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Title A name given to the resource The Author Subject The topic of the resource <em>The Author</em> Description An account of the resource A digitised run of the Society of Authors' monthly periodical, <em>The Author</em>, 1890<span>–</span>1914, made available together for the first time.<br /><br />Currently users can browse issues and <a href="https://historysoa.com/items/browse?search=&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bjoiner%5D=and&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Index&amp;collection=&amp;type=&amp;tags=&amp;exhibit=&amp;date_search_term=&amp;submit_search=Search+For+Items&amp;sort_field=Dublin+Core%2CTitle">indices</a> (not available for all volumes). Full text search for all issues, and other additional search functionality, will be added in 2022. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1890–1914 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context The-Author-Issues Publication Date The date of an event (in YYYY, YYYY-MM or YYYY-MM-DD format) 1899-08-01 Volume 10 Issue 3 Pages Page range in volume 57–76 Ngram Date Version of the date in YYYYMMDD format for use by the Ngram plugin 18990801 Ngram Text Version of the text with no HTML formatting for use by the Ngram plugin The Hutbor. (The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly.) COMOCUCTED BY WALTER BESANT. Vou. X.—No. 3.] AUGUST 1, 1899. [Prick 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. Sos hee 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 of 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. Po GENERAL MEMORANDA. ERE are a few standing rules to be observed in an agreement. There are three methods of dealing with literary property :— I. THAT OF SELLING IT OUTRIGHT. This is in some respects the most satisfactory, if a proper price can be obtained. But the transaction should be managed by a competent agent. Il. A PROFIT-SHARING AGREEMENT. In this case the following rules should be attended to : (1.) Not to sign any agreement in which the cost of pro- duction forms a part. (2.) Not to give the publisher the power of putting the profits into his own pocket by charging for advertisements in his own organs: or by charging exchange advertise- ments. (3.) Not to allow a special charge for “ office expenses,” unless the same allowance is made to the author. (4.) Not to give up American, Colonial, or Continental rights. (5.) Not to give up serial or translation rights. (6.) Not to bind yourself for future work to any publisher. VOL. X. As well bind yourself for the future to any one solicitor or doctor ! (7.) To stamp the agreement. Ill. THE ROYALTY SYSTEM. It is above all things necessary to know what the proposed royalty means to both sides. It is now possible for an author to ascertain approximately and very nearly the truth. From time to time the very important figures connected with royalties are published in The Author. Readers can also work out the figures themselves from the “Cost of Production.” The four main points which the Society has always demanded from the outset are :— (1.) That both sides shall know what an agreement means. (2.) The inspection of those account books which belong 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 there shall be no charge for advertisements in the publisher’s own organs and none for exchanged advertisements. eK HOW TO USE THE SOCIETY. ie By wa member has a right to ask for and to receive 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 Committee will obtain for him Counsel’s opinion. All this without any cost to the member. 2. Remember that questions connected with copyright and publisher’s agreements do not generally fall within the experience of ordinary solicitors. Therefore, do not scruple to use the Society. 3. Send to the Office copies of past agreements and past accounts with the loan of the books represented. The Secretary will always be glad to have any agreements, new or old, for inspection and note. The information thus obtained may prove invaluable. 4. Before signing any agreement whatever, send the pro- posed document to the Society for examination. 5. Remember always that in belonging to the Society you are fighting the battles of other writers, even if you are F 2 58 THE AUTHOR. reaping no benefit to yourself, and that you are advancing the best interests of literature in promoting the indepen- dence of the writer. 2 6. 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 enforce payments due according to agreements. THE READING BRANCH. A EMBERS will greatly assist the Society in this branch of their work by informing young writers of Their MSS. can be read and treated The Readers are The fee is one its existence. as a composition is treated by a coach. writers of competence and experience. guinea. NOTICES. HE 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. Communications for The Author should be addressed to the Offices of the Society, 4, Portugal-street, Lincoln’s-inn Fields, W.C., and should reach the Editor not later than the 21st of each month. All persons engaged in literary work of any kind, whether members of the Society or not, are invited to communicate to the Editor any points connected with their work which it would be advisable in the general interest to publish. The present location of the Authors’ Club is at 3, White- hall-court, Charing Cross. Address the Secretary for information, rules of admission, &c. LITERARY PROPERTY. I.—In TERNATIONAL LITERARY AND ARTISTIC ConGREss. “ E DROIT D’AUTEUR” publishes the folowing programme for the twenty- first congress of the “ Association Litté- raire et Artistique,’ which is to take place at Heidelburg in September next, commencing on the 23rd, and concluding on the 30th. 1. The author’s moral right in his production : MM. Lermina, Mack, Maillard, Vaunois. (a) The right of any author of an intellectual work to establish his prerogative of author, and to take legal proceedings against any persons appropriating the credit of the work. (6) His right to interdict reproduction of his work in any form except by his consent. Can an author’s creditors offer the right of reproduction for sale P (c) Right of the author who has assigned his work to compel regard for his right as author to oppose the assignee’s reproducing or exhibiting the work in any modified or altered form, or his making any use of the work not stipulated in the contract. (d) Right of the executors or heirs of the author to compel regard for the author’s moral rights. Power of the tribunal to compel respect for the work, even against the heirs, and after the work has become public property. 2. Protection of inlaid work: M. Soleau. 3. Reports on jurisprudence, state of public opinion, and legislative proceedings in different countries. (a) Report on the new German law. Examina- tion of the principal reforms to be desired: M- Osterrieth. (6) Condition of the preparatory labours of the English law: M. Iselin. (c) Proposed reform of Italian law: M. Armar. (d) Projected Russian law: M. Halpérine- Karminsky. (e) Literary property in Roumania: M. Djuvara. (f) Literary property in the United States: M. Paul Ocker. Persons desiring to join in the conference should forward their names to M. Jules Lermina, perpetual secretary of the Association, Hétel des Sociétés Savantes, 28, Rue Serpents, a Paris. Il.—TxHE Burne ConveENTION. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Princi- pality of Montenegro has, by a memorandum of April 1, 1899, informed the Swiss Federal Council, in the name of his Government, that the Principality, for reasons of economy, withdraws from the International Union for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works created by the Convention of Sept. 9, 1886. According to the terms of the 2oth article of the Convention, the Convention will remain in force in the Principality of Montenegro until the expiration of one year from the date of the denunciation, that is to say, until April 1, 1900. The Swiss Federal Council has communicated this denunciation to the contracting countries by a circular dated May 15, 1899.—From Le Droit. d@ Auteur.  THE TII.—Copyrieut 1n Russta. Our Italian contemporary in J Diritti D’ Autore mentions that the Russian Imperial Commission for the revision of the copyright law is thinking of giving foreign authors a ten years’ copyright in translations of their works on condition that the translation into Russian is made within three years of the publication of the original work. TV.—Tue Srxpenny Nove. With reference to the able note on the six- penny novel in the May number of The Author, will you allow me, as cne who has seen something of the matter from the trade side, to suggest that the price at which new novels shall be issued could be promptly settled by united action on the part of the heads of the literary profes- sion? A publisher who makes fiction a feature of his lists cannot make o/d standard works his staple. By old standard works, I mean novels which still have life in them, as non-copyright works, after an existence of forty years or more as copyright works. If he wants to issue new copyright novels at sixpence, he can only do so (1) by purchasing the copyright outright, or (2) by getting the author to accept a royalty on the sixpenny form. As to purchasing the copy- right outright, it is notorious that, except in very rare instances, a novel, the copyright of which can be purchased for £20 or so, has not a poten- tial sale behind it of sufficient copies to make a sixpenny edition pay; and if a publisher pur- chases outright the copyright of new novels by prominent writers for payments of £750 to £2000, say, he will have made the sixpenny edition so expensive to himself that only fabulous sales will secure him a profit. No advertisement revenue that is likely to accrue on the large majority of new novels would set the balance right. But a publisher who makes fiction a staple must come to the prominent writers, the writers whose books he can sell for certain, whose novels the public wants to read, As he cannot afford to purchase the copyright, he must try to get the author to take a royalty, if the sixpenny form is to be floated. This must mean a heavy loss to the author, as compared with the six-shilling system. To take a rough diagram of the situa- tion—Suppose that an author can sell 50,000 copies of a novel in six-shilling form, and that he gets only a shilling a copy on the published price (practically, of course, he gets much more) ; he will receive on sales £2500. If the novel were issued at sixpence, and the author got a penny a copy royalty, then—supposing that the cheaper price doubled his sales—he would on the sale of 100,000 copies receive £416 odd, and be a AUTHOR. 59 loser of over £2000 as compared with the six- shilling edition. Even if the lowered price trebled his sales—a big supposition—he would be a loser of well over £1500. Let us suppose an author commands a sale of 10,000 copies ; under the six-shilling arrangement (same figures as above) he gets £500—on a corresponding sixpenny arrangement (as above) he would only get £410dd. As for the author who sells 10,000 copies, not being so widely known or so widely popular as the author who sells 50,000 copies, the lowered price would not quicken or increase his sales so much. ‘Then there is a considerable number of writers, holding an excellent place in literature, whose novels sell 5000 to 6000. They would probably find their incomes gone and their MSS. unsaleable under the sixpenny régime. This will mean a real and severe loss to English art and letters if it is allowed to take place. If prominent authors, after carefully consider- ing their interests, determine that they do not intend to have their novels issued at 6d. (first edition), and so instruct their agents, the matter will soon settle itself. But one may safely take it for granted that the heads of the literary profession would not only consider their own financial interests in such a case but the interests of literature. Who is to publish the Walter Paters and Emily Brontés of the future? Unless such writers are able and willing to publish at their own expense, and go without remuneration, they will have silence enforced on them under the sixpenny régime. Their MSS. will be met with the fatal objec- tion that there is not probable sale enough in them to make a sixpenny edition profitable to any publisher, and thus a chain of writers of whom English people are justly proud will be broken, and one may reasonably fear that the man of the sixpenny shocker will arise in their stead. Of course, there are many educated men and. women who would like to buy new novels but cannot afford the six-shilling form. But these readers would buy the book because of its intrinsic worth, not because it was the newest thing published. Would not publication in sixpenny form two years after first publication meet their requirements in a satisfactory way ? Only a few novels continue to bear fruit in the shape of royalty on the six-shilling edition twenty-four months after first publication. If the cost of composition, &c., had. been met by a more expensive edition at first, perhaps a sixpenny edition might be issued after that lapse of time with satisfaction to everybody. Those who can and do afford to keep up a library subscription or to buy books in six-shilling form 60 would not wait two years in order to get them in sixpenny form; so the first and more expensive edition would not be interfered with by the later and cheaper edition. The book would get a revival, the intelligent reader with a small purse would have a chance of acquiring it, and the publisher would be able to work the potential profit of the book out in each form. Mo.LeEcvtLe. 