /&gt;
are rags. Yet the carnal man remarks with&lt;br /&gt;
surprise that a thing like this is done by the&lt;br /&gt;
secular, not the sacred, publisher. Messrs. A. and&lt;br /&gt;
C. Black were influenced by that spirit of justice&lt;br /&gt;
which goes beyond the letter of the agreement.&lt;br /&gt;
Professor Middleton, having signed his agreement,&lt;br /&gt;
had no further claim, made none, expected nothing&lt;br /&gt;
more, and entertained no other feeling towards his&lt;br /&gt;
publishers than that of friendly content. Yet they&lt;br /&gt;
went beyond their agreement. One is willing to&lt;br /&gt;
believe that other cases of the kind are not un-&lt;br /&gt;
known, though they are certainly infrequent.&lt;br /&gt;
Personally, I would prefer such a system of&lt;br /&gt;
publishing as would allow both publisher and&lt;br /&gt;
author to know beforehand in what proportion&lt;br /&gt;
results would be apportioned, and such a system I&lt;br /&gt;
hope that we shall arrive at Then indeed will come&lt;br /&gt;
the Golden Age, and we may all crown ourselves&lt;br /&gt;
with garlands, take down our harps and sing&lt;br /&gt;
madrigals by purling brooks, authors and publishers&lt;br /&gt;
together, while the world looks on envious and&lt;br /&gt;
admiring.&lt;br /&gt;
&diams;&lt;br /&gt;
There was held a dinner, the other day, of Pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lishers and Booksellers. I hope that, before long,&lt;br /&gt;
the other branch, perhaps the lower branch, of&lt;br /&gt;
the Literary Profession&mdash;that of the Authors&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
may be admitted, as a branch, to this gathering.&lt;br /&gt;
The chair was taken by Mr. John Murray, Junior.&lt;br /&gt;
A person, whom I once believed to be a friend,&lt;br /&gt;
brought me, the day after the dinner, a paper&lt;br /&gt;
containing what purported to be an extract from&lt;br /&gt;
his speech. I am a credulous creature, and I sent&lt;br /&gt;
it to press. I have since discovered that I was&lt;br /&gt;
the victim of a hoax. These words, in fact, did&lt;br /&gt;
not form part of the speech. Nevertheless, as they&lt;br /&gt;
seem to me brave and honest words, and such as one&lt;br /&gt;
would expect from the heir apparent of the House&lt;br /&gt;
of Murray, I prefer to believe that they were&lt;br /&gt;
spoken. The following, then, is the forged docu-&lt;br /&gt;
ment in question:&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
The Chairman then alluded&mdash;it does not appear&lt;br /&gt;
from the reports that he so much as mentioned the&lt;br /&gt;
Society&mdash;to the Society of Authors. &amp;quot;This associa-&lt;br /&gt;
tion of writers &amp;quot;&mdash;really, he said nothing of the&lt;br /&gt;
kind&mdash;&amp;quot; has of late proved that it aims at becoming&lt;br /&gt;
a great power in the world of living literature. It&lt;br /&gt;
has detected and exposed many of the cheats and&lt;br /&gt;
robberies practised by the dishonest members of&lt;br /&gt;
our trade: it has caused restitution to be made to&lt;br /&gt;
many victims; it has diverted a great amount of&lt;br /&gt;
business into the hands of honourable houses.&lt;br /&gt;
For these reasons, gentlemen, we have every cause&lt;br /&gt;
to congratulate ourselves upon its prosperity and&lt;br /&gt;
activity. We ought to welcome any step which&lt;br /&gt;
helps to purify the moral atmosphere and maintain&lt;br /&gt;
the honour of the calling by which we live.&lt;br /&gt;
Recently the Society has issued two books which&lt;br /&gt;
are, I venture to say, the most noteworthy things&lt;br /&gt;
ever done for the higher interests of publisher and&lt;br /&gt;
author. The first of these, called the &amp;#039; Methods of&lt;br /&gt;
Publication,&amp;#039; shows exactly what is meant by every&lt;br /&gt;
kind of agreement&mdash;what the publisher offers the&lt;br /&gt;
author and the author cedes to the publisher. It&lt;br /&gt;
also shows the frauds which are commonly practised.&lt;br /&gt;
This exposure will be new to most of us here present.&lt;br /&gt;
But it cannot fail to do great good. The next book&lt;br /&gt;
is called the &amp;#039;Cost of Production.&amp;#039; By these two&lt;br /&gt;
books the author is, for the first time, placed in&lt;br /&gt;
the position of knowing what his agreement means,&lt;br /&gt;
namely, what risks his publisher runs, if any, what&lt;br /&gt;
are his reasonable expectations, and how the joint&lt;br /&gt;
venture is shared. Gentlemen, an honourable man&lt;br /&gt;
has nothing&mdash;he can have nothing&mdash;to conceal.&lt;br /&gt;
We therefore rejoice at the publication of these&lt;br /&gt;
books, and we congratulate the Society upon the&lt;br /&gt;
steps it has taken.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 285 (#343) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
285&lt;br /&gt;
The enclosed is a sign of the times. It has&lt;br /&gt;
been sent to me by one of the promoters of the&lt;br /&gt;
movement We shall rejoice to learn that the new&lt;br /&gt;
Association is flourishing. Meantime, why women&lt;br /&gt;
alone? Why not men and women?&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;We the undersigned, pledge ourselves as&lt;br /&gt;
authors who believe in pure literature and high&lt;br /&gt;
standards of literary work, to co-operate as members&lt;br /&gt;
of a Society to be known as&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The Authors&amp;#039; Guild of American Women.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;We are convinced that union is strength and&lt;br /&gt;
consultation a source of education; and we hereby&lt;br /&gt;
pledge ourselves to aid each other in all legitimate&lt;br /&gt;
channels of work; to exercise our utmost diligence&lt;br /&gt;
to purify publications; and to insist that literary&lt;br /&gt;
work performed by women, if worthy of publication,&lt;br /&gt;
is also worthy of just remuneration.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&diams;&lt;br /&gt;
The following communication needs no com-&lt;br /&gt;
ment. One might, however, point out to the&lt;br /&gt;
people concerned, that these things get talked&lt;br /&gt;
about and do not improve the name of the House&lt;br /&gt;
concerned. Also, that authors are getting more&lt;br /&gt;
shy and suspicious every day, and more inclined to&lt;br /&gt;
inquiry.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;In December last, induced by a friend, I sent&lt;br /&gt;
a MS. to a certain firm of publishers. Hearing&lt;br /&gt;
nothing about it I wrote in January two letters to&lt;br /&gt;
them, pointing out that delay would destroy my&lt;br /&gt;
chance of publication for the season, and requesting&lt;br /&gt;
their answer or the MS. They did not vouchsafe&lt;br /&gt;
a word of reply for some weeks, when I received a&lt;br /&gt;
curt note informing me that my MS. would be&lt;br /&gt;
returned if I sent stamps for the purpose. I sent&lt;br /&gt;
stamps, and after two or three days I got back the&lt;br /&gt;
MS., all crushed, dirtied, and disordered. On&lt;br /&gt;
putting it to rights I found one section missing, I&lt;br /&gt;
wrote again, and after another delay of some days,&lt;br /&gt;
the missing part was sent to me without one word&lt;br /&gt;
of apology.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
The preceding case of discourtesy on the part&lt;br /&gt;
of a publisher is capped by a case of equal dis-&lt;br /&gt;
courtesy on the part of an editor&mdash;a religious paper&lt;br /&gt;
this. Religion, we know, forgives every kind of sin,&lt;br /&gt;
which is why sweaters flourish in religious societies&lt;br /&gt;
and editors of religious papers behave like the&lt;br /&gt;
gentleman mentioned below,&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;In September an author sent to this editor an&lt;br /&gt;
article for his magazine. He was careful to&lt;br /&gt;
enclose a stamped and addressed envelope in&lt;br /&gt;
accordance with the directions to contributors.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;He waited five months in patience. He then&lt;br /&gt;
wrote, politely pointing out that he had heard&lt;br /&gt;
nothing about it.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;No reply at all.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;He waited nine days and then wrote again, say-&lt;br /&gt;
ing that if he obtained no reply he should lay the&lt;br /&gt;
matter before this Society.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The MS. was promptly returned, but without a&lt;br /&gt;
single word of explanation or commentary.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
An editor has, no doubt, to wade through a vast&lt;br /&gt;
quantity of rubbish, but that is no excuse for&lt;br /&gt;
absolute discourtesy.&lt;br /&gt;
The preliminary Committee of the Authors&amp;#039; Club&lt;br /&gt;
has been formed, It will begin to meet at once in&lt;br /&gt;
order to draw up a working scheme for the foun-&lt;br /&gt;
dation of the Club on a stable basis. The Authors&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
House will not be forgotten, should there be found&lt;br /&gt;
room for it after the establishment of the Club. I&lt;br /&gt;
beg to announce that I am not a member of this&lt;br /&gt;
Committee, a statement which will perhaps make&lt;br /&gt;
it unnecessary henceforth for the irresponsible&lt;br /&gt;
paragraph writer to call it my club. But I hope&lt;br /&gt;
they will elect me a member.&lt;br /&gt;
The little exhibition of bindings of which&lt;br /&gt;
mention was made last month is at Tregaskis&amp;#039;,&lt;br /&gt;
Holborn. It is now open to the public. All those&lt;br /&gt;
who care for binding should visit the place before&lt;br /&gt;
the books are dispersed.&lt;br /&gt;
I once more invite members of the Society to&lt;br /&gt;
consider the Author the natural home for all kinds&lt;br /&gt;
of questions, cases, points, difficulties, anecdotes,&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;amp;c, connected with literature. I do so because&lt;br /&gt;
there is a danger that the paper should be regarded&lt;br /&gt;
as nothing more than the organ of counsel and&lt;br /&gt;
advice as regards agreements. That&mdash;most cer-&lt;br /&gt;
tainly. But we are not always signing agreements,&lt;br /&gt;
and in the world of letters there are many&lt;br /&gt;
interests.&lt;br /&gt;
&diams;&lt;br /&gt;
The lovers of the works of Richard Jefferies are&lt;br /&gt;
rapidly increasing in numbers and in enthusiasm.&lt;br /&gt;
I am sure that a great many of them are on the lists&lt;br /&gt;
of the Society&mdash;among our 750. Be it known to&lt;br /&gt;
these that a bust of this great interpreter of Nature&lt;br /&gt;
has been executed, that the Eishop and Dean of&lt;br /&gt;
Salisbury has granted permission to place it in the&lt;br /&gt;
Cathedral&mdash;and that the subscriptions still fall&lt;br /&gt;
short of the amount required. Will every reader&lt;br /&gt;
of this note&mdash;that is, every reader who can appre-&lt;br /&gt;
ciate the &amp;quot;Pageant of Summer &amp;quot;&mdash;send me some-&lt;br /&gt;
thing towards the completion of this work? I do&lt;br /&gt;
not beg in the name of Literature generally, of all&lt;br /&gt;
authors, but only of those who belong with me to&lt;br /&gt;
the company of those who feel that never did any&lt;br /&gt;
man write of field and wood, of hillside and of&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 286 (#344) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
286&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
hedge, as this man wrote. The treasurer of the&lt;br /&gt;
fund is Mr. Arthur Kinglake, but I will receive&lt;br /&gt;
subscriptions and send them on.&lt;br /&gt;
On Friday last the first performance at the&lt;br /&gt;
English Free Theatre took place. The piece was&lt;br /&gt;
Ibsen&amp;#039;s &amp;quot; Ghosts.&amp;quot; The accounts of the play differ a&lt;br /&gt;
good deal. If the critic is an ardent Ibsenite he&lt;br /&gt;
says that it is a most beautiful play. If he is not,&lt;br /&gt;
he says that it has all the faults which an acting&lt;br /&gt;
play ought not to have. If he is a disciple he&lt;br /&gt;
says it is a most wonderful sermon. If he is not,&lt;br /&gt;
he says that sermons are things which can, and&lt;br /&gt;
should, be delivered before the whole people with&lt;br /&gt;
open doors, not with shut doors and in fear of the&lt;br /&gt;
Lord Chamberlain. One thing is agreed upon by&lt;br /&gt;
all, that the piece owed whatever success it ob-&lt;br /&gt;
tained entirely to the acting of one lady. I suppose&lt;br /&gt;
that Ibsen has some message to deliver or he&lt;br /&gt;
would not have so many admirers. Meantime, let&lt;br /&gt;
us for the present suspend our judgment on the&lt;br /&gt;
new Free Theatre.&lt;br /&gt;
Walter Besant.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
A NOTE ON THE NEW ACT.&lt;br /&gt;
ON and after July ist, authors, no matter what&lt;br /&gt;
their nationality, will be able to acquire&lt;br /&gt;
copyright in the United States, to add sixty&lt;br /&gt;
millions to their &amp;quot;public.&amp;quot; It is simply impossible&lt;br /&gt;
to exaggerate the importance of such a change, not&lt;br /&gt;
only to &amp;quot;popular&amp;quot; writers, but to the authors&lt;br /&gt;
of all standard works. We hope in the next num-&lt;br /&gt;
berof the Author to give the Revised Statute as it will&lt;br /&gt;
pass into law. But, meanwhile, sundry considera-&lt;br /&gt;
tions suggest themselves. The conditions attached to&lt;br /&gt;
the acquisition of copyright are not a little onerous.&lt;br /&gt;
Imprimis, it is necessary (i) that before the day of&lt;br /&gt;
publication (in any country) the applicant should&lt;br /&gt;
deliver at the office of the Librarian of Congress,&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;amp;c, a printed copy of the title of the &amp;quot;book, map,&lt;br /&gt;
chart, dramatic or musical composition, engraving,&lt;br /&gt;
cut, print, photograph, or chromo, or a description&lt;br /&gt;
of the painting, drawing, statue, statuary, or a model&lt;br /&gt;
or the design for a work of the finearts for which he de-&lt;br /&gt;
sires a copyright&amp;quot;; and (2) &amp;quot;not later than the day&lt;br /&gt;
of publication&amp;quot; (in any country), deliver at the&lt;br /&gt;
office of the Librarian of Congress two copies of such&lt;br /&gt;
copyright &amp;quot; book,&amp;quot; &amp;amp;c, or in the case of a painting,&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;amp;c., a photograph of the same. But in the case of a&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;book&amp;quot; it is provided (3) that the said copies shall&lt;br /&gt;
be &amp;quot;printed from type set within the limits of the&lt;br /&gt;
United States, or from plates made therefrom.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
This provision was extended by the famous &amp;quot;chromo&lt;br /&gt;
amendment,&amp;quot; so as to require engravings, cuts,&lt;br /&gt;
prints, photographs or chromo lithographs to be&lt;br /&gt;
printed from engravings, cuts, negatives, or drawings&lt;br /&gt;
on stone made within the limits of the United States,&lt;br /&gt;
or from transfers made therefrom. But, according&lt;br /&gt;
to Reuter&amp;#039;s cablegram of the 2nd inst., this amend-&lt;br /&gt;
ment was amended by the Conference Committee&lt;br /&gt;
of the Senate and the House of Representatives so&lt;br /&gt;
as to confine its operation to &amp;quot;lithographs, chromos,&lt;br /&gt;
and photographs,&amp;quot; all of which, to be the subject of&lt;br /&gt;
American copyright, must, we take it, have been&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;produced&amp;quot; within the States.&lt;br /&gt;
A question at once arises as to the definition put&lt;br /&gt;
by American law upon the term &amp;quot;book.&amp;quot; Does it&lt;br /&gt;
include, as in England, &amp;quot;every volume, part of a&lt;br /&gt;
volume, pamphlet, sheet of letterpress, sheet of&lt;br /&gt;
music, map, chart, or plan separately published &amp;quot;?&lt;br /&gt;
If so, obviously, the necessity of securing cony-&lt;br /&gt;
right arises from the commencement of publication.&lt;br /&gt;
It will be necessary, for instance, in order to obtain&lt;br /&gt;
American copyright, to duly deliver each and every&lt;br /&gt;
part of a serial story or work published in parts.&lt;br /&gt;
But as against this it may surely be argued that the&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;day of publication&amp;quot; is the day of first publication&lt;br /&gt;
in complete form. (4) The &amp;quot;person claiming&amp;quot; the&lt;br /&gt;
copyright, may again, it appears, from Section 4952&lt;br /&gt;
of the Revised Statutes, be the &amp;quot;author, inventor,&lt;br /&gt;
designer, or proprietor of any book,&amp;quot; &amp;amp;c.&mdash;a&lt;br /&gt;
sufficiently wide definition. Is it intended that&lt;br /&gt;
anyone, acquiring priority, should, by going through&lt;br /&gt;
the necessary formalities, become the owner of the&lt;br /&gt;
copyright? Or is it necessary that he must acquire&lt;br /&gt;
rights from the author or his assigns?&lt;br /&gt;
The effect of the Bill upon the English publishers,&lt;br /&gt;
printers, compositors, bookbinders, and paper-&lt;br /&gt;
makers cannot as yet be determined. But the&lt;br /&gt;
fears which are openly expressed that New York&lt;br /&gt;
will become the centre of the book trade, are, we&lt;br /&gt;
believe, exaggerated. If English &amp;quot;stereo&amp;quot; is ex-&lt;br /&gt;
cluded from the States, in the case of copyright&lt;br /&gt;
works, it is practically certain that American&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;stereo&amp;quot; will prove useless in England. The differ-&lt;br /&gt;
ence in typography alone would prove a fatal&lt;br /&gt;
objection. The same remark applies to the im-&lt;br /&gt;
portation of sheets or bound volumes from the&lt;br /&gt;
States.&lt;br /&gt;
It may, too, be remarked that in case it should&lt;br /&gt;
be necessary, there exists a useful machinery under&lt;br /&gt;
the Merchandize Marks Act. If there is any doubt&lt;br /&gt;
as to the &amp;quot;country of origin,&amp;quot; the Customs author-&lt;br /&gt;
ities can require this to be declared on every copy.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Printed frpm type set within the limits of the&lt;br /&gt;
United States &amp;quot; would pot, in England, be a popular&lt;br /&gt;
line on a title-page, The &amp;quot;cost of production&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
will, too, thanks to the McKinley tariff, remain&lt;br /&gt;
much higher in the States than in England, and&lt;br /&gt;
English papermakers and bookbinders have not&lt;br /&gt;
much to fear.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 287 (#345) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
287&lt;br /&gt;
IN THE LAST DITCH.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;/^VNE of the oddest and most unfortunate&lt;br /&gt;
I I phenomena in the history of the copy-&lt;br /&gt;
right discussion,&amp;quot; says the New York&lt;br /&gt;
Nation, &amp;quot;is the appearance every now and then,&lt;br /&gt;
when the Pirates are ready to throw up their hands&lt;br /&gt;
and ask for quarter, of some moralist or theologian&lt;br /&gt;
to cheer them up and encourage them to make&lt;br /&gt;
some further resistance, by proclaiming that the&lt;br /&gt;
poor men have done nothing wrong, and that we&lt;br /&gt;
musi not call them hard names or despitefully use&lt;br /&gt;
them.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
The last appearance of the moralist or the-&lt;br /&gt;
ologian, one is pleased to observe, is that of&lt;br /&gt;
an Englishman. Not an American at all. An&lt;br /&gt;
Englishman of letters. A very distinguished man&lt;br /&gt;
of letters. His name is here suppressed because&lt;br /&gt;
he does not appear to have sent his protest to&lt;br /&gt;
any English organ. He has been protesting in&lt;br /&gt;
an American paper against certain harsh language&lt;br /&gt;
used towards the House of Representatives for&lt;br /&gt;
failing to pass the Copyright Bill last session.&lt;br /&gt;
As regards the bad language, it never did any&lt;br /&gt;
good to call names, and it never will. Yet we&lt;br /&gt;
shall always continue to call names because it&lt;br /&gt;
relieves the feelings. Hear, however, the Nation&lt;br /&gt;
further in the matter.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;But what concerns us now is the reasons Mr.&lt;br /&gt;
A. gives for deprecating vituperation. One of them&lt;br /&gt;
is that all property, and especially literary property,&lt;br /&gt;
is the creation of law, and that copyright is &amp;#039;a&lt;br /&gt;
purely artificial privilege,&amp;#039; and that, therefore, it is&lt;br /&gt;
highly indecent to speak of persons who publish&lt;br /&gt;
other men&amp;#039;s works without paying for them, as&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;#039;thieves&amp;#039; or &amp;#039;pirates.&amp;#039; That this man should&lt;br /&gt;
offer the world, in such a cause, the plea that&lt;br /&gt;
property is the creation of law is very curious,&lt;br /&gt;
because there is hardly a step in the creation of&lt;br /&gt;
the present English Constitution, from Magna&lt;br /&gt;
Charta down, which was not a protest, in some&lt;br /&gt;
shape, against the doctrine that a man&amp;#039;s moral&lt;br /&gt;
right to his goods and chattels is at all dependent&lt;br /&gt;
on the provision made by law for his protection in&lt;br /&gt;
the enjoyment of them. The great doctrine that&lt;br /&gt;
taxation without representation is a thing to be&lt;br /&gt;
resisted with the sword, if necessary, rests on the&lt;br /&gt;
very proposition which Mr. A. denies. When&lt;br /&gt;
Hampden refused to pay the ship-money because&lt;br /&gt;
he had not voted it through his representatives,&lt;br /&gt;
seven of the twelve judges decided against him,&lt;br /&gt;
and his refusal was therefore illegal; but he per-&lt;br /&gt;
sisted in it, nevertheless, to the death, and all&lt;br /&gt;
Englishmen now hold his memory in reverence&lt;br /&gt;
therefor. The amount was trifling, but, as has been&lt;br /&gt;
finely said, if he had paid it he would have been a&lt;br /&gt;
slave.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Property, in truth, in its moral aspect, is no more&lt;br /&gt;
a creation of law than justice is. It was created,&lt;br /&gt;
as justice was, by the appearance of a second man&lt;br /&gt;
on the globe. On each of the two there then&lt;br /&gt;
descended that great moral obligation which the&lt;br /&gt;
friends of copyright now seek to have embodied in&lt;br /&gt;
legislation&mdash;the obligation not to steal and not&lt;br /&gt;
to covet his neighbour&amp;#039;s goods, his ox or his ass,&lt;br /&gt;
his man-servant or maid-servant, his wife, &amp;#039;or any-&lt;br /&gt;
thing that is his.&amp;#039; This obligation existed before&lt;br /&gt;
either Parliaments or kings, before even the Ten&lt;br /&gt;
Commandments. It arose out of the very nature&lt;br /&gt;
of things. Mr. A. confounds, as do thousands of&lt;br /&gt;
inferior men, the question of right with the question&lt;br /&gt;
of security. Law cannot give a man a moral right&lt;br /&gt;
to the product of his labour, nor can it take it&lt;br /&gt;
away from him, a good illustration of which rule is&lt;br /&gt;
to be found in the institution of slavery. The law&lt;br /&gt;
deprived the negro of all legal rights, but it could&lt;br /&gt;
not touch any of his moral or natural right.&amp;#039;.&lt;br /&gt;
What the law does for property is to give it security.&lt;br /&gt;
It can, by denying security, as in the case of&lt;br /&gt;
literary property, make it worthless, but it cannot&lt;br /&gt;
lessen the owner&amp;#039;s right to it. It cannot diminish&lt;br /&gt;
the moral guilt of stealing it from him. What the&lt;br /&gt;
apologists of Pirates mean, therefore, when they&lt;br /&gt;
talk of the law as a &amp;#039;creator of property,&amp;#039; is simply&lt;br /&gt;
that no man can, without the help of the law, get&lt;br /&gt;
from property the sum of those pleasures which&lt;br /&gt;
make it valuable. This may be true, but how can&lt;br /&gt;
this fact excuse in the forum of morals the man&lt;br /&gt;
who avails himself of this absence of legal defence&lt;br /&gt;
to appropriate as much of his neighbour&amp;#039;s goods&lt;br /&gt;
as he takes a fancy to? Is it possible that when&lt;br /&gt;
Arabs strip travellers in the desert, the offence is&lt;br /&gt;
not robbery, but a failure of the law to create pro-&lt;br /&gt;
perty in watches, guns, and camels in that particular&lt;br /&gt;
region?&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Mr. A., in like manner, when he comes to&lt;br /&gt;
speak of copyright as &amp;#039;a special privilege,&amp;#039; con-&lt;br /&gt;
founds plagiarism and piracy. This is the most&lt;br /&gt;
fertile source of misunderstanding in the whole&lt;br /&gt;
discussion. What is a plagiarist? It is, says the&lt;br /&gt;
dictionary, a man 1 who purloins the words, writ-&lt;br /&gt;
ings, or ideas of another and passes them off as his&lt;br /&gt;
own.&amp;#039; Now, it is no easy thing to convict a man&lt;br /&gt;
of this offence unless he makes long textual&lt;br /&gt;
extracts. The ownership of an idea, and even of&lt;br /&gt;
forms of expression, is generally very difficult to&lt;br /&gt;
trace. The same idea often occurs to hundreds&lt;br /&gt;
of men at the same time, and often finds very&lt;br /&gt;
similar expression at the hands of hundreds of&lt;br /&gt;
different authors or writers. Therefore defenders&lt;br /&gt;
of literary property have never attempted to set&lt;br /&gt;
up the doctrine of &amp;#039;property in ideas&amp;#039; which&lt;br /&gt;
opponents of copyright are so fond of attacking.&lt;br /&gt;
They have never maintained that it is or ought to&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 288 (#346) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
288&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
be unlawful to use a thought uttered by one man&lt;br /&gt;
for the moral or mental culture of another man,&lt;br /&gt;
or of forbidding the reproduction, in one man&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
book or speech, of as many ideas of other men as&lt;br /&gt;
he can collect or re-cast to suit his purpose.&lt;br /&gt;
Authors or writers who do this a good deal, un-&lt;br /&gt;
doubtedly incur discredit by it with their fellows&lt;br /&gt;
and the general public. It greatly damages a&lt;br /&gt;
writer&amp;#039;s fame to be rightfully accused of want of&lt;br /&gt;
originality, or of imitation, or of getting materials&lt;br /&gt;
at second-hand. But no one has ever proposed to&lt;br /&gt;
punish or restrain this sort of misappropriation by&lt;br /&gt;
law. No one has ever contended for the infliction&lt;br /&gt;
on the purloiners of other men&amp;#039;s ideas of any&lt;br /&gt;
penalty but ridicule or disgrace, although their&lt;br /&gt;
name is legion and their depredations ruthless and&lt;br /&gt;
notorious; and yet a very large proportion of the&lt;br /&gt;
Pirates and their apologists expend all their&lt;br /&gt;
strength in showing that one man may lawfully&lt;br /&gt;
appropriate another man&amp;#039;s ideas for his own use or&lt;br /&gt;
behoof, or even present them to the world as the&lt;br /&gt;
product of his own brain,&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;What the champions of copyright, both national&lt;br /&gt;
and international, assail is, not the appropriation&lt;br /&gt;
of one man&amp;#039;s ideas for another man&amp;#039;s use and&lt;br /&gt;
behoof, but the sale of one man&amp;#039;s ideas and forms&lt;br /&gt;
of expression in open market by another man in com-&lt;br /&gt;
petition with the author. This is &amp;#039;piracy,&amp;#039; This&lt;br /&gt;
is what we ask to have stopped and punished by&lt;br /&gt;
law. We do not say to Pirates, You shall not take&lt;br /&gt;
the Blacks&amp;#039; Encyclopaedia to your home and pre-&lt;br /&gt;
pare articles and speeches or even books out of&lt;br /&gt;
its rich stores of information, and, if you are dis-&lt;br /&gt;
honest enough to do so, give them to the world as&lt;br /&gt;
your own, or absorb as much of the facts and&lt;br /&gt;
ideas as your mental powers will permit. What&lt;br /&gt;
we say is, You shall not, while denying the right of&lt;br /&gt;
property in it in the hands of the original author&lt;br /&gt;
or compiler, tseat it as property in your own hands,&lt;br /&gt;
and offer it for sale in competition with the man&lt;br /&gt;
whom you are plundering.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
■ *&lt;br /&gt;
DO ENGLISH PEOPLE BUY BOOKS?&lt;br /&gt;
THE theory that English people never buy&lt;br /&gt;
books has long been a commonplace with&lt;br /&gt;
writers of leading articles and press para-&lt;br /&gt;
graphs. It is one of those fine old truths which&lt;br /&gt;
are not to be questioned: it is taken as proved.&lt;br /&gt;
The undoubted fact that novels are published at&lt;br /&gt;
a price which prohibits their purchase, is held to&lt;br /&gt;
establish the theory, which is irrefutable from a&lt;br /&gt;
certain point of view&mdash;that naturally taken by one&lt;br /&gt;
who buys books from him who creates them.&lt;br /&gt;
Without doubt, while the prices of books were&lt;br /&gt;
high, and when the book club provided all the&lt;br /&gt;
new books, very few even of the richer households&lt;br /&gt;
bought books at all. The book clubs, however,&lt;br /&gt;
have nearly all vanished; their place has been&lt;br /&gt;
only partly, not altogether, taken by the Circulating&lt;br /&gt;
Libraries. The country has become very much&lt;br /&gt;
richer than it was a half century since; it has also&lt;br /&gt;
become much more populous: the education&lt;br /&gt;
of the people has been enormously developed, and&lt;br /&gt;
the taste for reading has grown with the education&lt;br /&gt;
of the people. Therefore it would seem as if the&lt;br /&gt;
circulating libraries alone would hardly suffice for&lt;br /&gt;
the wants of the reading public, In addition, the&lt;br /&gt;
last half century has witnessed the growth of the&lt;br /&gt;
colonial empire from a few hundred thousands to&lt;br /&gt;
something like twenty millions. And they have&lt;br /&gt;
no circulating libraries at all. Yet they read.&lt;br /&gt;
Let us, however, for the moment disregard the&lt;br /&gt;
colonial demand. What do we see at first sight?&lt;br /&gt;
Take, first, our own houses. Everybody knows the&lt;br /&gt;
house where the dining room contains a bookcase&lt;br /&gt;
filled with books which are never changed and&lt;br /&gt;
never taken down. Gibbon is there; Robertson is&lt;br /&gt;
there; probablyBlair&amp;#039;ssermons; HumeandSmollett;&lt;br /&gt;
a Gazetteer; an edition of the Spectator. Formerly,&lt;br /&gt;
that is to say, twenty years ago, or so, this book-&lt;br /&gt;
case contained all the books of the house. Now,&lt;br /&gt;
however, there are other shelves&mdash;a case in the&lt;br /&gt;
drawing room filled with poetry and pretty editions:&lt;br /&gt;
a bookcase in the school room, or breakfast room,&lt;br /&gt;
filled with modern and new books&mdash;there will you find&lt;br /&gt;
Rider Haggard, Stevenson, Lang, Black, Hardy,&lt;br /&gt;
Blackmore, the newest essayist, not to mention&lt;br /&gt;
Dickens, Thackeray, George Eliot, Collins, and&lt;br /&gt;
Reade. There you will find evidence that somebody&lt;br /&gt;
or other in the house not only knows contemporary&lt;br /&gt;
literature but buys it, and that plentifully, and with&lt;br /&gt;
no sparing hand,&lt;br /&gt;
Again, watch the bookstall at a London railway&lt;br /&gt;
station. The place is not a stall, it is a great shop&lt;br /&gt;
filled with new books. Here are all the newest&lt;br /&gt;
works, the biographies, the dozens of Series, the&lt;br /&gt;
novels, the essays&mdash;everything, Stand beside the&lt;br /&gt;
place for a quarter of an hour before the departure&lt;br /&gt;
of the express. Look at the people. They crowd&lt;br /&gt;
about the stall: they are all buying books. Con-&lt;br /&gt;
sider that this goes on every hour from morning&lt;br /&gt;
till night&mdash;for twelve hours, or thereabouts, the&lt;br /&gt;
people flock to this stall and buy books. Consider,&lt;br /&gt;
further, that there are a dozen such stations in&lt;br /&gt;
London, and that the same thing goes on at every&lt;br /&gt;
big town in the United Kingdom. Will you still&lt;br /&gt;
consider us a nation which does not buy books?&lt;br /&gt;
But&mdash;a point which seems to make against the&lt;br /&gt;
extension of the book trade&mdash;the country book-&lt;br /&gt;
sellers&amp;#039; shops have certainly decreased in import-&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 289 (#347) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
289&lt;br /&gt;
ance and in profits during the last half century.&lt;br /&gt;
That is quite true. The bookseller of the old&lt;br /&gt;
county town was a person of great weight and con-&lt;br /&gt;
sideration. He had down all the new books, the&lt;br /&gt;
clergy and the reading public of the place looked&lt;br /&gt;
upon his shop as a place where literary news could&lt;br /&gt;
be heard and the new books examined. But then&lt;br /&gt;
there was no other way of getting the literary news.&lt;br /&gt;
The country papers had none, the London literary&lt;br /&gt;
papers went but little out of London, the people&lt;br /&gt;
seldom went to town. They were therefore de-&lt;br /&gt;
pendent upon the local bookseller, who, as one who&lt;br /&gt;
studies his market, provided for his customers the&lt;br /&gt;
things which he knew they would take. Also, a&lt;br /&gt;
thing of the greatest importance, there was no dis-&lt;br /&gt;
count of threepence in the shilling, and the published&lt;br /&gt;
price was high. A bookseller who sold a book for&lt;br /&gt;
1 of. 6d. which he had purchased for 7*., managed&lt;br /&gt;
to do very well. He was a substantial person: on&lt;br /&gt;
the social ladder he ranked first among the trades-&lt;br /&gt;
men: he stood next to the solicitor and the&lt;br /&gt;
doctor. Now, he has to give a discount of three-&lt;br /&gt;
pence in the shilling. His half-guinea volume is&lt;br /&gt;
reduced to three and six, which he sells for two&lt;br /&gt;
and eight, and for which he pays two shillings.&lt;br /&gt;
Therefore, he is fain to sell, in addition to books,&lt;br /&gt;
stationery, photographs, albums, fancy things, and&lt;br /&gt;
perhaps toys. His customers are independent of&lt;br /&gt;
him; they learn easily from the reviews all that&lt;br /&gt;
goes on; they order their books from London, or&lt;br /&gt;
from the railway stall, and they desert the local shop.&lt;br /&gt;
The book trade, in fact, has increased a thousand-&lt;br /&gt;
fold, and yet the bookseller has decayed.&lt;br /&gt;
Consider, next, the publishers&amp;#039; lists. I have&lt;br /&gt;
before me the Athenaum, which contains, I sup-&lt;br /&gt;
pose, more book advertisements than any other&lt;br /&gt;
paper. This single number represents fourteen firms&lt;br /&gt;
of publishers, most, in fact, of what are called leading&lt;br /&gt;
publishers. It is by no means the best publishing&lt;br /&gt;
time of the year. Yet, leaving out the books which&lt;br /&gt;
are announced only, no price being affixed, we find&lt;br /&gt;
an astonishing activity. Of biographical works there&lt;br /&gt;
are 28, ranging in price from 2s. 6d. to &pound;5 55.; of&lt;br /&gt;
essays there are 29, namely, 9 at 2s. 6d., 3 at&lt;br /&gt;
3f. 6d., 3 at 5s., 7 at 6s., 1 at 7*., 1 at 7f. 6d, 1 at&lt;br /&gt;
9f., and 4 at iof. 6d. Of fiction there are some&lt;br /&gt;
90 works, counting new books and new editions,&lt;br /&gt;
viz., 17 at 3 if. 6d., 9 at 2 if., 1 at i7f., 24 at 6s.,&lt;br /&gt;
1 at i2f., 3 at 7f. 6d., 29 at 3f. 6d., 1 at sf., 4 at&lt;br /&gt;
2f. 6d., and two or three at 2f. We may pass over&lt;br /&gt;
art books, histories, and one or two books of&lt;br /&gt;
travel. If we look at this advertisememt sheet in&lt;br /&gt;
another three months, most of these books will be&lt;br /&gt;
changed for others. Now, if you please, for whom&lt;br /&gt;
are these books published? For the circulating&lt;br /&gt;
libraries? They may take all the three volume&lt;br /&gt;
novels. For whom are the other books issued?&lt;br /&gt;
For the general public. These advertisements&lt;br /&gt;
represent the sale of, at least, half a million&lt;br /&gt;
volumes; and, to repeat, the lists will be all changed&lt;br /&gt;
in three months&amp;#039; time. Is that, then, the whole&lt;br /&gt;
life&amp;#039;s duration of our modern literature? It is of&lt;br /&gt;
the great majority of books that are published.&lt;br /&gt;
We remark on the price of these books. The&lt;br /&gt;
favourite prices are 6s. and 3f. 6d. The books&lt;br /&gt;
most bought are novels either at that price, or&lt;br /&gt;
those in the cheaper form at 2f., which are not&lt;br /&gt;
generally advertised in the Athenaum. And the&lt;br /&gt;
novels which become popular retain their vitality&lt;br /&gt;
for many years. Not to speak of Scott, Dickens,&lt;br /&gt;
or Marryat, any popular novel of the last forty&lt;br /&gt;
years is popular still.&lt;br /&gt;
But these, remember, are only the advertisements&lt;br /&gt;
of a casual week. Consider, one after the other,&lt;br /&gt;
the general list of a great publisher, that long and&lt;br /&gt;
encyclopaedic document embracing all subjects, and&lt;br /&gt;
all authors, dead and living; think of the lists of the&lt;br /&gt;
religious publishing houses, which cater chiefly for the&lt;br /&gt;
uncultivated class, and administer doctrine disguised&lt;br /&gt;
as fiction; think of the immense lists of books by&lt;br /&gt;
the so-called popular houses, which issue cheap&lt;br /&gt;
literature. One would like to have an enumeration&lt;br /&gt;
and an analysis of all the books at this moment&lt;br /&gt;
offered to the British public by the publishers.&lt;br /&gt;
Certain it is that no shop could contain a tenth&lt;br /&gt;
portion. Yet they are in demand&mdash;else they would&lt;br /&gt;
be withdrawn from the list. For whom are these&lt;br /&gt;
thousands of books published, and year after year&lt;br /&gt;
reprinted? For this folk who never buy books.&lt;br /&gt;
In fact, a great change has come over us in this&lt;br /&gt;
as in every other respect. Increased ease in cir&lt;br /&gt;
cumstances with an increased taste for letters has&lt;br /&gt;
caused us to buy books as we never bought them&lt;br /&gt;
before. We are now buyers on a gigantic scale.&lt;br /&gt;
Every good book is caught up eagerly. There is&lt;br /&gt;
no longer the slightest foundation for the old bogie&lt;br /&gt;
of risk; there is no risk about a good book except&lt;br /&gt;
the risk of over-printing, which no prudent man will&lt;br /&gt;
incur; there are novelists, not by ones or twos, but&lt;br /&gt;
by the score, whose books are in demand unknown&lt;br /&gt;
even to such admirable writers as, say, Mrs. Gaskell,&lt;br /&gt;
of thirty years ago. The three volume novel has&lt;br /&gt;
its run as of old; I have not heard that it is&lt;br /&gt;
decreasing in demand; but when the cheap edition&lt;br /&gt;
of it comes out, if it is a favourite, it is bought by the&lt;br /&gt;
very people who have first read it from the library.&lt;br /&gt;
Whether we devote as large a proportion of our&lt;br /&gt;
expenditure to buying books as we should is another&lt;br /&gt;
question. The mind must be nourished as well&lt;br /&gt;
as the body; it requires continual reception of new&lt;br /&gt;
facts, new thoughts, new theories, new lights, new&lt;br /&gt;
arguments. It requires continually to be refreshed&lt;br /&gt;
by the exhibition of the old things. In an ordi-&lt;br /&gt;
nary middleclass household the wife spends ^400 a&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 290 (#348) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
290&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
year on her house ; the husband, ,&pound;75 a year on his&lt;br /&gt;
wine ; the family, jQi 50 a year on clothes ; the same&lt;br /&gt;
amount on travelling; there is also rent; there&lt;br /&gt;
