https://historysoa.com/files/original/5/294/1896-09-01-The-Author-7-4.pdf eded982ed313cf82c575cdcbd3d1f854 PDF Text Text ���������������������������� Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Author Subject The topic of the resource <em>The Author</em> Description An account of the resource A digitised run of the Society of Authors' monthly periodical, <em>The Author</em>, 1890<span>–</span>1914, made available together for the first time.<br /><br />Currently users can browse issues and <a href="https://historysoa.com/items/browse?search=&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bjoiner%5D=and&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Index&amp;collection=&amp;type=&amp;tags=&amp;exhibit=&amp;date_search_term=&amp;submit_search=Search+For+Items&amp;sort_field=Dublin+Core%2CTitle">indices</a> (not available for all volumes). Full text search for all issues, and other additional search functionality, will be added in 2022. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1890–1914 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context The-Author-Issues Publication Date The date of an event (in YYYY, YYYY-MM or YYYY-MM-DD format) 1896-09-01 Volume 7 Issue 4 Pages Page range in volume 73–96 Ngram Date Version of the date in YYYYMMDD format for use by the Ngram plugin 18960901 Ngram Text Version of the text with no HTML formatting for use by the Ngram plugin Uhc Butbor* (The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly.) CONDUCTED BY WALTER BESANT. Vol. VIL—No. 4.] SEPTEMBER i, 1896. [Price Sixpence. CONTENTS. • PAG* PAOK Warnings and Notices 73 National Bibliography S3 Literary Property— Notes and News. By the Editor 81 1. "The Fol'owing Favourable Terms" ... 75 Feuilleton— 2. Serial RlghtB 76 The Reputation of Bipplington si; 8. The First Book 77 Monsters in Fiction so 4. Pitts c. George and Co 77 Book Talk 91 6. The Associated Booksellers 78 Literature in the Periodicals :ti 6. Literary and Artistic Congress 80 Correspondence—1. To be Returned within a Certain Time. New York Letter SO 2. Injury by Detention. 8. The Title. 4. Literary Grab-alls. Reviewing 82 5. Criticism from a Commercial Point of View M PUBLICATIONS OF THE SOCIETY. 1. The Annual Report. That for January 1896 can be had on application to the Secretary. 2. The Author. A Monthly Journal devoted especially to the protection and maintenance of Literary Property. Issued to all Members. Back numbers are offered at the following prices: Vol. I., ios. 6d. (Bound); Vols. II., III., and IV., 8». 6d. each (Bound); Vol. V., 6s. 6d. (Unbound). 3. Literature and the Pension List. By W. Morris Colles, Barrister-at-Law. (Henry G-laisher, 95, Strand, W.C.) 3*. 4. The History of the Societe des Gens de Lettres. By S. Squire Sprigge, late Secretary to the Society, is. 5. The Cost Of Production. In this work specimens are given of the most important forms of type, size of page, Ac, with estimates showing what it costs to produce the more common kinds of books. Henry Glaisher, 95, Strand, W.C. 2s. 6d. 6. The Various Methods of Publication. By S. Squire Sprigge. In this work, compiled from the papers in the Society's offices, the various forms of agreements proposed by Publishers to Authors are examined, and their meaning carefully explained, with an account of the various kinds of fraud which have been made possible by the different clauses in their agreements. Henry Glaisher, 95, Strand, W.C. 3*. 7. Copyright Law Reform. An Exposit ion of Lord Monkswell's Copyright Bill now before Parlia- ment. With Extracts from the Eeport of the Commission of 1878, and an Appendix containing the Berne Convention and the American Copyright Bill. By J. M. Lely. • Eyre and Spottiswoode. is. 6d. 8. The Society of Authors. A Record of its Action from its Foundation. By Walter Bisant (qhairman of Committee, 188g_jgo2). Iir, 9. The ^Contract^ ^Publication ^ gennany, Austria, Hungary, and Switzerland. By Ernst  ## p. 72 (#100) ############################################# 11 AD VER TISEMENTS. g>ocietp of Jluf^ots (gncotporaieb). Sie Edwin Aknold, K.C.I.E., C.S.I. Alfred Austin. J. M. Baerik A W. X Beckett. ?. E. Beddard, F.B.S. Robert Bateman. Sib Henrt Bergne, K.C.M.G. Sir Walter Besant. Augustine Birrell, M.P. Eev. Prof. Bonnet, F.B.S. Bight Hon. James Bryce, M.P. Bight Hon. Lord Burghclere, P.C Hall Caine. Egerton Castle, F.S.A. P. W. Clatden. Edward Clodd. W. Morris Colles. Hon. John Collier. Sir W. Martin Conwat. F. Marion Crawford. A. W. X Beckett. Sir Walter Besant. Egerton Castle. W. Morris Colles. PRESIDENT. a-ZEOZRO-IE MEREDITH. COUNCIL. The Earl of Desart. Austin Dobson. A. Conan Doyle, M.D A. W. Dubourg. Sir J. Eric Erichsen, Bart., F.B.S. Prof. Michael Foster, F.B.S. Bichard Oabnett, C.B., LL.D. Edmund Gosse. H. Bideb Haggard. Thomas Hardy. Anthony Hope Hawkins. Jerome K. Jerome. Budyard Kipling. Prof. E. Bay Lankester, F.B.S. W. E. H. Lecky. J. M. Lely. Mrs. E. Lynn Linton. Eev. W. J. Loftie, F.S.A. Sir A. C. Mackenzie, Mus.D. Prof. J. M. D. Meiklejohn. Counsel — E. M. Underdown, COMMITTEE OF MANAGEMENT Chairman—H. Eider Haggard. Hon. John Collier Sir W. Martin Conway. Anthony Hope Hawkins. J. M. Lely. Herman C. Meriyale. Eev. C. H. Middleton-Wake. Sir Lewis Morris. Henry Norman. Miss E. A. Ormerod. J. C. Parkinson. Eight Hon. Lord Pirbright. Sir Frederick Pollock, Bart., LL.D. Walter Herries Pollock. W. Baptiste Scoones. Miss Flora L. Shaw. G. B. Sims. S. Squire Sprigge. J. J. Stevenson. Prof. Jas. Sully. William Moy Thomas. H. D. Traill, D.C.L. Mrs. Humphry Ward. Miss Charlotte M. Yonoe. Hon. Q.C. 8dicitors ^ Messrs. Field, Eoscoe, and Co., Lincoln's Inn Fields. * \Q. Herbert Thring, B.A., 4, Portugal-street, W.C. Sir A. C. Mackenzie, Mus.D. Henry Norman. S. Squire Sprigge. Secretary—6. Herbert Thring, B.A. OFFICES: 4, Portugal Street, Lincoln's Inn Fields, W.C. IE3. WATT & SO INT, LITERARY AGENTS, Formerly of 2, PATERNOSTER SaUARE, Have now removed to HASTINGS HOUSE, NORFOLK STREET, STRAND, LONDON. "W.C. WINDSOR HOUSE PRINTING WORKS, BREAM'S BTJ-IXjIDHTO-S, ZE.G. Offices of "The Field," "The Queen," "The Law Times," &e. Mr. HOEACE COX, Printer to the Authors' Society, takes the opportunity of informing Authors that, having a very large Office, and an extensive Plant of Type of every description, he is in a position to EXECUTE any PEINTLNG they may entrust to his care. ESTIMATES FORWARDED, AND REASONABLE CHARGES WILL BE FOUND.  ## p. 73 (#101) ############################################# XI be Hutbor* (The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly.) CONDUCTED BY WALTER BESANT. Vol. VII.—No. 4.] SEPTEMBER 1, 1896. [Price Sixpence. For the Opinions expressed in papers that are signed or initialled the Authors alone are responsible. None of the papers or para- graphs must be taken as expressing the collective opinions of the committee unless they are officially signed by G. Herbert Thring, Sec. THE Secretary of the Society begs to give notice that all remittances are acknowledged by return of post, and requests that all members not receiving an answer to important communications within two days will write to him without delay. All remittances should be crossed Union Bank 0/ London, Chancery-lane, or be sent by registered letter only. Communications and letters are invited by the Editor on all subjects connected with literature, but on no other sub- jects whatever. Articles which cannot be accepted are returned if stamps for the purpose accompany the MSS. GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. are several methods of publishing by agree- ments. Thus (1) an author may sell his work for a sum of money down: (2) he may take a share of the profits: (3) he may accept a royalty. The first method is the readiest and, where a proper price is paid, perhaps the best. It involves a certain amount of risk or doubt as to the result on the part of the buyer, and a certain amount of hesitation on the part of the seller. The author would do well to sell through an agent. But let him beware as to his choice of agent. At a time when the production of new books involved great risks and where the possible circle of purchasers was very small, the publishers, joining together, took half the profits as a return for their risk and services. At the present time in many cases, where there are no risks, they often take two-thirds and even more of the profits, and that after setting apart a large sum for "office expenses," allowing the author nothing at all for his office expenses. In other words, it is as if a steward were to charge first for his office and desks and then to take half or two-thirds of the remainder for himself as steward's fee. Therefore the author must in every case ascertain carefully, before signing the agreement, what proportion is appropriate under its clauses by the publisher for himself. If the aa(L jg ja doubt, let him submit the agreement to the secret- r to one of the VOL. Til. *?> 0 literary agents recommended by the secretary. Above all things he must remember that in any business transaction the one who accepts an agreement in ignorance will quite certainly get the worst of it. The folly of signing in ignorance is the main cause of half the quarrels between author and publisher. In the case of profit-sharing agreements, remember that a very common form of getting the better of an author is the practice of advertising the book in the publisher's own organs, very likely magazines of small circulation. Sometimes, also, he " exchanges " advertisements with other magazines, and charges the author as if he had paid for them. In this way the publisher may put the whole profits of a book in his own pooket. One way to prevent this sharp practice is to insert a clause to the effect that advertisements Bhall only be charged at the actual price paid for them. A better way, however, is to agree beforehand upon the papers in which advertisements may be inserted. As regards the right of inspecting the books, that neeo not be claimed, because it exists as the right of every partner, or joint venturer. You have only to demand the inspection of the books by your solicitor, your accountant, or the secretary of the Sooiety. It' the book is a first book, or one that carries risk, it is fan- to make an arrangement for the first edition and another for the second, and following, if any. The publisher confers so signal a service upon the young author by producing his work at all—i.e., by giving him the chance he desires above all things—that it seems fair in such a case to yield him the larger share. In a profit-sharing agreement do not let the cost of pro- duction form a part of the agreement, otherwise you will be unable to contest it afterwards. It will be wisest never to enter into relations with any publisher unless recommended by the Society. There are many other dangers to be avoided. Serial rights: stamping the agreement: American rights: future work: cession of copyright—these things cannot possibly bo attended to by the young author. Therefore his agree- ment should always be shown to the secretary. It has been objected that these precautions presuppose a great success for the book, and that very few books indeed attain to this great success. That is quite true: but there is always this uncertainty of literary property that, although the works of a great many authors carry with them no risk at all, and although of a great n^oy it '8 known within a few copies what will be their mi^j^uw calculation, it is not known what will be their xh^jb«». Therefore every author, for every should success which may come. Therefore on the chance ot The four poijw , the ^ ^ A*«s» 4cmMv4e4 from the outset H *\ ve" («0 That K / ^vN5 n« W ^ mean.. ^'^ \ ^  ## p. 74 (#102) ############################################# 74 THE AUTHOR. (2.) The inspection of those account books which belong to the author. We are advised that this is a right, in the nature of a common law right, which cannot be denied or withheld. (3.) That there shall be no secret profits. (4.) That nothing Bhall be charged which has not been actually paid—for instance, that there shall be no charge for advertisements in the publisher's own organs and none for exchanged advertisements; and that all discoants shall bo duly entered. If these points are carefully looked after, the anthor may rest pretty well assured that he is in right hands. At the same time he will do well to send his agreement to the secretary before he signs it. HOW TO USE TEE SOCIETY. 1. in VERY member has a right to ask for and to receive Pi advice upon his agreements, his choice of a pub- lisher, or any dispute arising in the conduct of his business or the administration of his property. If the advice sought is such as can be given best by a solicitor, the member has a right to an opinion from the Society's solicitors. If the case is such that Counsel's opinion is desirable, the Com- mittee will obtain for him Counsel's opinion. All this without any cost to the member. 2. Remember that questions connected with oopyright and publisher's agreements do not generally fall within tho experience of ordinary solicitors. Thorefore, do not scruple to use the Society first—onr solicitors are continually engaged upon such questions for us. 3. Send to the office copies of past agreements and past accounts with the loan of the books represented. This is in order to ascertain what has been the nature of your agree- ments, and the results to author and publisher respectively so far. The Secretary will always be glad to have any agreements, new or old, for inspection and note. The infor- mation thus obtained may prove invaluable. 4. If the examination of your previous business trans- actions by the Secretary proves unfavourable, you should take advice as to a change of publishers. 5. Before signing any agreement whatever, send the pro- posed document to the Society for examination. 6. The Society is acquainted with the methods, and—in the case of fraudulent houses—the tricks of every publish- ing firm in the country. 7. Remember always that in belonging to the Society you are fighting the battles of other writers, even if you are reaping no benefit to yourself, and that you are advancing the best interests of literature in promoting the indepen- dence of the writer. 8. Send to the Editor of the Author notes of everything important to literature that you may hear or meet with. 9. The committee have now arranged for the reception of members' agreements and their preservation in a fireproof safe. The agreements will, of course, be regarded as con- fidential documents to be read only by the Secretary, who will keep the key of the safe. The Society now offers:—(1) To read and advise upon agreements and publishers. (2) To stamp agreements in readiness for a possible action upon them. (3) To keep agreements. (4) To onforce payments due according to agreements. THE AUTHORS' SYNDICATE. MEMBERS are informed: 1. That the Authors' Syndicate takes charge of the business of members of the Society. That it submits MSS. to publishers and editors, concludes agree- ments, examines, passes, and collects accounts, and, gene- rally, relieves members of the trouble of managing business details. 2. That the terms upon which its services can be secured will be forwarded upon detailed application. 3. That the Authors' Syndicate works only for those members of the Society whose work possesses a market value. 4. That the Syndicate can only undertake any negotiations whatever on the distinct understanding that those negotia- tions are placed exclusively in its hands, and that all communications relating thereto are referred to it. 5. That clients can only be seen by the Director by appointment, and that, when possible, at least two days' notice should be given. 6. That jvery attempt is made to deal with all communi- cations promptly. That stamps should, in all cases, be sent to defray postage. 7. That the Authors' Syndicate does not invite MSS. without previous correspondence; does not hold itself responsible for MSS. forwarded without notice; and that in all cases MSS. must be accompanied by stamps to defray postage. 8. That the Syndicate undertakes arrangements for lectures by some of the leading members of the Society: that it has a "Transfer Department" for the sale and purchase of journals and periodicals; and that a " Register of Wants and Wantod" is open. Members are invited to communicate their requirements to the Manager. There is an Honorary Advisory Committee, whose services will be called npon in any case of dispute or difficulty. It is perhaps necessary to state that the members of the Advisory Committee have no pecuniary interest whatever in the Syndicate. NOTICES. THE Editor of the Author begs to remind members of the Society that, although the paper is sent to them free of charge, the cost of producing it would be a very heavy charge on the resources of the Society if a great many members did not forward to the Secretary the modest 6s. 6d. subscription for the year. The Editor is always glad to receive short papers and communications on all subjects connected with literature from members and others. Nothing can do more good to the Society than to make the Author complete, attractive, and interesting. Will those who are willing to aid in this work send their names and the special subjects on which they are willing to write P Communications for the Author should reach the Editor not later than the 21 st of each month. All persons engaged in literary work of any kind, whether members of the Society or not, are invited to communicate to the Editor any points connected with their work which it would be advisable in the general interest to publish. Members and others who wish their MSS. read are requested not to send them to the Office without previously  ## p. 75 (#103) ############################################# THE AUTHOR. 