https://historysoa.com/files/original/5/512/1906-01-01-The-Author-16-4.pdf 81ef472f263871bef8417089401081d7 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) 1906-01-01 Volume 16 Issue 4 Pages Page range in volume 97–128 Ngram Date Version of the date in YYYYMMDD format for use by the Ngram plugin 19060101 Ngram Text Version of the text with no HTML formatting for use by the Ngram plugin be Author. (The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly.) FOUNDED BY SIR WALTER BESANT. Vou. XVI.—No. 4. JANUARY I1sT, 1906. [Prick SIXPENCE. TELEPHONE NUMBER : 374 VICTORIA. TELEGRAPHIC ADDRESS : AUTORIDAD, LONDON. —_____+—>—_+___ 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. —_1+——+— List of Members. Tux 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. —1 <9 The Pension Fund of the Society. Tur Trustees of the Pension Fund met at the Society’s Offices in April, 1905, and having gone carefully into the accounts of the fund, decided to invest a further sum. ‘They have now pur- chased £200 Egyptian Government Irrigation Vou, XVI. > Trust 4 per cent. Certificates, bringing the invest- ments of the fund to the figures set out below. This is a statement of the actual stock; the money value can be easily worked out at the current price of the market :— Consols. 24%. £1000 Tioeal WOdNse ea. 500 Victorian Government 3 % Consoli- dated Inscribed Stock ............-.- War loan... London and North Western 3 % Deben- ture StOCKk 25.9 ee Egyptian Government Irrigation Trust 4 % Certificates .............++ 291 201 250 200 0 0 otal. eee £2443 9 2 Subscriptions, 1905. £8. ds July 13, Dunsany, the Right Hon, the Lord ; : : : : : Oct. 12, Halford, F. M. | » suorban, WM. Nov. 9, “ Francis Daveen”’ » >», Adair, Joseph 21, Thurston, Mrs. ae Dec. 18, Browne, F. M. Donations, 1905. July 28, Potter, the Rev. J. Hasluck Oct. 12, Allen, W. Bird : Oct. 17, A. O. N. ; : : Oct. 17, Hawtrey, Miss Valentina Oct. 31, Williamson, C. N. Oct. 31, Williamson, Mrs. . Nov. 6, Reynolds, Mrs. Fred. Nov. 9, Wingfield, H. Noy. 17, Nash, T. A. . Dec. 1, Gibbs, F. L. A. Dec. 6, Finch, Madame Dec. 15, Egbert, Henry Dec. 15, Muir, Ward ; Dec. 15, Sherwood, Mrs. A. . Dec. 18, Sheppard, A. T. Dee. 18, 8. I. G. ‘ CRKH eH acon KOR OROCORrRrFOFRCSO — —_ awe _ _— S omoooanoaonoocooorcoe fot o 98 COMMITTEE NOTES. > MEETING of the committee was held on Monday, November 27th, at 39, Old Queen Street, Storey’s Gate, S.W. After the minutes of the previous meeting had been read and signed, the election of members took place. The names of those elected will be found in another column. The committee are pleased to report that the election of members is still well maintained, and that the peculiarly large election of last year of 233 members has been surpassed during the present year, when 238 members have been elected. : : Certain questions relative to Imperial copyright and United States copyright were discussed, and the question of Egypt and the Berne Convention was considered. The secretary read a letter he had received from the Foreign Office, and the committee decided to write for further details with regard to the jurisdiction of the Mixed Tribunals in Egypt in cases of copyright. The remainder of the sitting was devoted to general business. —_——>+—_ Cases. Eight cases have been in the secretary’s hands during the past month. Three were for the pay- ment of money. In one of these the amount has been paid and forwarded ; the two others are still in the course of settlement. There has been one case for accounts and one for money and accounts. The one for accounts has been settled and the one for money and accounts is still awaiting the publisher’s answer. The return of stock and the cancellation of an agreement between an author and publisher was another matter that required adjustment. Although on many occasions the society has negotiated this kind of settlement to the satisfaction of both parties, in this special case the publisher refused to deal with the society. We quite understand his motive for adopting this attitude, but are sorry for the member’s sake that the society has not been able to complete the matter satisfactorily. No doubt the author will be able to carry through the negotiations with the publisher himself. One case which has occurred for infringe- ment of copyright will not be settled for some time, owing to the fact that the infringer lives outside England. The question of the loss of a MS. by a publisher—always difficult from the legal point of view, is in the hands of the society’s solicitors for their opinion. We are pleased to report that the society’s action in Norway has now been settled, and the amount for infringement of copyright has been paid. The other questions in the hands of THE AUTHOR. tere the society’s solicitors have not as yet been settled, but, with the exception of one case, all the matters in the secretary’s hands prior to the beginning of last month have been finished. ‘The one unfinished is rather a complicated question of accounts, but ja. the secretary has already obtained the statement | from the publisher. ee oe eee December Elections. Abbott, J. H. M. . 4, Ilchester Gardens, W. Brook, Miss Lottie 1, Waverley Place, St. 2: John’s Wood, N.W. Cooper, T. G. 11, Quay Street, Haver- - fordwest. Crane, Walter 13, Holland Street, Ken- <<. sington. Fry, 0. B. . Westend, Hants. Gibbs, F. L. A. The Hall, Bushey, ¥9! Herts. ; Leach, Henry 26, Romola Road, Herne 61:5 Hill, S.E. Logan, J., F.R.G.S. Ormond School, Dublin. .i/i! Meynell, Mrs. 4, Granville Place Man- -a:¥! sions, Portman fF. Square, W. Morgan, Miss F.L. . 24, King Street, Car- -in) marthen. ; Nisbet, John Villa Bella Vista, Boule- -3/' vard de Cimiez, Nice, 2 France; and Royal sy Societies Club, 63, .% St. James’ Street, 10). S.W. : Sheppard, A. T. 54, Huron Road, Upper “0 Tooting, S.W. ee BOOKS PUBLISHED BY MEMBERS OF THE SOCIETY. 1 (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 f serve to explain the scope and purpose of the work. |@ Members are requested to forward information which will ~ enable the Editor to supply particulars. ) ARCH AOLOGY. THE ARTOF ATTACK. By H.S.COWPER,F.S.A. 83 x 5}. 312 pp. Weverston. Holmes. 10s. n. ART. How To JDENTIFY OLD CHINESE PORCELAIN. By Mr. 8. W. Hopa@son. With 40 Illustrations. 8} x 5%. 178 pp. Methuen. 6s. PRE-RAPHAELITISM AND THE PRE-RAPHAELITE BRo- THERHOOD. 2 Vols. By W. HouMAN Hunt. 8} X 53. 512 + 493 pp. Macmillan. 42s. n.  _ OSWALD BASTABLE AND OTHERS. BRITISH PORTRAIT PAINTERS AND ENGRAVERS OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. Kneller to Reynolds. With an Introductory Essay and Biographical Notes. By EpmMuND Gossy. 154 x 12}. 100 Full page Ilus- trations. Goupil. £8 8s. n. and £20 n. THE ART OF PORTRAIT PAINTING. By. the Hon. JOHN Conner. 114 x 8%. 108 pp. Cassell. 10s. 6d. n. How To DRAW IN PEN AND INK. By HARry FURNISS. With numerous Illustrations. 10 x 64. 115 pp. Chap- man and Hall. 3s. 6d. n. Axe Herman Haiac AND His Work. By E. A. ARMSTRONG. £1 ls. n. (Edition strictly limited to 1,500.) (EDITION DE LUXE at £3 3s. sold out.) Fine Art Society. IDEALS IN ART. By WALTER CRANE. Bell. 10s. 6d. n. 93 x 6. 287 pp. BIOGRAPHY. Being some Recollections of 9 x 6. 499 pp. TWENTY YEARS IN PARIS. a Literary Life. By R. H. SHERARD. Hutchinson. 16s. n. PETER PAUL REUBENS. in Painting and Sculpture. 5s. n. AUBREY BEARDSLEY. Edition. Revised and Enlarged. 9} x 7h. 103 pp. Dent. 6s. n. THE LETTERS OF WARREN Hastings To His WIFE. Transcribed in full from the Originals in the British Museum. Introduced and annotated by SYDNEY C. GRIER. 9 x 53. 484 pp. Blackwoods. 15s. n. Sir Henry Irving. By HALDANE MCFALL. 7} x 5. 128 pp. Foulis. 2s. n. THE Story OF THE PRINCESS DES URSINS IN SPAIN. By Constance Hin. 7% x 5}. 256 pp. Lane. 5s. n. Great Masters By Hope REA. 138 pp. Bell. Ts xX 8. By ARTHUR Symons. New 29 Reproductions. BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG. By E.NEsBIT. 8} x Wells Gardner. 6s. 5§. 369 pp. By KATHERINE TYNAN. THe LUCK OF THE FAIRFAXES. 8 x 53. 397pp. Collins. A LirrLe Princess. Being the Whole Story of Sara Crewe, now told for the first time. By Francis H. BURNETT. 8% x 53. 302 pp. Warne. 6s. THe Happy Curist. By HAROLD BEGBIE. 6% x 44. ll7pp. Skeffington. 2s. FRIENDS WitHour Facrs. A Fairy’s Rebuke to Vanity. Written and [llustrated by H. Furniss. 9% x 74. 62pp. S.P.C.K. Fun at THE Zoo. Pictures (coloured) by Louis WAIN. Verses by C. BINGHAM. 5} x 73. Collins. CLaws AND Paws. By Louis WAIN. 12} x 10}. 23 pp. Collins. A Flower WEDDING. Decorated by WALTER CRANE. Cassell. 6s. 104 x 74. 40 pp. BOOKS OF REFERENCE. Dictionary oF INDIAN BioGRAPHY. By C. E. BuckK- LAND. 8 x 5}. 494 pp. Sonnenschein. 7s. 6d. COOKERY. THE AMATEUR Cook. By KATHERINE BURRILL and Anniz M. Boorse. 73 x 53. 296 pp. Chambers. 38. 6d. n. DRAMA. A Tragic Play of Church and Stage. 7% x 53. 196 pp. Grant THE THEATROCRAT. By JoHN DAvIpson. Richards. 5s. n. Described by two Wallflowers. | THE AUTHOR. 99 EDUCATIONAL. ENGLISH COMPOSITION SIMPLIFIED. Murby. Is. 6d. ARITHMETICAL WRINKLES. By J. LOGAN. Sonnenschein. Is. HISTORICAL AND MODERN ATLAS OF THE BRITISH By J, LoaGan. Empire. By C. G. ROBERTSON and J. G. BaR- THOLOMEW. 114 x 8%. 64 pp. Methuen. 4s. 6d.n. Let YoutH BuT Know. A Plea for Reason in Education. By Kappa. 73 x 5. 256 pp. Methuen. 3s. 6d. n. BLACKIE’s LITTLE GERMAN CLASSICS. GRIMM’S DIE ZWEI BRUDER. 40 pp. SCHMID’s DIE OSTEREIER. 40 pp. Edited by A. R. HoPE MoncRIEFF, 6} X 41. Blackie. 6d. each. BLACKIE’s LATIN TEXTS. Edited by W. H. D. Rovuss. VirGIL. AINEID VI. 30 pp. Blackie. 6d. n. each. FICTION. THE WEAVERS SHUTTLE. By C. G. HARTLEY (MRs. W. GALLICHAN). 74 x 4%. 319 pp. Greening. 6s. THE CRUISE OF THE “ CONQUISTADOR.” Being the Further Adventures of the Motor Pirate. By G.S. PATERNOSTER. 7i x 43. 312 pp. The Car Illustrated. 3s. 6d. THE ARMY OF A DREAM. By RuDYARD KIPLING. 7i x 5. 62 pp. Macmillan. 6d. n. THE WINNING OF WINIFRED. By LOUIS 72 x 5. 310 pp. White. 6s. VENDETTA IN VANITY Farr. 7% x 54. 278 pp. TRACY. By ESTHER MILLER. Heinemann. 6s. THry. By RupyarD KIpLine. 84 x 54. 80 pp. Macmillan. 6s, THE Kine’s REVOKE. By MArGARET L. Woops. 72 x 5. 334 pp. Smith Elder. 6s. A PRETENDER. By ANNIE THOMAS. 73 x 5. 318 pp. Digby Long. 6s. HISTORY. FLORENTINE PALACES AND THEIR STORIES. toss. 81 x 5}. 411 pp. Dent. 6s. n. SOMERSET HOUSE—PAST AND PRESENT. By R. NEED- HAM and A, WEBSTER. 9 xX 6. 340 pp. Unwin. 21s. n. GLEANINGS FROM VENETIAN History. By FRANCIS MARION CRAWFORD. 2 Vols. 8 x 54. With 225 Illus- trations by Joseph Pennell. 517 -+ 441 pp. Macmillan. 21s. n. A History oF OUR OWN TIMES. By JUSTIN McCartHy. 3 Vols. Fine Paper Edition. From the Accession of Queen Victoria to the Diamond Jubilee, 1897. 61 x 4, 549 + 582 + 596 pp. Chatto & Windus. 6s. n. By JANET LAW. STATUTES OF PRACTICAL UTILITY PASSED IN 1905, IN CONTINUATION OF CHITTY’S STATUTES. With Notes and selected Statutory Rules. By J. M. Lely. 10 x 6}. Pp. 557—787. Sweet & Maxwell and Stevens & Sons. 7s. 6d. A Digest oF ENGLIsH Civin Law. By EDWARD JENKS. Book I. General. 10 x 64. 101 pp. Butter- worth. LITERARY. STUDIES IN POETRY AND CRITICISM. By JOHN SHURTON CoLLIns. 83} x 5. 309 pp. Bell. 6s. n. MISCELLANEOUS. Tom BROWNE'S Comic ANNUAL. Christmas, 1905. 84x 53. Drane. 6d. WHat Wr TALKED ABOUT. CAMPBELL. Jarrold & Sons. By M. MonTGgoMERY Is. 6d. FLEET STREET FROM WITHIN. The Romance and History of the Daily Paper. By Henry LEACH. 64 x 4}. 192 pp- Arrowsmith and Simpkin, Marshall. is. NATURAL HISTORY. Nores oN THE LIFE History OF BRITISH FLOWERING prants. By the Right Honourable LoRD AVEBURY, P.c. 9 x 53. 450 pp. Macmillan, 15s. n. A Book oF Mortats. Being a record of the good deeds and good qualities of what humanity is pleased to call the lower animals. By F. A. STEEL. 103 x 74. 141 pp. Heinemann. 10s. 6d. n. PHILOSOPHY. A Criticism of Professor Heeckel’s By Sir OLIvER LODGE. 2s. 6d. n. LIFE AND MATTER. “Riddle of the -Universe.” 74 x 5. 200 pp. Williams and Norgate. POETRY. Tye PASTOR OF WyDON FELL. A Ballad of the North Country. By A. M. Buckron. 72 X 6}. 20 pp. Elkin Mathews. Ils. n. New CoLLECTED RHYMES. By ANDREW LANG. 7x 5. 101 pp. Longmans. 4s. 6d. n. THE Two ARCADIAS, PLAYS AND Porms. By ROSALINE TRAVERS. With an Introduction by Richard Garnett, C.B., LL.D. 7% x 54. 142 pp. Brimley Johnson. Love’s FICKLED AND OTHER PoEMs. By W. BirD ALLEN. 6 x 44. 57 pp. Clark. Toe IRISH SQUIREENS, AND OTHER RANDALL MCDONNELL. 7 x 43. 45 pp. Sealy. VERSES. By Dublin. POLITICAL. IMPERIALISM. A Study. By J. A. Hopson. Revised Edition. 74 x 43. 3831 pp. Constable. 2s. 6d. n. ELECTION ANECDOTES FoR ALL Parties. By J. H. SETTLE. 7 x 4%. 140 pp. Skeffington. 1s. n. REPRINTS. Tur PLAYS AND PoEMS oF ROBERT GREENE. 2 Vols. Edited with Introduction and Notes. By J. CHURTON Commins. 9 x 53. 319 pp. and 415 pp. Clarendon Press. 18s. n. THE PoEMS OF WILLIAM COWPER. Introduction and Notes by J. C. BatLEy. With 27 Illustrations. 83 x 53. 741 pp. Methuen. 10s. 6d. n. THe Fancy. By JoHN HamiInTon Reynoups. With a Prefatory Memoir and Notes by John Masefield ; and Thirteen Illustrations by J. B. Yeats. 7 x 43. 88 pp. Elkin Mathews. ls. 6d. n. A CoLLOTYPE FACSIMILE OF SHAKESPEARE’S POEMS AND PERICLES. Withan Introduction. By SIDNEY LEE. 104 x 81. Oxford University Press. London: Frowde. In sets of five volumes. £3 10s.n. and £65s.n. Ina single volume £3 3s.n. and £4 4s.n. PROVERBS IN PORCELAIN, to which is added “AU Revorr.” A Dramatic Vignette. By AUSTIN DOBSON. 63 x 44. 118 pp. Kegan Paul, 2s 6d. n. Edited with an SOCIOLOGY. THe CANKER AT THE HEART. Being studies from the Life of the Poor in the Year of Grace, 1905. By L. CoPE CoRNFORD. 72% x 53. 236 pp. E, Grant Richards. 3s. 6d. n. THEOLOGY. THE APOSTLE’S CREED. Six Lectures given in Westminster Abbey. By H. C. Beecuine, M.A. (Canon of West- minster). 7% x 5. 100 pp. Murray. 2s, 6d. n. THE AUTHOR. Av THE MASTER’s SIDE: STUDIES IN DISCIPLESHIP. 3v the Rev. ANTHONY DEANE, 64 x 44. 99 pp. Wells Gardner. Is. 6d. Tue LIFE ELYSIAN. Being more leaves from the Auto- biography of a Soul in Paradise. Recorded for the Author by R. J, Lens. 73 x 49. 349 pp. Long. 6s. Vrrus IN CRETE, OR ‘‘ THINGS WHICH BECOME SOUND DocrRINe.” By F. BouRDILLON. 7% x 5. 131 pp. Thynne. 1s. 6d. n. TRAVEL. RounD ABouUT My PEKIN GARDEN. BALD LITTLE. Illustrated. 9 x 5}. 15s. n. THE SOURCE OF THE BLUE NILE. By A. J. HAYES. Andan Entomological Appendix by E. B. Poulton, F.R.S. (Hope Professor of Zoology in the University of Oxford). 84 x 53. 315 pp. Smith Elder. 10s. 6d. n. By Mrs. ARCHI- 284 pp. Unwin: LITERARY, DRAMATIC, AND MUSICAL NOTES. | R. MARION CRAWFORD’S book on a) Venice was published by Messrs. Mac- © | millan & Co. early last month, under the 9: title, “Gleanings from Venetian History.” The volume is illustrated with over 200 pictures from =m drawings by Mr. Joseph Pennell. . With the publication of two volumes of lectures and essays, Canon Beeching completes his task of arranging the literary remains of the late Canon Ainger. The subjects of the lectures and essays are almost entirely of literary interest. Messrs. Macmillan & Co. are the publishers. The same publishers announce a new edition of Tennyson’s “ In Memoriam,” with the author’s own notes, It is anticipated that the publication will excite some interest among students of the poet, and will give the curious in these matters an opportunity of comparing many published inter pretations of the allusive passages with the poet’s own explanations. Mr. Kipling’s story, “ They,” which appeared last year in “ Traffics and Discoveries,” has just been issued by Messrs. Macmillan in a volume accompanied by fifteen coloured illustrations by Mr. T. H. Townsend. Dr. Charles Reinhardt has written, and_ the London Publicity Company, of 379, Strand, W.C., have published, a pamphlet dealing with the con- sumptive poor of England, in which he traces, in simple language, the evolution of the disease, and suggests, as the remedy, the erection and main- tenance of open-air sanatoria. The price of the pamphlet is 6d. We are requested to state that Mr. Henry R.  AtATT saunas TAB has kindly consented to take the place of the late Mr. F. R. Daldy as honorary secretary of the Copyright Association. All future communica- tions should be addressed to him at 1, Berners Street, W. In the preface to his new work, “Notes on the Life-History of British Flowering Plants,’ pub- lished by Messrs. Macmillan & Co., Lord Avebury states that his aim has been to describe points of interest in the life-history of our British plants ; to explain as far as possible the reasons for the structure, form and colour; and to suggest some of the innumerable problems which still remain for solution. In addition to 328 illustrations, the book contains a glossary of scientific terms. Vol. IV. of Dr. Beattie Crozier’s “ History of Intellectual Development ” is nearly complete, and will be published early in this year. Its sub-title will be “The Wheel of Wealth,” being a recon- struction of the science and art of political economy. Dr. Stopford Brooke’s new volume of criticism, which he is preparing, will probably be entitled «The Poetic Movement in Ireland.” The book will be published by Sir Isaac Pitman’s Sons, and will contain appreciations of Matthew Arnold, Dante Gabriel Rosetti, Clough, and William Morris. “The Dream and the Business” is the title of John Oliver Hobbes’ new novel, the publication of which may be looked for in the early part of this year. Mr. Frederic Harrison has completed a drama on which he has been engaged since the publication of his Byzantine romance, “ Theophano.” It is not a dramatised version of that tale, but it is a tragedy founded on the same incidents. The play will not be published until it has appeared on the stage. Geo. Paston’s new work, “ Social Caricatures of Clayton _ the Eighteenth Century,” has been published by Messrs. Methuen & Co. representative view of the The book gives a general social caricatures, including emblematical, satirical, personal, and humorous prints of the eighteenth century, and contains over 200 illustrations. Its price before publication, £2 2s. nett, has now been increased to £2 12s. 6d. nett. “A History of English Philanthropy,” by Mr. B. Kirkman Gray, is an attempt to deal with a familiar subject from a new standpoint. The interest centres in the resolve to bring the origin and growth of an institution into relation with the general sociological problems of the period. The Volume falls into three divisions: 1. The construc- tion of the apparatus of elementary relief following _ the dissolution of the monasteries, and an attempt to bring them into touch with the Elizabethan AUTHOR. 