https://historysoa.com/files/original/5/493/1904-05-01-The-Author-14-8.pdf 17731b9f5af5b993948274993e947ec9 PDF Text Text ���������������������������� Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Author Subject The topic of the resource <em>The Author</em> Description An account of the resource A digitised run of the Society of Authors' monthly periodical, <em>The Author</em>, 1890<span>–</span>1914, made available together for the first time.<br /><br />Currently users can browse issues and <a href="https://historysoa.com/items/browse?search=&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bjoiner%5D=and&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Index&amp;collection=&amp;type=&amp;tags=&amp;exhibit=&amp;date_search_term=&amp;submit_search=Search+For+Items&amp;sort_field=Dublin+Core%2CTitle">indices</a> (not available for all volumes). Full text search for all issues, and other additional search functionality, will be added in 2022. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1890–1914 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context The-Author-Issues Publication Date The date of an event (in YYYY, YYYY-MM or YYYY-MM-DD format) 1904-05-01 Volume 14 Issue 8 Pages Page range in volume 197–224 Ngram Date Version of the date in YYYYMMDD format for use by the Ngram plugin 19040501 Ngram Text Version of the text with no HTML formatting for use by the Ngram plugin Che Huthbor. (The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly.) FOUNDED BY SIR WALTER BESANT. Vou. XIV.—No. 8. May Ist, 1904. [Prick SIXPENCE. TELEPHONE NUMBER : 374 VICTORIA. TELEGRAPHIC ADDRESS : AUTORIDAD, LONDON. _—________¢ ~<—e —___—_- NOTICES. —+—<> + OR the opinions expressed in papers that are signed or initialled the authors alone are responsible. None of the papers or para- graphs must be taken as expressing the opinion of the Committee unless such is especially stated to be the case. Tue Editor begs to inform members of the Authors’ Society and other readers of The Author that the cases which are from time to time quoted in The Author are cases that have come before the notice or to the knowledge of the Secretary of the Society, and that those members of the Society who desire to have the names of the publishers concerned can obtain them on application. _ List of Members. Tue List of Members of the Society of Authors published October, 1902, at the price of 6d., and the elections from October, 1902, to July, 1903, as a supplemental list, at the price of 2d., can now be obtained at the offices of the Society. They will be sold to members or associates of the Society only. —_+—+—— The Pension Fund of the Society. Tx Trustees of the Pension Fund met at the Society’s Offices on the 19th of February, and having gone carefully into the accounts of the fund, decided to purchase £250 London and North Western 3 % Debenture Stock. Accordingly, the investments of the Pension Fund at present standing in the names of the Trustees are as follows. Vou. XIV. This is a statement of the actual stock; the money value can be easily worked out at the current price of the market :— Gorisols 24 96.5.2... .... £1000 0 O Local laosis: <...-..2--. 6.7...) 500 0 0 Victorian Government 3 % Consoli- dated Inscribed Stock .............-- War loan 3... ees London and North Western 3 % Deben- GUC SLOCK 00h ee 291 19 11 20k 9 8 250 0 0 Subscriptions from October, 1903. Nov. 18, Dec. 16, 1904. Jan. 6, Hills, Mrs. C. H. . Jan. 6, Crommelin, Miss . Jan. 8, Stevenson, Mrs. M. BE. . Jan. 16, Kilmarnock, The Lord . Feb. 5, Portman, Lionel . Feb. 11, Shipley, Miss Mary Mar. Diiring, Mrs. . : : Mar. Francis Claude de la Roche April18, Dixon, W. Scarth . April18, Bashford, Harry H. April19, Bosanquet, Eustace F. April23, Friswell, Miss Laura Hain Longe, Miss Julia. Trevor, Capt. Philip OS Oo 1 So or on SGCanmnocooocorooooo Se NDOOrn Donations from October, 19038. Oct. 27, Sturgis, Julian Nov. 2, Stanton, V.H. . Noy. 18, Benecke, Miss Ida. Nov. 23, Harraden, Miss Beatrice : Dec. Miniken, Miss Bertha M. M. . 1904. Jan. 4, Jan. 4, ooococo Moncrieff, A. R. Hope . Middlemas, Miss Jean . Jan. 4, Witherby, The Rev. C. . Jan. 6, Key, The Rey. S. Whittell Jan. 14, Bennett, Rev. W. K., D.D. Jan. 2, Roe, Mrs. Harcourt Feb. 11, Delaire, Miss Jeanne ee ooo co} THE AUTHOR. FROM THE COMMITTEE. 1 T the meeting of the Committee held on Wednesday, April 13th, at the Office of the Society, twenty-five members and associates were elected, making the elections for the current year one hundred and three. The recent steady increase in the Society’s numbers is well maintained. A suggestion was laid before the Committee that the Society should take up the additional duties of Authors’ agents. The Committee, after careful consideration rejected the proposal on the ground that to take such action would be contrary to the principles on which the Society was founded. Several members of the Society entered into contracts some years ago with a firm of publishers for the publication of certain works in a series which the firm stated it was their intention to issue. This series appears at present to be incom- plete. No accounts have been rendered and the firm asserts that under the existing agreements it is not liable either to render accounts or to pay anything. So far, accordingly, the members have received no remuneration for the works whichhave been published. The legal position is difficult and involved. The Committee decided to take Counsel’s opinion in order to ascertain whether it would not be possible, under the contracts, to force the firm in question to render accounts, and pay royalties on the books already issued. Since the last issue of The Author the Committee have taken further steps with regard to the infringe- ment of copyright in the case of Mr. Rudyard Kipling’s “ Barrack Room Ballads.” They have received an answer to the Report which was laid before the Chief Commissioner of the Police, and they have placed a full statement of the case in the hands of the Home Secretary. It is the intention of the Committee to take all the steps in their power to obtain an alteration in the existing law. The Report of the Copyright Sub-Committee on the United States Copyright Law was read to the Committee. It had already been forwarded, in accordance with the Committee’s former instruc- tions, to the American Copyright League. The Committee propose to print the Report in a future number of Zhe Author. There was one contentious matter before the Com- mittee, and they decided on the advice of the Society’s solicitors to take action against the publisher involved. 1 Cases. One of the county court cases taken in hand last month has been satisfactorily settled—the debt and costs were paid the day before the hearing. In another county court case which was placed in the hands of the Society’s solicitor, the money was paid and the matter settled before the summons was taken out. Ten cases have been in the secretary’s hands. Of these, two were for accounts, four: for money, and four for MSS. Prompt settlements have been the rule. The accounts have in one case been rendered, and will, doubtless, be rendered in the other case also, though the matter must be delayed owing to the fact that the demand is against a New York firm. In the four cases where money has been demanded, three claims have been satisfied, whilst the fourth is still waiting settlement. Two of the four cases for the return of MSS. have been settled, but in the other two—more recent—the issue is still open. Of the cases remaining in the hands of the secretary from former months there are only two unsettled, one of which for the cancellation of an agreement, is very nearly adjusted. There has been some correspondence, but the final arrangement has not yet been arrived at. In the other case the publisher has promised to forward the accounts which are in demand, but they have not yet come to hand. ES April Elections. Alliston, Norman . . Kamesburgh, Becken- ham, Kent. Daly’s Theatre. Education Office, Maritzburg, Natal. Barrington, Rutland Barnett, P. A. Bashford, Henry Howarth Bissett, J. L. ; : 80, Sherwell Street, Johannesburg, 8S. A. Nethercote, Colwyn Bay, North Wales. Woodsgate, Pembury, Tunbridge Wells. Vevey La Tour, Swit- zerland. Mount Hampstead. 41, Princes Square, W. 11, The Mount, York. 22, Grafton Street, W. Les Quenetens, Bar- riere Rouge, Pont de Briques, P. de C., France. St. Michael’s Vicarage, Burleigh Street, W.C. “ Seabreeze,” Netley Abbey, Hants. Aber Maw, Wimble- don, 8.W. Bolton, Miss Anna Bosanquet, Eustace F. (S. Ashton) : : Chesney, Major-General F. R. Chidell, E. F. (Viator) . 2, Vernon, Davidson, A.F.. Dixon, William Scarth Harcourt, R. Vernon Hight, G. A. . : Hunt, Rev. W. Henry Metcalfe, Ethel E. . : Myall, Mrs. Ambrose (Laura Hain Friswell)  15, Woodville Gardens, Ealing, W. 26, Rue du Mont Tha- bor, Paris. Oxenham, John Pavitt, A. (Saxo-Norman) Plunkett, The Right Hon. Sir Horace, 105, Mount Street, W. 37, Norfolk Square, W. Evening Mail Cham- bers, Nutchett Street, Bendigo, Australia. 27, Southampton Street, Strand, W.C. “Plasisaf” Caerwys, Flintshire. One member does not desire the publication of name or address. 9 K.C.V.0., F.RB.S., ete. Prideaux, Miss 8. T. Taylor, Charles E. Weymouth, Edward S. . Williams, E. C. BOOKS PUBLISHED BY MEMBERS OF THE SOCIETY. — (In the following list we do not propose to give more than the titles, prices, publishers, etc., of the books enumerated, with, in special cases, such particulars as may serve to explain the scope and purpose of the work. Members are requested to forward information which will enable the Editor to supply such particulars.) a ART. THe PHin May Fouio of Caricature Drawings and Sketches in Line Block, Half-Tone, and Photogravure. With a Biography. 17$ x 11, xv. + 245 pp. Thacker. £2 28. n. Greav Masters. Part XI. With Introduction by SIR MARTIN Conway. Heinemann. 5s. n. Great Masters. Part XII. With Introduction and Descriptive Text by Str MARTIN CONWAY. Heine- mann. 58. n. BIOGRAPHY. Kines AND QuEENS I HAVE VACARESCO. 9 X 5%, 320 pp. Harpers. 10s. 6d. New Lerrers or THOMAS CARLYLE. Edited and Anno- tated by ALEXANDER CARLYLE. Two Vols. 8% X 5%, xiii. + 326 + 359 pp. Lane. 25s. n. Str WiLtLIAM Henry Fiower, K.C.B., F.R.S., &c., late Director of the Natural History Museum, and President of the Royal Zoological Society. A Personal Memoir. By C. J. Cornisu, F.Z.S., author of “ The Naturalist on the Thames,” &c. 9 x 6,274 pp. Macmillan. 8s. 6d. n. Rosserr1.—By A.C. Benson. (English Men of Letters.) 745, 238 pp. Macmillan. 2s, n. Known. By HELENE BOOKS OF REFERENCE. THe STATESMAN’S YEAR-Book, 1904. Edited by J. Scorr Ketrte. Forty-first Annual Publication. 74 x 5, 1,398 pp. Macmillan. 10s. 6d. n. DRAMA. His PontricaAL Conscience. By HA,RoLxo. 2nd edition, 9 x 54,73 pp. Burleigh. 2s. 6d. n. THE AUTHOR. 199 ECONOMICS, FiscaAL Facts AND Fictions. By F. G, SHAw, F.G,.S., Assoc. M. Inst. C.E., &c. 83 X 54, 240)pp. Bailliere. 5s. n. FICTION. THE CELEBRITY AT Home. By VIOLET HUNT. 304 pp. Chapman and Hall. _ 6s. Wuat OvugHt SHE TO Do? By FLORENCE WARDEN. 73 x 5,311 pp. Chatto and Windus. 6s. Tatty. By EMILy PEARSON FINNEMORE. 304 pp. Hurst and Blackett. 3s. 6d. THe GAGE OF RED AND WHITE. By GRAHAM HOPE. 73 x 5, 323 pp. Smith, Elder. 6s. 73 x 5h, 7% x 54, Comin’ THRO’ THE RyE. By HELEN MATHERS. Popu- lar Edition. 7 X 5,437pp. Simpkin, Marshall. 1s. JOHNNY FoRTNIGHT. By EDEN PHILLPOTTS. (Cheap Edition.) 84 x 54,127 pp. Arrowsmith. 6d. THE MoNEyY-MakeER (Le Brasseur D?’Affaires). 3y GeEorGES OHNET. Translated by F. ROTHWELL. 72x5, 851 pp. Chatto and Windus. 6s. Ayuwin. By THEODORE WATTS - DUNTON. (The World’s Classics.) 6 X 4, xv. + 486 pp. Grant Richards. 1s. n. RuLeRs oF Kinas. By GERTRUDE ATHERTON. 7? X 5}, 358 pp. Macmillan. 6s. THe AMAZING VERDICT. By MARIE LEIGHTON. 73 X 54, 468 pp. Grant Richards. 6s. RANDAL OF RANDALHOLME. By AUSTIN CLARE. 7$ X 5, 341 pp. Chatto and Windus. 6s. 7 THE ORIGINAL WOMAN. By FRANKFORT MOORE. 343 pp. Hutchinson. 6s. THE FIGHT FOR THE Crown. By W.E. Norris. (Cheap Edition.) 84 x 53,120 pp. Seeley. 6d. “ SrpE SHows.” By HELEN MATHERS. Popular Edition. 74 X 4%, 245 pp. Simpkin Marshall. 1s. Nepo THE NAILER. By 8. BARING-GOULD. Edition.) 8% X 53,123 pp. Cassell. 6d. THE CourT OF SACHARISSA. A Midsummer Idyll. By HvuGH SHERINGHAM and NEVILL MEAKIN. 7%} X 5, 314 pp. Heinemann. _ 6s, ’ By SNARE oF Love. By A. W. MARCHMONT. 7} X 54, 375 pp. Ward, Lock. 6s. Mapr oF Money. By DoroTHEA GERARD. 7} X 54, 1= X 6, (Cheap 330 pp. Methuen. 6s ANNA, THE ADVENTURESS. By E. PHILLIPS OPPEN- HEIM. 7# X 5,320 pp. Ward, Lock. 6s. A DANGEROUS QU Long. 68. st. By F. E. Youne. 7? x 43, 319 pp. THe SANYASI. By F. E. PENNY. 7% X 5, 328 pp. Chatto and Windus. 6s. THe VINEYARD. By JOHN OLIveR HOBBES. 7% X 5, 376 pp. Unwin. 6s. e : URIAH THE HITTITE. By DoLF WYLLARDE. 7% X 4§, 307 pp. Heinemann. 6s. A THe SuccEssor.—By R. Pryce. 735,332 pp. Hutchin- son. 62. Happy THougutTs.—By Sir Francis C. BURNAND. 7x 4g, 244 pp. Bradbury, Agnew. 2s. 6d. n. A DEAD RECKONING.—By JOHN BLOUNDELLE BURTON. 725, 306 pp. White. 6s, PAULETTE D’EsterRE. By HAROLD VALLINGS. 7}X5, 307 pp. J. Long. 6s. HISTORY, INDIA IN THE VicTORIAN AGE.—By RomesH Dutt, C.1.E., Lecturer on Indian History at University College, London. 84 x 53.628 pp. Kegan Paul. 10s. 6d. A Hisrory oF SourH Arrica. From the First Settle- ment by the Dutch, 1652, to the Year 1903. By H. A. BRYDEN. 8 X 5,363 pp. Sands. 6s. 200 By ELIZABETH SocIAL LIFE UNDER THE STUARTS. Grant Richards. GopFREY. 93 x 53, xxiii. + 273 pp. 12s. 6d. n. LITERARY. THE DANTE SOCIETY LECTURES. Austin, H. J. CHAYTOR, and Others. The Athenzeum Press. 2s. 6d. Vol. I. By ALFRED 64 X 44, 241 pp. MUSIC, To MeEmoriIzE Music, with By C. Frep Kenyon. Numerous Musical How 7% X 54, 56 pp. Examples. Reeves. 1s. : OLIVET TO CALVARY CHURCH CANTATA for Lent. By J. H. Maunder. Novello. Ils, 6d. PAMPHLETS. THE FOUNDATIONS OF A NATIONAL DRAMA — A Lecture delivered by HENRY ARTHUR JONES at the Royal Institution, Albemarle Street, W., on Friday evening, March 18, 1904. Chiswick Press, POETRY, Porms.—By ST. JOHN Lucas. 73X5},127 pp. be. n. POLITICAL. THE New Far East. By A. Diosy, 83 X 53, xviii. + 368 pp. Cassell. 38. 6d. [ With brief new preface. | REPRINTS. THE HAMPSTEAD SHAKESPEARE. With THE LIFE OF SHAKESPEARE, by S. LEE. Four Vols. 7} x 54, 544+ 6444 666+xxvi.+495 pp. Finch. 21s. and 27s, n. SPORT. GREAT GOLFERS.—Their Methods at a Glance. BELDAM. 9 X 6, xxiv.+480 pp. 12s. 6d. n. FISHING HoLipAys.—By STEPHEN GWYNN. 299 pp. Macmillan. 7s. 6d. Constable 4th Edition. By G. W. 84x54, TRAVEL THE BALKANS FROM WITHIN.—By R. Wyon, 9 x 53 475 pp. Finch. 15s. n. 2 LITERARY, DRAMATIC, AND MUSICAL NOTES. ————+_. 7. Autobiography of Mr. Herbert Spencer has been published in 2 Vols. demy octavo, with his Portrait and other illustrations, at the price of 28s. net. Mr. Spencer himself, in the Preface, states as follows :— “Tt has seemed to me that a natural history of myself would be a useful accompaniment to the books which it has been the chief occupation of my life to write. In the following chapters I have attempted to give such a Natural History. That I have fully succeeded is not to be supposed, but perhaps I have succeeded partially. At any rate, one significant truth is made clear—that in the genesis of a system of thought the emotional nature is a ree factor, perhaps as large a factor as the intellectual nature.” THE AUTHOR. An American friend of Mr. Herbert Spencer, who has read the book, says :-— “Tt is as broad and many-sided as human experience, and the marvel and charm of it is its simple, straight- forward, and obvious truthfulness. It seems to me to exceed any of his former works in interest and practical value, and I have been a constant reader of his writings from their first publication in this country. Mr. Spencer’s supreme loyalty to truth and his native frankness have made his account of his life very open and unreserved. The report which was circulated in the St. James’ Gazette that Dr. Richard Garnett had written a play with Shakespeare as the leading character for production at a West End house is incorrect. We have Dr. Garnett’s authority for stating that he has written a play, which will shortly be published, founded on an incident in the life of Shakespeare, but it was written without any view to the stage, and the possibility of its performance has not yet been considered. Mr. Richard Pryce’s new book, “ The Successor,” has just been issued by Messrs. Hutchinson. If the subject—-an unspoken understanding between a husband and wife—is a little risky, the papers appear to acquit the author of any offence in the treatment. The exhaustive “Guide for Authors, Editors, Correctors of the Press, Compositors, and Typists,” on which Mr. F. Howard Collins has been working continuously for moresthan two years, and in which Mr. Herbert Spencer took a practical interest until prevented by ill-health, is now completely in type, and the revision well in hand. Among those who have read all the proofs may be mentioned Prof. Skeat, Mr. Henry Bradley (of the Oxford English Dictionary), Mr. Theo. L. De Vinne, of New York, the Oxford and Cambridge University Presses, some of the largest firms of English and Scotch Printers, and many members of the London Association of Correctors of the Press. Miss Constance Hill’s book “Juniper Hall,” with illustrations by Ellen G. Hill, has been published by Mr. John Lane at the price of £11s.net. It is a pleasant account, with some hitherto unpublished particulars, of certain French refugees, who lived for a time at Juniper Hall near Mickleham in Surrey, and it contains, incidentally, the story of the courtship and marriage of Fanny Burney, afterwards Madame D’Arblay. One of the expensive books of the season will be the forthcoming “Master of Game,” the oldest English hunting book, which singularly enough has hitherto remained unpublished. A modern text as well as the old one will be given. It is illustrated with 52 plates. President Roosevelt has written the Foreword for the American edition, but it will also be given in the English edition. His Majesty the King as well as the Prince of Wales  have become subscribers. Ballantyne, Hanson & Co. are publishing it for the editors, Mr. and Mrs. Baillie-Grohman. Ordinary copies £5, edition de luxe £30, of the latter only two remain unsubscribed. It will be out this month. - We are pleased to see that The Country Life Library of Sport, under the editorship of Mr. Horace G. Hutchinson, is slowly increasing. The books are demi-octavo, illustrated, bound in cloth, at the price of 12s. 6d. a copy. Cricket and Shooting have already been issued, and Fishing is about to appear. Mr. Hutchinson’s name is a sufficient guarantee for the accuracy of the works. The next volume in the Woburn Library pub- lished by Messrs. Hutchinson and Co. will be Mr. F. G. Aflalo’s work on “ British Salt Water Fishing.” This book, like all its predecessors in the series, will be iilustrated with coloured plates. Mr. Aflalo, as the former editor of “ The Encyclo- peedia of Sport,” is well known as a great authority on all fishing, but especially on sea fishing. Theatrical papers, like Ze Fra, have welcomed Mrs. Alec. T'weedie’s last volume, “ Behind the Footlights.” Messrs. Hutchinson are the publishers. The price is 18s. net. In Sicily, Mrs. Alec. Tweedie has found much material for a new volume, which she hopes to have ready for autumn publication. Edith C. Kenyon’s new serial, “ Rex Harley’s Stratagem,” will commence shortly in the columns of Woman’s Life. Her serial, “Two Girls in a Siege” is nearing its conclusion in Our Own Gazette. “Little Robin Grey,” by the same writer, is in the press, and “A Girl ina Thousand” by her will also be published in the autumn. Mr. James Blyth, the author of “ Juicy J oe,” has written a new novel, “Celibate Sarah.” Like its author’s first book, it treats of life in the marsh- lands and the question of the regeneration of the marsh people. Mr. Grant Richards published the book on April 20th. “ Oddities, Others and I,” is the title of a new book which Miss Henrietta Corkran has published through Messrs. Hutchinson & Co. The price is 16s. net. It is, as the title suggests, a revelation of the author herself, and her impressions of the people she has met. The same firm has also published Mr. Frankfort Moore’s new novel entitled ‘‘ The Original Woman.” It is a story of modern life with the element of witchcraft interwoven. He treats the ancient cult from the standpoint of the modern man of science. “ The White Causeway ” is the title of another work by Mr. Moore, the opening chapters of which will appear in the May number of 7'he Lady's Realm. ‘A second edition of Mr. W. H. Wilkins’ book, “A Queen of Tears,” has been issued by Messrs. Longmans and Co. at the price of 36s. THE AUTHOR. 