2 ee PUBLISHERS’ DRAFT AGREEMENT. HE following draft form of royalty agree- ment is one of the forms issued by the Council of the Publishers’ Association, and submitted to and approved by Mr. Joseph Walton, Q.C., and Mr. Arthur Ingpen. It was published in The Author of July, 1898, but it has been thought necessary to re-issue it, together with the comments of the Secretary of the Society of Authors, as agreements con- taining some of the clauses have been placed on one or two occasions recently before the Secretary. There is Very little to add to the comments which then accompanied the agreement except to state that where the blanks have been left im the dratt form they have been generally filled up to the advantage of the publisher and to the disadvantage of the author. It is needless to state the amount of royalty inserted in sections a, b, c, of clause 4. Tn one case, however, where the royalty was only to be paid after a certain number of copies were sold, 10 per cent. was offered on all copies after the sale of 1500 copies. The sales never reached 1500. The author never received a royalty. If they reached 1400 the publisher made £100 to £120. If they went over 1500 he made only about £60. An agreement should always be drawn so that both parties should be equally interested in promotion of the sales. In section d the blank has been filled up by the word “ fifty per cent.,” thus showing, as often repeated, that for ordinary agency transactions the publisher takes 50 per cent. where the agent would take ten or fifteen! In clause 8 the copyright has generally been vested in the name of the publisher. A warning against this is given in the comments. In clause g the blanks have been filled up to the great dis- advantage of the author, giving the publisher, as put forward in the comments, a chance of retaining the author’s money for nearly eighteen months. There is no need to make other new comment onthe agreement. It is put forward again for the sake of a warning to authors. THE AUTHOR. Drarr Form or suacEsteD Royatty AGREE- MENT BETWEEN AUTHOR AND PUBLISHER, DRAWN UP BY THE COUNCIL oF THE PuB- LISHERS’ ASSOCIATION AND SUBMITTED TO AND APPROVED BY Mr. JosepH Watton, Q.C., anp Mr. Artuur R. Ineren. Royalty Agreement. Memoranpum or AGREEMENT made this day of between (hereinafter termed the Author) of the one part, and (hereinafter termed the Publisher) of the other part, whereby it is mutually agreed between the parties hereto for themselves and their respective executors, administrators, and assigns (or succes- sors, as the case may be), as follows :— 1. The Publisher shall at his own risk and expense, and with due diligence, produce and publish the work at present intituled b and use his best endeavours to sell the same. 2. The Author guarantees to the Publisher that the said work is in no way whatever a violation of any existing copyright, and that it contains nothing of a libellous or scandalous character, and that he will indemnify the Publisher from all suits, claims and proceedings, damages, and costs which may be made, taken, or incurred by or against him on the ground that the work is an infringement of copyright, or contains anything libellous or scandalous. 3. The Publisher shall during the legal term of copyright have the exclusive right of producing and publishing the work in the English language throughout the world. The Publisher shall have the entire control of the publication and sale and terms of sale of the book, and the Author shall not during the continuance of this agree- ment (without the consent of the Publisher) publish any abridgment, translation, or dramatised version of the work. 4. The Publisher agrees to pay the Author the following royalties, that is to say :— (a) A royalty of on the published price of all copies (13 being reckoned as 12 or 25 as 24, as the case may be) of the British edition sold beyond copies. (6) In the event of a cheaper edition bemg issued, a royalty of per cent. on the published price. (c) In the event of the Publisher disposing of copies or editions at a reduced rate for sale in the United States, or elsewhere, (d) In the event of the Publisher realising profits from the sale, with consent of the Author, of early sheets, serial or other  THE AUTHOR. 61 rights, or plates for production of the work in the United States, or elsewhere, or as remainders, a royalty of per cent. of the amount realised by such sale. or from claims for infringement of copy- right, a royalty of per cent. of the net amount of such protits remaining after deducting all expenses relating thereto. No royalties shall be paid on any copies given away for review or other purposes. 5. The Author agrees to revise the first, and. if necessary, to edit and revise every subsequent edition of the work, and from time to time to supply any new matter that may be needful to keep the work up to date. 6. The Author agrees that all costs of correc- tions and alterations in the proof sheets exceeding 25 per cent. of the cost of composition shall be deducted from the royalties payable to him. 7, In the event of the Author neglecting to revise an edition after due notice shall have been given to him, or in the event of the Author being unable to do so by reason of death or otherwise, the expense of revising and preparing each such future edition for press shall be borne by the Author, and shall be deducted from the royalties payable to him. 8. During the continuance of this agreement, the copyright of the work shall be vested in the who may be registered as the proprietor thereof accordingly. 9. The publisher shall make up the account annually to and deliver the same to the Author within months thereafter, and pay the balance due to the author on 10. If the publisher shall at the end of three years from the date of publication, or at any time thereafter, give notice to the author taat in his opinion the demand for the work has eased, or if the Publisher shall for six months after the work is out of print decline, or, after due notice, neglect to publish a new edition, then and in either of such cases, this agreement shall termi- nate, and, on the determination of this agreement in the above or any other manner, the right to print and publish the work shall revert to the Author, and the Author, if not then registered, shall be entitled to be registered as the proprietor thereof, and to purchase from the Publisher forth- with the plates or moulds and engravings (if any) produced specially for the work, at half-cost of production, and whatever copies the Publisher may have on hand at cost of production, and if the Author does not within three months pur- chase and pay for the said plates or moulds, engravings, and copies, the Publisher may at any time thereafter dispose of such plates or moulds, engravings, and copies, or melt the plates, paying to the author in lieu of royalties per cent. of the net proceeds of such sale. 11. If any difference shall arise between the Author and the Publisher touching the meaning of this agreement, or the rights or liabilities of the parties thereunder, the same shall be referred to the arbitration of two persons (one to be named by each party) or their umpire, in accordance with the provisions of the Arbitration Act, 1889. 12. The term “Publisher” throughout this agreement shall be deemed to include the person or persons or company for the time being carrying on the business of the said under as well its present as any future style, and the benefit of this agreement shall be transmissible accordingly. As witness the hands of the parties. CoMMENTS BY THE SECRETARY OF THE SOCIETY. Firstly, then, the parties to the agreement. “It is agreed for themselves, their respective administrators, executors, and assigns, or suc- cessors, as the case may be.” It is the greatest mistake for an author to contract with the executors, administrators, and assigns, or successors of a publisher. The con- tract is between principal and agent, and is a personal contract, and should be maintained as a personal contract. Supposing an author were dealing with one of the best publishing houses in England, and the partners of that publishing house, for some reason or other, desired to retire from the business; to clear up matters they might put up the contracts for sale by auction or otherwise. Under these circumstances an author might find the right to publish his work pur- chased by some enterprising tradesman, who would bring it out in a manner and form which would be utterly repulsive to the author, and he would have no means of stopping him; and the same thing might occur should a firm go bank- rupt. It is, therefore, a most dangerous thing to allow the agent who is dealing with the property to have a right to assign his agency. In Clause 1 the publisher undertakes to pro- duce the work with due diligence. These words, as far as they go, are satisfactory, but the clause is not nearly comprehensive enough. The follow- ing points are suggested for consideration: that a date ought to be fixed on or before which the book should be produced ; that the form in which the edition is to appear should also be stated, and the price at which it is to be sold to the public. 62 THE AUTHOR. Clause 2 may, on the whole, be passed, with the single exception of the words “incurred by.” Itis fair as between the parties that the publisher should be protected from all suits against him, but there is no reason why the author should indemnify him from all expenses incurred by him, as he might incur unnecessary expenses without the sanction of the author. There ought, therefore, to be some words of limitation by which the author has a voice in any action taken by the publisher. Clause 3.—It is difficult to deal with Clause 3 without, in fact, re-drafting the whole of the agreement, but it should be pointed out that the rights which the author is expected to transfer by this agreement include the rights of production in Tauchnitz formand in America. Such rights are generally left in the hands of an agent, and much better so than in the hands of publishers, for this reason—that a publisher does not,as a general rule, undertake the work of the literary agent; that his office is not to place literary work in other hands, but to produce literary work for the author; that work of this kind left in the hands of publishers is not likely to receive anything like the same atten- tion as it is if left in the hands of a literary agent ; that the publisher is the only person who gains by having control of this work, and that the author loses by leaving it in his hands. It should be further pointed out that the publisher does not anywhere in the agreement undertake to secure the American copyright for the author, nor even to do his best to obtain it. It may pay an English publisher better to sell sheets or stereos to America, and pay the author a royalty, as per Clause 4 (d), ‘of per cent. of the net amount of the profits remaining after deducting all ex- penses relating thereto.” It should be added, although no prices are stated in this agreement, that for this agency work, while the literary agent charges 10 per cent., the publisher actually asks from 30 to 50 per cent. ; out of a large series of agreements in my hands from all sorts and conditions of publishers the lowest charge for this literary agency business has been 25 per cent., and this only in one case. The last part of the clause is extraordinary. It seems astounding that the author should not be allowed to deal with the translation and dramati- sation of his own work without the consent of the publisher. An author must be mad to part with his dramatic rights, perhaps more important than all the rest put together. With regard to the question of abridgment even, it is not fair that the author should be bound not to abridge the work unless the publisher is reciprocally bound not to obtain an abridgment or to run any other technical work which is likely to conflict with the author’s. So far, this clause has been considered from the general point of view, but from the point of view of the writer of technical works, educational, medical, theological, &¢., &c., the clause is still more disastrous. Under no circumstances should a writer of technical books hand over to his publisher so large a right of publication. It should be limited, especially as to the number of the edition, giving, if the author thinks fit, an equitable right to produce further editions. A technical writer must keep the command of his work, must be able, if necessary, to alter, amend, amplify. He cannot do this with a free hand if he does not keep undivided control. The publishers’ answer will be: “ But this is provided for by Clauses 5 and 7.” But it is submitted that it is one thing for the author to have unfettered judgment, and another thing to be forced to revise at request of his publisher or see his work arbitrarily revised by another. Whilst considering this question, it should be mentioned that one of the peculiarities of publishers’ contracts is that in the case of technical works a clause is nearly always intro- duced conveying the copyright to the publisher. An agreement containing such a clause should never be signed by an author. Clause 4.