75 commusieating with the Secretary. The utmost practicable despatch is aimed at, and MSS. are read in the order in which they are received. It must also be distinctly under- stood that the Society does not, under any circumstances, undertake the publication of MSS. The Authors' Club is now open in its new premises, at 3, Whitehall-court, Charing Cross. Address the Secretary for information, rules of admission, Ac. Will members take the trouble to ascertain whether they have paid their subscriptions for the year? If they will do this, and remit the amount, if still unpaid, or a banker's order, it will greatly assist the Secretary, and save him the trouble of sending out a reminder. Members are most earnestly entreated to attend to the following warning. It is a most foolish and may be a most disastrous thing to enter into an agreement binding for a term of years. Let them ask themselves if they would give a solicitor the collection of their rents for five years to come, whatever his conduct, whether he was honest or dishonest? Of course they would not. Why then hesitate for a moment when they are asked to sign them- selves into literary bondage for three or five years P Those who possess the "Cost of Production" are requested to note that the cost of binding has advanced IS per cent. This means, for those who do not like the trouble of "doing sums," the addition of three shillings in the pound on this head. In other words, if the cost of binding is set down in our book at eight pounds, to this must now be added twenty-four shillings more, so that it now stands at jBq 4». The figures in our book are as near the exact truth as can be procured; but a printer's, or a binder's, bill is so elastic a thing that nothing more exact can be arrived at. Some remarks have been made upon the amount charged in the " Cost of Production" for advertising. Of course, we have not included any sums which may be charged for inserting advertisements in the publisher's own magazines, or in other magazines by exchange. As agreements too often go, there is nothing to prevent the publisher from sweeping the whole profits of a book into his own pocket, by inserting any number of advertisements in his own magazines, and by exchanging with others. Some there are who call this a form of fraud; it is not known what those who practise this method of swelling their own profits call it. LITERARY PROPERTY. I.—" The Following Favourable Tebms." THE two proposals which follow explain themselves. We have omitted the name of the author and the name of the firm. The secretary, however, will inform any members, who may desire to know the latter. D.ABSJB, July 24, tSofi. We have given this work our careful attention, and our opinion of it being favourable, we have decided to offer you the following favourable terms for its production and publication, viz.:— That in consideration of our printing 1000 copies of the book in the best style on good paper from new type, publishing at the popular price of 3s. (fi ^ jjandsome cloth, gold lettered, advertising to the amom,j r £1 a*1"* Riving you two-thirds of the proceeds of sal68 c 01 gteo *° Pay to us the sum of .£88—.£50 when you sign the agreement, and J638 when you see the last proofs. The above amount to constitute your sole' outlay, the copyright remaining your property. The expenses of all future editions to be borne entirely by us, we paying to you one half the profits. It may perhaps be superfluous to mention that reviewing, and all the many other technicalities of publishing necessary for placing the book on the market, would have our especial care. We should be glad of an early decision on our terms, as we are desirous of proceeding with the work without delay in order that it may be ready in good time for the autumn season, the best publishing season of the year. Faithfully yours, P.S.—The above payment is inolusive of revision and preparation for press. July 30, 1896. Dear Sib, We are in receipt of your favour, and regret to say we do not see our way to undertake publication on terms other than thoBe in which you at least make a payment. This is usual with new writers. We have, however, after careful reflection, decided to make you the following exceptional offer, viz.:— That you make payment of the sum of ,£70 (J640 on signing the agreement, and .£30 when you see the last proofs), and share with us in all sales of the work thus— that you receive three-fifths of the proceeds of sales on a first edition of 1000 copies. Afterwards half the profits on future editions, the expenses of which would be borne entirely by us. The expenses of advertising (full details of which would be sent you) to be a first charge on the total sales. Being anxious to meet you in the matter of terms, we have placed your payment at the lowest, consistent with good work and effective publishing. We can only now add that if you elect to entrust the publication with us, you may rely on our doing our best to make the book a suocess. Faithfully yours, We note on the above: (1) The first offer is for .£50 on signing the agreement and ,£38 on receiving first proof: but ,£15 to be spent on advertising. (2) The second offer is for ,£40 on signing the agreement and .£30 on receiving first proof. None of the money to be spent on advertising. (3) The publishers in their second offer reserve the power of spending what they please on advertising. (4) Under the first proposal the author gets two-thirds of the total proceeds of the first edition of 1000 copies. (5) Under the second, proposal he gets three- fifths of the total procee<^% Let us now Sflp UBder tU '^ost^wwaUe terms, how the autV . *0u\a Xe%A- ^suppose the whole of th^T°i t e^itit^V5^ °VeSS ""^ copies givex^ ft^ls J**! •W*e the aveLg^ nearly too* ^ V  ## p. 76 (#104) ############################################# 76 THE AUTHOR. Now, under the first offer, Author pays <£88: receives two-thirds o f <£ioo —i.e., £66 13.9. 4</. Certain loss on the best possible event, £21 6s. Sd. By the second offer. Author pays ,£70. Receipts £100, less (say) =£15 for adver- tising = £8 5. Author receives three-fifths of ,£85—i.e., £51. Certain loss on the best possible event, £19. The author's certain loss at the best gives the publishers' highest profit. They take on the first offer ,£88, less .£15 for advertisements = .£73. To this must be added the interest on the money before printers, &c, are paid. Is it too much to set this down at 10 per cent.? Thus we have for the publisher's account: .£. *. d. Received from the author 73 o o Interest on ,£73 for six months at 5 per cent 3 13 o By one-third of sales 33 6 8 109 19 8 From this must be deducted the cost of pro- duction, which in such cases is conducted with an eye to cheapness. Perhaps it would amount to £70, seeing that the type is not probably stereotyped. On these figures, we observe that in the event of there being a sale of the whole edition (a very unlikely event) the publisher's profit would be somewhere about ,£40 and the author's loss would be about £20. Nothing, however, has been said about corrections. Under the second offer the publisher can do what he pleases about advertisements. The author's loss may, there- fore, be anything up to the amount paid over. Does this admirable result commend this way of publishing? We have not inquired what the publisher means by taking "reviewing" into his especial care. One would like to know what he does mean. It may be added that these letters are only samples. Dozens reach the secretary, all in the same temis. The following, for example, is another proposal from the same firm. The reader will mark the wonderful resemblance of the two proposals with the little differences of liability. August I0> 1896. Dear Madam, We have given this work our careful attention, and, our opinion of it being favourable, wo have decided to offer you the following favourable terms for its production and publication, viz.: That, in consideration of our printing 1000 copies of the book in the best style on good paper from new type, pub- lishing at the popular price of 6s. in handsome cloth, gold lettered, advertising to the amount of £2^, and giving you two-thirds of the proceeds of sales, you agree to pay to ub the sum of £go, £60 when you sign the agreement, and .£30 when you see the last proofs. The above amount to constitute your sole outlay, the copyright remaining your property. The expenses of all future editions to be bome entirely by us, we paying to yon one half the profits. It may, perhaps, be superfluous to mention that reviewing, and all the many other technicalities of publishing necessary for placing the book on the market, would have our especial care. We Bhonld bo glad of an early decision on our terms, as we are desirous of proceeding with the work without delay, in order that it may be ready in good time for the autumn season, the best publishing season of the year. Faithfully yours, II.—Serial Rights. The following paragraph should have been noticed last month. It appeared in the St. James' Gazette of July 7th. "Is the purchaser of the serial rights of a work of fiction entitled to go on producing the work as a serial for an indefinite number of times and for an indefinite period, if there is no express provision in the agreement to the contrary? A literary agent has, it seems, recently expressed the opinion that he is so entitled; and authors with serial rights to dispose of are recommended by a contemporary to insert in their agreements a limit of time for serial production. Seeing that it is common knowledge that publication in book form is to follow, that such publication is implied in the very fact of the separate sale of serial rights, one might have fairly supposed that it was an implied term of the bargain that the purchaser of the serial right should publish and finish publish- ing the serial within a reasonable time of the purchase. Will the Authors' Society take counsel's opinion upon the point?" This is purely a question of agreement. Serial rights are not, as a matter of fact, now under- stood to mean the first right of appearance, but the right of placing a work as a serial anywhere, and as often as can be arranged. Generally speaking, a novelist expressly states in his agreement that he sells only the first right of appearance in serial form; with, of course, a time limitation. There are, however, certain syndicates which buy " all serial" rights, meaning the right to place a work as a serial as often as they can find purchasers for it. This "second" right is so seldom worth anything that it would seem useless to make any stipulation about it. It would be well, however, if authors would take the precaution of seeing that their agreements reserve for them what they wish to be reserved. On the other hand, if a writer does not object to his work appearing here, there, and everywhere, why should he not let a syndicate buy that right?  ## p. 77 (#105) ############################################# THE AUTHOR. 77 Suppose, however, that the point remains open: suppose that a syndicate purchases "the serial rights : " and that the question thus remains. "Do 'the serial rights ' mean only the right of publica- tion in serial form before the volume form 9" Or, in other words, does the recognised intention of the author to publish in volume form put an end to serial right after publication in volume form? If after, why not before? In fact, experience shows that publication in serial form does good, not harm, to volume form: and one cannot see why this established fact does not apply to " second rights a-i well as "first." One important syndi- cate, at least, in buying the whole serial rights expressly states this fact in its agreements. The authors, however, are in command of the situa- tion: they can refuse to sell more than they choose: if they limit "serial rights" to first appearance, they can do so. Is it worth while to ask counsel's opinion as to what is meant by "serial" rights when the words are already practically taken to mean the power of selling a work as a serial whenever, wherever, as often as, as long as, the buyer pleases and can find a market? III.—The Fibst Book, i. In your comments on my article on American Literature, and the injustice of the United States Copyright Act, especially in depriving the European author of the earnings of his first work, you say the English author loses those earnings in his own country also. Were this true, there would still remain much difference between voluntarily parting with one's property and being robbed of it. But is it true? Surely any man able to write a book is able to secure from a publisher an agreement that the royalty shall increase with the sales. Thus his success becomes his property. If any English author has been able to secure, for his first icork, such a sliding scale, I trust he will make the fact known. Moncuee D. Conway. a. My own experience of an author's first book is that he is lucky, indeed, if he gets it taken by any one on any terms, provided that he is not obliged to pay for its production and to pay a fancy price, in most cases. When a first book is so good as to be certain of success, which is very rare indeed, it is taken, of course, without hesitation. Most first books are paid for by the authors: a few> bow- ever, are accepted by an editor jfben thev are generally bought "right out" ^ ^0 publisher, when they often turn out extremely well—for the publisher. Thus a case is in my recollection in which a story was accepted by the editor and bought by the publisher for ,£50. It ran through the maga- zine, which thus got a novel for next to nothing: the magazine type served for the volume form: several editions have been printed: the publisher has done very well indeed. And the author ought not to grumble, because he had his first chance. I have never yet seen one agreement in which the author with his first book was offered a graduated royalty. There may be such agreements, but I have never seen any. My own first novel (in collaboration) was thus managed:' (1) It appeared in Once a fVeek for £100. (2) The authors printed it themselves, gave the book, bound, to the publishers, superintended the advertising, and gave a commission to the publishers. They printed 600 copies, all of which were taken. The publisher secured about £60; the authors about .£100. (3) The cheap form was then sold for five years to another firm for £50. (4) All rights were sold out, for, I think, ,£100. (5) An American firm sent £50. The authors, therefore, contrived to divide about ■£400. Not much, it is true, but in those days between the very popular authors and the less popular there was a much wider gulf than at present. The name of the book was " Ready Money Mortiboy," and I should be very glad to know how many copies of the book have been sold since its first appearance; not in any spirit of grumbling, because this selling of all rights for a small sum was then the practice, and it was not possible to do better with it. The sale outright continues to be the practice with some writers, and is a very good one, provided the proper price can be obtained. Now a new writer has no "proper price." It is quite impossible to say how far he will succeed, either from a literary or a commercial point of view. The above method is commended to a new writer who believes in his own work. He must not give bis MS. to the publisher to be printed but must print it himself. He must not give the publisher a free hand with the advertisements. He must give a liberal commission. He must be free with his Press copies. Perhaps be will lose something on his veiituve but lie will get what most he wants—his first ^a3>£fc- IV.