101 poor law. 2. In the Puritan ascendency, the loss of the insight thus gained. 3. The rise of the voluntary subscriber at the end of the seventeenth century, and his growing importance in the eighteenth century. This account of the evolu- tion of voluntary associations for philanthropic action, drawn from the reports of numerous insti- tutions, opens out many lines of inquiry as to the social importance of charitable work. The work, as a whole, should serve as an introduction to the study of one of the pressing problems of the present day—What is the meaning and worth of philanthropy? “ How to Identify Old Chinese Porcelain,” by Mr. S. Willoughby Hodgson, is a book put forth primarily to help the amateur to make a beginning in a difficult study. It contains a history of the art, and explains the difference between English and Chinese porcelain decorated in blue under the glaze. The work, published by Messrs. Methuen & Co., contains many illustrations, taken from both national and private collections. The volume of the “ Poems of Shakespeare,” which the Oxford University Press have published, contains five separate introductions by Mr. Sidney Lee. In these new material is given confirming Mr. Lee’s theory of the dependence of the “Sonnets” on foreign models. Messrs. Methuen & Oo. have puolished “'The Student’s Modern Atlas of the British Empire,” by C. Grant Robertson and F. G. Bartholomew. The atlas illustrates the historical development of the British Empire from the earliest times to the present day, It contains sixty-four maps with numerous insets, historical tables and notes, an introduction, an historical gazetteer, a biography and an index. Mr. H. A. Vachell, author of “The Hill” and “Brothers,” has written a new novel entitled «A Face of Clay,” which will run as a serial through the Monthly Review, prior to its publication in book form by Mr. John Murray. Miss Valentina Hawtrey’s translation of “The Life of St. Mary Magdalen,” from the Italian of an unknown writer, was published in the early part of last month by Mr. John Lane. Mr. Dent is publishing a new and enlarged edition of Mr. Arthur Symons’ critical apprecia- tion of Aubrey Beardsley, which first appeared some years ago. It has been greatly enlarged, both in its text and pictures. The price of the ordinary edition is 6s. nett. There is a large paper edition, with a hitherto unpublished drawing by Beardsley. Mr. Brimley Johnson published, in the early part of last month, a volume of verse from the pen of Miss Rosaline Travers. The book opens with a drama in blank verse, entitled “ Arcady in Peril.” 102 The title of the whole work, to which Dr. Richard Garnett contributes an introduction, is “The Two Arcadias.” : The December issue of the “ Transactions of the St. Albans and Herts Archeological Society ” contains an article by Mrs. Knight dealing with “ Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester.” : Mr. Henry James’ “ Impressions of America,” on which he is now engaged, will probably be published in the spring of 1906. The “Lyceum Annual,” published by the Lyceum Club, is the first-fruit of its literary members, and is published as a venture in international periodicals, The international character of the work may be gathered from the fact that it contains contributions from writers in America, Australia, France, Germany, Holland, Italy, New Zealand and Roumania, in addition to stories and articles from a dozen British writers. The price of the volume is 2s. 6d. nett. Among Mr. Eveleigh Nash’s announcements are a new volume of “Sea Stories” by Mr. Morley Roberts, and a new novel by Mr. Charles Marriott, the title of which is “The Lapse of Vivien Kady.” We have been requested to correct an error which crept into Miss Mary lL. Pendered’s letter in the December issue of Zhe Author. Miss Pendered did not write ‘The best must come to the top, and I would see it gently assisted by the great English Magazines,” but “The best must come to the top, and I would see it gently assisted by the Great English Magazine.” ‘We understand from “ Rita’’ (Mrs. Desmond Humphreys) that her book ‘‘ The Seventh Heaven,” lately issued, is a new edition called for by many inquiries, as the book has long been out of print. It has been persistently reviewed as a new and late work from her pen, whereas it was originally published some fifteen years ago. Miss Marris, whose life of Mr. Joseph Chamberlain was published by Messrs. Hutchin- son & OCo., in 1900, has written an abridged biography of that statesman, which Messrs. Routledge are hurrying through the press in view of the coming elections. A large number of extracts from Mr. Chamberlain’s speeches, defend- ing his political position, are appended to the work, Mrs. Penny has recently re-written “ Caste and Creed,” which was originally published as a three- volume novel. Messrs. Chatto and Windus will publish the work in one-volume form. The heroine is a girl who is one half East and one half West, for as a child in India she has been brought up under Hindu influence, and as a girl in England under Christian influence. Mr. Watts Dunton hopes to see his new novel THE AUTHOR. out early this year. The title “Carniola” is the name of the heroine, and the story itself is laid partly in England, partly in Venice, and partly in Hungary. Although, like “ Aylwin,” it is a love story, it is more various in its pictures of life than that work. We understand that Mr. Watts Dunton has a further novel in hand. We are informed that Mr. Charles P. Sisley, who is resigning the editorship of the London Magazine and other Harmsworth publications, has purchased § a controlling interest in the Library Press, of 9, © 4 Duke Street, Charing Cross, publishers of the well- [sy known “Cameo Classics,” ‘“ Children’s Classics,” “2 3 &c., and we understand that in future the business ‘za, ; will be known as Sisley’s, Limited. as “The Might of a Wrong-doer,’ by Shirley sf?” Brice, published by John Long, tells of a murder i9h0* which for many years passed as a “‘ death from mis- in’. adventure,” but which at last is traced to its =: #’ author. It is the life tragedy of a lad with high (3i:0" ideals, who, yielding as a boy to selfish motives, has “ed + committed a crime, the shadow of which falls list’ ‘ upon his after life, bringing about his rnin, when, 199i by an act of unselfish honesty, he has angered bow! the unscrupulous acquaintance who knows his 7 # secret. Mr. A. C. Fifield has just published a new survey (97 "8 of the World’s History, under the title of “ A Bird’s 71%! Eye View of History,” by “Sursum Corda.” The of). « author expresses the hope that the work, which is 4 s)i described as a concise but graphic sequence of 10 #1» History from the earliest times to the Fall of Con- to. stantinople before the Turks in 1453, may be of 19 9),, assistance to those who desire to follow the course 9#iiiy, of Modern History and politics, a proper under- =%b. standing of which, in his opinion, can only be «d obtained by a knowledge of the events of more 90: remote times. The book is published at the price %F of 1s. 6d. nett. a Messrs. Black announce the publication of a & | bock on the Italian lakes, by Richard Bagot. io: The volume is in no sense intended as a guide sbi: book, but aims merely at furnishing the reader ‘bry: with some impressions of the scenic beauties and His _ of the historic and artistic traditions of the region | 4 described. The work, illustrated by Mrs. Ella Du Cane, is published at 20s. net. Messrs. Warne & Co. will shortly publish a new child’s book by Mrs. Hodgson Burnett, based on @ her play “A Little Princess,” which has been running in America. The book will be illustrated by Mr. Harold Piffard. ‘ Mrs. Archibald Little’s new book “ Round about My Pekin Garden,” which Mr. Fisher Unwin published recently, is described by its — author as “a tribute to a time of dalliance in one of China’s many pleasant places.” It contains descriptions of walks and excursions in and round  the Chinese capital, and is illustrated with a coloured frontispiece and about ninety illustra- tions, mostly from photographs by the author. Messrs. Newnes have added to their sixpenny 4 editions “At Sunwich Port,” by W. W. Jacobs ; ~<@ and Mrs. Humphry Ward’s novel “ Eleanor.” Messrs. Methuen & Co. have published a new fi edition of “The Poems of William Cowper,” ““@ which Mr. J. C. Bailey has edited. In the a preparation of his critical introduction and notes, the editor has been able to consult a large number of new letters of the poet and his friends. The “9 work contains more than twenty unpublished “cf letters, in addition to one entirely new poem. 4 Mr. Rider Haggard has revised the text of his ¥4 “King Solomon’s Mines,” for an illustrated edition 4 which Messrs. Cassell are issuing. The illustra- ¥ tions, which are from drawings by Mr. Russell Flint, are said to elucidate the text very well. a Mr. Andrew Lang’s “New Collected Rhymes,” ‘M® which Messrs. Longmans have published, contain + aseries of loyal lyrics, cricket rhymes, and poems “i? “critical of life, art, and literature.” Following af these are “jubilee poems,” one or two “ folk * gongs,” and finally a bouquet of ballads. In “Major Barbara,” produced at the Court “4? Theatre on November 28th, Mr. Bernard Shaw takes for his main theme the enthusiasm of a girl for the work of the Salvation Army, and shows how it disappears on account of the army’s accept- ance of a donation of £5,000 from her father, whose wealth has been amassed by methods which she +i rightly disapproves. The caste includes Mr. Louis Granville «@ alvert, Miss Annie Russell and Mr. «Barker. ————"__o—_+—__——_ PARIS NOTES. ’ — 1 a E Bel Avenir,” by M. René Boylesve, is another novel by the author of “L’Enfant 4 la Balustrade.” It is extremely realistic and admirably written. Each personage lives and stands out in relief. One feels that it is a book which is the result of shrewd and careful observa- _ tion, and that it has been thought out line by line. _ The theme of the story is the education of three young men, and the chief interest centres in them and in their respective mothers. The most sym- pathetic family is that of Alex, who is living with his widowed mother and grandfather near Poitiers. All goes well until the time comes to decide on the future career of the young man, who is intelligent and a general favourite, but without any special aptitudes. The grandfather had been a magistrate, THE AUTHOR. 103 and it is finally decided that Alex shall go to Paris to study law. His mother writes to one of her friends who is living there, all the necessary arrangements are made, and the young man com- mences his student life in the capital. His mother’s friend has a son Paul, who seems to be farther advanced in his studies than Alex, but not so attractive personally, hence there is jealousy between the two mothers. Money matters soon become a serious question, for Alex is a spend- thrift, and means are limited at home. One of the farms belonging to the family estate has to be sold, and when the young man fails in his examina- tion, his mother and grandfather decide to let the old home and take up their abode with Alex in Paris. There is a great charm about the descrip- tion of the simple family life led by the trio in the neighbourhood of Saint Sulpice, almost in the heart of the Latin quarter. There is the sublime devotion and abnegation of the mother, the philosophy of the old grandfather, and then, by the side of this, the life of Alex outside his home, the life led probably by hundreds of his fellow- students. Just as interesting, though far less sympathetic, is the study of Paul, his family, and his career. A third psychological study in the book is that uf a shrewd woman of the lower class named Lepoiroux. Her husband died just as her child was born, and the mother of Alex took pity on her, provided for her, and later on made arrangements for her son to be educated by the Jesuits. This boy, Hilaire, makes the best of his opportunities, studies hard, surpasses Alex and Paul, and, after obtaining his education from the priests, with the understanding that he shall later on become one of them, refuses to take holy orders. The three young men then pursue their career in Paris. There are several extremely realistic episodes in the book, and among others a very touching story of one of the last of the genuine grisettes. The author shows very clearly the ugly side of a student’s life, and his picture is all the more effective as he merely lays it before us without any comment. The whole novel is well worth reading. Many of the personages are not sympathetic, their circle is a narrow one, their horizon limited, and they care little what goes on in the world outside, but such as they are, their portraits are drawn for us by a true and faithful delineator, and in these days when books are so plentiful and well-written books comparatively so rare, the latter are doubly welcome. “Constance,” by Th. Bentzon, is a new edition of a novel which gained the Montyon prize some years ago. It has been published now with an admirable preface by M. Brunetiére. The subject of this book is extremely apropos just now, when 104 the question of divorce is being discussed so warmly in France. The story is told by an able psychologist, and the principles involved are clearly set forth, whilst the characters all live and the interest is well sustained from the first chapter to the last. “De |’Histoire” is the title of another posthu- mous volume by Barbey d’Aurevilly. It is a series of critical essays on books by various authors on widely different subjects. Some of these books were written quite a long time ago, and yet most of them are of current interest. The chapter entitled “Léon XIII. et le Vatican’? seems now to have been prophetic. ‘“ L’Eglise libre dans |’Htat libre,” writes the author, “ c’est-a dire l’Eglise morte dans un Etat délivré delle. . . 2” Speaking of monar- chies, he says: “Jl y a encore des monarchies debout, mais elles tremblent sur leurs bases et elles sont capables de se précipiter demain dans le gouffre fascinateur des républiques. . . .” Two more interesting chapters are those on “ La Révolution d’Angleterre” and “La Révolution francaise.” Another essay isa criticism of Macau- lay’s “History of England from the time of James IJ.” ‘There are twenty-two essays in all, among which are “La Gréce Antique,’ “Les Césars,” ‘Histoire des Pyrénées,’ “ Napoléon,” “La Révocation de l’Edit de Nantes,” ‘“ La paix et la tréve de Dieu,’’ “ Rome et la Judée,” ‘ Gus- tave III.,” and “ Le Comte de Fersen et la cour de France.” “La Russie Libre,” by M. Georges Bourdon, is profitable reading for all those who care to know much of contemporary Russian history. “La Guerre contre |’ Allemagne,” by the General Baron Faverot de Kerbrech, is a volume written from notes taken down by the author during the campaign of 1870. It is a very graphic picture of the times, with anecdotes of many men whose names are honsehold words. “ Maxime Gorki” is a little book, published at one franc, by M. de Vogiié, on the works of the Russian novelist, who is just at present more read, perhaps, than any other. “Marie Caroline, duchesse de Berry,” by M. de Reiset, is an illustrated volume dealing rather with the private life of the unfortunate princess than with the romantic adventures of the Vendean struggles. Other recent historical works are “La Fortune des Orléans,” by M. Ad. Lanne ; “ Quinze ans Ga’histoire,’ by M. Jehan de Witte ; “ L’Amiral Nelson,’ by M. Armand Dubarry ; ‘ Les Derniers Républicains,’” by M. Guillaumin. * Lamartine de 1816 4 1830, Elvire et les Médi- tations,” by M. Léon Séché, tells us much that is interesting about “the exceptional woman who in life and death was the good genius of Lamartine.” THE AUTHOR. “George Sand et sa fille” is a volume by M Rocheblane judging mother and daughter by their correspondence. Among the new books are “ Le Sphinx rouge,” by Han Ryner ; “Le Précurseur,” by M. Jacques Fréhel ; ‘‘Aimons,” by M. Francois Gillette; “EKeyptiens et Anglais,” by Moustafa Kamel Pacha, with a preface by Mme. Adam. The latest translations from the English are « Quand le dormeur s’eveillera,’ by H. G. Wells; “ Une jeune anglaise a Paris,” by Constance Maud, translated by Gausseron. Among the authors who received prizes at the recent distribution by the French Academy are the following :—M. Charles Leconte, M. Paul Adam, Madame Daniel Lesueur, M. Paléologue, M. Guil- laumin, Mlle. A. de Bovet, M. Jaray for “ La poli- tique franco-anglaise et l’arbitrage international,” M. Biorés for “Warren Hastings,” M. Ernest Daudet for “Histoire de Emigration pendant | la Révolution francaise,’ M. Doumergue for “ Calvin.” La Vie Heuwreuse, a woman’s magazine pub- © lished by Messrs. Hachette, has awarded its annual ib prize of five thousand francs for the best novel of 4% the year to M. Romain Rolland for the volume « Jean-Christophe.” The jury is composed of twenty well-known women writers, so that it was scarcely surprising this year that a proposal should be made to award the prize to a man instead of to a woman. The annual prize of the Goncourt Academy has been awarded to M. Claude Farrére for his book “Tes Civilisés.” This author, like Pierre Loti, is more at home on sea than on land, and it is thanks to his long voyages in the Far East that he has been able to give such graphic descriptions of Oriental countries. He has only written one other book, entitled “Fumée d@’opium.” Unlike the jury of the Vie Hewreuse the Goncourt Academy would refrain from giving their annual prize rather than award it to an authoress. 