are the hundred and fifty little things in which&lt;br /&gt;
money is wasted all day long. How much is spent&lt;br /&gt;
on books? Formerly, three guineas a year. That&lt;br /&gt;
was all. Only three guineas a year for the circu-&lt;br /&gt;
lating library and for books, nothing, except a&lt;br /&gt;
birthday present or two, and what the children&lt;br /&gt;
bought out of their pocket money. But as for any&lt;br /&gt;
idea that it is the duty of a man of culture to buy&lt;br /&gt;
his mental food as he buys his meat and bread, that&lt;br /&gt;
had not dawned upon their minds, nor has it yet,&lt;br /&gt;
though, for convenience sake, people have begun&lt;br /&gt;
to buy, and will, before long, buy yet more largely.&lt;br /&gt;
It will be now understood from these considera-&lt;br /&gt;
tions why we drew up certain questions and sub-&lt;br /&gt;
mitted them to certain well-known booksellers in&lt;br /&gt;
London; our best thanks are due for the courtesy&lt;br /&gt;
with which these questions have been answered.&lt;br /&gt;
They were not meant to be inquisitive or prying&lt;br /&gt;
questions, but general, and directed mainly to&lt;br /&gt;
finding an answer to the question at the head of this&lt;br /&gt;
paper. Had not the views already expressed been&lt;br /&gt;
confirmed, in the main, by these answers, they would&lt;br /&gt;
not have been advanced.&lt;br /&gt;
The following, therefore, is summarised from the&lt;br /&gt;
replies received. Those received from different&lt;br /&gt;
houses are put together so as to present a con-&lt;br /&gt;
tinuous opinion.&lt;br /&gt;
Every well-educated Englishman buys some&lt;br /&gt;
books. In every house will be found shelves filled&lt;br /&gt;
with books, chiefly new, and in most houses there is&lt;br /&gt;
a library, or study, or school room. Students of all&lt;br /&gt;
kinds have to buy their text books&mdash;a large trade&lt;br /&gt;
ir| itself; most professional men have a taste for&lt;br /&gt;
reading, and are frequently very good buyers.&lt;br /&gt;
Schoolboys, besides having to buy school books,&lt;br /&gt;
and young clerks, are great buyers of the cheap&lt;br /&gt;
reprints of Lytton, Ainsworth, Dickens, Jules Verne,&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;amp;c, which are sold at 4^1. a copy. Ladies are&lt;br /&gt;
not, as a rule, good book buyers, except of books&lt;br /&gt;
for children, and for household purposes; when&lt;br /&gt;
they do buy, it is the two shilling novel. Country&lt;br /&gt;
people and visitors buy a great many books. City&lt;br /&gt;
men are often large and constant buyers. Some&lt;br /&gt;
have their favourite authors, and buy everything&lt;br /&gt;
that bears the name. The ordinary middle-class&lt;br /&gt;
Englishman, he who lives by his shop, does not, as&lt;br /&gt;
a rule, buy or read books at all. His daily paper&lt;br /&gt;
is sufficient for him. Yet he will, on occasion, buy&lt;br /&gt;
something that strikes his imagination, or that is&lt;br /&gt;
much talked about.&lt;br /&gt;
Opinions differ as to the best price for selling a&lt;br /&gt;
novel. One, for instance, finds that the price of&lt;br /&gt;
6s. is paid as readily as that of 35. 6d. Another&lt;br /&gt;
says that the best way to treat an author is to&lt;br /&gt;
publish him in uniform binding at 3s. 6d. In the&lt;br /&gt;
case of a really good and lasting work it seems&lt;br /&gt;
best to have several editions at 6.?., at 3s. 6d., and&lt;br /&gt;
at 2s. The 6d. books have an enormous sale.&lt;br /&gt;
They are generally editions of books whose copy-&lt;br /&gt;
right is lapsed. There is, therefore, no author to be&lt;br /&gt;
considered. If 100,000 copies go off, the publisher&lt;br /&gt;
gets id. a copy, and the bookseller id., and so a&lt;br /&gt;
handsome profit is realised.&lt;br /&gt;
There is always a great demand for old works of&lt;br /&gt;
fiction. Dickens, Thackeray, George Eliot, Scott,&lt;br /&gt;
Marryat, Charles Kingsley, and Wilkie Collins,&lt;br /&gt;
still continue in greater popularity than any living&lt;br /&gt;
writers. The bookseller suffers the living writers&lt;br /&gt;
to drop out of his shelves, but always keeps them&lt;br /&gt;
well stocked with these dead writers.&lt;br /&gt;
Books of travel very quickly die when the first&lt;br /&gt;
curiosity is satisfied. Yet there are a few excep-&lt;br /&gt;
tions. Darwin&amp;#039;s &amp;quot;Voyage of the Beagle,&amp;quot; the&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Voyage of the Sunbeam,&amp;quot; Waterton&amp;#039;s Travels,&lt;br /&gt;
Cook s Voyages, are always in steady demand.&lt;br /&gt;
Very few people buy new poetry. Yet for&lt;br /&gt;
Tennyson, Browning, Swinburne, Edwin Arnold,&lt;br /&gt;
Mathew Arnold, and Longfellow there is always a&lt;br /&gt;
steady demand.&lt;br /&gt;
As regards essays: these vary with the subjects.&lt;br /&gt;
For steady demand we may mention John Morley&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
Essays, Charles Lamb, Lubbock&amp;#039;s &amp;quot;Pleasures of&lt;br /&gt;
Life,&amp;quot; Carlyle, &amp;amp;c, while for sudden popularity&lt;br /&gt;
may be cited Augustine Birrell and Jerome.&lt;br /&gt;
Books of biography possess either a wide interest&lt;br /&gt;
soon satisfied, as in the life of a man recently dead,&lt;br /&gt;
or an abiding interest as is shown in the steady&lt;br /&gt;
demand for the many series now before the world.&lt;br /&gt;
Books of history are always in demand. The&lt;br /&gt;
most popular are Macaulay, Green, and Froude.&lt;br /&gt;
The &amp;quot; Story of the Nations &amp;quot; series is very popular.&lt;br /&gt;
The most popular American authors are, taking&lt;br /&gt;
them in order of demand&mdash;Mark Twain, Bret&lt;br /&gt;
Harte. Marion Crawford (if he is to be reckoned&lt;br /&gt;
an American), and Howells, Henry James, Holmes,&lt;br /&gt;
Emerson.&lt;br /&gt;
Foreign books do not compare in popularity&lt;br /&gt;
with native productions. Daudet, Georges Ohnet,&lt;br /&gt;
Boisgobey, Gaboriau, Dumas, Eugene Sue, Jules&lt;br /&gt;
Verne, are largely asked for.&lt;br /&gt;
The discount of $d. in the is. has been much&lt;br /&gt;
discussed by the trade. A Booksellers&amp;#039; Associa-&lt;br /&gt;
tion has been formed to consider this among other&lt;br /&gt;
matters. They have come to the conclusion that&lt;br /&gt;
the discount must be retained, but that it must not&lt;br /&gt;
be increased.&lt;br /&gt;
As regards the extent of the colonial trade, no&lt;br /&gt;
statistics have been furnished, and perhaps one&lt;br /&gt;
cannot expect to arrive at any. But one book-&lt;br /&gt;
seller pertinently points out that many houses are&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 291 (#349) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
291&lt;br /&gt;
engaged in nothing else but the export of books, a&lt;br /&gt;
fact which proves that the trade is very great.&lt;br /&gt;
Enough has been adduced to prove that it can&lt;br /&gt;
no longer be charged against us that we do not&lt;br /&gt;
buy books. On the contrary, we buy vast quan-&lt;br /&gt;
tities. Whether we buy as many as we ought,&lt;br /&gt;
considering the number we read, is another matter.&lt;br /&gt;
In our next number we may perhaps, by some&lt;br /&gt;
analysis of publishers&amp;#039; lists, arrive at a closer&lt;br /&gt;
estimate of the vast national interest of what is&lt;br /&gt;
familiarly called the Trade.&lt;br /&gt;
UN DEBUT DANS LA VlE.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;OU are now, Martha Londers,&amp;quot; said the&lt;br /&gt;
Matron of the Orphanage, &amp;quot;about to&lt;br /&gt;
enter upon the duties and responsibilities&lt;br /&gt;
of life. Your career begins to-day. It depends&lt;br /&gt;
upon yourself where it ends. It may be that you&lt;br /&gt;
will rise to be housekeeper in a mansion, or even&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;such things have happened&mdash;to be Matron of an&lt;br /&gt;
Institution.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Martha Londers blushed; that is to say, a&lt;br /&gt;
naturally rosy face .became fiery red, or even, in&lt;br /&gt;
spots, purple; then she smiled&mdash;with breadth;&lt;br /&gt;
then her eyes became humid, and a big tear, not&lt;br /&gt;
of sorrow, but of joyful, emotional hope, swam&lt;br /&gt;
gently over the amplitude of her cheek; and her&lt;br /&gt;
nose, naturally broad, widened and glistenedi The&lt;br /&gt;
occasion was great; the emotion of Martha was&lt;br /&gt;
natural; for the first time in her life she was going&lt;br /&gt;
to leave the retreat of the Orphanage, and to enter&lt;br /&gt;
upon the world. All was before her: she was&lt;br /&gt;
seventeen years of age, and she was beginning her&lt;br /&gt;
career as assistant housemaid. What then? Many&lt;br /&gt;
a field marshal has begun as a common soldier:&lt;br /&gt;
many an archbishop has risen from the plough.&lt;br /&gt;
To have one foot upon the ladder, even it be the&lt;br /&gt;
lowest rung, is something. Martha Londers had&lt;br /&gt;
two&mdash;solid and substantial feet they were&mdash;and she&lt;br /&gt;
felt as if she must rise.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;You must be ambitious,&amp;quot; continued the&lt;br /&gt;
Matron. &amp;quot;Remember that your present wages&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
they will be ten pounds at first&amp;quot;&mdash;Martha gasped&lt;br /&gt;
and choked&mdash;&amp;quot; are only a beginning to one who&lt;br /&gt;
is ambitious. She who means to rise must show&lt;br /&gt;
her ambition by her work. She must be active,&lt;br /&gt;
early rising&mdash;I think I have detected in you, Martha,&lt;br /&gt;
a tendency to an inclination to love your bed&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
thorough and zealous. Let all that you do be well&lt;br /&gt;
done, thoroughly done&mdash;done in earnest&mdash;done as&lt;br /&gt;
if you meant it to be so well done that not even&lt;br /&gt;
the most scrupulous housewife could detect a&lt;br /&gt;
fault With these maxims to guide you, Martha&lt;br /&gt;
Londers, I may safely leave you. To some girls I&lt;br /&gt;
should add a warning about beauty being only&lt;br /&gt;
skin deep,&amp;quot;&mdash;where, as in Martha&amp;#039;s case, it is deeper&lt;br /&gt;
than that, it sinks below the surface and becomes&lt;br /&gt;
invisible.&mdash;&amp;quot;To you I would only say that temp-&lt;br /&gt;
tation to all women, beautiful or otherwise, fre-&lt;br /&gt;
quently assumes the shape of Man. Beware,&lt;br /&gt;
therefore.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;He will be home,&amp;quot; said the housemaid, &amp;quot;to&lt;br /&gt;
morrow morning. The Master&amp;#039;s study has been&lt;br /&gt;
left to the last. You can do it this morning,&lt;br /&gt;
Martha. As he won&amp;#039;t have it touched while he is at&lt;br /&gt;
home, make a good job of it&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
It was eight o&amp;#039;clock in the morning. The day&lt;br /&gt;
was all before her. Martha felt that her work&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
she had only been- in the house two days&mdash;was&lt;br /&gt;
already appreciated. She had been kindly allowed&lt;br /&gt;
to scrub the greater part of the house from garret&lt;br /&gt;
to cellar, and she was now entrusted with the&lt;br /&gt;
important mission of cleaning up the Master&amp;#039;s study.&lt;br /&gt;
Everybody in the collecting line knows the&lt;br /&gt;
name of that Master. No man had a safer judg-&lt;br /&gt;
ment about Aldines and Elzevirs; his collection of&lt;br /&gt;
Elizabethan poets was almost complete; he knew&lt;br /&gt;
the prices of books better than Mr. Bain himself;&lt;br /&gt;
and he could talk by the hour of the prices which&lt;br /&gt;
books had fetched. Then for bindings, he knew&lt;br /&gt;
the work of everyone, Maioli, Grolier, Eve, Derome&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;all&mdash;and he possessed specimens which were the&lt;br /&gt;
envy of all his brother collectors. Again, he had&lt;br /&gt;
books which belonged to the library of Marie&lt;br /&gt;
Antoinette, of Madame Du Barry, Madame de&lt;br /&gt;
Pompadour, and others whose books are valuable&lt;br /&gt;
for their bindings and their rarity. In fine, the&lt;br /&gt;
chase of books was the chief occupation of his life.&lt;br /&gt;
What sayeth &amp;quot;A. L&amp;quot; in his book of the Library?&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Pour tout plaisir que Ton goute icy-bas&lt;br /&gt;
La Grace a Dieu. Mieulx vaut, sans altercas,&lt;br /&gt;
Chasser bouquin. Nul mat n&amp;#039;en peult s&amp;#039;eh suivre.&lt;br /&gt;
Or sus au livre; il est le grand appas.&lt;br /&gt;
Clair est le ciel. Amis, qui veult me suivre&lt;br /&gt;
En bouquinant?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
He was a man&mdash;say, rather, a collector&mdash;of&lt;br /&gt;
catholic tastes, not bounded by books alone&lt;br /&gt;
though his real strength lay in books. He had,&lt;br /&gt;
for instance, on a great study table beside the&lt;br /&gt;
catalogues which formed his library of reference,&lt;br /&gt;
trays of valuable coins; he had Things&mdash;he called&lt;br /&gt;
them Things&mdash;in bronze, Things in brass, Things in&lt;br /&gt;
silver; panels lay about with wood carvings upon&lt;br /&gt;
them&mdash;precious carvings picked up at sales, in&lt;br /&gt;
brie h. brae shops, Things from city churches which&lt;br /&gt;
they were pulling down, Things from Egypt, Things&lt;br /&gt;
from Etruscan tombs, Things from Phoenicia, Things&lt;br /&gt;
from Tunis, Things from Spain, Things ancient,&lt;br /&gt;
Things mediaeval. The study, in short, a large and&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 292 (#350) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
292&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
handsome room on the first floor of a big house&lt;br /&gt;
in Fitzjohn&amp;#039;s Avenue, was crammed and crowded&lt;br /&gt;
with old and curious Things.&lt;br /&gt;
And Martha Londers, bursting with impatience&lt;br /&gt;
to show her zeal, was turned into this room to clean&lt;br /&gt;
it up.&lt;br /&gt;
It was the last day of the Master&amp;#039;s summer&lt;br /&gt;
holiday. He had spent it wholly among the&lt;br /&gt;
Italian shops. It was never too hot for him, so&lt;br /&gt;
long as he could sit among the Things. Rome&lt;br /&gt;
in August was as pleasant as Rome in April,&lt;br /&gt;
provided there were Things to look at. Where&lt;br /&gt;
are there no Things in Italy&mdash;Land of Things?&lt;br /&gt;
It was over, and he was on his way home. And&lt;br /&gt;
Martha Londers was in his study.&lt;br /&gt;
She had the house all to herself, because the&lt;br /&gt;
other servants went out for a holiday and left&lt;br /&gt;
her alone with her work. Alone? No, not alone.&lt;br /&gt;
There sat on a corner of the highest shelf, invisible&lt;br /&gt;
to Martha, a Creature which grinned and mocked&lt;br /&gt;
and laughed, and held its sides and rolled about&lt;br /&gt;
with laughing. But not aloud&mdash;so that Martha&lt;br /&gt;
neither heard nor saw, but went on with her work.&lt;br /&gt;
Thorough work; zealous work; work in which&lt;br /&gt;
not the most scrupulous housewife could find the&lt;br /&gt;
least fault or omission. Work methodical and&lt;br /&gt;
complete. Observe that Martha had never before&lt;br /&gt;
seen a study or a library. There were books for&lt;br /&gt;
the girls at the Orphanage ; they were distributed&lt;br /&gt;
for Sunday reading between the three services;&lt;br /&gt;
but a library she had never before seen.&lt;br /&gt;
First she surveyed the whole; then she took&lt;br /&gt;
down a book and found that it was dusty on the&lt;br /&gt;
top, and that the shelf behind was very dusty.&lt;br /&gt;
Then she saw that many of the books presented a&lt;br /&gt;
faded and careworn exterior which she thought she&lt;br /&gt;
could improve; and she observed with concern that a&lt;br /&gt;
great quantity of the Things wanted cleaning badly.&lt;br /&gt;
She went out and returned bearing a mop, a&lt;br /&gt;
bucket of warm water, some soap, a scrubbing-&lt;br /&gt;
brush, a knife for scraping, some plate powder, and&lt;br /&gt;
other ingredients, with the help of which she pur-&lt;br /&gt;
posed to pass a useful and a pleasant time.&lt;br /&gt;
As she was alone in the house she sang over her&lt;br /&gt;
work. At the Orphanage the girls only sang&lt;br /&gt;
hymns. Martha, therefore, in a contented mur-&lt;br /&gt;
murous kind of croon, while she scrubbed with zeal,&lt;br /&gt;
beguiled the time with &amp;quot;Lead, kindly Light.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
She first removed the books from the top shelf;&lt;br /&gt;
then, mounted on a chair, she sluiced that shelf&lt;br /&gt;
with water and scrubbed it with soap, wiping it dry&lt;br /&gt;
with a towel. It was beautifully clean when she&lt;br /&gt;
finished it. No one would blame her, of course,&lt;br /&gt;
because the water dripped through upon the books&lt;br /&gt;
below, lodged and lurked between their bindings,&lt;br /&gt;
and splashed their backs. She took out those of&lt;br /&gt;
the second row, wiped them dry with her towel&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
everybody knows how a book bound in Russia&lt;br /&gt;
leather or Morocco is improved by a splash of&lt;br /&gt;
water and a good rub with a damp towel&mdash;and&lt;br /&gt;
proceeded to sluice and scrub the boards; and so&lt;br /&gt;
on until the morning was spent&mdash;the shelves&lt;br /&gt;
completely cleaned, and the books, one and all,&lt;br /&gt;
beautified for ever with her towel.&lt;br /&gt;
Martha, well content so far, now retired to the&lt;br /&gt;
kitchen and made a hearty meal off the cold&lt;br /&gt;
mutton and potatoes provided for her by the cook&lt;br /&gt;
before she left the house. She then mounted the&lt;br /&gt;
stairs once more and began the second part of her&lt;br /&gt;
work, singing again; but she changed her tune&lt;br /&gt;
and now encouraged herself with &amp;quot;Art thou weary?&lt;br /&gt;
art thou languid?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
All day long the Creature who sat on the highest&lt;br /&gt;
shelf laughed and rolled about with laughing.&lt;br /&gt;
But he was invisible to Martha.&lt;br /&gt;
When, about seven in the evening, she com-&lt;br /&gt;
pleted her job, she had scraped and polished the&lt;br /&gt;
bronzes, the coins&mdash;for which she used a file&mdash;and&lt;br /&gt;
the old silver; she had &amp;quot;restored&amp;quot; the old leather&lt;br /&gt;
bindings with a material commonly used for&lt;br /&gt;
saddles; she had cleaned and wiped the books;&lt;br /&gt;
some, though very old, had never been cut&mdash;this&lt;br /&gt;
omission she repaired; others, mostly pamphlets,&lt;br /&gt;
which had ragged edges, she cut even and neat&lt;br /&gt;
with a pair of scissors; the wood carvings she had&lt;br /&gt;
scraped when that process seemed necessary, and&lt;br /&gt;
in all cases had scrubbed so that the panels now&lt;br /&gt;
looked really beautiful. No one would notice&lt;br /&gt;
and, indeed, it could not matter, that a few bits&lt;br /&gt;
had come off&mdash;a grape or two, a flower, a flourish,&lt;br /&gt;
the round knob of a cherub&amp;#039;s nose. Finally, the&lt;br /&gt;
Things looked now so very, very much better for&lt;br /&gt;
their thorough repair and so different from their&lt;br /&gt;
former grimy condition that Martha&amp;#039;s honest heart&lt;br /&gt;
swelled with pride and pleasure. What would the&lt;br /&gt;
Master say when he returned? He would look&lt;br /&gt;
about him with surprised satisfaction; he would&lt;br /&gt;
ask what new hand had done this: he would be&lt;br /&gt;
told that it was the hand of the new under house-&lt;br /&gt;
maid, Martha Londers; and he would nod his head,&lt;br /&gt;
promising himself to keep his eye upon Martha.&lt;br /&gt;
Perhaps he would send for her to express his satis-&lt;br /&gt;
faction and his approbation. When Martha, on her&lt;br /&gt;
knees that night, made the usual confession of her&lt;br /&gt;
sins, she could not help&mdash;it was not in human&lt;br /&gt;
nature&mdash;feeling that for once the good deeds&lt;br /&gt;
outweighed the bad, and left a balance to carry&lt;br /&gt;
forward. &amp;#039;Twas a Papistical thought, but she&lt;br /&gt;
knew not the errors of the Roman Church, and&lt;br /&gt;
may be excused.&lt;br /&gt;
The Master, who had been travelling all night,&lt;br /&gt;
arrived about seven o&amp;#039;clock. Martha observed&lt;br /&gt;
him with curiosity. He was an elderly mm,&lt;br /&gt;
somewhere in the fifties or perhaps in the early&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 293 (#351) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
293&lt;br /&gt;
sixties; he was red-faced and of a full habit, but&lt;br /&gt;
he moved with activity&mdash;a collector is always&lt;br /&gt;
active; sometimes, to get before other collectors,&lt;br /&gt;
he must even run. He entered the house.&lt;br /&gt;
Martha was dusting the stairs and dropped a&lt;br /&gt;
curtsey which he noticed with a nod. It will be a&lt;br /&gt;
nod and a smile to-morrow, Martha thought. He&lt;br /&gt;
went up stairs&mdash;but no&mdash;not yet&mdash;not into the&lt;br /&gt;
study. He first had a change in his bed room,&lt;br /&gt;
and then he descended to the dining room and&lt;br /&gt;
took breakfast and the morning paper; he then,&lt;br /&gt;
being fatigued with his night&amp;#039;s travelling, fell asleep&lt;br /&gt;
in his easy chair and so continued until noon or&lt;br /&gt;
thereabouts.&lt;br /&gt;
When he awoke he rose, yawned loudly, and&lt;br /&gt;
walked to the door. Martha was dusting the&lt;br /&gt;
hall clock. Now, at last, he was going into his&lt;br /&gt;
own study.&lt;br /&gt;
He was.&lt;br /&gt;
As he went up the stairs Martha in her agitation&lt;br /&gt;
nearly slipped off the chair on which she was&lt;br /&gt;
standing. She stopped her dusting, and steadied&lt;br /&gt;
herself to listen. Surely, surely he would notice&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
he would not fail to notice&mdash;the thoroughness of the&lt;br /&gt;
cleaning, the zeal of the cleaner, the completeness&lt;br /&gt;
of the job. He must notice it; he must ask who&lt;br /&gt;
did it; he must be ready to-morrow with a smile&lt;br /&gt;
of appreciation.&lt;br /&gt;
What was that? The house trembled from&lt;br /&gt;
rafter ridge to basement; the walls rocked to and&lt;br /&gt;
fro; the glass on the side-board vibrated musically&lt;br /&gt;
but strangely; the pictures rocked and swung;&lt;br /&gt;
and Martha&amp;#039;s heart stood quite still.&lt;br /&gt;
A roar&mdash;a long prolonged roar j another roar;&lt;br /&gt;
a third, louder and more terrifying. Martha&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
cheek turned white and her knees trembled&lt;br /&gt;
beneath her as she stood upon the chair. Then a&lt;br /&gt;
howl&mdash;a prolonged howl as of a wild beast in&lt;br /&gt;
agony&mdash;and then the ringing of the bell&mdash;the study&lt;br /&gt;
bell, as if all the bells in the whole house were&lt;br /&gt;
ringing at once. Then a hasty footstep upon the&lt;br /&gt;
landing, and the Master&amp;#039;s head, purple, his eyes&lt;br /&gt;
standing out, his arms outstretched, his fists&lt;br /&gt;
clenched, showed over the balustrade, while he&lt;br /&gt;
cursed and swore with such language as Martha&lt;br /&gt;
had never before heard even from the lowest&lt;br /&gt;
court, while the Orphans took their walks abroad.&lt;br /&gt;
Her head reeled; she fell from the chair headlong&lt;br /&gt;
and lay upon the floor.&lt;br /&gt;
The housekeeper rushed up the stairs. &amp;quot;Good&lt;br /&gt;
Lord !&amp;quot; she cried, &amp;quot;what&amp;#039;s the matter?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
The Master seized her by the arm and dragged&lt;br /&gt;
her into the study. Now reduced to speechlessness,&lt;br /&gt;
save for half articulate interjections which betrayed&lt;br /&gt;
his emotion, he pointed to the trays of coins, to&lt;br /&gt;
the bronzes, to the old silver, to the books&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
to the Things. The woman, who knew what&lt;br /&gt;
Things meant, gazed in stupefaction. The Master&lt;br /&gt;
roared again. He could now do nothing but&lt;br /&gt;
roar.&lt;br /&gt;
Downstairs, in the hall, Martha came to herself&lt;br /&gt;
and sat up sick with fright. What was the&lt;br /&gt;
matter?&lt;br /&gt;
The other servants were gathered at the foot of&lt;br /&gt;
the stairs listening. Presently, the roaring died&lt;br /&gt;
away, and the voice of feminine weeping and&lt;br /&gt;
lamentation, mixed with masculine thunderous&lt;br /&gt;
rumblings, succeeded.&lt;br /&gt;
Still the housekeeper came not down, and still&lt;br /&gt;
they listened awestruck by the unknown disaster.&lt;br /&gt;
No one took any notice of Martha, though she had&lt;br /&gt;
got a lump as big as an egg at the back of her&lt;br /&gt;
head by her fall, and though she was white with&lt;br /&gt;
terror. For now she understood, somehow or&lt;br /&gt;
other, that the trouble overhead was connected&lt;br /&gt;
with herself.&lt;br /&gt;
At last, the housekeeper came down, her eyes&lt;br /&gt;
red with tears.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Martha,&amp;quot; she said, with an attempt at calmness,&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;go upstairs and pack your box. Not another&lt;br /&gt;
hour shall you stay. Go! You shall have your&lt;br /&gt;
month&amp;#039;s wages. Go back to your Orphanage.&lt;br /&gt;
Tell them that sent you out that you&amp;#039;re only fit to&lt;br /&gt;
scrub the floors of your Asylum. Go! She&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
ruined,&amp;quot; the housekeeper explained, &amp;quot;the whole&lt;br /&gt;
of the Master&amp;#039;s collections&mdash;the finest collections&lt;br /&gt;
in London. Ruined and spoiled them all, she&lt;br /&gt;
has. That&amp;#039;s all. Nothing more. Books and&lt;br /&gt;
coins, and old silver and all. Go, I say, for fear&lt;br /&gt;
I take and slap you. Ruined them all. The&lt;br /&gt;
work of the Master&amp;#039;s life ruined, and in a single&lt;br /&gt;
day by a . . by a . . by a Drab.&amp;quot; Martha&lt;br /&gt;
screamed and fled. &amp;quot;Oh! it&amp;#039;s too much&mdash;it&amp;#039;s too&lt;br /&gt;
much! Poor dear gentleman! He&amp;#039;s quite broken&lt;br /&gt;
hearted. He can never, never get over it. He&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
quieted a bit, at last, and he&amp;#039;s sittin&amp;#039; on the floor&lt;br /&gt;
now, with his ruined collections round him.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
This was Martha Londers&amp;#039; entrance upon her&lt;br /&gt;
Career. This was the lamentable fashion in which&lt;br /&gt;
she returned to the Matron that same day,&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
THE SIGNED ARTICLE.&lt;br /&gt;
THE proposal of Mr, Atkinson to compel the&lt;br /&gt;
writers of editorial articles to sigh what&lt;br /&gt;
they write has not led to the discussion&lt;br /&gt;
one might have expected. But Mr. George&lt;br /&gt;
Augustus Sala, in his &amp;quot;Echoes of the Week,&amp;quot; had&lt;br /&gt;
some very interesting remarks on the merits and&lt;br /&gt;
demerits of the signed article. He says, &amp;quot;I have&lt;br /&gt;
always been a strenuous advocate of the anony-&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 294 (#352) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
294&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
mous in journalism so far as leading articles are&lt;br /&gt;
concerned.&amp;quot; Few people are better qualified to&lt;br /&gt;
speak with the authority of so experienced a&lt;br /&gt;
journalist as Mr. Sala. If anything should be&lt;br /&gt;
anonymous surely it is the leading article, which is&lt;br /&gt;
supposed to be the expression of the opinion of the&lt;br /&gt;
whole staff of a paper or party rather than of an&lt;br /&gt;
individual. Nevertheless there seems to be a&lt;br /&gt;
tendency now in favour of signed articles, other&lt;br /&gt;
than editorials in the weeklies, for instance; and&lt;br /&gt;
the monthly reviews are certainly more read than&lt;br /&gt;
the stale confections of the Quarterly and Edin-&lt;br /&gt;
burgh, which, if people ever read at all, they pay&lt;br /&gt;
little heed to. True, there is a pleasant antiquarian&lt;br /&gt;
flavour about the notorious reviews on Keats,&lt;br /&gt;
Byron, Thackeray, Tennyson, and the Brontes.&lt;br /&gt;
They are relics of the haute ecole of scurrility&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
that scurrility which, though like everything else,&lt;br /&gt;
as we are told, is in its decadence, is found not&lt;br /&gt;
in the new journalism^ but in the newest, the&lt;br /&gt;
brand-new journalism. While endorsing the&lt;br /&gt;
opinions of Mr. Sala, it is impossible to agree with&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. W. H. Smith, that &amp;quot; the liberty of the press,&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
with rare exceptions, is far from being abused. The&lt;br /&gt;
most disgusting personalities about eminent men&lt;br /&gt;
are read every day with relish by thousands. We&lt;br /&gt;
hear what an eminent poet eats for breakfast, what&lt;br /&gt;
a politician drinks for dinner, the colour of the hair&lt;br /&gt;
of the eldest daughter of an eminent painter, and&lt;br /&gt;
the details of an internal disease that a well-&lt;br /&gt;
known doctor is suffering from. If this is toler-&lt;br /&gt;
ated would we be any better by knowing who the&lt;br /&gt;
purveyor of such small talk was? What middle-&lt;br /&gt;
man of journalism is responsible for jottings from&lt;br /&gt;
the area, nursery, and servants&amp;#039; hall?&lt;br /&gt;
No, far better to let him or her remain&lt;br /&gt;
anonymous. Again, the question of reviewing&lt;br /&gt;
books is an insurmountable objection to signed&lt;br /&gt;
articles. Some books are bad, and some we do&lt;br /&gt;
not like. A reviewer would be plunged into an&lt;br /&gt;
impossible correspondence, and the editor would&lt;br /&gt;
come in for his share if a review were signed.&lt;br /&gt;
Why review books at all? is the question some&lt;br /&gt;
people ask; but authors, especially young authors,&lt;br /&gt;
like other human beings, are vain, and prefer to&lt;br /&gt;
have their works attacked than not noticed at all.&lt;br /&gt;
Anonymity in an article on some general&lt;br /&gt;
question by an unknown writer, gives that article&lt;br /&gt;
a value it might not otherwise possess. It is a&lt;br /&gt;
distinct blow to learn that some fine piece&lt;br /&gt;
of criticism is not by a Pater or Saintsbury, or&lt;br /&gt;
an Andrew Lang, but the first effort of a Mr.&lt;br /&gt;
Snook, who has just left the University. Then,&lt;br /&gt;
too, there are many really important things a&lt;br /&gt;
journalist might say (personality and scurrility&lt;br /&gt;
barred) that he could not and would not care to&lt;br /&gt;
say if the article were signed. That is why the&lt;br /&gt;
Saturday Review contains so much the best&lt;br /&gt;
reading in the whole of any of the weeklies. The&lt;br /&gt;
signed article should be left to the monthly&lt;br /&gt;
reviews, where we can find out what Mr.&lt;br /&gt;
Gladstone has been reading, and what Mr. Parnell&lt;br /&gt;
is thinking of. This, we believe, is the public point&lt;br /&gt;
of view. Many eminent writers take the other side&lt;br /&gt;
of the question; but in a daily morning paper, at any&lt;br /&gt;
rate, the only signed contributions should be&lt;br /&gt;
Reuter&amp;#039;s telegrams and the advertisements, so&lt;br /&gt;
that false news and false witness may be traced to&lt;br /&gt;
their original source. Perhaps the most offensive&lt;br /&gt;
type of the brand-new journalism which is always&lt;br /&gt;
anonymous, is art criticism. Like science, art&lt;br /&gt;
requires a thorough expert, and while anyone is&lt;br /&gt;
at liberty to dislike this or that painting, no one&lt;br /&gt;
should indulge in personal abuse and offensive&lt;br /&gt;
invective of the painter himself.&lt;br /&gt;
In all journalism, where some qualification as&lt;br /&gt;
well as opinion is requisite, it is as well that a name&lt;br /&gt;
should appear; to use Mr. Atkinson&amp;#039;s words, &amp;quot;so&lt;br /&gt;
that the public may know in each case how much&lt;br /&gt;
or how little attention is due to each article.&amp;#039;&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
F.&lt;br /&gt;
[This is one side of the question. Perhaps&lt;br /&gt;
some readers might like to add, briefly, their views.&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;Editor.]&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
IN GRUB STREET.&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;&raquo;&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
TH R proprietors of Answers are certainly the&lt;br /&gt;
most generous patrons of literature. They&lt;br /&gt;
have forwarded j&pound;i,ooo, I am told, to the&lt;br /&gt;
widow of a man who was killed on the railway,&lt;br /&gt;
because he had in his possession a copy of their&lt;br /&gt;
entertaining periodical when he met his death.&lt;br /&gt;
The advertisement was certainly a splendid one.&lt;br /&gt;
The widow of any gentleman found dead with a&lt;br /&gt;
copy of the Author on his person, will receive&lt;br /&gt;
either a thousand copies of the current number,&lt;br /&gt;
or a free copy for life. This generosity should&lt;br /&gt;
be encouraged in all grades of journalism and&lt;br /&gt;
letters. The Author, though only costing sixpence,&lt;br /&gt;
is worth quite a guinea a number.&lt;br /&gt;
There are many authors who will not sympathise&lt;br /&gt;
with Ouida&amp;#039;s complaint in the Titnes, and who&lt;br /&gt;
would have considered it rather a compliment than&lt;br /&gt;
otherwise to have their nom de plume utilised in&lt;br /&gt;
the interests of commerce. It was an act, however,&lt;br /&gt;
of flagrant literary piracy, and let us hope that the&lt;br /&gt;
company will be courteous enough to find some&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 295 (#353) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
295&lt;br /&gt;
no less musical and attractive sobriquet as that&lt;br /&gt;
which at present belongs to a distinguished&lt;br /&gt;
authoress. Shakespeare&amp;#039;s creations have been&lt;br /&gt;
used to advertise soap and pills, so that Ouida&lt;br /&gt;
is certainly in excellent company.&lt;br /&gt;
There is a &amp;quot;melancholy and altogether pathetic&lt;br /&gt;
interest&amp;quot; attaching to the last story of Mr.&lt;br /&gt;
Ignatius Donelly&amp;#039;s Great Cryptogam, in which a&lt;br /&gt;
Daniel indeed came to judgment. An American&lt;br /&gt;
farmer, according to Black and White, had pur-&lt;br /&gt;
chased his two volumes under the impression&lt;br /&gt;
that Shakespeare would be exposed; when, how-&lt;br /&gt;
ever, the tallyman came round for payment he&lt;br /&gt;
professed himself unconvinced, and returned the&lt;br /&gt;
books. A law suit followed, and the learned&lt;br /&gt;
judge, who had something of an Arabian caliph in&lt;br /&gt;
him, decided that the farmer would have to disprove&lt;br /&gt;
the cryptogam before he would be exempt from pay-&lt;br /&gt;
ment. Had it gone the other way, a very dangerous&lt;br /&gt;
precedent would have been created. For, on the&lt;br /&gt;
same principle, we might refuse to pay booksellers&lt;br /&gt;
who supplied us with dull or disappointing works.&lt;br /&gt;
The biography of John Wesley, by J. H. Overton&lt;br /&gt;
(Methuen and Co.), is one of the very best of the&lt;br /&gt;
many lives that have been written, and shows the&lt;br /&gt;
great preacher in quite a new light. The compli-&lt;br /&gt;
ments that are being paid by one sect of Christians&lt;br /&gt;
to another now-a-days are very charming. At the&lt;br /&gt;
same time it appears strange for the press, com-&lt;br /&gt;
menting on the Wesley centenary, to say that&lt;br /&gt;
Wesley &amp;quot; belongs as much to the English Church&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
as to the Nonconformists. The same thing has&lt;br /&gt;
been said of Newman lately. Now these two&lt;br /&gt;
eminent divines made themselves famous, either&lt;br /&gt;
by leaving the English Church or causing others&lt;br /&gt;
to leave it. I do not think, therefore, that the&lt;br /&gt;
Anglican Church can lay much more claim to them&lt;br /&gt;
than the Roman Communion can Dollinger or&lt;br /&gt;
Renan.&lt;br /&gt;
&diams;&lt;br /&gt;
To return once more to Mr. Andrew Lang&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Essays in Little.&amp;quot; The boldest of us may tremble&lt;br /&gt;
before admitting that we disagree with him.&lt;br /&gt;
There is no more appreciative writer living, unless&lt;br /&gt;
it be Mr. Ruskin; then why cannot he see some-&lt;br /&gt;
thing in the Russian novelists? He is always tilt-&lt;br /&gt;
ing at them : whether he is speaking of Dumas,&lt;br /&gt;
Thackeray, or Dickens. Perhaps it is the admirers&lt;br /&gt;
of Tolstoi that Mr. I^ang objects to. There are&lt;br /&gt;
three ways of taking Tolstoi: one of them is to read&lt;br /&gt;
him, the second way is to admire him, and the&lt;br /&gt;
third way is to abuse him. Mr. Lang has tried a&lt;br /&gt;
vol. L&lt;br /&gt;
combination of all three, but surely one may burn&lt;br /&gt;
incense at the high altar of Shakespeare, let us say,&lt;br /&gt;
and at the same time have a side chapel for Mr.&lt;br /&gt;
Andrew Lang. Cannot the same argument be&lt;br /&gt;
applied to Dumas and Dostoieffsky? In Tolstoi&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
short stories especially there are moments as good&lt;br /&gt;
as any in English literature.&lt;br /&gt;
Speaking of Dickens again, Mr. Andrew Lang&lt;br /&gt;
is very angry with those people who say they&lt;br /&gt;
cannot read Dickens, but it is much better to say&lt;br /&gt;
so than to pretend to an admiration of the&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;darling of the English people.&amp;quot; In one of&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. James Payn&amp;#039;s delightful essays on the sham&lt;br /&gt;
admiration of literature, he tells several amusing&lt;br /&gt;
stories thereon, one of a lady who confessed she&lt;br /&gt;
could not see the fun of John Gilpin, and a gentle-&lt;br /&gt;
man who preferred the &amp;quot;Earthly Paradise&amp;quot; to&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Paradise Lost.&amp;quot; Even at the expense of cutting&lt;br /&gt;
a poor figure, surely it is better to be honest about&lt;br /&gt;
what you like to read. I much prefer reading, for&lt;br /&gt;
instance (I know many will, but in secret, agree&lt;br /&gt;
with me), &amp;quot;Essays in Little&amp;quot; to Milton&amp;#039;s reply to&lt;br /&gt;
Salmasius.&lt;br /&gt;
The death of Poet Close was a local rather than&lt;br /&gt;
a national loss. No doubt some future Mr. Andrew&lt;br /&gt;
Lang will be able to find something as amusing in&lt;br /&gt;
his work, as Mr. Lang has found in that of Haynes&lt;br /&gt;
Baily. Like Mr. Martin Tupper, he belonged to&lt;br /&gt;
the good rather than to the great. The death of&lt;br /&gt;
Fortune1 du Boisgobey, though hardly noticed in&lt;br /&gt;
most of the English papers, received an eloquent&lt;br /&gt;
obituary notice in the pages of the Saturday&lt;br /&gt;
Revieiv. I confess that I envy those people who&lt;br /&gt;
were amused by him. I think Hugh Conway told&lt;br /&gt;
much better stories, and that several other English&lt;br /&gt;
writers of sensational fiction are better than this&lt;br /&gt;
French novelist on his own ground.&lt;br /&gt;
All writers of sensational novels have at one time&lt;br /&gt;
or another been hard pressed for an idea, and the&lt;br /&gt;
mysterious disappearance of a lady from the Law&lt;br /&gt;
Courts the other day is full of suggestion for a&lt;br /&gt;
capital romance. Some enterprising journal might&lt;br /&gt;
offer a prize for the best story founded on the&lt;br /&gt;
incident. It would be very amusing to see how&lt;br /&gt;
each person worked at the explanation of the&lt;br /&gt;
mystery.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Egerton Castle, having already distinguished&lt;br /&gt;