—Pitts "In thi^ injunction ^ Co. {.The Times,  ## p. 78 (#106) ############################################# 78 THE AUTHOR. any copies of a piece of music called 'La Filleuse,' by the celebrated composer, Joachim Eaff, or dealing with them so as to infringe the plaintiff's copyright therein. It appeared that the plaintiff was the assignee of the copyright in the piece of music in this country, and that the defendant had (inadvertently, as he alleged) purchased and sold about fourteen copies of the piece, which had been printed at Liepzig by the publishers and representatatives of the original proprietor, and published, so far as appeared, either at Brussels or Paris. The plaintiff now moved the court for an injunctiou. "Mr. Ingpen appeared for the plaintiff in support of the motion. "Mr. Scrutton, for the defendants, referred to section 10 of the International Copyright Act, 1844 (7 Vict. c. 12), prohibiting the importation of 'all copies of books wherein there shall be any subsisting copyright, printed or reprinted iu any foreign country except that in which such books were first published ;' and submitted that, as the copies sold by the defendant were printed at Leipzig, where the piece of music was first published, the case was within the exception con- tained in the section, and the action therefore could not be maintained. "Mr. Ingpen, in reply, referred to section 15 of the Copyright Act, 1842 (5 & 6 Vict. c. 45), as containing an absolute prohibition against the sale in this country of imported copies of books or music entitled to copyright, and contended that section 10 of the Act of 1844 was not an enabling enactment, but merely prohibitory, and that section 15 of the Act of 1842 therefore remained in full force. "Mr. Justice Kekewich said that section 15 of the Act of 1842 contained a prohibition against the importation into this country and sale of copies of works registered here, if unlawfully printed or reprinted. The Act of 1844 was an international Act, intended to support the inter- change of copyright obligations between this country and foreign countries, but not so as to exclude the right of what might be termed the 'domicile of origin' of the work. Accordingly that Act provided in effect that, where books were printed or reprinted in any foreign country in which they were first published, then the print- ing might be continued and they were not subject to the prohibition contained in the section. The law therefore was not transgressed if the books imported were first published in the domi- cile of origin. The pieces of music in this case were clearly published in Leipzig, the domicile of origin, and therefore, being law- fully printed, were not within the prohibitive part of section 10 of the Act of 1845 nor within the prohibition' contained in section 15 of the Act of 1842. '* The motion being, by consent, treated as the trial of the action, his Lordship accordingly gave judgment for the defendant." The above case was tried in the High Courts before Mr. Justice Kekewich, and from the deci- sion of that judge an appeal was entered. The case on appeal was heard at the end of the sittings, and, as the question of law is exceedingly difficult and complicated, the Justices of Appeal deferred judgment. They were unable, however, to fix a date in the last Session on which to deliver judg- ment, as the research into former Acts of Parlia- ment necessitated considerable labour. The case as it stands, however, is put down for considera- tion of the members of the Society, especially those who are writers of music, to whom it specially refers. The case comes under the Inter- national Copyright Act of 1844, and does not touch the Berne Convention on any point. It applies especially to those holders of musical copy- right, of whom there are many in the Society, as music is a universal language, and needs no trans- lation for its publication in a foreign country. It applies in a much less degree to holders of literary copyright, but it is possible that it might be desirous to publish a book in its original lan- guage in a foreign country. This is of course of infrequent occurrence, but such cases have occurred. When the final decision has been given by the Justices of Appeal, if given at the end of October, it will come most probably into the December number. _ _ V.—The Associated Booksellers. The following correspondence has been sent to the Author by the hon. secretary of this society :— Thb Associated Booksellers of Great Britain and Ireland. 370, Oxford-street, W. July 31, 1896. Gentlemen, On behalf of the Council I beg to bring before you the correspondence which has taken place between the Council of the Publishers' Association and ourselves, from which it will be seen that we have referred to "individual pub- lishers" with respect to clause 3 of our resolutions sent to them. Our Council therefore asks you to say definitely whether yon will be prepared to ooncede (perhaps gradually) the terms asked for in clause 3, which is worded as follows :— "3. That publishers recognise that immediate relief is necessary, by charging single copies of books pub- lished at 7s. 6d. and upwards, at a net price, which would be equivalent to the net cost when the odd copy is is taken with the usual discount at settle- ment." I remain, yours truly, Thomas Burleigh, Hon. Sec.  ## p. 79 (#107) ############################################# THE AUTHOR. 79 Copy of resolution sent to Mr. C. J. Longman, the presi- dent of the Publishers' Association :— "That the Council having received from Mr. Longman a report of the meeting held on the 21st inst. (November), regret that the publishers decline to appoint a committee to meet the booksellers. They note, however, with satisfaction the formation of a Publishers' Association, and trust that when the new society is fully organised arrangements will be made for the meeting of the councils of the two bodies, as they are convinced it is only by the co-operation of pub- lishers with booksellers- that any improvement can bo effected in the condition of the retail trade. II. St. Dnnstan's House, Fetter-lane, London, E.C. March 27, 1896. To Thomas Burleigh, Esq., Hon. Sec. The Associated Booksellers of Great Britain and Ireland, 370, Oxford-Btreet, W. Dear Sib, Your letter to the president of the Publishers' Associa- tion dated March 17 was considered at the first meeting of the Council, held yesterday, and I was requested to inform you that, if at any time the Booksellers' Association will submit to the Council of the Publishers' Association any definite question with a view to a joint discussion, the Pub- lishers' Association will be very happy to take it into con- e ideration, and, if found desirable, to arrange a meeting, but they do not regard a conference, without any definite object, as likely to lead to satisfactory results. Yours faithfully, R. B. Mabston, Secretary (pro tern.) of the Publishers' Association. ra. Copy of resolution sent to the hon. secretary of the Pub- lishers' Association:— "It having been conclusively proved that no combination of booksellers alone can deal with the excessive discounts which render the trade unprofitable to most retailers, the Council of the Associated Booksellers request the Pub- lishers' Association to meet them to discuss the following proposals:— "1. That all books published at net prices be sold at the full price. "2. That no greater discount than 25 per cent, be allowed upon books published on the old terms, and that steps be taken to enforce both these regula- tions. 3. That publishers recognise that immediate relief is necessary, by charging single copies of books pub- lished at 78. 6d. and upwards at a net prioe, whioh would be equivalent to the not cost when the odd copy is taken with the usual discount at settlement. In the event of their not being prepared to do this (meet the Council for the purpose of discussing these proposals), the Publishers' Association be asked to make suggestions for joint co-operation." IV. Publisher's Association, Stationers' Hall, E.C. May 8, 1896. T. Burleigh, Esq. Hon Sec. Associated Booksellers of Great Britain and Ireland, 370, Oxford-atreet, W- Dear Sir, The Council of the Publishers' Asj^.t:oD have given very careful consideration to your ioftej\ oTil 20- VOL. VII. The proposals contained in it have already been circulated by your Society among the publishers individually, and have been fully discussed by them at a meeting held before the Publishers' Association was formed. The Council of the Association think it right to inform you that they cannot entertain the adoption of any plan which would involve a system of coercion or " boycotting' on their part, and it appears to them that the portion of your Council's resolution embodying proposals 1 and 2 depends entirely on such a system: they therefore feel that thoy would not be justified in entering into any discussion upon this matter. If the Associated booksellers desire to modify their pro- posals in view of this decision, the Council of the Publishers Association will be most happy to consider carefully any suoh amended suggestiona- I am, dear Sir, yours faithfully, Wm. Poulten, Secretary. Copy of Resolution sent to the Publishers' Association:— "The Council regret that the Publishers' Association declines to discuss clauses 1 and 2 of their proposals, with- out which, in their opinion, no improvement in the present condition of the trade is possible." "The Council point out that the system of publishing books at net prices was introduced by publishers as a remedy for underselling, and fear that the Publisher's Asso- ciation in declining to take any steps to maintain those prices, thereby dooms the net system to failure." "The Counoil desire to know the decision of the Pub- lishers' Association with regard to clause 3 of their pro- posals, and whether the Publishers' Association is prepared to make alternative proposals as to clauses 1 and 2." The Publishers' Association, Stationer's Hall, London, E.C, July 24, 1896. Dear Sib, In reply to your communication of the 5th ult., I am directed to inform you that the Council of the Publishers' Association have no alternatives to suggest with regard to clauses 1 and 2 of your proposals, and with respect to clause 3, I am to say, that the Council consider the subject to bo a matter for arrangement by individual publishers. Yours faithfully, Wm. Poulten, Secretary. Mr. T. Burleigh, Hon. Sec. Associated Booksellers, 370, Oxford-street, W. VI. The Associated Booksellers of Great Britain and Ireland, 370, Oxford-street, W. July 31, 1896. Dear Sir, At a Council meeting held last night I was requested to acknowledge tho receipt of your letter of the 24th inst., and to call the attention of your Council to the following extracts from the report of the meeting held on Nov. 21 last, and sent to me officially by Mr. Longman. "Mr. Murray said,' It has long l°oen *e^" ^at some union or association of publishers tQ ^cal matters such as that before them and many OVW8 »5e(A™8 tneit «*tol08t should be formed.'" "It was the ._0uB op\- e ^meelangtnat, it was only by the fot^^n{ wxa^Ho*^^V"MiaW« eoutt satisfactorily ftJ£^W Tho Council are now reft Vi»\^<"wANta* 'bhkSu f  ## p. 80 (#108) ############################################# 8o THE AUTHOR. rogret that their proposals have not been placed before the members of the Publishers' Association for discussion. I remain, yours truly, Thomas, Burleigh, Hon. Seoretary. Mr. Wm. Poulten, Seoretary the Publishers' Association. VI.—Literary and Artistic Congress. Berne, Aug. 24. The International Congress on Literary and Artistic Copyright has resolved to take steps to secure the speedy ratification of the results of the Paris conference of this year and obtain a reform of the copyright laws in the different States, particularly Great Britain and Germany. With this object the International Literary and Artistic Association will enter into communication with the societies of authors and jurists in those countries.—Daily Chronicle. NEW YORK LETTBE. Aug. 14, 1896. STONE and KIMBALL have just issued an enlarged edition of the Poems of George Santayana, which were first published in 1894. Mr. Santayana, although as yet known to few, is a tempting subject of panegyric to those who believe that he is writing the best poetry produced to-day in America. This is not the highest praise, perhaps, because our level in verse just now is rather low, but one goes further in saying that many of the most intelligent people of Cambridge (the seat of Harvard University) and Boston, the two places in which his work is best known, believe that his poetry is destined to last and to grow in esteem. He is a teacher of philosophy in the University, just over thirty years of age, half Spanish, a Catholic, although one of the subtlest sceptical critics that Harvard has produced. His "Sense of Beauty," which has already been mentioned in these letters, when published by Scribner in the fall, will probably do more to make him known than these poems. Not that he writes bettor in prose (for it is hard to say in which form he has greater excellence), but for the natural reason that a great house like Scribners can give the book a circulation which a new firm like Stone and Kimball can not. Mr. Santayana is now in England, and will spend a year there, after which he will return to Harvard. The poems have a sort of second simplicity both in thought and expression, the result of long brooding by an imaginative and analytical temperament, and their technical qualities are high; they are entirely original, but they suggest occasionally that two of the author's favourite poets are Petrarch and Shakespeare. As I am one of those who believe in an important future for the poems, I take space for two of the more recent sonnets: We were together, and I longed to tell How drop by silent drop my bosom bled, I took some verses full of you, and read, Waiting for God to work some miracle. They told how love had plunged in burning hell One half my soul, while the other half had fled Upon love's wings to heaven; and you said: "I like the verses; they are written well." If I had knelt confessing " It is yon, You are my torment and my rapture too," I should have seen yon rise in flushed disdain: "For shame to say so, be it false or true!" And the sharp sword that ran me through and through, On your white bosom too had left a stain. When I survey the harvest of the year And from time's threshing garner up the grain, What profit have I of forgotten pain, What comfort, heart-locked, for the winter's cheer P The season's yield is this, that thou art dear, And that I love thee, that is all mv gain; The rest was chaff, blown from the weary brain Where now they treasured image lieth cloar, How liberal is beauty that, but seen, Makes rich the bosom of her silent lovor! How excellent is truth, on which I lean! Yet my religion were a charmed despair, Did I not in thy perfect heart discover How beauty can bo true and virtue fair. In connection with what I said last month of the literary work being done in New York by painters, should be mentioned one of the most important books of the fall, soon to be announced by the Scribners. E. W. Blashfield is one of our most prominent painters. His interest in litera- ture, including naturally the literature of art, is keen, and his wife is a scholarly woman and a practised writer, who has lived a great deal in Italy. They will bring out this fall the only edition of Vasari published in England since that of Mrs. Foster. It will be an Edition dc Iv.re, in four volumes, with forty-eight photogravure reproductions of important paintings. Only the most prominent lives will be given, seventy in all. The men whose work is now unknown, mostly contemporaries of Vasari and important to him because of his personal interest in them, are omitted. As Mrs. Foster's text has become so familiar to the Euglish world, her translation will be kept, slight corrections being marie in notes where her lack of acquaintance with Italy led her to fail in seizing certain turns of expression. The greatest value of the new book, however, will be in the historical, critical, and philological notes, which practically amount toa summary of the results of the new school of Art criticisms, supjwrted by a thorough personal knowledge of Italy and  ## p. 81 (#109) ############################################# THE AUTHOR. 