4 O18 OM #0 | a By Bina. ae BBL. Bou { ilo 4 BE. eu. 10” mo? au) qa OS| In a recent number of the Revue des Deux ae Mondes M. Auguste Filon writes on “ Bernard Shaw et son théatre.”” He points out that, although an Englishman, Bernard Shaw’s plays have more > success in Germany and America than in his own 97 country. This critic considers that though rich in 4° character, the plays are poor as regards dramatie situation. In the same number of this review is an article by Maurice Barres on “Un voyage A Sparte.” , an interesting article by Madame Arvéde Barine on acurious historical episode of 1707. The letters from Flaubert to his niece are continued in this number. An extremely interesting series of articles is now appearing in La Revue, entitled “ La Morale sans In the Revue de Paris there is 4:  a ca a te Dieu.” They are written by MM. Berthelot, Brunetidre, Claretie, Faguet, Anatole France, Jules Lemaitre, Octave Mirbeau, Max Nordau, Charles Richet, Sully Prudhomme, and other well-known authors. In the December number of La Revue there is also an article by Madame Juliette Adam on Moustafa Kamel Pacha, the head of the nationalist party in Egypt, and various articles on questions of the moment, “ Les Types littéraires de la Crise russe,” ‘La Presse turque,”’ “La Diplomatie allemande,” &c. At the Comédie-Frangaise the event of the month is the new piece by M. Paul Hervieu, entitled “Le Réveil.” M. Claretie has just received a comedy in two acts by M. Daniel Riche, the title of which is “Le Prétexte.” “Claire Fresneau,” a piece in three acts by MM. Paul and Victor Margueritte, has also been received for the Comédie Francaise. At the Odéon “ Jeunesse ” has been produced. : The adaptation of Balzac’s “ La Cousine Bette,” by Pierre Decourcelle, is having great success at the Vaudeville, and at the Gaité M. Bazin’s novel “T/Oberlé,” adapted for the stage by M. Harau- court, is still running. At the Nouvelle Comédie (formerly the Bodiniére) a one-act play entitled “La Nuit Rouge,” by MM. Charles Foley and A. de Lorde, has had, and is still having, immense success. It is, like “ Heard at the Telephone,” adapted from one of M. Foley's stories, and the scene takes place in the signal-box of a railway station. The pointsman is compelled by duty to remain at his post, while from the win- dow of his signal-box he sees his fiancée overtaken at midnight by assassins. The moral strugele between the two duties makes the play a stronger one than “ Heard at the Telephone,” which is now running again at the Antoine Theatre. Anys HALLARD. —___—_+—_<>_0—__—__ SPANISH NOTES. + . Spanish literary world has been mainly marked by striking scientific and dramatic works during the last month. The most notable one of the former class is that by Joaquin Castellarnau, entitled ‘Estudio del systema lefioso de las especies forestales”’ (a study of the timber class of the forest species). The author has long been well known for his scientific reports on such subjects as firs, the unity of the generative plan in the vegetable kingdom, the ornithology _ of the royal seat of San Ildefonso, etc., which have appeared in the annals of the Spanish Society of Natural History, and have given him a high rank THE AUTHOR. 105 among natural scientists. This last work is an erudite explanation of the nutrition and the internal structure of the vegetable class, and it is so scientifically supported by the microscopic investigation brought to bear upon it that the gradual transformation of chemical substances into the organic material of living things is seen to be a natural sequence of facts. The great naturalist’s laboratory in Segovia has promised also to be the scene of. the microscopical discoveries of the chemical changes induced by the want of water, and the constant action of air and dampness upon the vegetable system. In his play called “ Love and Science,” which is now being performed at one of the chief theatres of Madrid, Galdos portrays a clever physician, who tries to train his children in his own intel- lectual lines of thought. Some of the situations are strong presentations of psychological truths, but the dénowement rather falsifies the hopes which the commencement of the work promised. The well-known dramatist, Ignacio Inglesias, has cer- tainly struck a good blow for his country by his play entitled ‘‘ Urracas” (Magpies), for it is a powerful exposé of the evils attending the wide- spread lottery system of the South. A simple, happy household is nearly wrecked by the unbridled avarice and cruelty evoked by the craving for the unearned wealth. At the distribution of tickets the room of a quiet, respectable citizen is changed into a pandemonium, and Peregrin, the hero, find- ing himself robbed of all he possessed and a victim of the evil passions around him, awakes to the realisation of the value of love and work, which had been temporarily submerged by the fever of chance. The alternate sway of terror and joy, disgust and content, is well rendered by such actors as Llano, Rosario, Pino, and Enrique Borras. The Spanish Press reports with pride that // Giornale d@ Italia says that no modern French dramatist can compare with Jacinto Benavente, and certainly “ Los Malhechores del Bien” (well- meaning malefactors) shows that he is a playwright of a high order, for he sustains the interest of the audience in the evolution of the story, show- ing how all the laws of suitability, which only can be the base of a happy marriage, can be upset by the well-intentioned, but short-sighted wishes of people only concerned with outward prosperity. To Heliodoro, the original thinker, such a union appeared a crime, and he is fortunately able to prevent his sister, the Marquise, pursuing the matrimonial plan for her protégée, which would have been her moral death. “You would give the girl luxury and wealth, but I have secured for her the love and liberty, which are of far higher worth,” ‘The expression of such a sentiment on the 106 Spanish stage shows that strides are being made jn woman’s education ; and those interested in the question are pleased to see that the institution of the college for middle-class girls by the ladies’ committee, under the presidency of the Marquise de Ayerbe, in conjunction with the Ibero- American Society, will take place early in January. This event will mark a new era for Spain, and Her Majesty Queen Maria Christina has expressed her sympathy with it, for hitherto the education of girls has been chiefy vested in the hands of governesses at home ; and such books as “El Intruso” (The Intruder), by Blasco Ibaiiez, show how fatal to the happiness of home life is the present want of the education of women. Last week the Spanish Press rang with the plea of Montero Rios for the unity of the integral elements of the Government. ‘It is the want of this union,” said this orator, who has so recently resigned his post of Prime Minister, “‘ which made the course of the last cabinets so brief and diffi- cult, and which will make that of the present or any subsequent cabinet unbearably arduous and painfully uncertain.” The words of the ex-Premier have an especial import as the cabinet now appointed, under the premiership of the distinguished Moret, who con- descended to discourse to me so eloquently when I was in Madrid on the necessity of the improved education of women, is the fifth in office in the course of one year, and one can understand the consequent standstill of legislation on matters which concern the vital interests of the country. In despair at the want and misery caused by the crippled industries, Boada, in the province of Salamanca, recently sent an official request to Buenos Aires to be allowed to emigrate thither, “ with all their labourers, artisans, blacksmiths, and officials,” for, as they pathetically said, “ the love of their country could not give them bread to live in it.” This projected departure of hundreds of capable people seems likely to show the necessity of the unity of Government for which Montero Rios pleads so eloquently, and which can only be obtained by the parliamentary deputies being elected by the votes of the public, instead of the voice of the ministry ; and Ramiro Maeztu is now reporting to his country the English system of parliamentary elections, which gives the people a voice inthe government. Such patriots as Figue- rola Ferretti, who sacrificed himself to voicing the plea for this reform, may thus still live to see their countrymen recording their votes at the polls as monarchists, and forming a steady Govern- ment for the legislation of a land which is, as Maeztu says, “fitted by nature to sustain more than fifty millions of inhabitants.” THE AUTHOR. Free from the continual chaos of changes of ministry, the country will have time to settle the laws respecting the Customs reform, the com- mercial treaties, and the wine tariff ; and to these courses the Spaniards are naturally stimulated by the recent report from their special correspondent in Berlin, which shows that the trade between Germany and Spain is steadily increasing, and the satisfaction of the demands of the German commissioners in the Peninsula will add much to the prosperity of the land. Moreover, as there is now a large market for Spanish wines in Italy, it will remain for the country to sustain its reputation in that line at the forthcoming exhibi- tion at Milan, instead of only following the sug- gestion of Seor Villanueva to send some specimens of Spanish shipbuilding. This call to action about the Commission of Treaties is published in the Spanish Press, and supported by the appeal of José Juan Cadenos for a legislation which will set the seal to the present advantageous trend of commerce. Spain is cer- tainly favourably inclined to foreign influences, and it may be mentioned that the first public sign of preference for the royal alliance with England which is now so much discussed, was manifested by the overwhelming majority of votes accorded to the Princess Ena of Battenberg, when a competition was opened some months ago in the pages of the illustrated Spanish paper, 4.B.C., whereby the lady readers were severally invited to give their mark of approval to the particular princess among the number of whose portraits were published as eligible for the crown of Spain. Percy Hotspur. MISLEADING TITLES. — HE book trade is peculiar in this, that no two books are in the slightest degree alike. Hence it is impossible to estimate with accuracy the value of a book until it has been read through from beginning to end. When that pro- cess has been completed the value is, in a few cases, increased, but in the majority either cane bit tee agit gps 63 ‘01! pail oar AIO Om Gh destroyed altogether or reduced enormously. More- 9 c over there cannot be any standard value in a oe a The value of a mutton chop is to most persons some for each buyer has a totally different taste. thing between sixpence and a shilling, but the value of a book may be to some few appreciators © very great, and to the rest of mankind nothing at all. In these peculiar conditions it is, perhaps, not  our knowledge in money and in time. Us were taken in by “An Englishwoman’s Love _ Letters,” which had not the look of a work of surprising that the purveyors of books should have given up all idea of suiting individual requirements. They have deliberately done their utmost to dis- courage independence of mind. Competition in the trade has been competition in fashion- making ; with the natural result that the book- buying public has been narrowed to those comparatively few persons who do not care much what the contents of a book may be, but can be herded together, and forced to accept any book that they believe others are discussing and buying. It has recently been discovered that there is another public—that there are many who would enter the market if they were assisted in the task of estimating the quality and value of the articles offered. Hitherto, men who can easily afford to buy hundreds of books every year have been chary about risking their money over a single specimen, not knowing what they were likely to find in their hands. The trade has supposed this reluctance to buy books was due to want of literary taste. It was, in fact, due to excess of literary taste in pro- portion to the opportunities offered for indulging that taste. Authors might do well to consider whether they also have not sometimes been to blame. Are the titles they give to their books always so carefully chosen as to leave no room for doubt as to the general nature and aim of the work? There is some ground for thinking that, since the value of a “catchy” headline has come to be realised, authors, in their turn, have been trying, by means of deceptive titles, to palm off upon a guileless public books which are not what they seem to be. Any habitual reader of novels would know that “Cometh up as a Flower ” is not a work on botany, and that ‘‘ The Seven Streams ” is not a treatise on physical geography. Buta botanist or physicist who does not happen to be acquainted with the modern affected fashion in titles for fiction might easily be deceived by these names: and before we laugh at such simplicity we should consider whether even the most experienced are not sometimes deceived. _ Weall know now that a book called “ All about My Garden” may be poetry, or fiction, or cookery ‘Tecipes, or wise sayings, but we have had to buy Many of fiction. Who could tell that “ The Life of John William Walshe, F.S.A.,” is not a biography ?” It never was easy to distinguish between geo- graphy, topography, and travel; many books are ‘difficult to place in their correct sub-heading. _ But, until late years, the two elementary classes of : ™ Fiction’ and “ Not Fiction” were easily recog- Nised. Now, however, the most expert reader Must be continually at fault in dividing books into THE AUTHOR. 107 their two great branches, by the title alone. Here are some examples, gathered in a few minutes from the catalogue of a circulating library. Many specimens far more perplexing could doubtless be found without difficulty :— Britain’s Greatness Foretold. Britons at Bay. Enchanted Woods. The Wise Woods. The Mystic Rose. The Rose Garden. Roses. The Vision Splendid. The Money Market. Lady Anne’s Waik. An Appeal to Rome. The Magic of Rome. The Heart of Rome. The Spirit of Rome. The Purple Cloud. The Long White Cloud. The World’s Desire. The World’s Desires. It is curious to observe that, while serious books are given a skittish appearance, writers of fiction prefer a solemn aspect. In some cases the author soothes his conscience with a sub-title : but what, then, is the aim and object of the title? Here is a typical example of the wrong principle : “The Art of Creation: Essays on the Seif and its Powers.” The chief title, which is all that most catalogues print, is obscure, and should be elimi- nated in favour of the sub-titles. ‘Those who are attracted by the title might be the very persons who do not desire a book of that kind ; while others who want just such a book as that described by the sub-title are unable to find it. It may be that most authors would prefer to seil their books to disappointed, perhaps enraged, pur- chasers, rather than fail to sell at all. But it must often be the case that the book would scll better if the title left no room for doubt as to the con- tents. If some are caught, others are repelled by the vague and mysterious. In some instances the title is so misleading that one wonders whether the law would not come to the rescue of a deluded purchaser. I had sent to me the other day three large volumes purporting to be a “History,” which were something quite different, not answering to the title in the smallest degree. Surely I ought to be compensated for the loss I have sustained, and the responsible person punished for the deceit practised upon me. How- ever that may be, and apart from the morality of the thing, it is worth remembering that a character for honesty may be of value to authors as much as to any other traders. Authors can assist the dis- tributors in establishing good relations with the 108 Misleading titles, whether accidental or intentional, work in the opposite direction. They put books into the wrong hands, and thus tend to keep away the best clients. They are a misfortune for all concerned, for authors as well as distributors and readers. public. Norwoop YOuNG. —_———_+—>_+—___ RE GRANT RICHARDS’ ESTATE. oe E F. T. GRANT RICHARDS, of 2, Park Crescent, Portland Place, carrying on busi- ness at 48, Leicester Square, and 8, Smart’s Buildings, Drury Lane, all in the County of London, Publisher. Under Receiving Order dated the Dr. Estimated to produce per p, Debtors RECEIPTS. Statement. To Total Receipts from Date £3. di. £ sd, of Receiving Order, viz. : : Stock-in-Trade ... we 18711 20.0 Copyrights and Publish- ing Rights ... ... 12,514 4 6 4,991 16 Lease of No. 8, Smart’s Buildings 700 0 O ae Office Furniture... oe 150 0 0 42 5 6 “World of Billiards” Shares ... Se ae 200 0 0 --- Surplus from Securities in the hands of Credi- tors fully secured 8,920 10 8 342 0 1 Receipts ver ‘Trading Q : Account is Ae 4,513 6 9 Other Receipts ... > = Total... ... £41,195 15 2 9,889 9 0 Less— Deposit returned to Petitioner... AG --- Payments to redee Securities... : 454 6 6 Costs of execution ... — Payments per Trad- ing Account .» 2,448 16 0 2,898 2 6 Net Realisations £6,991 6 6 eee THE AUTHOR. | By Board of Trade and Court Fees (including 17th day of January, 1905. Statement showing position of Estate at date of declaring a First Dividend is printed below. The assets not yet realised are estimated to pro- duce £4,000. Creditors can obtain any further information by inquiry at the office of the Trustee, Dated this 6th day of December, 1905. H. A. MONCRIEFF, Trustee, It. will afford a subject of serious consideration to the creditors to note the difference between the debtor’s estimate and the net realisations ; but it is an unfortunate fact that no property depreciates more quickly than literary property if the flow of the circulation of a book is suddenly stopped. G. H Cr. PAYMENTS, £ 82 Stamp of £5 on Petition) ao a 78 6 2 Bard: Law Costs of Petition under taxation, estimated Law Costs ... bee hee Other Law Costs,some under taxation, estimated 60 0 0 216.04 800 0 0 1,075 Trustee’s remuneration, as fixed by the Committee of Inspection, viz.: 5 per cent. on £6,991 6s. 6d. assets realized : ie 5 per cent. on £4,280 2s. 6d. assets distributed in divi- dend 349 11 4 214 0 1 Special Manager’s charges ee ene Person appointed to assist Debtor under s. 70 of Bankruptcy Act, 1883 ... Auctioneers’ charges as taxed Other taxed costs Costs of possession ... : os ees Cost of Notices in “Gazette” and local papers... os s : oes Incidental outlay Total cost of realization Allowance to Debtor Creditors, Viz. — S$ a. 6 Preferential 341 11 6 812 Unsecured. First Dividend now declared of 2s. in the £ on £42,802 lbs. 8d. 4,280 2 6 The Debtor's estimate of amount expected to rank for dividend was £44,551 0s. 8d. Balance ... o i £6,991 6 6  f i = i MACMILLAN v. DENT. ——-—— (Reprinted with the kind permission of the Editor from the Law Journal, December 9th, 1905). HIS was a witness action to determine the " right of publication of sixteen letters written between 1798 and 1840 by Charles Lamb, the famous essayist, to his friend Robert Lloyd, which had been found in an old box in the posses- sion of Mr. and Mrs. Steeds, descendants of the Lloyd family. On May 5th, 1895, the plaintiffs Smith, Elder & Co., publishers, bought from the Steeds for £250 all copyright which they possessed and the exclusive right of publishing the letters, the originals of which were returned to the Steeds after making copies, which were subsequently used in a book entitled “Lamb and the Lloyds,” published in 1898. In 1899 the plaintiffs Smith, Elder & Co. granted a licence to the plaintiffs Macmillan (Lim.) to use the letters for another edition of Lamb’s letters. In 1902 the defendants, J. M. Dent & Co., also publishers, being aware of the previous transac- tion, bought for £250 from the Steeds, the original autograph letters with other literary papers, and also “ any right which they might still have in the letters.” In 1903 the defendants published the letters in an edition of Lamb’s letters, and the plaintiffs in April, 1904, commenced this action for infringe- ment of their registered copyright. In January, 1905, administration de bonis non to Charles Lamb’s estate was granted to one Moxon, the only son of the residuary legatee under Charles Lamb’s will, who subsequently assigned all his rights, if any, to the defendants. T. B. Scrutton, K.C., and R. A. Wright, for the plaintiffs, contended that the plaintiffs had ‘ the property of the proprietor of the author’s manu- script” at the time of the publication by them and were therefore entitled to sue for infringement. W. O. Danckwerts, K.C., and L. B. Sebastian, for the defendants, argued that the defendants, having the original letters and the rights of Charles Lamb’s representatives, had such an interest in the private letters as to disentitle the plaintiffs to obtain any registered copyright or even to publish them—Pope v. Curl (1741), 2 Atk. 342 ; Gee v. Pritchard (1818), 2 Swanst. 