himself as an author, has been winning further&lt;br /&gt;
laurels at the Lyceum. &amp;quot;Consequences&amp;quot; has&lt;br /&gt;
2 13&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 296 (#354) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
296&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
reached its second edition, so let us hope it will&lt;br /&gt;
soon appear in one~ volume. If poetry is in&lt;br /&gt;
danger, fiction is certainly safe when Mr. Castle&lt;br /&gt;
has won the public applause. Perhaps he will&lt;br /&gt;
be generous enough to give us also ere long a&lt;br /&gt;
second edition of his delightful lecture.&lt;br /&gt;
The March number of the Fortnightly Revinv&lt;br /&gt;
which, with the exception of the Author, is the best,&lt;br /&gt;
I think, of all the monthly periodicals, is particularly&lt;br /&gt;
interesting. Mr. Swinburne has some splendid&lt;br /&gt;
stanzas for a statue of Marlowe, and Mr.&lt;br /&gt;
Meredith continues &amp;quot;One of our Conquerors.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Oscar Wilde gives a very original form of a&lt;br /&gt;
preface for &amp;quot;Dorian Grey,&amp;quot; in which he rebukes&lt;br /&gt;
his critics in a series of pregnant aphorisms.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Dorian Grey,&amp;quot; who shines like an evil thing in a&lt;br /&gt;
very good story, will shortly appear with more&lt;br /&gt;
harmonious surroundings than Lippincotfs Maga-&lt;br /&gt;
zine. Among the many good articles in the&lt;br /&gt;
Fortnightly, that on &amp;quot;Rossetti and the Moralists&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
is unfortunate. The writer seems to me to have&lt;br /&gt;
entirely misconceived Rossetti&amp;#039;s genius, and mis-&lt;br /&gt;
understood the position he occupies in literature&lt;br /&gt;
and art.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. George Moore has reprinted more than a&lt;br /&gt;
dozen articles. They form a most interesting&lt;br /&gt;
volume. It would be pleasant to notice many of&lt;br /&gt;
them at some length. The articles on Balzac,&lt;br /&gt;
Turgenieff, Verlaine, Rimbault, are highly&lt;br /&gt;
suggestive, as is indeed all Mr. George Moore&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
work in this his special field of criticism. With&lt;br /&gt;
regard to Turgenieff, I have never understood the&lt;br /&gt;
disproportionate admiration felt for the least re-&lt;br /&gt;
markable of the new Russian novelists. We have&lt;br /&gt;
again studies on &amp;quot; Le Reve &amp;quot; and Ibsen&amp;#039;s &amp;quot;Ghosts.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
The &amp;quot; Notes on Ghosts &amp;quot; has come very opportunely&lt;br /&gt;
before the appearance of the play at the Royalty.&lt;br /&gt;
If there is anything to be said against Mr.&lt;br /&gt;
George Moore&amp;#039;s book, it is that the egoism which&lt;br /&gt;
he displays is to be regretted.&lt;br /&gt;
&diams;&lt;br /&gt;
Perhaps the article on the new pictures in the&lt;br /&gt;
National Gallery is rather out of place in a volume&lt;br /&gt;
on literary subjects, nor can I think that the&lt;br /&gt;
pictures of Mr. Frith are otherwise than eminently&lt;br /&gt;
in their place in the British School. Whether&lt;br /&gt;
that school deserves a place in the Gallery is another&lt;br /&gt;
matter.&lt;br /&gt;
Verlaine is one of the most remarkable&lt;br /&gt;
characters of the second half of the century,&lt;br /&gt;
reminding us, as we are apt now to forget, that strong&lt;br /&gt;
and sincere religious belief has always been found&lt;br /&gt;
compatible with great disorder of life. A considera-&lt;br /&gt;
tion of his life and works would be a wholesome&lt;br /&gt;
occupation for &amp;quot; Moralitarians &amp;quot; of all kinds. They&lt;br /&gt;
cannot do better than begin with Mr. George Moore&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
study. The &amp;quot;Balzac &amp;quot; is an article first printed&lt;br /&gt;
in the Fortnightly, &amp;quot;increased to nearly three times&lt;br /&gt;
its original length,&amp;quot; and greatly improved. As a&lt;br /&gt;
realistic critic of Balzac, Mr. George Moore is&lt;br /&gt;
far superior in power and appreciation to any other&lt;br /&gt;
Englishman. His notice of that little appreciated&lt;br /&gt;
and most powerful etude, &amp;quot;La Vieille Fille,&amp;quot; is&lt;br /&gt;
masterly, and his remarks on &amp;quot;Le Cure&amp;quot; de Tours&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
entitle him to even higher praise; they are&lt;br /&gt;
peculiarly terse and elucidating, a really fine&lt;br /&gt;
example of appreciative criticism. I cannot wholly&lt;br /&gt;
agree with Mr. George Moore&amp;#039;s rubric, &amp;quot;that pro-&lt;br /&gt;
bably the only way to convey a suggestion of the&lt;br /&gt;
genius of the great novelist lies through the minor&lt;br /&gt;
pieces.&amp;quot; But certainly the minor pieces have never&lt;br /&gt;
been sufficiently considered, and &amp;quot; La Vieille Fille&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
is one of the finest, superior in every respect to&lt;br /&gt;
the better known&amp;quot; Femme de trente ans.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Apropos of Balzac, compilers of anecdotes con-&lt;br /&gt;
cerning him generally forget the characteristic&lt;br /&gt;
note of Hans Christian Andersen in his &amp;quot;Mit&lt;br /&gt;
Livs Eventyr.&amp;quot; Describing his visit to Paris in&lt;br /&gt;
1843, ne says:&mdash;&amp;quot; Balzac, whose acquaintance I&lt;br /&gt;
made at this time, I first saw in the salon of&lt;br /&gt;
Madame laComtesse de Bocarmd, as a fashionable,&lt;br /&gt;
well-dressed personage. His white teeth gleamed&lt;br /&gt;
between his red lips. He seemed a jovial man,&lt;br /&gt;
but he did not talk much, at any rate in that&lt;br /&gt;
circle. A lady who wrote verses fastened herself&lt;br /&gt;
on to him and me; she drew us aside to a sofa&lt;br /&gt;
and sat herself down between us. While she was&lt;br /&gt;
talking with modest hesitation about how small she&lt;br /&gt;
felt between us, I turned my head and caught&lt;br /&gt;
sight behind her back of Balzac&amp;#039;s laughing, satirical&lt;br /&gt;
face and half-open mouth, slyly turned towards me.&lt;br /&gt;
This was our first meeting. One day I was going&lt;br /&gt;
through the Louvre. There I met a man in face,&lt;br /&gt;
figure, and gait exactly like Balzac. But the man&lt;br /&gt;
was dressed in shabby, worn-out clothes&mdash;really&lt;br /&gt;
dirty they were. His shoes were all burst out, his&lt;br /&gt;
trousers bespattered with dry mud, and his hat all&lt;br /&gt;
misshapen and cracked. I stopped short; the&lt;br /&gt;
man smiled at me, then I went on, but he was so&lt;br /&gt;
incredibly like&mdash;I turned back, ran after him, and&lt;br /&gt;
said, &amp;#039;It can&amp;#039;t be Herr Balzac!&amp;#039; The man&lt;br /&gt;
laughed, showing his white teeth, and said only,&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;#039;Monsieur Balzac started for St. Petersburg this&lt;br /&gt;
morning.&amp;#039; He pressed my hand, his own was fine&lt;br /&gt;
and soft, he nodded, and was gone. It must&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 297 (#355) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
297&lt;br /&gt;
have been Balzac; perhaps he had been on one of&lt;br /&gt;
his exploring expeditions among the mysteries of&lt;br /&gt;
Paris. Or was the man someone else, who,&lt;br /&gt;
being extremely like Balzac, and having often&lt;br /&gt;
been taken for him, was amusing himself by&lt;br /&gt;
mystifying a foreigner? Two days afterwards,&lt;br /&gt;
when I was talking to Madame Bocarml, she&lt;br /&gt;
gave me a message of farewell from Balzac&mdash;he&lt;br /&gt;
had gone to St. Petersburg.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
As we might have expected, a delicate, half-&lt;br /&gt;
satiric sense of humour was the point of contact&lt;br /&gt;
between the all-comprehensive Balzac and the&lt;br /&gt;
charming, childlike Dane. How delighted Balzac&lt;br /&gt;
would be with the exquisite blending of pathos&lt;br /&gt;
and humour in the tale, &amp;quot; En Hjertesorg,&amp;quot; the grief&lt;br /&gt;
of a little child who had no trouser button to pay&lt;br /&gt;
the toll the other children exacted to attend the&lt;br /&gt;
funeral of a dead pug.&lt;br /&gt;
Everyone knows the story which Byron told&lt;br /&gt;
Medwin. Shortly before Shelley&amp;#039;s death he had a&lt;br /&gt;
horrible nightmare. &amp;quot;He thought that a figure&lt;br /&gt;
wrapped in a mantle came to his bedside and&lt;br /&gt;
beckoned him; he got up and followed it; when&lt;br /&gt;
in the hall the phantom lifted up the hood of his&lt;br /&gt;
cloak, showed Shelley the phantasm of himself,&lt;br /&gt;
and saying &amp;#039; Siete satisfatto ?&amp;#039;&mdash;vanished. Shelley&lt;br /&gt;
had been reading a strange drama, which is&lt;br /&gt;
supposed to have been written by Calderon,&lt;br /&gt;
entitled, &amp;quot;El embozado, 6 el encapotado.&amp;quot; It is&lt;br /&gt;
so scarce that Washington Irving told me he had&lt;br /&gt;
sought for it without success in several of the&lt;br /&gt;
public libraries of Spain.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Where did Shelley obtain this play? Was it a&lt;br /&gt;
Spanish play at all which he had read? Were&lt;br /&gt;
Byron or Medwin correct? Does Washington&lt;br /&gt;
Irving throw any further light on the subject?&lt;br /&gt;
The authorship of Calderon is immaterial; so&lt;br /&gt;
many plays by other authors were printed as his in&lt;br /&gt;
his lifetime that it was necessary for him to make&lt;br /&gt;
a list of his works. This list is known to be&lt;br /&gt;
incomplete, but the point for remark is that no&lt;br /&gt;
play entitled &amp;quot;El embozado &amp;quot; or &amp;quot;El encapotado&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
is mentioned in any of the exhaustive editions of&lt;br /&gt;
Calderon among plays erroneously attributed to&lt;br /&gt;
him. The title, again, is not mentioned in the&lt;br /&gt;
lists of anonymous Spanish dramas. On the other&lt;br /&gt;
hand there is a play of Agustin Moreto which&lt;br /&gt;
in certain details suggests that he may have&lt;br /&gt;
known some such story. The subject is a fasci-&lt;br /&gt;
nating one, suggesting, as it must have done, one&lt;br /&gt;
of the finest tales of the greatest of English writers&lt;br /&gt;
vol. 1.&lt;br /&gt;
of short tales, and again brought to our memory&lt;br /&gt;
by the wonderful pen and ink sketch of Rossetti&lt;br /&gt;
called &amp;quot;How they met themselves.&amp;quot; The well-&lt;br /&gt;
known stories of Theophile Gautier and Robert&lt;br /&gt;
Louis Stevenson represent a similar but not the&lt;br /&gt;
same idea; at any rate the point of view from&lt;br /&gt;
which they regard the idea is different. Can any&lt;br /&gt;
of our readers give any information concerning the&lt;br /&gt;
play?&lt;br /&gt;
Miss E. S. G. Saunders is bringing out a volume&lt;br /&gt;
entitled, &amp;quot; Thoughts for the present Lectionary; or,&lt;br /&gt;
the New Christian Year.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Stanley Little contributes an article entitled,&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The Camera&amp;#039;s Service to Art,&amp;quot; to the April&lt;br /&gt;
number of the Photographic Quarterly.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Hume Nisbet is producing this month, (1)&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;A Colonial Tramp: Being Adventures through&lt;br /&gt;
Australasia and New Guinea.&amp;quot; 2 vols. 32^.&lt;br /&gt;
Ward and Downey. (2) &amp;quot;The Black Drop.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
2s. 6d. Trischler and Co. (3) The third edition&lt;br /&gt;
of &amp;quot; Bail Up!&amp;quot; Chatto and Windus.&lt;br /&gt;
He has also an article on &amp;quot;The Papuan and&lt;br /&gt;
his Master,&amp;quot; in the Fortnightly Review.&lt;br /&gt;
Under the pseudonym of Evelyn Ballantyne,&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Eustace R. Ball has contributed on Continental&lt;br /&gt;
Music Halls to the March number of the&lt;br /&gt;
Theatre.&lt;br /&gt;
An article on &amp;quot; Weighing the Stars,&amp;quot; by Mr. J.&lt;br /&gt;
E. Gore, F.R.A.S., appears in the Gentleman&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
Magazine for February, and another on &amp;quot;Planetary&lt;br /&gt;
Nebula;&amp;quot; in the February number of the Monthly&lt;br /&gt;
Packet.&lt;br /&gt;
&diams;&lt;br /&gt;
A new and cheaper edition of Mr. James Sully&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Pessimism,&amp;quot; with a review of pessimistic literature&lt;br /&gt;
up to the present date, has just been issued by the&lt;br /&gt;
publishers, Messrs. Kegan Paul, Trench and Co.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. William Westall has written a one volume&lt;br /&gt;
story, entitled &amp;quot;Back to Africa: A Confession.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
It will be published by Ward and Downey in the&lt;br /&gt;
course of the present month. R.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
2 B 2&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 298 (#356) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
298&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
THE PARNASSUS PUBLISHING&lt;br /&gt;
ASSOCIATION.&lt;br /&gt;
THE Association consists of one man, Mr.&lt;br /&gt;
Joseph Haggerston Dalston. With him&lt;br /&gt;
are associated as many literary aspirants&lt;br /&gt;
as he can persuade to publish with him at their cost&lt;br /&gt;
and risk.&lt;br /&gt;
Here is my experience with Mr. Joseph Hag-&lt;br /&gt;
gerston Dalston. Some time ago, while I was con-&lt;br /&gt;
cluding a novel with which I intended to astonish&lt;br /&gt;
the world, I received a letter from Mr. Dalston,&lt;br /&gt;
stating that he was an author&amp;#039;s agent, and as he&lt;br /&gt;
enclosed what appeared to be bonA fide testimonials,&lt;br /&gt;
I replied to his letter. This reply doubtless war-&lt;br /&gt;
ranted him in assuming my inexperience of&lt;br /&gt;
business.&lt;br /&gt;
In subsequent letters he offered to read my&lt;br /&gt;
story for a fee of one guinea. This, for what&lt;br /&gt;
he called himself, &amp;quot;an editorial expert whose&lt;br /&gt;
opinion should be at once authoritative and final,&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
was not expensive. Before closing with his offer,&lt;br /&gt;
however, I asked for proof that he had that&lt;br /&gt;
influence with publishers which he claimed. By&lt;br /&gt;
return came a letter enclosing one of recent date,&lt;br /&gt;
from a publishing house of the highest standing,&lt;br /&gt;
which was to the effect that they were very much&lt;br /&gt;
obliged to him for having brought them the MS.&lt;br /&gt;
of Mr. &bull;, which they were prepared to publish&lt;br /&gt;
immediately, paying the author a royalty. This&lt;br /&gt;
proof seemed to me sufficient, especially when&lt;br /&gt;
read in connection with the following wail of Mr.&lt;br /&gt;
Dalston. &amp;quot;Unfortunately, however, even in large&lt;br /&gt;
London publishing houses of assured authority and&lt;br /&gt;
repute, few follow religiously the &amp;#039;reading&amp;#039; of a&lt;br /&gt;
new MS. by an unknown writer, while so many&lt;br /&gt;
knmvn (yet not always repeatedly successful)&lt;br /&gt;
authors are at the &amp;#039; beck and call&amp;#039; of the majority&lt;br /&gt;
of the large publishers to go on at any time&lt;br /&gt;
mechanically writing &amp;#039;to order&amp;#039;&mdash;too often a curse&lt;br /&gt;
to the &amp;#039;pot-boiling&amp;#039; reputation of the author, and&lt;br /&gt;
ergo lesseningly attractive to these authors&amp;#039; favourite&lt;br /&gt;
readers&mdash;a majority of the stupid reading public,&lt;br /&gt;
too easily and too stupidly satisfied, to the&lt;br /&gt;
oft-time exclusion of a new writer waiting with&lt;br /&gt;
better work, but unable to pass with it through&lt;br /&gt;
the barrier that too often bars the way to talent&lt;br /&gt;
and genius in other directions than 1 literary&lt;br /&gt;
land.&amp;quot;&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
The &amp;quot;rough copy&amp;quot; of my manuscript I for-&lt;br /&gt;
warded to his address for an opinion.&lt;br /&gt;
Nearly a month elapsed before I obtained any&lt;br /&gt;
reply, but repeated applications elicited the follow-&lt;br /&gt;
ing: &amp;quot;Your MS. has really demanded from me&lt;br /&gt;
more attention and deliberate care than I had at&lt;br /&gt;
first anticipated. In the first place, I may say,&lt;br /&gt;
that I did not like your introduction, but the con-&lt;br /&gt;
cluding chapters minimise my first objection, which&lt;br /&gt;
we may now let pass. The opening is clever and&lt;br /&gt;
startling, and prepares the reader&amp;#039;s mind with a&lt;br /&gt;
powerful piquancy for the more attractive artistic&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;#039;actualities&amp;#039; so skilfully drawn throughout the&lt;br /&gt;
book; and the successive chapters increasing, as&lt;br /&gt;
they do in interest, will hold the reader in sensa-&lt;br /&gt;
tional subjection&mdash;fascinated by that mental mes-&lt;br /&gt;
merism which enthralls at every turn of your&lt;br /&gt;
pages.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Splendidly subjective and appalling are Chaps,&lt;br /&gt;
xxi and xxii. &amp;#039;The Captain&amp;#039; also is interestingly&lt;br /&gt;
introduced and cleverly conducted to his doom!&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Other chapters teeming with touches of talent&lt;br /&gt;
will gain &amp;#039;good words&amp;#039; for your work from the&lt;br /&gt;
Reading World and Critics, even as fine present-&lt;br /&gt;
ments of human passion, the littleness of life, and&lt;br /&gt;
the greatness of death pourtrayed by your pen, inter&lt;br /&gt;
alia in , , , have never been formed&lt;br /&gt;
in the one time ever-praised pages of Bulwer!&lt;br /&gt;
Dickens!! and Wilkie Collins!!!&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;So swayed in this connexion, then, I hold to&lt;br /&gt;
the belief that there are &amp;#039;situations&amp;#039; in your nar-&lt;br /&gt;
rative that will awaken attention from many who&lt;br /&gt;
are now steeped in sluggish &amp;#039;society&amp;#039; stupor, whilst&lt;br /&gt;
the psychological problems still awaiting solution&lt;br /&gt;
will invite keener study from the scientist, and &amp;#039;set&lt;br /&gt;
the mind thinking&amp;#039;!&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The lurid light of English intellectuality, quick-&lt;br /&gt;
ening in its intensity by recent remarkable revela-&lt;br /&gt;
tions in the Press, now searchingly turns toward&lt;br /&gt;
what little is known of lawless life in Africa, that&lt;br /&gt;
mysterious and uncivilized clime&mdash;and in the near&lt;br /&gt;
future, perhaps, when we can discern more truths&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;coming to us, though they may, through the&lt;br /&gt;
thinly-veiled romanticism of another Hanwell&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
then your and other philanthropic warning words&lt;br /&gt;
shall stir the public pulse into indignation or re-&lt;br /&gt;
volt, until the lightning message of rnercy, release,&lt;br /&gt;
and reform is flashed from England to Mashona!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
I am still inclined to think that this gratifying&lt;br /&gt;
opinion is worth the guinea it cost me, especially&lt;br /&gt;
when it is compared with the trivial comments of&lt;br /&gt;
friends who have begged my books, or of critics whom&lt;br /&gt;
I have feasted, treated, and entertained at a much&lt;br /&gt;
greater cost. The indefatigable Mr. Dalston did&lt;br /&gt;
not, however, expect to rest with one guinea, for&lt;br /&gt;
with the letter which accompanied his opinion, was&lt;br /&gt;
one with &amp;quot;Suggestions for Publishing,&amp;quot; in which&lt;br /&gt;
I was reminded that, &amp;quot;Looking at the immediate&lt;br /&gt;
interest that would probably result from bringing&lt;br /&gt;
out the book at once, it may be considered ex-&lt;br /&gt;
pedient to publish the book on the author&amp;#039;s own&lt;br /&gt;
account! Mr. Haggerston Dalston, trading as the&lt;br /&gt;
Mongoose Publishing Co., and publisher of the&lt;br /&gt;
Muses&amp;#039; Herald, will undertake the work. &amp;quot;The first&lt;br /&gt;
cost would be ^ioo (the actual cost of producing&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 299 (#357) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
299&lt;br /&gt;
the first edition of a book in same form as pro-&lt;br /&gt;
posed by Mr. Dalston is &pound;23 17-r.), after sending&lt;br /&gt;
100 copies for reviews, &amp;amp;c, the sale of 900 books,&lt;br /&gt;
1 vol., at 6s. (less discount to trade, &amp;amp;c), would&lt;br /&gt;
leave about &pound;80 net profit. A smaller size type&lt;br /&gt;
and vol. would cost &pound;60, first edition, and leave&lt;br /&gt;
about &pound;40 net profit. The total editions of the&lt;br /&gt;
first twelve months would probably leave a net&lt;br /&gt;
profit (if published as suggested) of ,&pound;1,000 to&lt;br /&gt;
It would be interesting to know the figures upon&lt;br /&gt;
which the estimated profits are based; there is a&lt;br /&gt;
preciseness about the &pound;1,575 greatly at variance&lt;br /&gt;
with the round sum of &pound;100, the estimated cost&lt;br /&gt;
of production.&lt;br /&gt;
I did not close with the offer, and directed my&lt;br /&gt;
man to &amp;quot;place&amp;quot; the story with a good firm of&lt;br /&gt;
publishers.&lt;br /&gt;
A few days later he wrote making a further offer&lt;br /&gt;
to publish on same terms as had been accepted&lt;br /&gt;
by an author whose agreement (!) he forwarded to&lt;br /&gt;
me. &amp;quot;You will forward me a cheque for &pound;10,&lt;br /&gt;
agreeing to pay a further &pound;10 on receipt of proofs,&lt;br /&gt;
and a final &pound;10 when the book is in your hands,&lt;br /&gt;
remaining risk and profits will be equally divided&lt;br /&gt;
between publisher and author.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Returning the stamped agreement of the author&lt;br /&gt;
who had accepted these terms (his book has not&lt;br /&gt;
yet appeared), 1 again asked Mr. Dalston to get my&lt;br /&gt;
MS. accepted by a publisher. He wrote me that&lt;br /&gt;
his offer was not &amp;quot;unworthy of acceptance,&amp;quot; seeing&lt;br /&gt;
that, for the gradual outlay of ^30, an edition of&lt;br /&gt;
1,000 copies would have expeditiously followed,&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
then for six weeks failed to reply to any of my letters.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Respecting your MS.,&amp;quot; he wrote in the last&lt;br /&gt;
letter I received from him, &amp;quot;I am greatly dis-&lt;br /&gt;
appointed at receiving it back from , whose&lt;br /&gt;
manager I had seen before submitting yours and&lt;br /&gt;
two other MSS.&mdash;all now returned.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;When unaccepted, the daily consensus of suc-&lt;br /&gt;
cessful scribblers seems to be&mdash;publish on your&lt;br /&gt;
own account; but of course, this, as you know,&lt;br /&gt;
is not an easy matter. However, I shall venture&lt;br /&gt;
to publish the three MSS. (yours and the com-&lt;br /&gt;
mercial&amp;#039;s, and that written by a doctor&amp;#039;s wife) under&lt;br /&gt;
the following conditions, namely:&mdash;&pound;10 in ad-&lt;br /&gt;
vance, &pound;10 further to be paid to me when proofs&lt;br /&gt;
are in the hands of author, and &pound;10 when the&lt;br /&gt;
book is published and distributed, profits after&lt;br /&gt;
publication to be equally divided between author&lt;br /&gt;
and publisher.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
This being a similar offer to the one already&lt;br /&gt;
proffered and refused, I determined to call upon&lt;br /&gt;
the man and to secure my MS.&lt;br /&gt;
The gentleman who is manager of the Mongoose&lt;br /&gt;
Publishing Company, manager of the Muses&amp;#039; Pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lishing Association, editor and publisher of the&lt;br /&gt;
Muses&amp;#039; Herald, must surely be a busy man, yet I&lt;br /&gt;
had to call many times at the room&mdash;it was on the&lt;br /&gt;
second floor back&mdash;before I found the room occu-&lt;br /&gt;
pied. Mr. Dalston is not a. young man, and he has&lt;br /&gt;
a pleasing manner of address. He rarely speaks&lt;br /&gt;
to the point, but abuses in general terms all the pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lishing houses and their readers, and he never&lt;br /&gt;
allows you to leave his presence without asking&lt;br /&gt;
you for a money contribution to one or other of&lt;br /&gt;
his ventures.&lt;br /&gt;
As for the contents of his office there were two&lt;br /&gt;
chairs, a table, a set of pigeon holes and MSS.&lt;br /&gt;
In fact, the room was entirely furnished with MSS.&lt;br /&gt;
It was simply full of &amp;quot;copy&amp;quot; piled from floor to&lt;br /&gt;
ceiling, lying upon chairs and table, and floor, and&lt;br /&gt;
fender. By a lucky chance my packet was upper-&lt;br /&gt;
most of a newly made file, and was rescued without&lt;br /&gt;
difficulty.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Haggerston Dalston is now manager and&lt;br /&gt;
everything else of a brand new association called&lt;br /&gt;
the Parnassus Publishing Association. A clean&lt;br /&gt;
sweep has been made of the MSS., and the name&lt;br /&gt;
plate at the house and the Muses&amp;#039; Herald being&lt;br /&gt;
defunct, with the Mongoose Publishing Company,&lt;br /&gt;
a new plate is in preparation showing that here are&lt;br /&gt;
the Central Offices (second floor back) of the&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Parnassus Publishing Company&amp;quot; and of &amp;quot;Par-&lt;br /&gt;
nassus Slopes,&amp;quot; its magazine. Authors are now&lt;br /&gt;
being invited by such papers as will take the ad-&lt;br /&gt;
vertisements, to send their MSS. to the Company,&lt;br /&gt;
and the old game has begun apain. The bait is&lt;br /&gt;
the offer of &amp;quot;remunerative openings&amp;quot; and the&lt;br /&gt;
promise that &amp;quot; suitable MSS.J&amp;#039; are promptly paid for.&lt;br /&gt;
As for the magazine, every contributor must pay&lt;br /&gt;
in advance for a whole year&mdash;it will probably&lt;br /&gt;
collapse in a month or two, as happened with&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Parnassus Slopes.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Then the Company will disappear too. What&lt;br /&gt;
becomes in the end of all the MSS., nobody knows.&lt;br /&gt;
Perhaps not one in a thousand is worth anything.&lt;br /&gt;
Yet that such an end&mdash;disappearance in this sink&lt;br /&gt;
of low cunning&mdash;should be the fate of MSS. about&lt;br /&gt;
which so many glowing hopes were formed, is&lt;br /&gt;
melancholy indeed.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
CORRESPONDENCE AND CASES.&lt;br /&gt;
( The Editor is not responsible for the opinions expressed or&lt;br /&gt;
the statements made by correspondents.)&lt;br /&gt;
The Production of Vouchers.&lt;br /&gt;
ACASE has been lately brought before a&lt;br /&gt;
London Court which promises to become&lt;br /&gt;
interesting and useful. It was to this&lt;br /&gt;
effect. A certain publisher transferred his business&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 300 (#358) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
to another firm. Two of the authors whose books&lt;br /&gt;
he had published on the &amp;quot;half-profit&amp;quot; system,&lt;br /&gt;
moved by Counsel that the second firm should&lt;br /&gt;
be called upon to find vouchers for all the items of&lt;br /&gt;
receipts and expenditure supplied to the authors.&lt;br /&gt;
Their Counsel argued that the first firm only was&lt;br /&gt;
responsible for any claims. The judge, however,&lt;br /&gt;
granted the order asked for, reserving the question&lt;br /&gt;
of costs. We hope to publish the further history&lt;br /&gt;
of this case.&lt;br /&gt;
&raquo;&lt;br /&gt;
On Advertisements.&lt;br /&gt;
I wish to draw the attention of your readers to&lt;br /&gt;
two points which are generally lost sight of by an&lt;br /&gt;
author when signing his contract. When disposing&lt;br /&gt;
of a book upon the royalty system, one of the usual&lt;br /&gt;
clauses is, &amp;quot;That all expenses of advertising shall&lt;br /&gt;
be borne by the said publishers.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
It is by paying out monies for advertisements in&lt;br /&gt;
addition to disbursing the cost of production that&lt;br /&gt;
the publisher earns his right to his lion&amp;#039;s share, i.e.,&lt;br /&gt;
the amount of cash that remains after paying the&lt;br /&gt;
royalty to the author.&lt;br /&gt;
Now let us suppose the case of an author who&lt;br /&gt;
is pretty well known and whose three volume novels&lt;br /&gt;
will be assuredly subscribed, we will say, to be well&lt;br /&gt;
within the mark, to five hundred copies. If the&lt;br /&gt;
publisher does not advertise at all he nets the&lt;br /&gt;
entire difference between the trade price and the&lt;br /&gt;
cost of production less the author&amp;#039;s royalties&mdash;upon&lt;br /&gt;
the five hundred copies. Therefore the less he&lt;br /&gt;
advertises the better for it.&lt;br /&gt;
But this is not all, the author who is absolutely&lt;br /&gt;
in the hands of his publishers in the matter of&lt;br /&gt;
advertising, often finds his book a sort of Christian&lt;br /&gt;
thrown to the lions. The reason is not far to seek;&lt;br /&gt;
somebody has to be &amp;quot;gibbeted,&amp;quot; somebody has to&lt;br /&gt;
be &amp;quot;guyed,&amp;quot; and naturally the books that are not&lt;br /&gt;
advertised go upon the black list, and the reviewer&lt;br /&gt;
is given a free hand and told to work his wicked&lt;br /&gt;
will upon them.&lt;br /&gt;
The result of such &amp;quot;gibbeting&amp;quot; is probably not&lt;br /&gt;
felt by the author till he comes to dispose of his&lt;br /&gt;
next venture, say to some other publisher. &amp;quot;Your&lt;br /&gt;
last book was very severely reviewed, Mr. Nibbs,&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
says the publisher, &amp;quot; and we have sent over to our&lt;br /&gt;
friends, Messrs. Barabbas, who tell us that only five&lt;br /&gt;
hundred copies were subscribed.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
It is thus that an author may lose ground, all&lt;br /&gt;
for the want of a ha&amp;#039;porth of tar in the shape of&lt;br /&gt;
having a cut and dried clause as to hoto much is to&lt;br /&gt;
be spent in advertisements, and where it is to be&lt;br /&gt;
spent.&lt;br /&gt;
For novels, at all events, a certain amount of&lt;br /&gt;
advertisement is necessary; reviews even very&lt;br /&gt;
favourable reviews, and the mere fact that the book&lt;br /&gt;
is on Messrs. Smith&amp;#039;s and Mudie&amp;#039;s lists to be&lt;br /&gt;
issued to first class subscribers only is not enough&lt;br /&gt;
to keep the book before the public.&lt;br /&gt;
Then where advertisements are to appear is m&lt;br /&gt;
portant.&lt;br /&gt;
The writer once published an eight and sixpenny&lt;br /&gt;
book, on the half-profit system, which ran into a&lt;br /&gt;
second edition. There were no profits, because the&lt;br /&gt;
book was advertised not wisely, but too well. &amp;quot;If,&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
thought the writer, &amp;quot;that mighty firm went on with&lt;br /&gt;
a second edition, surely there must be profits, some&lt;br /&gt;
profits, at all events, upon the first.&amp;quot; Not a bit of&lt;br /&gt;
it; the book was said to be swamped by advertise-&lt;br /&gt;
ments. The writer went through the list of&lt;br /&gt;
advertisements, and he found that his book had&lt;br /&gt;
been advertised in the &amp;quot; Piscatorial Bulletin.&amp;quot; He&lt;br /&gt;
innocently wondered at this selection; when he&lt;br /&gt;
found who the Bulletin belonged to, his wonder&lt;br /&gt;
ceased. Perhaps after all the Fishing Fraternity&lt;br /&gt;
are fond of oriental experiences. Who knows but&lt;br /&gt;
that they may buy up the whole second edition?&lt;br /&gt;
Not that the writer cares one brass button, because&lt;br /&gt;
even if it were so, he feels certain that no half&lt;br /&gt;
profits would ever accrue to him, because of course&lt;br /&gt;
they&amp;#039;d be all mopped up by judicious advertise-&lt;br /&gt;
ments in the &amp;quot; Piscatorial Bulletin,&amp;quot; &amp;amp;c.&lt;br /&gt;
Pachyderm.&lt;br /&gt;
[The writer will find the subject of advertising&lt;br /&gt;
treated in Mr. Sprigge&amp;#039;s &amp;quot;Methods of Publishing.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;Ed.]&lt;br /&gt;
Authors and Reviewers.&lt;br /&gt;
There are two questions I should like answered.&lt;br /&gt;
First&mdash;Do reviewers conscientiously read the books&lt;br /&gt;
with which they deal? Second&mdash;Do their criti-&lt;br /&gt;
cisms honestly reflect the opinions that they have&lt;br /&gt;
formed?&lt;br /&gt;
Now any author worthy of the name must value&lt;br /&gt;
and appreciate criticism which, however adverse,&lt;br /&gt;
is nevertheless honest, discriminating, and intelli-&lt;br /&gt;
gent. So far, at any rate, even if no farther, do I&lt;br /&gt;
consider myself worthy to be called an author. I&lt;br /&gt;
like being told what points in a work of mine are&lt;br /&gt;
good, and what are bad. It is an intellectual&lt;br /&gt;
satisfaction to me, and I feel precisely the same&lt;br /&gt;
sort of gratitude to any reviewer that an intelligent&lt;br /&gt;
student of painting or music unquestionably feels&lt;br /&gt;
towards an able teacher, however severe his stric-&lt;br /&gt;
tures occasionally may be. But my faith in critics,&lt;br /&gt;
and consequently my good disposition towards&lt;br /&gt;
them, have been considerably shaken of late. I&lt;br /&gt;
find they contradict each other so wildly, that it&lt;br /&gt;
is impossible for the most humble-minded writer&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 301 (#359) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
301&lt;br /&gt;
to learn anything from them; and they occasionally&lt;br /&gt;
give grave grounds for the suspicion that they&lt;br /&gt;
have never even read the book they are professing&lt;br /&gt;
to review.&lt;br /&gt;
Let me give an instance from my own experience.&lt;br /&gt;
Two years ago or thereabouts, I published a novel.&lt;br /&gt;
The book was widely reviewed, and I, a tyro in&lt;br /&gt;
the art of fiction, felt very curious indeed to see&lt;br /&gt;
how my first effort would be received by experts.&lt;br /&gt;
Here are some of the verdicts.&lt;br /&gt;
The Saturday said it was undeniably a clever&lt;br /&gt;
book&mdash;satirical, humorous, and amusing; appa-&lt;br /&gt;
rently the work of a man who had observed and&lt;br /&gt;
thought; an original and readable novel.&lt;br /&gt;
The AthetuBum said that it was the most com-&lt;br /&gt;
pletely worthless novel the editor had seen for a&lt;br /&gt;
long time.&lt;br /&gt;
The Manchester Examiner said that were the&lt;br /&gt;
critic compelled to characterise it by one epithet,&lt;br /&gt;
that epithet would be &amp;quot;vivacious.&amp;quot; Unflagging&lt;br /&gt;
vivacity was its great charm.&lt;br /&gt;
The Sunday Times, on the other hand, con-&lt;br /&gt;
demned it as &amp;quot; always dull.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
The Manchester Examiner, again, praised my&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;constructive ability&amp;quot;; while&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
My publisher&amp;#039;s reader informed me that a lack&lt;br /&gt;
of constructive ability was my chief weakness.&lt;br /&gt;
I might fill two columns of your paper with&lt;br /&gt;
similar examples. But surely these are enough&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
enough to bewilder anybody. Am I dull, or am I&lt;br /&gt;
vivacious? Am I clever, or am I a fool? Is my&lt;br /&gt;
book original, satirical, humorous, &amp;amp;c, or is it&lt;br /&gt;
the most completely worthless novel out? Surely&lt;br /&gt;
I am not unreasonable in asking whom I am to&lt;br /&gt;
believe.&lt;br /&gt;
One word more. I spoke to my publishers about&lt;br /&gt;
one of the notices&mdash;a notice which appeared to me&lt;br /&gt;
gratuitously and unintelligently insolent. &amp;quot;Oh!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
replied the worthy man I was addressing, &amp;quot;I think&lt;br /&gt;
I can explain that. The gentleman who wrote&lt;br /&gt;
that review of your book threatened to &amp;#039;slate&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
whatever we might send him, unless we advertised&lt;br /&gt;
in his paper. We did not give him an advertise-&lt;br /&gt;
ment, and you, unfortunately, are made to suffer.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Perhaps this may throw some light on my second&lt;br /&gt;
question. An Obscure Novelist.&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;&raquo;~&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
Accepted.&lt;br /&gt;
In January, 1889, a MS. was accepted for a&lt;br /&gt;
certain periodical. In May the publisher was&lt;br /&gt;
changed. In July, the new publisher accepted&lt;br /&gt;
three other MSS. and &amp;quot;also the one sent to the&lt;br /&gt;
late Editor,&amp;quot; the price of the whole being stated&lt;br /&gt;
by letter. My writing name was published among&lt;br /&gt;
the other contributors, and I was urged in different&lt;br /&gt;
ways to help to make the magazine known.&lt;br /&gt;
None of the MSS. appearing, after eighteen months&lt;br /&gt;
I wrote to ask the cause, and was coolly informed&lt;br /&gt;
that the Editor had more MSS. on hand than he&lt;br /&gt;
could use, and he would return them.&lt;br /&gt;
I offered to wait, but positively declined to have&lt;br /&gt;
them back, but by return of post they arrived in a&lt;br /&gt;
very tattered condition. There was neither&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;smash &amp;quot; nor &amp;quot;crash &amp;quot; in this case&mdash;the periodical&lt;br /&gt;
is said to be flourishing. M. J. D. S.&lt;br /&gt;
Literary Godchildren.&lt;br /&gt;
There is a literary Nemesis when a popular&lt;br /&gt;
author suffers from the intrusion of the manuscripts&lt;br /&gt;
of aspirants after fame. But when an unknown&lt;br /&gt;
writer&mdash;who finds a difficulty in having an article&lt;br /&gt;
accepted, and as great trouble to get paid for it&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
is troubled for advice and assistance in getting the&lt;br /&gt;
work of others placed and remunerated&mdash;then the&lt;br /&gt;
Furies are the old women one blames for the mis-&lt;br /&gt;
management of affairs.&lt;br /&gt;
Fifteen years ago a friend of mine wrote a play and&lt;br /&gt;
demanded my opinion of it. I did not dare to give&lt;br /&gt;
anyexpression of criticism of a tragedy thathe assured&lt;br /&gt;
me was more tragical than Scott&amp;#039;s &amp;quot;Bride of Lam-&lt;br /&gt;
mermoor,&amp;quot; and more impregnated with humour&lt;br /&gt;
than Schiller&amp;#039;s &amp;quot;Wallenstein.&amp;quot; I was even able to&lt;br /&gt;
refuse when I knew that one of the poet&amp;#039;s friends&lt;br /&gt;
said, &amp;quot;No such work of genius had been written&lt;br /&gt;
since Shakespeare&amp;#039;s plays first saw the light.&amp;quot; For-&lt;br /&gt;
tunately, I escaped without much censure in this&lt;br /&gt;
case. My friend said that he regretted my decision,&lt;br /&gt;
because he &amp;quot;had a certain amount of respect for&lt;br /&gt;
my taste.&amp;quot; He did not insist on submitting his&lt;br /&gt;
proofs to me.&lt;br /&gt;
The next experience was more amusing, if a little&lt;br /&gt;
more costly. A schoolboy who had got into debt&lt;br /&gt;
wrote to a member of my family asking for 7*.,&lt;br /&gt;