201 Messrs. Longmans also announce the publication of a new romance entitled “‘Lychgate Hall,” by M. E. Francis (Mrs. Francis Blundell) at the price of 6s. “Qld Hendrik’s Tales,” by Capt. Arthur 0. Vaughan, is a collection of animal stories gathered by the author from the Hottentots during the recent Boer War. Messrs. Longmans and Co. are the publishers. A new novel, by the author who writes under the pseudonym of “ Airam,” entitled “ Rudderless Ships,” will be published shortly by Mr. Henry Drane, at the price of 6s. It is a novel with a purpose—its purpose being to endeavour to prevent the increase of insanity by deterring children whose parents have any taint of insanity from marrying. The author has for many years had much to do with the treatment of mental disorders, and has felt the necessity for some steps to be taken to prevent their increase. The Gentleman’s Magazine for April contains a Russian story, in four chapters—* A Painter of Shrines ”—by Robert Bowman. «The Padre,” by Rose Harrison (author of “Esther Alington’’) is a story which depicts the stress, storm, and triumph of human experience in a world of temptation. Mr. Grant Richards has published a new sensa- tional story by Marie Connor Leighton, entitled “The Amazing Verdict.” Mr. T. Werner Laurie, for many years manager to Mr. Fisher Unwin, will shortly commence publishing on his own account. His address till June 30th, is 11, Paternoster Buildings, H.C. Messrs. Smith, Elder & Co. have published a novel by his honour Judge Parry, entitled “ England’s Elizabeth.” Mr. Brimley Johnson has just published a new shilling edition (5th imprint) of “A Maid of the Manse,” by Mrs. E. Rentoul Esler. The book is excellently produced, in a tasteful paper cover. The new edition has a preface by the author. “The Shrine in the Garden.””—As applications are being made for this work, the Orient Press finds it necessary to state that its publication is unavoidably delayed. The book in question, which is a portion of the diary of a person recently deceased, is being kept back pending a legal decision in regard to certain matters with which it deals. Professor Lewis Campbell has edited a selection from the Poems of Thomas Campbell for inclusion in Messrs. Macmillan & Co.’s Golden Treasury Series. The poems are specially arranged for this issue, and a biographical and critical introduction is contributed by the editor. Mr. R. Mounteney Jephson, who has just 202 returned from the South of France, has been astonished to find his death reported in the Daily Chronicle. The paragraph referring to the republication in cheaper form of Mr. Jephson’s excellent story, “Tom Bulkeley,” stated that the Author died as recently as 1885, and that he had written eight or nine military and sporting novels. Mr. Jephson, we are glad to say, has returned from his stay abroad in the best of health, and is about to publish a new novel entitled “Froth.” The publisher is Mr. G. A. Morton, Edinburgh. The book is in two parts and written with a light en. = ?Op o’ my Thumb,” the one act play by Messrs. Frederick Fenn and Richard Pryce which was produced last month by the Stage Society has been bought by Mr. Frank Curzon for Miss Hilda Trevelyan, who made so great a success in the title-role. “Saturday to Monday,” by the same authors, was produced by Mr. George Alexander at the St. James’s Theatre, on April 14th. Mr. R. C. Carton’s new comedy, ‘The Rich Mrs. Repton,” was produced at The Duke of York’s Theatre, on Wednesday, April 20th. Miss Compton took the leading part. eg ae ge PARIS NOTES. —-—o— 1 —_ HE French Academy has awarded the Gobert Prize of 10,000 francs to the Marquis Pierre de Ségur for his work entitled “ Le maréchal de Luxembourg.” The second prize of 1,000 francs is awarded to M. Thouvenel for his works, “ Pages de Phistoire du second Empire ” (1854-1866) and “Trois années de la question d’Orient” (1856- 1859). The Thiers Prize of 3,000 francs for the encou- ragement of historical literature and research has been given to the Abbé Sicard for his book in three volumes, entitled, “ Ancien Clergé.”’ _ The Academy of Moral and Political Sciences has divided the Audiffred Prize between M. Henri Hauser, for a book on the teaching of Social Science; M. Piolet on “La France hors de France” ; M. Vast for his volume on “ PAlgérie et les colonies francaises,” and to M. Salaun for his work on ‘1’Indo-Chine.” The laureates of the Societé de Géographie are M. Sven-Hedin, who has been presented with the gold medal, the Capitaine Lenfant, M.M. Alfred Lacroix, Paul Pelet, Lieutenant Chédeville, Lieu- tenant Drot, Lieutenant Nieger, M. Bonnel de Mézieéres, the Commandant O. Barré. THE AUTHOR. “Force ennemie,” the novel by M. John-Antoine Nau, which has won for its author the first prize awarded by the Académie Goncourt, is a most remarkable book. It is supposed to be written by a madman who realises in his lucid moments that he is living in a private lunatic asylum. He gives an account of his coversations with his keeper, his doctor, and various inmates of the asylum. He analyses his own state of mind, discusses the various arrangements of the house, criticises the doctors, and describes in detail many of the inci- dents that take place. One of the other lunatics discusses with him their mental state and explains that the cause of their misfortune is the “ Force ennemie” within them. This idea haunts Veuly, and as time goes on he is convinced that it is true, and that he is “inhabited” by another creature who obliges him to do and say things entirely con- trary to his own inclinations. Unlike. Guy de Maupassant’s ‘‘ Horla,” this unwelcome guest is no second self, but a visitor from another planet, who introduces himself to Veuly by the name of “Kmdéhotn.” He informs his host that he had been waiting to find a human body to inhabit, and that he chose Veuly, because from one pole to the other he could never have found a man s0 easy- going, so wanting in energy, and altogether so weak-minded and imbecile. Veuly is not precisely flattered by this preference, and he is horrified at the thought that he can never again be alone, that whether he should wish it or not, from henceforth he must share every secret thought with this uncanny visitor. There is much unpleasant reading in the book, as the “ Force ennemie” induces Veuly to act entirely against his own judgment, so that he earns for himself a terrible reputation and can never succeed in explaining to the doctors that he is not responsible for his actions when under the influence of his unpleasant guest. The book is extremely curious and original, and the unplea- sant parts are relieved by the amusing conversations of the keeper. The author, who was comparatively unknown, has come to the front, thanks to the © Goncourt Prize, and his book is now in the seventh edition. : “Le Lac Noir,’ by M. Henri Bordeaux, is an entirely different book from anything to which this author has accustomed us. Once again the scene is laid in Savoy. The story turns on a trial for murder and the zeal of the lawyers employed in the case. The object of the book appears to be to give a psychological study of a conscientious lawyer and magistrate, and also to prove how much super- stition still exists among the peasant classes of Savoy. The whole volume is delightfully written, and the various characters live, but the story itself is gruesome.  THE AUTHOR. “La Vie Amoureuse de Francois Barbazanges,” by Marcelle Tinayre, is an exquisite picture of seventeenth century life in the quaint little town of Tulle. The authoress of “La Maison du Péché ” has given us another gem of literary workmanship. The story opens in 1673 with the birth of Francois. His father, M. Barbazanges, is devoted to astrology, and he at once studies the heavens in order to calculate his son’s horoscope. Francois grows up an imaginative boy with romantic ideas. Just as the hero of the “ Maison du Péché ” is steeped in religious traditions so Frangois is devoted to old- world romance. He grows up unlike other youths and is always in search of the ideal Jadye of his dreams. His various adventures on his way through life until he meets her take up the greater part of the volume. His strange meet- ing with his ideal woman, and his tragic fate are told in the final chapters. There is no strong plot to the story, and the charm of the book lies in the word-painting and the faithful evocation of the seventeenth century in provincial France. “Le Fléau,” by Gustave Guitton, is a book that might be read with profit in England as well as in France. It is a story of life in the working class, and shows the temptation which is placed in the way of the working-man in manufacturing districts by the drink shop, which is always so near to the factory. The author has taken the trouble to get statistics in proof of what he asserts. He tells us that in 1830 there were 281,000 public houses in France, that in 1899 there were 540,000, and that since that date there are 10,000 more. In this novel we follow a workman in his career and see how almost impossible it is for him to steer clear of the temptations with which he is beset. It isa tragic story and most pitiful as regards the hereditary taint in his children, When finally he is being tried for manslaughter his advocate boldly asserts that if his client should be condemned it would be unjust for the wealthy members of Parliament who have won _ their fortunes by his degradation to get off with no penalty. He declares that “drunkenness is a State institution, that through it the budget is ‘supplied with vast sums of money, that it is the source and foundation of many hundreds of huge fortunes, and that it is tacitly approved and encouraged by many members of Parliament, who are styled ‘ Honorable,’ and who are treated as honest men.” The book is well worth reading, as many facts are set forth which are worthy of con- sideration. Several interesting translations have appeared recently from various languages. Among these is “Le Troisitme Sexe,” by Ernst von Wolzogen, translated by the Prince B. Karageorgevitch. The translation is excellent, 203 and the book seems to gain rather than lose by its conversion into a more concise and elegant language. The “third sex’ is an admirable title, as without this definition one would be ata loss where to place the group of “creatures” described by the German author. Judging by this novel, one would imagine that just as in the “modern style” craze many of the German artists exaggerated the new idea until their designs were mere caricatures, so the “‘ New Woman” in German dress appears to be a carica- ture. Looked upon as a third sex she is merely a curiosity. We are introduced in this novel by M. von Wolzgen to the most extraordinary individuals. There is a doctoress of medicine and two sisters who are bankers, a she-lawyer, and then a group of the kind of men who can admire these specimens of the “ third sex.” Altogether the persons to whom one is introduced are not the kind one would care to know in real life, but meeting them in this way one is entertained by their conversation, their theories about life, their philosophy, their egotism, and, above all, their absurdities. The book is a clever satire and well worth reading, and, as we have already said, it is more readable in French than in the original. In the theatrical world the subject of a Theatrical Trust is once more being agitated. The Société des Auteurs dramatiques is very firm on this point, and will not hear of a “Trust” being formed. M. Deval, actor-manager of the Athénée, and M. Richemond, manager of the Folies Drama- tiques, have had great success with these two theatres. M. Roy, a banker, took over the lease of the Bonffes, and wished to be nominal manager of this theatre, with Messrs. Deval and Richemond to run it. The Société des Auteurs dramatiques objected to this arrangement, and a lawsuit is now going on between M. Roy and the Société. More recently M. Alphonse Franck, manager of the Gymnase, applied to M. Roy, and there was a plan formed for running this theatre on new lines. Once more the Société des Auteurs dramatiques has interfered. Another lawsuit is the consequence, so that M. Roy’s “ Theatre Trust” does not seem likely to succeed. M. Alfred Capus, President of the Committee of the Société des Auteurs dramatiques, explains that it would be against the interests of the authors and artistes to allow several theatres to be in the hands of one man. “The author’s rights,” he says, ‘‘the percentage on every performance exacted by the Société would be given up, a play would be bought for a fixed sum varying according to If the “ Trust” only the celebrity of the author.  204 THE AUTHOR. bought from these authors, what would then become of the others who are anxious to make a beginning ?” M. Deval and M. Richemond reply to this by quoting the words of M. Capus, who declares that “authors need artistic managers to control the theatres, and not directors of financial companies.” M. Deval then goes on to say that if authors want theatres at all for their pieces, they will have to sub- mit to having their theatres supported by financiers. As regards the author's rights, MM. Deval and Richemond declare that “ they are prepared to pay the same as the present contract with the Société exacts, 12 per cent. on the gross receipts and the 100 frances of billets de faveur for each performance.” They then go on to answer the other objections raised by the Société, and they propose that a clause should be added to the contract, stipu- lating that every year each theatre should be com- pelled to put on a piece by an author who either does not belong to the Société, or who has had no piece played for five years. It is very evident that the idea of this “Trust” is very tempting to the capitalists, but the Sociéte des Auteurs dramatiques holds the reins in France, and it does not consider that authors would gain much by following the example of Americans with regard to Theatre Trusts. It might be good for the few, but not for the majority, and as M. Capus is one of the most successful of French authors, one cannot help admiring the way in which he is fighting for his confreres. The great theatrical event is of course the new play at the Sarah Bernhardt Theatre. “ Varennes ” is a piece in six tableaux by MM. Lavedan and G. Lendtre. It is most admirably staged, and as regards the historical details it is well known that M. Lendtre is one of the greatest living authorities on this period. M. Sardou frequently consults him on any doubtful points of history, so that with M. Lendtre’s knowledge of the subject and M. Lavedan’s brilliant dialogue, the success of the literary side of the play was assured. Everyone was curious to see Madame Bernhardt in the réle of Marie Antoinette. She is admirable in her part, so admirable in fact that the great regret of everyone is that her réle is not enough. In the scenes where she does not appear there is a general feeling of disappointment—the other artistes are excellent, M. Magnier as Fersen, Mme. Dufréne as Mme. de Rochereux, M. Guy most amusing in his part; but the whole company cannot make up for the absence of Madame Sarah Bernhardt, and the spectators were inclined to blame the authors for causing them this disappointment. As regards the other theatres, “Le Retour de Jérusalem ” is certainly the greatest success of the season. At the Vaudeville “1’Esbroutfe” is still running, and at Antoine’s “ Oiseaux de Passage,” At the Gaité “a Montansier,” and at the Ambignu M. Pierre Decourcelle’s piece “ La Baillonnée ” ig a great success. At the Athenée, with the “ Prince Consort,” there is always a full house, and at the ThéAtre Victor Hugo M. Bour has put on “ Don Quichotte.” Atys HALLarp. a SPANISH NOTES. —-~>+—_ i T is difficult for English people to realise the important part played by the imagination in Spain. “' The King has lately issued a Royal Decree with respect to the celebration of the tri-centenary of the publication of “ Don Quixote” in May, 1905, which shows the place taken by that book in the hearts of the Spaniards. For this Royal Decree commands that a Committee be formed of the President of the Congress, the Ministers of State, War, Navy, and Public Instruction ; representatives of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando ; the Society of Authors and Artists; and the Scientific, Literary, and Artistic Atheneum of Madrid, with the Director of the National Library, etc., etc., to consider the best modes of doing honour to the great work of Cervantes in their different departments. “After the present Prime Minister questioned the right of a newspaper editor, who is a deputy, to publish the uncalled-for attacks consequent on his appointment of Sefior Nozaleda as Archbishop of Valencia, several telegrams purporting to come from the land of Shades were read aloud at the Press Banquet to give voice to the spirit of censure against Senor Maura ; and the other day one of the leading newspapers published a long discourse supposed to have been sent by Sagasta from the other world. ‘The Republicans who recently strove to start disloyal discourses in the public streets were quickly silenced, ana the speeches of such dissentients in the Congress as Canalejas, Moret,. Villaverde, etc., are more easily controverted than an attack from such an unassailable source as that of the deceased Prime Minister." Sagasta is sup- posed to mock at Seftor Maura’s ideal of making the Congress “the point of contact between the Crown and the country,” which he is hoping to: accomplish by the reform in the Parliamentary Elections whereby the deputies would be voted for at the public polls instead of being appointed by the ministers, which has been the custom since 1812. ‘This idea was first propounded in Colonel Figuerola Ferretti’s loyal Petition to his beloved. cd  sovereign on 3rd November, 1902.