402 ; Thompson v. Stanhope (1774), Amb. 737 5 Queens- berry (Duke of) v. Shebbeare (1758), 2 Eden, 329 ; Oliver v. Oliver (1861), 31 Law J. Rep. Chane. 4 ; 11 C. B. (ws.) 139; Lytton (Harl of) v. Deevey (1884), 54 Law J. Rep. Chance. 293 ; Labouchere v. Hess (1898), 77 L. T. 559 ; and Caird v. Sime 1887), 57 Law J Rep. P.C. 2; L. R. 12 App. as. 326, THE AUTHOR. 109 Kekewich, J., said it was an extremely difficult question, but he thought that the defendants’ title through the Steeds was obviously defective, as the Steeds had assigned to the plaintiffs ; while it was difficult to see how, at such a distance of time, the administrator of Charles Lamb could have any right in them at the date of his death. The com- mon law was perfectly clear up to a certain point that the writer of letters has a right to prevent their publication, but on the true construction of sect. 3 of the Copyright Act, 1842, he thought that the plaintiffs were entitled to succeed. He accordingly declared that the right of publishing these particular letters vested in the plaintiffs Smith, Elder & Co., and ordered the defendants to render an account of profits and to pay the costs. —_____e—o—_+—____. SERIAL RIGHTS. —+—+— IR,—The following experience, through which I have just passed, may afford a useful warning to my fellow-writers. I offered the serial rights of astory [ was writing to an important provincial firm, who, when I had sent them the first half to read, replied that the story had already been offered to them by my agent. As the story was in the hands of no agent, I knew that the serial rights in question could have been offered by no one but a well-known publisher, who had asked me for a novel, and to whom T had in reply offered the volume rights of this same story. Inquiry proved that this publisher, whose name I will give to any writer who would like to know it, had been offering the serial rights of my novel, although he possessed no rights whatever in the story, and although the serial rights were not on offer to him. I also discovered that the provincial firm I have mentioned had been going from publisher to pub- lisher on the look-out for a strong serial story, surely a backstairs method of obtaining what they wanted, and little more to their credit than the action of the publisher himself was to his. Yours faithfully, FLORENCE WARDEN. The letter which is printed above has been received at the society’s office. The subject is one which concerns all those members who are engaged in writing fiction, Serial rights, if properly managed, can be a source of very considerable income to members of the society, and in placing serial rights, the agent is perhaps of more use than in the disposal of any other kind 110 of literary property. To place these rights in both Great Britain and the United States effec- tually and simultaneously is a matter very often of considerable difficulty even for a writer whose name is well-known. It is needless to repeat that the agent’s charge for placing these rights is, as a general rule, 10 per cent. for England and some- times 15 per cent. for the United States. Such remuneration, in the case of some authors, brings in a large return to the agent, and in these instances no doubt it would be as well to make a special contract with the agent on the matter, but though the agent charges 10 per cent., the pub- lisher charges from 25 to 50 per cent. on the nett returns if these rights are left to his disposition, and out of the hundreds of agreements that have come before the secretary he has never seen a lower charge in a publisher’s agreement for the placing of serial rights than 20 per cent. This is not the only difficulty that may arise by the author leaving these rights in the publisher’s hands. First, the author, in carelessly settling an agreement, often passes over this clause thinking it is merely formal, and that he is dealing with the publisher merely for the book publication. He finds the publication of his book delayed for twelve months and more owing to the publisher’s endeavour to obtain his 50 per cent. of the profits of the serialisation, and he thereby loses a valuable market. It may be of great importance that his book should appear at a fixed time. Secondly, publishers have not the facilities for placing serial rights that an agent has. If he is a good publisher, his time is too much taken up with his own business to attend to the sale of serial work, and vice versd if he is attending to the sale of serial work he is not attending to his proper business. Thirdly, it not infrequently happens that the author obtains an offer for the serial rights himself, and in these circumstances it is a great trial to be bound to pay the publisher 50 per cent. for doing nothing; but when the publisher acts as his own “ drummer ”—if we may use an expression borrowed from the United States —he is playing the game very low. This special feature, although it has been a cause of complaint against the agent, has never, hitherto, been a cause of complaint against the publisher. Agents not infrequently go round to publishers and editors and endeavour to obtain offers for authors who may, or may not, be their clients, and, if successful, place the offer before the author. This method of doing business may be of great advantage for authors who are their clients, but for authors who are not their clients it is very often a source of difficulty and danger. It is not necessary again to point out the disadvantage of dealing with agents in these circumstances. We desire to confine our- selves to publishers as agents, and to repeat that THE AUTHOR. authors cannot be too strongly advised not to leave the placing of their minor rights, 7.¢., serial rights, translation, and Continental rights, in the hands of the publisher. ee REGARDING SIMILAR NAMES. + I HAVE read with very great interest the paper “Property in-a Mom de Plume,” and am wishful to venture upon a suggestion or two, if you can but spare me a little space. It seems to me, that whether “Rita” (Mrs. Humphreys) will be able to make good her claim to the exclusive use of her nom de plume or not, there is still something that must prove very un- satisfactory to the author in the present method of identifying himself with his books, merely by attaching thereto his name. I believe I am right in assuming that, should the writer of the “children’s pages” in some un- known publication prove that her surname is “ Rita,” no power could prevent her, should she so choose, from attaching that name to any work from her pen; and, even though she should be forced to prefix it by her initials, there would be always a large number of readers who would think merely that “ Rita” had taken to using the first letters of her christian names, so as to have her name distinguishable from the “ other” Rita. Then would rise among the members of the public another form of confusion. The question would be asked: “ Which is che ‘Rita’?” And some would answer: “The one without any initials.” But others, again, would reply, ‘“ ‘lhe one with the initials.” And the deuce himself would be bothered in the end to say which was which. Of course, I am aware that it is ridiculously im- probable that the new ‘ Rita” should prove to have made use of her own name, and I have but pre-supposed this to make clear my point. Leaving now the case of Mrs. Humphreys, all readers will be able to call to mind the confusion ot identity ensuing upon two writers, possessing the same name, making their appearance. ‘True, their initials may be different ; but to discriminate by means of initials is a work requiring some effort of memory, more than it is wise for an author to expect from the “big” public. Re- calling a few instances of authors possessing names alike, we have books from the pens of J. L. Allen —G. Allen; A. Barr—R. Barr; E. Castle—G. Castle; R. N. Carey—W. Carey; F. J. Fraser— Mrs. Fraser; A. K. Green—J. R. Green; J. Hocking—S. Hocking; A. Hope—G. Hope; F. Norris—W. E. Norris; ©. Russell—W. Russell— G. H. Russell ; H. G. Wells, and another Wells. THE AUTHOR. I might go on and fill a page, but these are suffi- cient to show how confusing to the “big” public must be such similarity in names. Therefore, it seems to me that now, whilst this case of Mrs. Humphreys is before the Society, it might be a sensible thing to consider seriously some means that shall secure to authors a certainty of no one coming into the field in future and selling “ stuff” under, and often to the detriment of, some more renowned name. The expedient I have to suggest may seem some- what primitive, and some will cry out against the odour of trade which, at first, it will appear to carry; but, at least, let me put forth my idea. It is that each author, in addition to his name, have some distinguishing totem or mark, Thus, Kipling might print his name always with, say, a “camuel” or an elephant’s head alongside of it ; this last, indeed, being practically what Messrs. Macmillan are doing at the present time on the covers of his books. Bullen might distinguish himself—as he has done already in type—by means of a whale ; Mason by four feathers; H. G. Wells by means of a star; Cutcliffe Hyne by means of a kettle; and so forth. I imagine that each of these designs could be registered in the same way as a trade mark, and, therefore, confer upon their owners the right to take proceedings against any who should copy them. I would suggest that such totem or signation be printed not only on the covers of books, and at the heads of magazine stories and articles, but also at the heading of every chapter throughout a book, and in such wise the reader would become familiar with it, and associate it always with the author whom it identified. Further, that in all advertisements of a book or literary work, the totem be in evidence beside the author’s name. One thought more : editors of magazines might object to the trouble of preparing special blocks of the author’s totem—especially in the case of anunknown man. To obviate this, the author could have one or two made—they would cost very little —and send one to the editor of any periodical ac- cepting any of his stuff: of course, asking for its return. Such an expedient as I have suggested should prevent confusion, though a thousand Smiths, Browns, and Robinsons chose each of them to court immortality by that most fallible of methods —a book: One could go to the bookstall : “J want Smith’s latest book, please. Er—I’m afraid I’ve forgotten the title.” “Yes, sir—certainly. Perhaps you can re- member which Smith it is, sir?” ““Q yes; the Smith who always has a pair of tongs printed on the covers of his book.” “Very good, sir.” 111 Then to small boy : “Tom, fetch down the last thing Smith’s.” And there you are. WinuraAm Hopr Hopason. of Tongs Nn aE EERIE MAGAZINE CONTENTS. + BOOKMAN. Antonio in “The Merchant of Venice ” A Character Study. By Jane T. Stoddart. Classics of the Nursery: or the Development of Books for Boys and Girls. By Thomas Seccombe. Book MONTHLY. Ghosts of Yesterday, and Why They Are No More in Current English Fiction. By Hubert Bland. CHAMBERS’ JOURNAT.. Rejected by the Publishers. CORNHILL. An Examination in English Literature. Canon Beeching. The Christmas Book. By the Rev. By Joseph Shaylor, CONTEMPORARY REVIEW. By G. G. Coulton. By Emma Marie Catholic Truth and Historical Truth. The Relation of ‘Theology to Religion. Caillard. FORTNIGHTLY REVIEW. René Bazin. By André Turquet. Jos¢—Maria de Heredia. By Thomas Seccombe and L. M. Brandin. Mr. Mallock on Knowledge and Belief. Lodge, LL.D. Three Scandinavian Schools of Composers. Keeton. By Sir Oliver By A. E. MACMILLAN’S MAGAZINE. The Catalogues of the Library of the British Museum. By Rudolf de Cordova. MONTH. By J.H Pallen. By the Edmund Campion’s History of Ireland. The Great Antiphons: Heralds of Christmas. Rey. Herbert Thurston. MONTHLY REVIEW. Public School Education. By A. C. Benson. Italian Painting in the Prado Gallery. Hutton. By Edward NATIONAL REVIEW. Modern Biblical Criticism and the Pulpit. Rey. R. J. Campbell. NINETEENTH CENTURY. Some Aspects of the Stage. By Adolphus Vane Tempest. The Deans and the Athanasian Creed. By the Rey. W. Crouch. By the PALL MALL MAGAZINE. British Musical Progress. By Frederick Norman. Modern Ceramic Art. (There are no articles dealing with Literary, Dramatic, or Musical Subjects in Blackwood’s Magazine or Temple Bar.) 112 WARNINGS TO THE PRODUCERS OF BOOKS. eo 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. Il. 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 is now 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. Allother forms of agreement are combinations of the four above mentioned. Such combinations are generally disastrous to the author. Never 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 :— (1.) That both sides shall know what an agreement means. (2.) The inspection of those account books which belong to the author. We are advised that this is a right, in the nature of a common law right, which cannot be denied or withheld. (3.) Always avoid a transfer of copyright. —_+——_e__——__ WARNINGS TO DRAMATIC AUTHORS. —— oe — 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. THR AUTHOR. 8. 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 inadvance 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 (‘.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 referred to the Secretary of the Society. —__————_e—>—_e__—_ WARNINGS TO MUSICAL COMPOSERS. —— 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  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. —_1—~<>—+ — ve 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 reason 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 preservation in a fire- proof safe. 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 endeayour 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 4s. per annum, or £10 10s for life membership. THE AUTHOR. 113 TO MUSICAL COMPOSERS. —_-———_ HE Society undertakes to stamp copies of music on behalf of its members for the fee of 6d. per 100 or part of 100. The members’ stamps are kept in the Society’s safe. The musical publishers communicate direct with the Secretary, and the voucher is then forwarded to the members, who are thus saved much unnecessary trouble. ee THE READING BRANCH. —-+>+ MEMBERS will greatly assist the Society in this M 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, The 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. —___—_-—_@—+_____- NOTICES. —_+—+—_ YT | 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 “The 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. 