—In Section (a) the royalty is to be paid thirteen copies as twelve or twenty-five as twenty-four. The alternative appears to be left wholly to the discretion of the publisher, who naturally will prefer to pay on thirteen as twelve. Royalties should never be calculated on this basis. All the royalty accounts put forward by the Authors’ Society have been (wrongly) reckoned on the basis that the royalty is paid on every copy sold, it having been previously taken into account in the Cost of Production that the publisher had to sell thirteen for twelve to the booksellers. This they do not really do, except they sell in quantities and a great many booksellers are unable to afford to buy in quantities; therefore, in taking the royalty to be paid as in Section (a), the publisher is not only profiting by the liberal estimates of the Society with regard to royalties, but is also endeavouring to take in an extra 8 per cent., and the extra amount on those copies, of which there are many, sold in less numbers than twelve. This fact should also be made clear, that some of the older and more reliable firms have never put forward in their agreement a clause on this basis, but have always paid on every copy. The clause is also drafted that the royalty should be paid on all copies sold beyond a certain number. This seems to imply that no book can afford to have a royalty paid on it from the beginning. Of course, this is not the case, but  THE when such an agreement is placed before an author as an equitable agreement, these points of equity should be clearly explained. If the royalty is to be paid after the sale of a certain number (generally such a number whose sale will cover the cost of production), then the author must take care (1) that a number beyond the number specified is printed ; (2) that he gets a proportionately higher royalty for foregoing it so long—e.g., he must then get 50 per cent. of the trade price. All royalty agreements should further have the royalty increasing with the sale if they cannot bear a high royalty from the beginning. A royalty increasing with the sale is certainly a fair arrangement as between author and publisher. Section (6.)—The issue of a cheap edition appears under this section, as, indeed, under the drafting of the whole agreement, to lie entirely with the publisher. This is by no means a satisfactory arrangement. Here, again, there is no proposed increasing royalty according to the number of the cheap edition sold. Section (c).—It is a common thing for the author to receive a share of the nett amount realised by the sale of remainders, but royalties as a general rule are paid on the published price of the sale of the book in the United States. An author should not allow such a loose clause to be in any agreement with the words “ copies or editions sold at a reduced rate should be subject to — per cent. of the amount realised on such sale.” Who is to decide what is a reduced rate? There are many different methods of selling books to the trade; many of these might be called books sold at a reduced rate. Under these cir- cumstances it is unfair to the author to obtain a share merely of the amount realised. Royalties must be paid always on the published price, except in the case of a remainder. Section (c) therefore should allow a share of the amount realised on bond fide remainder sales. The rest should be altered. The case of re- mainder sales should be distinguished with great care from the sale of books at reduced prices ; this clause cannot but tend to confuse the two issues. Section (d).—If the publisher is successful in doing the agency work stated in that section, it is fair that he should have 10 per cent. commis- sion on the returns, in accordance with the charges of all ordinary agents. He might also perhaps be fairly entitled to a 10 per cent. commission if he was mainly instrumental in recovering money for infringement of copyright. The balance would be paid to the author. The final section of clause 4 is a little vague. Of course, no royalty ought to be paid to the VOL. x, AUTHOR. 63 author on copies given away by him or sent for review, but the words “other purposes” might cover a good deal more than this, and are insuffi- ciently precise. Clause 5.—The wording of the fifth clause is not very satisfactory. In the case of technical works, to which a clause like this specially refers, the publishers should in the first instance be only given a right to publish a limited number of copies, and the author might in equity give him the option of producing further editions, subject to certain limitations. Under those circumstances the right to revise would lie within the author’s hands, as it should do with the creator of any work, who ought alone to have power to add or subtract from what he has already put before the world. This has all been explained when com- menting on Clause 3, but the principle is of such importance that it is worth while to repeat it. Clause 6.—The author is not safeguarded here. Could it not be provided that periodically (say weekly) during the printing the author be informed of the cost of corrections. He must in any case be informed what is the cost of com- position, and what is the connection between corrections and shillings. Clause 7 might, under certain circumstances— that is if the publisher has purchased the copy- right—be inserted in an agreement, but in the present form of royalty agreement it should be struck out. There is no need for it. Its imprac- ticability with regard to technical writers during their lifetime has been explained. Clause 8.—There is no need either for the insertion of clause 8. The copyright is the author’s, and must remain so. The clause is inserted evidently with the idea of the copyright being vested in the name of the publisher. This would be a mistake. : Clause 9, the account clause, is so beautifnlly vague that it is hardly worth while to comment upon it, except to point out that it is a mistake to have accounts made up annually delivered three months after they are made up, with the amounts due payable three months after this, making it possible for the publisher to retain the author’s money for nearly eighteen months. That is a common account clause amongst publishers, and no doubt they find it exceedingly useful to have the control of the author’s money for so long a period. The mere interest on such money would go a long way to pay the office expenses in a big office. But the inconvenience to the author, not to mention the danger of bankruptcy or similar contingencies to the firm, is very considerable. Clause 10. — The first part of clause 10 is certainly necessary for the protection of the author, as it would be very awkward supposing @  64 the publisher refused to produce the book when the author had a certain market for it. If, how- ever, as in the case of some educational works, the publisher desired still to maintain the control of the market, so as not to allow the author to republish a book in competition with one which the publisher had already before the public, it would be easy to evade the clause by having a few copies ready on hand. The latter part of the clause, however, could not possibly be equitable as between author and publisher. It is quite possible that the moulds and engravings might be so worn that they would not be worth half the cost of production, and the copies of the book that the publisher had on hand might not be worth the whole cost of production, as itis quite possible that they might have been damaged or otherwise defaced. If, therefore, the author refused to pur- chase the books at the cost of production on account of some damage that they had received, it would be possible for the author in reproducing the work with some other publisher to be under- sold. The author saould have the o.tion of taking over the stock and plates at a valuation. The danger, however, is not a very large one, as if the book was in such a condition that the author desired to bring out a new edition and the publisher did not, it would most probably argue that the book had very nearly reached the end of its sale, in which case there would most probably be only a few copies on hand. The danger, however, is one that should be guarded against. Clause 11 ought to be struck out, as, until a dispute arises, it is impossible to say whether it is a fit subject for arbitration ; besides, arbitration is more expensive than an action at law. Clause 12 should on no account stand. It is most important, as explained when discussing the parties to this agreement, that the contract should be a personal contract, and this point should always be before authors when signing agree- ments. They should under no circumstances allow such a clause to pass. This is a fair comment on the royalty agree- ment as it stands. Many suggestions might be made as to the insertion of various clauses, and the protection of the author on other points. But these are faults of omission, and the agree- ment has only been dealt with as regards the drafted clauses. It might be well to mention that some definite time should be fixed on, before which a publisher should not be allowed to make remainder sales. i i THE AUTHOR. PARIS NOTES. 5, Rue Chomel, Paris. NHE matinée Alfred de Musset, recently given 7 by the Bodiniére, was a great success. The poet par excellence of “l’amour, les femmes, et les fleurs” is still a living voice to the present generation. For over forty years the annual pilgrimage of his disciples to his tomb at Pére-Lachaise in the beginning of “le joli mois de mai” has been piously continued, and this year the tomb of the great Hugo is reported to have been honoured with less than half the number of the floral tributes deposited on that of Alfred de Musset. But Hugo died more than a quarter of a century later, so his admirers are content to read his works and temporarily forget his anniversary until Time’s mellow aureole has gilded his fame. Though Alfred de Musset’s last days were troubled by pecuniary cares (including the expenses of his own interment), the only thing he asked of his friends was “ a light shade” over his grave; and the willow which now casts over his last resting-place the “light shade” so pathetically requested was brought from Parana by a South American poet—Hilarip Escasubi by name—who cheerfully undertook the long voyage in order personally to fulfil the desire of the poet whose works he revered. Apropos of this fact may be mentioned the assertion that the poems of de Musset and the memoirs recently published by his old housekeeper, Adéle Colin, are reported to have had almost as wide a circulation among foreigners as among the poet’s own compatriots. M. Paul Deschanel, President of the Chamber of Deputies, has been elected to fill the vacant fautewl of M. Edouard Hervé. This is not the first time that the newly fledged Academi- cian has obtained the suffrages of the august body of which he is now a member. Eleven years ago a clever volume from his pen, entitled “Orateurs et Hommes d’Etat” (containing a series of studies on Frédéric II. and Bismarck, Fox and Pitt, Lord Grey, Talleyrand, Berryer and Glad- stone), was recompensed by the French Academy ; and the following year his interesting ‘“‘ Figures de Femmes,” containing appreciations of Mmes. d’Epinay, Necker, Récamier, &c., obtained the same honour. Despite the exigencies of his political career, M. Deschanel has found time since then to sign other valuable social and political works, including numerous _ historical, literary, and political articles which have prin- cipally appeared in the Journal des Deébats andthe Temps. Only two literary members of the Academy were absent on the occasion of his election, viz—M. Anatole France, who sent his  g . i f ae Sa 1f r re ti? 1 THE AUTHOR. excuses, and M. Henri Lavedan, who was elected a short time ago, but has not yet been officially received. The latter is reported to be writing a new play on irreproachably moral lines, as a sort of amende honorable for that exceedingly un- academical and successful comedy ‘Le Vieux Marcheur,” which was M. Lavedan’s first produc- tion after his accession to the dignity of an Immortal. Worst of all, the offending play was advertised on the theatrical posters with his new title of Academician appended to the author’s name. Whereupon it was decided in conclave that though any Immortal who desired was free to produce plays ad libitum, he was strictly for- bidden to parade his Olympian connection on the public hoardings. The death of M. Victor Cherbuliez places another fauteuil at the disposal of the Academy. The deceased writer was of the same creed as M. Pierre Loti, being one of the few Protestants who are members of the above assembly. The titles of his works are too numerous and well-known to require recapitulation here; and the numerous tributes paid to his memory by his most eminent contemporaries bear evidence of the high esteem in which he was held and which he so worthily merited. ‘‘ He was the originator of what is called the cosmopolitan novel,’ wrote de Meur- ville on the morrow of his death. ‘He was also an art critic in his esthetical studies, which revealed something more than a _ philosophy —a religion of the Beautiful after Ruskin’s pattern.” At the funeral ceremony M. Brunetieére declared that the name of Victor Cherbuliez would undoubtedly survive, since his place was already marked in the history of French litera- ture; while M. Marcel Prévost depicted Cher- buliez as the representative of the imaginative novel, and M. Emile Ollivier rendered eloquent testimony to the merits of the dead man, both in his private and public capacity. But though Cherbuliez was a writer of the first water, he was entirely lacking in the art of producing scenic effects. His theatrical début was most unfortunate, though his collaborator was no less a personage than the celebrated Henri Meilhac. His first play—‘ Samuel Brohl” by name—dramatised from one of his most successful novels, was unlucky from commencement to finish. Accepted by the manager of the Odéon towards the close of the year 1877, it was twice delayed on account of unpropitious outside events, only to be produced finally on the historical thirtieth of January which witnessed the election of M. Jules Grévy to the Presidency. A worse moment could scarcely have been chosen. The public, more interested in actual than fictitious events, passed the latest evening papers from 65 hand to hand, jeering at the tragic and remaining obstinately mute during the ludicrous incidents in the performance. Meanwhile the attitude of the two unhappy collaborators was characteristic. Henri Meilhac sat in a corner of the managerial sanctum, fixedly regarding an evening paper which he held upside down. At the conclusion of the first act he uttered a hollow moan; at the conclusion of the second he gave vent to despair- ing groans and extended himself full length on the ground, like a patient in an ambulance waggon; at the conclusion of the third—which was greeted by the public with the cries of a menagerie of wild animals—Meilhac was com- pletely overwhelmed, closed his eyes, clenched his hands, while drops of agonised perspiration beaded his brow; and at the conclusion of the fifth and last act he was picked up—inert, motion- less—and despatched home in a cab. Cherbuliez, on the contrary, supported the disaster with equanimity. Ensconced in a corner box, he had followed every movement of the recalcitrant public with a curious, almost an indifferent, eye. He bravely waited until the stormy finale, utter- ing no complaint, giving vent to no bitter word ; only, when the moment of withdrawal arrived, he politely accosted the disconsolate manager, requesting a renseignement. ‘“ Faites,” said Duquesnel, briefly. “ Dites-moi,” responded Cher- buliez, with imperturbable naiveté ; “est bien cela qu’on appelle une chute, n’est-ce pas ?” The editors of the Revue Blanche have under- taken a herculean task, being no less a work than the re-edition—as far as possible literally— of the world famous ‘“ Arabian Nights’ Tales,” the French “ Mille et une Nuits.” This publica- tion will extend over a period of five years, three volumes per year being given the public. Seven editions exist at the present time in the Arabic, of which the best and most correct is reported to be the Egyptian version of Boulak, which is the one adopted by Dr. Mardrus, the translator chosen by the Revue Blanche. The latter is an intelligent and highly educated young man, who is now following the profession of a doctor at Marseilles. His training for the task he has voluntarily undertaken commenced with his earliest years. “Iam no Syrian,” he recently wrote, in rectification of a journalistic error, “I am a true son of the city of Cairo, where my father and grandfather were born. And even for nourrice (beginning of the ‘Arabian Nights’ Tales’ in my childish eye!) I had a pure-blooded amber-hued Egyptian, whose finger tips were darkened with henna, and who wore a collar of turquoises round her neck to avert the evil eye, and silver bracelets on her ankles to conjure the witcherafts of the terrible Zar.” This auspicious 66 commencement of the future translator’s vocation was augmented by a liberal French education intermingled with prolonged sojournings in Arabia, and these two influences combined have rendered Dr. Mardrus the fittest man in Europe for satisfactorily concluding the arduous task he has already commenced. The first volume of the “ Mille et Une Nuits” has just been issued, and is (as all the succeeding volumes are intended to be) complete in itself, containing the narrative of the first twenty-four nights. “ Paris Intime ” (chez Flammarion) is the title of M. Adolphe Brisson’s new book. It deals with the ‘“dessous”’ of the political, dramatic, artistic, and literary life of Paris, and is written in the easy “causerie” style with which all who know M. Brisson’s works are familiar. The headings of the seven parts into which the book in question is divided give a fair idea of its contents; they are as follows, viz.: (1) Vieux Murs, Vielles Maisons; (2) Plein Air (Le Bois 4 cing heures du matin, Une Journée aux Courses) ; (3) Quelques Originaux ; (4) L’Académie et l’Ecole (Les Habits Verts, Bacheliers d’hier et d’aujourd’ hui, Souvenirs de Polytechnique) ; (5) Les Bienfaiteurs (Charité mondaine, Pour les inondés) ; (6) Paris en joie (Une nuit 4]Opéra, Soupeurs et soupeuses, Les Confetti) ; (7) L’Art et le Bibelot (Les Mystéres du Louvre, Les Petits Secrets du Salon, Les Coulisses de l’Hétel des Ventes). Each of the seven divisions are subdivided into chapters, several of whose titles are given in the above parenthesis. In short, this is a clever, entertain- ing book, well worthy the perusal of all interested in the varied phases of Parisian life. The Trades and the Muses have evidently renewed their medieval pact. The legend of Hans Sachs, the cobbler-bard of Nuremberg, has found its counterpart in our own days in the person of Jacques Lorrain, the cobbler-poet of Paris, who recently bade adieu to his humble booth in the Rue Du Sommerard to enter the College of Sainte Barbe as a substitute, in order to continue his literary studies unimpeded. Nor is this a solitary instance. Only a week or two ago the editorial sanctum of M. Brisson was invaded by a young man of resolute mien who brusquely announced himself as “ Hugéne Granger, déménageur.” The editor of the Annales was about to disavow any intention of changing his residence, when the young man promptly interposed : “I am not only a déménageur,” said. he; “I am also a poet,” and drawing a small, yellow volume from his pocket, he placed it in the editor’s hands and fled precipitately. The little volume was entitled “ Les Mis¢éreux,’” and several of the verses it contained were so rhythmically and THE AUTHOR. magisterially ¢roussés that M. Brisson gave it the foremost place in his weekly review, even while expressing his misgivings lest M. Hugene Granger had deceived him respecting his habitual occupa- tion. Meanwhile the publication of the “ Jeu de Massacre ” of M. André Barde, the talented young poet of the Tréteau de Tabarin, is attracting a good deal of attention. The critics emphatically declare him to be a poet with a future. For the benefit of the uninitiated we may mention that the Tréteau de Tabarin is scarcely a suitable place of recreation for a newly-married couple or the ubiquitous young person; and for the benefit of the curious we would further state that the young poet is a tall youth with a finely-cut mouth, pene- trating eyes, moustache “en pétarade,” beard “ en broussaille,” and hair in revolt. Serenely con- scious of his brilliant endowments, M. Barde disdains the idea of pleasing his readers; on the contrary, he flatly assures them that his is no book to flatter the fossil, or “le bourgeois solennel, le mufle, ou Jlimbécile,’’—which is certainly rather hard on the majority. In addition to the above noteworthy publica- tions of the month, we have a translation of the new novel of Mathilde Serao, the George Sand of Italy, entitled “ Sentinels, prenez garde a vous!”’ (chez Calmann Levy) ; ‘‘ Passage de Bédouins,”’ a stirring romance by Myriam Harry; “ Le Journal de Marguerite Plantin,”’ by Jean Berthe- roy (chez Armand Colin et Cie., Bibliothéque des romans pour les jeunes filles), of which we hope to say more anon; “La Bombarde,’ by Jean Richepin (chez Fasquelle, Bibliotheque Charpen- tier), containing over sixty exquisite tales in apparently impromptu verse; “Les Fleurs Amoureuses,” by Armand Silvestre (chez Ollen- dorf); ‘Notre Masque,’ by Michel Corday, which novel recently appeared as a serial in the columns of the Figaro; the seventh volume of the “Contemporains” series by Jules Lemaitre (chez Lecéne et Oudin) ‘“ L’Affaire Blaireau,” by Alphonse Allais; ‘Mensonges,” by Paul Bourget; ‘Les Sans-Galette,’” by Henry de- Fleurigny; “George Sand,’ by W. Karénine ; “ Bétes roses,” by Catulle Mendés; ‘“ La Renais- sance Catholique en Angleterre,’ by Thureau- Dangin ; “ Thomas Carlyle,” by E. Barthélemy; “Paysages et Paysans,” by M. Charlot; and a score of fictional efforts by minor authors. Darracorre Scorv.  me Re ae. sy ft & THE MR. MURRAY AND THE SOCIETY OF AUTHORS. CALLED attention in the last number of The Author to certain remarks and state- ments made by Mr. John Murray, Presi- dent of the Congress of Publishers. It will be remembered that he alleged that the Society had treated publishers as if they were one and all dishonest. I referred last month to a very simple refuta- tion of that assertion, viz., that contaimed in one of the warnings issued month by month for a long time in this paper. It seems, however, necessary to return to this unpleasant subject, in order to show more clearly what has been the position of the Society from the beginning in this respect. There are, in fact, a great many express and open denials of this charge to be found in all the publications of the Society. I would refer, first, to my own History of the Society from 1888-1892. I there say (p. 20) : “This being so, we were not at all surprised to find that frauds were being carried on very extensively. Not universally. We have always most carefully made that necessary reservation. We have been constantly accused—I shall be accused to-morrow most probably—of charging all publishers as a body with dishonesty. I say again, that five or six years ago, when we had acquired some knowledge of what was going on, we found—with this reservation carefully insisted upon —a wide-spread practice of fraudulent accounts.” This is surely clear enough. Can anyone want amore explicit statement that the Society does not lump all publishers up together in one charge of dishonesty ? T find, also, on looking back into the pages of The Author, that over and over again, aad year after year, either a protest has been recorded against the charge, or that a simple assertion of reservation or a separation of the dishonest pub- lisher from others has been openly and plainly stated. Most of these protests or disclaimers were made in reply to such allegations as that of Mr. Murray — allegations repeated again and again in the face of these protests. Thus in vol. I. I find no fewer than twelve such passages. In vol. II. thereare seven; in vol. III., eight; in yol. IV., two; in vol. V., four; in vol. VL, three; in vol. VIL, two; and in vol. VIII, two. Of all these reservations or disclaimers, I have in my hands a list which can be quoted in case of necessity, i.e., in case of having to take action in a court of law. There has not been AUTHOR. 