81 the technical understanding of a painter. The last Italian editionof Vasari, that of Gaetano Milanesi, published in nine volumes in 1882, the result of the work of seven or eight scholars for several years, has been the main authority for names, dates, &c. The work of the Italian scholars who write for the Archivio, of the Frenchmen who write for the Gazette des Beaux Arts, the Courier de VArt, of the German scholars in the various periodicals, and the comparatively little done by the English and Americans, by Middle- ton, Rossetti, Berenson, C. C. Perkins, Loeser, and others, have been freely drawn on. Of course the Italian scholars form the main basis of this part of the work. All of the recent discoveries of concrete things, such as the framework of the Donatello altar at Padua, the singing galleries for the Delia Robbias in Florence, &c., are noted, and make it possible to see many of the works spoken of by Vasari more as he saw them than has been before possible. The estimates of the painters, which are added to the lives, are written by the two authors in conjunction, and combine technical criticism with more general appre- ciation. Last month I spoke rather severely of criticism in this country. One reservation should be made in favour of that kind of critical work intended for students in schools and colleges, which is now excellent. For instance, G. E. Woodberry, one of our first scholars, is seeing through the press an edition of Tennyson to appear this month in the series of English works being published by Longmans, Green, and Co., under the general direction of Professor George R. Carpenter, of Columbia, who has been able to get the various books of the series done by the leading teachers of English, on account of the decided wave of interest which has been growing here for some years. The series has been a marked success. In the fall the Scribners will publish twenty or more "Poems of Childhood" by Eugene Field, set to music by various composers, most of them by Reginald de Koven, the most popular of American song writers. It is to be called " The Field de Koven Song Book." The popularity of Mr. Field seems to be on a steady increase since his death. Most of these songs were written and set to music long ago, before either Mr. Field or Mr. de Koven was known to the world. Roberts Brothers, of Boston, have in prepara- tion a volume of the poems of Emily Dickinson, the strangely vivid New England spinster, whose poems and letters made a sensation here when they were published under the augpjce* °* Col. T. W. Higginson, who discovered ^e unknown writer and hailed her as a ge^,- g^e then became a decided fad for some time, and the death of the fad seems to have left a steady interest in her work, which is very crude, but intelligent and entirely typical of New England feeling away from the centres of population. A new writer from Chicago is launched by the Harpers in the recently published novel '' Jerry the Dreamer," by Will Payne, financial editor of a Chicago daily, the Chronicle. Houghton, Mifflin and Co. are collecting letters for a sixteen volume edition of the Life and Letters of Harriet Beecher Stowe. Statistics which I sent some months ago showed that "Uncle Tom's Cabin " is second in popularity to Hawthorne's "Scarlet Letter" among American novels of standing. It will probably always be popular enough as a story as well as important enough as a document, to keep Mrs. Stowe's name a leading one in our literature, but as it succeeded more because it was a timely tract of power, than because of its artistic merits, it can hardly be expected that the author's relative importance will continue as great as it is now. Of the other eminent American writer who has died this year, Oliver Wendell Holmes, the contrary is true. His work depends in no way on any occasional interest, but has taken its place, apparently permanently, not very near the top, but well up, and some of his books make part of the instinctive thought of the New England people. Publishing, like every other business, is suffer- ing from the silver scare. All houses are trying to keep down their expenses, and some which were spending money with absolute freedom in the spring, are now running on as small an out- lay as possible. Campaign literature, so called, is what there is most demand for. There is a good deal of talk among writers here about the possibility of making interesting novels and treatises out of the emotional wave that has swept over the West and South for the last few years, but as yet nothing which is really literature has resulted from the silver craze. "Coin's Financial School," the famous book now dead, which ran like fire over the country two years ago, was merely laughed at by the Eastern press, which has either never appreciated the existence of the silver feeling, or has thought it best not to state it. Reports from the representatives of our Eastern dailies are received \$. two forms; one in- tended for publication, ano^et teUmg tbe editors privately how nvucb. more pt\0\1B ttve danger is than it would be Wt to stav- * ouemo^VjmNew York City has \ \ come ^ Joso^ *0T sftveT' and the most J .-ent ^SSL, ^v «-W»k *° the poorer ^ T? ago from su^N O^W A* * * Bryan, without! J 0* .Tr^ V  ## p. 82 (#110) ############################################# 82 THE A UTHOR. The success here of the stage versions of two popular English novels last year, "Trilby" and "The Prisoner of Zenda," has led to a determina- tion by the managers to put on this year several plays made out of popular novels. Weyman's "Under the Red Robe," Hope's "Throso," Barrie's "Little Minister," Bourget's " Tragic Idyll," and Mrs. Burnett's "Lady of Quality," are already arranged for. Norman Hapoood. REVIEWING. TI ^HE Daily Chronicle reports that certain I publishers have met together to consider the practice of appropriating whole pages of a book under the title of a review. It might be as well, we observe, if authors also had a word to say upon this subject, which seems to concern those whose reputation is at stake even more than those to whom their money is the only con- sideration. The whole question of reviewing, not this point or that point, ought surely to be taken up by the Society of Authors, either in conjunction with the Society of Publishers, or separately. The limits of appropriation or quotation must, of course, form part of the subject . A review which picks out and publishes all the "plums," obviously makes it unnecessary for the reader to buy the book. For instance, to quote a case now about twelve years old, the "Recollections of Anthony Trollope," published after his death, contained a great many interesting stories. A copy was given to the present writer: for some reason he could not read the book for some months: when at last he found time to o]x?n it he discovered that, in one review or another, he had already become acquainted with every good thing in the two volumes. But, it may be urged, this writer was in the habit of reading all the reviews. One did not need to read all the reviews in order to learn the good things. Many of them quoted shame- lessly. Men at clubs, also, do turn over the leaves of many reviews. The practice, it is everywhere acknowledged, is unfair. How. is it to be stopped or remedied? The reviewer, to whom quotation means a saving of time and work, says that to give his readers a fair idea of the work he must quote from it. This is probably true in many cases. Yet one must not quote everything. The only step possible is a remonstrance with the editor. But that remon- strance must come from a body, not from an individual. Hitherto the individual has spoken. The Athenseum, say, prints his letter; no com- ment is made upon it, nor any answer attempted, and the question drops. The remonstrance has been thrown away. An association which seriously takes up the question and presents a remon- strance is another matter altogether. A second, and a more serious reason for remon- strance, is the personal element. There are still, unfortunately, in the world of letters many per- sonal enmities. Where the author, if a well- known man, is a resident of London and a fre- quenter of London clubs, it is pretty certain that he has made enemies; indeed, it is impossible to take a side on any of the questions which arise perpetually in the world of art and letters without making enemies. It should be, therefore, the special care of every editor to intrust a book for review to no one who is known to cherish personal enmity towards the author under review. Everyone behind the scenes; everyone who knows the staff of this or that journal; under- stands that if certain reviewers get the chance they will "slate" certain writers. The danger is perhaps equally great that they will log-roll other writers. Here, again, the protest of a single person is of no avail, while an association would be able to speak with such authority as it possesses from the reputation and the jnumber of its members. Another point is the reviewing of books in a batch. The practice is to be condemned, if only from the editor's point of view, as well as the author's. As regards the editor, by allowing books to be reviewed in the batch, he takes the surest and simplest way of destroying the literary weight and authority of his columns. Where a book is singled out for criticism and stands alone upon the page, that fact gives it special impor- tance. There are cases recorded in which a review of this kind in an important paper has instantly made the fortune of a book. But where a dozen books are reviewed all together, what is said for or against each matters prac- tically little. The "batch" are neither much advanced nor much hindered by what is said of them in the collection. There is another and a much more serious objection to this course. Some journals assign a space so insufficient, with an amount of pay so inadequate, that it is absolutely impossible for the reviewer even to read the works on which he pro- fesses to pronounce a judgment. Thus, there are papers which cram into a single column a dozen books. The reviewer (?) has to provide this column once a week for a guinea or so. It stands to reason, since a man cannot live on a guinea a week, that he cannot afford to read the books, which would indeed take more than a week to read if he did nothing else. What does he do, then? He falls back upon generalities, praising  ## p. 83 (#111) ############################################# THE AUTHOR. 83 or blaming in vague terms, and quite at random. It is naturally easier and safer to damn a book than to praise it, because the latter demands the discovery of certain definite qualities which can only be found by reading. What possible weight, however, can such a notice carry with it? What must be the literary character of a paper which -carries on its critical branch in such a way? How much better to pick out a single work and to insist that the reviewer should give time to read the book? Such a system seems little better than money thrown away, and space wasted. Another, and a very important, consideration is the fitness of the writer for the work entrusted to him. The most incompetent persons are notoriously, in some papers, entrusted with the reviewing of books — young beginners in journalism; men and women who have not even read the literature of the day; men of the Bohemian smoking room, who review the dainty works of cultured gentlewomen; ladies who shrink from strength review works full of the strongest meat; persons ignorant of history review special studies in history; poetry is given to men of science; and science, perhaps, to young gentlemen fresh from a classical first at Oxford. These points, it will be observed, are only a few of those which await consideration on the great subject of reviewing. We are not bringing charges, we state only certain notorious facts which, indeed, are never found in certain journals except by accident. Why should they be found at all, considering not only the injustice done to authors, but also the mis- •chief done to a paper by the mere suspicion of log- rolling, personal animosities, and judgments pronounced on books which are not even read? NATIONAL BIBLIOGRAPHY. THESE has just been published at the Library Bureau, 10, Bloomsbury-street, London, a very full work on " The Theory of National and International Bibliography, with Special Reference to the Introduction of System in the Record of Modern Literature." The author of it, Mr. Frank Campbell, has been connected for twelve years with the library of the British Museum. International bibliography, he ex- plains, has for its object the promotion of rational uniformity in methods of recording national literature, so that any individual nation may be able to obtain the whole or separate sectional parts of the literary records of other State, based upon a common intelligiM gygtem; and that each State may be able wi^ e Aiffica&Y to VOL, VII. obtain exact records of the literature on any subject issued throughout the whole world, independently of geographical or political divisions. The only way to accomplish this is for each State to agree to three things: 1. Each State is to agree to record its literature com- pletely year by year. 2. To record it according to its natural divisions and subdivisions. 3. To use the full title of a work as the unit and movable factor on which all subsequent work depends. Given the issue of a certain number of works in a certain area during a certain period, there should be, says the author, a complete record of them for the use of the reading public, such record to be issued in a convenient form at con- venient intervals of time. Where circumstances permit, the national libraries should be the centres of national systems of bibliography, because these, and these only, receive a complete collection of the national literature. He regards it as an absolute necessity that each country should issue a proper bibliographical guide to the more special collections to be found in the several libraries throughout each country, such as the French Government has published for some years under the title of "Annuaire des Bibliotheques et des Archives," to do what the "Jahrbuch der Musikbibliothek Peters" does for public and private hbraries in Europe in presenting a clue to their more special contents. Mr. Campbell has much to say of the inacceS' sibility of official documents, and, though to a less degree, the publications of the learned societies. His book was published in the middle of August, but a month earlier an international conference of representatives of scientific societies from all parts of the world was held, under the presidency of Sir John Gorst, in London, at which it was resolved to compile and publish by means of some international organisation a com- plete catalogue of scientific literature, arranged according both to subject matter and to authors' names, in which regard shall be had, in the first instance, to the requirements of scientific inves- tigators, to the end that these may find out most easily what has been pubhshed concerning any particular subject of inquiry. This work has been increasing so rapidly that the Royal Society was no longer able to cope with it through its catalogue, therefore, at it^^ateuee,Her Majesty's Government BUmmotied cotvlexeuce. It may x "^clO made an be assumed tW M*- Qvu-otfc^^0 maAe an appeal to men 1 0n\euc% »«0 to come in the The Si  ## p. 84 (#112) ############################################# 84 THE AUTHOR. is minutely set forth in the book, and will afford plenty of scope for the study and criticism of fellow-librarians. As a matter of more imme- diate interest to authors, however, Mr. Campbell's discussion of the influence of the copyright laws on the question may be quoted. After remarking that in the laws of our smaller colonies news- papers are in many instances exempt from regis- tration, and that a considerable amount of often valuable matter comes generally under the name of "Annual Reports," and is therefore exempted from registration, Mr. Campbell points out that a yet more important factor is that which refers to the legal period within which a work may be deposited. "No person is entitled to a copy- right," says the American law, "unless he shall . . . not later than the day of publication thereof . . . deliver . . . copies of such copyright book, &c." In this country, however, the law allows a wide margin of time, and the result is, says Mr. Campbell, that— Whereas in America they have the possibility of initiating a perfect system of periodical subject-catalogues up to date, we cannot do so until the law is altered. This would be no hardship to the publishers, as the issue of periodical subject-catalogues suggested would serve to advertise the publications considerably. And of course it is inferrred that the author and the bookseller would in the same way benefit from such advertisement of the publication. It is essential to the success of the scheme, says Mr. Campbell, that works to be copyrighted must be delivered at the national libraries on the day of publication. NOTES AND NEWS. THE following is another instance of the confusion of thought into which people fall in talking of literature. There are various confusions; the most common is that of mixing up the literary with the commercial value of a work. Here is a writer who complains to the Daily Chronicle that a circulating library will not take his work on account of a single paragraph alleged to be immoral; he asks whether a circu- lating library is to set itself up as a censor of literature. A bookseller, in reply, writes that he refuses to offer for sale any books which he con- siders prejudicial to morals. For instance, this offending paragraph, from his point of view, destroys the commercial value of the book. Observe that he does not touch on its literary value. Now, both sides are right. Conductors of the library, or any booksellers, have a perfect right to say, "Out of the great mass of new books offered to us we shall refuse any which we think open to charges of immorality. We shall do this for two reasons: our own reputa- tion, which means our success in business; and our own conscience. And we shall decide for our- selves what we consider immoral in reading or in, tendency, and we shall not argue about it or defend ourselves." Of course, a bookseller who would refuse, on these grounds, to procure a book in great demand might be liable to lose customers; but that is for himself to consider. On the other hand the author is quite right in protesting against any bookseller calling himself a censor of literature. This he cannot be, and cannot claim to be, because he is not, generally, a critic or a scholar. But does he, in fact, advance such a claim Y He says, on the contrary, this : " The book may be the finest work of genius ever produced. That has nothing to do with me. I say that I will not sell immoral books. I think that this is an immoral book; and I will not. sell it." Saying this is not constituting him- self a censor of literature, but a defender, up to his own powers, of public morals. If he chooses to exercise vigilance of this kind he may become, it is true, a great nuisance in being nasty-par- ticular, but he remains within his rights. More- over, there is a certain Act of Parliament which obliges a bookseller to be careful as to the books he buys and sells. If the aggrieved writer would take this view of the case he might perhaps alter the paragraph with as much protest, public or private, as he pleases. Surely, for a young writer it would seem well to accept a ruling which makes so great a difference in his access to the public. Let him reflect that the one thing essential to a young writer is access to a wide public; and there is no machinery which can do so much for the young writer in this way as a great circulating library. 