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. soe 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. —_——_____—_>_o—___—_ LEGAL AND GENERAL LIFE ASSURANCE SOCIETY. —1—~—+— ENSIONS to commence at any selected age, either with or without Life Assurance, can be obtained from this society. Full particulars can be obtained from the City Branch Manager, Legal and General Life Assurance Society, 158, Leadenhall Street, London, E.C.  114 THE AUTHOR. AUTHORITIES. oe E regret to hear that Mr. George Meredith, the President of the Society, was unable to attend the King’s Investiture at Buck- ingham Palace, owing to the fact that he had not sufficiently recovered from the accident which occurred to him some little time ago. It is with much pleasure, however, that we see the Order of Merit, with the insignia and the warrant, was, by the command of his Majesty, officially conveyed to Mr. Meredith at Box Hill, Dorking. We see that Mr. E. Marston has been writing to the Times concerning the book trade in the Australian market. ‘ It is common property that the Australians have drafted, and are pushing forward, a Copyright Bill; but it would not only be inexpedient, but impossible, to discuss it at the present time. The question Mr. Marston raises, however, is really one of contract between the American and Australian booksellers. It would be quite possible for an American publisher to publish simultaneously in America and Australia, thus securing the British copyright, and then sell a licence to publish for the Australian colonies, and retain a further licence for England, Canada, and other portions of the world should he think fit. Mr. Marston says: “ According to the present law there is absolutely nothing to prevent an American publisher or author selling his copyright to an Australian publisher in Sydney, and, by publishing there first, secure for himself copyright throughout the British dominions ; but then, of course, he cannot sell to an English publisher as well—that would be selling his copyright twice over.” Mr. Marston seems to have forgotten the fact that once the American publisher or author has secured the copyright, it is not essential that he should sell his whole copyright to the Australian publisher, but, as we have suggested, he may merely sell a limited licence to publish. In the same way, it is not an uncommon thing for an English author, when he has once secured his copyright, to make separate contracts for Canada, for the United States, and sometimes, even, for Australia and India. It is possible that the whole copyright question may be before the public at no distant date, when Mr. Marston will have ample opportunity of dis- cussing the points to which he refers. For many years past we have had our eye on the third section of the Copyright Act of 1842, which, referring to works published after the death of their author, runs as follows :— ‘And the copyright of every book which shall be pub- lished after the death of its author shall endure for the term of forty-two years from the publication thereof, and shall be the property of the proprietor of the author’s manuscript from which such book shall be first published, and his assigns.” Often has it been the custom for the personal representatives, trusting to the common law right of an author, and therefore, after his decease of his personal representatives, to control the right to publish unpublished work, to insist upon the right of sanctioning, or withholding their sanction, from the publication of letters. It was not long ago that a case came before the secretary of the society in which one of its members held the MS. of a deceased author, and his right to publish the same was disputed, on the ground that the right of publication was vested in the personal representatives. This case referred to a completed MS., and not to letters. The secretary of the society, advised that the right of publication rested with the member under section 3, the statutory right overruling the common law right. But as no judgment existed on the point, it was decided to take counsel’s opinion, and counsel’s opinion supported the view of the secretary. This interpretation of the Act has now been confirmed. Mr. Justice Kekewich appears by his decision to hold that section 3 embraces not only MSS., but also letters. It would be satisfactory, however, if the matter were carried to a higher court, as there is no doubt that the decision will upset the view of the law which many have adopted. We see that the Daily Mail for December 7th states : “‘ Mr. Macgillivray lays it down, copyright is personal property, and descends on the death of the owner to his personal representatives. That view had been generally held and acted upon.” The writer in the Datiy Mail has mistaken the position. The decision given in Mr. Justice Kekewich’s court does not alter Mr. Macgillivray’s statement in the least. The question is, whether the right to sanction the publication of MSS. unpublished at the author’s death lies with the personal representatives or with the owner of the MSS. This is not copyright—copyright being entirely a creature of statute. It has now been decided that the common law right which was supposed to exist in the personal representatives, enabling them to sanction or to withhold their sanction for publication, is overriden in the par- ticular case, Macmillan v. Dent, by section 8 of the statute of 1842, quoted above. Mr. Macgillivray’s statement still holds good, for since the property becomes copyright under the statute by the  publication of the letters or MS. in the possession of a person after the decease of the author, the property will descend to his personal representatives as personal property. By the kindness of the Editor of the Law Journal we are printing a report of the case ; but we hope to print in a later issue the full judgment, of which we have been unable to obtain a copy for this issue. We thought that the half-profit agreement had died a natural death many years ago, but, like the hardy annual, it seems to come up again and again. One publishing house in particular, by no means the least of the publishing houses of England in its own and the public’s reputation, is continually putting forward this method of publication, and from the number of half-profit agreements that have come recently before the secretary, seems to publish an increasing number of books on this basis. The publishers state that they advise this form of agreement, and that it is a satisfactory form for the author. The usual consequence follows : the result is unsatisfactory to the author. It cannot be repeated too often that the difference in the profits of an author publishing under the half-profit agreement, and those of an author publishing under the royalty agreement, is extraordinary, though both forms of agreement seem to pay the publisher equally well. In addition the accounts are complicated and difficult to understand, and cannot fail to give rise to an uneasy feeling in the author’s mind. For the author is absolutely ignorant of the cost of production and methods of advertisement, and those items which should be settled to the minutest detail before the contract is signed, in order to assist the author in calculating his possible returns, are generally left in the hands of the publisher, and come as ashock to the author’s system only when the first accounts are rendered. We regret having to publish this warning against the half- profit agreement once more, as we had hoped that publishers anxious for their own reputation, and the Publishers’ Association, would have finally discarded it. —_ +4 — THE PENSION FUND COMMITTEE. 1 i order to give members of the society, should they desire to appoint a fresh member to the Pension Fund Committee, full time to act, it has been thought advisable to place in The Author a complete statement of the method of election under the scheme for administration of the Pension Fund. Under that scheme the committee is com- THE AUTHOR. 115 posed of three members elected by the committee of the society, three members elected by the society at the general meeting, and the chairman of the society for the time being, ez-officio. The three members elected at the general meeting when the fund was started were Mr. Morley Roberts, Mr. M. H. Spielmann, and Mrs. Alec Tweedie. These have in turn during the past three years resigned, and, submitting their names for re-election, have been unanimously re-elected. This year Mr. Morley Roberts again, under the rules of the scheme, tenders his resignation and submits his name for re-election. The members have power to put forward other names under clause 9, which runs as follows :— Any candidate for election to the Pension Fund Com- mittee by the members of the society (not being a retiring member of such committee) shall be nominated in writing to the secretary at least three weeks prior to the general meeting at which such candidate is to be proposed, and the nomination of each such candidate shall be subscribed by at least three members of the society. A list of the names of the candidates so nominated shall be sent to the members of the society, with the annual report of the Managing Committee, and those candidates obtaining the most votes at the general meeting shall be elected to serve on the Pension Fund Committee. In case any member should desire to refer to the list of members, a copy, with the exception of those members referred to in the note at the beginning, can be obtained at the society’s office. This list, dated 1902, owing to the small demand, has not been re-edited, and is, therefore, not absolutely accurate. A further list of the elections for 1903 was published in separate form, and all further elections have been duly notified in 7he Author. They can easily be referred to, as all members receive a copy every month. Tt would be as well, therefore, should any of the members desire to put forward a candidate, to take the matter within their immediate consideration. The general meeting of the society has usually been held towards the end of February or the beginning of March. It is essential that all nomi- nations should be in the hands of the secretary before the 31st of January, 1906. —+—~<+ — SIR RICHARD JEBB. ———~ IR RICHARD JEBB was not, I am told, a member of our Society; but our Society, none the less, owes, and will pay, its tribute to the memory of an author who was, unquestion- ably, the greatest classical scholar of his generation, not in England only, but in the world. The justest appreciation of Jebb’s work will 116 perhaps be to say that it combined what are gener- ally considered the distinctive merits of Cambridge and Oxford scholarship. We look, as a rule, to Cambridge for technical perfection in the craft of scholarship ;_ to Oxford for its use in fruitful association with polite learning of other kinds. In “ pure ” scholarship of the Cambridge sort Jebb had no equal. He particularly excelled in those ingenious exercises in composition which are the supreme test of scholarship—those “tours de force” in which so many Cambridge scholars have found their favourite recreation. Benjamin Hall Kennedy’srendering into Latinelegiacs of a circular calling a meeting of a Sanitary Board is perhaps the best known production of the kind. Jebb’s reproduction of “ Abt Vogler.” as a Pindaric Ode ranks, not with it, but above it. Mastery of the Greek language could go no further. The feat astonished Jebb’s contemporaries ; it would doubt- less have astonished Pindar. As an example of his skill in composition of a more conventional order, one is tempted to quote his version of, “ Home they brought her warrior dead” :— Mortuus a bello sua fertur in atria miles ; Nec fluit ad terram sponsa, nec ore gemit. Aspiciunt, unfque canunt hee voce puelle : “A! fleat, est lacrimis, ne moriatur, opus.” Inde viri repetunt, submisso murmure, laudes : “ Dignus erat,” narrant, “quem sequeretur amor ; Fidus amicitiis, ipsos generosus is hostes.” Illa tamen nullos dat stupefacta sonos. Labitur e mediis nota statione puellis Et leviter gradiens nympha cadaver adit. > Demovet a rigido feralem sindona vultu ; Tia tamen siccis torpet, ut ante, genis. Surgit ibi ter sex lustris jam consita nutrix, In gremium pignus dat puerile viri. Imber ut aestivus, rupit pia lacrima fontes—— “Tu, puer, in vita cur morer,” inquit, “ eris.” Scholars of Jebb’s high mark are generally scholars and nothing more. Jebb was a man of letters also. Even when he merely edited “Sophocles” for schools, the man of letters stood revealed. Many of us can date our delight in the literature of Greece from the moment when his “ Ajax” was first put into our hands. Afterwards, as all the world knows, he edited ‘‘Sophocles” for scholars, and, at a stroke, superseded all the earlier editions. His translations were as eloquent as Jowett’s, while they were also distinguished by an accuracy to which Jowett did not pretend—or, at all events, did not attain. His volume on Bentley in the “English Men of Letters Series” showed humour and humanity as well as erudition. No man could have represented Cambridge more fittingly, whether in the Commons’ House of Parlia- ment or in the select ranks of the recently constituted Order of Merit. FRANCIS GRIBBLE. THE AUTHOR. UNITED STATES NOTES. —+—— + — HOUGH we have not as yet before us definite data as to the complete year, it may be asserted without hesitation that the output of books during 1905 has been one of the largest on record. ‘There is an increase of a third over last year’s aggregate of full publications ; and the list is the largest of any recent year since 1901. Some of these books, such as Mrs. Pennell’s Life of Charles Godfrey Leland, will, no doubt, overflow into next year ; but, with all such deductions, the sum total is almost unprecedented. Mr. Henry James and Mrs. Craigie have renewed their acquaintance with America; and we have also had visits from England, by Mrs. Humphry Ward and Mr. Jerome K. Jerome. Mrs. Ward has not as yet, so far as we can remember, portrayed an American, so that one awaits results with some degree of curiosity. An interesting subject for comparison is Mr. James’s “English Hours,” and Mr. W. D. Howell’s “London Films,” though the former is not new. Both will be appreciated by some who do not invariably relish the fictional methods of these distinguished writers. Mr. James has also pub- lished his lectures upon Balzac and his Bryn Mawr deliverance, “ The Question of Our Speech,” both of which contain some highly suggestive criticism. We are glad to fancy that we can discern some revival of the Essay, not only from the above instances, but in others, like Dr. Van Dyke's graceful “Essays in Application,” Prof. Trent’s “Greatness in Literature,” and the “ Shelburne Essays” of Paul Elmer-More, not to mention any: more. And in this connection we should like to testify our appreciation of an article written for the Dial by Mr. Charles Leonard Moore upon “Style in Literature.” Though he has some unkind remarks upon the English language, maintaining, in fact, that “the great mass of our words are low or indifferent,’ amends are made by the contention that words in themselves have very little to do with the evolution of style, in which English is pre-eminent. This last is the main thesis, and it is admirably sustained. The President has enriched the literature of sport by his “Outdoor Pastimes of an American Hunter,” thus adding another item to the long and varied catalogue of his literary achievements. Bear hunting in Colorado, wolf hunting in Oklahoma, hunting with cougar hounds, and the chase of the prong-buck, are amongst its most fascinating chapters. Mr. John Burroughs appeals to the nature lover rather than the sportsman in his “ Ways of Nature.” (he ila  THE AUTHOR. He does not believe in animal psychology, and advises writers to humanise their facts if they can, but to “leave the dog a dog and the straddle-bug a straddle-bug.” This is not exactly the method of Mr. Thompson Seton ; and had he followed it, what would have remained of Mr. Charles Roberts’s remarkable “ biography,” “Red Fox”? Ornithologists and others will be delighted with the sumptuous record which Mr. C. William Beebe has published of the quest of himself and his wife after birds in Mexico. ‘Iwo other notable out- door books of the season are William J. Long’s “Northern Trails,” and animal stories, called collectively ‘“‘The Race of the Swift,” by Edwin C. Litsey, which excel both in observation and descriptive power. The controversy about the commercialisation of Literature is still raging in various quarters. One hopes that some good may be the outcome, at least to the public. The contestants themselves blink certain facts : on the one side, that books are and must be bought and sold, if authors are to live, on the other, that good taste counts for something in the eyes of those who have even a modicum of culture, not to speak of intelligence. We note the first conviction under the new copy- right law, as having occurred in the United States District Court at Keokuk, Ia., on October 29th. James L. Glass was found guilty of producing a play on which a theatrical manager of Minneapolis held copyright. In its October number, the Bookman asserted that a certain popular motor-novel was “ frankly and flatly the advertisement of a make of auto- mobile, of an automobile tyre, and of a toilet soap,” and further, that a suit had been brought by a German firm of motor-manufacturers against the authors in connection with certain disparagements of their machine in the novel. We are happy to say that all these charges were unfounded ; and the periodical makes full amends this month for its unusual lapse. It is at present running “ A Motor Car Divorce” through its own pages as a serial ; so far there has been more of the motor than the divorce. America has had the distinction of introducing to the English-speaking world the author of “Peer Gynt” and “Brand” as a letter-writer. The late Dr. Albert Bielschowsky’s great life of Goethe has also been translated by an American, Dr. W. A. Cooper, the first section of whose work has appeared within the past month. Of international importance is also Captain Mahan’s last work on the War of 1812, also, perhaps, Poultney Bigelow’s “ The German Struggle for Liberty,” the issue of the fourth volume of which completes the work. Of scarcely less rank will be held Dr. John Ti% Basset Moore’s “ American Diplomacy, its Spirit and Achievements,” and Prof. Breasted’s “ History of Egypt”; whilst W. W. Rockhill’s ‘* China’s Intercourse with Corea,” and the ‘General Sociology,” issued by the Chicago Press for Prof. Albion W. Small, have far more than a national interest. From the same quarter comes Prof. Milyoukov’s timely “Lectures on Russian Civilisation.” A second volume of Prof. Dunning’s useful and well-written work on the “History of Political Theories” has appeared. It extends from Luther to Montesquieu, and includes sum- maries of the political doctrines of Bodin, Grotius, Hobbes, the Catholic Controversialists, the English Puritan Philosophers, and Locke. Mr. Geo. H. Warner’s study of the Semitic problem, “ The Jewish Spectre,” is an indictment of theocracy rather than an attack upon its votaries. It is full of varied information, and bristles with controversial matter, but does not advance the question far. Dr. Frank J. Goodnow’s “ Principles of the Administrative Law of the United States” is an important contribution to its subjects, designed not only for jurists and students of law, but also for those actually engaged in official work. Amongst biographical works of strong interest we would single out Mrs. Bayard Taylor's “On Two Continents,” and Thos. Wentworth Hig- ginson’s “ Parts of a Man’s Life.” The author of the former is the translater of “ Faust’s” second wife, née Marie Hansen. She gives us portraits of Thackeray, Horace Greeley, and George P. Putnam, amongst other celebrities, and relates anecdotes of Browning and Bret Harte. Col. Higginson’s medley of reminiscence and reflection will prove of interest to readers in two continents. The volume, which has a decidedly optimistic tone, contains interesting comparisons of Englishmen and Americans based on a wide personal knowledge of both, and some outspoken criticism of Herbert Spencer. Then there are volumes on Lowell and Blaine, by Ferris Greenslet and Edward Stanwood ; and the first complete life of Sidney Lanier, which comes from the pen of Edwin Mim. “The True Andrew Jackson,” by Cyrus Townsend Brady, is a careful study of another American worthy. A work of some authority upon an important subject, is Charles A. Conant’s “ Principles of Money and Banking.” Randell Parrish’s “Historic Illinois’ may be commended to students of American history, together with George Wharton James’s account of the Franciscan missions of California. Probably the most significant publications concerning art are 8. Isham’s “ History of 118 American Painting,” and Kenyon Cox’s “Old Masters and New.” Coming to fiction, we have had