* Had Sagasta allowed the Petition to reach King Alfonzo, who is always anxious for the welfare of his country, the successive governments of Silvela and Villaverde would probably not have been so quickly over- thrown and the present one in such danger now, for it was respectfully suggested that a Provisional government composed of sections of each party with a Royal decree sanctioning the elections at the polls for a new government, would secure the adhesion to the Monarchists of those who waver to Republicanism from their despair of seeing this reform. Many members of a well-known London Club addressed Colonel Figuerola Ferretti a letter appreciative of a patriotism sincere enough to seek the consolidation of the monarchy even at a sacrifice, presumably only temporary, of his own position at Court. His “ Cantos de Espana” (giving the history of the Regency) breathe devotion to the King and Queen and present an interesting lyrical picture. Speaking of literature reminds me that Galdos, the great novelist and dramatist, has just produceda new drama in Madrid called “ El abuelo ” (the Grand- father) which is shortly to be performed in German in Berlin, Frankfort, Munich, and Vienna. Senor Linares Rivas-Astray (son of the government minister) has just given to the stage a striking picture of “high life” in Madrid, in a play called “ Aire de Fuera,” in which the well-known actress Sefiora Guerrero, wife of Senor Diaz de Mendoza, a grandee of Spain, takes the first part. Women also begin to rank as dramatists in Spain, for Senora Emilia Pardo Bazan’s piece at the theatre of the Princesa called ‘lia Suerte”? (Fate) was the one chosen for the Benefit of Maria Tubau. “Ta Catedral,” the last work of Blasco Ibanez, has now also excited great attention in Madrid, but the author’s Republican views detract from the interest of the féte given in his honour. The Spanish capital is looking forward with great enthusiasm to greeting the wife of Maurice Maeterlinck this month, for under her well-known name of Georgette Leblanc she is to play in her husband’s celebrated play of “ La Joyzelle” at one of the leading theatres. Music also claims much attention in Madrid just now. The daughter of the well-known pro- fessor Sefior Benaiges has shown great talent in her recent pianoforte recital, and Sauer’s concert was a great success, under the patronage of the Royal family. His Majesty King Alfonso has testified his appreciation of practical literary work in pre- senting Don Ezequiel Solana with the prize as the Oe * The Paris New York Herald of November 12th, 1902, applauded this movement. THE AUTHOR. 205 first teacher in Madrid; for this energetic director of a boys’ school has just published as the outcome of his two years’ travel and study, “A Manual of the Schools of Europe,” and two other Spanish books entitled respectively, “ Primary Education in Italy” (“ La Enseianza primaria en Italia”), and “Practical Guide to Manual Educative Work” (“Guia practica del trabajo manual educativo ”). The King’s trips into the provinces tend greatly to add to his popularity in the country, for not only was his important rencontre with the Emperor of Germany at Vigo preceded by most successful visits to Segovia and Toledo, but his time in Barcelona bids fair to dispel the shadow of separatism. The literary taste of Sefior Silvela (the late Prime Minister) is evidenced by the active part he took in the weekly conferences held at the charm- ing theatre of San Luis. On the one day he held forth on the life and character of Maria de Agreda, the potent counsellor of Philip IV., and on another his lecture on Beatrice Galindo, the governess and companion of Isabel I. of Spain, shows that he appreciates the power exercised in the past by the fair sex in his country. The Infanta Dona Maria de la Paz, sister of the late King Alfonso XII. and wife of Prince Louis Ferdinand of Bavaria, of world-wide reputation in the science of surgery, has recently published a charming little book called ‘* Mi Peregrinacion a Roma,” which gives a most interesting account of her visit to the “ Eternal City.” The wondrous churches and picture galleries are described in the poetic spirit characteristic of the Princess. Her emotion at the benediction of her children by the late Pope shows the fervour of her religious senti- ment, and her pleasure at again meeting Cardinal Rampolla, known to her in her youth as the Pope’s Nuncio in Madrid, and her enthusiasm at the sight of the Spanish pilgrims at St. Peter’s testify to her abiding love of her own country. The secretary of the royal authoress tells me that the book has just been translated into English by Frau Johanna Szeliuska. Echegaray’s new play “ La Desequilibriada”’ has excited great interest in Spain. The heroine, as the title shows, is an unbalanced character— unbalanced in her love which she sets against her admirer’s sense of honour in a matter of business ; so unbalanced in her hatred of her husband when she found that his subterfuge had won her as his wife, that she compassed his death ; and finally so unbalanced in her sense of maternal duty that she abandons her child for ever, leaving him in the care of her lover, from whom her remorse also separates her. Senor A. Palacio Valdés, well known in England by his novels, “ Froth,” “The Grandee,” and “The 206 Fourth Estate,” has added to his reputation by his last work, entitled “ La Aldea Perdida” (the Lost Hamlet). The sweet harmonious joys of a Spanish village, described from the experiences of the author’s own boyhood form a truly pastoral poem, but the romantic becomes tragic when the un- bridled passions of the new-comers who work the mines, cause the death of two of the four chief characters. When mentioning Galdos’s new play of “ El Abuelo,” which has created such a furore in Madrid by its masterly presentation of the force of the human passions and the superhuman power of gratitude, I should have added that the great novelist and dramatist has himself elicited that virtue by the generous way he has just devoted the rofits of his Benefit to the Chipiona Sanatorium for Sick Children. When Senor Picon, the well-known author of “Bl Enemigo” (the Enemy), declined the other day the invitation of the President of the Congress to make a speech, the newspaper called Hspana said the writer evidently wished to show that deeds are of more value than words, and in this Sefior Galdos has excelled. Percy Horspur. ———_————— 2 —__—_ LEGAL NOTES. +4 The Attempt to Maintain Net Prices in the State of New York. N important case for authors and publishers who place books upon the market within the state of New York has recently been decided by the New York Court of Appeals. It is one also which, owing to the principles involved, is of interest to those who do not publish books within the jurisdiction of the Court in question. The appellants sought to establish the legality under Chapter 690, laws 1899, New York, of a combination of publishers and book agents to keep up net prices, by refusing all dealings with retail booksellers who sold books published at a net price below that price, or who had any connection, either proved or suspected, with any such underselling. The combination had been declared unlawful in the court below and the Court of Appeal upheld this ruling by a majority of five judges to two. The act in question was passed : “To prevent monopolies in articles or commodities of common use and tojprohibit restraints of trade and commerce... .” And it provides that— “ Every contract agreement, arrangement or combination, whereby a monopoly in the manufacture production or sale in this state of any article or commodity of common use 1s THE AUTHOR. or may be created, established or maintained, or whereby competition in this state in the supply or price of any such article or commodity is or may be restrained or prevented, or whereby for the purpose of creating, establishing or maintaining a monopoly within this state of the manufac- ture, production or sale of any such article or commodity, the free pursuit in this state of any lawful business, trade or occupation is or may be restricted or prevented, is hereby declared to be against public policy, illegal and void.”’ Those alleged to have offended against this law were the American Publishers’ Association and others connected with the publishing business, representing about 90 per cent. of the book trade, and the complainants were R. H. Macy & Co., a firm conducting a “department store” in New York, in which they do a very large business and own a book department of considerable size. Messrs. Macy & Co.’s complaint alleged— “That during the year 1900 a number of prominent publishers, including defendants hereinbefore described as publishers for the purpose of securing to themselves an unreasonable and extortionate profit and at the same time with intent to prevent competition in the sale of books and for the purpose of establishing and maintaining the prices of all books published by them, or any of them, and all books dealt in by them, or any of them, and preventing com- petition in the sale thereof, unlawfully, illegally and con- trary to the public policy and the statutes of the state of New York . .. combined and associated themselves together ’’ etc. The methods used were further described thus : “ That as a part of said unlawful scheme and combination the members of said association agreed that such net copy- righted books, axd all other books, whether copyrighted or not, or whether published by them or not, should be sold by them to those booksellers only who would maintain the retail net price of such net copyrighted books for one year, and to those booksellers and jobbers only who would furthermore sell books [the word “ copyrighted ’’ is omitted at this point] at wholesale to no one known to them to cut or sell at a lower figure than such net retail price, or whose name would be given to them by the association as one who cut such prices.”’ In explaining and commenting upon the arrange- ment thus described Chief Justice Parker made the following observations : “It will be seen that while the leading object of this portion of the agreement apparently is to maintain the retail net price of copyrighted books, it operates in fact so as to prevent the sale of books to dealers who sell books of any kind to one who retails copyrighted books at less than the net retail price. “ And the agreement further provides that evidence shall not be required by the bookseller or jobber in order to restrain him from selling to one who has been blacklisted, but that all that shall be required to govern his action, and to prevent him from selling to such a person, shall be that the name has been given to him by the association as one who cuts such net prices. It has been admitted, and must be, that the agreement may be so worked out as to deprive a dealer from selling any books whatever, thus breaking up his business.’’ The actual carrying out of the agreement thus entered into was also referred to, and after  ® THE AUTHOR. reviewing its terms and the facts, which were not disputed, the learned chief justice held it to be an undertaking to interfere with the free pursuit of a lawful business in which any member of the com- munity was free to engage. He accordingly, with the assent of the judges who concurred with him, dismissed the appeal. In delivering a dissenting judgment of some length, Judge Gray pointed out that the agree- ment of the appellants only endeavoured to govern the sale of copyright books to be sold at net price, and not that of others. “The contract,’? he observed, ‘ did not extend to the copyrighted books other than by way of penalty, as the refusal to deal in them might be incidental to the refusal to deal with booksellers who would not co-operate in an agreement to maintain the net retail price of a copy- righted book. It is not unlawful for a person to refuse to deal with others as his judgment or fancy may impel him. His business is his own, and the only limitation upon his pursuit of it is that he shall not interfere with the legal rights of others. It seems to me that what he may law- fully do himself he may unite with others in doing, if of some common advantage.” The other dissentient judge, Judge Bartlett, followed the same line of argument; he asserted the right of the individual to trade with whom he pleased, and maintained that more than one might combine to do what one might do alone, adding that “The refusal to maintain trade relations with a given individual is an inherent right which every person in business may exercise for reasons which he deems sufficient, or for no reason whatever.” Judge Bartlett also made some pregnant obser- vations on the cutting of prices by big traders to the injury of small ones and of the trade generally, characterising the procedure adopted as one of the saddest phases of modern business life. “Tt is a well-known fact,’’ he said, “that the great department stores of the country have encroached upon many lines of trade entirely distinct from the main and legitimate business in which they are engaged. As an illustration, a dry goods establishment, engaged in selling a vast number of articles legitimately related to its busi- ness, concludes, in order to promote its principal trade, to offer for sale books, furniture, druggists’ sundries and numerous other articles that need not be mentioned, at cut prices, representing only the cost of production, and often- times far below it. The inevitable effect of this policy is to draw a large number of people to these establishments, and in the final result the dealer makes good his losses in the outside trade by the prices he obtains in his legitimate business. It may be fairly assumed that the general business is conducted at a profit. The result is a large number of the retail dealers in the various kinds of articles thus undersold are driven out of business, many of them at a time of life when they are unable to reinstate themselves in some other calling. It also results in great damage to manufacturers, pro- ducers, and wholesale dealers in loss of customers, who have been driven into insolvency.” 