3ij The confusion of literary with commercial value is one which is often shown in other ways. A certain writer, I read in a paper recently, received no more than so much for his latest work, " and that was more than it was worth." This phrase- is constantly occurring. Now, literature cannot be measured by any pecuniary standard; art of all kinds, painting, sculpture, poetry, the drama, fiction, belles lettres, may be bought and sold,, but no work of art can be appraised by any sum of money as representing its artistic and literary value. If all the world possessed perfect taste, then the commercial value might, in a certain sense, represent the literary value. As that can never be the case, the commercial value must always be kept separate from the other. If we do this we shall no longer think it necessary to be indignant because one writer, whose literary  ## p. 85 (#113) ############################################# THE AUTHOR. 85 standard is low, circulates by the hundred thousand, while another, who produces literature of the highest kind, hardly runs through two or three thousand. _ o Here is a somewhat remarkable experience. Perhaps a similar application has been made to others. I received a letter written by a man of whom I know nothing: he stated that a certain man of letters, not an unknown writer at all, had sustained losses; he did not explain in what way these losses were incurred: he further stated that his friends were making up a purse to meet these losses: and he proceeded to demand from me a cheque for fifty pounds! I may add that the gentleman in question is not in any sense a friend of mine: T. have, however, conversed with him on two or three occasions. Fifty pounds I was called upon to pay down at once! There was, of course, no explanation of any authority by which the writer acted, nor can T believe that he was authorised by the gentleman concerned to ask for fifty pounds. He did not get that cheque. He then wrote asking how much I meant to give: assuming, you see, that one was in duty or honour bound to give, without any knowledge of the details, and being under no other obligation than belongs to membership in the same profes- sion. If every member of the Society of Authors were called upon to pay ,£50 to a member in trouble, that member would receive about .£70,000, which would keep him and his out of trouble for the third and fourth generation. Imagine, if you can, a barrister called upon to give £50 to another banister simply because he belonged to the Bar! I was weak enough to reply to this letter, and stated my intention of giving nothing. The writer of the letters replied as one might expect. He regretted that he thought I was one who would, &c, &c, Ac.: and it would be his "duty" to lay the letter before the gentleman on whose behalf he was writing. I suppose he has done so by this time: and I trust that he has learned, first, that if you want assistance, you must state your case fully: next, that you must not ask for impossible sums: thirdly, that you must not demand anything as a right. It has been suggested that the letter was a little trap. First, you tell a man to hand over a great cheque: you know that he will refuse: you then have an opportunity to tell people what a miserly, mean, uncharitable beast he is. I tell this little story because I should like to know if others have had the same kind of letter from the same person. Mr. Robert Sherard writes to th„ jifesttninster Gazette that Mr. Warren, for certain readers of the Author subscribed a small sum two months ago, is dying of dropsy in his eighty- fifth year. More and more it becomes imperative upon us to form a pension fund for men and women of letters. Some time ago, when the creation of such a fund was spoken of in these columns, a certain critic, or reviewer, or writer, in an evening paper, asked, with the bitterest contempt, if we were going to give pensions to unsuccessful novelists. It is a strange and mar- vellous thing to note the unreasonable jealousy with which anything proposed for the good of the literary profession is received by a certain class of writers. Of course the first and essential point about a pension fund is that it must be given to those who have been either wholly or in large part dependent upon literary work—which excludes all your unsuccessful novelists. Oh! for a man with leisure, and enthusiasm, and private means, who would take up this pension business, and work it! The following donations have been added to the Eliza Warren Fund since the publication of our two former lists:—■ Marshall, Miss ... Newbald, Miss ... Oetzmann, Messrs. Parr, Mrs o 10 Stables, Mrs 1 o £ s. d. o 10 o 050 220 £ s. Chapman, the Misses 2 o Editor of Book- bits (per) o 15 Harger, Madame.. 1 o Henderson.MisB... 05 The total amount received by Miss Masters is now £55 as. id. i--rT It is stated that Mr. David Douglas, publisher, of Edinburgh, has issued a reprint of the addresses delivered by Lord Kosebery, at Dum- fries, on the Burns "Centenary of July 21. I have sent for a copy, which costs no more than sixpence, and is worth—but, as was advanced above, its worth cannot be translated into six- pences. . Why are American magazines devouring and destroying our own? The contents do not seem to be more readable or interesting: yet ours— except the Pall Mall and some of the so-called "popular " magazines—seem affected with a kind of dry rot. Here is one feason which, I think, will be acknowledged by ^veryone. In America magazines are cavried throv^—v. QjB'jort-omoe at one cent, per lb. wei&i t The A $.AcaJB. ^to^rVetor can, therefore, recefc£ 0. avAs^f „xi ww^ftl *nffing, ^ f^eta r j55 to o-O^postage ?° Hi that VW I» Z&i agents, >tj \^V* ^ ^v0  ## p. 86 (#114) ############################################# 86 THE AUTHOR. or "jd. a month against the American's n\d. Now an increase of $d. in each copy when you multiply by thirty, or even ten, thousand is enormous. It means the power of getting the best work from the best writers at the highest prices: the power of engaging the services of the best editors, their whole time, their whole thought. In short, it means the substitution of a prosperous magazine such as are many of the American organs, for a half starved, inefficient journal such as are some of ours. Will Mr. Henniker Heaton tak* this grievance in hand? TO AUTHORS—Plots, Novels, and Short Stories, fo Sale j uniqueness and originality guaranteed; terms from 2s.; advice given; stories revised. The above advertisement is cut from an impor- tant provincial paper. Perhaps the address of the advertiser, for certain reasons, is best with- held. There must be, one supposes, some persons who answer such an advertisement, otherwise it would not be repeated. It may be asked why, if a person can construct a plot, he does not also write the story. Perhaps it is conceivable that one may devise a fable, fit it with the situations which belong to it, and even make characters for per- forming in them, yet be unable to write the story. In such a case the deviser or inventor might be a collaborator. Instead of parting with the plot for two shillings he should boldly place his name upon the title page as one of the authors. On the other hand, when a man offers a play, a poem, a story, to the public, he is practically assuring them that he is himself the deviser or inventor of the fable. In the case of a historical novel this assurance is not needed, because the source of his story is known to everybody. In the case of a story laid in the last century, for instance, that may also, since a past time can only be recovered from its documents, be taken from some event of the time. Thus, I have myself taken the motif of a story in two cases from writings of the eighteenth century. But a modern plot, a modern fable, presented by a writer is accepted by the public as of his own devising. If it is not, then, surely, the transaction is dishonest. There is, however, no evidence of any buyer, so that the advertisement is perhaps only a temptation to dishonesty in the abstract. One may, however, imagine the aspirant who wants nothing but imagination to conceive and eyes to see, attracted by such an advertisement. It is like the mysterious wrapper in a Holywell-street shop, offering things of mystery and containing a tract. He finds two shillings: he sends a postal order: he gets back a plot, both original and unique. "A. loves B. A. has neither birth nor fortune. B. is a rich heiress, an only child, of high rank. A., presuming to speak, is kicked out by B.'s father with violence. He goes away. Years afterwards he saves B.'s father from a mad bull: he is rewarded with the hand of A." You cannot have a better plot. Hundreds of quite interesting stories have been written with a mad bull, or a pair of runaway ponies; the aspirant gets it for the ridiculous sum of two shillings. It may be supposed that this is the common variety of plot; but there is a dearer and a more subtle kind. The would-be author may go, perhaps, as high as five shillings. When one thinks of it, there are many new novels which must be constructed on a five-shilling plot. They are those which are published at the author's own expense, with a con- siderable lump thrown into the estimate. Places talked about at the time come into them: new inventions: sham science: spiritualism: fads and fancies: if the author knows nothing about the army, he will probably lay his scene in a barrack. Alas! the hand of the advertiser might be discerned everywhere: it must mournfully be acknowleged that plots may be bought like the paper and the pens with which they are written. In the notice of "Literature and the Perio- dicals" there is reference to a paper by Paul Shorey in the Atlantic Review. He is said to regard, as one of the obstacles to the writing of books that will live, the exhaustion of available motifs in the higher fields of literature. But I do not think that, the available motifs can ever be exhausted. First, every generation will always insist upon the representation of its own passions —which are common to every generation—in its own language, and with its own habits and customs. Love, jealousy, hatred, ambition, sorrow, despair, envy, disappointment, wealth, poverty, pain, joy, youth, age, growth, decay, death—all these demand, in every generation, the poet. They must be put on the stage in the fashion of the day. These passions are new with every generation, yet always the same. Does a young man find love stale and exhausted because his father was in love before him? FEUILLETON. The Reputation of Ripplington. L EIPPLINGTON-ON-SEA is not regarded— except, of course, by its own inhabitants —as a place of any great pretensions. The county guide-book dismisses it briefly in a  ## p. 87 (#115) ############################################# THE AUTHOR. 87 couple of lines as " a small sea-side town, pictur- esquely situated; there are some interesting brasses in the church, and the register dates back to 1625." It would be quite imprudent, however, even to hint to the residents (who affect for the most part to prefer its appearance in winter) that Rippling- ton is ever dull. Is there not Badminton— delightful game!—in the assembly rooms once a week? Are there not frequent tea-parties, at any one of which you will meet precisely the same dozen persons? Is there not a club, in which you may take part in a rubber played on principles apparently coeval with the "parish register "? At the same time I confess to a fondness for the Uttle place. It is peaceful and tranquil; one forgets all about time there; no one is ever in a hurry at Ripplington. The shopkeepers, the fishermen, and the postman join in taking life with philosophic ease, and a sojourn among them teaches you at least that the word " directly " has a very different meaning here from that which you would attach to it elsewhere. Then, if there are absurd little jealousies between the insignificant cliques into which the gentry are divided—if there is more gossip and tittle-tattle retailed iu the club and over the tea-cups than the rigid moralist would approve—if, in a word, the place is exceedingly provincial, this need not greatly concern the visitor, who may possibly reflect that ill-natured small-talk is not absolutely unknown even in London itself. Perhaps it was this sapient conclusion, or pos- sibly the lack of any better engagement, that led me, a few months ago to run down and spend a week at the house of General Barford, an elderly uncle of mine, who, after many wanderings, has pitched his tent in Ripplington, where he is regarded with no small respect. Arriving at his house in the afternoon, I scarcely required to be told by the butler that he believed his master to be at the club. To play his daily whist in the card-room with certain other retired warriors is a duty which no claims of hospitality could induce the General to forego. Accordingly, having shaken hands with Mrs. Barford in the drawing-room, I strolled down through the town and along the esplanade, until I arrived at the little club-house, with its familiar white front, bow window, and green Venetian blinds. Making my way upstairs I found, to my great surprise, that both the card-room and the billiard-room were deserted. And when I had come downstairs again and opened the door of the library, the sight that met my eyes was as strange as it was unexpected. Standing on a chair in the mid^ f the room was my uncle, brandishing in his hand a maga- zine, from which he was apparently reading aloud, while his other fist was tightly clenched. Round him was an attentive circle of listeners, among whom I recognised almost all the regular liabitues of the place—Mr. Pember, the Vicar, Colonel Dixie, Mr. Lavington, of the Hall, little Doctor Bennet, and others. The General stopped short as I entered the room, and descended, from his perch to shake my hand. When we had assured each other that we were tolerably well, a pardonable curiosity led me to ask for an explanation of this extraordinary scene. "Don't let me interrupt you, pray," I said, "You were giving a—a recitation, I think?" My uncle's usual expression of good-natured calm gave way with alarming suddenness to a look of the fiercest indignation. "A recitation! No, sir. I was reading aloud extracts from an article in this month's Penwiper!" I was more surprised than before; never had I suspected my uncle of such perfervid enthusiasm. "Oh, I see. And who is the fortunate author, may I ask?" "Fortunate author!" spluttered the angry man. "He'd be precious unfortunate if he showed his face in Ripplington, I can tell you! I'd horsewhip him on the spot!" His audience growled its approval of this bloodthirsty sentiment. "What on earth is the matter?" I inquired. The General thrust the magazine, somewhat crumpled by his treatment of it, under my nose. "The matter? Why, look at this! In this dirty publication there's an article which libels every person in Ripplington! But the rascally editor is very much mistaken if he thinks we shall let it pass unnoticed!" "If I may say so," added Mr. Pember, sadly, "although I must deprecate any—ah, personal violence, I quite agree that some amends must be insisted on—yes, insisted on." My surprise only became greater; I knew the Penwiper very well by reputation. So far from deserving my uncle's description of it as a " dirty publication," it was an old-fashioned family magazine; its columns were the last place in which one would expect a scurrilous libel. "What does the article &a.v r" I asked. "Well, you can read j^" f°r Iowse^> later," said the General, "It's Q^AVeo-' Seaside Fossils,' and is simply a series of v^^w^Vf. V;ats at ^° expense 1 Colonel worse, author's na-  ## p. 88 (#116) ############################################# 88 THE AUTHOR. of anonymous spite. The only question is, What steps had we better take in the matter?" "' Seaside Fossils,' indeed!" cried the General; "I'd fossilise the man if I had him here! I'll write to the editor to-night, and demand the writer's name. And then, by gad, we'll make things unpleasant for him. Come along, James; we may as well be getting home now." As we walked back to the Grange together I managed to elicit a few more details. It appeared that it was quite by chance that the obnoxious article had come under the General's eye. His wife had purchased this copy of the Penwiper to beguile the tedium of a railway journey. The General being something of a geologist, the title of the fatal article had caught his attention as the magazine lay on the drawing-room table; as a rule he was not a student of light literature Conceive what were his feelings at discovering, in place of the scientific essay for which he had looked, a flippant description of the residents in a seaside town. Instead of throwing it aside, however, he read steadily on; and as he did so he felt a suspicion, which soon amounted to a certainty, that an enemy had done this thing— that this was, in fact, a venomous and spiteful, but still a recognisable, caricature of Ripplington and of those who dwelt there. The vicar, the doctor, the