new works from Mrs. Wharton, Mrs. Atherton, M. E. Wilkins, and R. W. Chambers, besides Mark Twain’s “« Rditorial Wild Oats,” and the inevitable Marion Crawford novel. “The House of Mirth,” a relentless study of New York society, from the point of view of one of its victims, will, we think, fully maintain its author’s reputation ; whether the same can be said for “The Travelling Thirds” of Mrs. Atherton is more doubtful. Mrs. Wilkins Freeman, and that best of American romancers, Mr. Chambers, are as excellent as ever in their different ways. There is a new “ Uncle Remus” book for young and old ; and Kate Douglas Wiggin has renewed her hold upon her public with her charming “‘ Roge o’ the River.” Booth Tarkington has probably never done any- thing better than his ‘‘ Conquest of Canaan” ; and Emerson Hough’s “ Heart’s Desire,” is a capital western story with plenty of atmosphere. “The Edge of Circumstance,” by Edward Noble, is a strong sea story. There is originality in “The Ballingtons,” by Frances Squire, a new writer, if we mistake not. James Huneker’s short stories, labelled ‘ Vision- aries,” will be judged morbid by some readers and praised as uncommon by others ; they are, at any rate not to be set down as conventional. The author of “ The Plum Tree” has written a story of “high and frenzied finance” in his new work, “The New Deluge,” but has skilfully inter- woven it with love interest. We could enumerate many another novel, displaying unusual talent, but must conclude the catalogue with ‘‘ Shakespeare’s Sweetheart,” which purports to be Anne Hathaway’s love story, written by herself, deposited in the hands of Ben Jonson, and recently discovered among old archives ! An English novel holds the highest place in the most recently compiled list of ‘ best-sellers,” Mr. McCutcheon’s newest story “Nedra” coming second, with Mrs. Wharton and Kate Douglas Wiggin taking the next two. places. We con- gratulate the author of “The House of Mirth” upon her popularity. America has had to mourn this year a heavy loss, both to her literature and her statesmanship, in the death of Mr. John Hay, upon whose achievements we need not dwell here. Mrs. Mary Mapes Dodge, who died in the succeeding month, was a lesser light in the firmament. But her Dutch story, “ Hans Brinker,” endeared her to more than one genera- tion of children, and her recently published “ Poems and Verses” had some success, whilst she did good service as editor of St. Nicholas. THE AUTHOR. There have been no other recent losses of note ; but the year which has seen the death of “ Rip Van Winkle” and the author of the “Pike Country Ballads,” as well as Lafcadio Hearn and Laurence Hutton, has left sad gaps in American literature and art. Just before going to press we heard of the death of Henry Harland, one of the select band of what may be called Anglo-American authors. “The Cardinal’s Snuff-Box” alone would have assured him a niche in the temple of fame. —_+-~<— —_ PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT ON COPYRIGHT LEGISLATION. —— > (The following is quoted from the American Publishers’ Weekly of December 9th, 1905.) RESIDENT ROOSEVELT in his annual message, transmitted to Congress on De- cember 5th, refers to the United States copyright laws as follows : “*QOur copyright laws urgently need revision. They are imperfect in definition, confused and inconsistent in expression ; they omit provision for many articles which, under modern reproduc- tive processes are entitled to protection; they impose hardships upon the copyright proprietor which are not essential to the fair protection of the public ; they are difficult for the courts to interpret and impossible for the Copyright Office to administer with satisfaction to the public. Attempts to improve them by amendment have been frequent, no less than twelve Acts for the purpose having been passed since the Revised Statutes. To perfect them by further amendment seems impracticable. A complete revision of them is essential. Such a revision, to meet modern conditions, has been found necessary in Germany, Austria, Sweden, and other foreign countries, and bills embodying it are pending in England and the Australian colonies. It has been urged here, and proposals for a commission to undertake it have, from time to time, been pressed upon the Congress. The inconveniences of the present con- ditions being so great, an attempt to frame appro- priate legislation has been made by the Copyright Office, which has called conferences of thé various interests especially and practically concerned with the operation of the copyright laws. It has secured from them suggestions as to the changes necessary : it has added from its own experience and investiga- tions, and it has drafted a bill which embodies such of these changes and additions as, after full discussion and expert criticism, appeared to be sound and safe. In form this bill would replace the existing insufficient and inconsistent laws by THE AUTHOR. one general copyright statute. It will be presented to the Congress at the coming session. It deserves prompt consideration. 999 1 ANTHONY TROLLOPE. ane J. THe WaGce-EARNER. OME few years ago a well-known man of letters, writing of Victorian novelists, gave it as his opinion that among disappearing authors must be included Charles Reade, Charles Lever, and Anthony Trollope. This statement must not be allowed to pass unchallenged ; for Reade must surely endure, by virtue of the great historical romance, “The Cloister and the Hearth,” and the delightful, pathetic “¢ Christie Johnstone”; and it is inconceivable that the world will be content to let die the rollicking, madcap stories of “Harry Lorrequer.” These writers were fully appreciated during their lifetime —indeed, in the case of some of their books, they may have been over-praised—and the adverse criti- cism to which they have since been subjected may, perhaps, be attributed to the apparently inevitable reaction./ Every writer has his ups and downs in the estimation of the generations immediately succeeding his own; but of all the mighty none have fallen so low as Anthony Trollope. His has been the worst fate that can befall a writer; he has not been abused, he has been ignored. He is not disappearing : he has disappeared ; and reaction alone cannot satisfactorily account for the lowly position he occupies to-day, with few so poor as to do him reverence. Indeed, so entirely have his books gone out of fashion that, in this age of reprints, when an attempt is made to galvanise into life the works of Mrs. Aphra Behn and Mr. R. M. Bird, it is impossible to obtain a set of his best books. Trollope’s most ardent admirers would not ask, nor could they desire, a complete edition of his writings. His books of travel, ‘The West Indies,” “ North America,” “ Australia,” and “New Zealand,” and “South Africa,” may be allowed to sink into oblivion ; and with them may go the monograph on Cicero, and that work to which Dean Merivale referred as “your comic Ceasar.” It is as a novelist Trollope has come down to us, and it is as a novelist he will live for posterity. .~ He wrote much, far too much ; and many, nay, the majority, of his stories may be put aside. His industry was prodigious, and in quantity he rivalled another author who to-day also does not receive his full share of praise—Bulwer Lytton. “ T feel confident,” Trollope said, speaking of the years 1859 to 1871, “that in amount no other writer 119 contributed so much during that time to English literature.” The truth of his remark cannot be gainsaid, and the output is the more remarkable in so much as during this period he was a busy Civil servant. The secret of his prolixity is that he never waited for the spirit to move him. The mere word “inspiration ” aroused his ire ; and for the men who thought they could work only when “inspired ” his contempt was boundless. “ ‘To me it would not be more absurd if the shoemaker were to wait for inspiration, or the tallow-chandler for the divine moment of melting,” he declared. “If the man whose business it is to write has eaten too many good things, or has drunk too much, or has smoked too many cigars—as men who write will sometimes do—then his condition may be unfavourable for work ; but so will be the condi- tion of a shoemaker who has been similarly imprudent. I have sometimes thought that the inspiration wanted has been the remedy which time will give to the evil results of such impru- dence: Mens sana in corpore sano. The author wants that, as does every workman—that and a habit of industry. I was once told that the surest aid to the writing of a book was a piece of cobbler’s wax on my chair. I certainly believe in the cobbler’s wax much more than in the inspiration.” Undoubtedly Trollope adhered to the cobbler’s wax theory all the days of his life. He found he could write as well when he was travelling as when seated at his desk—the proof of this is to be found in the merits of “ Barchester Towers,” written almost entirely in railway carriages. For many years, while in the postal service, he rose at half- past five and worked until half-past eight, writing two hundred and fifty words every quarter of an hour ; and he found the words came as regularly as his watch went. It is unlikely he would have done better work if he had not laboured so methodically, but it is probable he would not have turned out so many mediocre works. Perhaps the temporary eclipse of Trollope is largely due to his autobiography. “ I confess,” he said therein, in a characteristic passage, “ that my first object in taking to literature as a profession was that which is common to the barrister when he goes to the bar, and to the baker when he sets up his oven. I wished to make an income on which I and those belonging to me might live in comfort.” Nothing could be more laudable! He prided himself upon being a tradesman, ready and willing to work to order. Again and again he declared ostentatiously that he wrote only for money ; that he found his reward in the publishers’ cheque, and that he attributed to the pecuniary result of his labours all the importance he felt them to have at the time. The autobiography bristles 120 with figures. He tells us that in 1847 he pub- lished his first book, ‘‘ The MacDermotts of Bally- jeloran,” on the half-profits system. ‘I can with | truth declare that I expected nothing,” he has | recorded, “and I got nothing.” In the following | year Colburn brought out “The Kellys and the O’Kellys.” The terms were the same, and so was the result. The former was still-born ; the latter sold to the extent of 140 of the 375 copies printed. These stories of Irish life failing to attract, in 1850 he published an historical romance, “ lia Vendée,” for which, on delivery of the manuscript, he received £20 on account of future profits. It was not until five years later that “The Warden” appeared. For this he received £20 3s. 9d. But “The Warden,” though its pecuniary success was infinitesimal, attracted attention in the Press, and the author began to be regarded as one with whom it might be necessary to reckon. Even the publishers were impressed, and Longmans offered to print the next novel and to pay in advance £100. This was “ Barchester Towers.” During twenty years these two books, the first of the Barset series, brought the author £727 lls. 3d. “The Three Clerks” followed, Bentley buying the copyright for £250. Thus encouraged, Trollope demanded £400 for “ Doctor Thorne.” Bentley would not give more than £300, so the author, who was leaving ye “T sai the next day, went to Chapman & Hall. what I had to say to Mr. Edward Chapman in a quick torrent of words. Looking at me as he might have done at a highway robber who had stopped him on Hounslow Heath, he said he sup- posed he might do as I desired. I considered this | to be asale, and it was a sale. I remember that | he held the poker in his hand all the time I was with him ; but, in truth, even if he had declined to buy the book, there would have been no danger.” “The Bertrams”’ went to the same firm for the game sum ; and, in the meantime, his first book of travels having proved a success, he demanded £600 for an Irish novel as yet unwritten, “ Castle Richmond.” ‘“Framley Parsonage” was com- missioned for Zhe Cornhill Magazine for £1,000 ; and after this he received £600 for a one-volume novel, or £8,000 for a story running to twenty parts. Sometimes he received more—once, at least, he was given £3,525 : for many years he contrived to keep up his price, and, though in later days he was compelled to accept considerably less, it is wonderful, remembering his enormous output, he should have been able to sustain it so long. Including £7,000 made by journalism—political, critical, and sporting articles—he earned £70,000, which result he looked upon as “ comfortable, but not splendid.” Considering his popularity, it was certainly not magnificent. Literature was then the worst paid profession. Think what a doctor THE AUTHOR. or a barrister of similar eminence would have made! ‘To-day, thanks partly to the American copyright law, a popular writer may amass a modest competence with one book. Now, all authors write for money. But if they are worth their salt, they take pleasure in their work. Despite the unfortunate autobiography, it is probable Trollope did not differ greatly from his fellow-workers. Certainly his desire for money never induced him deliberately to lower the standard of his work ; and, thongh he may not have realised it, he loved the pen, for surely no one, not urged by want of pence, could otherwise have worked so hard as he. He was proud of his books, and believed that some at least might live; while his affection for his characters was profound. The public naturally has not gone below the surface, and it has accepted Trollope’s statements without reservation. It will not willingly think, however, of the man of letters as a tradesman, turning out his wares with one eye on his paper and the other on his banking account. It likes to think of him as imbued with romance: it will not place the writing of books on the same plane as the making | of buttons or the baking of bricks ; and it is dis- gusted to learn that one of its favourites always wrote so many words in so many minutes. It dis- tinguishes, as Trollope would not, between the work of the brain and the work of the hand, It has already been said that the first book in which Trollope did himself justice was “The Warden.” Within the next few years he issued “ Barchester Towers,” ‘‘ Dr. Thorne,” “ Framley Parsonage,” and ‘‘ The Last Chronicles of Barset.” These are the Barset series of novels, and, undoubtedly, they contain his best work. During this period appeared also “ The Small House at Allington,” “ The Three Clerks,” and “ Orley Farm” ; and later, ‘Can You Forgive Her ?” “Phineas Finn,” “ Phineas Redux,” and “The Prime Minister,” in all of which is a semi-political atmosphere. The student of English literature may be content with these, though perhaps “The Eustace Diamonds” might repay perusal. These are the books upon which Trollope’s fame depends, and a very sound basis it is upon which to rest a reputation. Trollope’s most enduring title to rank with the greater novelists is as the chronicler of Barsetshire. The new shire he added to the English counties was very real to him, and he had it all in his mind —its roads and railroads, its towns and parishes, its members of parliament, its different hunts, its great lords and their castles, its squires and their parks, its rectors and their churches. Alone of the working population he had nothing to say ; not of the village shopkeepers, nor, though he insisted on the fact that Barsetshire was entirely agricul- tural, of the farmer and his labourers. On the  THE AUTHOR. one side he saw Gatherum Castle, where lived the Duke of Omnium in almost feudal state, and the great county families ; on the other, the professional nen, the doctors, clergymen and attorneys. When he invented Barsetshire he limited his outlook to the cathedral city ; and in his famous trilogy, he confined himself mainly to the exposi- tion of the humours of clerical life, and to the introduction of ecclesiastical dignitaries. He wrote of their respectable, humdrum lives ; of their little squabbles, their ambitions, hopes and disappoint- ments, failures and successes ; and if at times he was severe, at least he was always fair, and he presented no theatrical figures of ranting parsons and red-nosed, over-fed rectors. Satire he some- times allowed himself, but caricature never ; and if Precentor Harding was the best, the hishop’s chaplain, Slope, was the worst. He was agreeably surprised to find he could write so well about clergymen. He has related proudly how he was often asked in what period of his early life he had lived so long in a cathedral city as to have become intimate with the ways ofa close. Asa matter of fact he had never resided for any length of time in any cathedral city, except the metropolis, and he was not closely acquainted with any clergyman. “ My archdeacon (Grantly), who has been said to be life-like, was the result simply of an effort of my moral consciousness. It was such as that, in my opinion, that an arch- deacon should be, or, at any rate, would be with such advantages as an archdeacon might have been ; and lo! an archdeacon was produced, who has been declared by competent authorities to be an archdeacon to the very ground.” ‘The accuracy of Trollope’s ecclesiastical figures has never been called into question, and, indeed, he wrote of them as easily, and with an instinct as true, as young Benjamin Disraeli wrote of dukes. Lewis MELVILLE. —+-—>—9 — THE LITERARY YEAR BOOK.