207 To this he added that no doubt the proprietors of department stores had a right to sell as cheaply as they pleased, or, indeed, to give away their goods to their customers, but that equally manu- facturers, producers, and wholesale dealers had a right to protect themselves by dealing or not dealing as they pleased, such a right being inci- dental to the right to exist and to act in self defence. With regard to this case it may be observed that the wording of the New York law as quoted appears to justify the finding of the New York Court of Appeals, although the principles laid down by the dissenting judges will commend themselves to many as being based upon justice and sound sense. In England, combinations alleged to be in restraint of trade have, from time to time, occupied the attention of the Courts. These have usually had todo with the relations between masters and workmen, and it was in a case of this kind (Allen . Flood, 1898, A.C. 1) that the law upon the subject was recently reviewed at great length. It seems impossible from the judgments in that case to conclude that a com- bination among publishers such as that which has been held illegal under the New York law could be successfully attacked by a bookseller under the Common Law of England. The opportunity, how- ever, is not likely to arise. The difficulty of com- bining and of organising the numerous units which make up the publishing trade in Great Britain and Ireland so as to drive out of the book trade all retailers suspected of disregarding net prices would be too great. In the State of New York it was possible to obtain the co-operation of 0 per cent. of the publishing houses, all unanimous in support- ing a policy of net prices. Similar efforts have been made in England, but not upon so compre- hensive a scale, and without such unanimity and without the power to crush or to injure seriously the trade of the recalcitrant bookseller, the action of only a limited number of publishers, even though they acted in unison, could hardly be open to the suggestion of illegality, or even of moral turpitude. There are two ways, moreover, in which an arrange- ment for the restraint of trade may be looked at. The agreement entered into may be void as between the parties to it, so that they cannot legally enforce it against one another, without being illegal so as to lay it open to attack from without. This, how- ever, may be described as a matter of legal detail. Attempts to bind down the retail dealer to a minimum price, below which he may not sell whether at a profit to himself or not, are not, of course, confined to the book trade. In any trade, how- ever, in England in which a large number of manu- facturers, both great and small, are engaged, it has been found difficult as a rule to secure the necessary unanimity and organisation. In the bicycle trade, 208 to quote a recent example, great efforts were at one time made to keep up prices, and retailers who did a large cash business in machines and in their accessories were ‘‘ boycotted’ or an endeavour was made to “ boycott” them by manufacturers, whose small customers naturally protested that they could not compete with the prices of their stronger rivals. Of the precise position of the matter at the present day I am not aware, but a considerable cheapening of everything has taken place, and I think I am right in saying that the artificial keeping up of prices by combination among manufacturers and wholesale distributors has been found impracticable. As to the conditions under which it is possible in the book trade, the Macy case in New York isa good example. : Only the questions of legality, and of the possibility of combination have been discussed in this article. The desirability of maintaining net prices, and of keeping up the price of books generally has not been gone into. It involves the consideration of whether such a policy would keep in the trade a greater number of small booksellers, while it curtailed the trade of bigger dealers, and this again would raise doubts as to whether the larger number of smaller dealers selling at higher prices or the smaller number of larger dealers selling at lower prices is the better condition for the author, for the publishers, and last but not least, for the reading public. These are interesting problems which have frequently been ventilated in the Author, and no doubt will continue to be so in the future. E, A, ARMSTRONG. <> ¢ THE LITERARY YEAR BOOK.* a General. HE “Literary Year Book” for 1904 is now a before the public. ‘his is the eighth year of issue. In the main features of this useful annual publication no alteration has been made, and, on the whole, the 1904 edition is an improvement on its predecessors. Like other works of reference its tendency is to increase in size, so that the editor may expect, before long, to be confronted by the necessity of omitting those parts which are least wanted. The “calendar” and “signs used in correcting proofs” could be easiest dispensed with, and the resumé, which occupies twenty-seven pages, might be considerably condensed. Nevertheless, * “Literary Year Book,’ 1904: George Allen, 5s. THE AUTHOR. rather than delete any feature or reduce the size of the type, it would be more serviceable were the book printed on thinner paper. Without increasing the bulk of the work, extra pages could then be added after the style of the “ Unique Manuscript Register” (A. J. Baynes, 441, Strand), on which the author could record conveniently an account of his year’s labours for future reference. The advan- tage of this to the “ Year Book” publisher would be, that the volume so used would not be lent, and each author would have to buy his own copy. To ensure a work of this character being gene- rally referred to, every list given ought to be as complete as possible. Turning to the ‘ Calendar”? we miss a record of the birthdays of the following well-known authors :—In January—Maria Edge- worth, R. Savage, Aikin, Bentley ; in February— Archbishop Whateley, Hallam the historian, About, Lowell, Grimm and Lover; in March—Manzoni ; April—Mme. de Staél and Froude; May—Le Sage, J. S. Mill and Lytton; July—Klopstock and Petrarch ; August—Fénélon; September—Chateau- briand, M. J. Daumas, Korner, Jane Taylor and Mrs. Hemans; October—S. T. Coleridge and Adelaide Procter; November—Hans Sachs and Shenstone ; December—E. Burritt, Mary Mitford, A. Cunningham and Samuel Smiles. The “Obituary” section has no note of the death of the eminent musical writer, H. J. Hipkins, author of the monumental ‘‘ Musical Instruments,” published by Black, the “ History of the Piano- forte” (Novello), and contributor of upwards of five hundred articles in Grove’s “ Dictionary of Music” and the “Encyclopedia Britannica.” Other names excluded from last year’s death list are Mrs. E. T. Cook, author of “The Bride’s Book,” ‘Highways and Byeways of London” (d. June 19); J. A. McNeill Whistler, author of the “Gentle Art of Making Enemies” (July 17) ; Wilfrid Cripps, C.B., F.S.A., author of “Old English Plate,” “Old French Plate,” (Oct. 26) ; James Innes Minchin, translator of Dante’s “Divine Comedy” (Jan. 13) and Richard Savage (Oct. 11). In the section devoted to “ Books of Reference” there is no mention of the “ World Directory of Music,” published by De Witt, Leipzig. Coming to “Authors,” when lesser lights are included, why are the following names overlooked ? Gilder, Joseph B., author of ‘‘Carnegie’s Gospel of Wealth,” ‘“Lowell’s Impressions of Spain,” &e.; Bruce, John Mitchell, author of much medical literature and assistant editor of Quain’s Dic- tionary ; Parkin, G. R., author of ‘ Imperial Federation,” “Round the Empire,’ “The Great Dominion,” &c.; Edwards, Osman, author of “Studies of Theatrical Life,’ “A Gauntlet,” “ Japanese Plays and Playfellows,” &c. ; Watson,  Aaron, author of “ Brown Studies,” ‘ Waifs and Strays,” “For Lust of Gold,” &c. ; Foakes Jackson, Rev., author of the “ History of the Christian Church,” &c. ; Angus, Orme, author of, “Sarah Tuldon,” a Story of Wessex Life ; Ford, William, author of “ Baja the Freebooter,” “ Pun- jaub Coach,” &c. ; Forrest, Sir John, author of ‘ Explorations in Australia,” &c.; Prowl, Ebenezer, author of about a dozen authoritative text books on music which have been translated into French, German, and Italian ; Fraser, J. Foster, author of “ Round the World on a Wheel,” &c. ; Lancaster, W. J. Cosens, author of many excellent nautical novels. Victor Spiers is mentioned, but why is R. Phené Spiers, the author of valuable architectural works, left out ? Space restricts our naming more omissions of general writers, but, if we particularise in one department, and turn to the topic of most interest this year—i.e. the War—and recall the books dealing with Russia, Korea, and Japan brought before the public towards the end of last year, we will find that the writers of such works are con- spicuous by their absence in the “ Literary Year Book,” published last March. There is no mention of the authors of the following :—“‘The Russian Advance ” (Albert Beveridge), “Sixteen Years in Siberia” (Leo Deutsch), “ In the Uttermost East” (Chas. H. Hawes), “The World’s History “(Dr H. F. Helmolt), “Manchuria” (Alex. Hosie), “The Far East: its History and its Question ” (Alex. Krausse), “‘The Path of Empire” (George Lynch), “History of Russia” (Alfred N. Ram- baud), “The Great Siberian Railway ” (Michael M. Shoemaker), “Korean Sketches” (Rev. J. S. Gale), “Japanese Girls” (Alice M. Bacon), “Japan: its History, &c.” (Captain F. Brink- ley), “The Heart of Japan” (C. L. Brownell), “Things Japanese” (Basil Hall Chamberlain), “ Handbook of Japan” (W. Mason), “ Evolution of the Japanese” (Sidney Gulick), “ Japanese Training” (H. Irving Hancock), “Japan and her People” (Anna ©. Hartshorne), “ Kokoro” (Lafcadio Hearn), “ Feudal and Modern Japan” (Arthur May Knapp), “Tales of Old Japan” (A. B. Mitford), “History of Japan ” (Fred. Millard), “Japan and its Trade” (J. Morris), “Japan in Transition” (S. Ransome), “ Tmpres- sions of Japan” (G. H. Rittner), ‘‘ Three Rolling Stones in Japan” (Gilbert Watson), “ Japan : Aspects and Destinies” (Petrie Watson), and “ Ships and Shipping” (Francis Miltoun). Many of the above topical works are new editions of old ones, and few of the authors are novices. The incompleteness of the List of Authors seems, indeed, to imply that the value of the “ Year Book” for personal reference is overlooked. A reliable directory of the iiterary world would enable THE AUTHOR. 209 a publisher to communicate direct with any author he pleases. In these days, when an author seldom confines himself to one publisher, the public also should be able to refer to the “‘ Year Book” for a complete list of the works of a favourite author ; and, to facilitate such inquiry, the addition of a List of Titles, classified under Theology, Travel, Science, Fiction, Poetry, &c., would be welcome. The list of periodical publications needs also more careful revision. For instance, the London addresses of the following papers are wrong :— Belfast News Letter, 435, Strand ; Daily Dispatch, Manchester, 68, Fleet Street ; Newcastle Chronicle, 22, Essex Street ; Norfolk Chronicle, 149, Strand ; Nottingham Daily Express, 75, Fleet Street. Musical periodicals are nearly all omitted. Not one of the following well-known papers is given :— British Bandsmen, 188,Strand, W.C. ; Music Trades Review, 1, Racquet Court, E.C.; Journal of the Incorporated Society of Musicians, 19, Berners Street, W.; Musical Record, 199, Regent Street, W. ; Music, 188, Wardour Street, W.; J/usical Opinion, 35, Shoe Lane, E.C. ; Musical Standard, 83, Charing Cross Road, W.C.; Orchestral Association Gazette, 28, Gerrard Street, W.; Organist and Choirmaster, 9, Berners Street, W.; Strad, 3, Green Terrace, Rosebery Avenue. Amongst the Press Cutting Agents no German firm is mentioned, and amongst magazine photo- graphers one of the most enterprising firms—the City Art Photo. Co. (manager, Mr. W. D. Horn) —is overlooked. We offer the foregoing criticisms in the friendliest spirit, our desire being that so excellent a publica- tion may be made as perfect and complete as possible, for there is no reason why, with proper organization, the “Literary Year Book” should not be as comprehensive and up-to-date as “Dod’s” Peerage or “Crockford’s” Clergy List. If advantage is taken of such hints as those we have given, the result will be profitable to the publisher and the immense community to which he appeals.—A. R. Legal. The legal side of the book is one which, more than any other, needs the consideration of members of the Society of Authors. The articles included deal with the numerous points on which authors desire information and protection, but in most cases, though correct, so far as they go, are insufficient. This is the real difficulty in the production of a book of this kind. Insufficient information may often lead an author into serious errors, but we do not desire to cavil and find fault. We fully recognise that it is impossible for an editor to provide against all 210 contingencies on any question, more especially when those questions deal with copyright and the legal side of literary property. Even with the added assistance of the “ Literary Year Book” an author should be particularly careful, and in many cases should not consider himself secure without special expert advice. : : Agreements and copyright, in their respective chapters, with some slight deflections, are admir- ably dealt with, clearly and lucidly expounded, and very accurate. The agreements are classed under the following four heads— : Royalty Agreement ; Sharing profits ; The author commissioned ; The publisher commissioned. This is a fairly satisfactory division, but The Author Commissioned is rather a different form of agreement to the sale outright. If the publisher commissioned a book from an author he would be entitled to make larger demands from the author than if he merely purchased the copyright. On the whole, the divisions set forth in The Author are the more satisfactory. Sale Outright, Profit Sharing Agreement, The Royalty System, and The Commission Agreement. Mr. Charles Weekes, who is responsible for these chapters, sets out a series of usual clauses, explains them, and notes their omissions, but expresses no opinion as to how far he considers an author has a right or is entitled to make demands from a pub- lisher. From his point of view, as editor, he is justified in taking this line, if, indeed, it is not the only line he could adopt. The question of serial rights is treated hardly at sufficient length. This is often the most important side of the property of the writers of fiction, and also of writers of educational and technical works. The Editor states, ‘‘ All serialisation should cease when the book is published”; but difficulty often arises owing to the lack of finality in the contract with editors when the sale takes place. It would have been a good thing if he had dealt, perhaps in a separate article, with serial rights and the contract for the sale of those rights, and the difficulty that surrounds it. There is also another omission of great import- ance to authors—the agreements made between authors and their agents ; for as the agent is ina position more confidential to the author than the publisher or anyone else who deals with his pro- perty, it is essential that his agreement should be carefully controlled, and the author should see, when dealing with the agent, that he is not dealing with a man who is also acting on behalf of the publisher. There is very little fault to find with the other comments Mr. Weekes has made. In “The Author Commissioned” it might be as well for the author THE AUTHOR. to insist as one term of the contract that no altera- tion should be made in the MS. without his sanction, for although it is stated “that the assignment of copyright does not convey the right ‘to alter or revise the book in such a manner that the author’s reputation suffers,” yet there are many alterations possible which would annoy and disgust an author, but which need not necessarily be considered by a judge and jury as damaging to his reputation. Turning from the Agreements to the chapter on Copyright, we are pleased to say that the errors are few, as far as the exposition of the copy- right law is concerned. Only those who have tried the task can imagine how exceedingly difficult it is to compress a subject of this kind into so small a space, but the statements made are clear, correct, and, within limits, satisfying. The author, under the heading of “ Extent,” says that an assignment for any less period than the whole term of copyright, would be a licence only. From whence does he get this statement? Surely, it is possible to assign the whole copyright for a limited period, without merely assigning a licence to publish; otherwise, there would be no need for the registration of assignments at Stationers’ Hall. Under the heading of Magazines and Periodicals, the distinction that exists under the eighteenth section between Encyclopedias and Reviews, Magazines, etc., is hardly sufficiently emphasised. To anyone who read the paragraph as an amateur the difference would certainly not be clear. The writer states under the same heading, ‘‘ The work of a servant would vest in his employer from the first.” This point, in the absence of any evidence to the contrary, must be yielded; but he continues, “it is doubtful if the sender of a voluntary con- tribution, though his work was used, would have any rights unless the terms were expressly men- tioned.” This sentence is enigmatical. Does the writer intend to convey that the author in those cases where a contribution has been sent without a special demand to an editor, and the contribution has been printed and paid for, would possess no rights whatever, and would therefore be considered to have sold the copyright ? Surely, this deduction cannot be correct. Again, under the heading of “Drama,” the following statement appears— “ After publication in print, but before authorised representation, it is doubtful whether a common law action would lie against an unauthorised per- former.” This is contrary to the view taken by Mr. Scrutton, whose statement of the law we personally are inclined to follow. Under the same heading, the writer is certainly ambiguous in the following sentence :— “As to performing right and copyright as they  may be retained or lost by first performance or publication outside the United Kingdom, first performance in ‘America does not divest the Com- mon Law right here.” This passage surely needs a little further explanation for the uninitiated. Under the “International” heading, it will be seen that Austria and Hungary are included in the Berne Convention. This is not correct. Austria and Hungary have a special Treaty with Great Britain, and some other countries, but they are not members of the International Convention. To sum up, however, the impression conveyed to a critic of that portion of the work, dealing with the legal side of literary property, is thab it is sound and trustworthy, and may, with limitations, be safely employed by those who seek information on the points which the writer has sought to elucidate. G. H. T. ——_+—>—_+—___——_ MUSICAL COPYRIGHT. ————+— Minority Report. N the March number of 7'he Author we printed a summary of the majority report on the ques- tion of Musical Copyright, issued by the departmental committee. Since that date the Musical Copyright Bill introduced by Mr. Mount has come up and passed a second reading in the House of Commons, and has been referred to the Standing Committee on Law. It has gone even further, It has been amended, and printed as amended. Mr. Caldwell, the sole author of the minority report, took the opportunity of placing his views before the House of Commons in his speech on the second reading ; perhaps, however, it would be fairer to take the statement of his views from his considered report rather than from his speech. In the opening paragraph he states as follows :— “The general evidence given disclosed the existence of another interest—that of the general public interested in the cultivation of music—an interest, however, which was not specially represented at the enquiry ; which is prac- tically ignored in the report of the majority of the Com- mittee, but which, nevertheless, fails to be considered in any amendment of the law which may be deemed necessary. “The whole of the witnesses examined (excepting the ‘King of the Pirates’) regard musical copyright as a right of property, such as a man has in his watch, entitling the owner of the copyright to exercise his right of property in any manner he pleases without any regard to the interests of the general public or to the advancement of music in the community. It is also upon that assumption that summary proceedings, analogous to those of the criminal law, seem to be recommended. “ A slight consideration will show that copyright is not such an absolute right of property as is claimed, but is a ‘liberty’ or privilege, conferred by Parliament, with the THE AUTHOR. 