6 a single year, therefore, since 1891 inclusive, when we have not been called upon to protest, over and over again, against this sweeping charge. What does it mean? so persistently repeated ? It may mean several thinzs: the reckless repe- tition of a mere rumour: the snatching up of the first stone to throw at a Society which exposes the facts of the case: the excuse to cover the fact that the speaker or writer has not offered the slightest assistance to the Society in bringing the truth to light. There may be other reasons. I do not ask for Mr. Murray’s motives. I merely state that he repeats a charge which has been over and over again met and denied in the publications of the Society. Now, the three main charges that we have mad against certain publishers are briefly these :— 1. The practice of taking secret profits. 2. The practice of charging advertisements not paid for. 3. The absence of any guarantee against dis- honesty, such as the right of audit. These charges are not made against the whole body of publishers, but always, as stated over and over again, with reservations of what we called “ honourable” houses. The Publishers’ Association have produced “model”? agreements, and they have held a congress with discussions on many points. We find in those “ models,’ which have been dissected by our Secretary, and in the discussions at their Congress, silence absolute upon these three points : (1) There is no word against secret profits On the other hand, the publishers claim the right in their agreements to make profit, in certain forms of agreement, on every single item. The per- centage is actually left blank, and not one word is said against secrecy or to denounce secret profits. (2) Not one word has been said against the charging of advertisements not paidfor. Yet the right of doing so simply confers upon the pub- lishers the power of putting everything in their own pockets! This cannot be denied. Yet, not one word ! (3) Not one word has been said about any guarantee against dishonesty: such as the right of audit. All these things, therefore, are passed over in silence by the committee of the Association, whose President is Mr. John Murray. Why is this statement reas 68 NOTES AND NEWS. Y correspondent ‘“X.,’’ whose letter may M be read on p. 70, speaks of one thing while I speak of another. By “ litera- ture” he means good work, work of literary worth. Now, in these columns we are not critics : we take the low line—it may be very low, but it is useful—of considering literary property alone, apart from literary worth. Now, literary pro- perty may exist quite independently of literary worth. The two things, as I have insisted upon over and over again, are not commensurable. You cannot estimate a poem by money: nor can you estimate the literary worth of a work by its commercial value. What I say is, that so many people—so many thousands, if you please—live by the Pen: and for the most part manage to live in comfort. My correspondent “ X.” speaks of “journalistic hack-work’’ with contempt. I do not despise journalism: no one despises journalism: I see nothing degrading in a man writing in newspapers. It is, on the other hand, a pride and a privilege to instruct the world on any subject on which one is qualified to speak by means of the daily, or weekly, or monthly Press. This is by no means always “the multiplying of flimsies ” ; or this and that in a “rag-bag”’ journal. I do not thik that any good is gained by con- cealing facts: Let the truth be known—al) the truth—about the Profession of the Pen. Part of the truth, at least, is the fact that a great many people do actually live by it. “X.” says that a great many do not. Well, that is another fact which must be taken into account. But in every profession there are a great many who fail. Great prizes will always attract competi- tion, and will always make success more difficult. But there are great prizes in the Profession of the Pen. Those who would live by the Pen must adapt themselves to circumstances, and take such work as offers. If they do this, as others do, they will probably find time enough to bring out the best that isin them. It may not prove to be popular work, yet it may be very good indeed. To be very good and yet not to be popular seems a hard fate. Perhaps, however, it may be but a passing phase. How long did George Meredith have to wait before he was fully recognised? Nay, we may well ask—how wide—how deep—is the recognition of this great writer to-day? Again, Walter Pater produced very fine work indeed, but he could not live by it. On the other hand there is the case of Louis Stevenson. It will not be denied that his work is good—very good. Yet he did succeed in gaining popularity: he did live THE AUTHOR. by his work: he did achieve the proof of popu- larity in a large and substantial income. <= The concluding remarks of “X.” about the failures of certain publishers do not concern the question, because if all publishers failed the great commerce of Literature would go on in other hands. But is Literature a profession? It is always said that anyone may come in without previous training or apprenticeship. Every year a new novelist arises: sometimes he stays: sometimes he goes up like a rocket, and so down again in obscurity. But who knows by what preliminary studies, reading, practice, he has qualified for the work? Poetry requires an enormous amount of practice and of study. No man suddenly becomes a poet, or a dramatist, or an essayist, or anything that is good. Literature, proper, is the work of industry and patience working with natural aptitude. It is true that a new writer does sometimes appear unexpectedly in special branches of experience and study. A man who has travelled widely and observed much: a man who knows Courts: a man who is a scholar in out-of-the-way subjects: a man who explains science in a popular manner, may come in at any time, and become at one step a literary man of good standing. But, you see, there has been preparation with experience. The average man of the street, with his average knowledge and his views of the world taken from the morning leaders, has no more chance of being received into the ranks of Literature than of being received into an orchestra at the opera. For which reasons, and others, [I call Literature a Pro- fession: I say that the Profession of the Pen maintains many thousands: that it may be pre- carious, but is no more precarious than other pro- fessions, that a young man would be wise not to try living by his Pen while he is feeling his way to such perfection as he is capable of attaining: and that with these broad facts before one it is no answer to say, “ Literature is precarious, because —look at mz!” I have had two or three other letters on the same subject, but none so impor- tant or so strong as that of “ X.,’”’ with whom I am most sorry not to be able to agree. I should like to call attention to a common practice, becoming daily more common, of inviting a company of literary men and women to give their opinion on certain subjects. These opinions, published all together, are supposed to carry weight. But they have to be put very briefly: the reasons and arguments cannot be  f THE AUTHOR. 69 marshalled: the opinion of an expert may be placed between those of two persons who know nothing about the subject: their opinions follow each other, sandwich fashion—Aye—no—Aye— no—the Ayes have it. Last week I received two such invitations. One was a request that ina brief paragraph I would give my opinion on the Christian religion. The second, that I would give my opinion on the Transvaal question. These invitations, of course, reduce the method to an absurdity. Should not men and women of letters hesitate before they plunge needlessly into any such controversy ? There are many things that even a poet may be supposed incapable of con- sidering—e.g., the Boer Question, on which we hear so many contradictory statements. Then, even if he does seem entitled to an opinion, what is it worth among a dozen others ? About once a quarter or so a suggestion is made by a correspondent that the Society might help contributors to magazines by publishing a table of the tariff or prices current paid for articles by the various magazines. The sugges- tion is based on the assumption that there is such a tariff for every magazine. If so, it is never allowed to appear. And there are the widest differences in payment for articles. Some time ago the contributor of a most important paper to what is supposed to be a leading monthly received for his paper, which was fifteen very full pages in length, the magnificent sum of £7 10s. He asked the Secretary’s advice. ‘“ You have no contract,” he said. “You might sue them for such a sum as you consider adequate. You would at least expose their meanness. But it would give you a great deal of trouble. Why not send back the cheque with the intimation that a mistake has been made?” He did so. By return of post there arrived a cheque for double the amount and an apology. I have known an article in a monthly rewarded with a single guinea. I have heard of articles in weekly penny papers paid for by shillings. But I have never known of any fixed tariff, or rate, or custom, or practice of a magazine or weekly. The best way—the only safe way—would be to state plainly that the MS. is offered for so much and can be left with the editor so long only, with stamps for return. Of course, if the editor does not like this method of transacting business, he will return the MS. I think that most editors would prefer conducting business in a practical and straightforward manner. He can make a proposal: if that is accepted the author cannot grumble: he can send back the MS.: the author cannot complain. Water Besant. A FABLE FOR AUTHORS. GOOSE owed money to the Fox, and at his solicitation insured her life in his favour with the Secretary Bird. Now, it chanced that besides doing her duty in the ordinary way, about once a year the Goose laid a golden egg. The Fox knew this, and so agreed that if she would give him the golden eggs one after another until his debt was satisfied he would not annoy her in any manner. All the other eggs the goose laid she ate, for only by so doing could she lay the precious golden eges once a year. But no sooner was the Fox secure in his assign- ment of the golden eggs than he laid claim to all the Goose’s other eggs, and threatened her direly with ferrets and weasels and vermin if she did not release them to him. For the Fox said to himself: ‘It will be a long time before the golden eggs amount to the sum of my claim, but whenever the silly goose dies—by starvation or otherwise—the Secretary Bird must discharge it in full.” Now, when the Goose saw the design of the Fox to do her to death, notwithstanding she was weak and exhausted through trying to lay for him golden eggs as large and as often as possible, she said to herself: “Bird, you deserve your name. Do you not see that you have insured your creditor so well that your death is more profitable to him than your life?” And taking advice of her misfortune, she flew up into the air and sailed away across the Tropic of Capri- corn. The Secretary Bird watched her flight, and, when she had disappeared, informed the Fox, saying, “My agreement with you is void, for behold your Goose has gone to parts unknown beyond the equator. I can take no more risks on her life.” “Oh, well,” said the Fox with a wry face, “if you won’t, you won’t. But no doubt I shall come out about even, after all, for the Goose comes of a long-lived breed, and is just such a poor, simple, honest creature that she will continue to lay me golden eggs, even in the sweet Hesperides.” But time passed, and one day the Fox confessed in vexation to the Secretary Bird: “I am indeed a victim of my own folly. Had I not been so pressing, the silly Goose would have striven to pay me, and, likely, died of the effort. Then you would have discharged my debt in full. But now, I have nothing, and cannot even sue my Goose.” And the Secretary Bird nodded. ALBION WineGAR TOURGEE. THE MR. BRYCE ON AUTHORSHIP. N | R. BRYCE, M.P., was