* aes 1. Law AND LETTERS. E have received the tenth annual edition of the “ Literary Year Book,” but as it came to hand just as Zhe Author was going to press for January, it has been impossible to review the legal portion exhaustively. Forina book which is supposed to be issued for the benefit of authors, the matter that comes under the heading Law and Letters should meet with the most exact scrutiny. * «he Literary Year Book,’ 1906. George Routledge & Sons. 5s, net. 121 We have taken a cursory glance at this portion of the book, but regret to notice that it has not been altered in any way, as far as we can see, since last year. At any rate, the mistakes pointed out in Zhe Author have not been corrected. It may have been too late to add the important case which has just been tried in the Courts. Smith, Elder and Macmillan & Co. vy. J. M. Dent & Co. This may justify its omission, but the case is one of such importance that some subsidiary note ought, if possible, to have been inserted. The paragraph dealing with section 18 of the Copyright Act still retains the false statement that “the contract between the contributing author and the publisher or proprietor of the periodical work need not be in writing, nor is an express agreement that the copyright shall belong to the latter neces- sary ; and thus in ordinary cases the agreement that the copyright shall belong to the publisher or proprietor may be inferred from the mere employ- ment and payment of the author.” In support of this statement the editor refers to the case of Aflalo v. Lawrence and Bullen. That case dealt merely with encyclopedias, and the point has never been settled with reference to periodicals. It is quite possible that a judgment of this kind, which applied to encyclopedias, might not apply to periodicals, as an encyclopedia is looked upon as having a permanent and lasting position which the contents of periodicals, when published in periodical form, have not. Again, at the com- mencement of the same paragraph, the writer states : “ As regards literary work contributed to encyclopedias or for periodical or serial publica- tion on the terms that the copyright shall belong to the publisher or proprietor, the copyright in all such work becomes the property of the publisher or proprietor,” &c., &c. He does not mention the most important point, that such work must be paid forthe mere agreement that the copyright shall belong to the publisher or proprietor is not sufficient. Again, referring to colonial copyright, he has made no mention of the Act passed through the Canadian House on July Ist, 1900. As this Act is one of some importance, it should not have been omitted. The writer maintains the same views as ex- pressed in former years on authors, publishers, and agents, and again omits all mention of the Authors” Society in his statement, ‘“ Who will protect the: author against the rapacity of the agent.” It would have been fair, in view of the position the Society holds, to have mentioned its name when raising questions of this kind, for as the Society is in no way connected with the financial success of the production of books, it can take an absolutely impartial view, and can and does act as effectually 122 against agents as against publishers. His view of agents is, on the whole, in accord with that which has been expressed from time to time in The Author. Lastly, the criticism of agreements lacks many important points for the protection of both author and publisher, and cannot be considered at all exhaustive, and the propositions put for- ward are in many ways unsatisfactory from the author’s standpoint. The writer inveighs bitterly against the advance on royalties, and states: “In all business transactions the last person to whom one would go with a request for ready money is the person who has already staked his capital in a speculation suggested by the borrower.” He does not for a moment seem to consider the author’s capital as represented by his MS., which may, in some cases, be the work of years ; but, surely, quite apart from this point, if a publisher, who is a man of business, considers it worth his while to advance money on royalties, it is absurd to characterise such an arrangement as unreasonable. Business men do not readily enter into unbusinesslike agree- ments, or else they cannot be looked upon as fit persons to act as publishers. The forms of agree- ment which the writer has chosen to criticise are certainly not the best forms of agreement that come on the market, and if this work is to be of the value to authors that it ought to be, the writer must keep their point of view more promi- nently before him. He may take it for granted that a business man like the publisher will not buy the ‘‘Literary Year Book” in order to obtain advice on agreements, but to the author such a work should be of the greatest assistance; but if an author were to act on the advice at present given, he might find himself—unless he were a member of the Society of Authors—in considerable difficulties. G. H. T. Il. GENERAL REVIEW. WessteR deems that ‘“ Precision in the use of words is of prime excellence.” Especially should this be the case in the compilation of what is called a bookman’s directory. To substantiate convincingly the desirability of stricter atten- tion to detail, we pointed out, in six columns of The Author last year, many unfortunate slips. The object was to get them rectified in a future edition. This would have pleased us more than the grateful acknowledgment in this year’s preface, that “ Special thanks are due to The Author for its full and suggestive reviews of the last volume of the annual. The reviewer was, if anything, a trifle too precise about details, such as the inclusion of Shenstone’s birthday in our calendar ; but in this particular, and in other respects, a genuine attempt THE AUTHOR. has been made to carry out his wishes, directed ag they are to the same object as our own—the pro- vision of a serviceable annual for the use of members of all branches of the literary world.” Now, this is very pretty. Relying on such blandishments one feels that at last a Literary Year Book, worthy of the land of Shakespeare, after twelve months’ careful and accurate collation of material, has been evolved to do honour to the profession of letters in general, and the firm of Messrs. Routledge in particular. But it is the duty of a reviewer not to be biased by prefatory compliment, no matter how elegantly it is worded. We repeat that our remarks last year were not due tocaprice. It is pleasant to knowthat they have been received in the spirit in which they were written. Yet we fail to perceive how it is possible, in a book of reference, to be “ too precise about detail.” The editor expresses a hope that credit will be given for his endeavours and indulgence for his mistakes. We are ready to give full measure of ‘credit ” where it may be due, although the pub- lishers may not supply the Year Book on the same terms. Before bestowing the laurel wreath, how- ever, it is necessary to examine the volume as far as space permits, in order to ascertain and estimate what exertions have heen made by way of in:prov- ing on the issue of 1905. It was a saying of Sir Joshua Reynolds that “ Excellence is never granted to man but as a reward of labour.” It is not our intention to undervalue the care which the com- pilers may have taken in the production of this Year Book ; but it is the duty of the troublesome reviewer, who holds a brief for the purchaser rather than the publisher, to discover whether pains have been taken to make the book really serviceable, or if the necessary work has been delayed unduly and the publisher has relied on hoodwinking the critic by reshuffling various sections and singing to him, in an imploring tone of voice, “Please go gently,” & la “Spring Chicken.” OBITUARY. This year the Obituary List, instead of occupy- ing five pages, has been reduced to a paragraph, the omissions including the death, as far back as last April, of the well-known war-correspondent, Henry Pearse; in July of Captain Montagu Burrows, Chichele Professor of Modern History at Oxford ; and in September of Walter Macfarren, who, for half a century, was reviewer to the Queen, and whose ‘“ Memories,” published before his death, are not mentioned in the biographical section. If abstracts from the daily papers were taken systematically day by day during the year, the record of departed writers would be complete and more reliable for future reference. aS  THE AUTHOR. Tue INDEX. We are pleased to note that the contents list has been rearranged alphabetically. Yet it is not so good a key to unlock the contents of the book as it might be made. For example, if one wishes to refer to the titles of works classified under the headings of theology, art, or fiction, considering that these three sections occupy forty-four pages, it seems strange that they should not be separated in the Index from the general heading “‘ Catalogue Raisonné.” Moreover, what is the meaning of “Fayourite Books of 1906,” paged in the Index exliv. 2? There is no such section on that page. Why cannot there be, as is customary in Whitaker and most books required for rapid reference, first, a contents table showing the general arrangement of material, and, secondly, a general Index of a com- prehensive character, so as to enable the inquirer to take in the component parts of the volume at a glance? But here the indexing is muddled. First we have, on page 11, an Index which is neither a contents table nor an index, and on page 321 we have a table of the contents of Part II., and, two pages further on, a statement of the contents of the legal section, although these lists are not notified in the Contents-Index at the beginning of the book. If the various sections were arranged alphabetically, the inquirer-within might be_ helped, instead of being confused by “ Libraries” coming after “Societies,” “Booksellers” after “ Law and Letters,’ and so forth. AUTHORS. Last year, in looking through this list, we marked privately in our copy the inclusion of the name of Sir Frederic Bateman, whose death had been announced in the papers months before. Turning to the letter “ B” this year, we find that the honoured name of that long-since departed physician is still classed amongst living writers. After this, the introductory assurance of the care which has been taken regarding the list of authors loses weight. We have ticked the name of another dead literary lion in order to see whether, twelve months hence, the Year Book will still proclaim that he has been resurrected. Although, in the majority of cases, if an author fails to make the return requested, it may be safe to reinsert the entry regarding him, an exception should be made and particular care taken concerning all writers over seventy years of age. CATALOGUE RAISONNE. Turning to the Classified Catalogue—we beg pardon, ‘‘ Catalogue Raisonné ”—it is gratifying to note that, according to the sub-title of this section, it is confined to “Twentieth Century Literature.” 123 That, we take it, implies that books published before the year 1900 are excluded. Nevertheless, on the first page of this list of titles, which the preface tells us has been drawn up with “ consider- able pains,” we note “ Art in Provincial France,” published in 1838, three books dated in the "seventies, and as many in the ’eighties—showing that the sub-title isa misnomer. This Catalogue Raisonné occupies no fewer than 143 pages in the book. As these are indicated by Roman numerals, the inference is, that, while the bulk of the sheets have been printed in advance, and go to press shortly after December 1 (see note on p. 33), this section has been kept back and inserted at the last moment, so as to be quite up-to-date. Why, there- fore, should there be so many omissions? At the risk of being again called ‘a trifle too precise,” we give a few of the exclusions. Our list could be considerably extended did space in these columns permit. Under the heading of Art, ANTIQUITIES, and following books are con- spicuous by their absence — ARCHITECTURE, the Furniture of Windsor G. F. Laking. Bradbury and Castle. Agnew. Great Zambabwe. R. N. Hall. Methuen. Lace Book. Singing of the Future. Hudson Moore. Chapman and Hall. Ffrangcon Davies. Lane. Under BroGrapuy there is no mention of — Brahms, 2 vols. Florence May. Arnold. Bygone Years. Leveson-Gower. Murray. Bygones Worth Re- G.J.Holyoake. Unwin. membering, 2 vols. Froude. Herbert Paul. Pitman. Mary Queen of Scots, Henderson. Hutchinson. 2 vols. Mirabeau and the Warwick. Lippincott. French Revolution. William Pitt, 3 vols. Von Reville. Cotta’sche Buch- handlung. Queen Henrietta Taylor. Hutchinson. Maria, 2 vols. Wemyss Reid. Stuart Reid. Cassell. Scarlatti. Dent. Arnold, Taine, vol. 3. “ Historian.” Hachette. Under Ficrron, many books which have met with more than usually favourable comments in the Press have been overlooked. Amongst these we note — Ayesha. Haggard. Ward Locke. Barbara Rebell. Mrs. Belloc- Heinemann. Lowndes. Heritage of the Free. Edna Lyall. Hodder and Stoughton. Irrational Knot. Bernard Shaw. Constable. The Lake. George Moore. Heinemann, Lohengrin. Bernard Capes. Dean. Saints in Society. Mrs. Baillie- Unwin. Saunders. 124 Mrs. Baillie-Saunders’ name is also omitted from the list of authors, although she was much adver- tised as the winner of a £100 prize in the autumn publications, before the Year Book went to press. We fail to find under the ambiguous heading of GENERAL LirerRATURE the following books, which might well have been included — The Awakening of OkakuraKakuzo, Murray. Japan. Jiu-Jitsu. Secret of the Totem. On Ten Plays of Shake- speare. Captain Skinner. Andrew Lang. Stopford Brooke. Gay and Bird. Longmans. Constable. Under Porrry there is no mention of — History of Ottoman Gibb. Poetry, Vol. 4. Luzac. Under THEOLOGY we do not see Williams and Norgate. Chapman and Hall. Evolution of Religion. Farnell. g Reconstruction of Be- Malloch. lief. Under TraveL and Topograpuy the following are left out — Gabriel taux. Cox. Macdonald. Alfred Stead. Barclay. Hollis. Contemporary France, Hano- Constable. vol. 2. Forests of England. In Search of Eldorado. Great Japan. Land of the Horn. The Masai. Methuen. Unwin. Lane. Unwin, Clarendon Press. Baron Constable. atsu. Cooper. Sir H. Maxwell. Captain Scott. The Risen Sun. Suyen- Story of York. Story of the Tweed. Voyage of the Dis- covery, 2 vols. Stock. Nisbet. Smith, Elder. The 12 blank pages which should have been indexed cxlix. for “ Favourite Books of 1906,” however, furnish space for noting the many excel- lent volumes omitted. ‘Future recensions,” we are assured in the preface, “will be fuller and more accurate.” Let us hope that this excellent intention will not furnish a supplementary paving- stone to a place never mentioned in polite society. Nevertheless, if the resolution is carried out, we venture to recommend that the bulk of the volume should not be increased unnecessarily, but that all titles of books prior to 1901—or five years preceding date of issue—be eliminated. REVIEWS. Only two books helpful to the literary worker are here given. Mention might at least have been made of that important publication “The Rhymer’s Lexicon,” by A. Loring, with an introduction by Prof. Saintsbury. THE AUTHOR. PUBLISHERS. The list of publishers, we are informed, has been thoroughly revised at first hand, and the informa- tion is based on replies received to circulars. This, of course, is: as it should be; but, after the pre- fatory statement that a ‘genuine’ attempt has been made to correct the omissions of last year, so as to make the book serviceable for the use of members of “all branches of the literary world,” it comes as a shock to find that the section devoted to ‘Foreign Publishers” has not been altered in any way. Surely this is a “just requirement” on the part of authors living abroad. There was ample time to do what was needed in twelve months, and to remove from the Year Book the reproach that not a single firm in Geneva or Neuf- chatel is mentioned, and that the publishing houses of Rome are overlooked. PERIODICALS. Checking the list of “ Periodical Publications ” with the flagrant omissions and mistakes pointed out last year, we find that this section is much improved. We tender our most cordial felicita- tions. Another year approximate payments per thousand words, by editors of those periodicals who welcome outside contributions, might be more generally indicated. A minority of promi- nent writers may command their own prices. What the majority of contributors, especially those living at a distance from Fleet Street, desire to know is the average rate of remuneration given. SOCIETIES. We are assured that the list of societies has been thoroughly revised. We feel thankful for this statement, until we read, on page 5384, that the “Sette of Odd Volumes” dines at Limmer’s Hotel on the fourth Tuesday in each month. Some two years ago the entire Press of the country was para- graphed with a veiled advertisement regarding the metamorphosis of thesporting hostelry into a piano shop. The “Odd Volumes,” when they dine together every fourth Tuesday, must feel excep- tionally odd, with pianos allaround them. Buttue question is, are such premises licensed for the purposes of dining ? Moreover, if this literary club which meets on Tuesdays at Limmer’s is included, why should the “Fraternity of the Whitefriars,” which foregathers on Friday evenings, at Ander- ton’s Hotel, be excluded ? LIBRARIES. So far as Great Britain is concerned, the freshly prepared library section is animprovement on last year. Again, we offer felicitations. But, owing  to letters received from correspondents residing abroad, we begged last year that interest and yalue might be added to this annual, by mention of certain renowned public libraries on the Con- tinent. We specified a number of omissions. Alas, the old and useless list has been again published without revision. Le. In conclusion, we hark back to the fascinating : preface. In this, the editor says, that © No a responsibility can be taken for unintentional errors q in this issue.” Zrgo, he takes responsibility for intentional errors, although we thought that an “error” was always an “ involuntary deviation ” from the path of rectitude, whereas a deliberate 4 misstatement was—whisper it softly—an in- “@ gannation. If we have pointed out more short- of comings than virtues, we have done so regretfully and without prejudice. We are not uncharitable, and have no desire to detract from the unques- tioned value of the major part of the material. By those who live dependent on the pen, and have to find constantly fresh markets for their literary labours, there is much advantage to be derived from the 1906 Year Book. Seeing how numerous is this body of men and women writers, the issue even of an imperfect Literary Directory is a matter ‘ of no small moment, and any effort made to supply the requirements of authors and journalists merits i wide support. It has not been our intention, therefore, to overlook the usefulness of much solid stuff by unduly magnifying the flaws we have come ws across. So far Messrs. Routledge have no rival in the field. That fact ought to encourage the Editor to improve, diligently, a property which should become very valuable alike to publishers and pur- chasers. Nothing but constant and precise atten- tion to detail, however, makes for perfection in a directory. Carelessness in such matters does more damage than want of knowledge. A. B. —-->+—_ LITERARY TREASURE TROYE.