meetings in the club, the tea- parties—all were alluded to in the most shameless way. On our return the General sent off an in- dignant letter to the editor of the Penwiper, demanding to be informed by return of post of the name of the writer of this article. I had my own opinion as to the likelihood of any answer being made; but this I prudently kept to myself. There was a dinner party at the Grange that night, and the infamous paper again formed the main topic of conversation, especially when the ladies had withdrawn. At Ripplington this interval is still of some length. The modern custom of a single glass of wine, quickly followed by a sip of coffee and a cigarette, would bo regarded as a sacrilegious innovation by the General and his friends. Nearly every man present, with the exception, by the way, of little Wilson, the curate—had his own theory about the source of the article. One or two maintained that it was evidently the work of a woman, and more than one hinted that Mrs. Bennet was the culprit, much to her husband's indignation. Someone else suggested Miss Simkins, the young lady who wrote poetry in the Ripplington Gazette. But how could a woman, the others objected, have described the interior of the club so faithfully? "For myself," observed Colonel Dixie, with much dignity, "there is little that I can object to personally in it; but its treatment of you, Doctor, and of you, Mr. Pember, is most insolent." "Nonsense!" cried the Doctor, sharply. "There's not a word in it that anyone would construe as referring to me! But it calls you all sorts of names under the guise of 'Major Bradshaw'—unless I'm very much mistaken. You're quite right as to Pember—the rascal might as well have mentioned him by name!" "Really, I cannot agree with you," remon- strated the cleric. "The gross caricatures of Colonel Dixie and of you, Doctor, are unmistake- able. But only—ah, the merest spite could pre- tend to identify me with any of the characters in the article." "Well, it's no use quarrelling about it," inter- posed my uncle. "The thing's an outrage any- how. We shall learn the name of its perpetrator in a day or two. And now, perhaps, we may as well join the ladies." II. Several days passed; but, as I had expected, the General received no answer to his letter. Then he wrote a second and still more peremptory one; but that, too, failed. In the meantime, every- one in Ripplington discussed the article in the Penwiper; but, though many persons fell under suspicion, no real clue as to its authorship was discovered. Personally, when I came to read "Seaside Fossils" for myself, I was rather surprised at the stir which it had excited. It described with a good deal of levity some of the commonest types to be found among the inhabitants of a small sea- side town; but I had no reason to believe that these were peculiar to Ripplington. As far as I could see, it would be no less easy to identify "Shermouth," the name given by the writer to his imaginary home, with any one of a hundred other places with just as much show of reason as with Ripplington. Indeed, I ventured in an ill- advised moment to suggest this view to my uncle. "Nonsense, sir," he said, curtly. "There's no mistaking what place the rascal meant; it all fits too well. He talks about the club—isn't there a club in Ripplington? He sneers at the esplanade —' that spacious promenade quite a hundred yards long,' he says. Haven't we an esplanade just that length? And he even alludes to the Red Lion Inn by its real name. No, sir! there is no possibility of mistake, and this attempt to throw dust in our eyes is suspicious—highly suspicious, sir."  ## p. 89 (#117) ############################################# THE AUTHOU. 89 I did not grasp his meaning at the time; but later in the day, when several of my acquain- tances had returned my greetings with the coldest of bows, the truth flashed across me. The General had come to the conclusion from my attempted defence of the article that I had written it myself! However, I managed to disabuse him of this idea by declaring solemnly that never in all my life had I contributed a single line to the Penwiper. He apologised pro- fusely, and took good care that everyone else did so too. However, we came no nearer to the solution of the mystery. On Sunday Mr. Peinber dwelt significantly on " hatred, malice, and all unchari- tableness" in the Litany, and preached an eloquent sermon, bidding us bear the malicious shafts of anonymous spite with as much Christian composure as we could muster. While we were at breakfast on the following morning we were suddenly startled by a visit from the Vicar himself, who, I grieve to say, showed very little composure indeed—in fact, he was in a state of the greatest excitement. "Good morning, General," he began, breath- lessly, quite ignoring Mrs. Barford and myself. "I determined not to lose a moment in coming to you for your advice. I have just made a most horrible discovery." The General does not like Ix-ing disturbed at his meals. "Indeed?" he said, shortly. "Sorry to hear it. If you can call later -" "No, I really must tell you at once. It's about that Penwiper article—I've found out that my curate—that Mr. Wilson—wrote it!" "The deuce he did !" cried my uncle, springing up from his chair. "What proofs have you got?" "Why," the Vicar replied, producing a piece of paper from his pocket, this. After service last night I asked Wilson in the vestry for the names of some children in his district who wished to be confirmed. He wrote them down on a piece of paper—this piece of paper, in fact. This morning I happened to look at the other side— here it 13!" We crowded round eagerly. It was an ordi- nary half-sheet of notepaper, on one side of which was the pencilled list of names. Then we turned it over, and our astonished eyes saw the following printed line. "Cheque enclosed with the compliments of the Editor of 'The Penwiper,' " and, above it, "The Eev. J. Wilson," written in ink. "Well, I'm dashed!" the General exclaimed. "That Wilson of all people—come alon", Pember; we'll have it out with him at once.*' I made bold to accompany aI1j before long we had reached Mr. Wilson's lodgings, and walked into the room where that mild little man was eating his solitary breakfast. He looked considerably' astonished at our visit, as well he might. The General opened fire without delay. "Good morning, Mr. Wilson," he began. "This is an early hour for a call, perhaps. But we felt bound to lose no time in—in congratu- lating you upon your unsuspected literary talent!" Mr. Wilson simply stared at us in open- mouthed astionishment. "Yes," continued the General, "Thanks to a fortunate accident, we have been enabled to identify the author of a certain unsigned article in this month's Penwiper. Need I add that we hasten to express our gratitude for it?" Mr. Wilson still seemed considerably puzzled. "Oh, that thing of mine in the Penwiper / Glad you liked it so much—I confess I shouldn't have thought it would have interested you!" "Interest me?" shouted the General, his ponderous sarcasm giving way to his anger— "interest me? A string of dirty personalties, every one of which is libellous, a venomous" The curate shook his head sadly. "Dear me, either you or 1 am mad, it's quite clear. May I ask for a specimen of the personalities you men- tion?" "Why, it's alive with them, sir. Look at the title—' Seaside Fossils.'" "What?" cried Mr. Wilson. "I didn't write that—my paper in this month's number is called 'Some points connected with the Mozarabic Liturgy.' I know nothing about the other thing —I haven't even read it." Rarely have I seen two men look so foolish as did the Vicar and my uncle at this moment. The latter, however, rallied nobly to the attack. "A likely story, sir! And you mean to say that you didn't write this attack upon Rip- plington?" "I am not accustomed to having my word doubted," said Mr. Wilson, coldly. "But if you will open that drawer just behind you, you will find the MS. of my article, which came back with the proof." The General did as he was bid, and then, look- ing extremely crestfallen, marched to the door- way. There he turned round and delivered a parting shot. "Well, sir, all I can \s, \hat I am aston- ished that a geiv^cman—1^ AoOR a clergyman— (tan think it to c*v vJfo^ wq^amg—n matter on wh- ■ • - as the Penw and out we No sooner 1 ^0 ^W*. va^ Wte  ## p. 90 (#118) ############################################# 90 THE AUTHOR. fell violently upon the Vicar for having made a fool of him. Why the dickens parsons never could mind their own business—and so on. And so, in the very worst of tempers, the General and the Vicar returned to their respective homes. Indeed, my uncle's condition was so volcanic during the rest of that day, that I decided to cut my visit short, and to return to town at once. Before leaving Ripplingtou, however, I had the grace to call on "Wilson and to apologise for my share in the invasion of his rooms. At the same time I explained how he had unwittingly laid himself open to suspicion. He smiled good- naturedly. "It was entirely my own fault," he said. "In future I shall be careful to sign all my articles. And it will teach the Vicar and General Barford not to jump at conclusions." Next morning I returned to London; but letters from Ripplington during the next few weeks informed me that the real culprit remained undiscovered. "But he cannot hide in obscurity much longer," wrote the General. He was quite right, though the truth was made known hardly in the way which he anticipated. Happening to glance at the next month's number of the Penwiper, I met with something which caused me to send a marked copy to the General by the next post. The passage which I had emphasised was an " Editorial Note," which ran as follows :—■ "We accidentally oinitted to mention in our last number that the sketch entitled 'Seaside Fossils,' appearing in it, was an early work, hitherto unpublished, of that talented writer Mr. Thomas Nutley Johnson, whose death we had recently to deplore. That it excited no little interest was proved by the number of inquiries as to its authorship which we received. And, indeed, although it was written nearly thirty years ago, it displays much of that ready humour and happiness of phrase which earned so well- deserved a fame for the later works of its brilliant author." Anthony C. Deane. MONSTERS IN FICTION. THE human imagination, when its excesses have not been checked by science, has a curious tendency to create fabulous monsters. We have examples of this in the man-bull of the Assyrians and the Centaur of the Greeks. Gustave Flaubert, in " La Tentation de Saint Antoine," introduces a number of deformed beings, supposed at one time to have lived on the earth in a state of imperfect organisation: the Nisnas, an animal with one eye, one cheek, one hand, half a body, and half a heart; the Blemmyes, headless things with enormous shoulders, "who reduce digestion to thouglit "; the Sciapades, whose flowing locks as long as creeping plants keep them attached to the ground ; the Sadhuzag, a large black stag with a bull's head, with seventy-four antlers hollow as flutes, from which issues an indescribably sweet music; the Mantichor, a gigantic red bon with a human figure and three rows of teeth; the Catoblepas, a black buffalo with a pig's head falling to the earth and connected with his shoulders by a slender neck, long and flabby as an empty gut; and the Astomi, which pass like air-balls across the sun, composed of breezes and perfumes—" a little more than dreams, not entirely beings." The very names of these imaginary entities seem like inventions; and yet Flaubert probably found them all in the course of his omnivorous reading; for he was one of those writers who are always searching for " quaint and curious volumes of forgotten lore." Shakespeare has presented us with a type of the human monster in Caliban, which, to many readers, suggests some difficulties; for this crea- ture is not a savage, but a bestialized man, who has still many of the characteristics to which we apply the word " civilised." The ingenious Renan has endeavoured to elucidate the Shakespearean conception in a philosophical drama, purporting to show that Caliban is a human being entirely unenlightened by science and culture, by whose agency, however, he might become a perfect man. Most people have heard of that quaint old novel "Peter Wilkius," but comparatively few have read it. It relates the mythical history of an adventurous traveller who made the acquaintance of a flying woman, and married her. According to a theory which has recently been broached, the inhabitants of Mars are winged. If there be any foundation for the hypothesis, perhaps Mrs. Peter Wilkins ought to have been born in that planet, and to have in some unaccountable fashion, found her way to the earth. Everyone is acquainted with "Gulliver's Travels," in which we are introduced to the Liliputians and the Brobdingnagians. This, after all, is only another version of the Giant and the Dwarf—a fable almost as old as the world itself. That giants once dwelt upon the earth may be taken for granted. Goliath of Gath, for example, was no myth; nevertheless it is possible that he was not a being of stupendous proportions, but a very big man with six fingers on each hand—by no means an uncommon phenomenon even in modern times.  ## p. 91 (#119) ############################################# THE AUTHOR. 9» The race of dwarfs may be regarded as more interesting than the colossal types of humanity, for there is something exceedingly remarkable in arrested physical development. There can be no ■doubt that in mediaeval days dwarfs were actually manufactured for the purpose of being used to form appendages to Royal Courts. Grinning buffoons were also thus produced for the amuse- ment of the populace. The strange passage in "Victor Hugo's "L'Homme qui rit" describing the Comprachicos or Comprapequenos is not mere fiction but authentic history. The Compra- chicos were "buyers of children" (this is the literal meaning of the Spanish word). They traded in infants, whom they converted into monsters by a process of mutilation. The un- happy hero of this romance laughs involuntarily, because his face had been cruelly carved into a hideous laughing expression in his childhood. How far human beings may acquire the attri- butes of the lower animals is one of those curious questions which perhaps might fairly be dealt with in a psychological—or should we call it physiological ?—novel. In "Elsie Venner" Oliver Wendell Holmes attempted to grapple with the problem; but his suggestion that a snake-bite might affect a young girl's nature certainly appears rather far-fetched. As a rule novelists have fought shy of monsters, and Sir "Walter Scott's partiality for dwarfs—he introduces two in "Peveril of the Peak," and calls one of his shorter tales " The Black Dwarf" —does not seem to have infected many of his successors. We cannot find a single dwarf, or any other example of physical deformity, in Thackeray's works. George Eliot's genius was too catholic — in the best sense of the word— to concern itself about the characteristics of abnormal human beings. Even Bulwer Lytton— in spite of his love of the phantastic—has no partiality for monsters. Robert Louis Stevenson has analysed moral monstrosity in "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." He does not, however, present us with physically abnormal characters, unless the possession of a wooden leg be considered abnormal. Until the eighteenth century, however, the subject of monsters had not begun to be scientifi- cally studied. During the present century it has been, however, elaborately investigated by Meckel, in Germany, and Geoffrey St. Hilaire and his son Isidore in France. Perhaps the time is at hand when we shall find literature assisting science in throwing light on the question. In an age which has given birth to such books as Max Nordau's "Degeneration," nobody need be surprised to find the prohJ of monstrosity forming a new and star+lii » 10 in the modern novel. D. »i !»UD? featU^ BOOK TALE. THE life of the Kent peasant has attracted Miss Lilian Winser, who has made it the theme of a series of songs and lyrical stories, connected by dialogue and pleasantries, about to be published by Mr. Elkin Mathews under the title " Lays and Legends of the Weald of Kent." Mr. F. M. Hueffer announces that he and his wife have been engaged for the last two years collecting materials for just such another work. The Queen has commanded Sir Arthur Bigge to thank Mr. Arthur A. Sykes for the copy of "The Coronation Cruise of the Midnight Sun," presented to Her Majesty. We understand that " Martin Pritchard," the author of "Without Sin," a novel which was published some time ago, and has evoked remark- able criticism here and in America, is a Loudon lady, namely, Mrs. Augustus Moore. Mr. Arthur Paterson has produced a new novel called "For Freedom's Sake," which is to be published at an early date by Messrs. Osgood. A volume of autobiographical reminiscences of the late Mrs. Rundle Charles, the author of the "Schonberg Cotta Family," is about to be pub- lished by Mr. Murray under the title " Our Seven Homes. Mr. R. D. Blackmore has concluded arrange- ments with Blackwood's Magazine for the serial publication of his story entitled "Dariel: A Romance of Surrey." It will begin in the October number. Among forthcoming verse will be a volume of lyrics by Mrs. Hinkson (Katharine Tynan), entitled "A Lover's Breast Knot," to be pub- lished by Mr. Elkin Mathews; and " The Bothie and Other Poems," by Mr. Arthur H. Clough, which will appear in Mr. Walter Scott's series of Canterbury Poets. Mr. Henley is just about clear of his labours on the Centenary edition of Burns, which he and Mr. T. F. Henderson have edited, and the first volume of his edition of Byron will be in the hands of the booksellers very shortly. The poems are being arranged as nearly as possible in a chronological order A new literary ma&a • » ;§ about to be inaugu- rated by Mr. William * a pVfs of the Hull and London firm of puKv"^ oi ^ ^e Temple Magazine i& H&W. rti * sapetvs^ !