211 view of encouraging music in the general community into which the public interest enters, as well as that of the owner of the copyright, and over the exercise of which by the owner of the copyright Parliament has and exercises a right of control.’ In order to prove the final contention he quotes at length the Acts on which copyright is founded. We venture to think that his judgment is entirely incorrect, and that a deeper consideration of the subject would have secured a sounder opinion. The Government found a certain form of pro- perty existing, which, perhaps, more than any other, should be reckoned the sole property of its originator. They found that this property was ill-secured and easily filched from the owner. Accordingly, in order to secure it, they passed Copyright Statutes. At that time a cry was raised by people who, like Mr. Caldwell, considered they represented the public ; but the plea of the public was shown many years ago by the most distin- cuished authorities, and those who had given the matter their fullest attention to be without foundation. It is late in the day to bring up the question again, and it would take too much space to quote the learned authorities referred to. It would be interesting to enquire whether Mr. Cald- well has studied the legislation dealing with copy- right property since the passing of the Act of 1842; whether he has noted that all modern legislation in all the countries of the world has been to confirm the property in the author, to give him wider limits, not only as far as country but also as far as time! is concerned ; and that in the great majority of cases which have been taken into the courts of law the Acts have as a rule received the most liberal interpretation in favour of the authors of literary, dramatic, and musical property. He goes on to state that the owners of musical copyright have exercised their sole and exclusive “liberty” in a manner highly detrimental to the interests of the general public, as well as to the advantage of music, and have practically tempted and induced piracy. “To find anything like an approach to the present piracy of musical copyright, one has to go back to the piracy of books by American editions, owing to the high prices charged for books in this country placing books of educa- tional value quite beyond the reach of the general public, notwithstanding the cheapness of paper and printing. By the issue of cheaper editions for the general public the temptation to piracy has been removed ; and the public being now supplied at a reasonable price there is no market for pirated books, notwithstanding the somewhat irrelevant reference in the concluding paragraph of the report of the majority as to the alleged piracy of Mr. Arthur Balfour's pamphlet and Mr. Kipling’s poems. “The evidence has disclosed that the author or composer of a musical composition does not himself publish the sub- ject of his copyright. A trade or business has sprung up of publishers, who purchase musical copyrights either for a small sum, cash down, in the case of unknown composers, 212 or for a royalty of from one penny up to fourpence per copy sold—the customary royalty being threepence per copy, subject to a deduction of one-seventh. The publisher in the case of such purchases takes the place of the original owner of the copyright, with the same powers and subject to the same limitations and responsibilities. “ The publishers who are purchasers of copyright appear to have an arrangement amongst themselves with regard to the prices to be charged. The prices charged to the public seem to be the same in all cases, irrespective of the royalty paid to the author and composer, although the discount to the trade may vary as regards individual compositions and individual publishers. The successes are made to pay for the failures ; and as the failures are said to be five-sixths of the total, a heavy tax is by this arrangement laid upon the general public. A business arrangement of this kind is not contemplated by the Copyright Acts, which, although necessarily permitting sales of copyright, confer no further power in the assignee than that which existed in the original owner of the copyright.”’ The statements contained in the first paragraph just quoted are not in accordance with fact ; it must, therefore, logically follow that the deductions are equally erroneous. No doubt he is, to a certain extent, correct with regard to the attitude of the publishers. They purchase, in many instances for small prices, from the composers, and then market the music for their profit without any consideration for the public which Mr. Caldwell so boldly champions. This point of view has been well set forth in a statement received from a member of the Society, dealing with the present situation :— “ Hitherto the public has only been acquainted with the matter from the point of view of the publishers. Inasmuch as the publisher and shopkeeper are bosom friends, the composer, unless he is a genius with business ability who can look after himself, comes off worse even than the public, in the bargain. In private, the composer is willing enough to air his grievances, but in public, inasmuch as there is no combination amongst composers for mutual defence, the individual musician who has suffered, being afraid that his further compositions may not be accepted, thinks that dis- cretion is the better part of valour, Unfortunately for the composer there is no Sir Walter Besant in the musical profession. Zhe Musical News, which could do much for him, concentrates its attention on the evils of bogus colleges which interfere with the earnings of the music teacher, but the members of the syndicate owning that paper who could criticise music publishing methods if they liked, much to the distaste of the publishing houses, preserve a policy of silence. As nearly all the other musical periodicals, like the Musical Times and Musical Record, are owned by pub- lishers themselves, the individual composer, who is of little use to the advertisement manager, has no channel through which to air his wrongs.” But we cannot agree with Mr. Caldwell in com- paring the present musical piracy with the piracy of works in the United States some years ago, and a moment’s consideration will show his reason to be false. It must be clear to anyone who has studied the subject, that any literary, dramatic or musical property can always be produced by the pirate at a cheaper rate than it can be produced on behalf of the owner of the copyright. The pirate THE AUTHOR. has merely to think of his profit on the cost of production ; the legitimate publisher has to con- sider the profit of the author, in addition to the profit on the cost of production. Mr. Caldwell is, no doubt, right in some of his deductions as to the profit that is paid to the composer, as it is clear from the frequent instances which come before the Secretary of the Society, that the unfortunate com- poser is in a much worse position than is the author of literary and dramatic pieces, owing to his un- willingness to join an organised body of defence, which exists in the Society; but if the composer obtained the full share of the profit of the work, the outcome of his brain, it is not likely that the price of music would be appreciably reduced to the public. Mr. Caldwell should also remember that the surest way of increasing the study of music is by protecting adequately the producers of this work. If one, who has within him the capacity of a great composer, is to obtain a living wage, he must receive some fair security for his labours. This security, confirmed by Statute, must necessa- rily raise the price of these labours to the public. Mr. Caldwell states, with a precision which is hardly justified : “ Piracy of musical composition is due, therefore, to the same causes which at one time produced piracy in the case of books, and which, in the case of books, has been removed by the issue of cheaper editions, at a price within the reach of the general public.” The piracy of musical compositions is not really due to the same causes which brought about the piracy of books in the United States. The piracy of books in England never existed to a great extent, and the piracy of books in the United States only existed because there was no protective law, and not for the reason put forward by Mr. Caldwell, that they desired cheaper books on the market. There are many other interesting remarks in the minority report which have not been dealt with, and there are many interesting remarks in the evidence of Mr. James Frederick Willetts, known as “The Pirate King,” who wishes to pose as an altruist and public benefactor ; but it is hardly worth while to deal with the question at great length. It was essential, however, that members of the Society should comprehend fully some of the argu- ments—fallacious though they be—which are still, unfortunately, put forward to prevent remedial legislation for the protection of copyright property. There are, no doubt, many disputed points in copyright law, arising from the different interests of authors and publishers, but it is astonishing in the twentieth century to see arguments soberly put forward, which ought to have been laid in their graves seventy years ago. G. HoT.  THE PUBLISHERS’ ASSOCIATION. —— HE Report of the Annual General Meeting a of the Publishers’ Association was printed too late to be inserted in the April number of The Author. We are pleased to hear that Mr. ’ Reginald Smith, K.C., of Messrs. Smith, Elder and Co., has been elected to the Presidency of the Association. We congratulate Mr. Smith on his honourable appointment, and the Association on having secured so able a President. There seems to have been, at the meeting and during the past year, considerable work done in dealing with the sale of educational books and the question of preferential discounts to educational houses. ‘The matter is one of great importance to all writers of educational works. We are pleased to see that the Publishers’ Asso- ciation made a substantial grant to the expenses of the defendants in the case of Aflalo and Cook v. Lawrence and Bullen. Mr. Longman, in his speech, said that the resulting judgment established a principle of considerable importance to the publish- ing trade. The Committee of the Authors’ Society also considered the legal point important. The fact that the Publishers’ Association supported the defendants on the grounds put forward by their President finally does away with the ill-considered conclusion hastily arrived at by some members of the trade, that the action, commenced by the plaintiffs and supported by the Society, was frivolous and vexatious, In the Report are also issued the definitions of some simple publishing terms, which it would be useful for authors to remember :— Inpression—A number of copies printed at any one time. When a book is reprinted without change it should be called a new “impression,’’ to distinguish it from an “edition,’’ as defined below. Edition. An impression in which the matter has under- gone some change, or for which the type has been re-set. Re-issue.-—A republication at a different price, or in a different form, of part of an impression which has already been placed on the market. It is exceedingly useful to have these explana- tions authoritatively promulgated, and it is hoped that they will be strictly enforced. We can- not help, however, putting forward once again that it would be still more advantageous if the Association settled on the unit of an impression, and insisted on the members adopting the unit universally. Thus, if the unit was fixed at 1,000 copies, a limited issue of 500 copies would be half an impression, a sale of 100,000 copies would be 100 impressions. If this rational course was adopted, the trade would get rid of the absurdity of an imprint on a book of “Third impression” THE AUTHOR. 213 when only thirty copies had been sold. Such action is not only ridiculous, but it constitutes a mild fraud on the public. —_———_<$*_1———_e———____ THE APRIL MAGAZINE CONTENTS. LiveRARY, Dramatic, AND Musical BLACKWOOD’S MAGAZINE. Lord Acton’s Letters—The Scientific Historian in Theory and Practice—Tacitus and his Translations in “ Musings without Method.” CONTEMPORARY REVIEW. Lord Acton’s Letters. By Augustine Birrell, K.C, Tshaikovski’s Operas. By A. E. Keeton. CORNHILL MAGAZINE. Sir Leslie Stephen. By Frederick Harrison. Memories of “The Times.’’ By Alex. Innes Shand. THE EDINBURGH REVIEW. The Philosophy of Herbert Spencer. Mr. Morley’s Life of Gladstone. The Letters of Ernst Curtius. The Letters of Horace Walpole. Sir George Trevelyan on the American Revolution. THE FORTNIGHTLY REVIEW. Of the True Greatness of Thackeray. By H. H. Statham. Mr. Bodley on the Crown. By Justin McCarthy. D’ Annunzio’s New Play. By May Bateman. Letters on the Drama. Madame Navarro; Mrs. Craigie. INDEPENDENT REVIEW. Lord Acton at Cambridge. By John Pollock. Mr. Paul’s History of England. By Augustine Birrell, K.C “To Soria-Moria Castle.’’ By Edmund Garret, MACMILLAN’S MAGAZINE, Alfred Ainger. By the Master of Peterhouse. THE MonTHLy REVIEW. Edward Fitzgerald. By the late Whitwell Elwin. The True Story of the Stratford Bust. By Mrs. Stopes. THE New LIBERAL REVIEW. The Rise of the Drama in Ireland. By John Campbell. THe NINETEENTH CENTURY REVIEW. The Place of Whistler. By Frederick Wedmore. Aeschylus and Shakespeare. By the Rev. R. §. De Courey Laffan. THE QUARTERLY REVIEW. Gabrielle d’Annunzio. By Henry James. Leslie Stephen and his Works. The Novels of 'homas Hardy. Marco Polo and his followers in: Central Asia. TEMPLE BAR. On Browning in a Library. By the Rey. Archie F. Wibling. 214 WARNINGS TO THE PRODUCERS OF BOOKS. BEDE ERE are a few standing rules to be observed in an agreement. There are four methods of dealing with literary property :— I. Selling it Outright. This is sometimes satisfactory, if a proper price can be obtained, But the transaction should be managed by a competent agent, or with the advice of the Secretary of the Society. II. A Profit-Sharing Agreement (a bad form of agreement). In this case the following rules should be attended to: (1.) Not to sign any agreement in which the cost of pro- duction forms a part without the strictest investigation. (2.) Not to give the publisher the power of putting the profits into his own pocket by charging for advertisements in his own organs, or by charging exchange advertise- ments. Therefore keep control of the advertisements, (3.) Not to allow a special charge for “ office expenses,” unless the same allowance is made to the author. (4.) Not to give up American, Colonial, or Continental rights. (5.) Not to give up serial or translation rights. (6.) Not,to bind yourself for future work to any publisher. As well bind yourself for the future to any one solicitor or doctor ! III. The Royalty System. This is perhaps, with certain limitations, the best form of agreement. It is above all things necessary to know what the proposed royalty means to both sides. It isnow possible for an author to ascertain approximately the truth. From time to time very important figures connected with royalties are published in Zhe Author. IY. A Commission Agreement. The main points are :— (1.) Be careful to obtain a fair cost of production. (2.) Keep control of the advertisements. (3.) Keep control of the sale price of the book. General. All other forms of agreement are combinations of the four above mentioned. Such combinations are generally disastrous to the author. Neyer sign any agreement without competent advice from the Secretary of the Society. Stamp all agreements with the Inland Revenue stamp. Avoid agreements by letter if possible. The main points which the Society has always demanded from the outset are :— C1.) That both sides shall know what an agreement means. : @.) 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.) Always avoid a transfer of copyright. ——_+—>—_ WARNINGS TO DRAMATIC AUTHORS. og EVER sign an agreement without submitting it to the Secretary of the Society of Authors or some com- petent legal authority. 2. It is well to be extremely careful in negotiating for the production of a play with anyone except an established manager, THE AUTHOR. 