* _— 4 / ELL printed, handsomely bound (although perhaps not quite so substantially as is advisable), and arranged—so far as their contents go—with taste and skill of the highest order, the four volumes containing this encyclopedic record of English literature of fifteen successive centuries reflect the greatest possible credit on both editors and publisher alike. The avowed design of those responsible for this catholic and discriminatingly sympathetic compilation has been * “English Literature,” an illustrated record, in four volumes. By Richard Garnett, C.B., LL.D., and Edmund Gosse, M.A., LL.D. London: William Heinemann. THE AUTHOR. 125 to produce a work which shall at once stimulate and gratify intelligent interest in English authors, from the first of their number who committed his thoughts to paper down to those of the end of the nineteenth century. Readers and writers are thus introduced to one another, and the latter can, through this medium, learn for themselves exactly what manner of men were and are those who have fired their enthusiasm on the printed page. They may find out here where and when those authors lived, what books they wrote, what measure of suc- cess they achieved, and how they appealed to their contemporaries. Further than this, the volumes are illustrated both by portraits and reproductions of documents, wherever necessary for the elucidation of any special point referred to in the text. In brief, the compilation forms a rapid, but careful, summary of the country’s literary history which, without professing to be exhaustive, nevertheless presents a wealth of easily assimilated information that has never yet been obtainable within a com- paratively restricted area. A fascinating record is the result, and one upon which the editors, Dr. Garnett and Mr. Edmund Gosse, cannot be too highly congratulated. Not the least attractive feature of this record is furnished by the inclusion therein of biographies of the authors referred to in the main critical narrative. These have been selected from among practically every writer whose work has had any real influence upon this country’s literature. Con- siderations of space have perhaps been responsible for a few omissions here and there, but they are certainly not important ones. In the first volume, which is prepared by Dr. Garnett, the period under examination ranges from the pre-Christian era down to that of the first Tudors, from the scarcely more than legendary Widsith (in all pro- bability, by the way, an assumed name—for the use of such a disguise is by no means a modern innovation) down to the George Cavendish, who wrote an excellent account of Cardinal Wolsey’s life. This is a stirring piece of writing and a vivid representation of its subject. A thoughtful essay on Chaucer, and an informative chapter on the history of the English Bible and the evolution of the religious drama are the notable features of this initial volume. The illustrations—many of them reproductions from rare MSS. in the British Museum—give an added interest and value to the accompanying letterpress. In the second volume, which covers but seventy years (whereas its predecessor gives the literary history of seven centuries) the period under examination commences with Henry VIII. and ends with Milton. ‘wo chapters are devoted to Shakespeare. ‘These, from the pen of Dr. Garnett, do not appear to say very much that has not been 126 said before, but they contain some interesting remarks on the vexed question of the chronology of the dramatist’s plays. Mr. Gosse follows with three chapters on the Jacobean authors in the fields of poetry, prose, and drama. The influence on Letters occasioned by the death of Elizabeth was a subtle one, but none the less a strongly marked one. It gave the death blow to the almost medizval sentiment which the Virgin Queen had so stoutly upheld throughout her long sway, thus delaying the renaissance for which the country was hungering. JamesJ. hankered him- self after literary fame with all the ardour of a “popular” novelist of the present day, and effusively welcomed everyone who could wield a pen. Judging from the specimens here given, some of his kingly lucubrations are amateurish in the extreme, despite his proud boast, in “ Invocations to thé Goddis,” ‘I lofty Virgil shall to life restore,” and similar comforting assurances scattered about in his other efforts. Yet it will ever be remembered that the issue of the Bible in its present form was due to his instrumentality. The concluding chapter of this section treats largely of the historians, such as Sir John Hayward (knighted for his researches in 1619), Sir Henry Spelman, and Richard Knolles (who won the admiration of so severe a critic as Dr. Johnson). The. third volume merits, perhaps, a special word of commendation on account of its illustrations. The choice of these could hardly have been improved upon, including as it does characteristic examples of the artistic genius of Rowlandson and Hogarth, together with portraits by Reynolds and Gainsborough of the literary giants of the period (from Milton to Johnson), and reproductions of the title-pages of famous first editions. What, for want of a better term, may be called the democratisation which the cause of authorship underwent in England during the fifth and sixth decades of the eighteenth century is remarked upon in illuminating fashion. With the death of Anne, and the consequent removal of the some- what debilitating influence she exercised upon literary growths, the love of reading spread rapidly among allclasses. Books and authorship generally were no longer the close preserve of the aristocracy. English literature spread its wings and extended its influence. Instead of being insular and almost entirely confined to London, it became cosmo- politan and European. France, Italy and Germany recognised its worth and were proud to borrow from it. The great Continental writers—Rousseau in particular—welcomed the work of British authors into the salons of Paris, Rome and Berlin, while our own men of letters borrowed freely from the genius of their foreign models. The mutual interchange of thought, combined with the healthy THE AUTHOR. rivalry thus brought about, had the happiest results. To its stimulating influence we owe the rescue of English literature from the slough into which it had fallen, and the loosening of the pedagogic shackles that had bound it so long. The scope of the fourth and final volume is to give a survey of the age which commenced with Johnson and terminated with Tennyson. The limit of the period under review is the death of Queen Victoria, and, except in the epilogue, no living writer is dealt with. The four chapters of this last section discuss respectively the ages of Wordsworth, Byron, the Early Victorians, and Tennyson. They make up a critical estimate— unmarked, one is glad to note, by any arrogant dogmatism—of English literature from 1780 down to within the dawn of the twentieth century. The opinions expressed are, as must always be the case in any such undertaking, formed in accordance with the individual temperament of the historian, formed on a series of esthetic principles. Although this may be an unsatisfactory way of creating a critical estimate of books and writers, it is at least less open to abuse than any other. As Mr. Gosse points out, “ The history of literary criticism is a record of conflicting opinion, of blind prejudice, of violent volte-faces, of discord and misapprehension.’ In his own day Shakespeare occupied but a small niche: to-day he is universally regarded as an inspired genius. Conversely, a great reputation in one age becomes a laughing-stock in another. The reason for this is not far to seek. Changes are constantly passing over human thought which materially affect the whole atmosphere of criticism. The individualist method has at times reduced really great minds into ludicrous excesses, but, despite this, it still remains the best we have. Horace WYNDHAM. ————+ THE “ MIRACLE’S” OBITUARIES. —+~ + « ULLO, you're alive!” exclaimed (with variations) four out of seven men stand- ing in a group round the tape in the hall of the Pandemonium Club. “How did you manage it?” asked the other three, or they used words to that effect, and the last comer, declining to corroborate what was evident to everyone, growled a few words of explanation in reply to the question. “Nothing else to do; fog everywhere; saw nothing ; came away first train ; wrote a column on all that a new dockyard must contain, before going down ; wrote half-a-column on fog in the  ae ae train. I had the only empty carriage to myself, and we stopped for ten minutes out of every five ; sent my copy down to the office from the station, and came on here. Anything else you'd like to know ?” «You came away before the show was over?” “Why not? If a retiring first Lord of the Admiralty chooses to give a beanfeast to the Cabinet and all that’s left of his followers in the House to celebrate the opening of a new dockyard that nobody wants, need I wait for their departure for London before describing a ceremony that nobody could see?” “Tjucky you didn’t try to come up in their train and get personal interviews with statesmen vacating office ?” said the youngest of the seven. The last comer was becoming interested in their demeanour. He took up the tape, at the other end of which the machine choked and clucked like a croupy hen trying to attract attention to the latest failure in eggs. “If anything has happened I wish you'd say so plainly,” he grumbled. “I’ve had four hours in the train over a two hours’ journey, and I know nothing. Has anything happened ?” The youngest condescended to be explanatory. «Nothing at all,” he remarked lightly. “ Only a smash half-way down the line ; not more than nine Cabinet Ministers killed, and only thirteen remains of common M.P.’s identified up to now !” “ What !” “Never know your luck—eh ? passed just before ?” The last comer was looking dazed, but was evidently making an effort. “ Anybody thirsty ?” he asked at last, adding, “oo into the smoking-room.” They acted upon his invitation without demur, leaving him to hang up his overcoat and give orders to the waiter. It was an occasion which no doubt demanded some form of celebration, but when he appeared a few minutes later, preceded by a tray loaded with magnums of champagne, and a box of the club’s longest and costliest cigars, they iooked a little surprised, and one of them hinted in a whisper that the train which came through must at least have been provided with a refreshment bar. Their entertainer, seated on the edge of the table before them while the waiter drew corks and filled glasses, was apparently reckoning with the aid of his fingers. “ Here’s to fog and newspaper managers,” he said, raising his glass, while they followed his example, ‘nine and thirteen make twenty-two. Poor beggars,” he went on meditatively, “it’s death to them, but it’s a good start in the New Year for me. Perhaps you don’t understand.” You must have THE AUTHOR. 127 The eldest journalist present remarked that he was gifted with invention but not with second sight, and refilled his glass, and the other continued. “ Half-a-dozen years ago, as you all know, the Miracle was restarted with the idea that it was to be made a live paper at a popular price. It began by giving away half-a-pound of tea weekly to its subscribers, and it promised, to those who paid by the year, a sausage for breakfast as well, but it did not quite get so far as fulfilling that. Still, it increased its circulation. Just about that time the editor sent for me, and told me that all the biographies they had in the office—the obituary notices, you know—were obsolete and wanted writing up-to-date, and that many of them relating to new men in the Government and new members of Parliament had never been written at all. He wanted them all done in a new way, too; done so as to be worthy of a ‘live paper ’—he seemed fond of the expression, and used it all the time. The terms he offered were uncommonly good ; something like a tenner a life, and anything over a column extra at the same rate, so I jumped at it and thought I’d struck it rich at last. I got the price put in writing, threw myself into the job, and as I was slack at the time did very little else for a year. They were not common ‘ Who’s Who ?’ sort of work. He said they were to be done from ‘the inside’; and that is what I tried for. I inter- viewed the men themselves, and had to keep it dark that the notice was not to be printed till they were dead. JI saw their parents when they had any, and I talked to two old nurses more than eighty years old. I interviewed their wives—I interviewed their housemaids. The housemaids told me a few useful things. The wives mostly told me what no one would ever have believed, except one who became confidential and told me things that even the Miracle would not have printed. In short—I did it jolly well and the editor said so, and when I asked for payment he gave me a special note and asked me to apply personally to the manager.” “Ah,” said someone, “what did the manager say ?” “‘Oh, he liked the notices very much too, and said so. I observed casually that a tenner apiece had been arranged for, and that as I had written about seventy-two, I wanted a cheque on account «And he said they would think of it when all were completed,” suggested the man who had spoken before. “Not he; he said that, like other matter, the obituary notices on the Miracle were paid for immediately after publication.” The gentle murmur, scarcely to be called a groan, that went round the group of listeners was THRE AUTHOR. suggestive of patience in tribulation rather than of resentment or even surprise. “T said what I could, of course, and he told me newspapers had to live ; though it did not seem to strike him that journalists might find it difficult to write for newspapers unless they could live too. He was quite polite and said that no doubt I should regard my work as an investment of capital bring- ing in interest at a fair rate, with just those fluctuations dependent upon fortune that are attractive to a speculative mind.” “Did you tell him that half the men you had written about would probably outlive you ?” asked a clean-shaven man. “ Not being a lawyer I did not take the trouble to make obvious points. I said rather more than I can remember, and I ended by telling him that nothing so iniquitous had been attempted since the eighth commandment forbade larceny, but he only smiled and said that of course there were well-established precedents for all that was done on the Miracle, so I left him. But now a “Now, you’ve scooped it; and as half your biographies refer to men who would have lost their seats in the House in a month’s time you are considerably lucky—there will have to be some notice as to each, and the Miracle won’t be able to say that your work was not used at all.” “ That is so, of course.” He seated himself in an easy chair and stretched out his feet towards the fire. The clean-shaven man had not quite liked the tone adopted towards him, and had been meditating deeply. “ Do you feel nervous ?” he asked suddenly. “ Of course not—why should I?” “Leaving out the question of motive for the present,” began the other in measured tones, ‘“ you passed the spot shortly before the accident hap- pened, and you say that your train often stopped for ten minutes at a time ; [ suppose anyone in it could have laid the usual iron chair on the line— or a few large stones—without being seen in the fog, and you had the only empty carriage to yourself. It is not usual, I suppose, for a journalist to leave what he is going to report before everything is over, when he need not do so—and just look at the motive! Now I come to think of it, the tele- gram says that foul play alone can account for an accident at such a spot. Of course we can all point to your evident pleasure at the news, and your noteworthy absence of surprise and sorrow at so terrible a catastrophe—your want of gratitude to Providence for your own escape—and the motive ye His host was pulling at his cigar with a contented and benignant smile upon his face. “Tt does seem as if I was growing a little hard-hearted,” he remarked, interrupting; ‘but twenty-two articles at a tenner apiece—all the work done—and perhaps more to follow, don’t fall in every working day. It’s only a question of your point of view. From my point of view it is a pity that it was not the roof of the station when they were all getting out of the train! Anyhow we shall see what the Miracle has to say about the negligence of railway companies, and the wanton sacrifice of valuable lives to earn dividends.” + THE NOBEL PRIZE. ee N December 11th, under the rules of the Nobel Prize Foundation, the awards for 1905 were declared by those bodies anthorised to make the selection. The literary prize has this year been awarded to Henryk Sienkiewicz, the Polish novelist, who is known to all English readers for his powerful novel “Quo Vadis,” which made his literary fame international. The following is a list of the prizewinners in former years :— 1901. The French poet, Sully Prudhomme. 1902. The German historian, Th. Mommsen. 1903. The Norwegian poet, Bjdérnstjerne Bjornson. 1904. The Provencal poet, Fr. Mistral, and to the Spanish dramatist, José Echegaray. ee CORRESPONDENCE. ae On AGREEMENTS. Sir,—A considerable time since Sir Walter Besant pointed out that it was the right of the seller to draw the agreement. I believe that this statement was, from a business point of view, per- fectly correct. Have authors yet taken any steps towards availing themselves of their right to draw the agreement ? And if not, why not ? Also, in many cases at least, authors are invited to contribute towards the cost of production. In business the individual who assists with money another insufficiently supplied with capital to conduct his affairs, rightly claims and enjoys a definite share in the control of every step subse- quently taken in the use of that money. Do authors (if any are still so weak) who contribute money towards the costs of production, sist upon being consulted by the person to whom they have lent their money respecting all the steps which be subsequently taken ? And if not, why not ? EB, K. 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. 16 Issue 04 (January 1906) Subject The topic of the resource <em>The Author</em>, Vol. 16 Issue 04 (January 1906) Type The nature or genre of the resource Publication Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 1906-01-01-The-Author-16-4 publications The Author