$!9"^  ## p. 92 (#120) ############################################# 92 THE AUTHOR. moreover, that the publishing house of Hutchin- son is contemplating the issue of a new monthly in October. Admirers of the late Mr. Joseph Thomson, the African traveller, will be glad to hear that a biography is already being prepared by his brother, the Rev. J. B. Thomson, of Greenock. All the six expeditions which Thomson led will be sketched in detail, and contributions of his life and work will find a place in the volume from the pens of Mr. J. M. Barrie, Dr. Gregory, Mr. Scott Keltie, Mr. E. G. Ravenstein, and others. A translation of Signor Sinigaglia's book on the Dolomites is about to be published by Mr. Fisher Unwin. There will be illustrations in it by Signor Sella, who it will be remembered also illustrated the two huge volumes on the Caucasus by Mr. Freshfield which were recently published. Another, and most likely a very important, mountaineering and exploring book will be the outcome of an expedition about to be undertaken to South America, if it should prove successful. The head of the expedition is Mr. A. E. Fitz- gerald, who recently wrote a large volume on "Climbing in New Zealand." He will endeavour to scale Aconcagua, the highest climb ever attempted. Miss Julia Dow has written an account of a tour to the English cathedrals, which will be published by Messrs. Macmillan under the title " A Cathe- dral Pilgrimage." Mr. William Le Queux has two volumes of fiction in the publishers' hands—namely, "A Secret Service," to be published soon by Messrs. Ward and Lock, and an African romance entitled "The Great White Queen," which will appear from Messrs. F. V. White's next month. Mr. William Archer's translation of the biography of Nausen, by Bnigger and Rolfsen, will be ready shortly. There will be drawings in it by leading artists of Norway, and also maps and illustrations from photographs. Mr. Rudolf Lehmaun has in preparation a collection of portraits and sketches of exceptional interest. It comprises a long series of portraits of notable men and women who have sat to him between the years 1847 at)d 1895, who include H.R.H. the Prince of Wales, the late Emperor Frederick, the Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone, Pope Pius IX., Cardinal Manning, Lord Tennyson James Russell Lowell, Liszt, Chopin, George Henry Lewes, Mr. G. F. Watts, Mr. W. S. Gilbert, and a host of others—" in fact," says the prospectus, "scarcely a domain of life is un- represented." The volume, which will be pub- lished by Messrs. Bell and Sons at three guineas, in an edition of 500 copies, will contain twelve photogravures from paintings and about seventy facsimile reproductions of the drawings in half tone, some of them printed in colours. Mr. H. C. Marillier will write an introduction and short biographical notices. Mr. Clement Shorter is busy preparing his work on the Brontes for publication in the autumn. An article in one of the magazines some time ago foreshadowed what the character and trend of the book will be. He does not agree with Mrs. Gaskell and other Bronte students in their estimate of the brother, about whom he will have new material to offer. Mr. Nicholls, the husband of Charlotte Bronte, has assisted Mr. Shorter by giving him MSS. and several personal interviews on the controversial questions dis- cussed. Mr. Pett Ridge is issuing, through Messrs. White, a short story called "An Important Man." * A biography of Sir Kenelm Digby, who occupied such a prominent and adventurous posi- tion in the social, literary, and political worlds during the reigns of James, Charles I., Cromwell, and partly of Charles II., is about to be published by Messrs. Longmans, Greeu and Co. Digby's Memoirs were not published until 1827, but these did not cover his whole career; while subsequent writers have not, it is believed, covered the events of his life and times so entirely as the forthcoming work. Mr. Bret Harte will be well to the front with books this autumn. Besides his new volume of poems, which is being prepared for issue, the three short stories, "Devil's Ford," "Snowbound at Eagles," and "A Millionaire of Rough and Ready," will appear in one volume; a collection of new stories under the title " Barker's Luck" will see the light, and will contain illustrations by A. Forestier, Paid Hardy, A. Morrow, and T. Julich. Apart from these, his publishers, Messrs. Chatto and Windus, will have out within the next few days the ninth volume of the collected edition of Mr. Harte's works, containing thirteen stories. Mr. Lang's Christmas book for children this year is to be " The Animal Story Book." Several important biographical works are to be published during the autumn season by Mr. John Murray. They include "The Life of the Rev. Benjamin Jowett," by Evelyn Abbott, M.A.. and the Rev. Lewis Campbell, which will be in t wo  ## p. 93 (#121) ############################################# THE AUTHOR. 93 volumes; "Life and Letters of Samuel Butler, D.D., Bishop of Lichfield," by his grandson, Samuel Butler; "A Memoir of Sir John Drum- xnond Hav, some time Minister at the Court of Morocco," which is based on his journals and correspondence, and will have a preface by General Sir Francis de Winton, KC.M.G.; and "The Life of Brian Hodgson," by Sir William W. Hunter, K.C.S.I. Mrs. Lynn Linton's new novel, "Dulcie Everton," will appear this month, in two volumes published by Messrs. Chatto and Windus. Mr. Du Maurier's new story, " Martian," will be begun in Harper's for next month. "The Charm" is the title given to the volume of eight drawing-room plays upon which Mr. W. H. Pollock and Sir Walter Besant have l>een engaged, at intervals, for some years. In the introduction to the volume, which is to appear early this autumn, the question of the difference between a stage play and a drawing-room play is discussed. The book is to have the illustra- tions by Miss Chris Hammond and A. Jule Goodman, which appeared in Pearson's in the serial form. A new story by Mr. Eobert Barr, entitled "Revenge," is announced for publication by Messrs. Chatto and Windus in a few days. The idea of bicycle-exercise injuring the reading of novels was lately paragraphed industriously in the papers. It was suggested that the one form of recreation was being found more healthy than the other. If that be so, the fact of Messrs. Chapman and Hall being about to issue a series of novels specially adapted for the cyclist to carry and read while he is on tour, may possibly be looked upon as a suggested rapprochement. The first of this series is by Mr. Charles James, and called "Two on a Tandem;" that being followed by "On the Down Grade," by Miss Winifred Graham. Another novel has been written, in collabo- ration, by Mrs. L. T. Meade and Dr. Clifford Halifax. The last was called " The Diary of a Doctor;" the title of the forthcoming story, which will be issued by Messrs. Chatto aimost immediately, is " Dr. Ramsey's Patient." Mr. Austin Dobson is issuing a third group of "Eighteenth Century Vignettes," and has written a poem called "An Epistle to a Friend," as a prologue to the volume. A new sixpenny weekly journal ig announced by Mr. Horace Whitcomb, lately Q0aaected with the Saturday lievieic. It is to be , New Saturday. ™eU Dr. Parker's forthcoming volume is to be entitled " Might Have Been: Some Life Notes." The book (6s.) is to be published by Messrs. Chatto and Windus early in the autumn. It will contain unpublished letters by John Bright, C. H. Spurgeon, Henry Ward Beecher, John B. Gough, and Henry White, of the Savoy Chapel. There will also appear in it Dr. Parker's Eulogy on Beecher, and his critical estimates of Sir Henry Irving, John Oliver Hobbes, C. H. Spurgeon, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and many others. The book is to be dedicated to Sir Wemyss Eeid, "in appreciation of the spirit and genius which have marked his brilliant professional career." Mr. Charles Bright, F.E.S.E., civil engineer and writer on electrical subjects, has recently completed an elaborate treatise on submarine telegraphy, being the first English work on this subject. As a two-guinea venture it is being brought out by subscription, and orders should be sent in to Messrs. Crosby, Lockwood, and Son, the publishers, at 7, Stationers' Hall-court, E.C. After publication the price will be raised to three guineas net. Miss Harcourt Roe will produce next month a novel treating largely of Portsmouth and of naval affairs and officers. It will be called " The Romance of Mr. Wodehouse." The publishers are Messrs. Hutchinson "Denounced," Mr. John Bloundelle-Burton's new novel, which has now concluded its serial stages, will be published shortly by Methuen and Co., in London, and at the same time by Appleton and Co., of New York, both of whom published, last spring, his " In the Day of Adversity." Miss Edith Kenyon's new novel, " The Squire of Lonsdale," will be brought out by Messrs. F. Warne and Co. It may be remembered by some of our readers as having appeared in several newspapers last year. Devonshire folk and their descendants must take notice that Mr. Charles Worthy, author of "Devonshire Parishes," "Practical Heraldry," &c, has just published a work of importance to them in his "Devonshire Wills." Everyone knows the flood of light that is poured upon ancient manners and customs as well as f aunty history and genealogy by u^s, This book con- tains a collection of a,-^ tate^ testaxxy^taxy abstracts, together with fa,t<^ ^Wrj genealogy of many of tk Vv>5 «A V***8* in the West of Engl*^ fg^ Bemrose and Sons, 23, <V -ACV . A —Heavitree, Exeter—■OST^1^ subscribers. 0  ## p. 94 (#122) ############################################# 94 THE AUTHOR. The prospectus of a new edition of Carlyle's works is before us. It is proposed to complete the whole, with a volume of unpublished essays in thirty volumes large square crown. The pub- lished price is 3s. 6d. a volume: the editor is Mr. H. O. Traill, D.C.L., and the publishers are Messrs. Chapman and Hall. Miss Browning's promised volume of Travels in Hungary will appear this month. It is illus- trated partly from sketches made by the author, by Miss May Maguire and Miss Rose Le Quesne. The publishers are Longmans. LITERATURE IN THE PERIODICALS. Literature and Trade. Correspondence by ZZ., Retired Bookseller, and R. H. Daily Chronicle for Aug. 19, 20, and 21 respectively. Publishers and Booksellers. Official Correspond- ence in Publishers' Circular for Aug 22. The Catalogue of English Literature Scheme. Henry R. Tedder. The Library for August. The New Watchword of Literary Criticism. Saturday Review for Aug. 22. Novels without a Purpose. Grant Allen. North American Review for August. Present Conditions of Literary Production. Paul Shorey. Atlantic Monthly for August. A Claim for the Art of Fiction. E. G. Wheel- wright. Westminster Review for August. Cosmopolitanism in Literature. The Speaker for Aug. 15. Days with Mrs. Stowe. Annie Field. Atlantic Monthly for August. Letters of D. G. Rossetti. IV.—Goorge Birkbeck Hill. Atlantic Monthly for August. Eugene Field and his Work. Atlantic Monthly for August. An Unworked Field of Romance. Atlantic Monthly for August. The Power of the British Press. Henry W. Lucy. North American Review for August. Sir John Seeley. Herbert A. L. Fisher. Fortnightly Revieiv for August. The Ethical Impulse of Mrs. Browning's Poetry. T. Bradfield. Westminster Review for August. Political Conception. Spectator for Aug. 8. and letters of Professor Courthope and V. W., Aug. 15. Ivan Turueniev. Maurice Todhunter. Westminster Review for August. Living Critics. VIII.—Professor George Saints- bury. Arthur Waugh. Bookman for August. The Poetry of the Psalms. Spectator for Aug. 22. The Posthumous Verlaine. Spectator for Aug. 22. The Gospel According to the Novelists. IV.— Robert Louis Stevenson. W. J. Dawson. The Young Man for September. Notable Reviews. Of Berdoe's " Browning and the Christian Faith." Speaker for Ang. 1. Of Professor Crawshaw's "The Interpretation of Litera- ture." By Professor Hugh Walker. Academy for Aug. 22. "Z. Z." protests against Messrs. W. H. Smith and Sons' treatment of his novel. It has been three months on sale among their customers, and now Messrs. Smith discover that it is unfit for them to sell or circulate. The omission of one paragraph, "Z. Z." understands, would remove their objection, but he humbly refuses to consent to "this tyranny." Nor is it consistent, he argues, for them—" whose vast power practically gives them an artificial censorship "—to exclude a book which is at least a serious attempt to depict character, and yet parade on their stalls flippant weekly papers which continuously debase the moral currency with an inexhaustible outpour of innuendo. Finally, is it fair, he asks, that the last novel by a great master, against which even many of the Tatter's admirers protested, should be circulated by Messrs, Smith without restriction, while this book by a young writer is boycotted. To remove the paragraph "would have been to admit the right of booksellers to edit what they exist merely to sell." "Retired Bookseller" promptly questions this "monstrous doctrine," and opposes to it his own theory that a bookseller has a conscience as well as an author, and that he is under no obligation to sell what he thinks is pernicious. "R. H.," on the other hand, says this is going too far in the direction of self-deception on the bookseller's part. The reader, he says, applies to the bookseller to pro- cure for him a certain article, and the bookseller procures it for a consideration. Were a book- seller to give himself out as the seller of " good books", the reader would have a right to return a book which he found bad. Mr. Grant Allen refers to the novel without a purpose as "that inartistic and jejune gaud," and says the twentieth century will outgrow it, and will be right in doing so. The process of purpose has been a constant progression, beginning in England with " Sandford and Mertou " and Miss Edgeworth's stories, and in France with Voltaire and Rousseau, and continuing by way of Charlotte Bronte, George Eliot, and even Hugo, to Zola, Meredith, and other present-day writers, being only replaced in the early half of the century by the purposive poetry of Shelley, Keats, and Wordsworth. He surveys the progress of litera- ture from its outset to show that every literature as it progresses grows deeper, more purposive. "We start, in all with sagas, stories, folk-songs, miirchen. We progress to the drama and novel of character; we end with the Euripideses, the Ibsens, the Merediths." (Do we end with these ?) To be considered really first-rate, a work in literature must not merely please, but teach us somewhat. Yet the novel without a purpose will continue to be written, no doubt, "for the  ## p. 95 (#123) ############################################# THE AUTHOR. 