3. There are three forms of dramatic contract for plays. in three or more acts :— (a.) Sale outright of the performing right. This is unsatisfactory. An author who enters into such a contract should stipulate in the contract for production of the piece by a certain date and for proper publication of his name on the play-bills. (b.) Sale of performing right or of a licence to perform on the basis of percentages on gross receipts. Percentages vary between 5 and 15 per cent. An author should obtain a percentage on the sliding scale of gross receipts in preference to the American system. Should obtain a sum in advance of percentages. A fixed date on or before which the play should be performed. (c.) Sale of performing right or of a licence to: perform on the basis of royalties (i.c.. fixed nightly fees). This method should be always avoided except in cases where the fees are likely to be small or difficult to collect. The other safeguards set out under heading (0.) apply also in this case. 4. Plays in one act are often sold outright, but it is better to obtain a small nightly fee if possible, and a sum paid in advance of such fees in any event. It is extremely important that the amateur rights of one-act plays should be reserved. 5. Authors should remember that performing rights can be limited, and are usually limited, by town, country, and time, This is most important. 6. Authors should not assign performing rights, but should grant a licence to perform. The legal distinction is of great importance. : 7. Authors should remember that performing rights in a play are distinct from literary copyright. A manager holding the performing right or licence to perform cannot print the book of the words. 8. Never forget that United States rights may be exceed- ingly valuable. They should never be included in English agreements without the author obtaining a substantial consideration. 9. Agreements for collaboration should be carefully drawn and executed before collaboration is commenced. 10. An author should remember that production of a play is highly speculative : that he runs a very great risk of delay and a breakdown in the fulfilment of his contract. He should therefore guard himself all the more carefully in the beginning. 11. An author must remember that the dramatic market is exceedingly limited, and that for a novice the first object is to obtain adequate publication. As these warnings must necessarily be incomplete, on account of the wide range of the subject of dramatic con- tracts, those authors desirous of further information are reterred to the Secretary of the Society. 0 WARNINGS TO MUSICAL COMPOSERS. oe ITTLE can be added to the warnings given for the assistance of producers of books and dramatic authors. It must, however, be pointed out that, as a rule, the musical publisher demands from the musical composer a transfer of fuller rights and less liberal finan- cial terms than those obtained for literary and dramatic property. The musical composer has very often the two rights to deal with—performing right and copyright. He  THE AUTHOR. should be especially careful therefore when entering into an agreement, and should take into particular consideration the warnings stated above. ——__—__—_—_—_+—>—_>—__—_ HOW TO USE THE SOCIETY. so 1. VERY member has a right toask 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. The Secretary of the Society is a solicitor, but if there is any special veason the Secretary will refer the case to the Solicitors of the Society. _ Further, the Committee, if they deem it desirable, will obtain counsel’s opinion. All this without any cost to the member. 2, Remember that questions connected with copyright and publishers’ agreements do not fall within the experi- ence of ordinary solicitors. Therefore, do not scruple to use the Society.’ 3. Send to the Office copies of past agreements and past accounts, with a copy of the book represented. The Secretary will always be glad to have any agreements, new or old, for inspection and note. The information thus obtained may prove invaluable. 4. Before signing any agreement whatever, send the document to the Society for examination. 5. Remember always that in belonging to the Society you are fighting the battles of other writers, even if you are reaping no benefit to yourself, and that you are advancing the best interests of your calling in promoting the independence of the writer, the dramatist, the composer. 6. The Committee have now arranged for the reception of members’ agreements and their preser ration in a fire- proof safé. The agreements will, of course, be regarded as confidential documents to be read only by the Secretary, who will keep the key of the safe. The Society now offers : —(1) To read and advise upon agreements and to give advice concerning publishers. (2) To stamp agreements in readiness for a possible action upon them. (3) To keep agreements. (4) To enforce payments due according to agreements. Fuller particulars of the Society’s work can be obtained in the Prospectus. 7, No contract should be entered into with a literary agent without the advice of the Secretary of the Society. Members are strongly advised not to accept without careful consideration the contracts with publishers submitted to them by literary agents, and are recommended to submit them for interpretation and explanation to the Secretary of the Society. 8. Many agents neglect to stamp agreements This must be done within fourteen days of first execution. The Secretary will undertake it on behalf of members. 9. Some agents endeavour to prevent authors from referring matters to the Secretary of the Society; so do some publishers. Members can make their own deductions and act accordingly. 10. The subscription to the Society is £1 1s. per annum, or £10 40s for life membership. 215 THE READING BRANCH. — 1+ EMBERS will greatly assist the Society in this branch of its work by informing young writers of its existence. Their MSS. can be read and treated as a composition is treated by a coach, he term MSS. includes not only works of fiction, but poetry and dramatic works, and when it is possible, under special arrangement, technical and scientific works. The Readers are writers of competence and experience. The fee is one guinea. oe NOTICES. —-—+— TYNHE Editor of Zhe 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 5s. 6d. subscription for the year. Communications for Zhe Author should be addressed to the Offices of the Society, 39, Old Queen Street, Storey’s Gate, §.W., and should reach the Editor not later than the 21st of each month. All persons engaged in literary work of any kind, whether members of the Society or not, are invited to communicate to the Editor any points connected with their work which it would be advisable in the general interest to publish. — nl Communications and letters are invited by the Editor on all subjects connected with literature, but on no other subjects whatever. Every effort will be made to return articles which cannot be accepted. ge The Secretary of the Society begs to give notice that all remittances are acknowledged by return of post, and he requests members who do not receive an answer to important communications within two days to write to him without delay. All remittances should be crossed Union Bank of London, Chancery Lane, or be sent by registered letter only. ++ LEGAL AND GENERAL LIFE ASSURANCE. SOCIETY. + ENSIONS to commence at any selected age, either with or without Life Assurance can be obtained from this socieiy. Full particulars can be obtained from the City Branch Manager, Legal and General Life Assurance Society, 158, Leadenhall Street, London, E.C. AUTHORITIES. 19 N the month of May, 1905, the Spanish I nation will celebrate the Tercentenary of the production of Don Quixote. To publish at this period an article on the subject, and the sonnet, the reproduction of which Mr. Austin Dobson has kindly sanctioned, may seem to some anticipating events; but the Spaniards were making arrangements for the fétes in honour of this celebration so early as the end of 1903. If the Spaniards are taking action we musi not be behindhand. In a future number of The Author we shall give full details of the pro- posed fétes. The arrangements are in the hands of a Special Commission, including among its members the Mayor of Madrid, the Prime Minister, and other influential people, and a large sum has been voted towards the expenses. It has always been a kindly jest against the Spaniards that they put off everything till “ to- morrow,” but in this case they seem to be taking ‘time by the fore-lock.” WE regret to see in the March number of The American Author notice that the periodical will cease to exist with that issue. This must bea very serious matter to all those who have wished for the success of the American Authors’ Society. The Editor states that “the periodiocal joins the long phalanx of publications which have failed for lack of financial backing.” This can only mean that the majority of the Authors of the United States have not joined the combination of their profession as they should have done. What is the reason of this? Perhaps we can give some explanation from our own experience. For many years now we have been endeavouring to obtain the cost of production of different forms of American books. We have applied frequently to the American Authors’ Society asking for information on this point, but so far without success. When passing through New York we had the honour of meeting the Secre- tary and the President of the Society, and suggested the advisability of issuing books on the same lines as the English Society’s Cost of Production, and Methods of Publishing, as on these two points was based the whole system of authors’ profits. Is it possible that the citizens of a nation like the United States, who flatter themselves that they are so go-ahead and possessed of such strong business capacity, have shown themselves in the question of authorship alone wanting in the power of combina- tion, and lacking in the solution of the practical issues. We sincerely hope the withdrawal of The Amerwan Author is only temporary, and that at THE AUTHOR. no distant date, when the Authors’ Society shall embrace all those whose names are constantly swelling the ranks of writers, the periodical will be started again under more healthy auspices. WE regret to chronicle the death of Mr. Julian Sturgis, who was a warm supporter of the Societ and its aims, He was a subscriber of £50 to the Pension Fund, and joined the Society in 1892. —_1.—~»~—+ ___ SIR EDWIN ARNOLD. —_— 1 N Sir Edwin Arnold, whose death took place I in South Kensington on March 24th, English literature has lost an ardent worker, and a host of friends a personality whose charm was appreciated best by those who had the privilege of the most intimate acquaintance with it. Born in June, 1832, the distinguished writer had thus nearly completed his seventy-second year at the time of hisdeath. Educated at King’s School, Rochester, and King’s College, London, he won a scholarship at Oxford, and it was there his taste for letiers showed itself, almost his first essay in poetry, the “Fall of Balshazzar,” winning the Newdigate prize for English verse. His love for Oxford and University College is indicated by the fact that vnly two months ago, at the other extreme of a strenuous life spent in the continuation of studies to which Oxford gave him the first incentive, he asked that his ashes, after cremation, might go back and rest in her classic precincts. After leaving College with a Master of Arts degree, he was attached for a time to King Edward’s school, Birmingham, and from thence, with his wife and one young child, went out to India as Principal of the Government Deccan College at Poona. If Oxford had filled him with the learning of Greece and Rome the East opened his mind to the knowledge of still earlier civiliza- tions. He took an instant and heart-whole delight in a people whose ancient philosophies and beliefs it is one of his best memorials to have done more than any other Englishman to make intelligible to his countrymen at home. “The Light of Asia,” though not written till long afterwards, was the outcome of actual contact with those to whom the great epic is a living reality. It is undoubtedly Sir Edwin Arnold’s chief work as a poet, yet it was written not in the calm seclusion that would have seemed essential to such a labour, but during the stress of busy London life, and amongst scenes the very antipode of those with which it deals. After five years in India Sir Edwin returned to  THE AUTHOR. England, and subsequently joined the staff of the Daily Telegraph, working unceasingly for that paper practically up to the day of his death, and “ contributing to its columns an incalculable volume of material, historical, descriptive, or imaginative, and worthy to rank with the very best journalistic work of its generation.” A great traveller in all parts of the world, to him to travel and write were inseparably connected. Few of his books in this branch of literature have been so popular as those upon Japan. He made that charming land his own, and foresaw her place amongst the nations long before alliances or successful wars had awarded it to her. His third wife was a Japanese lady, to whom it fell to lighten the burden of his last days, a task accom- plished with unswerving tenderness. In the course of such a life, in the centre of politics and society, it was inevitable Sir Edwin should make innumer- able friendships, and the volume of his Memoirs which is to appear shortly will be not the least interesting of the many such books which have appeared of late. At one time a keen sportsman, and always a lover of nature and the country, Sir Edwin, moved by the kindly precepts of the religions he had studied, latterly put by rod and gun and devoted himself to yachting, for which he had a great fondness. None but those who knew him intimately could value fully the gentleness of his nature, the brightness of his outlook on life and the future, or the immense stores of knowledge to which even his books give but hasty and inadequate expression. To such his loss is indeed irreparable. The position that Sir Edwin Arnold held among the writers of the day and the value and beauty of his work has been dealt with so fully in the papers that it would be superfluous to say anything more in this short article. It must be added that he was a member of the Society and Council since its foundation. It is sad at so short an interval to have to chronicle the death of another of the earliest members of the Society. ——__+—<_+____—__ SIR HENRY THOMPSON, BART., M.B.LOND., F.R.C.S.ENG. ——_— + IR HENRY THOMPSON, whose death took place on April 18th, after a few days’ illness, wag one of the earliest members of the Society of Authors. He joined almost on the foundation of the Society, and showed genuine sympathy with our efforts at a time when the scheme of our asso- ciation was barely formulated, and when the support of a man so well-known in artistic, literary, social and scientific circles was especially valuable to us. 217 Sir Henry Thompson was born in Framlingham, a small Suffolk town, where his father was long in business. He was educated at a local Grammar School, and elected rather late in life to be a medical man, for he was twenty-eight years of age when he entered University College, London, as a medical student, and in the “forties” it was cus- tomary for the medical man to commence his curriculum at the age of sixteen or seventeen. His University career was one of unmitigated success. He took prizes and scholarships in most subjects, graduated with honours at the earliest opportunity, and immediately received a junior appointment at University College Hospital. Suc- ceeding within four years of obtaining his first surgical diploma to a place on the staff of the hospital, he was marked out for a career of excep- tional brilliance, and he fulfilled his promise. He was an admirable artist, heredity probably playing a part here, for his mother was the daughter of Samuel Medley, the portrait painter; he was also the possessor of a clear literary style, and had a logical way of arranging his knowledge. It is not surprising, therefore, that his medical writings were an immediate success, and as his hospital work gave him full opportunities for perfecting his practice in the special departments of surgery to which his theories mainly related, he soon became one of the best known surgeons in the world. He operated upon the late King of the Belgians and the late Emperor of France, and for at least a quarter of a century his name was a synonym for the per- fection of skill and resource in his particular branch of operative surgery. Sir Henry Thompson joined our body, however, as an author of fiction, for, as is now well-known, he was the writer, under the pseudonym of Pen Oliver, of two novels, “ Charlie Kingston’s Aunt,” and “ All But.” The first of these books achieved considerable success, which it deserved, for it contained an excellent situation, while it furnished an accurate and interesting picture of the manners of the London medical student in what may be termed the mid-Victorian epoch. But as a painter he was much more in his own groove than he was asa novelist. His pictures, which for some years were hung regularly in the Academy and some- times in the Salon, were the result of careful observation and skilled training; there is no doubt that if his professional calling had failed him his skill as an artist would have brought him into prominence. As a host Sir Henry Thompson was famous for his dinners of eight courses for eight persons at eight o’clock, known as “ octaves.” He was a skilled gastronomist, and until recently knew every one in the literary, artistic, and scientific worlds, and he gave as much thought to the selection of the company at his table as to the 218 preparation of the food. He aimed at making his ‘“‘ octaves” as much a mental as a gustatory treat, and invariably he hit his mark. : Sir Henry Thompson was President of the Cremation Society, a keen opponent of municipal abuses, and an ardent automobilist, and his pen was constantly active in the columns of The Times or The Lancet, now praising modern locomotion, now denouncing the crude methods of earth to earth burial, and now calling attention to the shortcomings of our sanitary authorities. Old age, which came slowly upon him, was accompanied by no abatement of ardour in his many pursuits; rather, by bringing him leisure from his surgical