stating that he was about to write a three volume&lt;br /&gt;
novel, that he had money owing for a short story,&lt;br /&gt;
and enclosing some of his essays. The money was&lt;br /&gt;
sent without any literary advice. And by the next&lt;br /&gt;
post came a request for 1is. more &amp;quot; to save him&lt;br /&gt;
from disgrace.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Another manuscript was submitted to my judg-&lt;br /&gt;
ment by a young woman who wished to make a&lt;br /&gt;
profession of letters. It was clearly written, well&lt;br /&gt;
paragraphed, and fairly interesting in matter. I&lt;br /&gt;
had great pleasure in encouraging the writer, and&lt;br /&gt;
urging her to perseverance. Now, I am glad to&lt;br /&gt;
write, she is successfully supplementing her income&lt;br /&gt;
by her pen.&lt;br /&gt;
The last case is perhaps the most painful. In&lt;br /&gt;
my desk at this moment there lies a morocco&lt;br /&gt;
bound volume, in whose pages a beautiful, unfortu-&lt;br /&gt;
nate girl has written part of her life experience. She&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 302 (#360) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
302&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
asks my opinion of her confession. It has origin-&lt;br /&gt;
ality and observation, but otherwise it is unreadable.&lt;br /&gt;
The writer is sensitive, and so much spoiled by&lt;br /&gt;
the flattery of her friends, that it will be puzzling&lt;br /&gt;
for me to speak the truth without giving some&lt;br /&gt;
pain. A.&lt;br /&gt;
Gratuitous Contributions.&lt;br /&gt;
I lately offered a short story to the editor of a&lt;br /&gt;
popular magazine. It was accepted, but when I&lt;br /&gt;
came to ask what was the scale of remuneration&lt;br /&gt;
for such contributions I was blandly informed that&lt;br /&gt;
ladies and gentlemen were usually willing to supply&lt;br /&gt;
the magazine in question with &amp;quot; copy,&amp;quot; without hope&lt;br /&gt;
of any other remuneration than the pleasure and&lt;br /&gt;
glory of seeing themselves in print! Now this is&lt;br /&gt;
by no means a rare instance of a practice on the part&lt;br /&gt;
of authors which I think cannot be better described&lt;br /&gt;
than as the process of &amp;quot; cutting their own throats.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
The lamentable weakness with which writers&lt;br /&gt;
consent to give away the work of such brains as they&lt;br /&gt;
possess is one to be severely deprecated. It is to&lt;br /&gt;
my thinking an act of arrant folly, injurious not only&lt;br /&gt;
to those who indulge in it, but to others. I can,&lt;br /&gt;
in fact, conceive nothing more mischievous, as&lt;br /&gt;
lowering the price of literature in the market, than&lt;br /&gt;
this habit, widely spread as it is, of gorging the&lt;br /&gt;
pages of periodical publications with gratuitous con-&lt;br /&gt;
tributions to the exclusion of matter that would&lt;br /&gt;
otherwise be paid for. For is it to be expected&lt;br /&gt;
that the proprietor of a magazine would pay for the&lt;br /&gt;
stories, articles, &amp;amp;c, offered to him by some writers&lt;br /&gt;
when he is able to get any quantity of such com-&lt;br /&gt;
positions from others at no cost whatever?&lt;br /&gt;
The scale of pay allowed by many magazines is&lt;br /&gt;
poor enough as it is. It is not uncommon for&lt;br /&gt;
certain very well-known periodicals to offer such&lt;br /&gt;
miserable remuneration as 2s. and 2s. 6d. a page,&lt;br /&gt;
while 5*. a page is considered in such quarters as&lt;br /&gt;
something magnificent in its liberality. I have&lt;br /&gt;
really been surprised to find how strictly moderate&lt;br /&gt;
are the views on the subject of payment entertained&lt;br /&gt;
by the conductors of magazines which might be&lt;br /&gt;
expected to offer at any rate something like ade-&lt;br /&gt;
quate compensation for one&amp;#039;s time and trouble.&lt;br /&gt;
The reason of this parsimony is of course &amp;quot;gratuit-&lt;br /&gt;
ous contributions.&amp;quot; It is poor stuff for the most&lt;br /&gt;
part, no doubt, that is thus given away, but it seems&lt;br /&gt;
to be good enough for the editor&amp;#039;s purpose. But,&lt;br /&gt;
I contend, everything, whether good, bad or&lt;br /&gt;
indifferent, should have its price. It is not to be&lt;br /&gt;
expected that the magazines should be filled in&lt;br /&gt;
every page, every month, with first-class literature.&lt;br /&gt;
Many of these periodicals are circulated among a&lt;br /&gt;
class of readers who are not over particular as to&lt;br /&gt;
the quality of the wares supplied to them, just as&lt;br /&gt;
in other markets people are content with cheap and&lt;br /&gt;
inferior articles. Yet everything is surely worth&lt;br /&gt;
something, if it can be sold, and every story, or&lt;br /&gt;
other lucubration, which is worth printing ought to&lt;br /&gt;
be worth paying for.&lt;br /&gt;
I am afraid it must be said that ladies are the&lt;br /&gt;
worst offenders in this particular. I do not greatly&lt;br /&gt;
blame them. They have, as a rule, little experience&lt;br /&gt;
or knowledge of the business side of literature, and&lt;br /&gt;
though some of them dream of making fortunes by&lt;br /&gt;
their pens, too many, with an excess of diffidence,&lt;br /&gt;
think they can hardly aspire so high as to be paid&lt;br /&gt;
like what they call &amp;quot;a regular author.&amp;quot; It is these&lt;br /&gt;
amateurs who cheapen the literary market, and&lt;br /&gt;
many of them are worth a price, even though it be&lt;br /&gt;
a small one. Let them at any rate not be content&lt;br /&gt;
with the mere acceptance of their stories and&lt;br /&gt;
sketches, but ask for pay, and, when refused, with-&lt;br /&gt;
draw their contributions and send them elsewhere.&lt;br /&gt;
Many an article which would be eagerly taken by&lt;br /&gt;
one of those editors who never pay when they can&lt;br /&gt;
help it, would be found acceptable by others of&lt;br /&gt;
more liberal habit. At the worst, failing to get&lt;br /&gt;
their contributions into the paying magazines, they&lt;br /&gt;
could fall back upon the non-paying ones. These&lt;br /&gt;
last only deserve to have the very dregs of the&lt;br /&gt;
scribbling art.&lt;br /&gt;
I therefore raise my voice in earnest protest&lt;br /&gt;
against this pernicious custom of offering contri-&lt;br /&gt;
butions for nothing, or allowing them to be pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lished without any remuneration whatever. The&lt;br /&gt;
Society of Authors, I think, could do no greater&lt;br /&gt;
service to the cause at least of periodical literature&lt;br /&gt;
than by making it as widely known as possible that&lt;br /&gt;
all contributors to magazines, &amp;amp;c, will be duly paid&lt;br /&gt;
for if only the contributors are firm enough to&lt;br /&gt;
refuse to write for nothing. If such an appeal did&lt;br /&gt;
not put a stop to this practice it might at least&lt;br /&gt;
diminish the mischief arising from it. Pray then&lt;br /&gt;
advise all authors, amateur and otherwise, whenever&lt;br /&gt;
it is proposed to print their contributions for noth-&lt;br /&gt;
ing, to return the reply so often received by some&lt;br /&gt;
of them&mdash;&amp;quot; declined with thanks.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
No Pay, No Pen.&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;*&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
A Coincidence?&lt;br /&gt;
Will you allow me to draw attention to a case of&lt;br /&gt;
curious similarity between two stories&mdash;the one by&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Ernest Rhys, entitled &amp;quot;The Last Drearn of&lt;br /&gt;
Julius Roy,&amp;quot; which appeared in Macmillan&amp;#039;s Maga-&lt;br /&gt;
zine last month, and the other signed by my name,&lt;br /&gt;
which appeared in the Newbery House Magazine&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 303 (#361) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
3&deg;3&lt;br /&gt;
of July, 1890, and which was entitled, &amp;quot;A Great&lt;br /&gt;
Success&amp;quot;? I sketch the outline of the two stories&lt;br /&gt;
in parallel columns :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Ernest Rhys&amp;#039;s story.&lt;br /&gt;
My story.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;A GREAT SUCCESS.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
THE LAST DREAM OF&lt;br /&gt;
TULIUS ROY.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
July, 1890.&lt;br /&gt;
An author after a long life&lt;br /&gt;
of failure starts from Trafalgar&lt;br /&gt;
Square in a condition of ab-&lt;br /&gt;
normal excitement, and rushes&lt;br /&gt;
down the .Strand, intent upon&lt;br /&gt;
lunching at a Tavern, Fleet&lt;br /&gt;
Street being suggested. He&lt;br /&gt;
orders a lunch which for him&lt;br /&gt;
is unusually sumptuous. He&lt;br /&gt;
has been full of unreal inflated&lt;br /&gt;
hope, but overhears a con-&lt;br /&gt;
versation in which he realises&lt;br /&gt;
for the first time the abject -&lt;br /&gt;
ness of his own failure. He&lt;br /&gt;
has had ale with his lunch.&lt;br /&gt;
He throws his arms over the&lt;br /&gt;
table, lays his head on them,&lt;br /&gt;
falls asleep and dreams. The&lt;br /&gt;
dream takes the form of his&lt;br /&gt;
own troubled experience.&lt;br /&gt;
Again he is &amp;quot;hurrying through&lt;br /&gt;
the streets of the great city.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
He is on his way to the&lt;br /&gt;
palace of Fame. There is a&lt;br /&gt;
gate which has to be passed&lt;br /&gt;
through; before he gets in he&lt;br /&gt;
has to present a gift. This&lt;br /&gt;
gift he holds in his hand, but&lt;br /&gt;
it dwindles and vanishes.&lt;br /&gt;
He falls before the door at&lt;br /&gt;
last, defeated and in despair.&lt;br /&gt;
Then the dream changes;&lt;br /&gt;
the door is unexpectedly&lt;br /&gt;
opened by an unseen hand,&lt;br /&gt;
and he beholds a face known&lt;br /&gt;
yet unknown, which smiles&lt;br /&gt;
upon him. The poor author&lt;br /&gt;
enters in to find the aspiration&lt;br /&gt;
of his life satisfied in ways&lt;br /&gt;
not looked for by him. When&lt;br /&gt;
found by the people of the&lt;br /&gt;
Tavern, he is dead.&lt;br /&gt;
February, 1891.&lt;br /&gt;
An author after ten years&lt;br /&gt;
of failure, starts from Trafal-&lt;br /&gt;
gar Square, goes to Pall Mall&lt;br /&gt;
to put on a dress coat, and&lt;br /&gt;
finally returns in an abnormal&lt;br /&gt;
state of excitement on his way&lt;br /&gt;
to a Tavern (&amp;quot;The Three&lt;br /&gt;
Friars&amp;quot;) in Fleet Street, to&lt;br /&gt;
have supper there. He orders&lt;br /&gt;
an unusually sumptuous me al&lt;br /&gt;
He has been realising the&lt;br /&gt;
abjectness of his own failure,&lt;br /&gt;
but on his way he meets with&lt;br /&gt;
his old love, who gives him a&lt;br /&gt;
flower, and he i&laquo; now in a state&lt;br /&gt;
of wild, unreal hope. He has&lt;br /&gt;
wine with his supper, and he&lt;br /&gt;
throws his arms over the table,&lt;br /&gt;
falls asleep, and dreams. The&lt;br /&gt;
dream takes the form of his&lt;br /&gt;
own troubled experience.&lt;br /&gt;
He is &amp;quot;being whirled rapidly&lt;br /&gt;
through the streets of a dark&lt;br /&gt;
and unknown city,&amp;quot; in a car-&lt;br /&gt;
riage with the beloved woman&lt;br /&gt;
by his side. He gets to a&lt;br /&gt;
place which is a Theatre, and&lt;br /&gt;
sees a phantasm of himself on&lt;br /&gt;
the stage struggling in vain&lt;br /&gt;
to pass in at a Gate; the&lt;br /&gt;
phantasm falls down at last&lt;br /&gt;
before the Gate, baffled and&lt;br /&gt;
defeated. He goes on to the&lt;br /&gt;
Stage to look after his own&lt;br /&gt;
Phantasm. He himself knocks&lt;br /&gt;
at the Gate, and it is thrown&lt;br /&gt;
open, and the beloved woman&lt;br /&gt;
stands before him smiling.&lt;br /&gt;
Then he receives in unex-&lt;br /&gt;
pected ways the desire of his&lt;br /&gt;
life. When the waiter comes&lt;br /&gt;
to rouse him, he is dead.&lt;br /&gt;
E. Fairfax Byrrne.&lt;br /&gt;
The Authors&amp;#039; Club.&lt;br /&gt;
I am in favour of an Authors&amp;#039; Club. I think it&lt;br /&gt;
would be greatly to the advantage of authors to&lt;br /&gt;
come together oftener than once a year at a big&lt;br /&gt;
dinner, and to have more frequent opportunity&lt;br /&gt;
of exchanging ideas and &amp;quot;comparing notes.&amp;quot; Of&lt;br /&gt;
this I can give an illustration. Two years ago&lt;br /&gt;
at our annual dinner, I sat next to a brother&lt;br /&gt;
novelist, whose acquaintance I then made for the&lt;br /&gt;
first time. That morning I had received from the&lt;br /&gt;
vol. 1.&lt;br /&gt;
editor of a weekly magazine of whose financial&lt;br /&gt;
position I knew nothing, a request to write a&lt;br /&gt;
Christmas story for him. Thinking my neighbour&lt;br /&gt;
might be better informed, I inquired whether he&lt;br /&gt;
had ever done ought for the periodical in question.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Yes,&amp;quot; says he, &amp;quot;I did a Christmas story for it&lt;br /&gt;
last year but one, and I have not got paid for it&lt;br /&gt;
yet.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
On this hint I acted; when I answered the&lt;br /&gt;
editor&amp;#039;s letter, I named my price, and made it a&lt;br /&gt;
condition that I should be paid on his receipt of&lt;br /&gt;
my MS. With this condition he did not see fit&lt;br /&gt;
to comply, and I did not see fit to write the story.&lt;br /&gt;
Again, the other day I chanced to meet a&lt;br /&gt;
member of the Society of Authors at the office in&lt;br /&gt;
Portugal Street, to whom I mentioned that I had&lt;br /&gt;
been requested to write a story for a well known&lt;br /&gt;
magazine. &amp;quot;Be sure you make a bargain before-&lt;br /&gt;
hand,&amp;quot; he observed, &amp;quot;or you will get a good deal&lt;br /&gt;
less than you expect.&amp;quot; On this hint also I acted.&lt;br /&gt;
I named my price, and was offered half&mdash;which I&lt;br /&gt;
did not accept. Observe that in neither of these&lt;br /&gt;
cases did the editor make any mention of terms.&lt;br /&gt;
That, presumably, was to be left an open question,&lt;br /&gt;
and would have proved a troublesome one for me,&lt;br /&gt;
a trouble from which I was saved by being a&lt;br /&gt;
member of the Society of Authors.&lt;br /&gt;
The chief difficulty in the formation of an&lt;br /&gt;
Authors Club&amp;#039; seems to me to lie in the defini-&lt;br /&gt;
tion of &amp;quot;author.&amp;quot; Will every man and woman&lt;br /&gt;
who has written a trashy novel or volume of&lt;br /&gt;
poetry, and paid for its production, be eligible&lt;br /&gt;
for admission? And if not, where will you draw&lt;br /&gt;
the line? W.&lt;br /&gt;
[The line must be drawn by the Committee or&lt;br /&gt;
the managing body of the Club.&mdash;Editor.]&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR&amp;#039;S BOOK STALL.&lt;br /&gt;
[This column is open for lists of books wanted, books&lt;br /&gt;
offered for exchange and books offered for sale. Initials&lt;br /&gt;
must be given for reference, not for publication, and the&lt;br /&gt;
editor will place correspondents in communication with each&lt;br /&gt;
other. Books must not be sent to the office of the Society.&lt;br /&gt;
Letters enclosing list may be addressed &amp;quot;X,&amp;quot;care of the&lt;br /&gt;
Editor. It must be understood that no responsibility rests&lt;br /&gt;
with the Editor or with the officers of the Society.]&lt;br /&gt;
Books for Sale.&lt;br /&gt;
Atalanta in Calydon. Original Edition.&lt;br /&gt;
Leckie&amp;#039;s Leader of Public Opinion in Ireland.&lt;br /&gt;
Berzelin&amp;#039;s Jahresbericht der Chemie. Complete set.&lt;br /&gt;
vols. Address &amp;quot;E.A.&lt;br /&gt;
2 C&lt;br /&gt;
27&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 304 (#362) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
3&deg;4&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
Henry Irving Shakspeare. 8 vols. Edition de luxe, un-&lt;br /&gt;
cut, in original cases. 11 guineas.&lt;br /&gt;
The Odyssey. Translated by William Morris. I edition.&lt;br /&gt;
2 vols.&lt;br /&gt;
Viollet le Due. Dictionnaire. Mobilier Francais. 6 vols.&lt;br /&gt;
Half calf gilt edges.&lt;br /&gt;
Ionica I and II. The very rare first edition with author&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
corrections; handsomely bound.&lt;br /&gt;
Aucassin and Nicollette. Translated by Andrew Lang.&lt;br /&gt;
(Nutt.)&lt;br /&gt;
Cupid and Psyche. With an Introduction by Andrew Lang.&lt;br /&gt;
(Nutt.)&lt;br /&gt;
La Morte D&amp;#039;Arthur. H.O.Sumner. (Nutt.) 2 vols.&lt;br /&gt;
Musa Protova. A. H. Bullen. Privately printed; small&lt;br /&gt;
paper.&lt;br /&gt;
Lyrics of the Elizabethan Age. A. II. Bullen. Small paper.&lt;br /&gt;
(Nimmo.)&lt;br /&gt;
For Exchange.&lt;br /&gt;
The English in Ireland. By J. A. Froude. Library Edition.&lt;br /&gt;
3 vols. Exchange for Cabinet Edition of Froude&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
History of England.&lt;br /&gt;
Address1&amp;#039; E. A.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Morris&amp;#039; Vision of Saints, for Epic of Hades.&lt;br /&gt;
Kingsley&amp;#039;s At Last.&lt;br /&gt;
Trollope&amp;#039;s Decade of Italian Women.&lt;br /&gt;
Emerson&amp;#039;s Representative Men.&lt;br /&gt;
Lufcadic Hearn&amp;#039;s Two Years in the French West Indies.&lt;br /&gt;
M. Life and Letters of the Princess Alice.&lt;br /&gt;
List for Sale or Exchange.&lt;br /&gt;
Bell&amp;#039;s Chaucer. 1782.&lt;br /&gt;
Lord Lytton&amp;#039;s Poems and Dramatic Works. 1853.&lt;br /&gt;
Original Edition.&lt;br /&gt;
Life of Conde\ By Lord Mahon. 1846.&lt;br /&gt;
Massinger&amp;#039;s Plays. Edited by W. Gifford. 1853.&lt;br /&gt;
Schiller&amp;#039;s Werke. 10 vols. Very handsomely half-bound.&lt;br /&gt;
Stuttgart. 1844.&lt;br /&gt;
Oeuvres de Moliere. 6 vols. With old engravings; au 13&lt;br /&gt;
de Republique. Paris.&lt;br /&gt;
Chansons de Victor Hugo. 1865.&lt;br /&gt;
Would Lend.&lt;br /&gt;
Works of Peter Pinder. Vol. II. London. 1816.&lt;br /&gt;
Stories of Apparitions (Duchess of Mazarine, Mrs. Veal&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;amp;c. Title lost, old.)&lt;br /&gt;
Pritchard&amp;#039;s Heroines of Welsh I listory.&lt;br /&gt;
Address G. M. Williams,&lt;br /&gt;
Aberclydack, Nr. Brecon.&lt;br /&gt;
NEW BOOKS AND NEW EDITIONS.&lt;br /&gt;
Theology.&lt;br /&gt;
BELL, C. D. The Archbishop&amp;#039;s Judgment on the Ritual&lt;br /&gt;
Case. With some Thoughts on Public Worship: a&lt;br /&gt;
Sermon Preached in St. Matthew&amp;#039;s Church. Cosserts&lt;br /&gt;
Cheltenham). Simpkin. yl.&lt;br /&gt;
Brooke, Rev. Stopford A. The Fight of Faith: Ser-&lt;br /&gt;
mons Preached on Various Occasions. 6th Edition.&lt;br /&gt;
Paul, Triibner and Co. 5J.&lt;br /&gt;
Carpenter, W. Boyd. The Permanent Elements of Re-&lt;br /&gt;
ligion: Eight Lectures Preached Iwfore the University&lt;br /&gt;
of Oxford in the Year 1887, on the Foundation of the&lt;br /&gt;
late Rev. John Bampton. 2nd Edition. Macmillan.&lt;br /&gt;
6j.&lt;br /&gt;
Fowle, Rev. Edmund. We Praise Thee, O God: The&lt;br /&gt;
Choir Boy&amp;#039;s Little Book. Skeffington. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
Gore, Charles. Lux Mundi : a Series of Studies in the&lt;br /&gt;
Religion of the Incarnation. Edited by. nth Edition.&lt;br /&gt;
Murray. 14J.&lt;br /&gt;
Jeaffreson, H. H. Magnificat: a Course of Sermons.&lt;br /&gt;
Paul, Triibner and Co. 2s. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
Pollock, T. S. Vaughton&amp;#039;s Hole: Twenty-five Years in&lt;br /&gt;
It. Mowbray, is.&lt;br /&gt;
Stearns, L. F. The Evidence of Christian Experience:&lt;br /&gt;
Being the Ely Lectures for 1890. Nisbet. 75. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
Wesley, John. The Father of Methodism; or, Life of&lt;br /&gt;
Rev. John Wesley. Written for Children by Nehemiah&lt;br /&gt;
Curnock. Centenary Edition. Wesleyan Conference&lt;br /&gt;
Office. 6d., gd., is. By J. H. Overton. Portrait. {English Leaders of&lt;br /&gt;
Religion.) Methuen. 2s. (ul. By Francis Kevan. 5th Edition. (True Stories of&lt;br /&gt;
God&amp;#039;s Servants.) J. Holness. zs.bd.&lt;br /&gt;
History and Biography.&lt;br /&gt;
Cruickshank, George. Memoir. By Frederic G.&lt;br /&gt;
Stephens; and an Essay on the Genius of George&lt;br /&gt;
Cruickshank by W. M. Thackeray. (Great Artists.)&lt;br /&gt;
Low. 3-r. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
Drake, Sir Francis. By Julian Corbett. Portrait.&lt;br /&gt;
(English Men of Action.) Macmillan. is. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
Ericsson, John. The Life of. By W. C. Church.&lt;br /&gt;
With 50 Illustrations. Low. 2 vols. 24X.&lt;br /&gt;
Gladstone, W. E. Life of. By George Barnett Smith.&lt;br /&gt;
12th Edition. Ward, Lock and Co. 3/. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
Grace, W. G. A Biography. By W. Methven Brownlee.&lt;br /&gt;
Together with a Life-like Portrait and a &amp;quot;Treatise on&lt;br /&gt;
Cricket &amp;quot; by W. G. Grace.&lt;br /&gt;
Holland, C. Gleanings from a Ministry of 50 years.&lt;br /&gt;
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THE BIRKBECK ALMANACK, with full particulars, post free on application.&lt;br /&gt;
FRANCIS RAVENSCROFT, Manager.&lt;br /&gt;
Send&lt;br /&gt;
H E AIT HI.&lt;br /&gt;
A WEEKLY JOURNAL OF SANITARY AND DOMESTIC SCIENCE,&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 308 (#367) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
ADVERTISEMENTS&lt;br /&gt;
1&lt;br /&gt;
I&lt;br /&gt;
SA&lt;br /&gt;
THANHH VERWALTAFUGEGUIDELIAM&lt;br /&gt;
INHA&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
W&lt;br /&gt;
THE&lt;br /&gt;
HAIN&lt;br /&gt;
HET&lt;br /&gt;
PIRIT OF&lt;br /&gt;
110&lt;br /&gt;
WE USE&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;amp; The&lt;br /&gt;
BAR-LOCK&lt;br /&gt;
TYPE&lt;br /&gt;
WRITER.&lt;br /&gt;
/ PROGRESS IS THE&lt;br /&gt;
27&lt;br /&gt;
HARIA&lt;br /&gt;
Hull&lt;br /&gt;
HUH!&lt;br /&gt;
HOME&lt;br /&gt;
A&lt;br /&gt;
DMIN&lt;br /&gt;
THE BAR-LOCK&amp;#039; TYPE-WRITER&lt;br /&gt;
Is the only Machine combining the following Advantages&lt;br /&gt;
PERFECT AND PERMANENT ALIGNMENT.&lt;br /&gt;
AUTOMATIC LINE SPACING. A DUPLICATE KEY-BOARD.&lt;br /&gt;
ADJUSTABLE BALL BEARINGS TO THE TYPE-BAR JOINTS.&lt;br /&gt;
And it is the ONLY Type IVriter&lt;br /&gt;
HAVING ABSOLUTELY VISIBLE WRITING,&lt;br /&gt;
Some Type-Writers may have one or two of these Advantages, but no other combines them all.&lt;br /&gt;
SOLD FOR CASH; ALSO ON THE EASY PAYMENT SYSTEM.&lt;br /&gt;
THE TYPE-WRITER CO., LTD.,&lt;br /&gt;
12, QUEEN VICTORIA STREET, LONDON, E.C.&lt;br /&gt;
MANCHESTER: 25, Market Street. LIVERPOOL: 40, North John St. CARDIFF: Exchange Building.&lt;br /&gt;
GLASGOW : 22, Renfield St. SHEFFIELD: 39, Norfolk St. MELBOURNE: 385, Little Collins St.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 308 (#368) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
ADVERTISEMENTS.&lt;br /&gt;
NEW MODEL REMINGTON&lt;br /&gt;
STANDARD TYPEWRITER.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
For Fifteen Years the Standard,&lt;br /&gt;
and to - day the most perfect&lt;br /&gt;
development of the writing&lt;br /&gt;
machine, embodying the latest&lt;br /&gt;
and highest achievements of&lt;br /&gt;
inventive and mechanical skill.&lt;br /&gt;
We add to the Remington every&lt;br /&gt;
improvement that study and&lt;br /&gt;
capital can secure.&lt;br /&gt;
EMINGTON STANDARD TYPEWRITERN&lt;br /&gt;
WYCKOFF, SEAMANS &amp;amp; BENEDICT,&lt;br /&gt;
Principal Office-&lt;br /&gt;
LONDON: 100, GRACECHURCH STREET, E.C.&lt;br /&gt;
(CORNER OF LEADENHALL STREET).&lt;br /&gt;
Branch Offices,&lt;br /&gt;
LIVERPOOL: CENTRAL BUILDINGS, NORTH JOHN STREET.&lt;br /&gt;
BIRMINGHAM : 23, MARTINEAU STREET,&lt;br /&gt;
MANCHESTER : 8, MOULT STREET.&lt;br /&gt;
Printed for the Society, by HARRISON &amp;amp; SONS, 45, 46, and 47, St. Martin&amp;#039;s Lane, in the Parish of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, in the City&lt;br /&gt;
of Westminster.</td><td>https://historysoa.com/files/original/5/249/1891-03-16-The-Author-1-11.pdf</td><td>publications, The Author</td></tr><tr><td>250</td><td>https://historysoa.com/items/show/250</td><td>The Author, Vol. 01 Issue 12 (April 1891)</td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=%3Cem%3EThe+Author%3C%2Fem%3E%2C+Vol.+01+Issue+12+%28April+1891%29&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;The Author&lt;/em&gt;, Vol. 01 Issue 12 (April 1891)&lt;/a&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015031017927&amp;amp;view=1up&amp;amp;seq=20&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; rel=&quot;noopener&quot;&gt;https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015031017927&lt;/a&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Publication&quot;&gt;Publication&lt;/a&gt;</td><td>1891-04-15-The-Author-1-12</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>309&ndash;334</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=89&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1&quot;&gt;1&lt;/a&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=76&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1891-04-15&quot;&gt;1891-04-15&lt;/a&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>12</td><td></td><td></td><td>18910415</td><td>Vol. I.&ndash;No. 12.]&lt;br /&gt;
APRIL 15, 1891&lt;br /&gt;
.&lt;br /&gt;
[Price, Sixpence.&lt;br /&gt;
The Author.&lt;br /&gt;
THE ORGAN OF THE SOCIETY OF AUTHORS&lt;br /&gt;
(INCORPORATED).&lt;br /&gt;
CONDUCTED BY&lt;br /&gt;
WALTER BESANT.&lt;br /&gt;
Published for the Society by&lt;br /&gt;
ALEXANDER P. WATT, 2, PATERNOSTER SQUARE,&lt;br /&gt;
LONDON, E.C.&lt;br /&gt;
1891.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 308 (#370) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
ii. :&lt;br /&gt;
ADVERTISEMENTS.&lt;br /&gt;
1&lt;br /&gt;
I&lt;br /&gt;
I&lt;br /&gt;
I&lt;br /&gt;
I&lt;br /&gt;
IN&lt;br /&gt;
ID&lt;br /&gt;
I&lt;br /&gt;
IN THE&lt;br /&gt;
TEL&lt;br /&gt;
IE&lt;br /&gt;
Fl&lt;br /&gt;
SI&lt;br /&gt;
ILLER&lt;br /&gt;
IL&lt;br /&gt;
TU&lt;br /&gt;
TA&lt;br /&gt;
ILU&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
LE&lt;br /&gt;
VE&lt;br /&gt;
PROGRES&lt;br /&gt;
2&lt;br /&gt;
SPIRIT OF THE AGU)&lt;br /&gt;
PROGRESS IS THU C&lt;br /&gt;
WE USE&lt;br /&gt;
E The&lt;br /&gt;
BAR-LOCK&lt;br /&gt;
TYPE&lt;br /&gt;
WRITER.&lt;br /&gt;
INIMH&lt;br /&gt;
Hill&lt;br /&gt;
IP&lt;br /&gt;
H&lt;br /&gt;
Lilla&lt;br /&gt;
be&lt;br /&gt;
AZER&lt;br /&gt;
LE&lt;br /&gt;
V&lt;br /&gt;
THE BAR-LOCK&amp;#039; TYPE-WRITER&lt;br /&gt;
Is the ONLY Machine combining the following Advantages&lt;br /&gt;
PERFECT AND PERMANENT ALIGNMENT.&lt;br /&gt;
AUTOMATIC LINE SPACING. A DUPLICATE KEY-BOARD.&lt;br /&gt;
ADJUSTABLE BALL BEARINGS TO THE TYPE-BAR JOINTS.&lt;br /&gt;
And it is the ONLY Type Writer .&lt;br /&gt;
HAVING ABSOLUTELY VISIBLE WRITING,&lt;br /&gt;
Some Type-Writers may have one or two of these Advantages, but no other combines them all.&lt;br /&gt;
SOLD FOR CASH; ALSO ON THE EASY PAYMENT SYSTEM.&lt;br /&gt;
THE TYPE-WRITER CO., LTD.&lt;br /&gt;
12, QUEEN VICTORIA STREET, LONDON, E.C.&lt;br /&gt;
MANCHESTER: 25, Market Street. LIVERPOOL: 40, North John St. CARDIFF: Exchange Building.&lt;br /&gt;
GLASGOW : 22, Renfield St. SHEFFIELD : 39, Norfolk St. MELBOURNE: 385, Little Collins St.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 308 (#371) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
ADVERTISEMENTS.&lt;br /&gt;
The Society of Authors (Jncorporated),&lt;br /&gt;
PRESIDENT.&lt;br /&gt;
The Right Hon. THE LORD TENNYSON, D.C.L.&lt;br /&gt;
Sir EDWIN ARNOLD, K.C.I. E.&lt;br /&gt;
ALFRED AUSTIN.&lt;br /&gt;
A. W. &Agrave; BECKETT.&lt;br /&gt;
ROBERT BATEMAN.&lt;br /&gt;
SIR HENRY BERGNE, K.C.M.G.&lt;br /&gt;
WALTER BESANT.&lt;br /&gt;
AUGUSTINE BIRRELL, M.P.&lt;br /&gt;
R. D. BLACKMORE.&lt;br /&gt;
Rev. Prof. BONNEY, F.R.S.&lt;br /&gt;
LORD BRABOURNE.&lt;br /&gt;
JAMES BRYCE, M.P.&lt;br /&gt;
P. W. CLAYDEN.&lt;br /&gt;
EDWARD CLODD.&lt;br /&gt;
W. MARTIN CONWAY.&lt;br /&gt;
MARION CRAWFORD.&lt;br /&gt;
OSWALD CRAWFURD, C.M.G.&lt;br /&gt;
The Earl OF DESART.&lt;br /&gt;
A. W. DUBOURG.&lt;br /&gt;
John Eric ERICHSEN, F.R.S.&lt;br /&gt;
PROF. MICHAEL FOSTER, F.R.S.&lt;br /&gt;
HERBERT GARDNER, M.P.&lt;br /&gt;
RICHARD GARNETT, LL.D.&lt;br /&gt;
EDMUND GOSSE.&lt;br /&gt;
COUNCIL.&lt;br /&gt;
II. Rider HAGGARD.&lt;br /&gt;
THOMAS HARDY,&lt;br /&gt;
PROF. E. RAY LANKESTER, F.R.S.&lt;br /&gt;
J. M. LELY.&lt;br /&gt;
Rev. W. J. LOFTIE, F.S.A.&lt;br /&gt;
F. MAX-M&Uuml;LLER, LL.D.&lt;br /&gt;
GEORGE MEREDITH.&lt;br /&gt;
HERMAN C. MERIVALE.&lt;br /&gt;
Rev. C. H. MIDDLETON-WAKE, F.L.S.&lt;br /&gt;
T. C. PARKINSON.&lt;br /&gt;
THE EARL OF PEMBROKE AND MONTGOMERY.&lt;br /&gt;
Sir FREDERICK POLLOCK, BART., LL.D.&lt;br /&gt;
WALTER Herries POLLOCK.&lt;br /&gt;
A. G. Ross.&lt;br /&gt;
GEORGE AUGUSTUS SALA.&lt;br /&gt;
W. BAPTISTE SCOONES.&lt;br /&gt;
G. R. Sims.&lt;br /&gt;
J. J. STEVENSON.&lt;br /&gt;
JAS. SULLY.&lt;br /&gt;
William Moy THOMAS&lt;br /&gt;
H. D. TRAILL, D.C.L.&lt;br /&gt;
EDMUND YATES.&lt;br /&gt;
Hon. Counsel-E. M. UNDERDOWN, Q.C.&lt;br /&gt;
COMMITTEE OF MANAGEMENT.&lt;br /&gt;
Chairman-WALTER BESANT.&lt;br /&gt;
ROBERT BATEMAN.&lt;br /&gt;
A. W. &Agrave; BECKETT.&lt;br /&gt;
W. MARTIN COSWAY.&lt;br /&gt;
EDMUND Gosse.&lt;br /&gt;
H. RIDER HAGGARD.&lt;br /&gt;
! J. M. LELY.&lt;br /&gt;
SIR FREDERICK POLLOCK.&lt;br /&gt;
A. G. Ross.&lt;br /&gt;
|&lt;br /&gt;
Solicitors.&lt;br /&gt;
Messrs. FiELI&amp;#039;, Roscoe &amp;amp; Co., Lincoln&amp;#039;s Inn Fields.&lt;br /&gt;
Secretary-S. SQUIRE SPRIGGE.&lt;br /&gt;
OFFICES.&lt;br /&gt;
4, PORTUGAL STREET, LINCOLN&amp;#039;S INN FIELDS, W.C.&lt;br /&gt;
VOL. I.&lt;br /&gt;
2&lt;br /&gt;
D&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 308 (#372) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A D VER Tl SEMEN TS.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The &amp;quot;Swan&amp;quot; is a beautiful Gold Pen joined to a rubber reservoir to hold any kind of ink, which it&lt;br /&gt;
supplies to the writing point in a continuous flow. Tt will hold enough ink for two days&amp;#039; constant work,&lt;br /&gt;
or a week&amp;#039;s ordina.-y writing, and can be refilled with as little trouble as to wind a watch. With the&lt;br /&gt;
cover over the gold nib it is carried in the pocket like a pencil, to be used anywhere. A purchaser nny&lt;br /&gt;
try a pen a few days, and if by chance the writing point does not suit his hand, exchange it for another&lt;br /&gt;
without charge, or have his money returned if wanted.&lt;br /&gt;
There are various points to select from, broad, medium, and fine, every handwriting can be suited, and&lt;br /&gt;
the price of the entire instrument, with filler complete, post free, is only 10/6.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The Gold Pens in the &amp;quot; Swan &amp;quot; are Mabie, Told &amp;amp; Co.&amp;#039;s famous make; they are 14-carat tempered&lt;br /&gt;
gold, very handsome, and positively unaffected by any kind of ink. They are pointed with selected&lt;br /&gt;
polished iridium. The &amp;quot; Encyclopedia Britannica&amp;quot; says&mdash;&amp;quot;Iridium is a nearly white metal of high&lt;br /&gt;
specific gravity, it is almost indestructible, and a beautifully polished surface can be obtained upon it.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
They will not penetrate the paper, and writer&amp;#039;s cramp is unknown among users of Gold Pens; one will&lt;br /&gt;
outwear 90 gross of steel pens. They are a perfect revelation to those who know nothing about&lt;br /&gt;
Gold Pens.&lt;br /&gt;
Da. Olivkb \Vkndkll Holmes has used one of Mabie, Todd &amp;amp; Co.&amp;#039;s Gold Pens since 1857, and is using the same&lt;br /&gt;
one (his &amp;quot; old friend &amp;quot;) to-day.&lt;br /&gt;
Sydney Gkuxdy, Esq., savs (referring to the Fountain Pen), &amp;quot; It ij a Yast improvement on every Stylograph.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Mobekly Bell, Esq., Manager, The Times, s.iys (referring to the Fountain Pen),&amp;quot; One pen lasted me for six years.&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
S. D, Wadot, Esq., Q.C., M.P , says (referring to the Fountain Pen), &amp;quot; I have used them constantly for some years,&lt;br /&gt;
ond, as far as I can remember, have never failed me.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Send Postal Card for Free Illustrated List (containing: interesting Testimonials from&lt;br /&gt;
the best people, who have used them for years) to&lt;br /&gt;
MABIE, TODD I BARD, 93, CHEAPSIDE, LONDON,&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 309 (#373) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
{The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly!)&lt;br /&gt;
CONDUCTED BY WALTER BESANT.&lt;br /&gt;
Vol. I.&mdash;No. 12.]&lt;br /&gt;
APRIL 15, 1891.&lt;br /&gt;
[Price Sixpence.&lt;br /&gt;
CONTENTS.&lt;br /&gt;
Conditions of Membership&lt;br /&gt;
Warnings&lt;br /&gt;
Notes and News&lt;br /&gt;
The American Copyright Bill&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
I. By E. L. Godkin&lt;br /&gt;
II. ...&lt;br /&gt;
A School for Novelists&lt;br /&gt;
Author v. Editor&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;1 hey all lived happy ever afterwards&lt;br /&gt;
M L&amp;#039;fcnfant Prodigue&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Correspondence&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
I. Authors and Reviewers&lt;br /&gt;
II. Baron 1 auchnitz&lt;br /&gt;
I&amp;#039;AGE&lt;br /&gt;
■ 3&deg;9&lt;br /&gt;
- 3&deg;9&lt;br /&gt;
.. 310&lt;br /&gt;
&bull; 3M&lt;br /&gt;
. 316&lt;br /&gt;
&bull; 3&amp;#039;7&lt;br /&gt;
&bull; 3^0&lt;br /&gt;
.. 320&lt;br /&gt;
■ 323&lt;br /&gt;
&bull; 3&raquo;4&lt;br /&gt;
■ 325&lt;br /&gt;
Correspondence&mdash;continued&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
III. F rom Chastclard ...&lt;br /&gt;
IV. Gratuitous Contributions&lt;br /&gt;
V. &amp;quot;The Last Dream of Julius Roy&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
VI. The Signed Article&lt;br /&gt;
VII. Note on a Case&lt;br /&gt;
VIII. The Cost of a Stamp&lt;br /&gt;
In Grub Street&lt;br /&gt;
A Bill to amend title sixty, chapter three, of the Revised Statutes&lt;br /&gt;
of the United States, relating to copyrights&lt;br /&gt;
New Books&lt;br /&gt;
Advertisements&lt;br /&gt;
3-5&lt;br /&gt;
3-*5&lt;br /&gt;
3-&amp;#039;5&lt;br /&gt;
326&lt;br /&gt;
3-7&lt;br /&gt;
3=7&lt;br /&gt;
3=9&lt;br /&gt;
332&lt;br /&gt;
333&lt;br /&gt;
CONDITIONS OF MEMBERSHIP.&lt;br /&gt;
The Subscription is One Guinea annually, payable on the&lt;br /&gt;
1st of January of each year. The sum of Ten Guineas for&lt;br /&gt;
life membership entitles the subscriber to full membership of&lt;br /&gt;
the S&amp;gt; ciety.&lt;br /&gt;
Authors of published works alone are eligible for member-&lt;br /&gt;
ship.&lt;br /&gt;
Those who desire to assist the Society but are not authors&lt;br /&gt;
are admitted as Associates, on the same subscription, but&lt;br /&gt;
have no voice in the government of the Society.&lt;br /&gt;
Cheques and Postal Oiders should be crossed &amp;quot;The Im-&lt;br /&gt;
perial Bank, Limited, Westminster Branch.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Those who wish to be proposed as members may send&lt;br /&gt;
their names at any lime to the Secretary at the Society&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
Offices, when they will receive a form for the enumeration&lt;br /&gt;
of their works. Subscriptions entered alter the 1st of&lt;br /&gt;
October will cover the next year.&lt;br /&gt;
The Secretary may be personally consulted between the&lt;br /&gt;
hours of I p.m. and 5, except on Saturdays. It is preferable&lt;br /&gt;
that an appointment should be made by letter.&lt;br /&gt;
The Author, the Organ of the Society, can be procured&lt;br /&gt;
through all newsagents, or from the publisher, A. P. Watt,&lt;br /&gt;
2, Paternoster Square, E.G.&lt;br /&gt;
A copy will be sent free to any member of the Society for&lt;br /&gt;
one twelvemonth, dating from May, 1889. It is hoped,&lt;br /&gt;
however, that most members will subscribe to the paper.&lt;br /&gt;
The yearly subscription is 6s. 61/., including postjge, which&lt;br /&gt;
may be sent to the Secretary, 4, Portugal Street, W.C.&lt;br /&gt;
With regard to the reading of MSS. for young writers,&lt;br /&gt;
the fee for this service is one guinea. MSS. will be read&lt;br /&gt;
and reported upon for others than members, but members&lt;br /&gt;
cannot have their works read for nothing.&lt;br /&gt;
In all cases where an opinion is desired upon a manuscript,&lt;br /&gt;
the author should send with it a table of contents. A type-&lt;br /&gt;
written scenario is also of very great assistance.&lt;br /&gt;
It must be understood that such a reader&amp;#039;s report, however&lt;br /&gt;
favourable, does not assist the author towards publication.&lt;br /&gt;
vol.&lt;br /&gt;
WARNINGS.&lt;br /&gt;
Readers of the Author are earnestly desired to make the&lt;br /&gt;
following warnings as widely known as possible. They are&lt;br /&gt;
based on the experience of six years&amp;#039; work upon the dangers&lt;br /&gt;
to which literary property is exposed :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
(1) Never to sign any agreement of which the alleged cost&lt;br /&gt;
of production forms an integral part, unless an&lt;br /&gt;
opportunity of proving the correctness of the figures&lt;br /&gt;
is given them.&lt;br /&gt;
(2) Never to enter into any correspondence with publishers,&lt;br /&gt;
especially with advertising publishers, who are not&lt;br /&gt;
recommended by experienced friends, or by this&lt;br /&gt;
Society.&lt;br /&gt;
(3) Never, on any account whatever, to bind themselves&lt;br /&gt;
down for future work to any one firm of publishers.&lt;br /&gt;
(4) Never to accept any proposal of royalty without con-&lt;br /&gt;
sultation with the Society, or, at least, ascertaining&lt;br /&gt;
exactly what the agreement gives to the author ami&lt;br /&gt;
what to the publisher.&lt;br /&gt;
(5) Never to accept any offer of money for MSS., with-&lt;br /&gt;
out previously taking advice of the Society.&lt;br /&gt;
(6) Never to accept any pecuniary risk or responsibility&lt;br /&gt;
without advice.&lt;br /&gt;
(7) Never, when a MS. has l&amp;gt;een refused by respectable&lt;br /&gt;
houses, to pay others, whatever promises they may&lt;br /&gt;
put forward, for the production of the work.&lt;br /&gt;
(8) Never to sign away American or foreign rights.&lt;br /&gt;
Keep them. Refuse to sign an agreement containing&lt;br /&gt;
a clause which reserves them for the publisher. If&lt;br /&gt;
the publisher insists, take away the MS. and offer it&lt;br /&gt;
to another.&lt;br /&gt;
(9) Never forget that publishing is a business, like any-&lt;br /&gt;
other business, totally unconnected with philanthropy,&lt;br /&gt;
charity, or pure love of literature. You have to do&lt;br /&gt;
with business men.&lt;br /&gt;
Society&amp;#039;s Offices:&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
4, Portugal Street, Lincoln&amp;#039;s Inn Fields.&lt;br /&gt;
2 l&amp;gt; 2&lt;br /&gt;
A&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 310 (#374) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
3io&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
NOTES AND NEWS.&lt;br /&gt;
THE President of the United States signed&lt;br /&gt;
the International Copyright Bill, the papers&lt;br /&gt;
say, with a quill taken from an American&lt;br /&gt;
eagle&mdash;an eagle of the bald variety, caught for the&lt;br /&gt;
occasion, and kindly persuaded to have the feather&lt;br /&gt;
pulled out of the wing by the united pleadings of&lt;br /&gt;
the British Lion and the Eagles of France, Germany,&lt;br /&gt;
Austria and Russia. It was a beautiful quill, though&lt;br /&gt;
the noble bird appeared to resent the loss of it and&lt;br /&gt;
the pain caused by its extraction. The cutting of&lt;br /&gt;
the quill was undertaken by the Secretary of the&lt;br /&gt;
International Copyright League, Mr. R. Underwood&lt;br /&gt;
Johnson. After the signature, he received the&lt;br /&gt;
instrument as a reward for his services. On his&lt;br /&gt;