95 younger generation and the inferior minds," but in the next century the educated public will demand purpose even more than in this one. Meanwhile the Saturday owns itself confounded by the various views set forth upon the conditions and prospects of modern fiction. It reverts to an article by Mr. Hall Caine in the Contemporary some time ago, but as it cannot make out what some writers have meant by their definitions of trie words "idealism and realism," it gives a definition of its own: That Realism includes all those novels—be they what they may in other respects — which, in Mr. Podsnap's phrase, " are calculated to bring the blush of shame to the cheek of youth :" and that Idealism embraces that very considerable body of fiotion which the modern young lady can with little or no hesitation put into the hands of her brother, or even her father. And it is convinced that the British public will refuse to read works which seem to them to be immoral, even though they be works of genius, as long as the British public's "very rudi- mentary sense of artistic beauty is so completely in abeyance to their somewhat stunted sense of moral fitness." Mr. Wheelwright thinks that in the generality of fiction of the present day the sense of the beautiful is seen to have fallen into decay; rever- ence for women has become out of date; false ideals are cherished. He cannot consider as literature that what puts theory for fact and harsh effect for beautv, and he laments that the constantly recurring theme of modern fiction shows a feverish desire for novelty, with morbid psychology and ill-digested ethics. The new or unworked field of romance which is mentioned in the Atlantic is that of classical life, Greek or Roman. Why is it impossible to write such a story as will not be a mere hand- book of antiquities? asks the writer. On the question of the present conditions of literary production, Mr. Paul Shorey regards the temptation to intellectual dispersion and hasty premature production as one of two classes of obstacles to the writing of books that will live. On the slightest indication of talent a young writer's name is heralded to the four quarters of the globe; he is interviewed; his copy is eagerly competed for; and he is a celebrity when hardly out of his teens. This commercialism of the newspaper age has a good side, because it is pleasanter for the author than the old alternative of Grub-street or the patron, and the spur of ambition is probably helpful to a certain kind of craftsman. "But it is more hostile than penury, dependence on a patron, or the exercise of a regular profession, to the slow, concentrated brooding necessary to the production of permanent world-books." The other and more serious class of obstacles is the temporary exhaustion of avail- able motifs in the higher fields of literature. The realisation of all the dreams of modern science have been discounted in advance; and even in poetry no new contrivance of inventive ingenuity can surprise the poet who has already seen "the nation's airy navies grappling in the central blue." Another factor has to be taken into account besides the temporary failure of inspiration for poetry and philosophy, or the growing tyranny of the realist novel—namely, the influence of the great Universities (Mr. Shorey is, of course, writing of America) in creating a criticism based on fuller knowledge, in diffusing a truer appreciation of the heritage of 3000 years of European culture, and in establishing a rational adjustment of the claims upon our attention of the present and the past. America is now at last prepared, says Mr. Shorey, to enter upon this inheritance, and to reinterpret the past in relation to the present:— We shall soon have, to counter-balance our flourishing local fiction and the pretty bric-a-brac of the magazines, a vigorous and readable literature of scholarship, history, literary interpretation, and criticism—a literature not with- out interest and use for the present, and not without promise for the future. For the literature of the future, whatever else it may be, will not be based on ignoranoe, nor will it contract to the trivialities of the hour, the horizon of the being that looks bofore and after. Mr. Lucy says that not all the newspapers in the kingdom will force a hook into favour with the public; but given merit or capacity, recognition in the press is of inestimable value. In the personal article on the late Mrs. Stowe, the writer remarks that she was not a student of literature, and that a study of the literature of the past as the only true foundation for a literature of the pre- sent , was outside the pale of her occupations, and, for the larger portion of her life, outside of her interest. Mr. Tedder wants the Library Associa- tion to grant ,£200 or £300 to provide a rough catalogue of English literature as the basis for more serious supervision. CORRESPONDENCE. I. — To be Returned within a Certain Time. HAVING been time ^ tter time annoyed and mulcted of time ^ a r&oue? Y>y t^o^ editors retaining ^ wrested from a publisher-^*V5 hasten to hand on to niy ^V9 # esSac*^ 1 ,0 should never leave an L^JP^^^^N^  ## p. 96 (#124) ############################################# 96 THE AUTHOR. said, " without stipulating that it should be read within a certain time." Since then I have got on so very much better with the disposal of my MSS., that the hint has proved most valuable to me. A Poor Author. II.—Injury by Detention. Extract from a letter. "Messrs. A. B.'s editor hindered me tremen- duously by detaining for six or seven months the copy I was offering to the editor. I wrote Xo him again and again. I called again and again. He sat over it like a dog over a bone, and when I called, beseeching him to make haste and decide, he would lay his hand on the MS. which was on the table by his side, and would beg for a little more time. Finally, when it was too late for any one else to publish it immediately after its appearance in the newspapers, he returned it, declined with thanks and regrets." III.—The Title. "Tyro," in your August issue, propounds a rather difficult question. With all the care in the world it is sometimes impossible to avoid collision with the choice of a fellow-writer. I have found the best method to be an exhaustive search, for several years back, through Mudie's and Smith's catalogues, which are (or were) kept bound in the circular receptacle in the centre of the British Museum reading-room. If, after examination, the selected title is not discovered therein, I should think "Tyro" would be pretty safe in appropriating it. At any rate the plan possesses the advantage of being as simple and expeditious as auv other. Old Bird. Author's Club, S.W. IV.—Literary Grab-alls. Mr. Honey Seabrooke, in his letter on this subject, thinks my experience unique ; but I fancy many writers, if they liked to own up to it, could substantiate it with their own experiences. As justice is due even to niggardly editors, I have to report that the 3s. for the poem was eventually increased to 5*.! and the 12s. 6d. for the storv to 21s.! It was thus in accordance with the spirit of this economic era, a case of hard bargaining. In reply to Mr. Stephen's letter, the editor of this journal, to whom I communicated them, has the names of these liberal journals. On the other side of the question, writing for payment to an editor for a short story which had been published in his paper, I was requested to name my price; accordingly I rated it at ,£5 5s., which was promptly sent me. I think the Author might be of great service to literary men by publishing the names of all the journals and magazines in relation to their treatment of MSS. and payment of accepted ones, of course excluding the lights of literature, who can presumably make their own terms. Such a compendium would not only be useful to all those who want to live out of this precarious profession, but it would also prove my contention, that this is not a golden time for authors. The data for this list could be furnished easily by those who read and write for this journal. My own is at its service. Lunette, V.—Criticism from a Commercial Point of View. The following remarks were suggested by an incident that recently came under the writer's notice. A lady was reading a well-known paper, when she came across some disparaging remarks on the works of Miss Marie Corelli. Throwing down the journal, the reader, a warm admirer of the authoress, exclaimed, " I shall no longer take in this paper." Now, I am not acquainted with the writings of Miss Corelli, and so am not in a position to say whether the criticism was just or not; but I have no hesitation in affirming that any paper which sneers or carps at a widely popular author com- mits a fatal mistake from a commercial point of view. For one subscriber who is attracted by stabs and sneers at an established author ten sub- scribers are lost. People who have given a novelist their favour —a liking so strong that sometimes it amounts to personal affection, which may have lasted for years—do not like to be flippantly told that they are fools, and are apt to think that a journal, which they find antagonistic to them in literary matters, will also be opposed to them in their political and social views. If I had my capital invest«d in any paper where such a criticism appeared, I would not only sack the young critic but the editor as well. I say young critic advisedly, for I think an old one would have more sense than to quarrel in this way with his bread and butter, and would reserve his virulence for young and struggling authors. My advice to the proprietors of journalistic ventures is this: "If your critic cannot speak well of a popular or long established author, see that he holds his tongue, or assuredly you will suffer in pocket." Michael Ross.  ## p. 96 (#125) ############################################# AD VER TISEMENTS. iii Crown 8vo., cloth boards, price 6s. HATHEESAGE: A Tale of North Derbyshire. BT CHARLES EDMUND HALL, Author of " An Ancient Ancestor," &e. London: Horace Cox, WindBor House, Bream's-buildings. E.G. Crown 8vo., cloth boarls, 3s. 6d. Crimean & other Short Stories. BY WILLIAM J^DZDXSOICT. CONTENTS. — An Adjutant's Adventure: an Episode of the Crimean Campaign—From an TJuseen World—Characteristic Stories of Eoyal Personages—The Tsar's Axe—An Indian Legend Modernised —A Love Test—Atta; or, The Circassian's Daughter—Father Con- fessor—Bis "Word of Honour (from the German)—Dearer than Life— A Polish Princess—The Evil Eye: a Story of Superstition—The Parson's Daughter—Old Love Never Busts. London: Horace Cox. Windsor House, Bream's-buildings, E.C. RECENT VERSE. LYBICS. By Dr. J. A. GOODCHILD. Cloth lettered, price 5a. NOBTH COUNTRY BALLADS. By HENRY TODD, Price 6s. TALES IN VERSE. By Dr. J. A. GOODCHILD. Cloth lettered, price 5s. SONGS OP THE CASCADES. By ERL VIKING. Fcap. 8vo., cloth boards, 3s. fid. SONGS OF THE PINEWOODS. By ARTHUR CAMP- BELL. Price 3a. 6d. THE FAIREST OF THE ANGELS, and Other Verse. By MABY COLBOBNE-VEEL. Fcap. 8vo., cloth boards, 3s. 6d. "Some of the shorter lyrics are much above the average, being clear in thought and musical in expression. The merits of the collec- tion are considerable."— The Bookman. THE WANDERER IN THE LAND OF CYBI, and other Poems (1886-93). By CLIFFOBD BBOOKS. Fcap. 8vo., cloth boards, 3s. 6d_ POEMS. By THOMAS BARLOW. Crown 8vo., bevelled boards, gilt edges, price 5s. POEMS. By LEWIS BROCKMAN. Crown 8vo., cloth boards, 5s. "The ballads are full of the spirit and directness of style proper to the ballad."—Saturday Review. "Mr. Brockman is a writer of good poetic mettle, and no doubt the reading world will hear more of him yet."— Glasgow Herald. 11 The graceful smoothness of Mr. Lewis Brockman's poems."— Daily Trltgraph. "He is decidedly inventive, and often highly imaginative The element of originality pervades the book. . . . His long poem, * Bonald"B CroBs,' is well sustained . . . it is like the plaint of the 'Mariner,' and it holds us."—Queen. "A reader who values cultured sentiments and flawless versifica- tion will find much to admired—Scotsman, London: Horace Cox, Windsor House, Bream's Buildings. E.C. Demy 8vo., with Map and Illustrations, price 10s. 6d. AN AUSTRALIAN IN CHINA: Being the Narrative of a Quiet Journey Across China to British Burma. By G. E. MORRISON, "Mr. Morrison is an Australian doctor who has achieved probably the most remarkable journey through the Flowery Land ever attempted by a Christian ... Ho was entirely unarmed and unaccompanied, save for the coolies who carried his baggage. Such a journey—three thousand miles in length—could not fail to present many curious customs and as many curious people. But it is owing entirely to Dr. Morrison's graphic manner of description, and his acutely keen observation, that his travels are such a reality to the reader. This portly volume is one of the most interesting books of travel of the many published this year. It is frank, original, and quite ungarnished by adventitious colouring."—St. James's Budget. "One of the most interesting books of travel we remember to have read."—European Mail. "A very lively book of travel. . . . His account of the walk of 15u0 miles from Chungking to Burma, over the remotest districts of Western China, is full of interest."—The Time*. "Dr. MorriBon writes crisply, sensibly, humorously, and with an engaging frankness. . . . There ia not a page he haa written that is not worth the perusal of the student of China and the Chinese."— The Scotsman. "By far the moat interesting and entertaining narrative of travel in the Flowery Land that has appeared for several years."—The World. London : Horacr Cox, Windsor House, Bream's-bulldingB, E.C. Royal 8vo., price 16s. net. Sporting Days in Southern India: BEING REMINISCENCES OF TWENTY TRIPS IN PURSUIT OF BIG GAME, CHIEFLY IN THE JrlADRAS PRESIDENCY. BT Lieut -Col. A. J. 0. POLLOCK, Royal Scots Fusiliers. WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS BY WHYMPER AND OTHERS. CONTENTS.—Chapters I., II., and III —TheBear. IV. and V.—The Panther. VI., VII., and VIII.—The Tiger. IX. and X.—The Indian BlBon. XI. and XII —The Elephant. XIII.—Deer (Cervidro) and Antelopca. XIV.—The Ibex. XV. and XVI.— Miscellaneous. London; HORACR Cox, Windsor Houro, Bream's-bulldintrs. E.C. Royal 8vo., cloth, profusely illustrated, price 12b. fid. net. TEXAN RANCH LIFE; WITH Three Months through Mexico in a " Prairie SohoOXxet." By MARY w London Hoeaob Oox, win*6^^-/^^^^^^V\^'i>,"1J  ## p. 96 (#126) ############################################# iv AD VER TISEMENTS. THE WEST KENSINGTON TYPE WHITING AGENCY. ESTABLISHED 1893. MISS E. M. SIKES. 13, Wolverton Gardens, Hammersmith, W. Authors' MSS. carefully and promptly copied, 1b. per 1000 words. Duplicate copy half price. Legal and General Copying, l£d. per folio. Typewritten Circulars, Notices, &c., by special copying process. Terms on application. References kindly permitted to authors. TI C.K.P.H. AST PAS T: EST I.C.K.S. WANTED, "DOSITION as SECRETARY to a Lady, by an English- 1 woman, of 21. Speoial training. Qualifications: French (State certificate); Italian; some Latin; Type- writing; Shorthand. Highest personal recommendations from teaohers. Address "K.," care of Mme. Veuve Speakman, 38, Rne du Luxembourg, Paris. AGENT WANTED. LARGE PRINTING OFFICE WANTS AGENT to COLLECT ORDERS from Authors who have their books produced at their own cost. Fair commission paid. Good opportunity for Lady or Gentleman who has relations in the literary world. Apply to— F. HEEREN, Esq., 117, PAULET ROAD, CA.MBBRWBI.Ii. s.e. TYFE-WBITING. RAYNE AND CO., EXPERT LITERARY AND SCIENTIFIC 1, ARUNDEL STREET, STRAND, W.C. Highest References. Established 1892. THE ENGLISH SCHOOL of JOURNALISM. Principal: D. F. BANKING, M.A., LL.D. Offices: 441a, STHAND, W.C. The curriculum embraces a full course of practical stndy in Journalism, including Press Illustration. The Autumn Session commences Sept. 26th. Address for Prospectus (2 stamps), Sydney Payne, Secretary. Now ready. Second Edition, Revised and Enlarged. Crown 8vo., limp cloth, 2s. Od. net; postage, 3d. extra. THE PRINCIPLES OP CHESS IN THEORY AND PRACTICE. JAMES MASON. CONTENTS. — 1. Elements of Chess. 2. General Principles. 8. Combination. 4. Exposition of Master Play Complete. London: Horace Cox, Windsor House, Bream'B-buildlngs, E.C. MRS. n-TT.T. TYPE-WBITING OFFICE, 35, LUDGATE HILL, E.C. (ESTABLISHED 1883.) Authors' MSS. carefully copied from Is. per 1000 words. Duplicate copies third price. Skilled typists sent out by hour, day. or week. French MSS. accurately copied, or typewritten English translations supplied. References kindly permitted to Sir Walter Besant: also to Messrs. A. P. Watt and Son, Literary Agents, Hastings House, Norfolk-street, Strand, W.C. MESDAMES BRETT L BOWSER, TYPISTS, SELBOENE CHAMBERS, BELL YAED, TEMPLE BAR. Authors' MSS. carefully and expeditiously copied, from is. per iooo words. Extra carbon copies half price. Refer- ences kindly permitted to Angnstine Birrell, Esq., M.P., and "Anthony Hope." ECLAIR TYPEWRITING COMPANY, GRANVILLE HOUSE, ARUNDEL STREET, STRAND. Typewriting, Copying, and Translating carefully and expeditiously executed. References kindly permitted to Sir Frank Lockwood, Q.C., M.P., T. P. O'Connor, Esq., M.P., and E. A. Fardon, Esq., Middlesex Hospital. THE AUTHOR'S HAIRLESS PAPER-PAD. (Thk Leadenhall Pbess Ltd.), 50, Leaden hall St reet , London, E.C. Contains hairless paper, over which the pen slips with perfect freedom. Sixpence each: s«. per dozen, ruled or plain. 32, GIRDLEBS BOAD, BROOK GKEEN. W. MISS CLAXTON (a correct and clear TYPIST) will (be glad to type Authors' MSS., Ac., and to meet with a lady who will join her in opening an office for typewriting in a suitable neighbourhood. Now ready, demy 8vo., cloth boards, price 10s. 6d. IN NEW SOUTH AFRICA. Travels in the Transvaal and Rhodesia. With Map and Twenty-six Illustrations. By H. LINCOLN TANGYE. CONTENTS. Introductory. PART I. Chapter I.—The Land of Gold and the Way there. ,, II.—Across Desert and Veldt. ,, III.—Johannesburg the Golden. IV.—A Transvaal Coach Journey. ,, V.—Natal: the South African Garden. ,, VI —Ostracised in Africa. Home with the Swallows. PART II —RAMBLES IN RHODESIA. Chapter I.—Eendragt Maakt Magt. ,, II.—Into the Country of Lobengula. „ III.—The Trail of War. ,, IV.—Goldmining, Ancient and Modern. „ V.—Sic Transit Gloria Mundi. VI —To Northern Mashonaland. VII.—Primitive Art. The Misadventures of a Wagon. Index. Loudon: Horace Cox, Windsor House, Bream's-bujldings, E.C- Printed and Published by Horace Cox, Windsor House, Bream's-buildings, London, £.0. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Author, Vol. 07 Issue 04 (September 1896) Subject The topic of the resource <em>The Author</em>, Vol. 07 Issue 04 (September 1896) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015049239455" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015049239455</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Publication Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 1896-09-01-The-Author-7-4 publications The Author