the principal guest at a dinner given on July ro at the Authors’ Club. Lord Monkswell presided, and in proposing his health, said that of all men Mr. Bryce would be one of the best to send to South Africa at the present moment, on account of his well-known calmness. As an historian, Mr. Bryce’s peculiar excellence lay in his thoroughness and impar- tiality. Mr. Bryce, in reply, said he considered that literature was divided into three branches— journalism, poetry, and fiction. He could not claim to be a journalist, although he was once offered the editorship of a morning paper, and in the same way he could not pose as a poet, though he had a connection with it. No doubt the best thing was to write really good poetry, but the next best thing was not to publish it— (laughter)—and that distinction he was able to claim. As regarded fiction, he would own to having begun to write a novel, but he was waiting until the particular phase of public taste suited his particular novel, and then he would publish it —anonymously. No doubt he was expected to say something on the preseut state of English literature, but he thought that question was not worth discussing, because if people considered their own literature was in a bad way they certainly ought not to say so. At the present moment there was an immense demand for good and brilliant literature, but this did not have the slightest effect on the supply. He considered that it would be far better for publishers to issue cheaper books. Critics had completely changed. They were all authors themselves, and nearly all authors were critics, and their morality had risen considerably, for there was probably nut one who did not cut the leaves of a book before reviewing it. If there was a real danger in the future it was from the publishers and the public, and that was owing to the enormous public to be addressed. It was quite conceivable that the time would come when the public would be so impatient to have new works from an author who was appre- ciated that it would encourage him to produce hasty work and so lose his reputation. It would be a great pity if the blandishments of publishers should draw authors to come down from the high standard they had set themselves. Those who used the English tongue addressed a public twice or three times as large as those who wrote in any other language, and that public was always grow- ing.— Daily Chronicle. 7O pecs AUTHOR. LITERATURE AS A PROFESSION. YIR WALTER BESANT may be certain that no man of letters will ever attack him, least of all myself, and what I said about his optimism leading amateur authors astray as to the golden sands of the literary Pactolus had no tinge of bitterness in it. But I cannot help thinking he is wrong-in many points. And, first of all, Litera- ture (with a big L) ¢s a beggarly profession. Who with any tinge of the real stuff in him can make a living out of writing which is literature? It is idle to give as examples such an one as Tennyson, the bourgeois Chrysostom, who succeeded in touching the public by spoiling Sir Thomas Malory and not by his best work. What of our greatest, indeed our only real literary, novelist F Did he not have to eke out a living by reading for a publisher? No, very few can make a living out of good work. Even according to Sir Walter Besant, the best must scrape odd guineas by journalistic hack-work. The few who make four figures (mostly out of inferior novels) only accent the poverty of the rest. There is no pro- fession of literature. It is an abuse of the term to call it a profession. Hvery waiting barrister, every idle doctor, every half-pay captain, can come in and make a little out of writing. It would be rather rough on the barrister if every outsider with a tongue could cut into his work. Even if fifty writers make over a thousand a year, how mapy are writing for a living? I should like an estimate. The Royal Literary Fund may not have assisted many this year or last, but that is no gauge of the number who needed help. I remember a man whose name is known very well indeed having a column to himself in the Times the very morning he bought a red herring and cooked it over a scanty fire in his bedroom. One of our best writers half- starved himself for twelve years. I know this, as I was a great friend of his. Even now his income is a very precarious four hundred a year. All that Sir Walter Besant says about the number who live by the pen is beside the point. No one denies that many live by it. So do many live by the pick and shovel, and by the jemmy, for that matter. But is the writing of para- graphs, the multiplying of flimsies, the odd job in reviewing, the turnover in a weekly, the loathly interview in a rag-bag journal, Literature ? Why, then, Mr. Harmsworth is a Jupiter of Literature, and round the Sunday Sun are many awful planets. Publishers enter the trade, even more of them! That is not a proof that litera- ture is a paying profession surely. It proves nothing more than that out of the struggles of innumerable writers a living can be obtained by —  fag esl y q | Ot rit aw a8 OF 3 ‘ihe CHE ie ag 1 ot oh 9a rise | OE i: 48 i Ga Soe a Of age = good writer can make a fairly good income. THE AUTHOR. yet another publisher. It suggests that other publishers once did very well. But we know that the new publishers have cut terribly into the profits of the older firms. And if few go bank- rupt many get absorbed. How many publishing firms have disappeared lately? How many are known to be making nothing ? But all this is beside the point. In every club, says Sir Walter Besant, there are more yearly who attempt the-profession. Exactly so, and they attempt it mostly on the basis of an income of their own. Again, the gentleman with a little money, the captain on half pay, the out-o’-work barrister cut in to make their tailor’s bill. They do it, perhaps, but the professional writer suffers. In saying all this I do not mean to infer that these men should not write. But their doing so does not make writing a better business, but a worse one, for those who rely on it; and any- thing that encourages men and women to go into the literary ‘‘ scrimmage ” (for it is nothing but a fight) is harmful to them and us. It is idle for Sir Walter Besant to say he does not encourage the outsider. This paper of his in the June number of The Author is nothing but an encouragement through and through to any poor fool who fancies he has the gift of the pen. Certainly, as Sir Walter says, nothing has been said in The Author about any one person’s income, but that is nothing when the whole argu- ment has been again and again that any fairly For that is not true, and never has been true, and it looks as if it never would be true. In saying this I by no means rely only on my own experience. We all probably think we are better writers than we are, but even if I were the feeblest failure in English letters, I know where to put my hand on men of real literary eminence, some of whom do very little better and some very much worse. I did not say, nor did I mean, that Sir Walter Besant helped to draw those who had no literary aptitude into the “ Profession.” What I ventured to criticise him for was his encouragement to that really large body of clever people who can learn to write well, and after learning must only sap dis- appointment in a literary workhouse. ec AGE-END IDEAS. N misfortune Man is his own providence. Misfortune is the unlovely daughter of mis- understanding. : The highest fortune is founded on the deepest and widest understanding. ) One great enemy of understanding lies in vanity. 72 Vanity dies in shame of its own self-under standing. The very vainest fancy they have no vanity. Genius, love, or religion never made men mad ; but shams sometimes will. Genius is the saner element in any mind: love, the sanest essence of every soul. Religion and science may be reconciled by poetry. Sentiment without science has no body. Science without sentiment lias no soul. To satisfy most people is less a personal duty than a social expediency. The ideal sect consists of only one member— oneself. None ever reached the haven of Truth by making a head-pilot of Wish. Divine justice can have no victims, but human law must have many. Some Untruth may be of temporary use to dilute the oxygen of Truth. To The Perfect Being, Untruth and Wrong do not exist. Inner Nature may echo God: outer Nature must mirror Man. Man may favour uniformity: Nature must foster variety. Without variety, no vitality: without vitality, no Universe. There need be no more mystery in sex than in variety. The full interests of both sexes are indissolvably wedded. All human interests question. Lawyers cannot justify, nor priests sanctify, what Love has not made divine. here is no sex in slavery or in tyranny. The slave is the passive tyrant: the tyrant, the active slave. Whoso loves best ministers most. There is no inferior sex, and there are no equal souls. Marriage is the focus of all social reform—for good or for ill. Anarchism generally wants too Socialism usually wishes too much. Art helps mankind to feel, Science to think, Religion to will—wisely. The coming science is the Science of the Soul. Blessed are the practical, for they may regenerate the Earth. Thrice blessed are the poetical, for they must recreate the Universe. centre in the marriage little law: Finuay GLENELG.  72 THE AUTHOR. CORRESPONDENCE. I.—A Recanrarion. N “Be One and Nothing Else” I advised a I young author to stick to literature in spite of failure if he felt inspired thereto, and I added, of course in a vein of boastful anticipation, “it remains to be seen whether I shall turn the corner this time myself.” Well, see how the circumstance alters the case! I have very decidedly not turned the corner ; in fact, I have received stronger evidence than ever before that I am no author in the publisher’s estimation ; and now the whole duty of the man who failed appears in my disillusioned eyes to be, earnestly to warn young authors not to stick to literature, but, after a few failures, to jump out of its decep- tive quagmire as quickly as possible and turn their hand to something more lucrative, such as bricklaying. I, for instance, have hugged myself in my blind hopes once more up to the brink of ruin, and am now working eleven hours a day carrying planks in a sawmill for £3 10s. a month and feeling myself, with my hands cut to pieces and my limbs as stiff as wood, to be for the first time in many years almost a man. It appears to me that a highly educated man who has spent his youth in vain dreams of literary fame is men- tally competent for nothing but the lowest form of manual labour, for which also he is manually least competent. It is therefore a dangerous flame to play with, this authorship ; nevertheless, by all means give it three years during the twenties, if unmarried. JULIAN CROSKEY. Ii.—Tue PusiisHers’ CONFERENCE. [ The third International Congress of Publishers was held at Stationers’ Hall on June 7, 8, and 9.| It has been amusing to hear these gentlemen talk! How one would delight to hear what they think. And if one could get the corporate con- science of some old firm to speak out, what rules of conduct should we hear! Iam reminded (by the fine upstanding virtue and nobility of some of these*publishers) that I had dealings with one of the best of them years ago, and I have some bitterness in me yet at the firm’s methods. Was it his method, or his firm’s corporate conscience- less method? You shall judge, you who sit in the judgment seat! But first, who that knows business does not know how the man and his body of servants may differ? Tradition rules the office; the careful manager and the cashier combine ; they are faith- ful to the name outside, and to the little god above, or in the big room at the back. They know (as many suspect) that most businesses — succeed in paying by the little bit they cheat or .. This means money in the aggregate; it means a fine success. _ overreach in every little transaction. ful business, and perhaps a yearly increment in salaries, a better holiday, an easier master. And — so to an example. the way the financial trading corporate conscience blows. , belonging to this firm, for so much copy at so mucha page. The copy was satisfactory, and was printed, and each month I got a cheque less by a guinea, or half a guinea, or ten shillings, — than my agreement called for. Had this happened once or twice only I might have thought it an error. But it happened over a series of eight articles, and I perceived a method init. “ Give him just a little less than his due and the poor devil won’t dare grumble, and on eight transactions we (our firm with its noble traditions) shall make about five pounds. And just imagine, brother, that we have five hundred other lots of cheques to draw out and pass and get signed! We (our noble firm of impeccable, unimpeachable honesty) shall net about £2500in the year. We have, indeed, done well, and are faithful servants.” Noble Publisher de te Fabula! But this is no mere fable.