return home Mr. Johnson found, we are happy to&lt;br /&gt;
report, his desk ornamented with flowers and small&lt;br /&gt;
United States flags&mdash;why not the flags of all the&lt;br /&gt;
world ?&mdash;in honour of his success.&lt;br /&gt;
A copy of the new American Copyright Bill has&lt;br /&gt;
been sent to every member of the Society, with a&lt;br /&gt;
request that he will read it and forward any remarks&lt;br /&gt;
or suggestions on the subject. Some replies have&lt;br /&gt;
already been sent in, but too late for this number.&lt;br /&gt;
It would be well if most of us, who are not lawyers,&lt;br /&gt;
would, before writing on the subject, read Sir&lt;br /&gt;
Frederick Pollock&amp;#039;s article in the current Contem-&lt;br /&gt;
porary. His last words are a warning :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Learned friends who may do me the honour to&lt;br /&gt;
read this paper, will perhaps think that I have in-&lt;br /&gt;
sisted too much on elementary legal conclusions.&lt;br /&gt;
But there are amateur lawyers as well as learned&lt;br /&gt;
and qualified lawyers, and the law of copyright is&lt;br /&gt;
called a favourite hunting ground of amateurs.&lt;br /&gt;
When an amateur lawyer once goes a&amp;quot; mare&amp;#039;s-&lt;br /&gt;
nesting among Acts of Parliament, there is no&lt;br /&gt;
knowing what falls may ensue to him, or anyone&lt;br /&gt;
who follows him ; and my only fear in this respect&lt;br /&gt;
is that I may not have been elementary enough.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Our members are therefore solemnly warned&lt;br /&gt;
that we do not ask for the opinions of the amateur&lt;br /&gt;
lawyer on points of law.&lt;br /&gt;
M. Zola is the new President of the Soriite des&lt;br /&gt;
Gens de Lcttres. The accumulated funds of this&lt;br /&gt;
Society now amount to .&pound;95,000, of which two-&lt;br /&gt;
thirds are available for pension purposes. When&lt;br /&gt;
shall we be able to boast of our accumulations?&lt;br /&gt;
and protection of the material interests of literature,&lt;br /&gt;
but will become a kind of Academy, admission to&lt;br /&gt;
which will be a distinction only conferred on those&lt;br /&gt;
of proved and marked ability. This proposed&lt;br /&gt;
change, it is said, explains certain exclusions or&lt;br /&gt;
blackballings which have recently taken place in&lt;br /&gt;
the Society. One of the rejected candidates was&lt;br /&gt;
a lady, and at first it was supposed that the Com-&lt;br /&gt;
mittee wished to exclude women altogether&mdash;which,&lt;br /&gt;
in the words of Euclid, is absurd. Therefore,&lt;br /&gt;
that could not be the cause of rejection. But, the&lt;br /&gt;
Debats asks, what power has the Society to change&lt;br /&gt;
its constitution? It is not a question of titular&lt;br /&gt;
membership. The Committee are trustees for a&lt;br /&gt;
great Pension Fund, created for the benefit of all&lt;br /&gt;
litterateurs. If it becomes an Academy, the&lt;br /&gt;
Government would have the right of withdrawing&lt;br /&gt;
this Trust and creating another Society. It is, in&lt;br /&gt;
fact, as if the Chemical Society should try to&lt;br /&gt;
make its membership as great a distinction as the&lt;br /&gt;
Fellowship of the Royal Society, and should&lt;br /&gt;
refuse to admit any but the most distinguished&lt;br /&gt;
chemists; or it is as if the Institute of Civil&lt;br /&gt;
Engineers would have none but the best and&lt;br /&gt;
most famous engineers. We have ourselves&lt;br /&gt;
learned so much from the practical common sense&lt;br /&gt;
of the Socic&amp;#039;te that one is sorry to hear of such a&lt;br /&gt;
change even in contemplation. As for ourselves,&lt;br /&gt;
we are the servants of all writers of every degree.&lt;br /&gt;
Membership is open to any who have published a&lt;br /&gt;
book. We advance no other object than the pro-&lt;br /&gt;
tection of our material interests.&lt;br /&gt;
If this Society should happen to want in the course&lt;br /&gt;
of the year assistance, unpaid, voluntary, and active,&lt;br /&gt;
are thereanymembers&mdash;orfriendsof members&mdash;who&lt;br /&gt;
would be ready to give it? If so, will they kindly&lt;br /&gt;
give me their names and tell me what they could do&lt;br /&gt;
for us? It is the strength of our Association&lt;br /&gt;
that most of the work hitherto done for it has been&lt;br /&gt;
done by unpaid members, who have nothing what-&lt;br /&gt;
ever to gain out of it for themselves. As things&lt;br /&gt;
look at present, I think that there will very soon&lt;br /&gt;
be work enough for a good many more volunteers.&lt;br /&gt;
The Societc des Gens de Let/res according to the&lt;br /&gt;
Debats, is contemplating a new departure. It will&lt;br /&gt;
no longer confine its operations to the maintenance&lt;br /&gt;
Here is a satisfactory testimony to the good&lt;br /&gt;
results of what seemed to some a barren contro-&lt;br /&gt;
versy. The writer&amp;#039;s name is suppressed for obvious&lt;br /&gt;
reasons. For one thing he might incur ecclesias-&lt;br /&gt;
tical censure, or even bell, book, and candle, which&lt;br /&gt;
would be dreadful. &amp;quot;With regard to the S.P.C.K.,&lt;br /&gt;
against whom you took up the cudgels last year&lt;br /&gt;
for those who are unable or afraid to do so them-&lt;br /&gt;
selves, I have reaped the benefit in increased&lt;br /&gt;
payment for work of mine. This has the, perhaps,&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 311 (#375) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
311&lt;br /&gt;
intended effect of preventing my voice from being&lt;br /&gt;
raised with others.&amp;quot; Can the Literary Housemaid&lt;br /&gt;
of the Church be cleaning and sweeping&mdash;it would&lt;br /&gt;
be the spring cleaning&mdash;with the aid, one supposes,&lt;br /&gt;
of the Literary Cook of the Church, and the Literary&lt;br /&gt;
Charwoman of the Church?&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Edmund Gosse very wisely and opportunely&lt;br /&gt;
calls attention, in his article in the April Contem-&lt;br /&gt;
porary, to the distinction between literary merit and&lt;br /&gt;
pecuniary reward. They are, as we have already&lt;br /&gt;
insisted more than once in these columns, things&lt;br /&gt;
which have no necessary relations to each other.&lt;br /&gt;
The most popular of authors may be the most&lt;br /&gt;
worthless, so far as regards many essentials of&lt;br /&gt;
literary style and form. One or two qualities, and&lt;br /&gt;
these certainly the rarest, the successful man must&lt;br /&gt;
have. First of all, he must be able to catch and&lt;br /&gt;
to rivet the attention. If he is a novelist or a&lt;br /&gt;
dramatist, he must have &amp;quot;grip.&amp;quot; Now I think it&lt;br /&gt;
will be allowed that &amp;quot;grip&amp;quot; is a very valuable&lt;br /&gt;
quality indeed. But we must altogether put out&lt;br /&gt;
of our minds the idea that the author who makes&lt;br /&gt;
a large income is therefore a good writer. I say,&lt;br /&gt;
altogether, because there is not only no proportion,&lt;br /&gt;
but there is no possible comparison. For instance&lt;br /&gt;
&mdash;not to touch on living examples&mdash;the late&lt;br /&gt;
Countess of Blessington made for some years a&lt;br /&gt;
very large income indeed by her novels. Let&lt;br /&gt;
anyone, now, try to read those terrible works. At&lt;br /&gt;
the same time it is not in human nature for the&lt;br /&gt;
popular author not to believe that his head also&lt;br /&gt;
touches the skies. After all, this only means that&lt;br /&gt;
persons of cultivation, education, and taste will&lt;br /&gt;
desire the best literature, and the lower sort the&lt;br /&gt;
lower literature. Now the lower sort will always&lt;br /&gt;
be the larger sort.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Gosse further says that he considers the&lt;br /&gt;
Society of Authors as a firm of solicitors acting&lt;br /&gt;
solely for literary clients. That seems to me on&lt;br /&gt;
the whole a very fair definition. But there is this&lt;br /&gt;
important difference. A firm of solicitors sends in&lt;br /&gt;
its little bill. The Society of Authors does not.&lt;br /&gt;
The solicitors interpret, explain, and employ the&lt;br /&gt;
law for their clients only. The Society of Authors&lt;br /&gt;
publishes information about law and the breaking&lt;br /&gt;
of the law for all the world to read.&lt;br /&gt;
On Friday, April 3rd, a letter appeared in the&lt;br /&gt;
Times, signed &amp;quot;Ouida,&amp;quot; on the justice and necessity&lt;br /&gt;
of safe-guarding dramatic rights in fiction by Act&lt;br /&gt;
of Parliament. This letter, a very able, lucid and&lt;br /&gt;
eloquent exposition of the case, is the thousand&lt;br /&gt;
and first protest of novelists against the cruel&lt;br /&gt;
injustice with which their rights are treated. Pro-&lt;br /&gt;
tests indignant, sarcastic, comic, wrathful, have&lt;br /&gt;
been uttered by Dickens, by Wilkie Collins, by&lt;br /&gt;
John Hollingshead, by Charles Reade and I know&lt;br /&gt;
not by what others. Ouida&amp;#039;s is only one more&lt;br /&gt;
added to the list. They are all read to-day and for-&lt;br /&gt;
gotten to-morrow. To protest, in fact, does no good&lt;br /&gt;
at all. There is not, unhappily, in human nature&lt;br /&gt;
such a passion for justice as regards other people&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
property as makes them long to be up and acting&lt;br /&gt;
when a protest against injustice is uttered. As&lt;br /&gt;
regards their own property, of course, the passion for&lt;br /&gt;
justice does exist in its most intense form. Every&lt;br /&gt;
time a slave shrieked under the lash he protested&lt;br /&gt;
against the injustice of his lot; but his protests&lt;br /&gt;
did him little good. Nay, they did him harm,&lt;br /&gt;
because there arises, in time, a contempt for those&lt;br /&gt;
who can only shriek, but cannot help themselves.&lt;br /&gt;
Ouida&amp;#039;s protest, therefore, considered as a cry of&lt;br /&gt;
the helpless, is much more likely to do harm than&lt;br /&gt;
to do good. Meantime&mdash;a fact of which she is&lt;br /&gt;
apparently quite ignorant&mdash;the Society, without&lt;br /&gt;
making any protest at all, has been quietly engaged&lt;br /&gt;
in taking the first steps towards removing this in-&lt;br /&gt;
justice. It has drafted a Bill consolidating and&lt;br /&gt;
amending the Copyright Law in which the dra-&lt;br /&gt;
matic rights are reserved, defined and protected.&lt;br /&gt;
This Bill, as our readers know, is in Lord Monks-&lt;br /&gt;
well&amp;#039;s hands, and has already been read once in&lt;br /&gt;
the House of Lords.&lt;br /&gt;
Now this is a very apt illustration of what may&lt;br /&gt;
be done when authors combine. We have a&lt;br /&gt;
Copyright Committee composed entirely of lawyers.&lt;br /&gt;
They have done for us what we certainly could&lt;br /&gt;
never do for ourselves, working separately and by&lt;br /&gt;
means of protests and letters in the Times. The&lt;br /&gt;
passing of this Bill, which is in no sense political&lt;br /&gt;
and attacks no interests, we may regard as merely&lt;br /&gt;
a matter of time. Another illustration of what&lt;br /&gt;
may be done when people combine is to be found&lt;br /&gt;
in the two books of the Society&mdash;the &amp;quot;Cost of&lt;br /&gt;
Production&amp;quot; and the &amp;quot;Methods of Publishing.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Hitherto, authors have been kept designedly in&lt;br /&gt;
the dark as to the actual cost of printing and pro-&lt;br /&gt;
ducing a book. They have been kept equally in&lt;br /&gt;
the dark as to the retail prices and the actual pro-&lt;br /&gt;
ceeds of their books. Therefore they cor.ld not&lt;br /&gt;
possibly tell what any agreement submitted to&lt;br /&gt;
them meant. By united action, that is to say, by&lt;br /&gt;
supporting an office and a staff, whose duty it was to&lt;br /&gt;
work and to collect information, this has now been&lt;br /&gt;
done. Henceforth, no author need sign any&lt;br /&gt;
agreement without understanding exactly what the&lt;br /&gt;
publisher offers to give him and what he designs&lt;br /&gt;
to keep for himself. No honourable man can&lt;br /&gt;
possibly object to this understanding. It is there-&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 312 (#376) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
312&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
fore a step in which all honourable publishers as&lt;br /&gt;
well as all authors must rejoice over. And it is&lt;br /&gt;
the first fruit of combined action.&lt;br /&gt;
A lady sends me, as a protest against the book-&lt;br /&gt;
sellers&amp;#039; opinion that women buy few books except&lt;br /&gt;
novels, a list of books purchased by herself and&lt;br /&gt;
her sisters during a few years of residence in the&lt;br /&gt;
country. The letter is not for publication, but&lt;br /&gt;
I hope I do not violate confidence if I say that&lt;br /&gt;
these ladies seem to have read&mdash;and bought&mdash;all&lt;br /&gt;
the principal books of the last two or three years,&lt;br /&gt;
together with a great number of standard books by&lt;br /&gt;
authors now deceased. There are books of science,&lt;br /&gt;
books of religion, histories, biographies, belles&lt;br /&gt;
lettres, poetry, and fiction, the books of the last-&lt;br /&gt;
named being in a very small minority. The large&lt;br /&gt;
amount of poetry in the list seems to confirm my&lt;br /&gt;
belief that we are going to have a return of the&lt;br /&gt;
popularity of poetry, not of course among the baser&lt;br /&gt;
sort who have never loved poetry, but among those&lt;br /&gt;
of cultivation and education. But perhaps these&lt;br /&gt;
ladies are exceptions even among the higher class.&lt;br /&gt;
The list gives one a glimpse into a very pleasant&lt;br /&gt;
and refined interior. Such ladies want no vindi-&lt;br /&gt;
cation, and such statements as that against which&lt;br /&gt;
my correspondent enters her protest do not apply&lt;br /&gt;
to them.&lt;br /&gt;
We have spoken in the Author of recent&lt;br /&gt;
American verse, and it was suggested that since&lt;br /&gt;
there are so many living poets in the States it would&lt;br /&gt;
be well if some of their work was introduced to&lt;br /&gt;
English readers who are thirsting for new poets.&lt;br /&gt;
I am happy to say that something has been already-&lt;br /&gt;
done in this direction. A dainty volume in brown&lt;br /&gt;
paper (&amp;quot; Garde Joyeuse,&amp;quot; Frank Murray, Derby and&lt;br /&gt;
Nottingham) has been presented to me. It is a&lt;br /&gt;
collection of Society verses. They suggest Praed&lt;br /&gt;
and Austin Dobson, with a reminiscence here and&lt;br /&gt;
there of Andrew Lang. Many of them are very&lt;br /&gt;
pretty and dexterous. Perhaps some of our&lt;br /&gt;
readers would like to make acquaintance with the&lt;br /&gt;
volume. I am not able to state the price. Here&lt;br /&gt;
is one little thing, as light as froth, but pretty. It&lt;br /&gt;
is called &amp;quot; Private Theatricals.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
You were a haughty beaut)&amp;#039;, Polly&lt;br /&gt;
( That was in the play),&lt;br /&gt;
I was the lover melancholy&lt;br /&gt;
(That was in the play);&lt;br /&gt;
And when your fan and you receded,&lt;br /&gt;
And all my passion lay unheeded,&lt;br /&gt;
If still with tenderer words I pleaded,&lt;br /&gt;
They were in the play.&lt;br /&gt;
I met my rival in the gateway&lt;br /&gt;
(That was in the play),&lt;br /&gt;
And so we fought a duel straightway&lt;br /&gt;
(That was in the play);&lt;br /&gt;
But when Jack hurt my arm unduly,&lt;br /&gt;
And you rushed over, softened newly,&lt;br /&gt;
And kissed me, Polly! truly, truly,&lt;br /&gt;
Was that in the play?&lt;br /&gt;
The author of this little poem is Miss Louise&lt;br /&gt;
Imogene Guiney. I should like also to quote Miss&lt;br /&gt;
Eva L. Ogden&amp;#039;s &amp;quot;The Sea,&amp;quot; but I think it has&lt;br /&gt;
already appeared in some English magazine. At&lt;br /&gt;
least the lines seem familiar to me.&lt;br /&gt;
I have had a good many communications from&lt;br /&gt;
novelists on the subject of reviewing quite apart from&lt;br /&gt;
the subject of the School of Novelists, considered&lt;br /&gt;
later. It is natural that authors should feel strongly&lt;br /&gt;
upon the subject. There never was a time when&lt;br /&gt;
they liked the reviewer, either the one who wields the&lt;br /&gt;
bludgeon, or the one who carries the rapier, or the&lt;br /&gt;
man who employs the dissecting scalpel. There-&lt;br /&gt;
fore one accepts the ordinary grumble as a grumble,&lt;br /&gt;
and nothing more. Yet there seems a real grievance&lt;br /&gt;
in the lumping of a dozen or twenty novels into a&lt;br /&gt;
set to be reviewed in a single coluinn or two&lt;br /&gt;
columns. This makes it not only impossible to&lt;br /&gt;
give anything like a review&mdash;what may be called a&lt;br /&gt;
serious review&mdash;to a work of art, but it degrades a&lt;br /&gt;
most important branch of literature thus to treat it&lt;br /&gt;
as if all the books of this branch are to be thrown&lt;br /&gt;
together into a heap. Moreover, it is absolutely&lt;br /&gt;
absurd to expect a man who works for pay to read&lt;br /&gt;
books of which he has to furnish a dozen reviews&lt;br /&gt;
every week. The thing is too ridiculous. There&lt;br /&gt;
are, for instance, papers in which books receive a&lt;br /&gt;
line and a half or two lines of notice. How much&lt;br /&gt;
of these books can be read? Now, we cannot&lt;br /&gt;
possibly make good reviewers out of bad, but we&lt;br /&gt;
can reconsider the rights and uses of reviews.&lt;br /&gt;
Certainly the contemptuous &amp;quot;batch&amp;quot; method of&lt;br /&gt;
reviewing can do no good at all to either authors or&lt;br /&gt;
publishers or the interests of literature. Perhaps&lt;br /&gt;
editors only want to have their attention turned to&lt;br /&gt;
the absurdity.&lt;br /&gt;
The reviewing of novels in the batch was started&lt;br /&gt;
at a time when novels were about at their lowest&lt;br /&gt;
pointof commonplace and conventionality. Fiction&lt;br /&gt;
is now the most vigorous branch of letters, the most&lt;br /&gt;
useful, the most instructive, the most influential, in&lt;br /&gt;
every civilized country throughout the world. It1S&lt;br /&gt;
monstrous that novels should be still treated as if&lt;br /&gt;
the best novel was a thing of less importance than&lt;br /&gt;
the most trifling addition to the many series of&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 313 (#377) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
1 o&lt;br /&gt;
o 1 T 1&lt;br /&gt;
biographies, each of which gets its two columns&lt;br /&gt;
of notice all to itself. We must not allow this&lt;br /&gt;
question to rest.&lt;br /&gt;
The following is a somewhat remarkable question:&lt;br /&gt;
the Society, so far, has not been able, such is the&lt;br /&gt;
ignorance of its staff, to furnish an answer.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Mr. A. B. presents his compliments to the&lt;br /&gt;
Society of Authors, and would feel exceedingly&lt;br /&gt;
obliged if they would kindly inform him what the&lt;br /&gt;
cost of an international copyright would be, and&lt;br /&gt;
also the price of one for Great Britain and the&lt;br /&gt;
colonies; also how Mr. A. B. could succeed in&lt;br /&gt;
procuring a copyright when required.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
It has been brought to the noticeof the Society that&lt;br /&gt;
under theexistingconditionsof Registration of Copy-&lt;br /&gt;
right, the following extraordinary position can be&lt;br /&gt;
arrived at. The instructions for Registration under&lt;br /&gt;
the Act are, among others, as follows:&mdash;No proprietor&lt;br /&gt;
of copyright can take any proceedings in respect&lt;br /&gt;
to infringement unless he has previously registered&lt;br /&gt;
his book, and, secondly, under the head of Foreign&lt;br /&gt;
Reprints, proprietors of books first composed, or&lt;br /&gt;
written, or printed, in the United Kingdom, de-&lt;br /&gt;
siring to prevent the importation of foreign reprints&lt;br /&gt;
must give notice in writing to the Commissioners&lt;br /&gt;
of Customs. If, in fact, an author has iiot regis-&lt;br /&gt;
tered his book, a foreign reprint can be made of it,&lt;br /&gt;
and introduced into England subject to the pay-&lt;br /&gt;
ment of the ordinary duty, because the Custom&lt;br /&gt;
House officials cannot take cognizance of any&lt;br /&gt;
book that has not been registered. If the book&lt;br /&gt;
has been registered, reprints are not admitted at&lt;br /&gt;
all. They may be seized, but such seizure can&lt;br /&gt;
only be made after registration has been notified&lt;br /&gt;
at the Custom House. If, in short, the publisher&lt;br /&gt;
forgets to enter the book at Stationers&amp;#039; Hall, it is&lt;br /&gt;
possible to be undersold by the legal admission&lt;br /&gt;
of foreign reprints. In other words, there is often&lt;br /&gt;
nothing to prevent the ten cent. American edition&lt;br /&gt;
actually being sold in this country beside the six&lt;br /&gt;
shilling edition. For instance, a pirated edition of&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;King Solomon&amp;#039;s Mines&amp;quot; would be received as&lt;br /&gt;
such, but a kindly welcome was accorded to&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Jess&amp;quot; at the Cape of Good Hope on account of&lt;br /&gt;
this little formality being neglected.&lt;br /&gt;
A certain man&mdash;one of letters Three&mdash;has been&lt;br /&gt;
getting money out of kindly people in the city of&lt;br /&gt;
Philadelphia, U.S.A., by representing himself to be&lt;br /&gt;
a brother&mdash;down on his luck&mdash;of a certain man&mdash;of&lt;br /&gt;
letters Many&mdash;a resident in the older country. He&lt;br /&gt;
also said that he was himself a Novelist, a Poet,&lt;br /&gt;
and an Actor. The first and the last he un-&lt;br /&gt;
doubtedly is, and he seems to make his gifts of&lt;br /&gt;
fiction and personation pay better than some of us&lt;br /&gt;
here at home. The man of letters Many suffered&lt;br /&gt;
himself to feel a certain annoyance at this incident,&lt;br /&gt;
because he has no brother in America, nor any&lt;br /&gt;
brother who is either Novelist, Poet, or Actor. He&lt;br /&gt;
even went so far as to cable a message calling that&lt;br /&gt;
man a Fraud, so that his little game is probably&lt;br /&gt;
quite ruined so far as Philadelphia is concerned.&lt;br /&gt;
When this was done, he reflected. Perhaps he had&lt;br /&gt;
been hasty. He considered. The art of Persona-&lt;br /&gt;
tion has become in the States almost a Fine Art.&lt;br /&gt;
As in Mark Twain&amp;#039;s well-known case of Faded&lt;br /&gt;
Greatness, the American Fraud has always hitherto&lt;br /&gt;
been a noble Lord. That he should now become a&lt;br /&gt;
common Novelist speaks volumes for the increased&lt;br /&gt;
respect paid to the craft. Professionally speaking,&lt;br /&gt;
the thing is a compliment. It is, in fact, most grati-&lt;br /&gt;
fying. Every one who lent a dollar to the Brother,&lt;br /&gt;
Novelist, Poet, Actor, has taken off his hat and&lt;br /&gt;
saluted the craft.&lt;br /&gt;
A curious instance of resemblance so close is to&lt;br /&gt;
suggest how plagiarism is found in the corres-&lt;br /&gt;
pondence of last month and this of E. Fairfax&lt;br /&gt;
Byrrne and Ernest Rhys. There can be no doubt&lt;br /&gt;
as to the similarity of the two plots. There can&lt;br /&gt;
be no doubt of the entire independence of their&lt;br /&gt;
invention. These resemblances are very strange.&lt;br /&gt;
For myself, I prefer, when I can get them, plots&lt;br /&gt;
depending on events that really happened. But&lt;br /&gt;
these are hard to find. Here is another anec-&lt;br /&gt;
dote of resemblance. A few weeks ago a certain&lt;br /&gt;
story went the round of some of the papers. It&lt;br /&gt;
came straight from a far off country. Then the&lt;br /&gt;
following discoveries were made:&mdash;(i) that the&lt;br /&gt;
leading incident had been invented and used by a&lt;br /&gt;
novelist quite recently; (2) that the leading in-&lt;br /&gt;
cident was used in an American magazine ten&lt;br /&gt;
years ago; (3) that the leading incident was used&lt;br /&gt;
by Charles Reade fifteen years ago. Now I have&lt;br /&gt;
not the least doubt that in each one of these cases&lt;br /&gt;
the invention was entirely original.&lt;br /&gt;
It is stated by a New York paper, an American&lt;br /&gt;
correspondent informs us, that ceitain English&lt;br /&gt;
authors have entered into arrangements for pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lishing English books in America, and intend&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;either to lay down plant or to acquire control&lt;br /&gt;
of an already established business.&amp;quot; This is news&lt;br /&gt;
to all the English authors with whom I have&lt;br /&gt;
spoken on the matter. No such intention, so far&lt;br /&gt;
as has yet been learned, exists among English&lt;br /&gt;
authors.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 314 (#378) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
314&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
The following suggestion is one which should be&lt;br /&gt;
noted. I think we might very easily form such a&lt;br /&gt;
branch and that we might carry it on usefully.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;There are, as I have reason to know, many&lt;br /&gt;
persons now engaged upon archaeological or&lt;br /&gt;
historical work who are quite willing to pay for&lt;br /&gt;
efficient help in such matters as translations, precis,&lt;br /&gt;
verification of references, and correction of proofs.&lt;br /&gt;
On the other hand, there are a great number of&lt;br /&gt;
literaly men to whom such work would be a&lt;br /&gt;
godsend.&lt;br /&gt;
Do you not think that a register&mdash;through which&lt;br /&gt;
the would-be employer could state his wants, and&lt;br /&gt;
the would-be employed his qualifications&mdash;would&lt;br /&gt;
help to bring the two classes together?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
If such a register were to be kept at the&lt;br /&gt;
Society&amp;#039;s office, or published in the columns of the&lt;br /&gt;
Author, a small charge for each advertisement (or,&lt;br /&gt;
possibly, for those of employers only) ought to&lt;br /&gt;
make it self-supporting.&lt;br /&gt;
The expenses would be only the share of a clerk&lt;br /&gt;
and the necessity of advertising. We ought not&lt;br /&gt;
to take money from those who seek employment,&lt;br /&gt;
but only from those who have employment to give,&lt;br /&gt;
and from those who through our agency receive&lt;br /&gt;
employment. And the money so obtained could&lt;br /&gt;
be a very modest fee.&lt;br /&gt;
Walter Besant.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
THE AMERICAN COPYRIGHT BILL.&lt;br /&gt;
I.&lt;br /&gt;
By E. L. Godkin.&lt;br /&gt;
{Editor of the New York &amp;quot;Nation.&amp;quot;)&lt;br /&gt;
YOUR request that I should express an opinion&lt;br /&gt;
in your columns on the possibilities of in-&lt;br /&gt;
fluence on English and American literature,&lt;br /&gt;
jointly and severally, of the recently passed American&lt;br /&gt;
Copyright Bill, reminds me forcibly of the warning&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;not to prophecy unless you know.&amp;quot; I think even&lt;br /&gt;
those whoknow most about past relations of the pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lishers on each side of the water with the authors&lt;br /&gt;
on the other, generally feel most diffident about&lt;br /&gt;
prescribing with any particularity the effects of the&lt;br /&gt;
Bill. My own notion, which I offer with due&lt;br /&gt;
modesty, is, that the necessities of the agitation in&lt;br /&gt;
support of the Bill have led its advocates to over-&lt;br /&gt;
estimate considerably what it will do in the near&lt;br /&gt;
future, either for American or British authors as a&lt;br /&gt;
class desiring pay for their work. It was only by&lt;br /&gt;
putting the grievous wrongs of American authors&lt;br /&gt;
prominently in the foreground, that the attention&lt;br /&gt;
of a considerable portion both of the public and of&lt;br /&gt;
Members of Congress could be secured. The&lt;br /&gt;
amour propre, too, of a large body of American&lt;br /&gt;
authors was flattered by the plea that they were&lt;br /&gt;
kept out of wide sales and large profits in their own&lt;br /&gt;
country by the cheap pirated editions of British&lt;br /&gt;
books. I have myself thought much of this argu-&lt;br /&gt;
ment, because I have never believed in the exis-&lt;br /&gt;
tence of a purely mercantile competition between&lt;br /&gt;
British and American authors, except perhaps in&lt;br /&gt;
railway trains, or on steamboats. I have never&lt;br /&gt;
believed that people took an English book of the&lt;br /&gt;
same class, in preference to an American one, because&lt;br /&gt;
it cost a little less. Other differences than differ-&lt;br /&gt;
ence in price have been much more powerful as a&lt;br /&gt;
general rule in determining the reader&amp;#039;s choice.&lt;br /&gt;
Even novel writers, who are now the largest class of&lt;br /&gt;
writers in this country, do not compete with each&lt;br /&gt;
other, as butchers or grocers do, by offering the&lt;br /&gt;
same goods for less money. Consequently the&lt;br /&gt;
Copyright Bill, by making British books dearer, will&lt;br /&gt;
not have the effect on the domestic product which&lt;br /&gt;
a good many enthusiastic authors think it will have,&lt;br /&gt;
and this, mutatis mutandis, is true of American&lt;br /&gt;
books in England.&lt;br /&gt;
Moreover, if you go over the publishers&amp;#039; lists&lt;br /&gt;
you will find that the actual injustice inflicted by&lt;br /&gt;
piracy fell on a very small class in both countries.&lt;br /&gt;
The number of authors whom it paid to pirate was&lt;br /&gt;
after all limited, but the number of those who&lt;br /&gt;
liked to think that the pirates were eager to get at&lt;br /&gt;
them, or that they were themselves actually suffer-&lt;br /&gt;
ing in purse or reputation from English or Ameri-&lt;br /&gt;
can marauding, was large. There is a great deal&lt;br /&gt;
of human nature in authors.&lt;br /&gt;
I do not mean by this to underrate the wrong&lt;br /&gt;
and injustice done by the absence of international&lt;br /&gt;
copyright. I think the unpunished robbery of&lt;br /&gt;
ten authors a year is just as great a national dis-&lt;br /&gt;
grace as the unpunished robbery of one hundred,&lt;br /&gt;
and the more distinguished and popular an author&lt;br /&gt;
is, the greater shame it is to rob him. I am&lt;br /&gt;
simply pointing out that the friends of the Copy-&lt;br /&gt;
right Bill, naturally and quite justifiably, got all&lt;br /&gt;
the help they could from every quarter, that is,&lt;br /&gt;
from people&amp;#039;s illusions and vanities, as well as&lt;br /&gt;
from their sense of justice and right. They had&lt;br /&gt;
to do so in order to succeed, and are not to be&lt;br /&gt;
blamed. But the effect was to magnify the pe-&lt;br /&gt;
cuniary importance of the Bill, that is, to use a&lt;br /&gt;
slang phrase here, to produce the impression that&lt;br /&gt;
there was &amp;quot;more money in it&amp;quot; than there really&lt;br /&gt;
was. I submit these observations as applicable&lt;br /&gt;
both to England and America.&lt;br /&gt;
The great value of the Bill, in my own mind,&lt;br /&gt;
certainly on this side of the water, lies in the aid it&lt;br /&gt;
will render in elevating literature and authorship&lt;br /&gt;
as a profession in the eyes of the mass of the&lt;br /&gt;
J&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 315 (#379) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
3i5&lt;br /&gt;
people. Away from the Atlantic Sea Coast the&lt;br /&gt;
great bulk of the population have never seen an&lt;br /&gt;
author, or anybody except1 newspaper editors, who&lt;br /&gt;
makes money by the sale of any species of litera-&lt;br /&gt;
ture, and, as a rule, they are disposed to estimate&lt;br /&gt;
a man&amp;#039;s intellectual and social value by his capacity&lt;br /&gt;
for making money. There prevails, therefore, in a&lt;br /&gt;
large measure, also pity and contempt for the&lt;br /&gt;
thinking class, the writers, professors, and so forth,&lt;br /&gt;
who are unable or do not care to share in the great&lt;br /&gt;
industrial successes of the day. This prejudice&lt;br /&gt;
was undoubtedly strengthened and deepened by&lt;br /&gt;
the spectacle of books made cheap by theft, and&lt;br /&gt;
by finding that very good and prominent men in&lt;br /&gt;
and out of Congress thought it no harm to steal&lt;br /&gt;
them. Wares, which the law did not think wonh&lt;br /&gt;
protection, could not, it seemed, be of very great&lt;br /&gt;
account. International Copyright will undoubtedly&lt;br /&gt;
help to elevate the popular mind into a higher ap-&lt;br /&gt;
preciation of literature as a calling, by recognizing&lt;br /&gt;
its value as property.&lt;br /&gt;
The Copyright Bill, too, will probably stimulate&lt;br /&gt;
authors on each side into seeking a market on the&lt;br /&gt;
other, and they will thus make themselves better&lt;br /&gt;
known. That is, they will expose their wares&lt;br /&gt;
more, and you will in this way become acquainted&lt;br /&gt;
with more American authors in the region of light&lt;br /&gt;
literature than you are now, and some of those&lt;br /&gt;
who are coming forward on this side are very&lt;br /&gt;
promising. Whether there will ever be anything&lt;br /&gt;
in either country in the nature of real competition&lt;br /&gt;
between English and American novelists seems to&lt;br /&gt;
me doubtful. Readers in every country most&lt;br /&gt;
enjoy reading about social conditions differing&lt;br /&gt;
widely from their own. Pictures of English and&lt;br /&gt;
continental life will always have the charm of&lt;br /&gt;
variety for Americans. Whether in the long run&lt;br /&gt;
pictures of American life will held their own in&lt;br /&gt;
Europe may be questioned. I have always thought&lt;br /&gt;
society here either too homogeneous, or one might&lt;br /&gt;
say monotonous, to make America a good place&lt;br /&gt;
for a novelist to learn or follow his trade in, in com-&lt;br /&gt;
petition with Europeans. There does not seem to&lt;br /&gt;
be enough variety of motive, type, and manners&lt;br /&gt;
here for his purpose, but I may be greatly mistaken&lt;br /&gt;
in this. But in any case I do not think the Copy-&lt;br /&gt;
right Bill will affect the result in any way, except,&lt;br /&gt;
as I have said, by stimulating authors to greater&lt;br /&gt;
activity in seeking a foreign publisher. The&lt;br /&gt;
prospect seems to me much more encouraging for&lt;br /&gt;
American authors in the fields of philosophy,&lt;br /&gt;
science, law, and political economy. I do not think&lt;br /&gt;
you know in England what excellent and vigorous&lt;br /&gt;
work is being done by the younger generation in&lt;br /&gt;
these fields in this country, and the prospect of a&lt;br /&gt;
safe English market is certain to increase their&lt;br /&gt;
industry.&lt;br /&gt;
The hardship supposed to lie in the clause of&lt;br /&gt;
the Bill which calls for simultaneous publication in&lt;br /&gt;
both countries is, I think, greatly overrated. Of&lt;br /&gt;
course it would be for the English and American&lt;br /&gt;
author&amp;#039;s advantage to be able to wait before taking&lt;br /&gt;
out his copyright in the foreign country, until his&lt;br /&gt;
book had made a success in his own. He could&lt;br /&gt;
then make a better bargain with a foreign pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lisher. But this is largely one of the hardships of&lt;br /&gt;
the imagination. An obscure author who prints&lt;br /&gt;
simultaneously in both countries will have in each&lt;br /&gt;
the advantage of any subsequent success of his&lt;br /&gt;
book in the other. If his book is taken up eagerly&lt;br /&gt;
in England, the effect will at once be felt in his&lt;br /&gt;
American edition, and vice versa. Moreover, the&lt;br /&gt;
search for the foreign publisher will, for him, be no&lt;br /&gt;
more serious than the search for the home pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lisher. If an obscure Englishman has no friends&lt;br /&gt;
here to offer his work to the publishers, he will&lt;br /&gt;
find competent persons to do it, as a matter of&lt;br /&gt;
business, for a small commission. Organizations&lt;br /&gt;
for this special business are, I am told, already&lt;br /&gt;
springing up, and I feel sure that a thirty days&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
search, conducted simultaneously in both countries,&lt;br /&gt;
will be just as likely to succeed here as in&lt;br /&gt;
England. The publisher who has no wish to take&lt;br /&gt;
advantage of the foreigner&amp;#039;s necessities can never&lt;br /&gt;
hold the field against the publisher who is eager&lt;br /&gt;
to get into the market with a good thing, when he&lt;br /&gt;
thinks he has got hold of it, now when the law&lt;br /&gt;
protects him in the possession of foreign goods.&lt;br /&gt;
These views are a somewhat promiscuous assort&lt;br /&gt;
ment. The best thing I can say for them is, that&lt;br /&gt;
they are probably as good as anybody else&amp;#039;s can be&lt;br /&gt;
as yet, on this topic. I repeat that I think the&lt;br /&gt;
Copyright Bill is mainly valuable as putting a stop&lt;br /&gt;
to the demoralizing spectacle of unrestrained,&lt;br /&gt;
shameless cheating of foreign authors and pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lishers, practiced even by doctors of divinity and&lt;br /&gt;
connived at, even encouraged, by the Government,&lt;br /&gt;
and defended by all sorts of hypocrisy and sophistry.&lt;br /&gt;
The demurrer in a recent suit over the piracy 01&lt;br /&gt;
the &amp;quot; Encyclopedia Britannica,&amp;quot; that the plaintiffs&lt;br /&gt;
were not entitled to protection by Courts of Equity,&lt;br /&gt;
because they had cunningly and fraudulently inter-&lt;br /&gt;
polated small quantities of American matter in the&lt;br /&gt;
book, so as to make it difficult for Americans to&lt;br /&gt;
exercise their ancient and undoubted right to steal&lt;br /&gt;
foreign books, showed to what depths of degrada&lt;br /&gt;
tion and absurdity we were hastening.&lt;br /&gt;
New York, March $ist, 1891.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 316 (#380) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
3i6&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
II.&lt;br /&gt;
The enclosed letter unfortunately nrrived too late&lt;br /&gt;
for last month&amp;#039;s Author. It is addressed to Mr.&lt;br /&gt;
Edmund Gosse by Mr. R. U. Johnson, Secretary&lt;br /&gt;
of the American Copyright League, to whom it&lt;br /&gt;
will be found that English authors in the future&lt;br /&gt;
will owe an immense debt.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;March j/n, 1891.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I have only time, in addition to sending the&lt;br /&gt;
enclosed text of the Copyright Bill as printed in&lt;br /&gt;
the Tribune, to say that I hope you will use&lt;br /&gt;
your influence to allay the silly talk of some of the&lt;br /&gt;
English papers in regard to the Copyright Bill&lt;br /&gt;
being a &amp;#039;fraud.&amp;#039; How can a Bill be a fraud which&lt;br /&gt;
gives unconditional copyright to artistic property,&lt;br /&gt;
and which gives copyright to literary property on&lt;br /&gt;
conditions, after all, not onerous?&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The abolition of the requirement of the&lt;br /&gt;
consent of the author in the importation of two&lt;br /&gt;
copies of the English edition of copyright works in&lt;br /&gt;
each package, is a decided improvement. I&lt;br /&gt;
myself voted against that clause when the Bill was&lt;br /&gt;
framed, believing that the friction it would produce&lt;br /&gt;
would react against the law.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I am compelled to close this letter abruptly&lt;br /&gt;
to catch the mail, but I want to say that I believe&lt;br /&gt;