work, it left him more free to expend energy in other and multifarious directions. The Society of Authors has lost a useful friend in this brilliant and many-sided man. —— ee THE TRUE SPIRIT OF DON QUIXOTE OF MANCHA. T is reserved for only the very greatest | makers of fiction to create a character the interest of whose individuality shall equal or exceed the author’s. Dickens has done this; so has Thackeray ; and, in a more conspicuous degree, Cervantes. I do not know how Thackeray died ; but I remember, one by one, the last moments of Colonel Newcome. Most of us could write offhand a biography of Don Quixote; but it takes a specialist, with years of wearying research behind him, to produce a biography of Cervantes. And has not Argamasilla de Alba a wider fame as the birthplace of the Sorrowful Knight than Alcala de Henares as the birthplace of the Sorrowful Novelist. Many will think it late in the day to analyse Don Quixote’s character with any critical or cor- rective purpose. Nevertheless, it has been said and echoed by the vulgar of all time that Cervantes’ object in producing the Quijote was to sweep away a certain class of literature. Once more I protest against this fallacy. There is no moral aim in Cervantes’ chapters, any more than there is a moral aim in Shakespeare’s plays. No work “with a purpose” could soar so high or live so long. The aim is flawless portraiture, the only base of all immortal art. Homer, Velazquez, Dante, Cervantes, Shakespeare—serene, dispassionate, punctilious portraiture denotes them every one. The more the artist haggles over this or that opinion, the more he subdivides his interest. He pleads a selfish cause—his own. Notso if he THE AUTHOR. presents a portrait. Something of ourselves will certainly be here, broad enough and bold enough Therefore it is not his own _ for all to recognise. selfishness that the author should indulge, but that of his audience, offering them a fragment, more or __ less considerable, of their personal image. And we are so inexorable in this selfish expectation that it gives us greater pleasure to see our own vices delineated, than the virtues of another. The motive for the introduction of the books of chivalry was technical, not moral. Don Quixote’s exploits is the treeless, thinly-popu- lated region of La Mancha, possessing at the most. a wild Titanic beauty derived from emptiness and space, but never from diversity. It is nota region fitted for adventure. Similarly the Manchegans are not—are not reported tc have been—a com- munity of adventure-seekers. To frame a narrative out of these chilling factors demands some stimulus extraordinary, beyond the people and the place. This stimulus was provided by the books of chivalry, a means of making incident, where inci- dent, under normal circumstances, was sheerly inconceivable. Don Quixote must plunge into adventure ; yet if he lead a regular Manchegan life no possible adventure can encounter him. In a little world whose motto is tranquillity, only the criminal or the madman can tweak society’s nose and make a veritable stir. The criminal in this case was inadmissible. Therefore Don Quixote must be mad ; just mad enough to turn the hum- drum upside down, but never incoherent to the point ot idiocy. He must, in fact, be cursed (or blessed) with just a half or quarter madness, such as most of us are credited with, His mania, too, had better be grandiose and kindly. And so with aquiline perception Cervantes pounced upon a fashionable and attractive madness, a Spanish megalom: nia, the craze for knight-errantry. Here were pa‘. .os, humour, energy, in abundant store, together vith vital interest in the portraiture for manya paniard and non-Spaniard to behold their own ru.zction. Such, I am positive, was the genesis of Don Quixote’s “ eccentricity.” Apart from detail of this nature it is no slur upon the Spaniards to say that Don Quixote is a permanent likeness of their inmost shape and quality. The church and the sword, or perhaps I had better say the monastery and the sword, have created between them the whole of Spanish history. What is Don Quixote but a joint embodiment of the ascetic and the warrior? He wages war; he worships women ; but his warfare, like his gallantry, is that of a Sir Galahad :— ““ My good blade carves the casques of men, My tough lance thrusteth sure, My strength is as the strength of ten, Because my heart is pure. The theatre of 7  THE AUTHOR. 219 « How sweet are looks that ladies bend On whom their favours fall ! For them I battle till the end, To save from shame and thrall.” All women in Don Quixote’s eyes are equally beautiful, equally supramundane. All of us at some time have attempted to believe the same. Here, then, are lines of universal portraiture ; and as we titter at Don Quixote’s madness, we stumble with asudden cry upon our own. Returning to the eminently Spanish features of our hero. Don Quixote, regarded as typical of Spain, displays to us a nation whose magnanimity is equalled by her roughness. The singular im- pulse marking the crusader and the knight-errant, particular apostles of those only objects of peren- nial worship, God and woman—has lasted longer in Castile than anywhere, developing, throughout that region and between the eighth and eighteenth centuries, into an over-ripeness highly detrimental to the commonwealth. Even now this spirit in Spain is not extinct. Manuel Bueno asserts with perfect truth that his countrymen are at once generous and inhuman. The paradox, borne out by Fouillée and other authorities, applies with obvious fitness to Don Quixote. I would suggest, however, that the Spaniard’s generosity is older and less eradicable than his inhumanity ; witness, once more, Don Quixote. The baser quality is the fruit of centuries of fighting. The nobler is apparently indigenous. Then, as the complement of Don Quixote the Spaniard, we have Don Quixote the brother of us all, or even (dropping modesty and clinging to our comfortable classic*) our very self. His character is therefore regional and extraterritorial. Compare him in this aspect with Hamlet, miscalled the Dane. Both fragile Hamlet and the fragile champion of La Mancha are exquisitely human, but only Don Quixote is exquisitely national besides. Hamlet is one of us; Don Quixote one of us, and also one of our friends the Spaniards. To this extent Don Quixote’s is the fuller portrait. He has been described as “the emblem of faith.” Tf this be so, Hamlet is just as much “ the emblem of doubt”; and faith and doubt between them keep the world a-spin. But faith and doubt in these two instances are carried to an ecstasy, and want of mental balance is the outcome. We must not doubt, we must not hope—except with modera- tion. Is it not insignificant that of these two * “Whilst [| study to find how I am a Microcosm, or little World, I find myself something more than the great. There is surely a piece of Divinity in us, something that was before the Elements, and owes no homage unto the Sun. Nature tells me I am the Image of God, as well as Scripture: he that understands not thus much, hath not his introduction or first lesson, and is yet to begin the Alphabet of man.”—Religio Medici. characters, Hamlet and Don Quixote, who stand together upon the very pinnacle of fiction, one should be mad and the other mad enough to be suspected of madness? This sometimes prompts me to suppose that only the insane is worth recording in the chronicles of human thought. “What is beyond?” is the question which Don Quixote always asks. The same question is always on the lips and in the heart of Hamlet. But where Don Quixote asks with confidence, the other asks with dread. Otherwise, what have they not in common? “A virgin heart in work and will” belongs to both. Hamlet’s words are very frequently as “ wild and whirling ” as Don Quixote’s deeds ; but the ambitions and aspirations of either are equally sound and equally charitable. How often, as I roamed across La Mancha, did I believe myself to contemplate Don Quixote in the flesh and in the soul. How noble was his forehead, how fearless and benign his glance, his upward gaze how earnest and inspired, how lucid and majestic his address. Each of these aspects and emotions came upon me with a jewel crisp- ness :— Parea ciascuna rubinetto, in cui Raggio di sole ardesse si acceso, Che ne’ miei occhi rifrangesse lui. As to the scenes Don Quixote has immor- talized—somnolent Argamasilla, the mournfal Cave of Montesinos, the sedgy meres, with their Arthurian sadness, of Ruidera—these seem to stand before me even now, detached with meteor clear- ness from the firmament of memory, and crystal- lized by time and truth into unclouding splendour. LronarpD WILLIAMS. -——<—_ DON QUIXOTE.* ao EHIND thy pasteboard, on thy battered hack, Thy lean cheek striped with plaster to and fro, Thy long spear levelled at the unseen foe, ‘And doubtful Sancho trudging at thy back, Thou wert a figure strange enough, good lack ! To make Wiseacredom, both high and low, Rub purblind eyes, and—having watched thee go— Dispatch its Dogberrys upon thy track : Alas ! poor Knight ! alas ! poor soul possest ! Yet would to-day when Courtesy grows chill, And life’s fine loyalties are turned to jest, Some fire of thine might burn within us still ! Ah, would but one might lay his lance in rest, And charge in earnest . . . were it but a mill! Austin Dosson. * Printed from the last Edition, 1902, of Mr. Austin Dobson's collected poems, with his kind permission.— Ep, 220 THE ANNUAL DINNER. —1—<—+—_ (PNHE Annual Dinner of the Incorporated Society of Authors, was held on April 20th, at’ the Hotel Cecil, the Chairman of the Committee of Management, Mr. Douglas Freshfield, occupying the chair. Nearly 150 members and guests were present, the latter including Lord Alverstone, Lord Chief Justice of England, and Sir W. B. Richmond, R.A., who occupied seats to the right and left of the Chairman, the Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of Bristol, Admiral Edward Field, C.B., Sir Harry Johnston, Major Darwin, Mr. Appleton, the well-known New York pub- lisher, Mr. W. Heinemann, and many others. At the conclusion of dinner, for which grace was said by the Bishop of Bristol, the usual loyal toasts were duly honoured, and the Chairman rose } to propose success to the Society, for which he suggested a more appropriate name might have been “The. Society for the Protection of Authors,” or even ‘“ The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Authors,” since it was concerned with the legal and business rather than with the literary aspects of authorship. They were equally ready to protect the rights of a writer on golf or of an immortal poet. Their Committee discussed not matters’ of style and taste, but of accounts and agreements. Business had been said to be the bane of author- ship. But this was an antiquated and obsolete view. The days of Grub Street were long past, and no one now seriously held that it was incon- sistent with the dignity of authorship to write for money. With regard to the relations of author and publisher, the public was apt to pay too much regard to the pecuniary risk run by the publisher, | and to disregard the value of the capital introduced | by the writer, consisting of that which the average | common-sense man did not so much esteem, and i perhaps did not keep a stock of—brains. / Mr. Freshfield went on to refer to the decision in » Aflalo vy. Lawrence and Bullen in the House of _ Lords. The satisfactory point about this decision was that, although it had entailed heavy expenses to the Society, it had finally determined a doubtful and very important question in copyright law. In arriving at this result it was a satisfaction to the Committee to feel that they had been acting in co-operation with the Publishers’ Association, which, recognising the importance of the point involved, had, it was announced, contributed to the costs of the defendants. While he in no way presumed to question the decision arrived at, Mr. Freshfield thought that as to one matter of fact the Law Lords had gone astray. It was surely unfair to argue that the mere fact that a contri- butor to a magazine or encyclopedia received a THE AUTHOR: snbstantial sum for his article was evidence that he intended to part with all his rights in it. The amount of the return the publisher might reason. ably expect, or had actually obtained, from the original periodical publication, as well as the amount paid down by him, was an_ essential element in the consideration of the bargain. Re- ferring to the present multiplication of middlemen in literature, Mr. Freshfield suggested that the main work to be done by the Author’s Society was to make the best of the present system of book production. He looked back with regret to the eighteenth century. In those days, under the old system of subscriptions, the author went round to his friends. He collected their money, and he had not to wait twelve months to get it. Publishers and booksellers had not then been differentiated, and he simply went to the publisher and had his book printed and distributed. Nowadays there was the printer, the illustrator, the bookbinder, and after they had passed by them they had to reckon with the literary agent, the publisher, and the bookseller. All of them must make their profit, and he did not say they made an exorbitant profit. Fortunes were not made by publishers at all to be compared with the great fortunes that were made in other businesses. ‘The Dictionary of National Biography ” was published not with the profits of publishing, but, as Mr. Murray Smith often used to avow, with the profits of Apollinaris. Mr. Freshfield next made allusion to a recent article on the subject of Literary Agents in The Author, and expressed a wish to see a reply to it which should indicate the proper sphere of such agency, which he understood had been found serviceable by many distinguished authors, though it was no doubt open to abuse. He also touched upon the correspondence concerning the “ ghost” in literary work, pointing out that the system of making use of a “ ghost ” for latin verses was one of very old standing in public schools, where the employer, when discovered, was likely to receive at the hands of the headmaster a summary lesson in {literary morals. /In conclusion, Mr. Freshfield paid / a tribute to the honourable dealings of the better i class of publishers, and reverting to his comparison between the Society and that for the protection of children, suggested that while many authors are in their business dealings very like children, pub- lishers might be considered like parents, as defined by a member of the rising generation, as ‘‘ good on the whole, but the better for being looked after.” The toast of the Society was replied to by Mr. Sidney Lee, who alluded early in his speech to the confidence of all members in the Committee and in the Secretary, as carrying on the traditions of the founder of the Society, Sir Walter Besant. He also referred with satisfaction to the decision in  THE AUTHOR. the Aflalo case as settling a doubtful legal point. In touching upon the relations between author and publisher, Mr. Lee spoke of the Committee as exercising judicial functions, and pointed out that publishers were not the ogres that the fancies of some authors painted them, whereas there existed arrogant humbugs among authors. The author's grievance, he observed, might really be against the reading public, but that it was for the interest of both author and publisher to encourage the main- tenance of a high standard of literary work. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle proposed the health of the guests in a vigorous speech, declaring that as a man was known by his friends so a society was known by its guests. The Author’s Society had as its guests the Lord Chief Justice of England and Sir William Richmond, the former of whom was a lawyer, an author, and a sportsman, whose fair play and ruthless honesty recently displayed in connection with the Alaska arbitration, would make-the name of Lord Alverstone descend as a peer of those great men who made his office famous. With regard to Sir William Richmond, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle pointed out that he had turned his back upon a life of ease and material gain in order to serve the community upon the London County Council, a body of which it might be said that none on earth needed the presence of an artist more, if London was to cease being a city of mean streets and lost opportunities, and to become the greatest city that the world had ever seen. In conclusion, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle observed that a schoolboy had defined ‘“‘elocution” as “an American method of putting criminals to death,” and suggested this as a reason for not prolonging hisspeech. With the names of guests mentioned he associated those of the Bishop of Bristol, Admiral Field, Sir Harry Johnston, and Major Darwin. Before Lord Alverstone rose to reply for the guests, the Chairman read a friendly message which he had justreceived from the Institute of Printers and Kindred Trades, who were dining in another room, and he informed the society that he had returned suitable good wishes and congratulations in reply. The Lord Chief Justice, after thanking Sir Arthur Conan Doyle for the complimentary terms in which reference had been made to his own judicial and other public services, expressed his admiration of and gratification at the manner with which the Authors’ Society regarded its litigation, and particularly the late adverse decision in the House of Lords. He expressed himself wishful that all litigants might accept their defeats in the law courts in the same calm spirit. One of his predecessors, Lord Coleridge, had said that it was the duty of a judge to dismiss all suitors from his court wquos placatosque, and he should himself look forward in the future to seeing both sides satisfied 221 because a point of law had been settled and established. His Lordship expressed his pleasure and interest in social intercourse with authors, dwelling upon the distinction between the lawyer's task in dealing with facts, having but little scope even in advocacy for the play of his fancy, and the work of the author, who could give his imagination free play. Sir W. B. Richmond, K.C.B., R.A., observed that he had trained himself for the position of Alderman which he had accepted upon the London Council, by serving first upon the Council in his borough, and spoke of the work that he had done in combating Philistinism. Referring to the decoration of St. Paul’s, he declared that if crimes in that connection were charged against him the Bishop of Bristol, who sat near him, had been a culprit with him. With regard to the cry of “ Art for Art’s Sake,” Sir William avowed him- self unable to understand its meaning, but he deprecated any doctrine that one art should divorce another. Alluding to any demand that might be made that artists should paint “on lines of highest technique,” Sir William Richmond likened the stress laid upon technique, in art criticism, to judging the author of a book by his handwriting. He dwelt on the inspiration derived by artists from the Bible, from the works of Homer, Sophocles, Virgil, Shakespeare, Milton, and other classic writers. He also alluded in complimentary terms to the subjects for his skill which the artist might find in the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. “ Great authors,” he said, “ stimulate painters with ideas.” In proposing the health of the Chairman, the Bishop of Bristol protested against Mr. Freshfield posing as merely a business man. He was, his lordship said, a distinguished author who, like Sir Leslie Stephen, began writing through his desire to describe the Alps. His volumes upon the Caucasus were among the “ heaviest” books in his (the Bishop of Bristol’s) library, but there was not a dull page among them, and he had recently added to them an excellent description of the Himalaya. Mr. Freshfield, in reply, regretted that the Pre- sident of the Society, Mr. George Meredith, should be prevented by ill health from taking the chair, and expressed his thanks to the company for the kindness they had shown to him as a substitute. In excusing himseif from prolonging the evening by anything but a brief speech, he mentioned that at a previous dinner of the Society he had over- heard one lady author say to another on her way from the dining hall, “ My dear, [am nearly dead,” to which the other had answered, “I am quite.” Mr. Freshfield had no desire to diminish the number of the Society’s Members in the manner indicated, and he accordingly invited those present to adjourn 222 to the next room, where the usual conversazione was held, and where the rest of a highly successful evening was spent. The following members and guests were present : Madame Albanesi, W. W. Appleton, E. A. Arm- strong, Miss Agnes Armstrong, A. W. a’Beckett, The Rev. F. W. Bamford, Robert Bateman, Mrs. Beville, Miss Helen Boddington, Miss Philippa Bridges, Clifford Borrer, Oscar Browning, Mrs. Mona Caird, F. Carrel, Miss Challice, A. R. Colquhoun, Mrs. Colquhoun, Sir William Charley, Mrs. E. M. Davy, Miss Jean Delaire, Miss Sarah Doudney, C. F. Dowsett, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Miss O’Connor Eccles, Mrs. Edison (“ George Frost’), T. Mullett Ellis, W. B. Home Gall, »R. Garnett, C.B., Mrs. Aylmer Gowing, Horace G. Groser, Lady Glover, A. P. Graves, Francis Gribble, Mrs. Gribble, Major Arthur Haggard, Major-General Sir Reginald Hart, K.C.B., A. Hope Hawkins, Miss Henslowe, Miss Con- stance Hill, Mrs. Katherine Tynan Hinkson, Mrs. Willoughby Hodgson, H. Martin Holman, Miss M. C. Home, Mrs. Humphreys (“ Rita’’), The Rev. Henry N. Hutchinson, Miss Ionides, Scarboro Johnson, Mrs. Jordan, C. A. Kelly, G. T. Knight, Mrs. Knight, Sidney Lee, Robert J. Lees, Mrs. Low, Mrs. Belloc Lowndes, ‘‘ Maarten Maartens,” Miss M. M. Macpherson, Miss Constance Maud, Athol Maudsley, Mrs. Maudsley, E. K. Muspratt, E. P. Oppenheim, Louis N. Parker, 8. F. Pells, Mrs. Perrin, Major Douglas Phillott, C. Harvard Pierson, Lionel Portman, Jaakoff Prelooker, G. W. Prothero, Miss Lucy Redpath, Sir W. B. Richmond, K.C.B., Mrs. Reeves (‘Helen Mathers”), Emil Reich, A. Rogers, Miss Rossi, “ Leicester Romayne,” William Royle, C. M. Russell, Miss May Sinclair, Prof. W. W. Skeat, LL.D., Mrs. Michael Smith, Mrs. Isabel Smith, Miss Hannah Stanton, A. A. Strong, F. Stroud, Miss Stroud, Arthur J. Thomas, G. Herbert Thring, Mrs. Thring, Herbert Trench, Mrs. Alec Tweedie, Miss E. Underdown, H. Faure Walker, Mrs. Faure Walker, Percy White, “ Dolf Wyllarde,” R. Whiteing, and W. Wellington Young. 9 “WHAT’S IN A NAME?” 1 HERE is no copyright in the name of a book or play. It does not form part of the thing copyrighted, which is the “composition,” a.¢., the play or the book. In the year 1881 the Judges of the Court of Appeal held that no one could seize upon a few words of the English language and create a monopoly in them by saying that thenceforth nobody else could apply them publicly as the name or description or label of another composition. THE AUTHOR. Such few words are not capable of giving rise to any proprietary rights such as copyright involves, But, and it is obviously a large But, the ordinary common law doctrine of fraud or misrepresentation applies, that is to say, according to the technical phrase of the common law an action of “ deceit” will lie, wherever one man tries to pass off his goods as if they were another’s. For example, if a book or a play by A.has acquired a market value (or draws the public) and is known to the public by a certain name, X., then B. cannot use the name X. in such a way as to induce the public to come and buy or see his own, a different, book or play, under the belief that it is the well-known X. You will observe that it is an essential fact in — such a case that the particular book or play by A., named X., has acquired already a trade reputation with the public. who identify it by the name X. The result is that when two or more books or plays are brought out at the same, or practically about the same time, under the same title, none of them can stop the others from using that title ; for in the early stages there can be no public repu- tation grown round any of them. That was the case which came before the Court of Appeal, where two serial tales appeared both in the same year, entitled ‘‘Splendid Misery,” one being by Miss Braddon. With a play, no doubt, if it were a success, the public reputation would grow round it, and become attached (as part of its “ goodwill’) very rapidly. But if a play be a failure, I take it that anybody can always produce another under the same name, for the whole doctrine of “ deceit ” or “* passing off” could not apply in such a case. When a play from its age or from its inferiority has no market reputation to draw the public it is obvious that no one who uses its name for another work is trying thereby to trade upon the reputation of the prior play. If two plays appeared about the same time at West End London theatres by authors of. equal fame or equally unknown, under the same title— although it might be an inconvenient thing, no action would lie—in the absence, that is to say, of any other evidence of “ deceit ” or of desire on the part of the less successful venture to create confu- sion in the public mind between the two plays. When the older play had a well-established market reputation attaching to it—which might accrue very rapidly—it would clearly be a risky business to bring out a new play under the same title, for the public would be sure to confuse the two, and the author of number 2 could hardly prove the innocence of his intentions in using that title. Between new plays a very slight difference in title would clearly prevent confusion. W. S. SHERRINGTON.  THE AUTHOR. CORRESPONDENCE. —_1——+ Tas New DEPARTURE IN EpITING. Drar?Str,—Will you allow me a few lines to reply to M.P.’s letter in the April Author on “ The New Departure in Editing ?” In the first place neither of the phrases which he quotes—* Feeble in plot” and “ Weak in style” —appears in the printed form which we send with returned manuscripts : and in the second place, our editorial comment 7s welcomed, as our corre- spondence testifies, by many hundreds of writers who have submitted stories for our consideration. It is difficult to understand M.P.’s attitude ; have editors been unkind to him ; is he an unsuc- cessful aspirant to literary fame ? I do not know. But I feel sure of one thing. No “self respecting writers ” (to use his own phrase) would wish to associate themselves with his views. A person who describes as impertinent a sugges- tion which, whatever its merits, was conceived in the interests of writers and is undoubtedly appreci- ated by them : who deliberately misquotes, or who © does not take the trouble to read the document which he is criticising: and who speaks dis- paragingly of the stories published in magazines to which every author of repute is contributing, has certainly little claim for consideration at the hands of either author or editor. Yours faithfully, Tue Epitor, Pearson’s Magazine. —1— 1 — Wuat’s In A NAME? Sir,—The pages of The Author have already chronicled certain views upon the important subject of the ownership of book-titles. Those interested in the matter—and who of us is not ? —-should refer to the October and December, 1896, and May, 1898, numbers of this journal, wherein sundry defensive methods similar to those now pro- posed by Miss Mary Cholmondeley were put forward. “(Can anything be done?” this lady aptly enquires. The passage of years has increased rather than lessened the difficulties of a solution. I imagine, however, the idea of a registration bureau of some sort founded on the lines indicated still finds most favour ; with, presumably, a time limit for the shelter of any bantling which may be catalogued. It certainly does seem hard that all the labour expended upon selecting an appropriate attractive name for a work in process of construction may become liable to wreckage through an unfortunate conflict of choice. The experience of many writers must point to vexatious collisions of this nature ; 223 in my own humble way I have been the victim of mishap. be ee It will be wise, therefore, to seek a safe remedy for one of the by no means minor trials which beset the paths of authorship. Union is strength. Combined effort should surely result in the dis- covery of some satisfactory scheme for the relief of a troubled community. Grcin CLARKE. —-—>—+— Srr,—I have adopted the above title, not because I intend to answer the question which it embodies, but because 1 propose to deal with some of the contents of Mary Cholmondeley’s communication under that heading in the April issue of The Author. In that are raised, among others, the questions of how to ascertain whether a title is new ; whether it is possible to institute a register of the titles of books, to which all new ones should be added ; and whether it is possible for arrangements to be made for securing a title in advance of the publication of the work, on payment of a fee. All of these questions are intimately connected with those of Registration of Copyright and the management of our National Library ; and, in what follows, I confine myself to books and to the British Isles. The suggestion of securing a title in advance of publication was mentioned in 7’%e Author of June, 1894 (p. 6), as having been made by Mr. George Haven Putnam. It is one which could very easily be carried out if the chaos which, in this country, goes by the name of copyrighting were reduced to system. Such a proposed new title would, of course, need to be entered in a register, and that register would (likewise, of course) need to be kept at the office of registration. ‘The office at which pro- yisional copyright is thus to be secured would need, of course, to be the Copyright Registry, or Office; and, to enable the registrar to know whether any proposed title were new, he would need to be able to consult the register of titles already used. At present there is no such register ; there is only a list of those titles which have been regis- tered at Stationers’ Hall, and the British Museum catalogue. Now, Stationers’ Hall, where copy- rights are registered, is not a government institu- tion, but the head-quarters of the Company of Stationers, to whom the registering of copyright has been delegated, and it has no other means of ascertaining what title is new than from its own registers, which are not consulted unless the applicant makes special payment therefor. The British Museum catalogue is an author’s, and not a  224 title-catalogue—except in the case of anonymous works—and search therein for a title is, therefore, extremely difficult. For the purposes of copyright in this country, registration of a work (which would, of course, include the title) is not necessary ; copyright comes into being from the mere fact of publication; neither is it necessary, to secure copyright, to deposit a copy of any work either at the Copyright Registry or at the National Library. Consequently, many works are not entered on the copyright register, although copies of them are to be found in the British Museum ; and, also, many works are not sent to the British Museum, because, although the delivery of a copy of all British-published books thereat is by law compulsory, there is such laxity in enforcing the law, that advantage is taken of it not to deliver them. There is, thus, no complete catalogue of British- published books. What is wanted to remedy this state of affairs is, first of all, that the Copyright Registry be made a branch of the National Library, and the registers of books in possession of the Company of Stationers be transferred to the British Museum. The second thing required is that the British Museum compile a titles-catalogue which, besides containing all the titles in the Stationers Company’s registers and in its own catalogue, should contain those of all books known to have been published in the British Isles, whether in the library or not. Those not in the library would be easy distinguishable from those present by the absence of a press-mark. The third thing required is that, to secure copy- right, registration of the work and the copyright- owner’s name, at the National Library, should be compulsory on the day of publication ; and that, at the time of registration, there should be delivered at the Copyright Registry (which would be the National Library) a copy of the work registered. No copyright should exist in any work published in this country unless those two conditions be fulfilled, and any one should be at liberty to reprint and sell such British-published works as had not been thus dealt with. A further condition, in the case of an anonymous work, should be the depositing, at the time of registration, a sealed envelope containing the writer’s name, which, unless permission be given previously, should be revealed at the expiration of, say, fifty years, or at the writer’s death. No charge should be made in the first instance for registration of the copyright, the book being regarded as its equivalent in value ; but charges might be made for a certified copy of any entry ; for the transference of a copyright ; and, where it is desired to register a title in advance, for an examination of the register. THER AUTHOR. By the above-suggested means the ownership of the copyrights of all British-published books would always be beyond dispute, and all British-published books and their titles would find their way auto- matically into the National Library and its catalogue. As the novelty or otherwise of a title would, thus, be instantly ascertainable, an outcome of this proposed plan could easily be the registration, in a separate register, of new titles, in advance of publication, for a period of, say, one year, on pay- ment of, say, one guinea; and the ability, to secure a title temporarily would be a great con- venience to many writers, besides being a source of revenue to the Copyright Registry. The completing, so far as possible, the list of British-published works, would, I believe, help largely to complete a national collection of them ; and to have, as nearly as possible, a complete collection of British-published books is, it seems to me, one of the chief functions of a British National Library. Huprert Hags. ——*——+— A PLEA FoR PEDANTRY. Sir,—I have been interested to see the mention of “that terrible compound whatever” in your correspondent’s letter under the above title. I am well aware that the word is under a ban. But I must confess that I have never understood the exact rationale of the ban. And I sometimes doubt whether those who are most inexorable in enforcing it themselves know exactly what it means. Does it mean that not whatever but what- soever is the correct form? Or does it mean, for this is what some of the expressions used seem to imply, that whatever is simply a vulgar equiva- lent of what? But whilst whatever and whatsoever are evidently interchangeable, it seems to me that there is the same distinction between what and whatever as between where and wherever, or between the Latin guod and quodcunque. And I think it would require some courage, or ignorance, to assert that quod and quodcunqgue have identical meanings. Of course to use whatever for what is a blunder ; but it is not an equal blunder to use what for whatever. When Rossetti (“House of Life,” Sonnet XLVII. 9) writes :— But now, whatever while the soul is fain To list that wonted murmur— it is evident that whatsoever might (if the verse would admit it) be substituted for whatever, but what would alter the meaning. 1 too “ am not an expert,” but I wish that one of your readers who is would kindly make the situation logically plain. ANOTHER MEMBER OF THE SOCIETY. 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. 14 Issue 08 (May 1904) Subject The topic of the resource <em>The Author</em>, Vol. 14 Issue 08 (May 1904) Type The nature or genre of the resource Publication Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 1904-05-01-The-Author-14-8 publications The Author