% x TII.—Contremporary HstTIMarEs. The last edition of “ Who’s Who” contains an enormous mass of information in a handy form, and at a most moderate price; but it may be questioned whether the selection of subjects has been altogether well inspired. The inclusion of the most obscure peers and baronets occupies valuable space and to no useful purpose. Some of these gentlemen are, of course, distinguished on other grounds than those of inherited title; but the great majority have no special claim to mention, and all that needs to be known of them can be found in easily accessible books of refer- ence—Whitaker’s “ Titled Persons” or Walford’s “Shilling Peerage.” But not only is this the case; the remaining space is most capriciously filled, writers of real importance and distinction being omitted, while Grub-street swarms as in & modern “ Dunciad.’”’ Some, at least, of our modern Concanens and Oldmixons have contributed their own records. K. H. IV.—“ Tue Exrravacant Dinner.” I quite agree with your other correspondents that the charge for a ticket at the Society’s dinner is far too high; at least, it effectually keeps away young writers who, like myself, are anxious to see It is nothing, only it shows a ie I made an agreement with the editor of  THE AUTHOR. 73 . «heir fellow members in the flesh, and to feel _»s:aemselves distantly akin to them in craft. Why «i a guinea charged? Is it that the Society ~sjaakes a profit on the dinner? Or is it to suit _ ol ae lordly tastes of the few “big men” who can f= fford the sum? The cost per head could not | vlourely be more than 3s. 6d. or 5s., if the dinner vere given at cost price. H. A. S. V.—Tue CasuaL ConrRIBUTOR. -. | I am glad that my letter has been noticed, as + he matter may, after all, be taken up seriously. -..9 For the information of those readers who do “= jot remember my words, I will explain that the » »art of my letter not quoted contained the gist of “. iy suggestion, ¢e., that an isolated unknown 4-,ontributor using business-like terms when ad- “ecressing an editor might give offence. By “seusiness-like terms I, of course, meant plain 1s peaking concerning pounds, shillings, and pence. »bul Judging from the courteous letters I receive 6 sorom editors, they possess a good deal of deli- ~/s'atesse, and I repeat that printed forms would Jnake things more satisfactory all round. Editors fould not object to anything so general, and ‘a¢ontributors would avoid the risk of future +“ mpleasantness. Jack IN-THE-Box. po BOOK TALK. Ly R. J. M. BARRIE has finished his new ( story, which is a sequel to “Sentimental x Tommy.” It will be called “ Tommy ) Ond Grizel.” if Mr. George Macaulay Trevelyan and Mr. . "glidgar Powell have almost completed a history ourolume, which will form an appendix to the _emryormer’s recent work entitled ‘England in the to Sige of Wycliffe.” This will consist of a collec- ‘© sion of unpublished documents, and will be called “1 The Peasants’ Rising and the Lollards.” te lessrs. Longmans, who will publish the work in elo} detober, have also in preparation “The History ‘J £ Lord Lytton’s Indian Administration, 1876- "28 880,” compiled by Lady Betty Balfour from ' @@yetters and official papers. » A development in providing cheap novels is | beaade by Mr. Grant Richards. This publisher is e-issuing at reduced prices a number of the 0oks published by him during the last two ears. Among these are “True Heart.” by Mr. ‘rederic Breton; “ The Cattleman,” by Mr. G. B. Surgin ; “The Actor-Manager,” by Mr. Leonard lerrick; “Wives in Exile,’ by Mr. William Sharp; and “An African Millionaire,” by Mr. Grant Allen. Mr. H. Rider Haggard’s commonplace book for 1898, entitled “The Farmer's Year,” will be pub- lished in October by Messrs. Longmans. Mr. Egerton Castle’s Temple Bar serial, “Young April,” will be published in October by Messrs. Macmillan. Mr. Guy Boothby’s new novel, “ Love Made Manifest,” will be published immediately by Messrs. Ward, Lock and Co. This firm also will publish in the autumn a volume of short stories by Mrs. Clement Shorter. Mr. Edward A. FitzGerald has finished the record of his climbing and exploring expedition to South America, and the book will be published next month by Messrs. Methuen under the title “The Highest Andes.” Sir Edward Russell’s volume of Reminiscences will be published in the autumn by Mr. T. Fisher Unwin entitled “That Reminds Me.” Sir Edward Russell’s literary career began about 1860, and he has been the editor of the Liverpool Daily Post since 1869. Mr. Bolton King has completed the political history of Modern Italy which has been his principal occupation for ten years. In his pre- face he remarks that the eagerness of the Italians to publish everything, however trivial, that bears on the Revolution, reaches almost to a literary mania, but that Italian historians have not been successful in weaving the material into any very well-proportioned or readable whole. One of Mr. King’s aims is to make the re-birth of a noble and friendly nation better understood to English- men. His work, in two volumes, called “ A History of Italian Unity, 1814-1871,” will be published in September by Messrs. James Nisbet and Co. “The Tragedy of Parnell” is the title of Mr. T. P. O’Gonnor’s forthcoming volume which Messrs. Pearson will publish. It will be remem- bered that Mr. O’Connor strongly dissented from certain statements about himself which appeared in Mr. Barry O’Brien’s biography of the late Trish leader. A series of letters written from Spain by Lowell, while he was Minister there, to friends in America, has been edited by Mr. Joseph B. Gilder for publication shortly by Messrs. Putnam in a volume called “ Impressions of Spain.” A volume of letters to the Right Hon. John Hookham Frere, translator of Aristophanes, and one of the best known society men in London in the early years of the century, will be published  "4 THE AUTHOR. by Messrs. Nisbet. Canning, Pitt, Nelson, Cole- ridge, Southey, and Rossetti are some of the writers or subjects. Most of the letters were found in an old chest in a library. They are now edited by G. Festing. Mr. Henry James has been making a long stay in Italy this spring, but he will, according to present arrangements, leave Rome early this month for his house at Rye, from which the traces of the fire are being obliterated in his absence. Mr. Stephen Crane has just finished the novel on which he has been engaged since his return from Cuba. The book will probably not appear until next year, as the novel isto be published serially in the first instance. Messrs. George Bell and Sons are offering a set of fifty or of 100 volumes from Bohn’s Library at a reduced price, with a copy of ““Webster’s Dictionary ” to the bargain. Pur- chasers are allowed to make their own selection from among 800 volumes, and the books are delivered as soon as the first instalment of the price is paid. Mr. James Bowden is about to dispose of his publishing business, having aecepted the post of general manager of the Religious Tract Society. Mrs. Gertrude Atherton’s book of adventure for boys entitled ‘‘ The Valiant Runaways,” will be published in the autumn by Messrs. James Nisbet and Co., who also will publish Mrs. Meade’s new novel, ‘‘ All Sorts.” Mr. A. L. Baldry has written a book called “Sir John Everett Millais: His Art and Influ- ence,” in which he aims at supplying an account of the artist’s varied life as it may be read from his pictures. Some of these will be reproduced for the first time in the volume, which is to be in a style uniform with Mr. Malcolm Bell’s “ Sir HE. Burne-Jones.” Messrs. Greening and Co. will shortly publish a volume of humorous verse called ‘“ Bachelor Ballads,” by Harry A. Spurr, the author of “A Cockney in Arcadia.” Mr. Hassall, whose draw- ings were such a feature of the latter book, will supply fifty illustrations to the new one. Mr. H. G. Wells’s new book ‘ When the Sleeper Wakes,’ has three of the remarkable illustrations which accompanied its production in the Graphic. These are by M. Lanos, for whose benefit the work was translated into French. We are glad to hear that the first edition of Mr. W. B. Yeats’ new book, “The Wind in the Reeds,” is nearly exhausted, and a second edition is in active preparation. . only a few months ago retired from the positio OBITUARY. IR WILLIAM HENRY FLOWER, K.C. the Director of the Natural History Depart. ment of the British Museum, died London on July 1, aged sixty-seven years. Aft serving as assistant-surgeon to the 63rd ment in the Crimean War, he was appoin’ Demonstrator of Anatomy to Middlesex Hospit and in 1861 accepted the post of Curator of # Hunterian Museum of the Royal College Surgeons. In 1869 he became Hunterian Pi fessor of Comparative Anatomy, and in 1884 was appointed to the position he held at dea An authority on the horse, upon which wrote a book, he wrote several articles for ¢ “Encyclopedia Britannica,’ and among oth literary labours were his notable introductions “The Osteology of Mammalia” and ‘“ The St of Mammals, Living and Extinct.’ For twen years he was president of the Zoological Sociei and he presided at the 1889 meeting of the Briti Association. Dr. Richard Congreve, the well-known Pos vist, died at Hampstead, on July 5, at the age 80. Educated at Rugby under Dr. Arnold, a at Wadham College, Oxford, he afterwa embraced the tenets of Comte, and founded t first “Church of Humanity” in England. edited, in 1866, the work called ‘“ Internatio: Policy: Essays on the Foreign Relations England,” by himself, Messrs. Beesly, Bridg Harrison, and others; and in 1874 published volume of ‘Essays: Political, Social, and gious.” His literary works also included edition of “ Aristotle’s Politics,” ‘“‘ Human Ca’ licism,” and “The Worship of Humanity.” The deaths have also to be recorded of I Arthur Tennyson (born in 1814), a youn brother of the late Poet Laureate; Mr. Thackray Bunce, who edited the Birmingh Daily Post for over thirty-five years, and h the Bishop of Limerick (Dr. Charles Graves) well-known writer on antiquarian subjects; La Shelley ; Sir Alexander Armstrong, the explo Director-General of the Medical Department the Navy from 1869 to 1880, author of ° Personal Narrative of the Discovery of the Nor West Passage” and “ Observations on Na Hygiene”; and Professor Banister Fletch author of several works on architecture, ¢ struction, and sanitation.  THE BOOKS AND REVIEWS. .\: In these columns notes on books are given from reviews sich carry weight, and are not, so far as can be learned, s\irollers.) « 4) «He History or YippIsH LITERATURE IN THE NINE- - santo CunturRY, by Leo Wiener (Nimmo, gs. net), is ‘a sfs/aplete account of the whole curious literary movement “) cong the Russian Jews during the present century” fm teterature), with “a sufficient number of examples to sy ac? = ble the reader to judge the character and merits of this = [esnarkable phenomenon.” “Probably a majority of Mr. _ »seener’s readers,” says the Daily Chronicle, “ will find in » loo book an unexpected gratification, such as in these days te-seslose-gleaning literary industry one has little reason to Jeqiicipate from any author —nothing less than a new litera- ) ‘s) 9, full of life and beauty, and glowing with the fire of ‘latenistakable genius.” @.1FE AND LETTERS OF SIR JosEPH PRESTWICH, written | Gatibl edited by his wife (Blackwood, 21s.), is a work that will, Lod} s the Literary World, “at once command and long ‘a(sq@ Sain public attention and interest.” The chapters deal- o> dif with the antiquity of man, especially the visits to lie beville, and the famous ‘human jaw’ of the p'ace, the ‘ley .0t value of which as evidence has never been deter- usr Saed, will be read with keen interest by all who are efe-dents of science.” “This volume,’ says Literature, ‘efjontains an immense amount of matter interesting to sreologists, and is amiong the best biographies of a scientific ® 9yn we have seen for some time.” 191, JLIVER CROMWELL, by Samuel Rawson Gardiner (Goupil, > ot :.), from an artistic point of view “leaves nothing to ' soils desired,” says Literature. It makes accessible to the 4 lic a number of most interesting portraits, the majority ®* deinwhich are rarely seen. ‘“ From a literary point of view, “ibvet). Gardiner has never done anything so good,’ and “it id sthe highest merit of his enthusiastic eulogy that it has ‘2 Belvbled us to realise more clearly than ever” that Cromwell ov) 8 great in spite of his inconsistency. ‘‘ Except that it ¥6)"7 ora no index and no analysis of the ckapters, this book,” i (l sdi+a the Daily Chronicle, “is a model of what sucha man’s . ({deography ought to be.” \J074 SKETCHES AND Srupius in SourH Arrica, by W. J. = 111 sox Little (Isbister, 10s. 6d.) is “a bright and picturesque “i qiseription of a brief tour,” says the Guardian, adding ai os” vt “so far as Canon Knox Little describes his own experi- + 948 se and impressions he is pleasant, useful, and readable.” «#9 Times describes the author’s view as being “ that all si od in South Africa flows from Mr. Rhodes and all evil “| em President Kruger.” 