that you and Mr. Bryce and our most intelligent&lt;br /&gt;
English friends will not be misled by the clamour&lt;br /&gt;
of your publishers and distributors of literary&lt;br /&gt;
property, into forgetting the enormous moral&lt;br /&gt;
progress, and the great material benefit to your&lt;br /&gt;
countrymen, which this Bill effects.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Johnson&amp;#039;s own opinion upon the Bill is thus&lt;br /&gt;
stated by a reporter to the New York Tribune:&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Those who think that anything is to be&lt;br /&gt;
regretted in the changes that have been made in&lt;br /&gt;
the Copyright Bill since its passage by the House,&lt;br /&gt;
have probably not s| oken by the book, for in my&lt;br /&gt;
opinion the friends of copyright have not only&lt;br /&gt;
succeeded in defeating dangerous amendments&lt;br /&gt;
which would have taken the heart out of the Bill,&lt;br /&gt;
but the concessions that have been made have&lt;br /&gt;
been of such a nature as to be a source of strength&lt;br /&gt;
to the law in its practical working hereafter. It&lt;br /&gt;
must first be understood that the non-importation&lt;br /&gt;
clause was a necessary corollary of the typesetting&lt;br /&gt;
clause. It was, indeed, the mandatory part of the&lt;br /&gt;
Bill, and it would have been of no use to assert&lt;br /&gt;
the &amp;#039;condition precedent&amp;#039; of manufacture in this&lt;br /&gt;
country for the purpose of giving the market to&lt;br /&gt;
American workmen, if the market had been&lt;br /&gt;
immediately taken away by permitting its invasion&lt;br /&gt;
by books of English manufacture. Therefore,&lt;br /&gt;
those who voted for the Sherman amendment&lt;br /&gt;
and assumed to be in favour of the typesetting&lt;br /&gt;
clause were in the position of the man who was in&lt;br /&gt;
favour of the law, but &amp;#039;agin &amp;#039; its enforcement.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The chief point of objection on which it was&lt;br /&gt;
necessary to make confession was in the clause&lt;br /&gt;
which permitted the importation of only two copies&lt;br /&gt;
of a foreign book, and required the consent of the&lt;br /&gt;
owner of the American copyright to this importa-&lt;br /&gt;
tion. It is likely that had this remained in the Bill&lt;br /&gt;
there would have been a reaction against the copy-&lt;br /&gt;
right movement, by reason of the annoyances to&lt;br /&gt;
which the public might have considered that they&lt;br /&gt;
were subject by having to obtain written permission&lt;br /&gt;
to import. The substitute for this clause abolishes&lt;br /&gt;
the requirement of the owner&amp;#039;s permission, and&lt;br /&gt;
the proposal of this substitute in the Conference&lt;br /&gt;
Committee was due to a concession on the part of&lt;br /&gt;
the typographical unions, and was done by them,&lt;br /&gt;
although somewhat reluctantly, for the purpose of&lt;br /&gt;
saving the Bill, a service which should not be for-&lt;br /&gt;
gotten by the friends of the cause.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The Ingalls amendment, which permitted free&lt;br /&gt;
importation of new.&amp;#039;papers and periodicals, would&lt;br /&gt;
have simply transferred the piratical establishments&lt;br /&gt;
from the American to the Canadian side of the&lt;br /&gt;
border, and all sorts of American books, as well as&lt;br /&gt;
foreign books, might thus have been freely im-&lt;br /&gt;
ported in periodical form, either in the form adopted&lt;br /&gt;
by the so-called &amp;#039;cheap libraries,&amp;#039; or in magazine&lt;br /&gt;
form, whole books being included in a magazine.&lt;br /&gt;
This form of publication in copyright material is&lt;br /&gt;
seen in Lippincott&amp;#039;s Magazine, and there is no&lt;br /&gt;
reason why under the Ingalls amendment as&lt;br /&gt;
originally proposed it could not have been easily&lt;br /&gt;
adopted for piratical works. The Ingalls amend-&lt;br /&gt;
ment as modified in the present Bill, however,&lt;br /&gt;
secures the American owner of copyright against&lt;br /&gt;
such importations of works not authorized by the&lt;br /&gt;
author.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The conditions of trade will, of course, have&lt;br /&gt;
hereafter to adjust themselves, but one of the first&lt;br /&gt;
things in connection with the Bill that seems never&lt;br /&gt;
to have entered the minds of people, is that now&lt;br /&gt;
the publishers under the workings of this law can&lt;br /&gt;
afford to advertise English books more than they&lt;br /&gt;
have ever clone before, because they can feel sure&lt;br /&gt;
of the returns to them of the wider market.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Among other opinions is that of Mr. Gilder :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The general effect of the new law will be to&lt;br /&gt;
impiove the conditions of authorship throughout&lt;br /&gt;
the world. Its tendency will be to increase all&lt;br /&gt;
literary values&mdash;that is, authors will have a wider&lt;br /&gt;
market for their wares, and by the removal of the&lt;br /&gt;
illegitimate side of publishing, the publishing busi-&lt;br /&gt;
ness will be strengthened and improved, and this&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 317 (#381) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
3&amp;#039;7&lt;br /&gt;
will also be a good thing for the producers of&lt;br /&gt;
literature. I confess, however, that the thing which&lt;br /&gt;
gives me greatest pleasure is the removal of the&lt;br /&gt;
stain of literary piracy from the American flag.&lt;br /&gt;
It is, moreover, without exaggeration, a long step&lt;br /&gt;
forward in the march of civilization. Would to&lt;br /&gt;
God that it had come in time to help Scott and&lt;br /&gt;
Dickens and all the great foreign authors of our&lt;br /&gt;
century. But the present and the future are ours,&lt;br /&gt;
and I sincerely believe that no other single device&lt;br /&gt;
could be so sure of giving an impulse to the literary&lt;br /&gt;
art. Foreign artists and musical composers, as&lt;br /&gt;
well as American artists and composers, will also&lt;br /&gt;
greatly profit from this great victory.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
The Post of New York last evening published&lt;br /&gt;
a telegram from Washington, in which the cor-&lt;br /&gt;
respondent gives an account of an interview&lt;br /&gt;
with Mr. Spofford, Librarian of Congress, who&lt;br /&gt;
has charge of the Copyright Department, as&lt;br /&gt;
to the effect of the new copyright law upon&lt;br /&gt;
periodical publications. Mr. Spofford said: &amp;quot;An&lt;br /&gt;
American periodical will not be privileged to copy&lt;br /&gt;
a story or essay from an English magazine if the&lt;br /&gt;
magazine has been copyrighted in the United&lt;br /&gt;
States. An English magazine will be compelled&lt;br /&gt;
to be reprinted in the United States in order to be&lt;br /&gt;
copyrighted, and the same rule will be applied to&lt;br /&gt;
a magazine as a book&mdash;in fact, for copyright pur-&lt;br /&gt;
poses a magazine is a book.&amp;quot; Asked whether it&lt;br /&gt;
would be necessary to copyright English magazines&lt;br /&gt;
number by number, or whether a whole year&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
numbers would be included in one entry, Mr.&lt;br /&gt;
Spofford replied: &amp;quot;Oh, number by number.&lt;br /&gt;
Section 11 provides that each number of a&lt;br /&gt;
periodical shall be considered as an independent&lt;br /&gt;
publication. That suggests at once the question&lt;br /&gt;
whether, since the term periodical is used in the&lt;br /&gt;
section concerning independent publications, but&lt;br /&gt;
omitted in that relating to reprints, the point may&lt;br /&gt;
not be raised by some English periodical publisher&lt;br /&gt;
against an application to reprint a clause of his&lt;br /&gt;
work. It is not improbable that such a fight will&lt;br /&gt;
be made, though I have my own opinion as to the&lt;br /&gt;
result.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
The Americans have done their part of the work&lt;br /&gt;
as well as they could. Have we done ours? The&lt;br /&gt;
Society most certainly has, because our Bill, as&lt;br /&gt;
soon as it has passed, will place Americans on&lt;br /&gt;
exactly the same footing as Englishmen. But if&lt;br /&gt;
the Bill does not pass, we shall probably have to&lt;br /&gt;
wait&mdash;see the last section of the Bill (page 332)&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
for our Copyright until it does. This is very&lt;br /&gt;
serious. We shall meantime do all we can to&lt;br /&gt;
promote the passage of the Bill.&lt;br /&gt;
A SCHOOL FOR NOVELISTS.&lt;br /&gt;
IS Fiction one of the Fine Arts? In the current&lt;br /&gt;
number of the New Review I have argued,&lt;br /&gt;
on that assumption, that it has certain laws&lt;br /&gt;
and rules and a technique, all of which might be&lt;br /&gt;
reduced to writing in exactly the same manner&lt;br /&gt;
as those for the Art of Painting. I then go&lt;br /&gt;
on to show that these things may be taught,&lt;br /&gt;
and I try to show that if they were taught our&lt;br /&gt;
young writers would certainly be spared a good&lt;br /&gt;
deal of trouble, disappointment, and vexation.&lt;br /&gt;
Also, I point out that one must have the natural&lt;br /&gt;
aptitude, or one cannot become a novelist. Such&lt;br /&gt;
instruction would have to be very general and on&lt;br /&gt;
broad lines only, or there would be the danger of&lt;br /&gt;
turning out a tribe of soulless imitators. But the&lt;br /&gt;
main point on which one insists is that Fiction is&lt;br /&gt;
an Art. Now I see in a certain paper a letter,&lt;br /&gt;
from one who says that he is a schoolmaster. He&lt;br /&gt;
says, also, that boys learn the elements of English&lt;br /&gt;
composition at school, and asks, &amp;quot;What more have&lt;br /&gt;
they to learn?&amp;quot; Oh! Foolish and Ignorant per-&lt;br /&gt;
son! They have to learn an Art&mdash;an Art&mdash;an&lt;br /&gt;
Art! As well say that the drawing master&amp;#039;s lesson&lt;br /&gt;
once a week can make a Royal Academician!&lt;br /&gt;
The writer, however, illustrates the general belief&lt;br /&gt;
on the subject. Everything else, it is acknow-&lt;br /&gt;
ledged, has to be learned and studied. The Art&lt;br /&gt;
of Fiction alone is supposed to come by nature.&lt;br /&gt;
An Art? They cannot understand how it can be&lt;br /&gt;
called an Art. This little paper of mine, however,&lt;br /&gt;
has called forth two papers, one in the Saturday&lt;br /&gt;
Review and one in the Spectator, which deserve&lt;br /&gt;
consideration.&lt;br /&gt;
In support of these contentions of mine, I&lt;br /&gt;
advanced certain facts&mdash;they are facts not to be&lt;br /&gt;
denied, viz., that young novelists do not learn any-&lt;br /&gt;
thing from their critics; that the ordinary critic&lt;br /&gt;
knows nothing about the Art of Fiction ; that a great&lt;br /&gt;
deal of so-called novel reviewing is scandalous and&lt;br /&gt;
inadequate; and that there is no reason at all why&lt;br /&gt;
writers should allow their books to be sent to&lt;br /&gt;
papers which continue to review them in this&lt;br /&gt;
scandalous and inadequate fashion.&lt;br /&gt;
These facts I repeat, and am prepared to main-&lt;br /&gt;
tain, if necessary, by quotation from the journals&lt;br /&gt;
which review novels. The Saturday Revieic, which&lt;br /&gt;
takes up the subject and becomes somewhat heated&lt;br /&gt;
over it, as if it were itself attacked, treats it&lt;br /&gt;
personally&mdash;which is not fair fighting&mdash;and plainly&lt;br /&gt;
intimates that I am the last person to harbour&lt;br /&gt;
animosity towards reviewers. First, I harbour&lt;br /&gt;
none, as I have explained, any more than one&lt;br /&gt;
harbours animosity towards a blind man in saying&lt;br /&gt;
that he is blind. The ordinary reviewer of novels,&lt;br /&gt;
I say, knows nothing of the Art of Fiction. Well,&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 318 (#382) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
3i8&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
it is not an answer to say, &amp;quot;A pretty fellow you&lt;br /&gt;
are, to attack reviewers!&amp;quot; The thing is to con-&lt;br /&gt;
sider whether the charge is true. And it is not&lt;br /&gt;
enough to sny that you know this paper and that&lt;br /&gt;
paper wheie it is not true. We must take all the&lt;br /&gt;
journals together and consider whether it is true&lt;br /&gt;
generally. Or the writer may mean that I, who have&lt;br /&gt;
been&amp;#039;treated more kindly than my deserts perhaps&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
God knoweth&mdash;should feel myself bribed not to re-&lt;br /&gt;
view reviewers. If not, what does the 3&amp;lt;7/&laquo;rrfiry mean?&lt;br /&gt;
The writer goes on to say, &amp;quot;The really curious&lt;br /&gt;
thing is that the author of this paper should first&lt;br /&gt;
think that it is the critic&amp;#039;s duty to teach their art to&lt;br /&gt;
authors whose works he criticizes; and secondly,&lt;br /&gt;
that he should fail to perceive that even the briefest&lt;br /&gt;
judgment of a competent critic is based upon, and&lt;br /&gt;
necessarily implies, the study and knowledge of the&lt;br /&gt;
art which he denies to reviewers.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
These lines have no justification whatever. They&lt;br /&gt;
are a distortion of my words. I nowhere said that&lt;br /&gt;
such is the critic&amp;#039;s duty. I nowhere implied any&lt;br /&gt;
failure to perceive this simple truth.&lt;br /&gt;
It is not, in fact, the duty of the critic to teach&lt;br /&gt;
his authors. It is, however, his duty, before he&lt;br /&gt;
undertakes to review novels, to learn what are the&lt;br /&gt;
points of a good novel, and what goes to make a&lt;br /&gt;
good novel.&lt;br /&gt;
Further, it is impossible for a competent critic to&lt;br /&gt;
write a review without teaching his author some-&lt;br /&gt;
thing. It is equally impossible for an incompetent&lt;br /&gt;
critic to teach his author anything.&lt;br /&gt;
Now, then, is it, or is it not, true, that the&lt;br /&gt;
ordinary review of a novel teaches the author&lt;br /&gt;
nothing? I will quote presently a few words bear-&lt;br /&gt;
ing on this subject from a writer who speaks with&lt;br /&gt;
authority.&lt;br /&gt;
Again, a competent critic may certainly dismiss&lt;br /&gt;
a book in a few scornful words&mdash;such as those&lt;br /&gt;
quoted by the Saturday Reviewer. And these, as&lt;br /&gt;
the writer says, and I nowhere deny, may be just,&lt;br /&gt;
true, well deserved, and based on sound criticism.&lt;br /&gt;
The few words are the judgment of the critic.&lt;br /&gt;
Without explanation they mean no more than what&lt;br /&gt;
I said; that is, either they mean &amp;quot;I like the work,&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
or, &amp;quot;I do not like the work.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
A judgment, however, is not a criticism or a&lt;br /&gt;
review ; it is only a part of a criticism. It is the&lt;br /&gt;
summary of the matter. Is the reviewer always,&lt;br /&gt;
then, to give his reasons? That is a matter for&lt;br /&gt;
him to consider. It may be that his name alone&lt;br /&gt;
gives weight to his judgment. It may be that he&lt;br /&gt;
thinks the paper in which it appears gives weight&lt;br /&gt;
to his judgment. In any case, can he wonder if&lt;br /&gt;
the author should say, &amp;quot;This man dismisses me&lt;br /&gt;
with half a dozen scornful words: he gives no&lt;br /&gt;
reason, argument, or example. This judgment&lt;br /&gt;
does not advance me in my endeavour after&lt;br /&gt;
better work: it does my publisher no good; it&lt;br /&gt;
does literature no good. I will not ask him for&lt;br /&gt;
another. Why should I ask an opinion of a man&lt;br /&gt;
who only tells me that my work is worthless and&lt;br /&gt;
refuses any reasons?&amp;quot; Can the Saturday Review&lt;br /&gt;
object to the author taking that line?&lt;br /&gt;
I will now recommend the Saturday Reviewer to&lt;br /&gt;
read a page or two in Mr. George Salisbury&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Essays in English Literature&amp;quot; (page xxiii). He&lt;br /&gt;
there says (the italics are ours) :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;That a very large amount of reviewing is&lt;br /&gt;
determined by doubtless well-meaning incompe-&lt;br /&gt;
tence, there is no doubt whatever. It is, on the&lt;br /&gt;
whole, the most difficult kind of newspaper&lt;br /&gt;
writing, and it is, on the whole, the most lightly&lt;br /&gt;
assigned and the most irresponsibly performed. I&lt;br /&gt;
have heard of newspapers where the reviews&lt;br /&gt;
depended almost wholly on the accident of some&lt;br /&gt;
of the staff taking a holiday, or being laid for a&lt;br /&gt;
time on the shelf, or being considered not up to&lt;br /&gt;
other work; of others, though this, I own, is&lt;br /&gt;
scarcely credible, where the whole reviewing was&lt;br /&gt;
farmed out to a manager, to be allotted to devils as&lt;br /&gt;
good to him seemed; of many where the reviews&lt;br /&gt;
ivere a sort of exercising ground on which novices&lt;br /&gt;
were trained, broken down hacks turned out to&lt;br /&gt;
grass, and invalids allowed a little gentle exercise.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
He goes on to say that he knows of not a few&lt;br /&gt;
papers and not a fewreviewers in which and by whom&lt;br /&gt;
the best work possible is given to one of the most&lt;br /&gt;
important kinds of work.&lt;br /&gt;
I do not remember that the Saturday Review&lt;br /&gt;
expressed, at the time when these words appeared,&lt;br /&gt;
any objection to this sweeping condemnation of&lt;br /&gt;
the prevalent modes of reviewing. Yet my charge&lt;br /&gt;
is a mere trifle compared with it. All I say is,&lt;br /&gt;
that the ordinary reviewer of fiction&mdash;only one&lt;br /&gt;
branch of literature&mdash;does not recognize that he&lt;br /&gt;
has to do with a Fine Art, does not know that there&lt;br /&gt;
is an Art of Fiction, and never by any remarks,&lt;br /&gt;
criticisms, or judgments of his assists the writer.&lt;br /&gt;
Would the Saturday Review blame the novelist&lt;br /&gt;
who refused to give his books for review to Mr.&lt;br /&gt;
Saintsbury&amp;#039;s broken down hacks, novices, and&lt;br /&gt;
invalids? Or to papers where the reviewing is put&lt;br /&gt;
out to farm? Or to those whose reviewers are&lt;br /&gt;
considered not fit for any other work?&lt;br /&gt;
I say that, not only out of self-respect, but out of&lt;br /&gt;
respect for literature, an author ought to refuse his&lt;br /&gt;
books to such papers. This the Saturday Review&lt;br /&gt;
very needlessly calls &amp;quot;boycotting&amp;quot; those papers.&lt;br /&gt;
It is not a fair use of the word. You do not boy-&lt;br /&gt;
cott a workman because he works badly. You&lt;br /&gt;
leave him: you ask someone else to do the work.&lt;br /&gt;
The Saturday sneers at the proposed School of&lt;br /&gt;
Fiction. It will, however, come. Of that there is&lt;br /&gt;
doubt. Let us turn again from the Saturday to&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 319 (#383) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Saintsbury. He says (p. xxiii of the same&lt;br /&gt;
work), &amp;quot;I think that if I were dictator, one of the&lt;br /&gt;
first non-political things that I should do, would&lt;br /&gt;
be to make the order of reviewers as close a one,&lt;br /&gt;
at least, as the Bench of Judges, or the staff of the&lt;br /&gt;
Mint, or of any public establishment of a similar&lt;br /&gt;
character.&amp;quot; He, you see, would have a College of&lt;br /&gt;
Reviewers. One of the things they must learn to&lt;br /&gt;
qualify for the fellowship in that College would be&lt;br /&gt;
the technique and the laws of the Art of Fiction.&lt;br /&gt;
Will Mr. Saintsbury allow them, in order to&lt;br /&gt;
facilitate their studies, to attend my School of&lt;br /&gt;
Fiction?&lt;br /&gt;
There is, however, an article in the Spectator&lt;br /&gt;
which is much more useful for our purposes, be-&lt;br /&gt;
cause it artlessly and ingenuously illustrates the&lt;br /&gt;
common attitude of mind towards this Art of Fiction.&lt;br /&gt;
It is written by a person, apparently a Lady&mdash;it&lt;br /&gt;
might have been written in the Thirties&mdash;who&lt;br /&gt;
believes that there is no Art of Fiction at all&mdash;&amp;quot; no&lt;br /&gt;
such thing, my dear, I do assure you.&amp;quot; Indeed, if&lt;br /&gt;
you come to think of it, &amp;quot;What is there to teach?&lt;br /&gt;
The most would be to tell a pupil whether he&lt;br /&gt;
wrote good English, or whether he had a natural&lt;br /&gt;
aptitude for conveying his ideas to other people.&lt;br /&gt;
What Mr. Besant is pleased to call technique is&lt;br /&gt;
not technical or teachable; it is the nice tact, the&lt;br /&gt;
delicate faculty . . .&amp;quot; and so on&mdash;and so on;&lt;br /&gt;
we know the prattling flow of the brook. &amp;quot;We&lt;br /&gt;
should say that in writing a novel there was no&lt;br /&gt;
more technical knowledge involved than that in the&lt;br /&gt;
power of writing intelligibly &amp;quot;!!! The notes of ad-&lt;br /&gt;
miration are not in the original. But what a noble&lt;br /&gt;
sixpennyworth is that which contains such a sen-&lt;br /&gt;
tence as this! This article ought to glorify and&lt;br /&gt;
light up the Spectator for a twelvemonth at least.&lt;br /&gt;
It ought to enlarge its circulation enormously. Not&lt;br /&gt;
a tea-table in all Islington should be without it.&lt;br /&gt;
This, you see, is the actual opinion, put more baldly&lt;br /&gt;
and more plainly than one could have conceived&lt;br /&gt;
possible, of smug, suburban, Philistinism, wholly&lt;br /&gt;
ignorant of Art and all its methods. It is the&lt;br /&gt;
opinion of the class who look at a picture for the&lt;br /&gt;
story, and think it grew of itself.&lt;br /&gt;
Construction, grouping, selection, dramatic effects,&lt;br /&gt;
development of character, the weaving of a plot&lt;br /&gt;
from a central idea, colour, atmosphere, and all the&lt;br /&gt;
rest of the technique (not the &amp;quot;nice tact, delicate&lt;br /&gt;
faculty,&amp;quot; and um&mdash;um&mdash;urn) come by nature and&lt;br /&gt;
instinct!&lt;br /&gt;
Remember that what I claimed was that this&lt;br /&gt;
technique can be taught&mdash;not that a novelist can&lt;br /&gt;
be created. He is born, but I would clear his&lt;br /&gt;
way for him, so far as teaching and direction can&lt;br /&gt;
clear a way. This technique consists, according to&lt;br /&gt;
my Lady Solomon, &amp;quot;in the power of reading and&lt;br /&gt;
writing.&amp;quot; Oh! most wise and learned Judge!&lt;br /&gt;
Of course these things are acquired, even by the&lt;br /&gt;
greatest genius, by study, observation, comparison,&lt;br /&gt;
and practice. At this Society, I am happy to say,&lt;br /&gt;
we have been enabled, without fuss or parade, to&lt;br /&gt;
clear the way for a good many young writers who&lt;br /&gt;
have come to us for help. We have not created&lt;br /&gt;
novelists, we have not tried to do so, we have only&lt;br /&gt;
taught them what it is to be a novelist, and we&lt;br /&gt;
have given them a few elementary lessons.&lt;br /&gt;
The Spectator asks plaintively what help or in-&lt;br /&gt;
struction the reviewer can give? Why, since the&lt;br /&gt;
reviewer denies that there is any Art in Fiction,&lt;br /&gt;
none&mdash;none whatever, Madame. If that is also&lt;br /&gt;
the belief of those who actually do the reviews for&lt;br /&gt;
that paper, the sooner we stop sending it novels the&lt;br /&gt;
better. But I have good reasons for believing that&lt;br /&gt;
the writer does not represent the views of all the&lt;br /&gt;
staff.&lt;br /&gt;
Then it asks what I mean by the &amp;quot;base and&lt;br /&gt;
ignominious&amp;quot; terms by which many writers are&lt;br /&gt;
persuaded to publish their works. Oh! This&lt;br /&gt;
good lady knows nothing&mdash;nothing at all!&lt;br /&gt;
I call it base and ignominious when a writer&lt;br /&gt;
has been refused by all the honourable Houses,&lt;br /&gt;
because the work is worthless, to accept the offer&lt;br /&gt;
of some wretched swindler who persuades him&lt;br /&gt;
that there are going to be vast profits, makes him&lt;br /&gt;
pay a lump more than enough to cover the&lt;br /&gt;
whole cost of production on the pretence that it&lt;br /&gt;
is a half, or a third; cheats him in advertisements,&lt;br /&gt;
corrections, and everything, and gives him back&lt;br /&gt;
nothing but a book ill-printed, on vile paper, ill-&lt;br /&gt;
bound, sent out to be cut to pieces by the&lt;br /&gt;
reviewers. These tricks are exposed month after&lt;br /&gt;
month in the Author; but this writer has never&lt;br /&gt;
heard of the Author. Is it, or is it not, ignominious&lt;br /&gt;
to publish under such conditions?&lt;br /&gt;
One more gem from this wonderful article.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Until now,&amp;quot; the writer says, &amp;quot;we have happily&lt;br /&gt;
believed that the tale of the story-teller and the&lt;br /&gt;
song of the poet were the results of unpremeditated&lt;br /&gt;
Art, even as the strains of the skylark.&amp;quot; Have&lt;br /&gt;
you really thought so, Madame? They used to&lt;br /&gt;
think so sixty years ago in the sweet days of&lt;br /&gt;
Felicia Hemans and L. E. L., and the bulbul and&lt;br /&gt;
the gazelle. All spontaneous&mdash;all by the light of&lt;br /&gt;
genius&mdash;all by instinct. The poet has no workshop.&lt;br /&gt;
To him, rhythm, rhyme, metre, form, the rules of&lt;br /&gt;
verse, the history of verse, the modern conditions&lt;br /&gt;
of verse, come by nature&mdash;all&mdash;all&mdash;born with&lt;br /&gt;
him, as the song with the skylark and the quack&lt;br /&gt;
with the duck. Yes, indeed&mdash;indeed. How&lt;br /&gt;
lovely&mdash;how beautiful&mdash;how tender&mdash;and how&lt;br /&gt;
TRUE!&lt;br /&gt;
W. B.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 320 (#384) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
320&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
AUTHOR V. EDITOR.&lt;br /&gt;
MR. F. HARRISON&amp;#039;S article in the current&lt;br /&gt;
number of the Fortnightly Rrciav on&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Editorial Horseplay&amp;quot; is particularly&lt;br /&gt;
entertaining reading. An attack on an editor by&lt;br /&gt;
one who is at once a serious Radical and a brilliant&lt;br /&gt;
litterateur will not fail to delight the somewhat&lt;br /&gt;
bored world of review readers. Mr. Harrison is&lt;br /&gt;
heated, moreover, and strikes hard, and a display&lt;br /&gt;
of temper in a languid age is, some will think,&lt;br /&gt;
exhilarating. We cannot greatly wonder that in&lt;br /&gt;
most of the comments on the article which we&lt;br /&gt;
have happened to see, Mr. Harrison should be&lt;br /&gt;
treated a little jocosely. His proposal to restore&lt;br /&gt;
the Elgin marbles to Greece looks a wee bit&lt;br /&gt;
Quixotic, and his wily editor, Mr. James Knowles,&lt;br /&gt;
has the indisputable advantage of representing&lt;br /&gt;
British Philistinism shaken with side-splitting&lt;br /&gt;
laughter at the idea of a preposterous bit of&lt;br /&gt;
unpatriotism. Yet amusing as is the spectacle, it&lt;br /&gt;
has a larger and more serious interest too. It&lt;br /&gt;
raises questions of real moment to all men of&lt;br /&gt;
letters. For the editor is a publisher, and the&lt;br /&gt;
proper definition of the relation of the contributor&lt;br /&gt;
to the editor is now-a-days, when most writers have&lt;br /&gt;
to win their spurs in the pages of reviews, no less&lt;br /&gt;
needed for the safeguarding of authors&amp;#039; rights&lt;br /&gt;
than the settlement of the relation of the writer&lt;br /&gt;
to the other kind of publisher.&lt;br /&gt;
The facts seem to be simple enough. Mr. Har-&lt;br /&gt;
rison, an old member of the Nineteenth Century&lt;br /&gt;
staff, sent an article to Mr. Knowles advocating the&lt;br /&gt;
restitution of the Elgin marbles to Greece. This&lt;br /&gt;
article was duly published. Three months later&lt;br /&gt;
there appeared in the same journal a reply to Mr.&lt;br /&gt;
Harrison, having as signature, &amp;quot;The Editor.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
The article treats Mr. Harrison&amp;#039;s project with&lt;br /&gt;
boisterous ridicule. According to Mr. Harrison&lt;br /&gt;
it as good as calls him a &amp;quot;platform Pharisee &amp;quot; and&lt;br /&gt;
other pleasant names of the same kind, and des-&lt;br /&gt;
cribes his article as &amp;quot;flat misstatement.&amp;quot; Mr.&lt;br /&gt;
Knowles appears to justify this guffaw-like ex-&lt;br /&gt;
plosion of editorial dignity by saying that Mr.&lt;br /&gt;
Harrison had consented to having his literary&lt;br /&gt;
bantling tossed about in this merry fashion, a&lt;br /&gt;
statement which Mr. Harrison stoutly denies, and&lt;br /&gt;
which those who know this gentleman&amp;#039;s predilec-&lt;br /&gt;
tions and customary literary manner will probably&lt;br /&gt;
find it hard to understand. With a charming appear-&lt;br /&gt;
ance of fair-play Mr. Knowles invites his adversary&lt;br /&gt;
in the sportive combat to rejoin. At the same&lt;br /&gt;
time he shrewdly bethinks him of his editorship,&lt;br /&gt;
and lays it down as a proviso that the rejoinder&lt;br /&gt;
must meet with his own approval. Mr. Harrison&lt;br /&gt;
refuses to dance to this editorial piping, and pre-&lt;br /&gt;
fers to send his reply to the Fortnightly Review.&lt;br /&gt;
Here he lays on his former editor some pretty hard&lt;br /&gt;
blows, going so far as to hint pretty distinctly that&lt;br /&gt;
he does not believe that Mr. Knowles himself&lt;br /&gt;
penned the facetious periods to which he has sub-&lt;br /&gt;
scribed his name. We should suppose that even&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Knowles will view this insinuation as passing&lt;br /&gt;
a joke; but there is no knowing.&lt;br /&gt;
It certainly strikes us, as it strikes Mr. Harrison,&lt;br /&gt;
that Mr. Knowles is taking a new view of the&lt;br /&gt;
editorial function. We cheerfully allow the auto&lt;br /&gt;
cracy of the editor. It is his to accept and to&lt;br /&gt;
reject as he will. He is at perfect liberty to con-&lt;br /&gt;
tribute articles to his own journal. But then,&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;noblesse oblige,&amp;quot; and the editor retains his&lt;br /&gt;
autocracy on the condition that he does not jump&lt;br /&gt;
down from his judicial bench and join in the fray of&lt;br /&gt;
his literary litigants. To desiderate the excitement&lt;br /&gt;
of the contest, and the power of the umpire at the&lt;br /&gt;
same moment, is soaring too high for mortals. In&lt;br /&gt;
the contest of the law court, of the political arena, of&lt;br /&gt;
the field, this is well understood. How is it, one&lt;br /&gt;
cannot help asking, that a code well recognized by&lt;br /&gt;
gentlemen in other professions seems still ignored&lt;br /&gt;
in the literary domain? We are not prepared to&lt;br /&gt;
go with Mr. Harrison, when, as we understand him,&lt;br /&gt;
he says that by publishing his article his editor&lt;br /&gt;
made himself responsible for its general soundness.&lt;br /&gt;
As we all know, Mr. Knowles has delighted in&lt;br /&gt;
making his journal a forum for the presentation&lt;br /&gt;
side by side of the most opposite views. Yet good&lt;br /&gt;
feeling might well have hindered an editor, even&lt;br /&gt;
when seized with the mighty impulse of laughter,&lt;br /&gt;
from holding up his own contributor to the con-&lt;br /&gt;
tempt of gods and men. Our editors are often&lt;br /&gt;
men of high culture and courteous feeling, and the&lt;br /&gt;
present writer owes them much. We must pray&lt;br /&gt;
that the Society of Authors may succeed in educa-&lt;br /&gt;
ting the rest up to the same level of excellence.&lt;br /&gt;
J.S.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;THEY ALL LIVED HAPPY EVER&lt;br /&gt;
AFTERWARDS.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
(Kairy Books, passim.)&lt;br /&gt;
T AM glad to have had this little adven-&lt;br /&gt;
I ture.&lt;br /&gt;
It has grieved me much to think that while&lt;br /&gt;
our literature has been growing so wise and so&lt;br /&gt;
purpose-full, the fairy story has remained the same&lt;br /&gt;
pleasant irresponsible thing that it has ever been.&lt;br /&gt;
Physiology and psychology unroll their cheerful&lt;br /&gt;
page for the adult, and we learn how a man&amp;#039;s liver&lt;br /&gt;
can be made answerable for the crimes in the first&lt;br /&gt;
two volumes, and his grandmother&amp;#039;s tendencies for&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 321 (#385) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
321&lt;br /&gt;
the retribution which comes in the third. But in&lt;br /&gt;
children&amp;#039;s books this marked improvement has&lt;br /&gt;
not yet taken place. The teachings of science&lt;br /&gt;
here are still defied, and the results of heredity&lt;br /&gt;
neglected. Now this should not be, and I see&lt;br /&gt;
an opportunity to alter it all. My eyes have been&lt;br /&gt;
opened. These impossible and immoral stories&lt;br /&gt;
must be re-written from a rational point of view,&lt;br /&gt;
and endued with something of the enlightened&lt;br /&gt;
spirit of the age.&lt;br /&gt;
But to my adventure.&lt;br /&gt;
* * * *&lt;br /&gt;
We were walking down the main thoroughfare&lt;br /&gt;
of the stately city where the heroes of fairy-land&lt;br /&gt;
go when they are out of print. I do not know&lt;br /&gt;
how we got there.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Here,&amp;quot; said my conductor, indicating a hand-&lt;br /&gt;
some building, &amp;quot;is the club. Come in and have&lt;br /&gt;
some coffee. It is rather exclusive, for we only&lt;br /&gt;
admit genuine figments, as poor old Selkirk will&lt;br /&gt;
tell you. Though between you and me he was&lt;br /&gt;
pilled as much for his habit of saying he was&lt;br /&gt;
monarch of all lie surveyed as for any truth in his&lt;br /&gt;
career.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
These remarks made me look at the speaker&lt;br /&gt;
closely, and I recognized him immediately. The&lt;br /&gt;
■high shapeless peaked cap, the short jacket, and&lt;br /&gt;
open-kneed breeches and buskins, all of goat-skin,&lt;br /&gt;
betrayed the hero to me.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Robinson !&amp;quot; I exclaimed, &amp;quot;this is indeed a&lt;br /&gt;
proud moment for me.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;It is very good of you to say so,&amp;quot; he replied,&lt;br /&gt;
handing to the porter two pouches of ammunition,&lt;br /&gt;
a goat-skin umbrella, a fowling-piece, and a&lt;br /&gt;
parrot&mdash;&amp;quot;very good and kind indeed, for I&lt;br /&gt;
understand that I am not of much account in the&lt;br /&gt;
world now. I hear, indeed, although I can&lt;br /&gt;
hardly credit it, that I am not even in the best&lt;br /&gt;
hundred books.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
We went upstairs into the smoking room, a&lt;br /&gt;
magnificently furnished apartment, whose ceilings&lt;br /&gt;
were covered with carpet, and whose floor was&lt;br /&gt;
painted like a ceiling. Little brick-coloured&lt;br /&gt;
engravings stood about the room on tables, and&lt;br /&gt;
large purple-tinted plates were fastened to the&lt;br /&gt;
walls, between panels of Lincrusta-Walton work.&lt;br /&gt;
Also there was gilt about in places where one badly&lt;br /&gt;
brought up would hardly have expected it.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Copied from your Junior International, I&lt;br /&gt;
believe,&amp;quot; said Crusoe, sniffing perceptibly, &amp;quot;and&lt;br /&gt;
considered to be the acme of comfort. There&lt;br /&gt;
are points, you know, about living insulated, with-&lt;br /&gt;
out upholstery.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
We had not been seated long, when there&lt;br /&gt;
entered two superlatively handsome young men,&lt;br /&gt;
dressed in the extreme of fashion, who appeared&lt;br /&gt;
to accept as their bare due the homage which was&lt;br /&gt;
spontaneously tendered to them by all present.&lt;br /&gt;
Crusoe, among others, rose from his seat and bowed&lt;br /&gt;
as they came in.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Who are they?&amp;quot; I enquired.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The short one is Prince &amp;quot;(here he whis-&lt;br /&gt;
pered the name into my ear, cautioning me not to&lt;br /&gt;
repeat it, as the Prince&amp;#039;s name had so far escaped&lt;br /&gt;
print), &amp;quot;who married Cinderella; his companion&lt;br /&gt;
is Prince Charming, the husband of the young&lt;br /&gt;
lady so well-known, and so widely celebrated as&lt;br /&gt;
the Sleeping Beauty. Shall I introduce you?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Thank you,&amp;quot; said I, &amp;quot;I shall be profoundly&lt;br /&gt;
obliged for an opportunity of obtaining a personal&lt;br /&gt;
knowledge of gentlemen whose lot I have envied so&lt;br /&gt;
often.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
The demeanour of my new acquaintances, to&lt;br /&gt;
whom I was immediately made known, surprised&lt;br /&gt;
me greatly, for the face of each wore a look of&lt;br /&gt;
permanent dissatisfaction. Yet I had the authority&lt;br /&gt;
of much uncontradicted tradition for believing that&lt;br /&gt;
all the future was to have been for them a sojourn&lt;br /&gt;
in eternal happiness. Was it that as Princes they&lt;br /&gt;
disdained to manifest any outward appearance of&lt;br /&gt;
happiness? For I knew that in some circles a&lt;br /&gt;
settled and serene sulk did duty for &amp;quot;the repose&lt;br /&gt;
which stamps the caste.&amp;quot; Was I face to face with&lt;br /&gt;
a genuine or a spurious melancholy?&lt;br /&gt;
I resolved to ask them, and I did.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Really,&amp;quot; said Cinderella&amp;#039;s husband, &amp;quot;my un-&lt;br /&gt;
fortunate position is so well known that it were&lt;br /&gt;
the veriest of affectations to disguise it. I have&lt;br /&gt;
married in the scullery, and am repenting at&lt;br /&gt;
leisure. Cinderella,&amp;quot; he added, pityingly, &amp;quot;is a&lt;br /&gt;
good little girl, but entirely without manner. You&lt;br /&gt;
remember, of course, her bringing up&mdash;it is very&lt;br /&gt;
hard on us, but everybody knows it&mdash;and you can&lt;br /&gt;
scarcely, therefore, wonder at her lack of distinction.&lt;br /&gt;
Ah! I ought to have married one of her sisters&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
fine girls, sir, with a style too! Either would have&lt;br /&gt;
jumped at me.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;But,&amp;quot; said I, &amp;quot;your wife has the sweetest&lt;br /&gt;
disposition, and surely that, combined with beauty,&lt;br /&gt;
should bring happiness to a husband&amp;#039;s home.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Maybe,&amp;quot; said the Prince, &amp;quot;but she doesn&amp;#039;t&lt;br /&gt;
make me happy. You see, she has no adaptability&lt;br /&gt;
and no malleability. She has never made any&lt;br /&gt;
attempt to fill the position in which I have placed&lt;br /&gt;
her. I grant you that her housekeeping is excellent,&lt;br /&gt;
but then house-wif&amp;#039;ery is a talent which a princess&lt;br /&gt;
would do well to go out and bury. It never would&lt;br /&gt;
be missed.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I think,&amp;quot; broke in Prince Charming, &amp;quot;that you&lt;br /&gt;
are making the worst of your case. At least your&lt;br /&gt;
wife is an intelligent girl, and you get your meals&lt;br /&gt;
regularly. How would you like to be tied to such&lt;br /&gt;
a wife as mine?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 322 (#386) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