00% eas Encuish Soutn Arrican’s Vinw oF THE SITUA- " . won, by Olive Schreiner (Hodder, 1s.), is described by the -2 mes as containing the view “that Kruger and all things Seeanating from Kruger are good, and that Rhodes and all ‘") Sengs emanating from Rhodes are bad.’ Considering the ook as an appeal for peace between Great Britain and the f8veansvaal, the Daily Chronicle says: “never has a writer euime genius spoken a more timely word, or with a better ©? @ase to serve.” “MGREMINISCENCES OF THE Kina or Rovmanta, edited _ 288 Sidney Whitman (Harpers, tos. 6d.), “apart from the a & that it puts before us an authentic account of a e rae, furesque and noble personality, with which we, in Eng- t +d at any rate, are all too unfamiliar,” forms, says the i itly Telegraph, ‘“‘ a most instructive record of the fortunes 96 the Balkan States in general, and of Roumania in parti- ‘iar, during a very critical period of their history.” ‘esterature describes the work as “excellently rendered 1) om the original German,” and adds that it ‘will prove a is is AUTHOR. 13 valuable contribution to the literature of European politics during the past generation.” Tur Heart or Astra, by F. H. Skrine and E. D. Ross, (Methuen, ros. 6d.) “ may be strongly recommended,” says the Daily News, “ to every student of Central Asian history and politics.” Beginning with a rapid sketch of the Greek period, it carries the reader through the successive eras of Abbasides, Samanides, Ghaznavides, Seljuks, Mongols, and the rest, to Russia’s first invasion, and her steady expansion to the year 1895. INDUSTRIAL CUBA, by Robert P. Porter (Putnam, 15s.), Mr. Porter was sent as Special Commissioner of the United States to report upon the commercial and indus- trial conditions of Cuba, and his book, says the Daily News, ‘“‘ will be a most valuable book of reference to all who study the Cuban question.” ‘‘ Mr. Porter takes a hopeful view of the prospects of the island,’ says the Spectator, and the volume is “ full of interesting descriptions and narratives.” JAPAN IN TRANSITION, by J. Stafford Ransome (Harpers, 16s.) summarises the impressions received by the author during his residence in Japan, and is, says the Daily News, “a readable, instructive, and thoroughly impartial study of the policy and progress of the Japanese since the war.” The Spectator commends the book for the many useful hints it gives to the traveller in Japan. THE Quest oF FaitH, by Thomas Bailey Saunders (Black, 7s. 6d.) consists of essays dealing in the main with the question of religious belief—with such aspects of it as have lately attracted notice. While they bring us to no positive result, says the Guardian, all the essays are vigorous and lucid, and “ they clear the ground and leave us in a better position for a healthy, unprejudiced study of the Christian religion.” ‘It is full of thought on every page,” says the Daily Telegraph, ‘and ought to be of the greatest service to those who wish to make a fresh start for themselves from the points of view reached by some of the latest workers in the fields of speculative thought.” Tae MeEssaAGE AND PosITION OF THE CHURCH OF ENG- LAND, by Arthur Galton (Paul, 3s. 6d.) “argues the case of the Anglican Church against Rome and Puritanism with considerable force,’ says the Spectator, and the author’s “ indictment of Roman practice is formidably vigorous.” WoRDSWORTH AND THE COLERIDGES, by Ellis Yarnall (Macmillan, 10s.) consists of the author’s reminiscences— covering seventy years—of Wordsworth, Macaulay, Charles Kingsley, Matthew Arnold, John Stuart Mill, and others, and is cordially recommended by Literature “to every reader who is interested in what alone is worthy to interest him in famous men of the past.” Napo.ron’s INVASION oF Russta, by Hereford B. George (Unwin, 12s. 6d.), is ‘a very clear and interesting narrative of the great campaign of 1812,” which, says Literature, “should be useful to all students of history, and not merely to the military specialist.’ ‘‘ With the minutest possible detail gathered laboriously from all possible sources at home, in France, in Russia, and in Germany,” says the Daily Telegraph, Mr. George “follows every movement of the army to Moscow.” The Daily Chronicle describes Mr. George as a writer “with a true historical method and a sense of proportion, as well as a knack of interesting the reader, and a style sufficiently picturesque.” ‘ He blows to atoms the last shred of the absurdity Napoleon so assiduously propagated, that the failure of the Russian campaign was due to the cold.” Tus Earty Mountvarnesrs, by Francis Gribble (Unwin, 21s.), is “ executed in a scholarly fashion,” says Literature, the survey beginning, in effect, with the date of the Deluge, and ending about 1834. ‘The book is, from its nature, to some extent addressed mainly to specialists, but Mr. Gribble has managed to flavour his mediwval stories with a  a6 sufficient spice of modern epigram to make it palatable to a wider public.” The Daily Telegraph says Mr. Gribble “ has limited himself in this excellent volume to recording explorations of the Alps, Pyrenees, and Apennines,” “ and the result is a volume which every one can read with pleasure and profit.” Wiup Lirr 1n THE HAmpsHIRE HiaHLANDs, by George B. Dewar (Dent, 7s. 6d. net). ‘Although the author,” says the Daily News, “not seldom calls upon us to admire with him some far-reaching view, he has less to say of broad effects than of the too often unconsidered details—the birds, the flowers, the insects—that, to every follower of old Gilbert White, add so very much to the pleasure of a country walk.” ‘The book is a very good specimen of its class,” says Literature, “as Mr. Dewar is not only a sportsman but loves Nature for its own sake, and is a scholar to boot.” HigHLAND Dress, ARMS, AND ORNAMENT, by Lord Archibald Campbell (Constable, 21s.), ‘contains much useful information for amateurs of Highland antiquities,” says the Times. “The author is thoroughly versed in his subjects, and notably he is a connoisseur in sword blades.”’ TwrELVvE Montus 1n KionprKe, by Robert C. Kirk (Heinemann, 6s.) is described by the Daily Chronicle as a plain matter-of-fact narrative by a most careful observer, whose “residence in the Yukon during the most eventful year of its history has supplied him with excellent material for a really useful and interesting volume.” Literature says it is “ written in an entertaining style, and interspersed with lively anecdotes concerning the vicissitudes of the miners’ fortunes.” Wits Zoua In ENGLAND, by Ernest Alfred Vizetelly (Chatto, 3s. 6d) isan “ amusing book” (Daily Chronicle) giving a rapid sketch of M. Zola’s adventures in England, and some hints of his observations on our manners and customs. It reads “like a very much up-to-date detective story,” says the Daily Telegraph. ’PosTLE Farm, by George Ford (Blackwood, 6s.) is “a clever, entertaining, and in some ways a beautiful story,” says the Daily Chronicle. ‘The characters, for the most part humble Devonshire peasants, are all individualised and all interesting.” Tan Hoonigan Nieuts, by Clarence Rook (Richards, 6s.) is the life and opinions of an impenitent London boy- criminal, whose character, says the Daily News, ‘as shown by his biographer, has, with all its drawbacks, a certain brutal frankness that is almost engaging. Mr. Rook has done his task skilfully and sympathetically —and his cockneyisms have a charming air of truth.” ‘“ The accounts of Young Alf’s crimes and exploits must, of course,’’ says the Daily Telegraph, “ bear a certain resemblance to each other, but the uniqueness of the point of view and the position of the raconteur render them unfailingly entertaining.” Tue ARCADIANS, by H. C. Minchin (Oxford: Blackwell, 3s. 6d.), “is not a novel,” says the Guardian, ‘nor an essay, nor is it a biography; yet it is something of all three, and leaves a peculiar and pleasant flavour on the mind.” Humour is kept in the same low key as the melancholy, and ‘there is in the book a suggestion of deeper thought than appears on the surface.” “The book is extremely slight,” observes the Daily Chronicle; “it is even ‘ frothy,’ if you will—but it is amusing.” Gintzs IncruBy, by W.E. Norris (Methuen, 6s.), says the Spectator, introduces readers to the usual polished circle in which Mr. Norris’s characters live and move. His hero is for a short time a City clerk. who in a few chapters is turned “into a poet and man of letters, whose future income is prophesied by a competent editor to be about to exceed £6000 a year.” “It is a pleasant, wholesome tale,” says the Daily Telegraph, with much sound sense, THE AUTHOR. -and in the same volume is a story which also gives “ and there is ‘a complete absence of those impossible people and incidents which some authors delight in creating.” : Tue Magic or THE Dxsert, by W. Smith-Williams (Blackwood, 6s.) has “charm and readability,” says the Spectator. The first half isa society novel of England, and afterwards of South-West Australia. This is “very well done,” but the second half, which is purely a novel of - adventure, is perhaps the more amusing; the fights, escapes and the adventures of every sort during the revola. tion in a little republic are what a schoolboy would “ripping.”’ At A WINTER’s FrRE, by Bernard Capes (Pearson, 6s,), is a volume of stories by “a conscious craftsman” (D. Chronicle), nearly every one of which “deals with portentous side of nature, with strange sights and so and physical cataclysms, and the culmination of many ig ghastly spectacle.” ‘To those who like ‘a grue’ in theip fiction, and who can appreciate felicity of phrase and disti tion of style,” the Daily News can recommend Mr. Capes’s new volame. i AN OBsTINATE ParisH, by M. L. Lord (Sidney Christian) (Unwin, 6s.), as a timely “novel with a purpose” will 4 thoroughly enjoyed, says the Spectator, by readers who — happen to be of Mr. Kensit’s way of thinking. “The book gives an account of the devastation created in a q country parish by a handsome young High Church vicar.’ Tur GREATER INCLINATION, by Edith Wharton (Lane, 6s.) is “a collection of stories,’ says Interature. “each one of which has to do with a crisis, a turning point, the entering of a door or the turning away from it.” “The book abounds in meditation upon the problems of life; : humour ; in dialogue which has the effect of spoken words; in knowledge both of the world and of books; in a knows ledge of women which, from a woman, might be expected and a knowledge of men to which a woman does not always attain.” RosaLBa, THE Story oF Hur DEVELOPMENT, by Oliv Pratt Rayner (Pearson, 6s.), “is a really clever and spirite bit of pseudo-autobiography, and one as daring and original as it is clever,” says the Literary World. “Certainly — Rosalba is the most genuine flesh and blood heroine we ha: encountered for a long while.” RicHaRD CaRvEL, by Winston Churchill (Macmillan, 68.), — a romance of the War of Independence, set partly in the © province of Maryland, partly in the London of the latter half of the eighteenth century, “is to be recommended,’ says the Daily News, “as an animated if not exciting record of a time pregnant with momentous issues. It is savoured with quiet humour, and it has the interest o character.” ‘ Worthiness and solidity,” says the Spectator, are the epithets by which it would be best described. : Mrs. Jim Barxer, by V. Fetherstonhaugh (Chap 6s.), is ‘ a pleasant little story of Canadian life ” (Spectator, amusing and vivid account of ranch life in Canada.” 1 author is congratulated on possessing “a decided gift interesting and lifelike character-drawing.” The Dai News says that the author’s knowledge of his subject, al his freshness and vigour of narrative, render the eminently readable. Mr. J. Eveleigh Nash, LITERARY AGENT, AMBERLEY HOUSE, NORFOLK STREET, STRAND, W.C. 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. 10 Issue 03 (August 1899) Subject The topic of the resource <em>The Author</em>, Vol. 10 Issue 03 (August 1899) Type The nature or genre of the resource Publication Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 1899-08-01-The-Author-10-3 publications The Author