322&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Yours, Prince?&amp;quot; I exclaimed, &amp;quot;why, the Sleep-&lt;br /&gt;
ing Beauty is the loveliest and purest maid in the&lt;br /&gt;
annals of fiction.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I only wish I had left her as I found her,&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
returned Prince Charming, viciously. &amp;quot;Entre&lt;br /&gt;
t/ous, my wife is next door to an idiot. She spends&lt;br /&gt;
the day arranging herself on sofas. A photo-&lt;br /&gt;
grapher attends to reproduce the results, and I am&lt;br /&gt;
expected to pass judgment upon each picture, and&lt;br /&gt;
say if she appears lovelier in this or in that pose,&lt;br /&gt;
than when she lay asleep among the briars. She&lt;br /&gt;
has no ideas, no powers of estimation or com-&lt;br /&gt;
parison, no knowledge whatever of life. What,&lt;br /&gt;
indeed, can be expected from a girl who has&lt;br /&gt;
passed all her maiden life asleep? But if I had&lt;br /&gt;
only thought for a moment, I should have foreseen&lt;br /&gt;
all this ere I woke her&mdash;and I should have&lt;br /&gt;
retreated on tip-toe.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Just then a very pleasing young man came&lt;br /&gt;
into the room, and looked ingratiatingly about&lt;br /&gt;
him. He was apparently well-known and popular,&lt;br /&gt;
for he was greeted with nods and smiles by most&lt;br /&gt;
of those present. His clothes were magnificent,&lt;br /&gt;
but his bearing was not aristocratic, and he was&lt;br /&gt;
treated with none of the external deference which&lt;br /&gt;
had been offered to the two Princes.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Oh !&amp;quot; said Prince Charming, &amp;quot; I&amp;#039;m off. I can-&lt;br /&gt;
not stand that fellow.&amp;quot; So saying, he rose, as did&lt;br /&gt;
his companion, and they lounged with linked arms&lt;br /&gt;
past the new-comer, ostentatiously taking no&lt;br /&gt;
notice of him.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Who is he, Robinson?&amp;quot; I asked.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s Aladdin,&amp;quot; he replied, &amp;quot;the man who&lt;br /&gt;
married the Princess Badroulbadour. She&amp;#039;s the&lt;br /&gt;
handsomest and cleverest woman in the place&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
quite the leader in our best set, and very fond of&lt;br /&gt;
circus-girls, artists&amp;#039; models, and religious explorers.&lt;br /&gt;
Would you care to know him?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
I nodded, and Crusoe signed to Aladdin to&lt;br /&gt;
come over and occupy Prince Charming&amp;#039;s chair.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Pleased to meet you, sir,&amp;quot; said Aladdin, with&lt;br /&gt;
what may be described as lower middle-class&lt;br /&gt;
affability. &amp;quot;Was not that Prince Charming who&lt;br /&gt;
just left you? Horrid supercilious beast! I hope&lt;br /&gt;
he&amp;#039;s not a particular friend of yours.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Aladdin&amp;#039;s manner of speeding the parting guest&lt;br /&gt;
was so very familiar to me from club experience in&lt;br /&gt;
my world, that I was moved to smile, as I answered&lt;br /&gt;
that I had only made the acquaintance of the two&lt;br /&gt;
Princes some few minutes before, and that I&lt;br /&gt;
thought them nice young men.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Well, I don&amp;#039;t,&amp;quot; he said. &amp;quot;I often wonder why&lt;br /&gt;
Cinderella puts up with her husband&amp;#039;s airs. She&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
a jolly little thing, and as beautiful as she is good;&lt;br /&gt;
but he&amp;#039;s ashamed to be seen about with her, and&lt;br /&gt;
Prince Charming openly laments that he didn&amp;#039;t&lt;br /&gt;
leave his wife where he found her, and is always&lt;br /&gt;
egging the poor girl on to take morphine. Is that&lt;br /&gt;
your idea of being nice?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Are you not a little hard upon him?&amp;quot; said I.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;You have been so happy yourself in your choice&lt;br /&gt;
of a consort that perhaps you hardly make due&lt;br /&gt;
allowance for less fortunate men.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;You must be a particular sort of an ass,&amp;quot; he&lt;br /&gt;
replied, bluntly. &amp;quot;Badroulbadour is handsome&lt;br /&gt;
enough and as clever as paint, but she&amp;#039;s not a&lt;br /&gt;
pleasant wife; everybody knows that. She&amp;#039;s a&lt;br /&gt;
leader of society. That&amp;#039;s what she is. We have&lt;br /&gt;
not dined fete d-tUte for two years. She has political&lt;br /&gt;
views and social views, and artistic views. She has&lt;br /&gt;
all sorts of explorers and nigger-drivers about the&lt;br /&gt;
place. (No offence to you, Crusoe.) She writes&lt;br /&gt;
for the monthly magazines. Sometimes her&lt;br /&gt;
grammar gets guyed, but her sentiments are all&lt;br /&gt;
right, for she lifts them from Confucius. She&lt;br /&gt;
speaks in public, and will blurt out to a collected&lt;br /&gt;
crowd things which a man would get kicked for&lt;br /&gt;
whispering; but she doesn&amp;#039;t speak to me except&lt;br /&gt;
before company and to keep up appearances.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
I murmured my sympathies as he rose to go.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Concerning marriages,&amp;quot; said Crusoe, as he&lt;br /&gt;
showed me downstairs. &amp;quot;What the wise ends of&lt;br /&gt;
God&amp;#039;s providence are in such a disposition of&lt;br /&gt;
things I cannot say. There are those who rashly&lt;br /&gt;
presume to judge by the experience of others.&lt;br /&gt;
There are those who still more rashly arrive at&lt;br /&gt;
general conclusions from the consideration of their&lt;br /&gt;
own private affairs. I am pleased to have met&lt;br /&gt;
you. If you ever write story books you might&lt;br /&gt;
omit that tag. It annoys us here terribly.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
I was glad to leave for I remember that my&lt;br /&gt;
companion was sometimes a tedious old gentleman.&lt;br /&gt;
* # * * *&lt;br /&gt;
Now after this I see before me a future for some-&lt;br /&gt;
body. It is clear that the fairy story&mdash;-as she is&lt;br /&gt;
wrote&mdash;is inconsequent and immoral. It has no&lt;br /&gt;
message. It is untruthful. The characters them-&lt;br /&gt;
selves feel it. Will this not be very generally found&lt;br /&gt;
out? Do you think a fin de siecle Board School&lt;br /&gt;
child will tolerate such void and formless attempts&lt;br /&gt;
towards its amusement much longer?&lt;br /&gt;
And this is the future for somebody :&mdash;Let him&lt;br /&gt;
take these old stories and write them up to date.&lt;br /&gt;
Let us know the psychological reasons for the&lt;br /&gt;
failure of the elder two brothers and the unvarying&lt;br /&gt;
success of the third. This is no accident: it&lt;br /&gt;
happens too often. It is a mental problem worthy&lt;br /&gt;
of Maudsley&amp;#039;s consideration. Let him paint for us&lt;br /&gt;
the animal qualities of the Beast cropping up in his&lt;br /&gt;
descendants, in happy blend with the personal&lt;br /&gt;
traits of Beauty their mother, and the unamiable&lt;br /&gt;
characteristics of their aunts. In this way it seems&lt;br /&gt;
that we might attain to a Literature of searching&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 323 (#387) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
3*3&lt;br /&gt;
character-insight, and the coldest scientific ac-&lt;br /&gt;
curacy, with the extraordinary and pleasing addition&lt;br /&gt;
of a readable story.&lt;br /&gt;
Some &amp;quot;damned&amp;quot; English poet might be en-&lt;br /&gt;
trusted to re-write snatches of nursery rhyme to be&lt;br /&gt;
used as chapter headings.&lt;br /&gt;
There is money in this idea. The Society has&lt;br /&gt;
therefore patented it, and will be happy to entrust&lt;br /&gt;
the commission to the author who passes first in a&lt;br /&gt;
competitive examination for the post. Names will&lt;br /&gt;
now be received by the secretary. The com-&lt;br /&gt;
pulsory subjects will be :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
The works of Zola, Kipling, Tolstoi, Wilde, and&lt;br /&gt;
Paul Verlaine&mdash;in English.&lt;br /&gt;
Carpenter&amp;#039;s &amp;quot; Mental Physiology.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Bartlett&amp;#039;s &amp;quot;Familiar Quotations.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Brewer&amp;#039;s &amp;quot; Dictionaries of, &amp;amp;c.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
In addition the candidates will have to satisfy&lt;br /&gt;
the examiners in one of the following books :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
Hans Andersen&amp;#039;s Stories.&lt;br /&gt;
Grimm&amp;#039;s Stories.&lt;br /&gt;
The Arabian Nights Entertainments, un-&lt;br /&gt;
bowdlerized.&lt;br /&gt;
Cobbett&amp;#039;s English Grammar.&lt;br /&gt;
Any Standard French Dictionary.&lt;br /&gt;
The books will be published by the Society on&lt;br /&gt;
the half-profit system, and the author will be paid,&lt;br /&gt;
upon repeated application, whatever sum the Com-&lt;br /&gt;
mittee think will make him shut his mouth. This&lt;br /&gt;
sum will be taken to represent his due share, and&lt;br /&gt;
no further question can be allowed to arise about&lt;br /&gt;
the matter, as the Committee are not as a body or&lt;br /&gt;
individually in the habit of having their bare words&lt;br /&gt;
doubted.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;L&amp;#039;ENFANT PRODIGUE.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
THERE could not have been a better way of&lt;br /&gt;
keeping the Feast of Fools than by a visit&lt;br /&gt;
to &amp;quot;Monsieur Pierrot,&amp;quot; at home, at the&lt;br /&gt;
Prince of Wales&amp;#039; Theatre. The most exquisite&lt;br /&gt;
gourmet of folly could find no fault with a&lt;br /&gt;
banquet so rich in rare and delicate food for&lt;br /&gt;
laughter and unexpected flavouring of grateful&lt;br /&gt;
bitter herbs. I was not alone in the audience; we&lt;br /&gt;
went to laugh and criticise, and came away&lt;br /&gt;
conquered and in tears. We have made the ac-&lt;br /&gt;
quaintance of a great author. Monsieur Michel&lt;br /&gt;
Carre&amp;quot; fils has written a most pathetic comedy&lt;br /&gt;
without words. He has overcome not only a&lt;br /&gt;
dramatic, but a literary difficulty. The phraseology&lt;br /&gt;
of lives somewhat sordid, placed midway between&lt;br /&gt;
poverty and affluence, between ignorance and high&lt;br /&gt;
cultivation, is so antipathetic to either extreme as&lt;br /&gt;
to deprive the class using it of their sympathy. In&lt;br /&gt;
VOL. I.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;L&amp;#039;Enfant Prodigue&amp;quot; we see before us mediocrity&lt;br /&gt;
relieved of all its pettiness, in its dumb human&lt;br /&gt;
agony. It is the story of the great sorrow of petty&lt;br /&gt;
comedians, the little tragedy of a family of fools.&lt;br /&gt;
Until we knew Monsieur Michel Carre, we should&lt;br /&gt;
have said no one could have done it so well, not&lt;br /&gt;
even Charles I amb, Gerard de Nerval, Hans An-&lt;br /&gt;
dersen&mdash; only Balzac himself. Again, the play could&lt;br /&gt;
scarcely be better represented. Monsieur Courtes&lt;br /&gt;
as Pierrot pcre exhausts my praise. Madame&lt;br /&gt;
Schmidt as Madame Pierrot is very nearly as&lt;br /&gt;
powerful. Consider how perfectly they co-operate&lt;br /&gt;
with the author. In the first act, we have the&lt;br /&gt;
comely, smiling, indulgent French mother, slightly&lt;br /&gt;
indifferent to a husband many years older, but&lt;br /&gt;
utterly devoted to her son. The father is the&lt;br /&gt;
typical middle-class Frenchman, getting old, narrow-&lt;br /&gt;
minded, irascible, respectable, and a niggard.&lt;br /&gt;
The family is prosperous in an unpretending&lt;br /&gt;
middle-class way; the old man stints his son, and&lt;br /&gt;
stints his wife and himself in order to save for him.&lt;br /&gt;
The gay and indulgent mother keeps as a matter&lt;br /&gt;
of course a cheap commonplace statue of the&lt;br /&gt;
Virgin as an ornament in the corner of the room.&lt;br /&gt;
A lamp hangs before it. The family is prosperous;&lt;br /&gt;
she has let the lamp go out. Notice when the boy&lt;br /&gt;
has been sent off to bed, how comfortably they&lt;br /&gt;
settle themselves, how Monsieur Pierrot reads his&lt;br /&gt;
newspaper; we can follow him through all the&lt;br /&gt;
items of news. At last he finds a story &amp;quot;un peu&lt;br /&gt;
piquant.&amp;quot; His delight, her propriety and her&lt;br /&gt;
smile, furtive without the least touch of prudery&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
how delicately this is acted! At length they fall&lt;br /&gt;
asleep, gradually, peacefully, the sleep of body and&lt;br /&gt;
conscience both untroubled by digestion.&lt;br /&gt;
They wake to find,&mdash;what we know (for the&lt;br /&gt;
moment Monsieur Courtes and Madame Schmidt&lt;br /&gt;
are on an exact equality with speaking actors), for&lt;br /&gt;
words here would be impossible. Nothing could&lt;br /&gt;
be more masterly than the contrast between their&lt;br /&gt;
simulated, agonizing sleep, and their natural, quiet&lt;br /&gt;
dozing. Monsieur Courtes is particularly fine.&lt;br /&gt;
The effect of their awakening we see in the&lt;br /&gt;
fourth act. The sorrow has inspired their dull&lt;br /&gt;
mediocrity, the bitter herbs have given a delicate&lt;br /&gt;
flavour to the common meat, the woman&amp;#039;s tears&lt;br /&gt;
have served as oil to her holy lamp. The com-&lt;br /&gt;
monplace ornament has become the Mother of&lt;br /&gt;
Mercy. Both the parents are aged, the mother&lt;br /&gt;
saddened, the father softened; but he is old&lt;br /&gt;
Pierrot still. If he were not still a little irascible&lt;br /&gt;
we should not be afraid to laugh at him without the&lt;br /&gt;
least sarcasm, and this is the highest, rarest proof&lt;br /&gt;
of good-will. There is the old hackneyed scene,&lt;br /&gt;
the unused platter, and the vacant chair; but these&lt;br /&gt;
respectable &amp;quot;bourgeois,&amp;quot; retired clowns, make it&lt;br /&gt;
heart-rending. The mother, of course, shows plainly&lt;br /&gt;
2 E&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 324 (#388) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
324&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
that she cannot restrain her tears, the old man&lt;br /&gt;
affects indifference,&mdash;and fills the empty glass. By&lt;br /&gt;
some strange prophetic instinct he leaves it to&lt;br /&gt;
restore an unexpected guest. Every movement of&lt;br /&gt;
Monsieur Courtes&amp;#039;s face is a study as Pierrot scolds&lt;br /&gt;
and comforts his wife. There is no tobacco in his&lt;br /&gt;
jar; this is a good excuse. The hot atmosphere must&lt;br /&gt;
be raising the lump in his throat. He feigns anger;&lt;br /&gt;
he must himself go out in the snow to buy tobacco.&lt;br /&gt;
When Madame Pierrot is left alone she breaks&lt;br /&gt;
down utterly, but she has still hope ; she confides in&lt;br /&gt;
the plaster image, which has attained to the highest&lt;br /&gt;
eminence of the best art by becoming to her the&lt;br /&gt;
greatest of realities. While her husband is away&lt;br /&gt;
she can take out an ordinary cabinet-sized photo-&lt;br /&gt;
graph and hug it to her breast and dandle it in&lt;br /&gt;
her arms. All heroines of melodramas do this,&lt;br /&gt;
but here it is terribly pathetic. We could swear it&lt;br /&gt;
is blotched and stained with real tears. Then in&lt;br /&gt;
comes the old man again, still the old Pierrot; he&lt;br /&gt;
picks up a piece of bread which has fallen on the&lt;br /&gt;
floor and looks angrily at his wife as he blows the&lt;br /&gt;
dust off. He won&amp;#039;t have waste in his house; then&lt;br /&gt;
we remember, after all, he is not so well off now.&lt;br /&gt;
Presently, when old Pierrot is out of the room, the&lt;br /&gt;
prodigal returns, faint and weary. His mother, of&lt;br /&gt;
course, has no thought of reproach. She holds him&lt;br /&gt;
to her breast again, that is enough. She refreshes&lt;br /&gt;
him with the wine his father could not taste. The&lt;br /&gt;
father comes back; she nods to the Virgin, alive&lt;br /&gt;
to her, standing there in the room, to remind her&lt;br /&gt;
that she must help now, she must make the father&lt;br /&gt;
forgive. The mother has no thought of any moral&lt;br /&gt;
law concerning punishment and the fruit of faults.&lt;br /&gt;
But old Pierrot is a fool, by profession only. He&lt;br /&gt;
won&amp;#039;t take back his son, to rob him and ruin&lt;br /&gt;
himself a second time. He must make atonement.&lt;br /&gt;
To the Frenchman whose neighbours have died on&lt;br /&gt;
their own doorsteps, killed by a foreign invader, ser-&lt;br /&gt;
vice in the army has a sacred character unintelligible&lt;br /&gt;
to races only accustomed to aggressive wars. And&lt;br /&gt;
sowe leave the family, wondering at the fool&amp;#039;s wisdom.&lt;br /&gt;
By dwelling so long on Monsieur and Madame&lt;br /&gt;
Pierrot, I do not wish to imply dissatisfaction with&lt;br /&gt;
the acting of the other parts. All are very good.&lt;br /&gt;
In one gesture of the negro servant, Monsieur Jean&lt;br /&gt;
Arcueil, as he pauses an instant before he leaves&lt;br /&gt;
the room, is expressed the whole conversation of&lt;br /&gt;
the servants&amp;#039; hall in a &amp;quot;bijou residence,&amp;quot; whose&lt;br /&gt;
mistress still retains the characteristics of a pretty&lt;br /&gt;
washerwoman when she is dressed in silks and&lt;br /&gt;
satins. Mdlle. Zanfretta makes a lively and clever&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Phrynette&amp;quot;; the little touches showing she has&lt;br /&gt;
after all some sort of fondness for her generous and&lt;br /&gt;
devoted boy, are very pretty. Monsieur Louis&lt;br /&gt;
Gouget also makes an excellent baron, once he is&lt;br /&gt;
le baron Hulot of &amp;quot; La Cousine Bette,&amp;quot; to the life.&lt;br /&gt;
1 have purposely avoided any special notice of&lt;br /&gt;
the acting of Miss Jane May. She is so well&lt;br /&gt;
known and her reputation is so well assured that&lt;br /&gt;
it is unnecessary to do so. One point, however,&lt;br /&gt;
she emphasises with peculiar skill, the remorse of&lt;br /&gt;
little Pierrot even while he is robbing his parents,&lt;br /&gt;
and his love for his mother. He cannot make up&lt;br /&gt;
his mind to search his mother for the keys. Again&lt;br /&gt;
she uses with effect a splendid opportunity. There&lt;br /&gt;
is a corner of &amp;quot; Phrynette&amp;#039;s&amp;quot; boudoir corresponding&lt;br /&gt;
to the corner in the old home where hung the image&lt;br /&gt;
and the lamp. Little &amp;quot;Pierrot&amp;quot; is in an agony,&lt;br /&gt;
instinctively he turns to the image, to find a por-&lt;br /&gt;
trait of himself. No woman could act the part&lt;br /&gt;
better than Miss Jane May; most men would not&lt;br /&gt;
act it half so well; but it is utterly impossible for&lt;br /&gt;
a woman&amp;#039;s figure in man&amp;#039;s clothes to look other-&lt;br /&gt;
wise than anomalous. Nature and the caprice of&lt;br /&gt;
present custom, and not the fine artistic powers and&lt;br /&gt;
personal feminine appearance of Miss Jane May,&lt;br /&gt;
are responsible for the anomaly. Pierrot is not a&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;joli jeune garcon,&amp;quot; but a &amp;quot;gamin maladie.&amp;quot; This&lt;br /&gt;
one fault in the &amp;quot;casting&amp;quot; of the piece is the&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;poisson d&amp;#039;avril &amp;quot; of the feast. W. W.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
CORRESPONDENCE.&lt;br /&gt;
I. Authors and Reviewers.&lt;br /&gt;
THE remedy for the state of things com-&lt;br /&gt;
plained of by &amp;quot;An Obscure Novelist&amp;quot; can&lt;br /&gt;
only be found in the reform of the review-&lt;br /&gt;
ing system. At the same time it may be pointed&lt;br /&gt;
out that the exercise of a little discrimination by&lt;br /&gt;
the &amp;quot;Obscure Novelist&amp;quot; would have saved him&lt;br /&gt;
the troubled mind which a very common experience&lt;br /&gt;
has occasioned. The opinion of the Little Ped-&lt;br /&gt;
dlington Star is surely not so important to him as&lt;br /&gt;
the criticism of the Saturday Review. Then he&lt;br /&gt;
appears to suffer from the delusion that all re-&lt;br /&gt;
viewers are critics. Let him distinguish. It were&lt;br /&gt;
unreasonable to look for criticism in a journal&lt;br /&gt;
where six, or eight, or more novels&mdash;good and bad,&lt;br /&gt;
foreign and English&mdash;are &amp;quot;noticed,&amp;quot; week after&lt;br /&gt;
week, in a single brief article that occupies space&lt;br /&gt;
which would be inadequate to the criticism of a&lt;br /&gt;
single notable novel. Such a system may commend&lt;br /&gt;
itself to publishers, and may be very suitable to a&lt;br /&gt;
trade journal, but it is nothing less than scandalous&lt;br /&gt;
in a newspaper that professes to review and to&lt;br /&gt;
represent current English literature. As to those&lt;br /&gt;
other papers of which &amp;quot;An Obscure Novelist&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
writes, whose reviews are determined by their&lt;br /&gt;
advertisements, they can be, and should be, surely&lt;br /&gt;
left bookless by all authors and publishers.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 325 (#389) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE A UTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
325&lt;br /&gt;
The needed reform can be best effected by&lt;br /&gt;
editors. Unfortunately it appears that it would&lt;br /&gt;
first be necessary to convince a large number of&lt;br /&gt;
editors that reviewing is a subject of any im-&lt;br /&gt;
portance at all. It is notorious that reviewing is&lt;br /&gt;
regarded in many quarters as a field of experiment&lt;br /&gt;
for testing the competency of the young hand, or&lt;br /&gt;
for proving&mdash;for the 12th time&mdash;the inveterate dis-&lt;br /&gt;
abilities of the ancient hack. In short, what is, as&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Saintsbury forcibly puts it, &amp;quot;on the whole the&lt;br /&gt;
most difficult kind of newspaper writing&amp;quot; is also&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;on the whole the most lightly assigned and the&lt;br /&gt;
most irresponsibly performed.&amp;quot; Now if all editors&lt;br /&gt;
would but devote a fair proportion of their time&lt;br /&gt;
and energy to these matters, the evils discussed by&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;An Obscure Novelist&amp;quot; would be greatly&lt;br /&gt;
diminished.&lt;br /&gt;
B.&lt;br /&gt;
II. Baron Tauchnitz.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Can you tell me by what right Tauchnitz pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lishes cheap editions of English books for con-&lt;br /&gt;
tinental circulation, and in what respect this differs&lt;br /&gt;
from piracy?&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I have heard or read that Tauchnitz always&lt;br /&gt;
pays authors pretty liberally, but is he obliged to&lt;br /&gt;
do so? And why is it that Tauchnitz alone seems&lt;br /&gt;
to have the privilege of printing cheap editions?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
The writer is under a misapprehension. Baron&lt;br /&gt;
Tauchnitz has no such rights as he supposes. To&lt;br /&gt;
reprint an English author without his permission&lt;br /&gt;
would be an act of piracy. Baron Tauchnitz&lt;br /&gt;
always purchases the right. The reason why he is&lt;br /&gt;
alone as a publisher of English books for continental&lt;br /&gt;
cities is simply that, though others have tried to set&lt;br /&gt;
up in rivalry with him, they have not hitherto suc-&lt;br /&gt;
ceeded. Messrs. Heinemann, Balestier and Co. are&lt;br /&gt;
now making another attempt. They are said to&lt;br /&gt;
have secured a good many leading English authors.&lt;br /&gt;
It remains to be seen whether their venture will&lt;br /&gt;
be crowned with success or not.&lt;br /&gt;
III. From &amp;quot;Chastelard.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
I have been much puzzled by two allusions in&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Swinburne&amp;#039;s dramas, and hope that some of&lt;br /&gt;
the readers of the Author may be able and willing&lt;br /&gt;
to lighten my darkness. One of these is to be&lt;br /&gt;
found in Chastelard, Act iii, sc. 1; the hero&lt;br /&gt;
speaks&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Have you read never in French books the song&lt;br /&gt;
Called the &amp;#039;Duke&amp;#039;s Song,&amp;#039; some boy made ages&lt;br /&gt;
back,&lt;br /&gt;
A song of drag-nets hauled across thwart seas&lt;br /&gt;
VOL. I.&lt;br /&gt;
And plucked up with rent sides, and caught&lt;br /&gt;
therein,&lt;br /&gt;
A strange-haired woman with sad singing lips,&lt;br /&gt;
Cold in the cheek like any stray of sea,&lt;br /&gt;
And sweet to touch? So that men, seeing her&lt;br /&gt;
face,&lt;br /&gt;
And how she sighed out little Ahs of pain,&lt;br /&gt;
And soft cries sobbing sideways from her mouth,&lt;br /&gt;
Fell in hot love, and having lain with her,&lt;br /&gt;
Died soon?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Is there any foundation for this? Does such a&lt;br /&gt;
song as the &amp;quot;Duke&amp;#039;s Song&amp;quot; exist?&lt;br /&gt;
The other allusion is in Rosamond, sc. 3. King&lt;br /&gt;
Henry says&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I am as he that saith&lt;br /&gt;
In the great song sick words and sorrowful&lt;br /&gt;
Of love&amp;#039;s hard sweet and hunger of harsh hours.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
To what &amp;quot;great song&amp;quot; could our Second Henry&lt;br /&gt;
thus refer?&lt;br /&gt;
Ramsay Colles.&lt;br /&gt;
IV. Gratuitous Contributions.&lt;br /&gt;
Can the gratuitous contributions, complained of&lt;br /&gt;
in the March number of the Author, explain the&lt;br /&gt;
proceedings of the publisher with whom the writer&lt;br /&gt;
of the paragraph, headed &amp;quot;Accepted,&amp;quot; has had to&lt;br /&gt;
do? The remuneration offered was certainly ex-&lt;br /&gt;
tremely liberal, compared with what &amp;quot;No pay, no&lt;br /&gt;
pen&amp;quot; speaks of as being &amp;quot;considered in such&lt;br /&gt;
quarters something magnificent.&amp;quot; Has the pub-&amp;#039;&lt;br /&gt;
lisher in question discovered he can secure contri-&lt;br /&gt;
butions gratuitously, or at least at half, or quarter,&lt;br /&gt;
the rate agreed on, and so have broken his&lt;br /&gt;
contract?&lt;br /&gt;
Neither Pay nor Fen.&lt;br /&gt;
IV. &amp;quot;The Last Dream of Julius Roy.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Byrrne shows such a pretty faculty of&lt;br /&gt;
paraphrase in his version, in last month&amp;#039;s Author,&lt;br /&gt;
of my story, &amp;quot;The Last Dream of Julius Roy,&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
that I am sorry to have to discourage him in the&lt;br /&gt;
ingenious art of manufacturing resemblances&lt;br /&gt;
betwixt his own and other people&amp;#039;s stories. Until&lt;br /&gt;
his letter, I had supposed the &amp;quot;Newbery House&lt;br /&gt;
Magazine &amp;quot; to be a theological review&mdash;a very good&lt;br /&gt;
reason for not going to its pages for fiction.&lt;br /&gt;
Indeed, I had never seen either the magazine or&lt;br /&gt;
his story. But the suspicion of plagiarism, like&lt;br /&gt;
that of heresy, is not easily upset; and, supposing&lt;br /&gt;
my story to have been written after his had&lt;br /&gt;
appeared, he would still probably make the most&lt;br /&gt;
of that contingency. So I hasten to add that&lt;br /&gt;
2 K 2&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 326 (#390) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
326&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The Last Dream of Julius Roy&amp;quot; was written first,&lt;br /&gt;
early in 1889, had some considerable circulation in&lt;br /&gt;
MS. during that year, and was eventually sent to&lt;br /&gt;
the Editor of Macmillan&amp;#039;s Magazine before July,&lt;br /&gt;
1890, the date when, we are told, the story re-&lt;br /&gt;
sembling it appeared. I hesitate to turn the&lt;br /&gt;
tables upon Mr. Byrrne, as an avowed writer of&lt;br /&gt;
fiction, by suggesting that he may have been&lt;br /&gt;
among those who read my story in MS.&lt;br /&gt;
Ernest Rhys.&lt;br /&gt;
Llantysilio, April 6th, 1891.&lt;br /&gt;
VI. The Signed Article.&lt;br /&gt;
Sir,&mdash;In response to your invitation appended&lt;br /&gt;
to the article of &amp;quot; F.,&amp;quot; in your last issue, allow me,&lt;br /&gt;
as an old journalist, who has been engaged in&lt;br /&gt;
editorial work on daily papers for many years, to&lt;br /&gt;
say a few words on the above subject. From the&lt;br /&gt;
point of view taken by the Society of Authors&lt;br /&gt;
with regard to all such matters there can be no&lt;br /&gt;
doubt that the signature of newspaper articles&lt;br /&gt;
would be greatly to the material advantage of the&lt;br /&gt;
journalist, for it would enhance both his social&lt;br /&gt;
status and his pecuniary value. Many an able&lt;br /&gt;
leader writer now unknown would, if he signed his&lt;br /&gt;
articles, become famous and obtain higher terms&lt;br /&gt;
for his services. As it is, some few journalists,&lt;br /&gt;
are well-known by name to the public independ-&lt;br /&gt;
ently of their avowed literary work, and although&lt;br /&gt;
their newspaper articles arc not identified as theirs&lt;br /&gt;
it is a matter of notoriety that they write for&lt;br /&gt;
certain papers. All these gentlemen are pre-&lt;br /&gt;
sumably very highly paid, but they have many&lt;br /&gt;
colleagues of great ability whose names are much&lt;br /&gt;
less familiar to the public, but who, if they were&lt;br /&gt;
equally celebrated, could command similar re-&lt;br /&gt;
muneration. Now it is the special function of the&lt;br /&gt;
Society to improve the author&amp;#039;s position, and so&lt;br /&gt;
far as the journalist is concerned nothing could be&lt;br /&gt;
better calculated to effect that end than the&lt;br /&gt;
removal of the veil which hides not his talent, but&lt;br /&gt;
his personality from the public. I have in my&lt;br /&gt;
mind many men, it would be invidious to mention&lt;br /&gt;
names, who have been labouring for the public for&lt;br /&gt;
years, turning out day after day brilliant or solid&lt;br /&gt;
articles, representing an aggregate of brain work,&lt;br /&gt;
which, if embodied in a book or books, must have&lt;br /&gt;
rendered them famous and perhaps prosperous.&lt;br /&gt;
Yet the public never heard of them, and they have&lt;br /&gt;
remained content in their modest obscurity, sub-&lt;br /&gt;
sisting on their moderate salaries, and their&lt;br /&gt;
obituary one of these days will probably be con-&lt;br /&gt;
tained in a six-line paragraph.&lt;br /&gt;
Yet all journalists, obviously as a change in the&lt;br /&gt;
present practice would be for their benefit, are by&lt;br /&gt;
no means in favour of abolishing the anonymous&lt;br /&gt;
system. In fact, I rather think that the majority&lt;br /&gt;
are opposed to such an alteration. They are led&lt;br /&gt;
to this conclusion by several different consider-&lt;br /&gt;
ations, but there is one of a practical character,&lt;br /&gt;
which they generally recognise as presenting an&lt;br /&gt;
insuperable obstacle to the proposed &amp;quot;reform.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
All newspaper work must be edited, and it is&lt;br /&gt;
edited habitually to an extent of which the public&lt;br /&gt;
are hardly aware. In every well-regulated news-&lt;br /&gt;
paper office a despotic discipline is exercised,&lt;br /&gt;
almost as strict as that on board a man-of-war,&lt;br /&gt;
and no contribution is sacred to the editor. He,&lt;br /&gt;
or his assistant, alters, corrects, deletes, amplifies,&lt;br /&gt;
and re-writes as he pleases, and his authority in&lt;br /&gt;
this respect is never questioned. The contributor&lt;br /&gt;
knows that his article is anonymous; the editor&lt;br /&gt;
is responsible for it, not he. Now this editorial&lt;br /&gt;
supervision would be rendered practically impos-&lt;br /&gt;
sible if articles were signed. They would not be&lt;br /&gt;
the work of the writer whose signature was attached&lt;br /&gt;
to them, and no self-respecting journalist would&lt;br /&gt;
allow writings to go forth to the world under his&lt;br /&gt;
name which were not all his own.&lt;br /&gt;
I have reason to know that there is a very strong&lt;br /&gt;
feeling among both newspaper proprietors and&lt;br /&gt;
newspaper writers against the abolition of the&lt;br /&gt;
anonymous system, and I doubt very much&lt;br /&gt;
whether, in our time at least, the directors of any&lt;br /&gt;
great journal will be induced to make the proposed&lt;br /&gt;
change. It is possible, however, that one of them&lt;br /&gt;
may be bold enough to try the experiment at any&lt;br /&gt;
rate to a limited extent, publishing, say, one signed&lt;br /&gt;
article in the nature of a leader every day, instead&lt;br /&gt;
of putting it into the form of a &amp;quot;letter to the&lt;br /&gt;
editor,&amp;quot; a practice frequently adopted.&lt;br /&gt;
I think, in short, that it would be very desirable&lt;br /&gt;
to effect some modification in the present anony-&lt;br /&gt;
mous system. Certainly it would be to the advan-&lt;br /&gt;
tage of the journalist in every way. But that&lt;br /&gt;
which is desirable is not always practicable, and&lt;br /&gt;
anything like a general signature of all articles in&lt;br /&gt;
English journals is, I fear, quite out of the ques-&lt;br /&gt;
tion. I am, yours, &amp;amp;c,&lt;br /&gt;
Fleet Street, March 29th. E. J. G.&lt;br /&gt;
VII. Note on a Case.&lt;br /&gt;
At County Court recently a singular pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lishing case came up for hearing. The plaintiffs,&lt;br /&gt;
Messrs. A. B. and Co., sued Mr. C. D. for nonfulfil-&lt;br /&gt;
ment of the terms of a contract entered into in&lt;br /&gt;
February, 1890. It appears that the defendant&lt;br /&gt;
signed an agreement with the plaintiffs, by which&lt;br /&gt;
he bound himself to superintend the translation,&lt;br /&gt;
editing, and general preparation for the press, of a&lt;br /&gt;
certain well-known series of volumes. The first&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 327 (#391) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE A UTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
327&lt;br /&gt;
volume of the series was to have been published, if&lt;br /&gt;
possible, in September last year. Various reasons&lt;br /&gt;
were brought forward by the defendant&amp;#039;s counsel,&lt;br /&gt;
accounting for the delay in the preparation of the&lt;br /&gt;
volumes, notably the difficulty of adapting the work&lt;br /&gt;
to suit English readers and the question of inter-&lt;br /&gt;
national copyright.&lt;br /&gt;
The terms of the agreement as stated in court&lt;br /&gt;
are so peculiar that they are worthy of being&lt;br /&gt;
recorded in these pages. For translating, editing,&lt;br /&gt;
and preparing for the press, the defendant was to&lt;br /&gt;
receive the sum of ^25, each volume to be pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lished monthly, payable one month after publica-&lt;br /&gt;
tion. Payment for the first volume, however, it&lt;br /&gt;
appears, was made in advance. Out of this sum&lt;br /&gt;
it was suggested by the plaintiffs that the defendant&lt;br /&gt;
should pay &pound;12 each for the rough translation of&lt;br /&gt;
the volumes, and about ^5 or &pound;6 for illustrations&lt;br /&gt;
in each volume. All expenses for corrections&lt;br /&gt;
(exclusive of printer&amp;#039;s errors), exceeding \os. for&lt;br /&gt;
every 32 pp., were to be borne by the defendant.&lt;br /&gt;
None of the volumes have less than 250 pp. of&lt;br /&gt;
over 270 words each.&lt;br /&gt;
The claim of the plaintiffs was for the return of&lt;br /&gt;
the volumes lent for the purpose of translation,&lt;br /&gt;
the ^25 allowed in advance, and &pound;,10 damages,&lt;br /&gt;
also costs. Judgment for ^25 was given for the&lt;br /&gt;
plaintiffs, his Honour at the same time expressing&lt;br /&gt;
sympathy towards the defendant when considering&lt;br /&gt;
the terms of the agreement.&lt;br /&gt;
[Editor&amp;#039;s Note.&mdash;This is a case in which the&lt;br /&gt;
defendant signed an agreement without considering&lt;br /&gt;
whether he could carry out the contract. For ^25&lt;br /&gt;
he was to arrange the purchase of copyright, pay a&lt;br /&gt;
translator&mdash;say .&pound;12 for sixteen sheets, or 155. a&lt;br /&gt;
sheet of 4,320 words, that is, id. for every 24&lt;br /&gt;
words It is the wage of a road-sweeper. He&lt;br /&gt;
was alno to spend &pound;6 in illustrations, and to pay&lt;br /&gt;
corrections. Naturally, hi could not carry out the&lt;br /&gt;
contract. No doubt he ought to have thought of&lt;br /&gt;
this before signing it. It seems to us, however,&lt;br /&gt;
that equity ought to relieve persons from the&lt;br /&gt;
burden of such contracts as these. It is well&lt;br /&gt;
for us to know that such contracts as these are&lt;br /&gt;
still submitted to literary men.]&lt;br /&gt;
VIII. The Cost of a Stamp.&lt;br /&gt;
An author accustomed to signing the agreements&lt;br /&gt;
submitted to him by his publishers in the form&lt;br /&gt;
which may be called &amp;quot;the ordinary royalty agree-&lt;br /&gt;
ment,&amp;quot; endeavours to embody similar terms in a&lt;br /&gt;
letter to his publisher, and on sending it to Somerset&lt;br /&gt;
House to be stamped, is surprised to receive it&lt;br /&gt;
back with a 10s. stamp impressed on it instead of&lt;br /&gt;
the 6d. stamp which he has been familiar with&lt;br /&gt;
upon his usual agreement. His letter runs thus :&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Gentlemen,&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;In consideration of the prepayment of -&mdash;&mdash;&lt;br /&gt;
pounds on account of royalties and of the further&lt;br /&gt;
royalties hereinafter mentioned, I hereby transfer&lt;br /&gt;
to you the international copyright and all other&lt;br /&gt;
rights, if any, in a story written by me entitled&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;#039;,&amp;#039; without any restrictions whatever as to&lt;br /&gt;
methods, times, or places of publication or drama-&lt;br /&gt;
tisation.&amp;quot; Then follow the details of royalties to&lt;br /&gt;
be paid, an undertaking to correct proofs, and the&lt;br /&gt;
author&amp;#039;s signature. There can hardly be any doubt&lt;br /&gt;
that the reason why the document set out was not&lt;br /&gt;
stamped with a sixpenny stamp, but at a higher&lt;br /&gt;
rate, is that it was considered at Somerset House&lt;br /&gt;
to be, as indeed it apparently is, a conveyance on&lt;br /&gt;
sale, which is defined in Section 70 of the Stamp Act&lt;br /&gt;
of 1870 (33 and 34 Vic, cap. 97), to include &amp;#039; every&lt;br /&gt;
instrument whereby any property upon the sale&lt;br /&gt;
thereof is legally or equitably transferred to or vested&lt;br /&gt;
in the purchaser.&amp;#039; It has therefore been charged&lt;br /&gt;
with an &amp;#039;ad valorem duty,&amp;#039; which appears to have&lt;br /&gt;
been arrived at by a calculation which fixed the&lt;br /&gt;
value of the property sold at between ^75 und^ioo.&lt;br /&gt;
It must be recollected, by those who would im-&lt;br /&gt;
mediately conclude that a document in the form&lt;br /&gt;
of an agreement would be the better one for&lt;br /&gt;
authors to use in dealing with their copyright,&lt;br /&gt;
that it by no means follows that because a piece&lt;br /&gt;
of paper is only headed, &amp;#039;Memorandum of agree-&lt;br /&gt;
ment between A. B. and C. D.,&amp;#039; that it is not an&lt;br /&gt;
instrument whereby property is legally, or at all&lt;br /&gt;
events, equitably transferred. That would depend&lt;br /&gt;
on the construction of the words which treat par-&lt;br /&gt;
ticularly of the contemplated assignment, and on&lt;br /&gt;
the contents of the document as a whole. It can&lt;br /&gt;
safely be presumed that if such a document were&lt;br /&gt;
handed in at Somerset House with a request that&lt;br /&gt;
a 6d. stamp might be affixed to it, it would be&lt;br /&gt;
affixed without demur, while the question whether&lt;br /&gt;
it was a transfer or not, and if so, whether it was&lt;br /&gt;
sufficiently stamped, might arise at some future&lt;br /&gt;
time to perplex and annoy a person claiming&lt;br /&gt;
under it.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;If any person wishes to ascertain beyond doubt&lt;br /&gt;
the amount of duty with which any executed&lt;br /&gt;
instrument is chargeable, he may (by Sections 18&lt;br /&gt;
and 19 of the above-mentioned Act) require the&lt;br /&gt;
Commissioners of Inland Revenue to express an&lt;br /&gt;
opinion as to whether it is chargeable with duty,&lt;br /&gt;
and to what extent. If they consider that the&lt;br /&gt;
instrument is chargeable they are bound to assess&lt;br /&gt;
the duty, and any person who is dissatisfied with&lt;br /&gt;
the assessment as made, may within twenty-one days&lt;br /&gt;
after the date of it, and on payment of duty in&lt;br /&gt;
conformity with it, appeal against it to the Queen&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
Bench Division of the High Court of Justice, and&lt;br /&gt;
may for that purpose require the Commissioners to&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 328 (#392) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
328&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
state and sign a case, setting forth the question&lt;br /&gt;
upon which their opinion was required and the&lt;br /&gt;
assessment made by them.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The Commissioners arethen obliged to state and&lt;br /&gt;
sign acase accordingly, which in due course is agreed&lt;br /&gt;
before the proper Court, and the person whose&lt;br /&gt;
instrument was to be stamped may end by taking&lt;br /&gt;
the matter up to the House of Lords, and obtain-&lt;br /&gt;
ing their decision upon it. If he succeeds he will&lt;br /&gt;
get back the amount he has overpaid, and his costs;&lt;br /&gt;
if he loses, he will have to pay the costs of the&lt;br /&gt;
Commissioners as well as his own. It must be&lt;br /&gt;
pointed out that it wou&amp;#039;.d be found impossible to&lt;br /&gt;
recover money overpaid for duty unless the steps&lt;br /&gt;
indicated above had been taken, and the Com-&lt;br /&gt;
missioners formally asked to assess the duty; and it&lt;br /&gt;
should be borne in mind that although the royalty&lt;br /&gt;
agreements signed by authors and publishers may&lt;br /&gt;
be habitually stamped with a sixpenny stamp, it by&lt;br /&gt;
no means follows that they ought not to be charged&lt;br /&gt;
with an ad valorem duty instead. An Act of Par-&lt;br /&gt;
liament passed in 1889 (52, 53 Vic, cap. 42, sec.&lt;br /&gt;
15), enncts that &amp;#039;Any contract or agreement made&lt;br /&gt;
in England or Ireland under seal or under hand&lt;br /&gt;
only or made in Scotland ... for the sale of&lt;br /&gt;
any estate or interest in any property except lands,&lt;br /&gt;
tenements (and certain other specified species of&lt;br /&gt;
property which do not include copyrights), shall be&lt;br /&gt;
charged with the same ad valorem duties to be&lt;br /&gt;
paid by the purchaser as if it were an actual con-&lt;br /&gt;
veyance on sale of the estate interest or property&lt;br /&gt;
agreed or contracted to be sold.&amp;#039; It should be&lt;br /&gt;
remembered that (under 5 and 6 Vic, cap. 45,&lt;br /&gt;
sec. 43) the copyright of a book duly entered in the&lt;br /&gt;
Book of Registry of Stationers&amp;#039; Hall may be&lt;br /&gt;
assigned by its registered proprietor, by entry in&lt;br /&gt;
that Book cf Registry, without being subjected to&lt;br /&gt;
any stamp or duty. An agreement to assign the&lt;br /&gt;
copyright in a book so entered, or which is intended&lt;br /&gt;
to be so entered, would presumably require a six-&lt;br /&gt;
penny stamp only, and one would think that this&lt;br /&gt;
form of transfer would consequently in many cases&lt;br /&gt;
be found the cheapest to adopt.&lt;br /&gt;
E. A. A.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
IN GRUB STREET.&lt;br /&gt;
ALADY&amp;#039;S experience. &amp;quot;I wrote a little book&lt;br /&gt;
for which I received the sum of &pound;5. It&lt;br /&gt;
ran up to 10,000 copies at least. It was&lt;br /&gt;
sold for a few pence only. The publishers refused&lt;br /&gt;
any further payment on account of its success.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Technically, of course, they were quite right.&lt;br /&gt;
The author had accepted the agreement, and there&lt;br /&gt;
was nothing more to say. But&mdash;mark this&mdash;the&lt;br /&gt;
publishers knew pretty well, beforehand, what the&lt;br /&gt;
sale would be, because they had previously issued&lt;br /&gt;
many other books of the same kind. Therefore&lt;br /&gt;
they knew very nearly what the proceeds would be.&lt;br /&gt;
I have calculated that the publishers made a profit&lt;br /&gt;
of about ^70. Now, I repeat, when they gave the&lt;br /&gt;
author this wretched ^5, they knew that they were&lt;br /&gt;
going to make this profit. Are we right, in any&lt;br /&gt;
definition of Sweating, to accord to this Firm the&lt;br /&gt;
rank and title of Sweaters? And I wonder if&lt;br /&gt;
anyone can guess the name of this Firm of&lt;br /&gt;
Sweaters.&lt;br /&gt;
The Authors&amp;#039; Syndicate is under the voluntary&lt;br /&gt;
and unpaid management of Mr. W. Morris Colles.&lt;br /&gt;
The Honorary Treasurer is Mr. Walter Besant.&lt;br /&gt;
The principle of the Syndicate is quite simple.&lt;br /&gt;
The author gets all that is received for his work,&lt;br /&gt;
except a very small percentage to pay for clerking,&lt;br /&gt;
printing, and postage. Mr. Colles begs all authors&lt;br /&gt;
to understand that in arranging with the papers&lt;br /&gt;
the name is the first thing; that until a writer&lt;br /&gt;
has made himself a name, this form of publication&lt;br /&gt;
is impossible for him: and that nothing can be&lt;br /&gt;
done in a hurry, papers being generally engaged a&lt;br /&gt;
year and more in advance.&lt;br /&gt;
John Strange Winter is engaged upon a new&lt;br /&gt;
serial story for Lloyd&amp;#039;s Weekly Newspaper. The&lt;br /&gt;
appearance of her new venture, &amp;quot;Golden Gates,&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
must be recorded as one of the literary events of&lt;br /&gt;
the month. It is said that 100,000 copies of the&lt;br /&gt;
first number went off.&lt;br /&gt;
Mr. Henry Cresswell has in the press a new&lt;br /&gt;
novel, in three volumes, entitled &amp;quot;The Hermits of&lt;br /&gt;
Crizebeck,&amp;quot; which will be published by Messrs.&lt;br /&gt;
Hurst and Blackett early in May.&lt;br /&gt;
At recent book sales, the first edition of Bunyan&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
Holy War (1682) sold for ^32; the original&lt;br /&gt;
monthly parts of Vanity Fairfax &pound;21 e,s. ; Walton&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
Compleat Angler in the original binding (1653)&lt;br /&gt;
and Cotton&amp;#039;s Compleat Angler (1676), first editions,&lt;br /&gt;
fetched ^310; Goldsmith&amp;#039;s Vicar of Wakefield,&lt;br /&gt;
first edition (1766), ^35 iar.; Charles Carib&amp;#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
Rosamund Gray and Old Blind Margaret, &pound;,20 \os.;&lt;br /&gt;
the Poems by Two Brothers went for ;&pound;i7- At&lt;br /&gt;
Boston the MS. of Poe&amp;#039;s Eulalie fetched $225 the&lt;br /&gt;
other day. At the Women&amp;#039;s Press Club at Boston&lt;br /&gt;
Miss Louise Imogene Guiney showed a ring con-&lt;br /&gt;
taining fourteen hairs from the head of Keats&mdash;the&lt;br /&gt;
history of that Rape of the Lock is not tendered&lt;br /&gt;
with the statement.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 329 (#393) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
329&lt;br /&gt;
The Critic of New York tells a tragic story of a&lt;br /&gt;
lady who grew discontented at the prices she&lt;br /&gt;
received for her work. It was all signed, but she&lt;br /&gt;
thought that she ought to be paid more than&lt;br /&gt;
she got, and she fancied that she was underpaid&lt;br /&gt;
simply because she was a woman. She therefore&lt;br /&gt;
tried the dodge of signing with a masculine name,&lt;br /&gt;
and sent off her next MS. with a nam de plume.&lt;br /&gt;
She received no answer. Presently, however, she&lt;br /&gt;
found that her work had been used, and had&lt;br /&gt;
appeared in the magazine to which she sent it.&lt;br /&gt;
She wrote at once to the editor, reminding him&lt;br /&gt;
that she did not work for nothing. He sent her,&lt;br /&gt;
promptly, a cheque for $2! She had been accus-&lt;br /&gt;
tomed to receive for her work in own name,&lt;br /&gt;
and for papers of the same length, at least $35!&lt;br /&gt;
This experience has made her resolve to remain a&lt;br /&gt;
woman.&lt;br /&gt;
An article on Professor Lockyer&amp;#039;s &amp;quot;Meteoritic&lt;br /&gt;
Hypothesis,&amp;quot; by Mr. J. E. Gore, F.R.A.S., appears&lt;br /&gt;
in the Gentleman&amp;#039;s Magazine, for April.&lt;br /&gt;
Some time last year a lady came to this Society&lt;br /&gt;
with &amp;quot;a case.&amp;quot; It was a pretty bad case. She&lt;br /&gt;
was resident in a colony. She had written a book&lt;br /&gt;
which she was anxious to publish. She made the&lt;br /&gt;
acquaintance, in the colony, of a wandering pub-&lt;br /&gt;
lisher, who undertook her work on conditions. She&lt;br /&gt;
was to advance him ^100 down with the MS. The&lt;br /&gt;
copyright was to be his. She was to receive some&lt;br /&gt;
share&mdash;the author says, &amp;quot;as much as he might&lt;br /&gt;
choose to give me &amp;quot;&mdash;of the profits. And&mdash;which&lt;br /&gt;
shows a truly bold spirit&mdash;she was to bind herself&lt;br /&gt;
down to publish whatever other books she might&lt;br /&gt;
■write, all her life, on the same terms. The hundred&lt;br /&gt;
pounds was &amp;quot;towards the expense of publishing.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
and, of course, it would cover the whole expense.&lt;br /&gt;
A solicitor pointed out to the lady how disastrous&lt;br /&gt;
the agreement was, and she came to England and&lt;br /&gt;
placed the matter in the hands of a London&lt;br /&gt;
solicitor. .The Society, therefore, could not offer&lt;br /&gt;
to do anything for her until her own solicitor had&lt;br /&gt;
acted. It is pleasing to report that he succeeded&lt;br /&gt;
in getting the agreement cancelled.&lt;br /&gt;
She then, without consulting the Society, sent&lt;br /&gt;
her MS. to another publisher, who undertook it&lt;br /&gt;
on the beautifully simple condition that she should&lt;br /&gt;
guarantee the sale of 500 copies to begin with. It is&lt;br /&gt;
not stated what price he charged her. It is possible&lt;br /&gt;
it was 4s. id. a copy, in which case she would have&lt;br /&gt;
to pay over a hundred pounds. In other words,&lt;br /&gt;
she was as badly off with her second publisher as&lt;br /&gt;
with her first. After these copies she was to receive&lt;br /&gt;
a royalty of tod. a copy on the remaining 500&lt;br /&gt;
copies. There was also an agreement about a&lt;br /&gt;
cheap edition which does not concern us here.&lt;br /&gt;
The second part of the case illustrates our reiterated&lt;br /&gt;
statement about risk. Here we have the publisher&lt;br /&gt;
guarding himself against risk or possible loss by&lt;br /&gt;
making the author take as many copies as would&lt;br /&gt;
pay the whole expense of production to begin with.&lt;br /&gt;
If he sells the rest of the edition of 1,000 copies,&lt;br /&gt;
he will realise about ^85, out of which he will&lt;br /&gt;
have to pay the author &pound;26 16s. 8d., so that on&lt;br /&gt;
the first edition, unless she gets rid of her 500&lt;br /&gt;
copies, she loses about &pound;&amp;amp;o, and he wins &pound;66.&lt;br /&gt;
Not bad business. But suppose the lady had&lt;br /&gt;
known, when she signed it, what the agreement&lt;br /&gt;
meant? And now we may understand one of the&lt;br /&gt;
reasons why certain publishers so vehemently de-&lt;br /&gt;
nounce and decry the action of the Society. It&lt;br /&gt;
is because we do not allow our clients to sign any&lt;br /&gt;
agreements, if we can prevent them, which they&lt;br /&gt;
do not understand.&lt;br /&gt;
*&lt;br /&gt;
A BILL&lt;br /&gt;
to amend title sixty, chapter three, of the&lt;br /&gt;
Revised Statutes of the United States,&lt;br /&gt;
relating to copyrights.&lt;br /&gt;
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Repre-&lt;br /&gt;
sentatives of the United States of America in Congress&lt;br /&gt;
assembled, That section forty-nine hundred and&lt;br /&gt;
fifty-two of the Revised Statutes be, and the same&lt;br /&gt;
is hereby, amended so as to read as follows:&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Sec. 4952. xThe author, inventor, designer,&lt;br /&gt;
or proprietor of any book, map, chart, dramatic or&lt;br /&gt;
musical composition, engraving, cut, print, or&lt;br /&gt;
photograph or negative thereof, or of a painting,&lt;br /&gt;
drawing, chromo, statue, statuary, and of models&lt;br /&gt;
or designs intended to be perfected as works of&lt;br /&gt;
the fine arts, and the executors, administrators,&lt;br /&gt;
or assigns of any such person shall, upon com-&lt;br /&gt;
plying with the provisions of this chapter, have&lt;br /&gt;
the sole liberty of printing, reprinting, publishing,&lt;br /&gt;
completing, copying, executing, finishing, and&lt;br /&gt;
vending the same; and in the case of dramatic&lt;br /&gt;
composition, of publicly performing or repre-&lt;br /&gt;
senting it or causing it to be performed or repre-&lt;br /&gt;
sented by others; and authors or their assigns&lt;br /&gt;
shall have exclusive right to dramatize and tran-&lt;br /&gt;
slate any of their works for which copyright&lt;br /&gt;
shall have been obtained under the laws of the United&lt;br /&gt;
States.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Sec. 2. That section forty-nine hundred and&lt;br /&gt;
1 Omits: &amp;quot;Any citizen of the United States or resident&lt;br /&gt;
therein, who shall be.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 330 (#394) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
33&deg;&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
fifty-four of the Revised Statutes be, and the&lt;br /&gt;
same is hereby, amended so as to read as fol-&lt;br /&gt;
lows:&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Sec. 4954. The author, inventor, or designer,&lt;br /&gt;
if he be still living,1 or his widow or children, if&lt;br /&gt;
he be dead, shall have the same exclusive right&lt;br /&gt;
continued for the further term of fourteen years,&lt;br /&gt;
upon recording the title of the work or description&lt;br /&gt;
of the article so secured a second time, and com-&lt;br /&gt;
plying with all other regulations in regard to&lt;br /&gt;
original copyrights, within six months before the&lt;br /&gt;
expiration of the first term; and such persons&lt;br /&gt;
shall, within two months from the date of said&lt;br /&gt;
renewal, cause a copy of the record thereof to&lt;br /&gt;
be published in one or more newspapers printed&lt;br /&gt;
in the United States for the space of four&lt;br /&gt;
weeks.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Sec. 3. That section forty-nine hundred and&lt;br /&gt;
fifty-six of the Revised Statutes of the United States&lt;br /&gt;
be, and the same is hereby, amended so that it&lt;br /&gt;
shall read as follows:&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Sec. 4956. No person shall be entitled to a&lt;br /&gt;
copyright unless he shall, on or before the day&lt;br /&gt;
of publication in this or any foreign country, deliver&lt;br /&gt;
at the office of the Librarian of Congress, or deposit&lt;br /&gt;
in the mail within the United States, addressed to&lt;br /&gt;
the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, District&lt;br /&gt;
of Columbia, a printed copy of the title of the&lt;br /&gt;
book, map, chart, dramatic or musical composi-&lt;br /&gt;
tion, engraving, cut, print, photograph, or chromo,&lt;br /&gt;
or a description of the painting, drawing, statue,&lt;br /&gt;
statuary, or a model or design for a work of the&lt;br /&gt;
fine arts for which he desires a copyright, nor&lt;br /&gt;
unless he shall also, not later than the day of the&lt;br /&gt;
publication thereof in this or any foreign country,&lt;br /&gt;
deliver at the office of the Librarian of Congress,&lt;br /&gt;
at Washington, District of Columbia, or deposit&lt;br /&gt;
in the mail within the United States, addressed to&lt;br /&gt;
the Librarian of Congress, at Washington Dis-&lt;br /&gt;
trict of Columbia, two copies of such copy-&lt;br /&gt;
right book,~ maps, chart, dramatic or musical&lt;br /&gt;
composition, engraving, chromo, cut, print or photo-&lt;br /&gt;
graph* or in case of a painting, drawing, statue,&lt;br /&gt;
statuary, model, or design for a work of the&lt;br /&gt;
fine arts, a photograph of the same: Provided,&lt;br /&gt;
That in the case of a book, photograph, chromo, or&lt;br /&gt;
lithograph, the two copies of the same required to be&lt;br /&gt;
delivered or deposited as above shall be printed from&lt;br /&gt;
type set within the limits of the United States, or&lt;br /&gt;
from plates made therefrom, or from negatives, or&lt;br /&gt;
drawings on stone made within the limits of the&lt;br /&gt;
United States, or from transfers made therefrom.&lt;br /&gt;
During the existence of such copyright the impor-&lt;br /&gt;
1 Omits: &amp;quot;And a citizen of the United States or resident&lt;br /&gt;
therein.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
5 These words replace the words &amp;quot;or other article.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
tation into the United States, of any book, chromo,&lt;br /&gt;
lithograph, or photograph, so copyrighted, or any&lt;br /&gt;
edition or editions thereof, or any plates of the same&lt;br /&gt;
not made from type set, negatives or drawings on&lt;br /&gt;
stone, made within the limits of the United States,&lt;br /&gt;
shall be, and it is hereby, prohibited, except in the&lt;br /&gt;
cases specified in paragraphs 512 to 560 inclusive,&lt;br /&gt;
in sec/ion 2 of the act entitled &amp;quot;An act to reduce the&lt;br /&gt;
revenue and equalize the duties on imports and fur&lt;br /&gt;
other purposes,&amp;quot; approved Oct. 1, 1890; and except&lt;br /&gt;
in the case of persons purchasing for use and not&lt;br /&gt;
for sale, who import, subject to the duty thereon, not&lt;br /&gt;
more than two copies of such booh at any one time,&lt;br /&gt;
and except in the case of newspapers and magazines&lt;br /&gt;
not containing, in whole or in part, matter copy-&lt;br /&gt;
righted under the provisions of this act, unautho-&lt;br /&gt;
rized by the author, which are hereby exempted&lt;br /&gt;
from prohibition of importation: Provided, never-&lt;br /&gt;
theless, That in the case of foreign languages, of&lt;br /&gt;
which only translations in English are copyrighted,&lt;br /&gt;
the prohibition of importation shall apply only to&lt;br /&gt;
the translations of the sarin; and the importation&lt;br /&gt;
of the books in the original language shall be per-&lt;br /&gt;
mitted.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Sec. 4. That section forty-nine hundred and&lt;br /&gt;
fifty-eight of the Revised Statutes be, and the&lt;br /&gt;
same is hereby, amended so that it will read as&lt;br /&gt;
follows:&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Sec. 4958. The Librarian of Congress shall&lt;br /&gt;
receive from the persons to whom the services&lt;br /&gt;
designated are rendered the following fees:&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;First. For recording the title or description&lt;br /&gt;
of any copyright book or other article, fifty cents.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Second. For every copy under seal of such&lt;br /&gt;
record actually given to the person claiming the&lt;br /&gt;
copyright, or his assigns, fifty cents.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Third. For recording and certifying any in-&lt;br /&gt;
strument of writing for the assignment of a copy-&lt;br /&gt;
right, one dollar.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Fourth. For every copy of an assignment, one&lt;br /&gt;
dollar.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;#039;&amp;#039; All fees so received shall be paid into the&lt;br /&gt;
Treasury of the United States: Provided, That the&lt;br /&gt;
charge for recording the title or description of any&lt;br /&gt;
article entered for copyright, the production of a&lt;br /&gt;
person not a citizen or resident of the United States,&lt;br /&gt;
shall be one dollar, to be paid as above into the&lt;br /&gt;
Treasury of the United States, to defray the expenses&lt;br /&gt;
of lists of copyrighted articles as hereinafter provided&lt;br /&gt;
for.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;And if is hereby made the duty of the Librarian&lt;br /&gt;
of Congress to furnish to the Secretary of the&lt;br /&gt;
Treasury copies of the entries of titles of all looks&lt;br /&gt;
and other articles wherein the copyright has been&lt;br /&gt;
completed by the deposit of two copies of such book&lt;br /&gt;
printed from type set within the limits of the United&lt;br /&gt;
States, in accordance with the provisions of this act&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 331 (#395) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
J J 1&lt;br /&gt;
and by the deposit of two copies of such other article&lt;br /&gt;
made or produced in the United States: and the&lt;br /&gt;
Secretary of the Treasury is hereby directed to pre-&lt;br /&gt;
pare and print, at intervals of not more than a&lt;br /&gt;
week, catalogues of such title-entries for distribution&lt;br /&gt;
to the collectors of customs of the United States and&lt;br /&gt;
to the postmasters of all post-offices receiving foreign&lt;br /&gt;
mails, and such weekly lists, as they are issued,&lt;br /&gt;
shall be furnished to all parties desiring them, at a&lt;br /&gt;
sum not exceeding five dollars per annum; and the&lt;br /&gt;
Secretary and the Poshnaster- General are hereby&lt;br /&gt;
empowered and required to make and enforce such&lt;br /&gt;
rules and regulations as shall prevent the importation&lt;br /&gt;
into the United States, except upon the conditions&lt;br /&gt;
above specified, of all articles prohibited by this act.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Sec. 5. That section forty-nine hundred and&lt;br /&gt;
fifty-nine of the Revised Statutes be, and the same&lt;br /&gt;
is hereby, amended so as to read as follows:&lt;br /&gt;
Sec. 4959. The proprietor of every copy-&lt;br /&gt;
right book or other article shall deliver at the&lt;br /&gt;
office of the Librarian of Congress, or deposit in&lt;br /&gt;
the mail, addressed to the Librarian of Congress,&lt;br /&gt;
at Washington, District of Columbia,1 a copy of&lt;br /&gt;
every subsequent edition wherein any substantial&lt;br /&gt;
changes shall be made: Provided, however, That&lt;br /&gt;
the alterations, revisions, and additions made to&lt;br /&gt;
books by foreign authors, heretofore published, of&lt;br /&gt;
which new editions shall appear subsequently to the&lt;br /&gt;
taking effect of this act, shall be held and deemed&lt;br /&gt;
capable of being copyrighted as above provided for in&lt;br /&gt;
this act, unless they form a part of the series in&lt;br /&gt;
course of publication at the time this act shall fake&lt;br /&gt;
effect.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Sec. 6. That section forty-nine hundred and&lt;br /&gt;
sixty-three of the Revised Statutes be, and the same&lt;br /&gt;
is hereby, amended so as to read as follows:&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Sec 4963. Every person who shall insert or&lt;br /&gt;
impress such notice, or words of the same purport,&lt;br /&gt;
in or upon any book, map, chart, dramatic or&lt;br /&gt;
musical composition, print, cut, engraving, or&lt;br /&gt;
photograph, or other article, for which he has not&lt;br /&gt;
obtained a copyright, shall be liable to a penalty&lt;br /&gt;
of one hundred dollars, recoverable one-half for the&lt;br /&gt;
person who shall sue for such penalty, and one-half&lt;br /&gt;
to the use of the United States.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Sec 7. That section forty-nine hundred and&lt;br /&gt;
sixty-four of the Revised Statutes be, and the same&lt;br /&gt;
is hereby, amended so as to read as follows:&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Sec 4964. Every person who, after the re-&lt;br /&gt;
cording of the title of any book and the depositing&lt;br /&gt;
of two copies of such book, as provided by this Act,&lt;br /&gt;
shall, contrary to the provisions of this Act, within&lt;br /&gt;
the term limited, and without the consent of the&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;#039;Omils: &amp;quot;within ten days after its publication, two com-&lt;br /&gt;
plete printed copies thereof, ot the best edition issued, or&lt;br /&gt;
description or photograph of such article as hereinbefore&lt;br /&gt;
required, and.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
proprietor of the copyright first obtained in writing,&lt;br /&gt;
signed in presence of two or more witnesses, print,&lt;br /&gt;
publish, dramatize, translate, or import, or knowing&lt;br /&gt;
the same to be so printed, published, dramatized,&lt;br /&gt;
translated, or imported, sell or expose to sale any&lt;br /&gt;
copy of such book shall forfeit every copy thereof&lt;br /&gt;
to such proprietor, and shall also forfeit and pay&lt;br /&gt;
such damages as may be recovered in a civil action&lt;br /&gt;
by such proprietor in any court of competent juris-&lt;br /&gt;
diction.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Sec. 8. That section forty-nine hundred and&lt;br /&gt;
sixty-five of the Revised Statutes be, and the same&lt;br /&gt;
is hereby, so amended as to read as follows:&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Sec 4965. If any person, after the recording&lt;br /&gt;
of the title of any map, chart, dramatic or musical&lt;br /&gt;
composition, print, cut, engraving, or photograph,&lt;br /&gt;
or chromo, or of the description of any painting,&lt;br /&gt;
drawing, statue, statuary, or model or design in-&lt;br /&gt;
tended to be perfected and executed as a work&lt;br /&gt;
of the fine arts, as provided by this act, shall within&lt;br /&gt;
the term limited, contrary to the provisions of this&lt;br /&gt;
act, and without the consent of the proprietor of&lt;br /&gt;
the copyright first obtained in writing, signed in&lt;br /&gt;
presence of two or more witnesses, engrave, etch,&lt;br /&gt;
work, copy, print, publish, dramatize, translate, or&lt;br /&gt;
import, either in whole, or in part, or by varying&lt;br /&gt;
the main design with intent to evade the law, or,&lt;br /&gt;
knowing the same to be so printed, published,&lt;br /&gt;
dramatized, translated, or imported, should sell&lt;br /&gt;
or expose to sale any copy of such map or other&lt;br /&gt;
article as aforesaid, he shall forfeit to the pro-&lt;br /&gt;
prietor all the plates on which the same shall be&lt;br /&gt;
copied and every sheet thereof, either copied&lt;br /&gt;
or printed, and shall further forfeit, one dollar&lt;br /&gt;
for every sheet of the same found in his posses-&lt;br /&gt;
sion, either printing, printed, copied, published,&lt;br /&gt;
imported, or exposed for sale, and in case of&lt;br /&gt;
a painting, statue, or statuary, he shall forfeit&lt;br /&gt;
ten dollars for every copy of the same in his pos-&lt;br /&gt;
session, or by him sold or exposed for sale; one-&lt;br /&gt;
half thereof to the proprietor and the other half to&lt;br /&gt;
the use of the United States.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Sec 9. That section forty-nine hundred and&lt;br /&gt;
sixty-seven of the Revised Statutes be, and the&lt;br /&gt;
same is hereby, amended so as to read as follows:&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Sec 4967. Every person who shall print or&lt;br /&gt;
publish any manuscript whatever without the con&lt;br /&gt;
sent of the author or proprietor first obtained,1 shall&lt;br /&gt;
be liable to the author or proprietor for all damages&lt;br /&gt;
occasioned by such injury.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Sec 10. That section forty-nine hundred and&lt;br /&gt;
seventy-one of the Revised Statutes be, and the&lt;br /&gt;
same is hereby, repealed.2&lt;br /&gt;
1 Omits: &amp;quot;if such author or proprietor is a citizen of the&lt;br /&gt;
United States, or resident therein.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
a SEC. 4971 is as follows: &amp;quot;Nothing in this chapter shall&lt;br /&gt;
be construed to prohibit the printing, publishing, importation,&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 332 (#396) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
332&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
Sec. ii. That for the purpose of this act each&lt;br /&gt;
volume of a book in two or more volumes, when such&lt;br /&gt;
volumes are published separately and the first one&lt;br /&gt;
shall not have been issued before this act shall&lt;br /&gt;
take effect, and each number of a periodical, shall be&lt;br /&gt;
considered an independent publication, subject to the&lt;br /&gt;
form of copyrighting as above.&lt;br /&gt;
Sec. 12. That this act shall go into effect on the&lt;br /&gt;
first day of July, anno Domini eighteen hundred and&lt;br /&gt;
ninety-one.&lt;br /&gt;
Sec. 13. That this act shall only apply to a citizen&lt;br /&gt;
or subject of a foreign state or nation when such&lt;br /&gt;
foreign state or nation permits to citizens of the&lt;br /&gt;
United States of America the benefit of copyright on&lt;br /&gt;
substantially the same basis as its own citizens, or&lt;br /&gt;
when such foreign state or nation is a party to an&lt;br /&gt;
international agreement which provides for reciprocity&lt;br /&gt;
in the granting of copyright, by the terms of which&lt;br /&gt;
agreement the United States of America may, at its&lt;br /&gt;
pleasure, become a party to such agreement. The&lt;br /&gt;
existence of either of the conditions aforesaid shall be&lt;br /&gt;
determined by the President of the United States by&lt;br /&gt;
proclamation made from time to time as the purposes&lt;br /&gt;
of this act may require.&lt;br /&gt;
or sale of any book, map, chart, dramatic or musical com-&lt;br /&gt;
position, print, cut, engraving, or photograph, written, com-&lt;br /&gt;
posed, or made by any person not a resident of the United&lt;br /&gt;
States nor resident therein.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
NEW BOOKS AND NEW EDITIONS.&lt;br /&gt;
Theology.&lt;br /&gt;
Carpenter, Dr. W. B. The remanent Elements of&lt;br /&gt;
Religion: Bampton Lectures. 18S7. 2nd Edition.&lt;br /&gt;
Macmillan. 6s.&lt;br /&gt;
Harper, H. A. The Bible and Modern Discoveries. With&lt;br /&gt;
Map and Illustrations. 4th Edition. Revised, with&lt;br /&gt;
Notes, Errata, and Appendix. A. P. Watt. Js. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
Lux Mundi. A Series of Studies in the Religion of the&lt;br /&gt;
Incarnation. By Various Writers. Edited by Rev.&lt;br /&gt;
Charles Gore, M.A. nth Edition. Murray. 14s-&lt;br /&gt;
Parker, Joseph. People&amp;#039;s Bible. Vol. XIV. Ec-&lt;br /&gt;
clesiastes, The Song of Solomon, Isaiah xxvi. Hazell.&lt;br /&gt;
8*.&lt;br /&gt;
Welldon, Rev. J. E. C. The Fire upon the Altar.&lt;br /&gt;
Second Series. Js.&lt;br /&gt;
History and Biography.&lt;br /&gt;
Anderson, J. H. History of George the Third&amp;#039;s Reign.&lt;br /&gt;
Longmans. 4s. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
Bancroft, Mr. and Mrs. On and Off the Stage. New&lt;br /&gt;
Edition. Bentley. IX, Is. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
Claydrn, P. W. England under Lord Beaconsfield.&lt;br /&gt;
3rd and Popular Edition. Fisher Unwin. 6s.&lt;br /&gt;
Freeman, E. A. The History &raquo;f Sicily, from the Earliest&lt;br /&gt;
Times. With Maps. 2 vols. Clarendon Press.&lt;br /&gt;
42.C&lt;br /&gt;
Ken von, Edith C. Centenary Life of John Wesley. W.&lt;br /&gt;
Scott. 2s. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
Lano, Andrew. Northcote, Sir Stafford, first Earl of&lt;br /&gt;
Iddesleigh. Life, Letters and Diaries. New Edition.&lt;br /&gt;
With Portrait. Blackwood and Sons. Is. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
Le Gali.ienne, R. George Meredith: Some Character-&lt;br /&gt;
istics. 2nd Edition. E. Mathews. 7*. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
Stephen, Leslie, and Lee, S. Dictionary of National&lt;br /&gt;
Biography. Vol. XXVI. Smith and Elder. 15*.&lt;br /&gt;
General Literature.&lt;br /&gt;
Anstey, F. Tourmalin&amp;#039;s Time Cheques : a Farcical Extra-&lt;br /&gt;
vagance. Arrowsmith (Bristol). Simpkin. is.&lt;br /&gt;
Baring-Gould, S. Urith : a Story of Dartmoor. 3 vols.&lt;br /&gt;
Methuen.&lt;br /&gt;
Bksant, Walter. For Faith and Freedom. New Edition.&lt;br /&gt;
Chatto and Windus. 2s.&lt;br /&gt;
Boyle, Fred. Her Evil Genius. 3 vols. Chapman and&lt;br /&gt;
Hall. 31s. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
Croker, B. M. Two Masters: a Novel. F. V. White.&lt;br /&gt;
2s. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
Farjeon, B. L. The Nine of Hearts: a Detective Story.&lt;br /&gt;
Ward, Lock and Co. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
Fenn, G. M. Sawn Off: a Tale of a F&amp;#039;amily Tree. With&lt;br /&gt;
Portrait of the Author. (Whitefriars Library.) Henry.&lt;br /&gt;
2s. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
Grace, W. G., and Brownlee, Methven. Cricket.&lt;br /&gt;
Fully Illustrated. 6s.&lt;br /&gt;
Gissing, George. New Grub Street. 3 vols. Smith,&lt;br /&gt;
Elder.&lt;br /&gt;
Harland, Henry. Mea Culpa: a Woman&amp;#039;s Last Word.&lt;br /&gt;
3 vols.&lt;br /&gt;
IIarte, Bret. A Sappho of Green Springs, &amp;amp;c. With&lt;br /&gt;
Frontispiece and Vignette by Hume Nisbet. Chatto&lt;br /&gt;
and Windus. 6s.&lt;br /&gt;
Holmes, Dr. Oliver Wendell. Over the Tea-cups:&lt;br /&gt;
a Series of Papers of Reminiscences and Characteristic&lt;br /&gt;
Reflections. 4th Edition. Sampson Low and Co.&lt;br /&gt;
6s.&lt;br /&gt;
James, C. T. C. The Romantic Rigmarole of a Time out of&lt;br /&gt;
Town. 2s. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
Jerome, Jerome K. Diary of a Pilgrimage. With&lt;br /&gt;
upwards of One Hundred Illustrations by G. C. Fraser.&lt;br /&gt;
3s. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
Kennard, Mr. E. Landing a Prize: a Novel. 5th&lt;br /&gt;
Edition. F. V. White. 2s.&lt;br /&gt;
Kipling, Rudyard. The Light that Failed. Macmillan.&lt;br /&gt;
6s.&lt;br /&gt;
Lowell, T. Russell. Writings. Riverside Edition. (In&lt;br /&gt;
10 vois.) Vol. VI. Literary and Political Addresses.&lt;br /&gt;
6,-.&lt;br /&gt;
McCarthy, J. H. Doom: an Atlantic Episode. 5th&lt;br /&gt;
Edition. Chatto and Windus. is.&lt;br /&gt;
MacDonald, G. There and Back. 3 vols. Paul,&lt;br /&gt;
Triibner and Co. 31s. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
Macquoid, Katherine S. Cosette. New Edition.&lt;br /&gt;
Ward and Downey. 3-r. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
Marshall, Emma. A Romance of the Isle of Wight.&lt;br /&gt;
Seeley and Co. is., is. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
Martineau, James. Essays, Reviews, and Addresses.&lt;br /&gt;
Vol. 2. Ecclesiastical History. Longmans, js. 6V.&lt;br /&gt;
Mitford, Bertram. A Romance of the Cape Frontier.&lt;br /&gt;
Popular Edition. 3;. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
MOORE, G. Impressions and Opinions. Nutt. $s.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
## p. 333 (#397) ############################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE AUTHOR.&lt;br /&gt;
o&lt;br /&gt;
oo 1 ^ *?&lt;br /&gt;
Nisbet, Hume. A Colonial Tramp : Travels and Adven-&lt;br /&gt;
tures in Australia and New Guinea. 2 vols. Ward and&lt;br /&gt;
Downey, yis.&lt;br /&gt;
The Black Drop. Trischler. 2s. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
OLIPHANT, Mrs. Kirsteen: the Story of a Scotch Family&lt;br /&gt;
Seventy Years Ago. New Edition. Macmillan.&lt;br /&gt;
3-r. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
Pater, W. Imaginary Portraits. New Edition. Mac-&lt;br /&gt;
millan. 6;.&lt;br /&gt;
Pawn, James. Sunny Stones, and Some Shady Ones.&lt;br /&gt;
With a Frontispiece by Fred. Barnard. Chatto and&lt;br /&gt;
Windus. y. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
Traed, Mrs. C. Miss Jacobsen&amp;#039;s Chance: a Story of&lt;br /&gt;
Australian Life. New Edition. (Two Shilling Library&lt;br /&gt;
of Fiction.) Ward and Downey. 2s.&lt;br /&gt;
The Soul of Countess Adrian. 2s. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
Prescott, Rev. P. The Salvation Army: The Secret of&lt;br /&gt;
Its Success. A Message to the Churches. &amp;quot;Christian&lt;br /&gt;
The Seal of Fate.&lt;br /&gt;
Commonwealth Office.&amp;quot; is.&lt;br /&gt;
Pollock, Lady, and Pollock, W. II.&lt;br /&gt;
Longmans. 6s.&lt;br /&gt;
Pryce, Richard. The Quiet Mrs. Fleming. Methuen.&lt;br /&gt;
3s. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
Rae, W. F. An American Duchess. 3 vols. Hurst and&lt;br /&gt;
Blackett. 3lr. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Rita.&amp;quot; The Laird of Cockpen. 3 vols. F. V. White.&lt;br /&gt;
31s. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
Schopenhauer, A. Studies in Pessimism: A Series of&lt;br /&gt;
Essays Selected and Edited by T. Bailey Saunders.&lt;br /&gt;
2nd Edition. Sonnenschein. 2s. 6d. The Art of Literature: A Series of Essays. Selected&lt;br /&gt;
and Translated. With a Preface by T. Bailey Saunders.&lt;br /&gt;
Sonnenschein. 2s. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
Sherard, R. H. The Type-written Letter. Trischler. is.&lt;br /&gt;
Singleton, J. A Wild Blossom. Griffith, Farran and&lt;br /&gt;
Co. is.&lt;br /&gt;
Sully, James. Pessimism: a History and a Criticism.&lt;br /&gt;
2nd Edition. With New Preface. I or. 6&amp;lt;t.&lt;br /&gt;
Warden, Florence. Pretty Miss Smith. Heinemann.&lt;br /&gt;
3&amp;#039;. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
Whitby, Beatrice. The Awakening of Mary Fenwick:&lt;br /&gt;
a Novel. New Edition. Hurst and Blackett. 3s. 6J.&lt;br /&gt;
Winter, John Strange. The Other Man&amp;#039;s Wife. 2&lt;br /&gt;
vols. F. V. White. 21s.&lt;br /&gt;
Yonge, Charlotte M. The Little Duke, Richard the&lt;br /&gt;
Fearless. With Illustrations. New Edition. Mac-&lt;br /&gt;
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Educational.&lt;br /&gt;
Allcroft, A. H.,and Haydon, J. II. Latin Composition&lt;br /&gt;
and Syntax. 2nd Edition. (Univ. Coll. Tutorial&lt;br /&gt;
Series.) Clive. 2s. 6d.&lt;br /&gt;
Co WHAM, J. II. School Organisation, Hygiene and Discip-&lt;br /&gt;
line. Designed especially for the Guidance of Teachers&lt;br /&gt;
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tionists generally. (Cowham&amp;#039;s Teacher&amp;#039;s and Pupil&lt;br /&gt;
Teacher&amp;#039;s Course.) Westminster School Dtpdt. 3.5. 6J.&lt;br /&gt;
Dixon, Edward T. The Foundations of Geometry.&lt;br /&gt;
Deighton Bell and Co. 6s.&lt;br /&gt;
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iii.&lt;br /&gt;
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## p. (#400) ################################################&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
iv.&lt;br /&gt;
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of Westminster.</td><td>https://historysoa.com/files/original/5/250/1891-04-15-The-Author-1-12.pdf</td><td>publications, The Author</td></tr></table>